Town on Trial Page #4

I think we already know our man.

I think we've met him

and talked to him.

And the only reason we

can't put a finger on him

is we don't know

enough about him.

Could be.

If only someone in

this town would talk!

Morning.

Hadn't you better go?

You might frighten the children.

I was pretty rude to you

yesterday, wasn't I?

- Yes, you were.

- Sorry.

I was, er... wondering if, er...

you could, er...

Mister!

If we could, er...

Mister!

My train won't go!

Hey, that's a smashing train, isn't it?

Where's the key?

- Don't know.

- Here you go.

Let's wind him up and

see what happens then.

I was, er... hoping that

you'd have some lunch with me.

- Who are you asking? Me or him?

- You. You're older.

Here we go. Now watch it.

Stand back. Mind the mallet.

Wooooooh! Crash!

Once he gets you on that,

he'll have you on it all day.

Got it!

- Well?

- Why?

Why? Well, er...

It's a Sunday,

the sun's shining...

Sorry I'm late.

I see you got the little terror to sleep.

What'd you do?

Bang him on the head?

- You off duty now?

- Until five.

Lunch, then.

Well, I have to be home for lunch,

but couldn't we just drive around?

It's not such a bad town,

when you get to know it.

Right.

- Bye, Joyce.

- Bye, Joyce.

Better give it back.

Oi, oi!

Bye.

You see, erm...

what a policeman usually looks for

in a case like this is somebody who, er...

well, who knows everybody.

I was hoping that your uncle would

be able to help me there, but, er...

- I'd like to go out in the boat!

- Huh?

I haven't been out in a boat

since I was a kid.

- You haven't?

- Come on. It'll be fun.

What were you saying just now

about getting to know people?

Well, I...

There's a sort of... familiar ring

about this kind of murder, you know.

Nylon stocking, attractive young girl,

there's a...

psychological pattern to it all.

Oh, you mean the murderer

might be unbalanced?

Well, I... I dunno.

Maybe he just had a kink.

Now take...

take Mark Roper, for instance.

What does he have for breakfast?

Well, I've known Mark Roper

for a long time,

and I couldn't tell you

what he has for breakfast.

We don't seem to have

got very far, do we?

Maybe that's because you're

going against the current.

I see what you mean.

Did you really want to come rowing?

Shall we go back now?

It'll be easier going back.

Maybe you're right.

Mmm-hmm. Yup.

Look, how can I get hold of

that kind of money on a Sunday?

Well, maybe you do,

but you can't prove anything.

Wait a minute.

Goodbye!

Hello? I can't talk now.

No, ring me later.

Sorry I'm late. You must

be starving. I'll fix some lunch.

Elizabeth, what were you doing

with Halloran? What did he want?

Information, I suppose.

That is his job.

- Did you tell him anything?

- What is there to tell him?

He seems to have the idea that

we're all sharing some common secret

and won't let him in on it.

Sounds like early stages

of paranoia.

He thinks whoever killed

Molly Stevens is insane.

Well, I'll fix you some lunch.

Uncle John, would a

chicken salad be all right?

Uncle John?

- Peter, dear, it's the doctor.

- Hello, doctor.

Now, would you mind

leaving us, Mrs Crowley?

All right.

- How are you feeling, son?

- All right. Bit tired, that's all.

- Headache?

- Not really.

- Are you sure?

- Well, a slight one, I suppose.

You haven't had a headache

for a long time, have you, Peter?

No, I haven't.

I did have a few drinks last night.

You shouldn't drink.

You know that, don't you?

They said at the hospital

it didn't matter.

I'm telling you

you shouldn't drink.

On your side, please.

- Why did you take a few drinks?

- I met some friends.

- Because you felt depressed?

- No, I don't think so.

On your back.

Didn't you take a few drinks

to try to forget something?

Forget something?

Or had you already forgotten?

You used to be pretty good at forgetting

unpleasant things, didn't you, Peter?

What do you mean,

unpleasant things?

When did you first get

this depressed feeling, Peter?

I didn't say I felt depressed.

Was it after Molly Stevens died?

- You were fond of her, weren't you, Peter?

- Yes, I was.

- Are you sorry she's dead?

- What are you getting at?

You had a row with her,

didn't you, Peter?

She hurt you deeply, didn't she?

Well, we quarrelled, but...

Look, Peter, I'm your doctor.

You can confide in me.

What do you mean, confide?

What is there to confide?

I told you, I had a few drinks.

That's all you can remember?

You had a few drinks?

You can't remember anything further

back, say, as far back as Friday night?

- Why Friday night?

- Because Molly Stevens was killed on Friday night.

But you don't remember

anything about it.

- What are you trying to make me say?

- You hated her, didn't you?

I don't hate anybody.

You hated her,

because she rejected you.

So you decided to kill her.

You're trying to make me

say something that isn't true!

- You killed her, didn't you?

- Leave me alone!

You murdered Molly Stevens, didn't you?

Didn't you?

What is it?

What have you been saying to him?

He'll be all right, Mrs Crowley.

Go away, and leave him alone.

Your son is ill, Mrs Crowley.

If he's ill, we can

send for another doctor.

Very well.

Fill this in, would you please, sir.

Thank you.

Here you are, sir.

We don't appear to be too popular.

That really worries me.

Hello, sir.

Mrs Crowley's at the station.

She says she's got to see you.

Here's the dope from the Air Ministry.

There's Roper's bank manager.

The one in the grey suit.

Look, you go and talk to him,

will you? I'll get back.

No thanks.

The boy is very upset

and frightened, Doctor.

He doesn't understand why you've made

these accusations against him.

They were not accusations,

they were merely suggestions.

Oh, really?

The boy has been

very sick in the past.

He's got a long history of depressive

headaches and lapses of memory.

You didn't tell me this when I first

came to see you, Doctor. Why not?

Well, I wasn't sure

about the boy myself.

To put it in a nutshell,

he's what is known as a schizophrenic.

Doctor, this is a report

from the Senior Psychiatrist

at the hospital where Crowley

was under observation.

Now, it certainly mentions

the symptoms you spoke of:

depressive headaches,

lapses of memory,

but it says nothing at all

about schizophrenia.

That was several months ago.

The boy's condition may have worsened.

Are you a qualified psychiatrist,

Dr Fenner?

No.

Yet, in your opinion,

Crowley's a mental case

quite capable of murdering someone

and forgetting all about it?

I didn't say that exactly.

That's what you said to Peter Crowley.

Yes, but, er...

But what, Doctor?

- Come to see Dr Fenner?

- Yes.

- I thought I told you...

- I had to see you, old boy.

Come in.

My dear chap,

let's not get excited about this.

Everything else

you've said is a dirty lie.

Just the same,

you left Toronto in a hurry.

- I told you, the Medical Board...

- I know all about that.

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