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00:00 Last night Bill Roche telephoned me. I was on my way to his office. Bill was an MD, a
00:07 psychiatrist and a good one. We had known each other for a long time. He told me he
00:11 wanted to see me. I asked him what it was about. He said that he'd go into details the
00:15 next day in his office. He told me that he was concerned about one of his patients, a
00:20 relatively new one. The patient kept saying that he'd committed murder. He didn't say
00:24 who or when. He just kept repeating that he'd killed a woman. If I tell the police, Mike,
00:31 you know what'll happen. Sure. I thought maybe you could talk to him. Then if there's anything
00:50 to it, find out privately. Suppose he is telling the truth that he did murder. What then? I
00:57 don't know. I guess, well, turn him in. I'll tell you. There are two diagnostic possibilities
01:04 with this man. Oh, incidentally, his name's Ted Hopkins. One of the possibilities is dementia
01:10 precocs, schizophrenia, which has an extremely serious prognosis. The other we call a psychopathic
01:15 personality, which can indicate a mild mental abnormality. Would that mean murder? In the
01:21 second case, doubtful. In the first case, yes, a very good chance. As we drove to the
01:28 hospital, I kept wondering what I could do to help. The only thing I was positive about
01:33 was that Bill had wrestled with his conscience a long time before he made up his mind to
01:36 call me. If it had been anyone else, I would have said no, but I couldn't turn Bill Roche
01:40 down. I'm going to introduce you as a friend of mine, a writer who's interested in mysteries,
01:47 murders. It might help him to talk a little more. All right. Ted? Ted, are you awake?
02:08 It's a question, man. I wasn't asleep, just thinking. What do you want? I brought a friend
02:15 of mine, Michael Lanyard. He's a writer. Well, bully for him. Hi. Blooming, you a writer?
02:22 Interested. In what? A story I heard. Lanyard. You know what a lanyard is? It's a cord sailors
02:34 have around their necks. They tie knives about it sometimes. You got a knife around your
02:41 neck, Lanyard? No. Not even a rope. How's this for a plot? I killed a woman. There.
02:48 Nothing. Nothing? A murderer looks you in the eye, admits his crime. It's no plot. It's
03:00 a situation. All right, Ernest Hemingway. I killed a woman. It was in her house. I waited
03:07 there till she came home. I waited in her house. It was getting late, 4 or 5, maybe
03:29 6 o'clock. I laid down on the bed because I was getting sleepy. Then I heard the front
03:36 door open. I got behind some dresses in the closet. I had to wait in there, oh, 10 minutes,
03:45 10 minutes before she came in the bedroom. And then I killed her. Oh, I killed her. I
03:57 killed her. How? How did you kill her? Lots of ways. I'll tell you this. She knew she
04:04 was being killed before she died. What did you do with the body? Left it there. Was she
04:20 your wife? No. Old or young? You sound like a policeman, Mr. Langer. Can you describe
04:27 her? Yes. Well? Can, but I won't. How did you say you killed her? I didn't. Oh, it's
04:48 a bad story. I couldn't use it. It's too phony. Oh, I wish you were. It's hard to think about.
04:55 What was her name, Ted? I don't remember. I don't want to remember. Go away. I don't
05:12 like your name. It reminds me of knives. Go away, will you? I don't know, Bill. I don't
05:19 know. It's a rough one. Oh, I'm even more certain now he's telling the truth. At the
05:46 end there, the way his mood changed, I don't believe he's talking fantasy. Why would he
05:51 feel he wants to confess and then only go so far? Fear, possibly, a lot of reasons. What
05:58 would happen if he's released from here and we don't follow it up? He might do it again.
06:05 Kill. You're positive he's not lying? The fantasy idea, as you call it. For myself,
06:12 I'm positive, but I need more time to reach an official opinion as to whether he's legally
06:15 a sinner. All right, Bill, I'll do what I can, but I'm no doctor. Mike, Hopkins seems
06:22 to have lost his trust in me. Now, this isn't uncommon. Usually in a case like that, we
06:27 call in another doctor. On the other hand, he seems to have responded to you. Now, that's
06:33 not uncommon either. He's talked more to you than he has for a long time. But you're helping
06:39 me. I think we can help him. Okay, I'll do what I can. You got a file on him? Yeah, I
06:46 got one here. I got the name of the woman involved in Hopkins' arrest. Carol Palmer.
