- Increasingly convinced that he has been tricked into doing an injustice, Inspector Cameron and his friend, Archie Chisholm the coroner, race against time to solve a bizarre mystery and save a falsely convicted couple from the gallows. Meanwhile, Charlie, a mysterious Londoner awaits payment for an unnamed service.—gyk
- Veronica Batcherly (Diana Leblanc) and her lover, portrait painter Terrence Whiting (Barry Flatman) have been convicted of the murder of her husband, famed barrister Martin Batcherly (Alan Scarfe). The morning newspaper announces their death sentence. Previously, Martin had told his friends provincial police inspector Alistair Cameron (Douglas Campbell) and coroner Dr. Archie Chisholm (Sandy Webster) that he had found letters from his wife to her lover. He said the letters indicated a plot to cause his death, making it appear as a suicide. Alistair and Archie pooh-pooh the idea, but Martin is found dead, apparently shot by his own gun, yet with a heavy dose of the sedative barbitone in his system.
Early in the morning of the announcement, Archie calls Alistair to congratulate him on an editorial in the Toronto Morning Globe, praising his detective skills at the expense of municipal police inspector Regan (James Bradford), his professional rival, who had accepted Martin's death as suicide. Archie invites Alistair to their club that evening for a celebratory dinner, even offering to pay, knowing that Alistair is a notorious penny-pincher.
In their Toronto hotel bedroom, Londoners Charlie (John Bayliss) and Bella ((Jeannie Elias) are having morning tea. In the previous episode, Charlie has received a packet containing tickets from London to Toronto, a picture of Martin Batcherly, and the outline of a house's rooms. Charlie, who has a habit of cracking his knuckles loudly, has attended a trial where Batcherly had acted as defense attorney, and the joint trial of Veronica and Terrence where they were convicted. Bella has come to Toronto with Charlie for a long-promised trip to New York, but Charlie says they need to wait until the fuss after the conviction dies down a bit before they leave town.
That night at dinner, Archie notices that Alistair is distracted. Alistair admits his misgivings about the trial, feeling that something is not quite right. He cancels plans to go fishing with Archie, saying he has to take a trip out of town.
Charlie goes to the office of Orville Porter (Leo Layden), solicitor, who confirms that he is to receive a packet. Charlie clearly believes he is to receive now that Martin's dead, but the solicitor informs him that the terms his anonymous client has set require that Charlie cannot receive the packet until after Veronica's death.
Veronica sits in her prison cell. Bella, practicing ballet positions, whines at Charlie's decision that they have to wait another week for the execution before they can leave. Charlie says the packet contains the last £1000 of his payment and insists he won't leave without it.
Mrs. Lutz (Kay Hawtrey), Alistair's German housekeeper tells him about a large package that has arrived, and announces a man who has come to the house every day since Alistair has been away. The guest is Finch (Tim Whelan)), Martin Batcherly's former butler. Finch, who had been a servant for Martin's parents, had read Veronica's testimony in the paper where she testified that she didn't write the letters that plotted her husband's death. That reminded Finch that Martin's father had been an engraver and part of Martin's training to take over the family business had been the art of imitating others' handwriting. That gets Alistair to thinking Martin could have forged Veronica's handwriting, but Finch has more to add. While pressing one of Martin's suits, the footman had found a sealed but unposted letter addressed with a typewriter. Finch took the letter and returned it to Martin who, snatched it out of his hands, an action that seemed out of character. The letter was addressed to Catherine Emmerston (Elva Mai Hoover), Veronica's sister. Alistair now suspects Martin has set up his wife and her lover. With the execution a week away, time is of the essence.
Alistair rushes to Catherine's house, but despite the danger her sister is in and Alistair's push to get a new trial, she doesn't seem to take it very seriously, saying Martin never wrote to her. However, she remembers that tickets to a popular show had come anonymously a week before Martin died, which is the same night Martin had met Archie and Alistair at the club. The envelope had been addressed with a typewriter. Alistair rushes home, shouting for Mrs. Lutz, asking her to remember the voice of the man who had called the night Martin had run into Alistair and Archie at the club the night he told them about the murder plot and shown them the letters. Alistair had previously admitted to Archie that he had not paid for their dinner that night, but an anonymous person had sent him a card and $10 in the mail.
Archie and Alistair break into Martin's office to check the typewriter. He notices a flaw in the "t" that matches the card sent to Alistair with the $10. As they walk home, Alistair begins to piece together the mystery. Martin has sent money to Alistair assured he would be at the club with Archie. He then pretends to "run into" them, so he could lay out the murder plot. At his home, having guaranteed that Veronica would be out with her sister at the show, he lets them see the letters he has forged. But neither can figure out why a man would commit suicide to get revenge on his unfaithful wife.
At breakfast the next morning, Archie and Alistair try to hash out the evidence, realizing that if some of the evidence was faked, all of it might be faked. In speaking of the fact that Martin had gotten Veronica to get the barbitone while their regular doctor was out of town, Alistair gets a brainwave. They rush out of the house. The regular doctor, Dr. Gillies, is in Europe, but Alistair plans to look at the doctor's confidential records because he believes they will show Martin only had a short time to live. He gets Archie to call the doctor's office so the nurse will be out of the room, allowing Alistair to grab the records. Back at the house, they see that the file is full of blank papers.
They then head to the pharmacist (Peter Mews), where Mrs. Lutz pretends to be a customer so Archie can look at the confidential pharmacy records. They show that Martin must have had a serious heart condition. They need to find his accomplice. Alistair goes to the provincial premier (Ken Lemaire) and coaxes him to call the governor-general to postpone the execution. He gives them 24 hours.
Bella sees news of the postponement in the paper and wants to leave town immediately. She starts packing. Charlie hits her and takes their tickets to New York, plus the money she has purloined from him, from her purse. Again, he insists that he will never leave Toronto without the £1000 he is owed.
Catherine visits Veronica to convince her to speak with Alistair. Under his questioning, she suddenly remembers a call from the Dominion Bank, one she and Martin never used. He had requested that several thousands of dollars be converted to pounds sterling and that a safety deposit box be set up. This must be Charlie's money. The execution is eight hours away and Alistair is snapping at everyone. Mrs. Lutz reminds him of the package sent days ago; it turns out to be the portrait of Veronica that Terrence had painted. Alistair is convinced Martin sent it to him as a taunt.
Alistair and Archie head to the Dominion bank manager's (George E. Zeeman) home, finally convincing him to look in the safety deposit box where Martin's extreme vanity has forced him to leave a final cryptic clue. The clue leads to the frame of the painting where Martin has hidden his full confession, a confession that proves his use of an unnamed accomplice. The accomplice placed the clues-a footprint, a spilled urn outdoors. He shot Martin after the sedative had worked, put the gun in his hand, took the forged letters, and put the shoes that made the print back in Terrence's flat. The execution is called off, but Charlie is never identified.
As part of his plan to appear the loving husband, Martin has left his huge fortune to Veronica who can now live happily ever after with her lover. One evening, when she has given the servants the night off, she and Terrence come into her home and kiss passionately, laughing, and heading upstairs. Her portrait is back above the fireplace mantel; Martin's picture is back on the desk, but Charlie is seated there. He cracks his knuckles.
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