 Hello, Creeps. Mystery Playhouse invites you to visit the Mystery Theatre. The play, Corpus Delectae. A half hour. Si, the warden says that's the best he can do. Even for you, Lieutenant Connors. I'll be back. You can call me if you want to leave before then. Jim, for the love of God. Like? Boy, you've got to tell me. You can tell me. There's nothing to tell. You can tell your own brother. Don't you see, this is my business, Jim. I'm not a police detective for nothing. I could help. It's too late. My two days will be all over. They say they give you a shot of something before they take you to the chair. They say you hardly even know what's going on. But you didn't do it. I know you didn't. You're taking a rap for that cheap lion. I'm sorry. You can't talk about her like that. Mike, if you knew her, how sweet she is. Jim, I know you didn't kill her husband. I don't know what happened, but I know you didn't do it. Why don't you tell me, Jim? What can I say to Mother? I've got to tell her something. She's waiting at home now. If I tell you, will you promise me something? Anything, Jim. Promise me you won't tell anybody but Mother and not even her until I'm the one after the day after tomorrow. I promise, Jim, what happened that night? I love Mary more than anything in this world. She loves me. You knew her husband, Martin Stevens, a wealthy Wall Street broker. Well, she told me she'd asked him for a divorce, but he wouldn't give it to her. She was terribly unhappy. Then this night she called, and, well, I'd never heard her sound that way before. Mary, you'll get some of that. All right, I'll be right over. I rushed out in front of the cab. Could imagine what had happened. When I got there, Mary met me at the door. She was trembling. She led me to the living room. Jim, look, Martin, her husband, was lying on the floor. His head was all bloody. There was a heavy candelabra nearby with blood on it. He was dead. I didn't mean to kill him, Jim. We'd quarreled again. And he said such terrible things about you and me. He kept screaming names at me. Then he started to beat me. Mary, Mary, your face, it's all bruised. He kept hitting me. Then I grabbed the candelabra. I told him to stay away, but he kept coming toward me. Jim, I didn't want to do it. Mary, honey, you've only done what everyone has a right to do. It was self-defense. But everyone will say I did it because of us. They'll put me in prison. No, no, I won't let them. We'll run away. That would only make it worse. Yeah, yeah, I guess so. But we'll have to do something. Jim. Yeah? There weren't any body. What do you mean? If there's no corpus delicti, they can't find anybody guilty, can they? That's it. They won't even be sure there's been a murder. Oh, that said, we've got to get rid of Martin's body. We had to get Martin's body out of the house, so we went up to the attic, got a seated chest, carried it downstairs together. And we forced Martin's body into it and knocked the chest. I was in an awful daze, but luckily Mary seemed able to keep ahead. I'll help you get the trunk and the car, Jim. And you drive right out to our summer place in Long Island. There isn't a soul there, I know. All right. Don't turn on any lights there, but put the trunk in a belt. What do we do? I don't know. I can't imagine who might. Maybe they'll go away. It must be my dressmaker. She was supposed to stop by this evening for a fitting. If she knows I'm here. All right. I'll get rid of her. Shut the doors to the living room before you open the front door, Jim. Right. Yes? Is Mrs. Stevens home, please? She expects me for a fitting. I'm sorry. She isn't home. But Mrs. Stevens told me particularly to come just now at this hour. Well, she went out earlier unexpectedly. She'll call you when to come again. Well, thank you. Good night. Good night. Got rid of her all right, Mary. I said you'd call her. Good, Jim. You better get moving now. No. Mary, I'll go alone. You'd better establish an alibi. What do you mean, darling? Well, why don't you go to a movie and ask the usher or the ticket seller something, anything. But talk with somebody a minute so they'll remember you. But, Jim. Just in case, Mary. I want you to. All right, darling. If you say so. Everything worked like clockwork. Mary went to the movies, and I drove out to their Long Island place. The place was deserted. I drove to the boat house, got the cedar chest into the boat, and then when I was off shore about half a mile, I pushed the cedar chest overboard. Then I returned to the boat house, started to drive back to town. About a halfway home, I was stopped by a motorcycle policeman. Is your car? I, uh, no, uh, it belongs to a friend. And how come we got to call to pick up this car? It's been reported stolen. Mr. Connors. Well, I tell you, I'm a friend of the