"Whew!" "That was close." "What happens if I get inside the clock and the watchman's there?" "Think fast, George." "That's a break." "He's off duty." "More guards." "The lobby's sewed up like a sack, and they said, "Shoot to kill."" "They meant you, George." "You." "How'd I get into this rat race, anyway?" "I'm no criminal." "What happened?" "When did it all start?" "Just 36 hours ago I was down there, crossing that lobby on my way to work, minding my own business, looking forward to my first vacation in years." "Thirty-six hours ago I was a decent, respectable law-abiding citizen... with a wife and a kid and a big job." "Just 36 hours ago by the big clock." "And it's the most accurate... and the most unique privately-owned clock in the world." "Now, behind this huge map of the globe... is a single master mechanism." "Built at a cost of $600,000, it is set so you can tell the time anywhere on the Earth:" "London, Chicago, Honolulu and so forth." "It also synchronizes the clocks in this building... with those in the secondary printing plants... in Kansas City and San Francisco... and in the 43 foreign bureaus of the Janoth organization." "Hey, mister, I'd like to ask something'." "Yes, sir." "What happens if the clock stops?" "Oh, Mr. Janoth would never permit that." "Good morning, Betty." "Good morning, Mr. Stroud." "Here it is." "Thank you." "We will now visit the public exhibits... displaying the latest developments... in the various ficields covered by the Janoth publications." "Elevator is going up." "Going up." "This elevator is going up." "Next car, please." "Hello, Joe." "Hiya, George." "Hello, George." "Hello, Lily." "You're looking mighty smart this morning." "Well, thank you." "I should ride this more often." "Sportways." "Hold it.!" "Ten, please." "Hello, Miss Gold." "Oh, hello." "Mister, would you mind?" "The elevator doesn't run unless the door is closed." "I'm sorry." "Excuse me." "Do you work this shift every day?" "Airways." "We might feature the reliability angle." "You're safer in an airplane than you are in a bathtub." "Here's a sketch." "We've got nice elevators in our building too." "Come on over sometime." "I'll give you a free ride." "Artways." "Up." "Down?" "What's the matter?" "I got poison ivy?" "We are not allowed to speak to people in the elevators." "Mr. Janoth doesn't permit it." "Styleways, please." "Watch your step." "Gentlemen, watch yourselves." "Newsways, please." "Newsways." "Newsways." "Crimeways." "Eleven?" ""Age 63, frequents Metropolite City Club," "Skyview Luncheon Club." "Background: banking business for 46 years..."" "I'm expecting him any minute." "I'll tell him the instant he arrives." "Hold it." "Mr. Stroud, Salt Lake's on the line, and your wife's trying to reach you." "Put Salt Lake on." "All right, fine." "But they're on." "The conference." "It's almost 11:00." "Plenty of time." "But Mr. Janoth..." "Hello." "Yeah?" "Yes, this is Stroud." "Hello, Max." "How you makin' out?" "But, George..." "Ya have?" "Oh, wonderful!" "Where was he?" "What did I tell ya?" "Once a seashell man, always a seashell man." "They're waiting." "Will he talk?" "Well, pretend you're a fellow collector." "Ask him if he was gonna spend the dough on oysters or blondes." "Yeah." "You've got an hour and 53 minutes to get the story." "Attaboy, Max." "We've just located Fleming." "They're waiting for you." "Grace, call the composing room." "We're gonna replate." "And get my wife." "George, you're the only one not there." "Mr. Janoth will be furious." "Time is money." "Fleming is in Salt Lake." "Milner's gonna wire us a story." "Here are the proofs of the story you had set up." "Go on, Roy." "Go on." "Hello?" "Oh, hello, darling." "Yeah." "Huh?" "No bath and no oatmeal?" "Let me talk to him." "All right, but he doesn't believe he's going." "He thinks it's just like last trip and the time before... and all the other trips we didn't go on." "I'll let you talk to him." "George, Daddy wants to talk to you." "Hello, Daddy." "But I don't believe we're going." "But this is the McCoy, an expedition." "Your mother's gonna do the cooking." "What?" "Yeah, I know it's tough, but you'll do the hunting." "That's why you should eat your oatmeal, build up your strength." "Ya better believe me." "Look under my pillow." "Oh, boy!" "Look, Mommy!" "An atomic disintegrator!" "I think you've sold him, Wonderman." "I'll let you know at lunch." "A little child psychology, dear." "All right, dear, 12:30 at the Van Barth." "Bye, darling." "Today's agenda is solely on the subject of increasing circulation." "The figures for the second quarter have fallen off badly." "From a monthly high of 33 million in January, we've had a six-percent recession, a loss of almost 2 million copies." "In some cases, we are below the circulation levels we have guaranteed our advertisers." "Mr. Janoth's very upset." "He's going to want ideas." "Sit down, gentlemen." "Sit down." "I resent this." "I resent this deeply." "There are 2,081,376,000 seconds in the average man's life, each tick of the clock the beat of a heart, and yet you sit here uselessly ticking your lives away... because certain members are not on schedule." "Where is George Stroud?" "Roy's trying to find him." "I do not propose to be held up, not even by Mr. Stroud." "Have you told the others what we want?" "Ideas to build circulation." "Not just ideas." "Dynamic angles." "We live in a dynamic age with dynamic competitors..." "radio, newspapers, newsreels... and we must anticipate trends before they are trends." "We are, in effect, clairvoyants." "Correct?" "Yes, Mr. Janoth." "I have provided the tools:" "a budget of $37 million, a staff of 3,600, bureaus from Reykjavik to Cairo, Moscow to Buenos Aires." "All this is waste, sheer waste under a leadership of chuckleheads." "Mr. Roberts, you have exactly one minute to tell us how you propose... to add 100,000 subscriptions to Newsways." "Well, uh, I suggest that we offer prizes... for the best letters from subscribers... on, uh, how to preserve world peace." "Sorry, Mr. Janoth." "A thousand dollars each week... and a grand prize of $25,000 to be awarded..." "The general theory of the publishing business is to sell magazines, not to pay people to read them." "Mr. Cordette is acting manager during Stroud's vacation." "You have one minute to tell us your ideas on how to add 50,000 readers to Crimeways." "Well, uh, I have one suggestion that might be of value:" "a new feature to be called "Solution of the Week."" "Miss Perkins." "Yes, Mr. Janoth?" "I'm listening, Cordette." "Hold the Boston call." "The most important... or the most unique solution, Steve, remind me of the Boston business." "highlighting the fact that crime does not pay." "It's educational..." "Primigenous, stale, a hash-up of last week's news..." "exactly what we don't want." "Fleming." "What was that, uh, Stroud?" "I was reminding him of Fleming." "The absconder?" "Yes." "His story will sell a hundred thousand extra copies next week." "If you mean his personal story, I'd agree, but haven't you overlooked the necessity of finding him?" "We have." "Found him." "Have what?" "We have him in Salt Lake." "We're replating one and two." "It's too late to touch the cover, but we'll run... a paper band around every copy with "Fleming Found" in block letters." "Make them red." "Steve, advertise this in the morning papers." "Use the 25 key cities." "Young man, you've stumbled on something... not exactly what I've been looking for, but nonetheless valuable." "You have struck 12:00." "Thank you." "Contrary to the anticipated nationwide trend, media research reports a present level of want-to-buy at 25.6." "Oh, hello, George." "Sit down." "Up.4 from last month." "Nevertheless, our circulation fails to reflect this trend." "Uh, I'll finish this later, Miss Blanchard." "George, you're getting to be a regular missing persons bureau." "Fleming's number three this year." "Four, if you count the man we found hiding in his own basement." "What are your plans for next week?" "That's Cordette's problem." "Mine shall be in West Virginia." "Mr. Janoth wants you to follow through..." "personally." "On my vacation?" "Postponed." "Oh, no." "He can't do that." "This is my honeymoon." "Honeymoon?" "With a five-year-old child?" "Yes." "You know why?" "Janoth." "Seven years ago, I was assistant editor at the Wheeling Clarion, a happy man." "Then I run down a guy police in three states have been