"(drumroll)" "(rousing orchestral fanfare playing)" "(fanfare ends)" "(setting hand brake)" "(birds singing, crow cawing)" "(doorbell ringing)" "(doorbell ringing)" "The door's open, Tom Lucas." "(door opens)" "(door closes)" "Spring." "Might just as well be the middle of winter." "It'll be different in Spain." "At least there'll be sunshine." "And men." "That wasn't a very nice thing to say, Tom, was it?" "You resent my going." "It's all the same to me." "I should have thought you'd be glad." "My going would help you to forget lying to your wife and children." "Climbing in back windows here at night." "You were the one started it." "And I'm the one who stopped it." "I said it was all the same to me." "We wouldn't want me to miss my train, would we?" "You forgot the fireplace." "Wouldn't do to leave the fire burning." "Oh, how stupid of me." "Geraldine?" "Tom?" "You'd better let me do that." "No." "No!" "(thuds)" "(crickets chirping)" "(crickets chirping)" "¶" "(loud alarm sounding)" "You'd think they were trying to wake the dead." "I hope the last note turns out to be a little more... musical." "(alarm stops)" "I can't find the memo, Mr. Wheeler." "What memo?" "For the letter you wanted me to type." "Oh, that memo." "Well, it seems I haven't written it yet." "Oh." "Then why ever did you send for me?" "I'm bored." "Things must have been ever so much more exciting in the States." "Some things are pretty much the same all over the world." "Mr. Satisbury asked me to tell you that the color vats badly need a caulking." "WHEELER:" "Well, that's his problem." "(gasps)" "Mr. Wheeler, I think..." "Crossley, nature never intended you for thinking." "(quiet gasping)" "I suppose I should have knocked." "I didn't realize you might be..." "Dictating." "Dictating." "Crossley, you may go now." "You have some work to do." "Where, on the streets?" "(typing)" "You know, I still can't help being shocked at the way English ladies speak." "No regard for a man's tender sensibilities." "I guess I was in the United States too long." "Or not long enough." "Would you rather we never met?" "Married?" "Fallen in love?" "Been happy?" "Happy for six months, miserable for two years." "For all of those two years?" "I don't think I care for Miss Crossley's lipstick." "Oh, I'll speak to her about that." "David." "You know I can't resist saying things like that." "Or doing them." "I'll switch secretaries with Osbourne." "He can have Crossley, and I'll take Miss Bodley." "She's at least 40 and has a mustache." "A long mustache that curls up at the end." "Shall we dine early tonight?" "Why?" "So we can go to bed early." "I'd never put you on as manager of the mills." "You sound a very improper person." "I'm a bad manager, too." "Do you mind?" "Your sister might." "Geraldine?" "She's merrily sunbathing in Spain while I slave here." "You don't really spend all your time here slaving." "Well, neither does Geraldine spend her time sunbathing, darling." "(phone ringing)" "Hello?" "Yeah, put her through, please." "Aunt Helen calling from her ancestral acres." "Hello, Auntie?" "What?" "No." "No, I haven't heard from her." "Yes." "All right." "All right, I'll take the train to Medvale immediately." "I'll bring Carol." "Yes." "Good-bye." "Geraldine's disappeared." "She was supposed to join Aunt Helen at the airport." "Perhaps Geraldine changed her mind and went somewhere else." "She would have notified Aunt Helen." "She might not have wanted your aunt to know where she was really going." "You know my sister almost as well as I do, but it's not that simple." "Aunt Helen has called in the police because she hasn't heard from Geraldine for two days." "Are you worried about her, David?" "It's the police that should be worrying." "If they find her where she doesn't want to be found, God help them." "Come on, let's take the train." "Miss Wheeler sent her maid on holiday on the eighth of April." "Tom Lucas arrived here at 5:00 p.m. on the ninth in response to Miss Wheeler's phone call." "Now, he says he found the house locked, and as far as he could see, there was no sign of Miss Wheeler." "There's more than one cab driver in Medvale." "Oh, I've spoken with the others, sir." "She could have walked to the station, Sergeant." "Carrying her luggage?" "Mrs. Demarest has