family, Inspector. There's nothing extraordinary in my using their car. I've done so many times. Well, all I know is that the chauffeur returned here, found the car gone, and reported it stolen. The chauffeur? But I'm sure when Mrs. Stevens returns, she can explain. Very well. Perhaps you can explain those blood stains on the rug in that next room. I don't know. You found fingerprints on the candelabra columns. I'm arresting you on suspicion. We have every reason to believe Martin Stevens has been murdered. You know the rest, Mike. They were Martin fingerprints on the candelabra. I picked it up when I first got there. So you confessed to shield that double-dealing no-good woman. Didn't even defend yourself in court. Now she's letting you take the rap for her. But it wouldn't do any good to drag her into it, Mike. I'd go to the chair in any case. And remember, Mike, I'll deny everything I told you. Remember that? I know. All right, Jim, how could you fall for that corpus to let guy stuff? Jim, don't you know what corpus to let guy means? Don't you know it has nothing to do with the body of the victim? It means body of the evidence. You can't be convicted unless the body of the evidence is against you. And it was all right, even to the dressmaker saying I was the only person there that night. Oh, nobody would believe the truth now. Perhaps they would if we had the truth. What? But I told you the truth. All of it? I'm going to get to the root of all of this, Jim. But why didn't you tell me sooner? Don't you see, you've only left me 48 hours. 48 hours. Sorry, Mrs. Stevens. Jim has told me everything. Now, what are you going to do about it? I don't know what Jim told you. All I know is that I spent the evening at the movies. When I came home, the police were there with Jim. Look, there's only one person who stands to proper from your husband's death, and that's you. I happen to know a little bit about your husband's financial affairs. I know he was positively bankrupt. And I know his one asset was $100,000 insurance policy. My husband left me well-provided for years. And just what was that prove? Prove? Nothing, I guess. By the way, where's that chauffeur of yours, the one who reported the car stolen? He's no longer with me. He gave notice and left. Where did he go? Didn't he leave a forwarding address? No, he didn't. Just disappeared, huh? I see. Well, I'll be going. Oh, just a minute. I've got some letters of Jim's upstairs. I found them while I was going through my things in packing. I'll return them to you. Packing? You're leaving town? Yes, I'm going to my father's in Chicago. Shall I get the letters? Go ahead, 38 hours. Jim, 38 hours. Just a moment, I'll. Could I take the message, please? I said. Monterey, you must be mistaken. You mean Chicago. Oh, no, sir. OK, I'll have her confirmed. Thank you. Monterey, why did she lie? Was that the phone? I thought I heard something. Something about a reservation. I said you'd call back. Oh, I guess it was my reservation to Chicago. Well, Mike, here are the letters. You see, I didn't like to return them to Jim under the circumstances. That shows a great sense of delicacy, Mary. Goodbye, Mike. I daresay we won't be meeting again. I daresay. Still, you can't tell. It's a small world. Hello, Mother. This is Mike, Mother. Listen, I'm flying to Monterey this evening. I haven't time to see you. I must take the early flight. I want to get there ahead of someone else. Yes, it's about Jim. I don't know why I'm going or what I'll find. I'm just playing a hunch because there's nothing else to do. OK, Mother. And Mother, say a little prayer, will you? This is a wild goose chase, anyway. False lead, maybe? Here, are you sure that? Yes, it is so. I have explained to the senior before. The second flight from New York has just arrived. And I tell you, I... All right, thanks. Ah, now I have guessed. The senior is waiting for the lady, no? A lady who is arriving to explain. Oh, no, under the senior is impatient. I see I was young once myself, you know. Look, senior, there comes the lady now. She appears to be going to the taxi cabs. Is that the lady? Yes. Yes, that's the lady. Thank you, my friend. Hey, there, cabbie. Follow that cab ahead. Follow that cab and don't lose it. I'll make it worth your while, driver. 