looking for." "Headlines three feet high." "I got a $15 raise." "So I marry my girl, and we go on our honeymoon to Indian Lake." "Idyllic." "I'm about to carry her over the threshold when the phone rings." "It's Janoth." "Wants me to run Crimeways magazine, "the Police Blotter of the Nation."" "Not next week or tomorrow, but tonight!" "Two hours later, we're on the train for New York." "You'd have done better to stay at 50 bucks a week?" "I had more in the bank then than I have now, and my wife still hasn't had a honeymoon." "Put yourself in her place, Steve." "How would you like to be a woman who never had a honeymoon?" "It's become an obsession." "I've been working 26 hours a day," "Christmases, Fourth of Julys, Mother's Days." "What does Janoth think I am, a clock with springs and gears instead of flesh and blood?" "That's not the right attitude." "Janoth expects loyalty." "Oh, I'm loyal, all right." "Shut that thing off." "What are you doing here?" "Just tidying up, darling." "Isn't that the young man you pointed out as "the troublesome Mr. Stroud"?" "You find him interesting?" "How did you get up here?" "Well, it did present a problem." "The tycoon's lair, the Berchtesgaden of the publishing world, seemed impregnable till I thought of your private elevator." "How did you get past the guard?" "He's human." "Mm-hmm." "You're the only Superman around here." "I think he must've been winding his watch." "You don't expect me to approve of your being here." "Not even on business?" "My singing lessons." "Hagen attended to that yesterday." "You should have had a check this morning." "But he made a mistake." "They were to cost $2,000." "Remember?" "Perhaps you think my voice isn't worth cultivating." "Your voice is worth exactly what that check reads." "Miss Perkins?" "Yes, Mr. Janoth?" "Get me the name of the guard on my private elevator." "Yes, sir." "The public elevators are this way." "I'm six minutes behind schedule." "I have to fly to Washington at 6:10, and I will not have my papers disarranged." "It confuses my secretary." "I'll see you tomorrow night." "10:55." "If I wasn't up to my ears, I'd tell Janoth... to take his $30,000 and buy another clock." "Nobody's indispensable to this organization except Mr. Janoth." "Mull it over." "I don't have to." "It's honeymoon regardless." "Even if it means your job?" "Well, does it?" "Mull it over." "Yes, Earl." "When does he think he's leaving?" "Late this afternoon." "I couldn't do a thing." "I'd better take charge of the young man." "Oh, and, Steve, on the fourth floor in the broom closet, a bulb has been burning for several days." "Find the man responsible." "Dock his pay." "Yes, Earl." "Table, miss?" "No, thank you." "I'm looking for someone." "Oh, there they are." "Pardon me." "How about another?" "I really shouldn't." "Bartender, two more stingers." "Make it three." "Uh, no, just two, please." "I have to go." "An appointment with my psychiatrist." "Do you always drink stingers, Mr. Stroud?" "Mm-hmm." "What makes you think my name is Stroud?" "Oh, I'm psychic... horoscopes, crystal balls, astrology." "Perhaps I should've brought a deck of cards." "Your hand will do." "Oh, I see a stranger coming into your life, a woman of mystery." "Does she know I'm married?" "Yes." "And I saw a recent quarrel with a very unpleasant man, a publisher, and the words, "26 hours a day, Christmases, Fourth of Julys..."" "Wait a minute." "You've been doing a lot more than just reading palms." "You might add a pinch of listening in Earl's office this morning." "What were you doing in his office?" "We're old friends." "Perhaps I should say we were." "Didn't think he had any friends." "Thought all he was crazy about was clocks." "Maybe I have a clock." "What you said this morning made me think we have a great deal in common." "You know the inside Janoth." "I know the outside." "And together we..." "Oh, oh, Georgette!" "Say, you're late." "Oh, oh, this is Miss..." "Pauline York." "She was telling my fortune." "Oh." "With tea leaves, I see." "Don't let me disturb you." "I'm afraid the psychic vibrations are unsympathetic." "Good-bye, George." "She is psychic." "I'm definitely unsympathetic." "Let me explain." "It better be good." "Believe me, it is good, because A:" "She just sat down." "B:" "I wouldn't make a pass at her on a bet." "C:" "You knew I'd be along." "And D:" "This proves it... a reserved table, champagne, everything." "Now, did you get the tickets?" "Mm-hmm." "A drawing room on the 722 from Penn Station." "Next stop:" "Wheeling, West Virginia." "I still can't believe we're going." "I get so worried sometimes." "Worried?" "That's no mood for a honeymoon, darling." "I know, but sometimes I think you married that magazine." "We got a certificate that says different." "But we're like two strangers." "Either you come dragging home too tired to talk to me, or you're having fun with some dancer in San Francisco." "I told you." "That was an article." "I could write an article:" ""How to Look at a Wall in Six Easy Lessons."" "We should have stayed in West Virginia." "We'd be a family now, an honest-to-goodness, full-time family." "George, the whole thing is wrong." "Little George doesn't know you." "A boy needs his father, someone to teach him how to play football, make model airplanes." "I tell you, darling, it's all different now." "That's what you said last year before you didn't show up at the airport." "Nothing will stop me this time, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night." "Here's to a very happy honeymoon, Mrs. Stroud." "And a happy honeymoon to you, sir." "It's just as topical..." "Wait." "Both of you." "Mr. Stroud, composing room is screaming for those proofs." "There might be something in that comic strip artist murder." "Might feature cartoons instead of photographs." "Might work up a weekly feature:" "cartoon crimes." "Mr. Stroud, Mr. Janoth calling on one." "Why don't we have a..." "Shh!" "Janoth." "Yes, Mr. Janoth." "Yes, sir." "Bearing right down on it." "Running off the bands now." "Green." "But, Mr. Janoth, the printer doesn't like red ink, says it won't match." "But you can't fire a man because he doesn't like red ink." "I guess you can." "Yes, sir." "All set up for the next two weeks." "What's that?" "I'll be here till about 4:30 this afternoon." "Why, yes, I..." "I'd like to say good-bye to you too." "Come on, fellas." "Let's get to work." "Mr. Hagen wants you..." "We'll get by this issue, but I hate to think about the next two weeks." "Stop worrying, Roy." "Everything's gonna be all right." "Mr. Janoth is coming." "What?" "Mr. Janoth is coming." "George, you whetted my curiosity." "Nice of you to come down, Mr. Janoth." "I was tied up." "This job you've been doing finding people..." "Fleming, Cipriani, Mrs. Dewhurst..." "ahead of the police:" "How do you do it?" "You've heard of our blackboard." "I suspect it's more than that." "Well, let me show you." "We call it "the system of the irrelevant clue."" "The police look for relevant clues." "They haven't got time for much else." "We assemble all the clues." "We recreate the man:" "his character, mind, emotions." "When you have that, it's easy to figure out where he'll be." "Interesting." "You'd never guess what broke the Fleming case: seashells." "He was a collector." "Paleozoic bivalves." "I checked his index and found that he had every variety except one." "I had the name..." "Never mind about the name, George." "Anyway, this shell is in the conchological wing of the Salt Lake Museum... and it's not for sale, so I assigned a man to watch it constantly." "Fleming was going to steal it?" "Wouldn't you steal something if you wanted it badly enough?" "I might." "George, you're an intelligent man, and you've done a fine job." "The credit belongs to the Crimeways staff." "They dig up the details." "That's another thing I like about you:" "You're modest." "That's why we've worked so well together." "We've had our differences." "They've been immaterial." "Six years, isn't it?" "Uh, seven." "Shoulder-to-shoulder, comrades in arms, neither letting the other down." "And we've forged ahead." "Now this, uh, Fleming story, properly followed up, should boost circulation 10 percent." "Oh, 15." "That's the spirit." "I know you'll squeeze every ounce out of it." "I'll give you carte blanche for the next month." "Play it for drama and suspense." "Use anybody in the organization." "Wait a minute." "Did you say "next month"?" "Then your vacation, all expenses paid," "South America..." "West Virginia and tonight." "George." "You really had me goin' until I began to gag over that soft soap." "I'll dispense with the soap." "George, you'll see this through with us or you're finished with Janoth Publications." "That's okay with me." "And I'll have you, uh, blacklisted all over the country." "You'll never work on another magazine or any other publication." "It's still okay." "I'll give you six minutes to reconsider." "I don't need them." "I don't need six seconds." "Good afternoon, Miss Adams." "How's that baby of yours?" "Fine." "Splendid." "Mr. Stroud?" "Yes." "There's someone on the line for you... a woman." "What's her name?" "She won't say." "I think she's selling something." "Keeps talking about telling your fortune." "Oh, put her on." "Yes, sir." "How are ya?" "Wanna make a bet?" "Five-to-one your crystal ball hasn't given ya the latest flash." "I have been fired as of 5:22 this afternoon, name inscribed in gold letters at the head of the blacklist, never to work in publishing again." " What are you going to do?" " First, I'm goin' out to get a stiff drink." "Good." "I'll join you." "I'm sorry, but I have to go on my vacation." "But this is business." "You see, he thinks he's gonna blacklist me too, but I know enough about Mr. Janoth to make him change his mind about both of us." "You'll find it to our benefit to meet me at the Van Barth in, say, about a half an hour?" "If you think it's that important, I'll drop by." "Another martini, please." "Pardon me, please." "Same for me." "And what do you think she does?" "She marries her sponsor." "Excuse me." "All right." "Can you imagine?" "Just because a fella doesn't like red ink, he fires him." "Earl hates green." "Oh, he does?" "Bartender, bring us two more stingers, and this time make them with green mint." "With green mint?" "Green mint." "That's what the boy said." "Oh, no." "George, at the office, did you ever use the confidential files?" "I practically lived in 'em." "That's what I was hoping." "You know, Earl has a passion for obscurity." "He won't even have his biography in Who's Who." "Sure." "He doesn't want to let his left hand know whose pocket the right one is picking." "I think we can remedy that." "You mean write his biography?" "Who'd buy it?" "Earl would." "You know, that's a very interesting idea, but not in my line." "What time is it?" "7:25." "You'll excuse me, but..." "What?" "7:25." "Holy smoke." "We've missed our train." "There are other trains." "My wife will never forgive me." "You'd better bring two more." "Make 'em triples." "With green mint." "Green." "Horrible." "She left?" "I was supposed to pick her up." "Hey, just a minute, will ya?" "She picked herself up, Mr. Stroud, and she said if you weren't at the station by train time, she was leaving." "Thanks, Daisy." "If I don't get to that phone, I'm gonna be in trouble at home." "Trouble?" "You don't know the meaning of the word." "If you don't mind." "Hello." "Everything all right?" "Wouldn't even wait a couple of minutes for me." "I give up my job, jeopardize my career for her sake, and she won't even wait a couple of minutes." "That's the trouble with the world: time." "There's too much of it." "Greenwich time, mean time, mountain standard time, double British summer time." "There's too much of it." "Down with it all." "Man against time." "Tonight we fight behind the barricades." "Barkeep, where are those two drinks?" "Here." "Don't shilly-shally." "Let's have 'em." "Oh, I beg your pardon." "I beg your pardon." "I hope nothing's damaged." "Here, use mine." "It's bigger." "If you wish, I'll have your handkerchief dried." "Just get us a couple of dry drinks." "With green mint." "With green ink..." "uh, mint." "Don't forget that." "Oh." "My singing lessons." "Didn't realize Hagen was a music lover." "He just signs the checks for Earl, who also happens not to love music." "Well, we'll throw clocks at him." "Green clocks." "Come on." "Let's get clocks." "Hundreds of'em, all green." "You can forget those other two drinks." "White clocks, yellow clocks, brown clocks, blue clocks." "Ah, Miss York, where are the green clocks of yesteryear?" "Hey, a picture!" "How do they expect to sell things like that?" "If that's what I think it is, it's gonna be worth a lot of lettuce one of these days." "This is the object, madam?" "Yes." "Where did you find it?" "It was part of a lot." "A lot of what?" "A lot of things." "A consignment." "I admit it is a trifle..." "a trifle..." "How much do you want for it?" "Well, I haven't set a price for it yet." "Ten dollars?" "Well, that's quite cheap, but considering its condition..." "I'll give ya $20." "I didn't realize this was an auction." "Ten dollars, and you needn't wrap it." "Just a moment, please." "If this gentleman thinks it's worth $20..." "He doesn't want it." "Oh, yes, I do." "Who's it by?" "It's by someone named, uh, Patterson." "Did you think it was by Rembrandt?" "Why not?" "Oh, leave us not haggle." "I'll give you 30 bucks for it." "Well, that's more like it." "Isn't it a pity the wrong people always have money?" "That's not what we came in for." "What was it?" "Clocks." "Why, clocks." "Certainly." "Green clocks." "Green clocks." "Oh, no." "I'm sorry." "No green clocks here." "That's a strange attitude... to two tried-and-true customers." "Very well." "Very, very well." "My guarantee still stands:" "a free drink to anyone who can ask me for something I haven't got." "We should have thought of this place a long time ago." "Good evenin', Mr. Stroud." "Burt, how are you?" "What'll it be?" "Couple of bourbons and one for yourself." "We can't mix drinks." "Yes, we can." "That's a fallacy." "Burt." "Burt, old boy." "I got ya this time, Burt." "Something he'll never have." "Just watch." "Burt, a bubble." "A nice, big bubble." "This is gonna be very interesting." "Why don't you try to think of something that I have not got?" "How do you like..." "They got everything." "Look at that there." "Well, Burt, me boy." "Good luck to ya." "Can you think of something you'd like to see?" "Yes." "A clock." "That's too easy." "No, it isn't." "This is a green clock." "Green." "Green clock." "Mm-hmm." "Well, must be a green clock around here somewhere." "Hello, me boy!" "How are ya?" "Well, George, how are you?" "Burt, set one up for President McKinley, will ya?" "Meet the 23rd President of the United States." "Twenty-fifth, George." "I beg your pardon." "It's a great pleasure." "Thank you." "I heard you were dead." "He is also Colonel Jefferson Randolph of Randolph Farms, Georgia." "Colonel Randolph?" "We Randolphs, ma'am, propose to fight the Yankees... until the last drop of bourbon has been shed." "Inspector Regan of the homicide detail." "As an officer of the law, 'tis my duty to warn ya:" "Anything this fella says can be held against him." "Judge Goodbody, Dr. Lifesaver, Christopher Columbus and Theodore Roosevelt." "Here's your medicine." "Thank you." "We collectively thank you." "That's all right." "Don't go away with the glass." "I won't." "Very happy to have met you." "Good luck to you." "So long." "Jefferson Randolph?" "Inspector Regan?" "Who is that?" "Radio, Pauline." "Radio." "George." "George." "What?" "Do you remember what we were talking about?" "No." "Hey, how about that clock, Burt?" "Oh, the clock." "Wait a minute." "I don't think..." "Oh, no." "It won't do it." "I didn't think so." "Well, how about this?" "I said green." "I know." "You said green." "Let me see." "Oh, I have it here." "Not in a mile and a half." "A brand-new sundial." "Sundial?" "And a nice, green ribbon from my old uncle's shillelagh." "I'm tellin' ya, the guy's wonderful." "Just as green... as the old sod itself." "You're wonderful." "Let's have a little green music, shall we?" "Just a minute." "How about that thing..." "Just put it right on the bill." "Hey, laughing' boy, how about a little green music, huh?" "George, claviash." "Oh, Smish, come on." "A little green music." "All right, junior." ""E" flat." "Hey!" "Yee-hoo!" "Burt, set up drinks for the boys, and make 'em green!" "Green." "Got ya.!" "George." "George." "Mmm." "George, come on." "I'm fixing you something." "Mmm." "You'll feel better." "George." "George, wake up." "Earl's car's downstairs." "Come on." "Huh?" "What happened?" "You passed out." "He's on his way up." "Who is?" "Janoth." "Janoth." "Come on, now." "Oh." "You