informed us that" "Miss Wheeler's luggage is missing." "Geraldine always insisted on taking most of her wardrobe with her." "Well, there are other ways of getting to Spain." "Even without the help of cab drivers." "Perhaps a friend." "No." "I've been in touch with the airport, sir." "She didn't leave on any other flight." "Well, then she's gone to ground in England." "Tell me, Sergeant, do the police suspect-- if I may use the expression-- foul play?" "Uh, nobody's even mentioned foul play, sir." "I have." "The police are acting on Mrs. Demarest's request." "DAVID:" "Geraldine is a big girl now." "Do you think she'd thank you for sending the police on her trail?" "They may find her under somewhat embarrassing circumstances." "I have a feeling, David." "I've had it ever since Geraldine didn't turn up." "A feeling there's something wrong." "It's got stronger since I came to this house." "Mr. Wheeler, can you give us any information that might be of assistance to us?" "Well, let's skip the question and answer period." "My sister and I were on extremely bad terms." "She didn't like the way I was running the mills, and I didn't like the way she was trying to run me." "She owns the mills, and if anything happens to her," "I inherit them." "That help you any?" "Well, you know, you're answering questions I haven't even asked, sir." "Well, there are a few more." "I was sent to the United States during the Blitz when I was a boy." "I went to school there, I grew up there." "My father heard reports of the way I was living that he didn't like." "He left the mills to Geraldine when he died." "He was kind enough to make some provisions for me in his will, and that's why" "Geraldine allowed me to manage the mills." "It was against her better judgment, and if you want to examine the books, you will discover that her better judgment was very good, indeed." "Is there anything else?" "Nothing else I can think of asking at the moment, sir." "See, I told you we could skip the question and answer period." "Now, if no one minds, I'll have a very long drink." "And you can decide for yourselves whether there's sorrow for Geraldine's disappearance, or sheer, undiluted joy." "Well." "Well, I think that's all for the moment." "We'll pass on any information we receive as soon as we get it." "Good night." "Good night." "HELEN:" "Good night." "Were you deliberately trying to rub the sergeant the wrong way?" "Is there a right way to rub sergeants, darling?" "The police will never find Geraldine." "From what I've seen of them, they probably have difficulty finding their way home." "Something's happened to Geraldine, I know it." "If the police can't find her, who will?" "Annie Jones." "Oh, for heaven's sake, Aunt Helen." "Not another of your spiritualists." "You may laugh, David, but you've never met Annie." "She's a little girl." "With a tambourine, no doubt." "Oh, need you be so rude?" "It's the other side of my well known charm, darling." "David..." "Annie Jones is an orphan at Armsbury." "I met her because I'm on the board of governors." "She's not a spiritualist, David." "She's a finder." "Meaning female bloodhound?" "She can find things and..." "and people, too." "She... she feels their vibrations somehow." "A little girl was lost at the orphanage last year." "Annie found her." "Who lost her in the first place?" "Stop it, David." "Geraldine is lost." "She may be in serious trouble." "I doubt it, but if she were, I refuse to believe that some idiot girl in an orphanage can help any." "She's not an idiot girl." "You've never seen her eyes." "MATRON:" "I want you to admit that you stole Doris's beads." "I stole nothing." "Doris said she saw you steal them." "She's a liar." "Then how did you know that they were hidden upstairs under the loose floorboard?" "I seen them." "In my head." "Not until I told you you wouldn't have any supper until they were found." "(sniffles)" "I don't like looking for things in my head." "It hurts." "No doubt." "Annie, this isn't the first time that this has happened." "You're going to confess you stole the beads, and you're going to stay here and learn in this room until you do." "And no magazines, either." "(door closing, locking)" "I seen them." "In my head." "Annie Jones is a nasty child and a born liar." "Oh, come