Murder, He Says

Peter Marshall is dispatched by Trotter Poll to locate his missing coworker Hector Smedley. He heads out to follow the last lead, venturing into the Fleagle clan's sphere of influence. The assignment launches the central pursuit and sets the tone for the danger ahead.

Peter reaches the infamous Fleagle residence and immediately encounters the gun-toting twins Mert and Bert. The matriarch Mamie watches with shrewd amusement as the uneasy interview unfolds. The atmosphere blends danger with a darkly comic edge.

Mamie Fleagle orders Pete to pretend to be Bonnie’s boyfriend to win the elderly grandma’s confidence. The ploy is meant to coax the dying matriarch into revealing the loot’s location. Pete agrees and steps deeper into the family’s treacherous web.

Before dying, Grandma Fleagle confirms that she has been poisoned by the family and that the money’s hiding place remains a secret. She teaches Pete a nonsensical song that will later unlock crucial clues and mentions Elany Fleagle who also knows the tune. Pete records the moment as a cryptic lead on the case.

A woman claiming to be Bonnie Fleagle shows up and questions Pete, but she ultimately reveals that she is Claire Matthews. She explains that her father was maligned by Bonnie’s father and insists that retrieving the money could exonerate him. She decides to stay to help Pete unravel the truth.

The Fleagles try to poison Claire during dinner, but Pete notices that all but one plate glow with the poison, revealing the danger. Mr. Johnson’s dish is the safe one, allowing him to slip away—yet he is later found glowing and dead. The dining scene underscores the family’s ruthlessness and the tight deadline to escape.

The real Bonnie Fleagle breaks out of prison and comes to claim her fortune. She forces Pete to sing the cryptic song, hoping the lyrics will reveal the hiding place. Pete’s performance begins to unlock the clues, aligning their efforts with Claire’s deductions.

Using the song’s hidden meanings, Pete starts decoding the clues that lead to a key for the safety deposit box. Claire follows the trail and realizes the next step hinges on locating the box. The duo slips away from pursuers to pursue the hidden stash.

Pete and Claire become targets as the Fleagle clan, including Mr. Johnson who had faked his death, converges on them through the house’s secret corridors. The chase strengthens the stakes and blurs the line between ally and foe. The mansion’s hidden passages become a deadly maze.

Pete and Claire lure their pursuers into a hay baling machine and drop them one by one into the grinding mechanism. They emerge alive and relatively unscathed, having turned the tables on their attackers. The final confrontation reaches a tense, almost cartoonish climax as they escape.

Claire uses the newly discovered key to access the safety deposit box containing the $70,000. The money is secured as the danger subsides, and the unlikely duo proves their ingenuity and perseverance. The resolution ties up the central mystery and liberates the main characters from the Fleagle clan’s grip.