The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)

Sam's friend finds a clue in the recording of the phone conversation with the killer: the sound of a rare bird. Sam and the cops locate the bird in a zoo and they realize that this animal lives near Monica and her husband. They suddenly hear some noise and race to Monica's apartment. There is a struggle with Monica's husband, he falls from the balcony and before dying he confesses that he's the killer. But that's not the end. Sam notices that Julia is gone and goes looking for her. He arrives at some house, discovers his friend murdered and Monica reveals herself as the killer. What happened the night that Sam witnessed the crime was that Monica was trying to kill the mysterious person in black (who is Monica's husband) and it wasn't the mysterious person trying to kill Monica. Sam heads to the museum and is trapped when a big sculpture falls on him. Monica is about to kill Sam when Inspector Morosini and the police arrive right in the nick of time and arrest Monica. Monica is the woman from painter Berto Consalvi's story about a woman who was raped years ago (and is the subject of the painting of a woman being killed). Sam and Julia leave Italy and head back to the U.S.

John Trent