now, Matron." "I wouldn't say that." "That's because you don't know her, Mr. Frobisher." "Well, naturally, hardly as well as you do, Matron, but then, uh, I have my own work to do." "Papers, papers, papers." "Papers to read, to write, to sign." "I sometimes think that's why we lost the empire." "Yes, well..." "As a member of the board of governors, Mr. Frobisher," "I fail to understand why Matron dislikes children." "FROBISHER:" "Oh, Matron doesn't dislike children, Mrs. Demarest." "It's just that, uh... well, um," "Annie isn't everybody's cup of tea." "Uh... uh, Annie will be staying with Mrs. Demarest for a while, Matron." "Will you go and get her ready at once?" "She's being punished." "Oh, well, we can carry on with that when she returns." "I mean, uh, we can have a little chat about it sometime, can't we?" "(door opening, closing)" "The Matron's got a heart of gold, you know, really." "I grant you, she doesn't wear it on her sleeve exactly, but, uh, well, it would be rather awkward if she did, wouldn't it?" "Uh..." "I think I may safely say that thanks to the generous patronage of people like you, Mrs. Demarest, we are doing wonderful work here." "Annie has been granted a wonderful gift." "Gift, eh?" "Oh... (chuckles) you mean that silly stuff about her seeing in the dark?" "It's not seeing in the dark, Mr. Frobisher." "It's finding things that are lost, and it's not silly at all." "Oh, oh, no, no." "Of course it isn't, dear." "Especially to those who've lost, um... well, whatever it is they've lost." "Annie." "Annie, my dear, you're coming home to stay with me for a while." "Aren't you glad?" "Yes, ma'am." "HELEN:" "Make a nice change for you." "Your aunt's a wonderful woman, Mr. Wheeler." "Got a mind of her own, wouldn't you say?" "I might." "(chuckling)" "Not too many of her sort around these days." "Probably why we lost the empire, don't you think?" "Not really." "(chuckling)" "Good-bye." "Good-bye." "Well, Matron, there's one thing we can be grateful for." "What's that, sir?" "We've got rid of that 17-year-old horror." "For a while, anyway." "(chuckling)" "(girls murmuring, shouting in distance)" "(engine starting)" "Yes, it'll make such a nice change for you, dear." "We're all going to stay at my niece's house." "She's David's sister." "I don't mind." "David's wife will be there, too." "I'm sure you'll get along very well with her." "Got a light?" "Do they allow you to smoke at the home?" "Not likely." "Then I don't think you should smoke when you're away from it." "Besides, you're rather young for that sort of thing." "What's the game?" "HELEN:" "Oh... well, nothing, really." "Oh, tell her now." "You'll have to sooner or later." "Well, it's just that we're terribly upset, and you can help us." "Me?" "With your wonderful gift for finding things." "Oh, wonderful nothing." "Gets me into trouble is all it does." "That's because people don't understand." "Believe me, dear, I do." "What have you gone and lost?" "The family silver spoon?" "Not exactly." "As I said, we're going to stay at my niece's house, but she isn't there." "She's disappeared." "We're all dreadfully worried about her, Annie, and we want you to find her for us." "Do you think you can?" "If I want to." "Afternoon, Sergeant." "So it is." "Oh, for heaven's sake, stop futzing." "Come on, come on, come on." "Yeah." "(sighs)" "Find anything on Geraldine Wheeler?" "Nothing." "Well, she could have gone off to Brighton for a bit of this and that." "Then why bother booking a flight to Spain?" "It's too cold for this and that in Brighton, anyway, this time of the year." "Whatever "this and that" means." "Now, wherever Geraldine Wheeler is," "I don't think she planned on being there." "You may be right." "Oh, that comforts me enormously." "Marlowe, what do you think of David Wheeler?" "Well, he seems to have motives for wanting Miss Wheeler out of the way." "Yeah, the full measure..." "flowing over." "But did he have the opportunity?" "Let's find out, shall we?" "CAROL:" "David." "David!" "Hmm?" "Will you help me?" "Help you do what?" "Get into this dress." "I'd rather help you get out of a dress than into a dress." "How many women have you said that to?" "None." "You're a terrible liar." "CAROL:" "We'll be late for dinner." "(door