06:51 She was living in Hollywood, so I went there. I thought it might give me a lead. Miss Palmer?
06:58 Yes? I'm Michael Lanyard. May I come in? Oh, I'm trying to get my hair dry. Somebody's
07:06 calling for me at seven. I'm sorry. It's important, though. It's about Ted Hopkins. Come in. Thanks.
07:13 Won't you sit down? Thank you. What about Ted, Mr. Lanyard? That's really what I wanted
07:23 to ask you. Are you a policeman? For the second time today, no. Why? You were asking about
07:35 Ted. I thought he might be in... In trouble? He might be. He's sick. His doctor wanted
07:42 me to find out a couple of things. I'm trying to. Were you engaged? I used to think so.
07:49 What happened? What did you fight about? That time? Oh, he came up one night. He and his
07:58 mother were fighting. They were always fighting. He was very upset. He said awful things to
08:05 me about me, about women. He hated me. I told him he'd better go. Yeah. Then he started
08:12 to hit me. That's all. Did he try to kill you? No. Who sent for the police? A neighbor.
08:27 Look, I don't even want to think about it. You didn't prefer charges? No, I just didn't
08:33 want to see him anymore. Have you seen him since? No. What's the matter with him? He
08:40 says he's killed a woman. But he won't say who or when. Did he ever tell you anything
08:48 like that? No. If he's in trouble, I'm not going to tell him. I'm going to tell him that
08:56 if he's in trouble, I'm not going to say anything to hurt him. He's sick. Inside as well. If
09:03 he did kill somebody, we have to find out before they release him from the hospital.
09:06 I loved him. I suppose I still love him, but I'm afraid of him. Did you ever love someone
09:13 and yet not like them because you were afraid of them? That's the way it was with him. You
09:21 see this? This was my accident. He did that. He did it that night. Slowly and laughing.
09:28 He broke my finger because he didn't want me to play the violin. I used to play, you
09:42 know. Now I just listen. What did you ask me? I asked you if you could play the violin.
09:50 Do you think he could have killed anybody? I tell you, will it help him? Yes. He did
09:57 say something once. He was angry, hurt. But he said it that once. He said he killed someone
10:16 and he wished he could do it again. It wasn't so easy finding Hopkins' mother.
10:22 I went to the last address noted in the file, which was six years earlier. The owner couldn't
10:31 give me any information. The directories didn't show anything either. There were plenty of
10:37 Anna Hopkins, but not the one I was looking for. The next day, Bill and I tried to get
10:43 out of Hopkins. He wouldn't even admit to having a mother. Didn't want to talk about
10:47 it or anything else. I had an idea that if I could find her, there might be a lot of
10:51 things we could find out. I found what I wanted. Anna Hopkins had remarried two years ago.
10:58 Her name was Anna Folsom now. I found Mrs. Folsom. She was a high-priced fashion designer.
11:06 She was busy sketching. She didn't want to see me. I'm Michael Lanyard. It's about your
11:13 son, Mrs. Folsom. My son, Mr. Lanyard? What about my son? He's in trouble. He's sick and
11:21 he needs help. Oh? Will you come with me, please? Yes.
11:30 Can you tell me something about him? I don't see any reason why I should discuss
11:37 Theodore with a complete stranger. Look, Mrs. Folsom, your son says he's committed a murder.
11:50 His doctor and I tried to get to the bottom of it before the police find out. He did it
11:54 once. He could do it again. Did he kill a woman? It's a long time ago. He was six. There
12:01 was a neighbor's child. They always played together. One day he came home. He didn't
12:07 say anything. I found out later what he'd done. They'd had a fight over something. He
12:13 had a pocket knife. The little girl was dead. What happened? I sent him away to a school.
