I know it's an extremely remote possibility, but what if you are wrong and Ballon is not protecting Maria Gambrelli?
7 seconds sound clip from the A Shot in the Dark (1964) movie soundboard.
You can hear this line at 01:06:46.307 in the Blu-ray version of the movie.
Quote context
[...]
- Ah. I feel like a child again.
- It's an interesting theory, but what if you are wrong?
- What if she is innocent, as Clouseau claims?
- What if Ballon is protecting someone else, or what if Ballon himself is the guilty party?
- It's a sadistic thing to suggest.
- Would you please call for a doctor?
- I seem to have stabbed myself with a letter opener.
[...]