opening)" "HELEN:" "Annie?" "Annie, my dear." "Who's got the room in there?" "David and Carol." "Isn't this a pretty room, Annie?" "It's Geraldine's, you know." "I put you in here because I thought it might be easier for you to pick up Geraldine's aura." "This hers?" "Yes." "I stopped playing with dolls when I was six years old." "There's plenty of hot water." "Why don't you have a nice bath before dinner?" "I'm not dirty." "Unlike some." "Well, we'll be having dinner in a little while." "You'll hear the bell." "(door shuts)" "Annie, you don't want to be finished before David and Carol even come to the table, do you?" "Ain't my fault they're late." "Of course not." "I'm very cross with them, but you..." "I'm hungry, Mrs. Demarest." "Naturally you are, at your age." "I've been hungry for years." "I'm sorry we're so late, Aunt Helen... but Carol had some difficulty getting her dress on." "At least we haven't kept our guest waiting." "You'll know me next time you see me, won't you?" "(ringing)" "Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler are ready now, Margaret." "Ah..." "I won't answer for the roast, though." "I'm not used to this kitchen." "There's one thing I like about English servants." "They're so democratic." "Margaret's been with me for 20 years." "Which proves she's a very intelligent woman." "Where else could she find so charming a hostess?" "What happened to your cufflink?" "Oh..." "I lost it." "Carol had to sew me together." "She's very good at that." "Hmm." "Same wine she had last time." "It's a pity Geraldine never married." "Her husband might have taught her something about wines." "When was the last time you were here, David?" "Oh, sometime in April." "Two or three days before she..." "left for wherever she's gone." "I didn't know you'd been here as recently as that." "Well, I didn't exactly want to advertise it in the public press." "You see, I came down to borrow some money from her." "Did she lend you any?" "We both know our dear Geraldine better than that, now." "Don't we, Aunt Helen?" "(crickets chirping)" "(owl hooting, squawking)" "Margaret, the roast was delicious." "Hmm." "Whatever you may think, Aunt Helen," "I suspect that Geraldine's off on some goodwill tour somewhere." "What on Earth are you talking about?" "I mean, of goodwill toward men... or man, rather." "I don't approve of this conversation, especially in front of..." "I'm sorry." "At any rate, it's given me an idea." "Carol and I haven't had a honeymoon now for three years." "I think it's time we had another one." "People only have honeymoons when they get married." "DAVID:" "Don't be so stuffy," "Aunt Helen." "It is my considered opinion that people should have honeymoons regularly." "Gives one a chance to improve on past performance." "David." "I think it's a very good idea, David." "Someone's got to look after the mills." "They can look after themselves for a few weeks." "Carol, how do you feel about Italy this time of year?" "Sounds marvelous." "ANNIE:" "Mr. Wheeler, what was your cufflink like?" "My cufflink?" "The one you lost." "Oh." "Uh, exactly like this one." "I can find it for you." "No, don't bother." "It'll turn up." "I want to find it." "For you." "Oh, that's very sweet of you, Annie." "But I wouldn't want you crawling about on hands and knees peering under beds and bureaus for it." "That's not the way I find things, Mr. Wheeler." "Now look, Annie, I told you that..." "Be quiet, David." "I've seen her like this before." "She's in a trance." "Are you sure it isn't indigestion?" "(softly moaning)" "CAROL:" "It's more than that, David." "Now don't tell me you believe in this mumbo jumbo, too." "Something is happening to that girl, whatever I believe." "DAVID:" "She's either a fake or a fool." "Smooth." "Smooth and silk and warm." "Thrown away." "Seen once." "Seen twice." "Smooth." "Smooth and silk and warm." "Thrown away." "Seen once." "Seen twice." ""Seen once." "Seen twice."" "CAROL:" "On the dressing table, and in the mirror." "She was right." "She was right." "I told you, David." "I don't believe it." "There must be some other explanation." "What other explanation?" "She could've been peeking through keyholes." "Oh, there are lots of things that could be seen peeking through keyholes, David, but hardly anything as small as