gotta get up." "Hurry." "Hurry." "You'll be all right." "Here's your hat." "Here's your hat." "Take your halo." "I want you to have it." "Little memento." "All right, thank you, but hurry." "Wait'll you hear the elevator, then use the stairs." "George.!" "George.!" "Your picture.!" "Oh, hello, dear." "I'm so glad you didn't have to stay over." "I said, I'm so glad you didn't have to stay over." "Was it a pleasant evening?" "Marvelous." "Met a lot of bright, brand-new people." "What were you doing?" "Oh, just moving around from spot to spot:" "Van Barth, a few other places." "Oh, don't turn the radio on." "I like it." "Don't you?" "Have a nice trip?" "Was he one of them?" "One of who?" "Oh, you mean the bright, brand-new people?" "Yes." "Who was this brand-new person?" "Just a man." "I don't suppose you know him." "His name's Jefferson Randolph." "Southern family." "I suppose." "Charming boy." "What does he do?" "Nothing much, I'm afraid." "Sort of a playboy." "Where did you get this?" "Some crazy bar he goes to." "At least this time he wears a clean shirt." "Just what do you mean by that?" "You know." "Are you bringing that up again?" "Throwing that cab driver in my face?" "You never forget him." "No." "Do you?" "No, you cheap imitation Napoleon." "And you don't forget the bellboy or the lifeguard last summer, and who knows how many others?" "You don't forget any of them, including the one to come." "You talk!" "You of all people!" "You talk about my friends." "Hah!" "That's priceless." "What about you and the Artways secretary?" "And the stenographer, the elevator girl, the kid in publicity, the photographer's model..." "Do you think they'd look at you twice if you weren't the great Mr. Janoth?" "Do you think you could make any woman happy?" "Have you lived this long... without knowing that everybody laughs at ya behind your back?" "You'd be pathetic if you weren't so disgusting." "You flabby, flabby, ludicrous, pa..." "No.!" "Earl." "Steve, I've just killed someone." "I've no right to come here, but I didn't know where else to go." "Well, she's been asking for it for a long time." "She's a regular little comic." "She was one of the most generous women that ever lived." "Then why did you kill her?" "I don't know, Steve." "I just don't know." "From here I go to my lawyer, then to prison or the chair." "I'm sorry I disturbed you." "Don't be a fool, Earl." "What about Janoth Publications?" "I know." "What can I do?" "Do you want to fight, or do you want to quit?" "If there's any chance at all, you know I'll take it." "Of course there's a chance." "You're not the first man who ever got into a jam." "You've been very discreet about Pauline." "No one knows about her but you and me." "Now, let's see what we can work out." "Tell me what happened." "I can't describe that, Steve." "Try, Earl." "Thirty seconds before, I didn't intend anything like it." "I just don't understand it." "I killed her with some sort of a sundial she'd picked up somewhere." "Heavy metal." "That's still there." "Where's your hat?" "I left that." "All right, Earl." "I'll go over there and clean things up." "Steve, I'm gratified." "I always thought you wanted to step into my shoes at Janoth Publications." "Earl, Janoth Publications isn't through with you yet." "Who is it?" "A husband." "Oh, it's you." "The door's unlocked." "What's a honeymoon without a husband?" "When did that occur to you?" "I was detained." "I was so angry when the train left without you." "It was unforgivable." "It was unforgivable, your leaving without me." "Was I supposed to wait at the station till our golden wedding?" "That's what Janoth wanted." "Please listen." "I know the music by heart." ""Once a man puts his foot down, they listen to reason." "Things are different now." But it is different, ya dope." "Sit down." "I've quit." "Quit cold." "For good, forever and for always." "I can't believe it." "We're unemployed and penniless." "It's too good to be true." "Blacklisted for life, never to work on a magazine again." "Oh, George, how wonderful!" "How'd it happen to you?" "Why didn't you call me?" "But, darling, I had 18 million things to do." "You just can't clean up seven years in five minutes." "Before I could turn around, it was 7:00, so I called the house." "Gone." "I'm terribly sorry, darling." "I was miserable about it." "Were you miserable too?" "Miserable?" "I was desolate." "It's positively ironic." "I throw away $30,000 a year and you walk out on me." "I-I tell you, the bottom fell out." "I walked the streets like a zombie." "Didn't meet any blonde fortune tellers on the way?" "You're not serious?" "Yes, George." "I'm very serious." "I've been thinking a great deal." "I can stand a lot, but... that's one thing I just couldn't take." "That's something you'll never have to take." "You're the only blonde in my life." "I'm a brunette." "You're the only brunette too." "Anybody know you're here?" "Uncle Fred, but he wouldn't call at this hour." "Anybody know you're here?" "Only Daisy." "I left her a note." "Don't answer it." "Nobody home." "Now, tell me all about it from the beginning." "Well..." "I'll have to." "Hello." "Yes, this is Stroud." "Who?" "Put him on." "Hello, George." "We've got the story of the year." "It's a natural for you." "What's that?" "I said, haven't ya heard?" "I've quit." "But this is important." "The payoff man in an enormous war contract scandal." "Find him and you'll get a bonus:" "Vacation." "six months' vacation, maybe the Pulitzer Prize." "I've already got the prize." "I'm on a permanent vacation." "He won't listen." "George, Janoth." "I behaved very badly yesterday." "Steve has been remonstrating with me about it." "I can't blame you for being sore." "As servants of the public, it is our duty to hound this man." "Oh, the trail is still fresh." "He was around town last night with a blonde." "We know they were at the Van Barth and some bar called Burt's." " You know who the girl is?" " No, we don't care about her." "Uh, we're after the man." "Yes." "Uh, Jefferson Randolph." "Jefferson Randolph?" "No." "Never heard of him." "I am not going to rest until I have exposed this scoundrel... if I have to assign every man in my organization." "I'll grab the next plane, Mr. Janoth." "George, if you leave now, I'll never speak to you again." " Darling, I have to." " Why?" "Well," "Janoth says it's a war contract scandal, but that's a blind." "He's trying to find out who's been playing around with his girl." "I happen to know the man." "He's a victim of circumstances." "I've got to go back, keep Janoth from finding him." "It would wreck the man's life." "Wreck his life?" "Well, what about ours?" "Good morning, Mr. Janoth." "Good morning, Tom." "Not very much to go on." "Do you think Stroud can do it?" "Had even less on Fleming." "We've Van Barth's and Burt's Place, provided Pauline was telling the truth." "She must have been." "You told me there was a tag on the sundial." "What did you do with that?" "Put it back at Burt's bar." "That's good." "You're sure there was nothing familiar about this Randolph?" "I told you he was in the shadowy part of the hall." "But he saw you?" "He couldn't help it." "I was directly under the light." "Well, perhaps he doesn't know you." "Everybody knows me." "He was the only one who can connect me with Pauline." "Except me." "You have a macabre sense of humor, Steve." "Good morning, Mr. Janoth." "Good morning." "Good morning, Mr. Hagen." "Is Stroud in yet?" "Yes, Mr. Janoth." "Send him to Mr. Hagen's office." "You better talk to him first." "Yes." "And, Steve, we have to have Randolph before Pauline's body is found, before he reads of the incident and goes to the police." "It'd be most unpleasant if he were to insist he saw me entering her apartment." "I should have to call him a liar." "Send Mr. Stroud in." "Yes, Mr. Hagen." "George, we appreciate this." "We know what it means to you." "It means more to my wife." "She'll get over it." "Let's get started." "Earl told you the man's name:" "Jefferson Randolph." "I think it's an alias." "Why?" "The kind of business he's in." "War contract scandals?" "Spending the proceeds last night on a blonde." "Quite an assignment, a guy spending money on a blonde." "Not quite as bad as that." "We have a vague description of the man and the names of two night spots." "Read these." "Throw a staff together." "We want action." "Call on any of the other magazines for help." "Set up