20 pesos, 20. If he leads me where I want to go, it'll be chosen. A chance still, just a slim chance. So Jim, Jim, you didn't do it. If only she leads me to the guy who did, Jim. Driver, what's the matter? How do we get through this crowd? Oh, the senior is working it. Tonight is the end. Only tonight can you see such a pièce as this. But I told you I'd... Dear driver, I'll get out. Just to find that other cab. Moment, senor. I know where the other cab goes. To do where? The driver is Jose. He got the hotel as the end. Good. How soon can you get me there? Oh, maybe hour, maybe two. When pièce is over. Yes, sir, baby. An hour or two, I can't wait. I'll walk. But, senor, such a pièce only comes once a year. The car is all alone in it, is that you? No, thanks. Excuse me. Excuse me, please. Let me through, please. I'm sorry. You, look, which way is the hotel pièce? I mean, Dundestar, El Hotel Del Fiat. What kind of car is that? Excuse me. 10.30, senor. The American lady who came in less than an hour ago. What room did you go to? Oh, no American ladies ready to talk to you, senor. He came in here. She must have. Oh, qu'est-ce avec? Here, this is for you. Oh, grazie, senor. Grazie. Look, she is my wife. I think she deceives me. You understand? Ah, bon, of course, senor. Senor. 402. There is a man there. A man there. Now we're getting somewhere. I don't mind using it. There's someone I expect to meet here. The man who really mer... What's the meaning of this, sir? Holy mother. What was the lifetime? Mr. Martin Stevens. Martin? Jim's brother, he's a detective. Detective, I'll look here. Get up and sit down, both of you. It's almost 11 o'clock. In exactly one hour, my brother Jim is going to die for the murder of a guy I'm looking at this minute. You have no right. I'm doing the talking, Stevens. You can thank your lucky stars I found you in time because they'll help me. The phone. What's phone? Operator. Operator. She's in your... Get me Albany, New York. The governor's mansion, quick. It's a matter of life and death. It isn't in an hour. New York, it's exactly one hour later. It's eight minutes to 11 lingerie time, but... New York time, it's eight minutes to 12. He's going to die in eight minutes. Operator, please hurry. He's going to die. Don't you understand? He's going to die. New York. Albany, New York. Operator, please hurry. Please sit quiet, you two. And if you know how to pray, it better begin. You better pray this call gets through. If it doesn't, you're not going to leave this room alive either of you. Chicago. This is Dallas, Texas. New York, please. Hurry, operator, please hurry. Sorry, all the circuits to New York are busy. There will be a delay of about 20 minutes. 20 minutes, but there isn't 20 minutes. Operator, he's going to die. Just a minute, sir. Chicago, see if you can get me Buffalo. Hello, New York. You thought you could get away with this, but you won't. That's a phony murder. Buffalo, New York. Buffalo, give me Albany, please. Sorry, I have no free circuit to Albany. I'll try Rochester. Please hurry, operator. Hurry, please hurry. Oh, Jim. Chester, New York. Give me Albany quick. Albany, the governor's mansion, and please hurry. I'll ring it, sir, just a moment. Let me speak to the governor. Well, listen very carefully. A man's life depends on it. This is Lieutenant Mike Connors of the New York police force calling from Monterey, Mexico. In less than five minutes, my brother Jim Connors is going to die in the chair at Sing Sing for the murder of a man who was sitting here in this room alive. I'll tell the governor to call the warden at once with a reprieve. Just in time. For heaven's sake, man, investigate later. You can check on me at headquarters in New York. Only stop the execution if only for an hour while you do investigate. Don't you understand? There isn't time for anything now. Wake the governor, don't you understand? An innocent man is going to die. Believe me, believe me. Call Son, ring you at once, sir. Think he believed me. He didn't believe me. You'll find out only it'll be too late. So another execution is going to take place tonight. Right here for murder. No, you don't did or anything like that. Shut up. I know now just what you did. You Stevens lie down. You smear yourself in the candle arbor with some of your own blood, so it looks all right, even in the chemical analysis. You marry, send for Jim and dump Stevens' living body in the cedar chest. Then when Jim answers the door, Steven steps out and tosses in some weights. Oh, it's simple, I tell you. It's almost midnight. It's almost time. Almost time. Mike, please, Mike! Then Stevens beats it for Mexico. You collect the insurance and come here to meet him. You remembered everything. You had the dressmaker come to find Jim there and told the chauffeur to take the car, so he'd find it gone. You've... Well, we'll pull the switch soon. Well, you're a few seconds more now. All right. Eight. You killed him, you two. I promised you you'd never... No, Mike! You killed him! Now it's your turn to die! Give me the gun! Brother, this is my life! Oh! And now it's for you, Mrs. Martin. No, please don't kill me, Mike, don't! I'm executing you for murder. No, Mike, no! No! Oh, no! Hello? Hello? Hello? Jim? Jim, I... Just closing time on the mystery playhouse, so good night. Sleep tight.