a cufflink caught in a dress." "She's a dirty, unattractive child." "Perhaps you haven't looked at her long enough or deeply enough, David." "Perhaps I haven't." "She found your lost cufflink;" "you still so sure she won't find Geraldine?" "I'm sure of one thing." "It's late and I'm tired." "Yes." "Good night, Carol." "Good night, David." "David..." "Do you want Geraldine found?" "Of course I do." "I want her found alive and healthy." "Alive, healthy and wanting to know what you've done with the mills' money." "What about the mills' money?" "I know what your salary is, David." "I know the way we've been living." "You must have been taking money." "Why not call it stealing?" "Because I love you." "Because I... suppose I hope you'd stop before it was too late." "And because you like wearing some of that stolen money." "I'm sorry I" "I didn't mean that." "Of course you're right." "It won't look too good to the police, will it?" "My position." "Our trip to Italy is off for a bit, isn't it?" "Didn't take that girl very long to find a lost cufflink." "I've got to stay here." "I've got to see how long it takes her to find a woman." "(crickets chirping)" "Uh, Mr. David Wheeler arrived in Medvale on the 4:30 train on the afternoon of April the seventh." "That's two days before Miss Wheeler's disappearance." "Good." "He had dinner with Miss Wheeler that night at her home." "Very good." "He left Medvale on the 11:45 train that same night." "Witnesses?" "A station master," "Mr. Throgley, the greengrocer who's traveling on business, a Mr. Hobson, who was going up to London..." "To ogle the girls at a strip club, and then to get drunk at some small West End hotel." "(laughing)" "Really?" "Mr. Hobson is a pillar of Medvale society." "He's respectable, sober, and he doesn't go to London more than once a month." "Yes, sir." "Uh, Miss Wheeler was seen on the day of the eighth by many of the townspeople." "Mr. Wheeler, however, was not seen on the eighth or the ninth." "Good." "Very good." "And no good at all." "You do suspect Mr. Wheeler, don't you, Sergeant?" "Hmm?" "Yes, I do." "But I don't know why." "I don't even know what of." "Blast that sun, it gets in my eye." "Oh, sorry, Sergeant." "(car approaching)" "Wonder how much longer that car of Lucas' is gonna last." "Or Lucas himself, for that matter." "Are you gossiping, Marlowe, or making a police report?" "Gossip, I'm afraid, Sergeant." "Pity you're not married, then." "An ideal outlet for meaningless chatter." "Well, go on, what's he been up to?" "Oh, nothing really." "Just for the past week or so he's spent every night in the pub till closing time." "Catching drinks?" "No, buying 'em." "Treating everybody." "Ah." "Taxi business looking up, eh?" "Or more likely he's come into a bit of money, Sergeant." "Now you've got some reason for saying all this, of course." "Outside of the fact that the man's paying for his own drinks, I mean." "Well, no, just guessing." "You know, he's caught up with his rent for the first time in years." "Bought his old woman and kids new clothes, things like that." "Is it important?" "I don't know, Marlowe." "I'll have to ask Lucas." "Won't I?" "(men chattering indistinctly)" "Well, well, well." "That was terrific." "You are a ruddy marvel, Lucas." "That you are." "You should be on the tele." "Along with all the trained seals?" "Oh, come off it." "Did you have in mind that I should be playing a bloomin' Romeo?" "Fill it up again." "Good evening, Sergeant." "(mutters)" "(mumbles)" "What are you having, Sergeant?" "I'll have a half a bitter, please." "Make it a pint." "No." "Don't worry, it's on me." "A pint of bitter for the Sergeant." "Oh, that's very kind of you." "You workin' late, Sergeant?" "No later than you, friend." "Thanks." "I'd like a word with you if you've got a moment, Lucas." "Think we can sit down?" "Well, I'll be" "Bull's-eye again, Lucas." "Sit down." "Things looking up a bit for you?" "You training for welfare work?" "No, just curious." "Well, if you must know I've come in for a pot of money." "So I can afford to buy you a pint of bitter whenever the fancy takes me." "As well as pay up, perhaps, six months' back rent?" "Nice of you to take an interest." "That's not really what I'm interested in." "What's more to the point is whether