- A clever con man makes a living by preying on women by having them invest their life savings into non-existent stocks.
- Wilford James, who met Sarah Norton on a plane from Jamaica, promises to love and marry her, connives her into investing $10,000, says that it was a total loss, and disappears. Next, calling himself James Jarvis in the first class compartment of another plane, where he meets elderly Mary Caulfield and her spinster companion, Agatha, on their way home from Salzburg. At the airport terminal, Mary tells him that they live at the Golden Angel Hotel, and he claims coincidentally that he will be staying there. He sends a dozen roses to Mary and Agatha each. He charms Mary while tepidly romancing the initially distrustful and reluctant Agatha, and tells them that he has "the deal of five lifetimes", an opportunity to buy stock at $30 and sell it for $50. Before investing, at Agatha's suggestion, Mary sets up a lunch appointment for the following day so that Jarvis can meet her learned attorney, Barton. That night, Jarvis is seen sneaking into the aged Barton's home wearing black leather gloves; the next morning Agatha tells him that Jarvis died of a stroke or suffocation. Becoming Mary's new financial adviser, Jarvis gets her to sign a power of attorney, to which the smitten Agatha gives her approval. He allegedly converts Mary's entire estate into shares in the Arlo Trust Company and tells her that her wealth has increased by 21%. A day later, Jarvis laments that Arlo, into which he invested every penny, has gone bankrupt. Initially believing him, Agatha offers him $1000 of her own money to help him get back on his feet. She leaves to do the marketing. While Agatha is out, Mary calls her great-niece, Eileen, to inform her she will not be able to help pay for the young woman's planned trip to Germany. Mary then plays a gramophone on her Victrola, writes a brief suicide note ("Forgive me"), ignores the ringing telephone (Eileen calling), and shoots herself with a pistol. Agatha returns and discovers Mary's corpse, piecing together what happened. She takes the gun and wipes it clean and burns the suicide note. Jarvis comes back to his room, makes a first class flight reservation as Jarvis Smith, then calls Agatha, who tells him that the morning mail brought great news of a windfall inheritance for Mary, from a (fictional) dead brother in Texas, and persuades him to come over, telling him Mary harbors no ill will and that the fictional windfall is far larger than what was lost in the Arlo Trust Company. He rushes over, and Agatha shows him Mary's revolver, which she claims she just found in a living room drawer. She tells him she is afraid of guns and begs him to take it away. After he pockets the firearm, fatefully covering it with his own fingerprints, Agatha invites him to visit with Mary, who had been "resting". She locks him in Mary's room and immediately calls the front desk to summon the police. As the panicky Jarvis, who has found Mary's body, tries shooting his way out of the room, the hotel security and police arrive, and the pistol-wielding Jarvis is gunned down. While being interviewed, Agatha tells the police that she heard Jarvis and Mary arguing over investments and something called the Arlo Trust Company.—Lewis Amack (updated by Rms125a@hotmail.com)
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