your blackboard, your regular technique." "You've got a free hand." "One question:" "Where does all this information come from?" "A... confidential source." "We're pledged not to reveal it." "Why not call in the authorities?" "No, George." "This is an exclusive between you and me." "And Janoth?" "Of course." "Still some in this old bottle, Bill." "Use it up." "Oh, I'm tired and run down." "I need a vacation." "I should take an ocean voyage." "Have you ever been abroad, Bill?" "It's stimulating." "Different people, different customs." "Do you know that in some countries, after a murderer confesses, the police let him run... and shoot him in the back?" "Do you think this, uh, killer, this Jefferson Randolph, could be persuaded to run when we find him?" "His confession couldjust as well... be prepared afterwards and then submitted to the police." "Justice would be served." "Wonderful story for Crimeways." "Randolph." "Jefferson Randolph." "This is really a tough one." "It appears we're heading into a blank wall." "We've worked with less before." "Let's check the assignments." "Lily, you and Morton take the De Witt Hotel." "The De Witt?" "The notes said the Van Barth." "Was it the Van Barth?" "Anyway, you're a society couple out for an afternoon bracer." "That will be a pleasure." "We'll shoot you additional information as we get it." "Uh, Edwin." "You take Burt's Place." "Don't you think you ought to pick someone more suitable?" "Why?" "Edwin's smart." "They'd never spot him for an investigator." "Tony, you and Bert are the inquiring reporters." "That means you have to check the doormen, newsboys, taxicab drivers, anybody that might have seen them between the Van Barth and Burt's Place." "Isn't that a big hunk of territory?" "We'll send somebody to help you." "Nat, you and Morgan and Talbot, you're the research division." "This guy's name, as I say, may be Jefferson Randolph." "He's supposed to come from a wealthy family." "So you'll have to check the telephone books, tax records, utility lists, general business directories..." "anything you can think of for cities within 300 miles." "Now, any questions?" "Yeah, can we ask about the blonde too?" "Yes, you can ask about the blonde." "But don't forget, it's the man we want, and only the man." "Suppose you climb on your horses, huh?" "Don't forget to report in as soon as you get anything." "Roy'll be on the telephones." "George, you didn't give me an assignment." "You help with the phones." "Get a couple extra installed." "Check." "Oh, Miss Adams." "Yes, sir?" "I don't want to be disturbed." "Operator, I've been trying to get Butterfield 8-3597 all morning." "Could you check it for me?" "It's not out of order?" "Thanks." "Burt's Place?" "Who is this?" "Charlie, this is George Stroud." "Look..." "No, no, it's not about the fin at all." "Look, is Burt there?" "He isn't?" "When he comes in, give him a message for me." "I wasn't there last night." "Get it?" "Sure, I got the message." "And about that fin." "I'll pay it back at the end of the week." "Oh, that's swell of ya, George." "Good-bye." "No, you don't!" "So you're the guy that's been swiping' my stock." "I was just scrapin' the stamp off the bottle." "I collect 'em." "Get out of here and stay out." "Give me another chance." "You had your last chance on St. Patrick's Day." "But I've got a message for you." "Give it to the telegraph company!" "Okay, I'll go, but I won't come back!" "Hello, Roy?" "Bert Finch." "I got a lead." "Yeah, a witness who saw a couple like ours near Burt's Place." "About, uh, 10:30." "Yeah, and the man had a picture under his arm." "Of a pair of hands." "Yeah." "Yeah, I've got it." "A painting of a pair of hands." "Hands, Mr. Cordette?" "Hands." "What about descriptions?" "Gorgeous, huh?" "And the man?" "Good." "Keep checking." "Finch says that a man and a gorgeous blonde... were seen outside Burt's Place, 10:30 last night." "They were both high." "The man had a painting of a pair of hands under his arm." "The witness didn't get a good look at the man." "Finch says he was too busy staring at the blonde." "That's too bad." "Miss Connely, on the board, Burt's Place, 10:30." "Oh, George." "Yes, Steve?" "Mightn't that be one of your famous irrelevant clues?" "What?" "The picture." "Yes, yes, it might at that." "Better get busy." "If he had it under his arm, he probably bought it somewhere nearby." "I'll assign a man to check it." "Assign a dozen men." "Check every art store and antique shop in the neighborhood." "Maybe he paid for it with a check." "Maybe somebody will remember the picture." "Yeah, you're right." "As of 12:17, the clue chart reads as follows." ""Name:" "Jefferson Randolph." "Appearance:" "Tall, medium build, black hair." "Clothes:" "Single-breasted, gray suit, well-tailored, blue tie." "Age:" "About 35." "Frequents:" "Van Barth and Burt's Place." "Habits:" "Collects paintings." "Character:" "Questionable."" "Hello." "No, this is Kislav." "Yeah, go ahead." "Mort Spaulding at the Van Barth has something." "They remember them here, but the bartender who served them hasn't come in yet." "I've found one very charming lead though." "The hatcheck lady." "He's been in here before, but with his wife." "No, she can't add anything to our description, but she remembers his hat." "Brown felt hat with a feather in the band." "Anything else?" "Okay, stick around till the bartender comes." "Guess you better put that on the board, huh?" "Yeah." "Miss Connely, put that on the board." "Brown felt hat with a feather in the band." "We have located five Randolphs." "One in Forest Hills, one in Brooklyn." "Assign a man to each one." "Find out where they were last night." "Tell 'em it's a poll on America's nightlife." "Yeah, right." "George, we've got a break." "Finch traced the picture." "An antique shop on 3rd Avenue." "The man paid $30 for it." "It was painted by an artist named Patterson." "Sounds as if he might be a collector, huh?" "Yeah." "What are you going to do about it?" "Hadn't we better check?" "What's the name of the chief critic on Artways?" "Right!" "What do you mean, right?" "Is his name Klausmeyer or something?" "I'll phone him and send him out to see Patterson." "Good." "Say, George." "This painting." "It's a Patterson, isn't it?" "That's what it says." "I got others at home." "Why don't you interview Patterson?" "Randolph may be a collector." "No." "The way we're going, we'll have this guy in a couple of hours." "Maybe sooner." "You go ahead and keep a check on things." "Amazing how much junk gets in these things." "Miss Adams." "Yes, sir?" "Try and keep this thing clean for me, will you?" "Good morning, young lady." "Beat it!" "Is your mother at home?" "I said, beat it!" "Who is it, Rosa?" "Someone trying to steal the mail!" "No, no, I was just..." "Yes?" "Miss Patterson?" "I'm Don Klausmeyer from Artways magazine." "Yes?" "Oh, yes, didn't you review my show in '41?" "I think I did." "Oh, come in, Mr. Klausman." ""Klausmeyer."" "I've been planning to kill you for years." "Drop those, cherub, and I'll break both your arms." "Straight ahead." "Are all these your little ones, Miss Patterson?" "More or less." "That one's Ralph's, my first husband." "Drank himself to death." "That one's Frederick's." "Lost at sea." "I had a third husband." "He..." "And the twins are Mike's." "Your present husband?" "Would be if I could find him." "Oh, don't sit there." "No, no, it collapses." "Won't you come into my workshop?" "Don't be afraid." "A glass of sherry?" "No, no, no, thank you." "Sit down, Mr. Klaus..." ""Meyer."" "Oh." "Another review?" "No." "Our organization, the Janoth Publications, is trying to find someone, possibly a collector of your pictures." "So have I for 15 years." "This man bought one of your pictures last night in an antique shop on 3rd Avenue." "Oh, a pair of hands?" "Yes, how did you know?" "I was there, trying to buy them myself." "Then you saw this man." "Can you describe him?" "Oh, yes." "Smug, self-satisfied." "Uh, symmetrical features." "I could draw him for you." "That would be wonderful." "Of course, I should like to be paid." "Of course." "How would $100 be?" "And of course, the same for the blonde." "You mean, you don't know the blonde?" "Uh, no." "She's a model that used to pose for that horrible fashion rag of yours, uh, Styleways." "I wanted to use her once for a painting, Avarice." "You know her name?" "Oh, yes, yes." "Um, Pauline York." "Pauline York!" "What