Plot
Mrs. Manderley, an eccentric descendant of the Borgias, lives in a castle in the middle of the Mojave Desert with her husband Paul Manderley, a reclusive scholarly millionaire. Someone is killed after being poisoned. Paul tries to cover up the murder in which Charlie Chan investigates. In addition to Paul Manderley and his wife (who may be insane and not responsible for her actions) other suspects include:
- Walter Hartford, Paul's lawyer who wants to maintain his influence over the Manderley estate
- Madame Saturnia, a local astrologer who takes great pride in the fact that her predictions about the growing number of murder victims are always right
- Watson King, a sculptor who warns Chan to mind his own business and has a connection to the Manderleys
The clues include:
- the poison used which was stolen from a laboratory
- a forged letter sent to Charlie Chan summoning him to the Manderley Castle
- the poisoned cocktail
- a medieval crossbow
Aiding and hindering Chan's investigation is his Number Two son Jimmy, who is on leave with the U.S. Army, and decides to get involved to help his father solve the case, much to the senior Chan's annoyance.
Chan decides that there are two different conspiracies afoot, one involving two faked deaths to convince Mr. Manderley to institutionalize his wife, and "leave in sorrow", giving crooked attorney Walter Hartford control of the estate.
But when Hartford is murdered himself, Chan connects it to an attempt to poison Paul Manderley with "deadly nightshade". The original plotters needed him alive to sign the commitment papers, so Chan reasons it could not have been them. Chan decides that Mrs. Manderley's step-brother, thought deceased, has returned to the house in another identity...and unmasks and arrests him.
One problem remains...Jimmy has worn a suit of armor for protection. After being pushed down a long flight of stairs by the killer, he is trapped inside the badly bent suit.
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