12:21 What else was there to do? We never spoke of it after that. There wasn't anything the
12:25 authorities could do. He was only a child. They left him in my care. When he came back
12:30 from the school? He lived in my house, in my care. That was my obligation. And now you
12:37 say he's killed someone else. Well, I'm afraid there's really not anything I can do about
12:48 it, Mr. Lanyard. Would you like to see him? He's in the county hospital. What would be
12:52 the point? It would be embarrassing for us both. We don't like each other. I have my
12:59 husband, my work here. For the first time in my life, I'm reasonably happy. I can almost
13:05 forget I ever had Theodore. It's better that way. I'm not interested. Both women were saying
13:16 the same thing, Bill. But not in the same way. That mother's about the coldest human
13:22 being I've ever run across, and I've seen some strange ones. Well, at least you cleared
13:25 up part of it. Maybe all of it. Suppose the woman he says he killed was the little girl.
13:32 He's had the guilt of it ever since. I thought of that when you told me. What happens if
13:38 he kills someone else after the child? We have no proof. If he's released from here
13:44 and it happens again, that's a big responsibility, Mike. Unfortunately, it's mine. Yeah, I know.
13:51 There's one alternative. Tell the police. Wait a minute.
13:59 Mrs. Folsom, please. Yeah, I'll wait. What's the little girl's name? That's what I'm going
14:28 to find out. You told us you killed a woman, didn't you, Ted? Ted, what about my name?
14:35 Lanyard. It reminds you of knives, doesn't it? A lanyard for a knife around the neck.
14:54 Maybe there's something else about a knife.
14:57 Take it easy. We're trying to help you.
15:02 You think you can remember the name of the woman you killed?
15:05 Shall I tell you?
15:11 It was Emily. Emily Barnhart.
15:14 I killed her.
15:20 I killed her.
15:24 I'm a murderer.
15:26 I kill everybody.
15:29 I killed her.
15:31 I killed her.
15:33 I killed her.
15:35 I killed her.
15:37 I killed her.
15:39 I killed her.
15:41 Ted.
15:57 Ted.
16:06 It's gonna be all right.
16:08 I'm coming over. I want to talk to you.
16:12 I'll jump.
16:14 I've got to jump.
16:16 Listen to me, Ted.
16:22 You don't have to jump.
16:24 You're safe now.
16:26 Talk to Roche, all of us. We want to take care of you.
16:28 I saw Carol today, Ted.
16:30 Carol Palmer?
16:32 She's still in love with you.
16:34 You're gonna get well.
16:36 I know what you're doing.
16:38 Don't come any closer.
16:40 I give you my word, Ted.
16:42 I won't try any tricks.
16:44 I'll get some cigarettes for you.
16:46 I'll be right back.
16:48 I saw Bill Roche come out with a couple of interns.
17:02 I didn't want Hopkins to spot them.
17:04 I explained to Bill that his presence might cause Hopkins to jump.
17:07 I told him I wasn't sure that I could prevent him from jumping anyway.
17:11 I suggested he get Carol Palmer right away.
17:14 That maybe she could prevent Hopkins from committing suicide.
17:17 He agreed it was worth a try.
17:19 I told him to keep the interns on the roof.
17:22 And if I was lucky, I might be able to get close enough to Hopkins to grab him.
17:30 As I went back to the ledge, I knew I had to be lucky.
17:33 Because if Hopkins panicked, he'd carry us both down to the street below.
17:37 Wasn't a pleasant thought.
17:39 I want a cigarette, but I don't trust you.
17:44 You're too smart.
17:46 I told you, Ted. No tricks.
17:50 There's nobody up here but me.
17:53 When you reach for it, hang on to the railing.
17:56 I don't want you to fall.
17:59 I'm coming over.
18:01 I'll stay six feet away from you. I won't try and grab you.
18:04 That'd be silly. We'd both go over. I don't want to die just yet.
18:07 I do. I've felt like it for a long time.
18:11 That's what I want to talk to you about.
18:13 Maybe you'll feel differently.
18:15 I'm going to get you out of here.
18:17 I'm going to get you out of here.
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