a scoop!" "Thank you!" "Oh, Mr. Klausburger." ""Klausmeyer."" "What about the sketches?" "Check with George Stroud at Crimeways magazine." "Oh, sorry." "Oh, Penelope." "You forgot to put away your roller skates." "The board certainly is coming along fine." "I'd say we're getting a pretty good picture of the man." "Drinker, collects paintings." "Eccentric." "Clock phobia, glib talker." "Ladies' man." "And married." "How'd you like your wife to see that, George?" "My wife?" "Well, any wife." "She'd start shooting before you could open your mouth." "I'll take it." "Hello?" "Yes, Don, this is George." "What?" "You have?" "Who is she?" "Pauline York." "She modeled for Styleways once." "Patterson recognized her." "She was in the antique shop trying to buy that picture herself." "York was with a man who outbid her." "I'm going over to see York right now." "Don?" "Now, wait a minute..." "You take over." "What is it?" "New lead." ""It Might Have Happened To You,"" "the "Safety First"program is on the air." "Presented as a public service, "It Might Have Happened To You"... comes to you each week from a different American city." "Dramatized from real life, "It Might Have Happened To You"... hopes to reduce the appalling casualty rate on our highways and byways." "This week, tragedy strikes in Elksburg." "A flourishing town in the Midwest, where we hear the story of Mr. Bundy's extra little nip." "The Elksburg Municipal Orchestra opens now with an American medley." "Hello, Don." "George, have you seen Miss York?" "Yeah, I saw Miss York." "Got all the information." "Who's the guy?" "Jefferson Randolph, publisher from Pittsburgh." "He's got his own plant down there." "I want you to hop on a plane." "Find out all you can about him." "Check the chamber of commerce, talk to the mayor." "Somebody'll know where he is..." "Taxi!" "Then call us back, understand?" "I'm an art editor, not an investigator." "Janoth's orders, Don." "Go ahead." "La Guardia Field." "But my toothbrush and pajamas?" "Put it on your expense account." "Go on." "Beat it!" "Oh, doorman." "Do you happen to know Mr. Janoth?" "Yes, sir?" "Mr. Janoth?" "Sure." "Fine fellow." "He gave me a wristwatch last Christmas." "Didn't happen to see him last night around 1:00 or 1:30?" "I quit at 12:00." "How about the telephone operator or the elevator boy?" "Everybody knocks off at 12:00." "By the way, does Miss York have a maid?" "Sure, but you won't find her." "She started her vacation last Monday." "You sure?" "I got a postcard from her from Milwaukee." "Oh, where would you get a cab around 1:00 in the morning?" "Two blocks." "Thanks." "Tails." "A dollar and a half." "Heads." "A dollar-six bits I owe you." "Five I owe in return for a little information." "You got a deal, mister." "Who's on duty here after midnight?" "Nobody." "Not an all-night stand." "That's right." "Nearest one's on 5th Avenue, two blocks from here." "Thanks." "Half of that's mine." ""April 4, 1936." "Crowd catcher at the Greenwich Village Sidewalk Show." "Louise Patterson's Birthright."" "Research dug it up." "Decadent-looking thing." "Yes, but I can use it as bait." "Offer a reward for the original." "Ads in the afternoon papers, big-scale reproductions of the picture." "A lost masterpiece." "Randolph or somebody's bound to bite." "Do that at once." "Get me Sheekman in Press Relations and Paul Bell." "Yes, Mr. Hagen." "A thousand dollars?" "Don't fool around with this." "Ten thousand." "How about the stand in front of Scanlon's Drug Store?" "No." "The Parkway Hotel?" "The Ashendon Library?" "Say, there's a stand by an all-night hamburger joint three blocks down." "How about that?" "I could use a hamburger." "Thanks." "That your cab out there?" "Yeah, you want it?" "No, not exactly." "How many drivers use this stand?" "Just me and Kowalski." "Uh-huh." "Who was on last night between 1:00 and 2:00?" "You trying to find out about a fare Kowalski had then?" "Yeah." "He was tellin' me." "Half-crazy the guy was." "No hat, mumbling to himself." "Gave a 20 for a 12-block haul." "Where'd he haul him to?" "Didn't say." "Where does Kowalski live?" "Somewhere around here." "Don't know exactly." "First name's Casimir, if that's any help." "No, not much." "He'll be here at 8:00." "He will?" "You have him call me, will you?" "Tell him there's another 20 in it." "Thanks." "Thank you, Betty." "Thank you, Mr. Stroud." "I certainly wish I could find that picture." "Uh-huh." "Time: eight hours." "In manpower, the efforts of 46 employees." "It results in enough information about this man..." "his whimsicalities, his clean-cut features, his charming manners, his penchant for green mint stingers and modern paintings..." "to write his biography." "Mr. Stroud, where is he?" "That I don't know." "I've placed the blonde though." "Her name's Pauline York." "How did you discover that?" "Klausmeyer and I just came from her apartment." "Did you talk with her?" "I couldn't very well on account of she was dead." "That doesn't seem to be much of a shocker." "Why do you think we've been conducting the search?" "How did you find out she was dead?" "Her maid discovered her this morning, telephoned Steve." "Telephoned Steve?" "Yes, she was a protégée of his." "Why didn't the maid call the police?" "Steve asked her not to." "He's been rather generous with her of late." "We wanted to trap Randolph ourselves, then hand him over." "Feather in our caps." "Yeah." "Yeah, but where's all this dope on Randolph come from?" "The maid." "She heard them talking, quarreling." "That's what makes you think he killed her." "Who else could it be?" "Well, how about Steve, for instance?" "She was his protégée." "That's a very strange suggestion, Stroud." "I telephoned over to his home, spoke to him at 12:30." "Within seven minutes of the time the murder took place." "How do you know?" "The clock broke in the struggle." "Then you've been in her apartment?" "The maid reported it." "She's quite a detective." "What is the matter with you?" "I just can't understand why you're so sure Randolph killed her." "Suppose an investigation proved him innocent?" "An investigation?" "What sort of an investigation?" "An inquiry around the apartment house." "Witnesses who saw somebody else enter or leave." "You have witnesses?" "No, not yet, but I shall have to look for them, that is, unless you decide to let the matter drop." "You're going to great lengths to protect this Randolph." "Just trying to keep an open mind." "Very open." "Have you some inside knowledge of this matter?" "Yes?" "Oh, Cordette." "You have?" "Oh, excellent!" "Excellent!" "You can forget about your witnesses." "We have our man." "He was just seen entering the building." "I want an emergency order issued, all exits blocked, the building closed." "Nobody's to leave unless identified." "You take charge." "Yes, sir." "Stroud?" "Now!" "Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but all exits have been closed, except the main door." "We will try to inconvenience you as little as possible." "If everybody will proceed in the direction of the desk, we will try to get you out quickly." "Just a matter of identification." "Just a matter of identification." "Your cooperation will be appreciated." "Thank you." "Everybody on this side of the rope, please." "Kindly form a single line." "Only routine." "You'll be out of here in a couple of minutes." "Thank you." "Nobody leaves the building except through the front." "Mr. Janoth's orders." "Have you sent for the other witnesses?" "Not yet." "Get them immediately." "Get Patterson and the people at the Van Barth." "I've stationed the antique dealer in the lobby." "Get me the Van Barth bar." "We have 50 men stationed, Mr. Stroud." "If the man gets out, it'll be a miracle." "It certainly will." "Yeah?" "I'll find out about that." "Mr. Hagen?" "Yes?" "The people are raising Cain in the lobby." "They don't like being delayed." "Kislav, go down and use a little diplomacy." "Make sure no one leaves without being passed by the antique dealer." "Morgan, Talbot, you go with him." "We're taking care of that." "Yeah, Orlin?" "Burt's Place." "Nothing at all?" "I find all this very distasteful." "An extremely sordid place." "Disreputable clientele." "Did you ask any questions?" "Well, ask some." "Very well." "If I must, I must." "Thank you very much for letting me use the telephone." "Here's your nickel." "Do you mind if I ask a civil question, bud?" "Not at all." "What's