Cast
Paul Temple
Margo Temple
Sir Graham Forbes
Inspector Gerrard
Mavis Russell
Mrs. Gulliver
Cockney vacuumer
I.
The first few lines of the previous episode are repeated. “We arrived about 8 o’clock,” says Mrs. Ferguson. She tells them that Richard’s landlady, Mrs. Gulliver, had received a letter from Jonathan, and was in quite a flap about it. She’d telephoned them that morning, asking them to come up to Oxford.
Before she can hand the letter to Paul, her husband Robert knocks on the door, and enters. He is inclined to scoff at the importance of the letter.
The letter:
Dear Richard,
This is just to wish you a happy birthday. Hope to see you at the end of the week.
Regards, Jonathan
Robert suggests that Jonathan is just a friend of Richard’s who is on holiday and hasn’t taken the trouble to read the papers, so he hasn’t heard about the murder.
Helen Ferguson also wanted to come down to Oxford because she believes that Richard is being blackmailed. Robert disagrees with her.
Paul asks what would Richard have done if he’d suddenly needed two thousand pounds. Robert says he’d hesitate about giving him the money…but Mrs. Ferguson declares that if Robert hadn’t given him the money, she would.
Mrs. Ferguson then says they’ve discovered the identity of Europa, a woman named Mrs. Mavis Russell. Her husband suggests that Paul already knows this. He also suggests that Richard may be afraid of being murdered, which is why he’s not coming out in the open.
II.
Paul and Steve are eating breakfast in the hotel dining room. They are joined by Sir Graham Forbes. He had just been talking with Inspector Gerrard. The cryptographic people had examined the first post card Richard Ferguson had received – and a list of letters and numbers was found. Steve suggests that they are car license plates. Paul then recognizes one of the numbers – it had been the registration of the car, the Lombard, which Red Harris had been driving.
Sir Graham then says it’s a curious coincidence - he tells Paul and Steve that a French criminal, head of a car racket, had been arrested the night before.
Paul then tells Sir Graham what had happened the night before. He explains that they’d met Mrs. Russell who’d given him a signet ring belonging to Richard Ferguson. They then go to the Encounter restaurant, where he loses the ring – stolen either by Mark Elliot, Reggie Macintosh or Diana Nelson. Then, when they’d got back to the hotel, he’d received the phone call from Richard Ferguson asking him to give the ring to Mrs. Gulliver, and that if he did he would meet Paul that night at the Encounter to explain what it was all about.
Paul tells Sir Graham that on the signet ring had been scratched A4 and D4.
Rudolph Charles joins them. He tells them that Max Wyman actually hasn’t been in Scotland, and hasn’t been seen for over a week.
Paul asks for a description of Wyman…and wonders if Wyman was killed instead of Richard Ferguson.
III.
Paul says farewell to Sir Graham.
Steve and Paul have hired a car and driver, but before they can leave, Mark Elliot drives up on the opposite side of the street, and gives Paul the signet ring, saying that one of his waiters had found it the night before at the restaurant.
They then drive to Mrs. Gulliver’s house, using a rental car. Once there, they meet a young man using a vacuum cleaner, which he doesn’t turn off because he says he’ll never get it going again. He ushers Paul and Steve into a room, then says he’ll go up and get Mrs. Gulliver. The phone rings – it’s Diana Nelson. She wants to talk to Mrs. Gulliver. Paul turns off the vacuum cleaner, and they can hear Mrs. Gulliver’s moans. She’s been badly beaten. She keeps repeating, “Don’t hurt me. I haven’t got the ring.”
IV.
Sir Graham and Paul are discussing the case. Inspector Gerrard enters the room in the hospital where Sir Graham and Paul is, and gives the condition of Mrs. Gulliver. They discuss the ring. Paul says he’s going to be taking Steve to the Encounter later that night. A police officer delivers a message – the letter Paul had gotten from Mrs. Ferguson had no cipher. The note also confirms that it was Max Wyman who was murdered.
V.
Paul and Steve arrive and are seated at the Encounter. Paul goes into the cocktail bar (Steve always goes to powder her nose.) Mrs. Mavis Russell is at the bar, drunk. Paul asks her if she’d heard about Mrs. Gulliver, and tells her its because “they” thought she had the signet ring. Mrs. Russell denies knowing anything about it.
The barman tells Paul that he’s wanted on the telephone. On the other end is Richard Ferguson. Richard asks Paul to bring the ring to him – take it to the first AA box on the Oxford Road. (AA = Automotive Association – an organization that had telephone boxes on strategic roads, so that anyone who had a breakdown could call for assistance.)
Old style AA phone box
They drive to the box, and approach the car parked there. Mark Elliot gets out of the car, waving a revolver.
“You’ve asked for this, my friend, and now you’re going to get it!”
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