Harper

Lew Harper for Mrs. Sampson.

- Yes?

- Lew Harper.

Park it over there.

This way, Mr. Harper.

- Mrs. Sampson?

- That's right.

Lew Harper.

Albert Graves telephoned. Said

you needed me for something.

Oh.

- A drink, Mr. Harper?

- Not before lunch, thanks.

- I thought you were a detective.

- New type.

Oh.

Albert Graves is one of our lawyers.

It's on his recommendation I'm hiring you.

It's about time he threw

some business my way.

I've known Albert since he was DA up here.

Oh. He said you were good at finding things.

My husband's...

You're sitting on my robe.

My husband's disappeared.

Tried Missing Persons?

Well, that might mean publicity.

Ralph loathes publicity.

Besides, he's got an

abnormal fear of the police.

I simply want you to find him and

tell me which female he's with.

- Any particular female?

- I haven't the least notion.

Ralph need never know about this.

He'd be sure I was gathering

material for divorce proceedings.

Actually, I have no

intention of divorcing him.

I only intend to outlive him. I

only want to see him in his grave.

- What a terrible thing to say.

- People in love will say anything.

I used to love him, before we were married.

But after we took our

vows, I had an accident,

and that very same week Ralph started

fooling around with a new lady.

It's taken me a while to forgive him.

A long, long while.

When did your husband...

Don't you want to know what happened to me?

Not necessary.

- When did your husband disappear?

- Yesterday.

Our pilot, Allan, flew Ralph down from Vegas.

When they reached the airport,

Allan put the plane away.

When he came back, Ralph

had given him the slip.

- Any particular reason?

- Drunk.

I don't like him drunk on the loose.

He gets sloppy, sentimental.

He gives things away.

Last time it happened, he

gave away a whole mountain.

He gave it to some semi-nude

religious nut from Los Angeles.

You know, LA is the big

league for religious nuts.

That's 'cause there's nothing to do at night.

If you can find him quickly, I'd be grateful.

And if he's with another woman, I'd be...

Well, more than interested.

Felix.

You're lurking in doorways again.

I did not want to interrupt.

You can go now. I'll have

my lunch up here as usual.

Thank you.

Allan's down by the pool.

Any more particulars you

want you can get from him.

I'll leave the matter of fee

up to Albert Graves to settle.

Did you drive up from LA?

Leave your car here.

Felix will drive you to Albert's

office. It's only 10 minutes away.

Goodbye, Mr. Harper.

It would help some if I knew

what your husband looked like.

Oh, silly of me.

Here.

You can keep that one.

"A poor thing, but mine own. "

Where's the telephone?

I have to call Los Angeles.

Do you got one with a little more privacy?

That's the phone the help's supposed to use.

- Hello.

- Hello, Fred? It's Lew.

Is Susan there yet?

Yes.

Tell her I'm not gonna

be able to make it today.

I got called in on a situation.

And we were going to get

everything settled today.

Where is he this time?

I'm up in Santa Theresa.

Tell her Albert Graves called.

Said he needed me for

something. She'll understand.

Something about Albert Graves needing him

and you'll understand.

No. No, I don't.

I've been trying to get this divorce

thing settled for too long now,

and I have lately been

running low on understanding.

- She says she's...

- I heard.

Tell her that I...

We're supposed to be

handling this like adults.

Now, I don't want a screaming match,

but the last time we were going

to meet something came up, too.

It wasn't my fault.

- He says it wasn't...

- I heard.

I don't care what he says.

He's just trying to stall because he

thinks I'm gonna change my mind about this.

Well, I may change a lot

of things from now on,

but my mind isn't about to be one of them.

Look, let me speak to her, will you?

- Here.

- No.

Would you put her on?

Take it. Talk to him.

I have taken it. Every year

since we were married I took it.

And I've talked to him, too.

He holds no more surprises.

No more nothing.

You hear me, Lew? I don't love you.

And you can get shot in some stinking alley

and I'll be a little

sorry, sure, but that's all.

Just a little sorry.

Tell him that, lawyer. Tell

the man he is not loved.

Hey!

Hey. Top of the morning.

- Allan Taggert.

- Lew Harper.

That's Mr. Sampson's daughter.

Miranda.

Miranda.

Lew Harper.

- Could we talk?

- Sure.

Can you tell me something...

My stepmother, Lady Macbeth,

is always going to extremes.

Meaning me, Miss Sampson? I'm

a very moderate type fella.

Not you especially.

Everything she does is extreme.

Other women fall off horses

without getting paralyzed.

Not Elaine. I think it's

psychological, don't you?

You've been reading too many books.

That's something they'll never accuse you of.

She's not a raving beauty anymore.

- Can I have a sandwich?

- Yes.

So she retired from competition.

Falling off the horse

gave her a chance to do it.

And for all I know she did it intentionally.

And you've got to admit it's pretty extreme,

hiring a private detective

when your husband's been gone just one night.

That may be so, Miss Sampson.

Tell me about Sampson's disappearance.

He disappeared.

Yesterday afternoon about 3:30,

we flew in from Vegas and

landed at Van Nuys Airport.

I let Mr. Sampson off at

the administration building.

He said he wanted to call the

Bel-Air Hotel for a limousine.

Daddy keeps a bungalow there.

I taxied the plane up to

our hangar and tied it down.

When I got back to the entrance,

Mr. Sampson wasn't there.

I waited. Then I went to the

Bel-Air Hotel and I waited some more.

What about luggage? Was he

planning to spend the night?

He said he was, but he

didn't have any luggage.

That doesn't mean anything.

Daddy keeps a lot of clothes at the bungalow.

He likes to be able to pick up fast.

So do I.

How long did it take you

to bed down the plane?

Fifteen minutes. Twenty at the outside.

That's not very much time for a

limousine to get there from the Bel-Air.

Maybe he never called the hotel.

Maybe somebody met him at the airport.

Will you be going back to Los Angeles?

- Yeah, after I see a friend.

- Male or female?

Sampson's lawyer.

Albert Graves.

Well, you can fly Mr. Harper

there or you can stay here with me.

I'll fly.

It'll keep me from getting bored.

- Hey, you in a hurry?

- Yeah, sort of.

- Storing up for the winter?

- Yeah.

- Come on, let's split.

- Sold!

You met my friend Felix?

He's always listening.

We're friends, aren't we, Felix?

He's some cat, that Felix.

How come so rough on Miranda?

How come everybody jumps to

conclusions about me and Miranda?

Listen, she's no genius, you know.

Besides, she's an adolescent.

I can't help the way she feels.

Anyway, I got myself a real woman.

How does Miranda get along with her old man?

Okay, until a little while ago,

when he started trying

to make her get married.

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