the matter with the public library today?" "Did they raise the dues?" "See here, my friend." "Now, don't get sore about it." "You just arouse my curiosity." "Sitting here all afternoon with one limeade and two books, and you don't even play the game." "Child's play." "And I don't like your limeade." "I'm just waiting for someone." "And who might that be?" "I don't know." "You don't know?" "It's quite simple." "He's a friend of a friend of mine." "I've never seen him, but I understand he's a habitué." "He was in here recently with a stunning blonde, that is, if you think blondes are stunning." "You wouldn't be his brother-in-law by any chance?" "You might be a bill collector." "What do you want with this guy?" "It's quite personal." "I'm told he talks about clocks..." "green clocks." "Green clocks, you say?" "You know him?" "Can you describe him for me?" "Oh, that'll be easy." "Yeah, sure we could." "'Cause he's a very remarkable fellow." "Yes, a very remarkable fellow." "Why should this man be in the building... unless he is employed here, or at least known?" "You correlate your information." "We can identify him." "Out of 3,000 employees and 2,000 sightseers a day?" "Nothing is impossible." "Hello?" "Yeah, Edwin." "You have?" "Orlin at Burt's Place." "Says he's got a complete description." "Shoot, Edwin." "Last night with a blonde." "Two witnesses." "Okay, let's have the description." "Built-up heels, cauliflower ear, brown toupee." "That's right, a brown toupee." "And don't forget the glass eye." "It's the left eye." "Glass eye, the left one." "Glass eye?" "Hold it." "Edwin says..." "I heard." "Anybody know a man with a glass eye?" "What's that idiot's name?" "Edwin Orlin." "Fire him." "Mr. Hagen, I can't do it." "Orlin, this is Mr. Hagen." "Yes, Orlin, we heard your description." "Superior Cab Company?" "This is George Stroud at Crimeways magazine." "I'm trying to get hold of one of your drivers, Casimir Kowalski." "He has no phone?" "How about his address?" "16 East 31 st?" "Thank you." "Louise Patterson to see you." "I'm pleased to see that somebody likes my work." "I've been an admirer of yours for years, Mrs. Patterson." "Are you Mr. Stroud?" "I'm afraid so." "Well, I should like to earn my money." "That codfish, Mr. Klaus..." "Klausmeyer." "Yes, he said that you'd pay $100... for a sketch of the man who bought my painting." "Then somebody else called and said that you'd give me another 50... if I'd come down here and identify him, plus the cab fare." "That's $151.55 and a 10-cent tip." "I'll give you a cash voucher." "Yes, the cashier will pay you." "I'll get a messenger." "Shall I start the sketch now?" "That won't be necessary." "Never mind, Mr. Stroud." "I've few enough collectors without sending one to jail." "What did you do?" "Oh, never mind." "With all that hue and cry downstairs, it must be something terribly lurid." "But I don't mind." "My agent says that I shall make a fortune... on the strength of that lost masterpiece story." "Oh, my goodness." "This says $500." "I said I was an admirer." "You didn't sound that way last night, bidding against me." "By the way, what did you do with my picture?" "I took it home." "Under the circumstances, don't you think it would be safer with me?" "Let's discuss that later." "Right now, I have to go find a taxicab driver." "Thank you." "Cordette!" "Here's the man who'll cash your voucher." "Thank you." "You understand we can't pay you the money until you finish the picture." "Oh." "Finish the picture." "Naturally." "I'll start the sketch now." "Just a minute." "Oh, it's you, Mr. Stroud." "Just out for a sandwich, boys." "Nobody's to leave unless identified in the lobby." "Ah, good work." "Keep on the beam." "Mr. Stroud isn't here." "Will Pittsburgh speak to someone else?" "I was disconnected from the Van Barth." "May I look at the sketch now?" "Not yet." "It isn't finished." "A slippery character, Mr. Randolph." "Glib talker, ladies' man, playboy." "I could almost believe that he was my fourth husband, Mike." "He was a playboy too." "Coffee, Mrs. Stroud?" "No, thank you." "I'm sorry, Operator." "Please ask Mr. Klausmeyer to speak to someone else." "Mr. Klausmeyer won't speak to anyone else?" "You tell Mr. Klausmeyer..." "George, a collect call from Pittsburgh." "Hello, darling." "I knew you wouldn't stay away." "Not after what I found in our bedroom." "Found in our bedroom?" "Yes, in our bedroom." "I can explain everything, dear." "All I want to know is..." "In my office, dear." "Family quarrels should be held in private." "Family quarrels?" "George, the call from Pittsburgh." "Refuse the charges." "And a fine pickle, Hagen." "Vacation busted up, marriage on the rocks." "How am I going to explain?" "If he can explain, Mrs. Stroud, you have a good man." "Oh, darling, if you only knew what I've been through today." "Take your hands off me, Jefferson Randolph." "You see, I've been reading that blackboard too." "But, darling, it's a long, long story." "Yes, I know." "All about wrecking an innocent man's life." "Please listen to me." "Don't start making accusations until you know the true facts." "I was talking with the Van Barth, the bar." "I was disconnect..." "Oh, hello, Lily?" "The bartender just came in." "He says that Randolph spilled a drink on the blonde." "It was a stinger with green mint." "She mopped it up with his handkerchief and put the handkerchief in her purse." "The most horrible drink I ever had in my life." "That's right." "Kept it." "I was shaking, but I just couldn't take it..." "Please!" "Just a moment." "I'm talking." "As I was drinking it..." "Will you shut up?" "Shh." "The lady is talking." "No, no, not you." "Bring the bartender with you." "We're waiting." "Lily says the blonde took a handkerchief from the gentleman." "Might have a laundry mark on it." "That's interesting." "Now, if we could only get that handkerchief." "I'd better put that on the blackboard." "Yes?" "Mr. Cordette to see you." "Send him in." "Mr. Hagen, Mr. Janoth wants you downstairs." "It's very important." "Thank you." "And so help me, the first I knew she was dead was this afternoon." "Why didn't you call the police?" "And spend the next 90 years in jail?" "Janoth'll have lots of alibis." "Bill, Hagen and a dozen other people, if necessary." "Me..." "All I got is myself." "And that taxi driver." "Or did you invent him?" "Could I invent a name like Casimir Kowalski?" "You could invent anything." ""Miserable, desolate." "Walked the streets like a zombie." And all the time you were with that..." "But I called the cab company, got his address, even wrote it down." "But I can't get out of here." "Yes?" "Stand by, George." "Mr. Janoth wants to speak to you." "Right, Steve." "If I get out of this jam, I'm going back to West Virginia." "George, if I could just believe it." "I'll cover church socials, write obituaries, set type, anything." "That would be wonderful." "But you won't." "Yes, sir?" "George, I want this man smoked out." "Use the guards." "Mobilize everyone." "Start a floor-by-floor search." "Yes, sir." "I'll put O'Brien right on it." "I want you to follow through in person, you understand me?" "Yes, I understand." "Georgette." "Georgette!" "She just left." "This way, boys." "Take this corridor first." "You take the one to the left." "Any luck?" "Nothing yet." "Keep it up." "Stroud, are you up here?" "The antique dealer wants to see you." "George?" "He must be somewhere." "You wait here." "I'll find him." "You!" "It's not what you think it is." "Take it easy." "Keep calm." "Somebody's been murdered, that's all." "Murder!" "Aaah!" "Oh, there you are, George." "The antique dealer wants to know..." "Now, what happened to him?" "Haven't seen him." "I told him to wait." "How stupid can a guy get?" "Let's keep looking." "Cordette!" "Miss Patterson's picture, where is it?" "She hasn't finished it yet, Mr. Janoth." "I asked for a sketch, not a mural." "Did somebody call me?" "Yes." "Mr. Janoth wants to see the picture right now." "Oh, of course." "Would you like it in oil?" "No, no, madam." "I'll see it just as it is." "Come along, come along, come along." "I think I've captured his mood rather successfully, don't you?" "Mr. Janoth, sir." "Here's the antique dealer." "He says Randolph jumped him on the fifth floor." "Murder, he said." "A murder case." "Did you get a look at him?" "Enormous." "I fought." "I struggled." "No use." "Wild glare in his eyes." "Warn everyone." "Authorize them to shoot if necessary." "The man's a maniac." "Tell O'Brien and the guards downstairs." "Yes, Mr. Hagen." "Yeah?" "Oh." "They've finished on nine, Mr. Janoth." "I've sent for George Stroud." "Tell them to keep moving." "Better keep moving." "Mr. Janoth, here are the witnesses from the Van Barth." "Miss Thomas, the hatcheck lady." "How do you do?" "Mr. Kolbas, the bartender." "Delighted." "Gentleman and ladies, Janoth Publications... are extremely grateful for your help." "You may not realize it, but when we apprehend this man, you will have done your duty as citizens of your community." "Oh, Mr. Stroud, be careful." "This guy's a dangerous maniac." "We just got orders to shoot to kill." "I have authorized two rewards of $ 1,000 each." "One for the person identifying our man, and the other for..." " What's the matter?" " The man!" "He was right there!" "Oh!" "George!" "Come on." "This way." "He might carry a gun." "Yeah." "Call the cops." "Get going, boys.!" "In here." "Where have you been?" "That taxi cab driver." "You got him?" "Uh-uh." "He's gone." "He and his wife came in for a sudden legacy, the neighbors said." "How do you like that?" "Sudden legacy from old Grandpa Janoth." "That's all I needed." "What are you doing?" "I'm gonna call the police." "And turn me in?" "It's better than having you shot." "Come on." "Oh, George, I heard what those guards said." "They called you a maniac." "Why did you ever have anything to do with that woman?" "But I told you, I didn't." "There must be some way out of this mess." "If I could only think." "Give me a cigarette." "I haven't got one." "We could use one of Hagen's." "Maybe I should go to Janoth, try and make some sort of a deal." "Here you are." "Let me see that." "It was in the box." "Well, well." "What do you mean, "Well, well"?" "This is mine." "It was in Pauline's purse." "There you go again." "Pauline." "How did Hagen get it?" "Well, she certainly got around, didn't she?" "He claimed he was never up there." "Why don't we pin this job on Hagen?" "They've been so busy covering up Janoth, they've left Hagen wide open." "We'll put him in such a hole, he'll have to implicate Janoth." "Hello, Burt's Place?" "This is George Stroud." "Let me speak to the President." "President?" "President McKinley." "George, are you sure you're all right?" "Stroud, are you in my office?" "Mr. Janoth wants to see you in your office at once." "George, are you there?" "Talk to this guy." "Get him up here fast." "He's a radio actor, a friend of mine." "Where are you going?" "Into retirement." "When you get him, call me at extension 381." "All right." "I can't find Stroud at the moment." "Then you take charge." "Round everybody up." "Make a mass search of the top floor." "Get the right driver?" "Five thousand enough?" "Good man." "Superior Cab Company?" "This is Stroud of Crimeways again." "Listen, did Kowalski, one of your drivers, make a record of his fares last night?" "About 1:30." "Yeah, Kowalski." "Yeah, 1:20 will do." "He did?" "What was the address?" "323 Sutton Place?" "Thanks." ""Hagen, Joseph." "Joseph, Stanley, Stephen." "Stephen Hagen." "323 Sutton Place."" "Two hundred and fifty people, twelve hours, forty-three minutes..." "Earl, the clock has stopped." "What's that?" "The clock has stopped." "So has this one." "Why shouldn't it stop?" "What's the matter with that?" "You issued orders never to stop the clocks." "Why shouldn't it stop for once?" "It's a mechanical thing." "It can go wrong, can't it?" "It started again." "This one started again too." "Steve, this hasn't happened in 12 years." "Bill, go downstairs." "See if there's anyone inside the clock." "George, where have you been?" "Never mind." "We gotta work fast before that thug gets out of the elevator." "Who?" "What elevator?" "I'll tell you later." "Look, Mac..." "Yeah, thanks." "I came as soon as I could." "What do you want?" "Wait a minute." "Is Mr. Janoth there?" "This is George Stroud." "Janoth speaking." "I'm in Hagen's office, Mr. Janoth." "I've nailed our man." "He'll be here as soon as you and Hagen can get here." "Good work." "We'll be right up." "Have someone find Bill." "Tell him to come to my office at once." "Earl, they'll send up Bill as soon as they find him." "We'd better go in and see what Stroud has for us." "Mr. Janoth." "George, is this the, uh, man..." "No, this is Inspector Regan of the homicide detail." "Mr. Earl Janoth, Mr. Steve Hagen." "How do you do?" "Mr. Hagen." "How do you do?" "Inspector, would you mind stepping outside a moment?" "I give you my solemn word nothing irregular will occur." "That Hagen fella..." "I've seen him somewhere before." "He's editor in chief here." "Let's try these two rooms." "Stroud, I thought you understood this was conficdential." "This is my wife." "She's been helping me." "I beg your pardon." "I'm talking about the police." "You were told to keep them out." "Not until we had the murderer." "I'm afraid it's gonna be a shock." "Shock?" "Our man is Mr. Hagen." "Uh, George, this is a very serious charge." "I wouldn't be making it if I didn't have the evidence." "Evidence?" "Why, the witnesses have all seen me, talked to me." "I'm not saying you're Jefferson Randolph, but nevertheless, he's the murderer." "Why should I kill Pauline?" "Blackmail." "He's been giving her money by check." "The bank will verify that." "Ridiculous." "Is it?" "Cigarette?" "Uh, not now." "Go ahead, Steve." "You need a smoke." "Thank you, no." "You're afraid to open the box." "Why?" "Because I found something in here, hidden away." "The handkerchief that Miss York got from Randolph at the Van Barth." "Notice the green stains." "Where would he get it except from the purse in her apartment?" "The maid might have brought it up here." "The maid's been away on vacation." "She's been gone a week." "Link number three:" "the taxi driver who took you from Pauline's apartment." "I don't seem to see him here." "He was bribed to go away." "I went to his home and found out." "But I've got the address he took you to from the cab company's files." "And it's 323 Sutton Place." "That's Hagen's residence." "There's your evidence, Mr. Janoth." "It'll stand up in court." "I doubt that, George." "I think you've had a brainstorm." "Anybody could've taken a cab to my address, or have planted that handkerchief in my cigarette box." "As for the maid, I think I can produce her if necessary." "Earl saw her this morning." "Didn't you, Earl?" " Of course I did." " I'm afraid your case won't hold water." "We'll see what they say about that at headquarters." "Darling, would you ask Inspector Regan to come in?" "All right." "We've just about covered the floor, Mr. Cordette." "Inspector." "Only the executive offices are left." "I'm sorry to have to do this, Steve." "There's your murderer, Inspector." ""Inspector"?" "Why, I've seen him cadging drinks at Burt's Place." "A broken-down radio actor." "George, I'm beginning to get an idea." "Maybe some of the witnesses should take a look at you." "Just a minute, you." "So you've seen me cadging drinks at Burt's Place?" "Well, I just remembered seeing you at Burt's Place late last night, sneaking that sundial back into Burt's collection." ""Sundial"?" "Yeah." "Didn't think we saw it." "Had it under his coat." "The murder weapon, and witnesses who saw him try to dispose of it." "That wraps it up, Mr. Janoth." "Now we'll try a real cop." "Well, Earl?" "Steve, I know how you feel about me and about my organization." "You're the most loyal employee I've ever had." "I'm not going to let you down, Steve." "I'll put every resource we have at your disposal." "We'll fight this through for you, no matter how long it takes or how much it costs." "You're not going to be alone." "Every bit of influence I can..." "Mr. Hagen?" "Mr. Hagen.!" "Mr. Hagen?" "Steve, your office and Mr. Janoth's are the only ones we haven't..." "The search is off." "Send everybody home." ""Off"?" "What about Jefferson Randolph?" "Who is he?" "Not interested." "You insufferable egomaniac!" "You thought you inspired such adulation that I'd do anything for you." "George, Janoth killed Pauline." "You'll say that in court?" "I will." "No!" "George, are you all right?" "Sure." "I've been so worried." "Did he get away?" "Yeah, he got away." "Get me the police department." "Where is he?" "Elevator shaft." "Aah!" "It's him!" "Who?" "Jefferson Randolph?" "My fourth husband." "Mike, darling!" "Oh, no!"