or not you drove anyone out to the Wheeler house on the ninth of April." "It's a long time passed." "I don't remember." "That's all right." "I'll help you." "That's the day you were supposed to pick up Miss Wheeler." "I told you I haven't seen nor heard of her..." "Oh, I'm not questioning that." "I was just wondering if you might have driven David Wheeler to his sister's home on the ninth of April." "I wouldn't remember." "Or would he be paying you to forget?" "Now, look, there's nothing to charge anybody with, Lucas." "Not yet." "But if you had been deliberately withholding information you could be arrested as an accomplice." "An accomplice to what?" "(sighs)" "That's the question." "Thanks for the beer." "Or, uh, should I thank David Wheeler?" "(patrons chattering indistinctly)" "(piano playing melancholy tune)" "(rain pattering)" "How much longer are we going to have to wait?" "Till Geraldine gets tired of her fancy man and returns home?" "I won't have you saying things like that about Geraldine." "Obviously the police aren't gonna find her." "And neither is your pet clairvoyant." "HELEN:" "Annie needs time." "She's got to absorb Geraldine's aura." "Don't you mean Margaret's cooking?" "I'm just a barrel organ man's monkey to you, ain't I?" "Turn the handle and I'll dance." "Drop a haet in a tin cup and I'll tell your fortune." "My dear girl," "I haven't given nearly that much thought to you." "(thunder rumbling)" "Don't take any notice of David, Annie." "He's bored." "And when he's bored he likes to hurt people." "I should know." "Why don't he look at me like I was a human being?" "HELEN:" "Annie, run up to your room and lie down for a while." "We're all a bit on edge." "We're worried about Geraldine." "We're worried about the police and the rapidly rising price of potato..." "(screaming)" "(thunder rumbling) (door slams)" "Did she think I was gonna hit her with hit?" "I wouldn't blame her if she had, David." "You're behaving very badly." "(thunder cracking)" "Well now, it's your turn." "To crush me with a wel al- chosen phrase and walk out." "Not unless you want me to." "What was that thing you were playing?" ""Consolation" by Liszt." "Will you finish it for me?" "(thunder rumbling)" "(piano playing resumes)" "(laughter outside)" "(giggles)" "(water splashing)" "¶" "¶" "¶" "¶" "¶" "(clock chiming)" "It's so lovely out, Margaret." "A bit wet, but lovely." "Yes, madam." "Mrs. Demarest?" "Yes?" "I was upstairs a few minutes ago." "Well, what of it?" "I seen that girl sneaking out of Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler's bedroom." "Where were David and Carol?" "Oh, they was in the drawing room." "They didn't see her." "Then there's no harm done." "She was carrying a dress and underthings and I don't know what else under her arm." "All she was wearing, madam, was a towel." "(chuckles)" "Annie's a poor child, but gifted." "I think the girl's a thief." "Don't be a fool." "If Annie did take some of Carol's clothes, it wasn't to steal them." "It's because she was hungry for pretty things, things she's never had." "She's got no right to them." "How can we judge someone like her?" "No parents she can remember, no life of her own, no friends." "When you were young, weren't you ever tempted to do something a little wrong?" "Yes, madam." "But I never did it." "I'm so glad you're feeling better, dear." "Thank you." "That's one of your dresses, isn't it, Carol?" "ANNIE:" "I didn't steal it." "I borrowed it-- that's all I did-- 'cause I haven't got anything nice to wear." "My clothes smell of carbolic soap, of years of wearing, of charity in the orphanage." "You look very pretty, Annie." "Oh, I don't look pretty;" "I look awful." "I suppose you'll throw these clothes away or burn them after tonight." "Don't be silly." "Well, he won't let you wear them, not after I have." "I'm still waiting for a light, David." "I'm sorry, Annie." "I must be a very wicked woman." "The cards never come out right for me." "DAVID:" "We've been holding a wake here for a week." "Carol, get your coat, let's go dancing." "You won't mind, will you, Aunt Helen?" "Of course not, dear." "I'm sorry, Annie." "Whatever for?" "You'll be going to plenty of dances when you're a little older." "(door closes)" "He never really looked at me." "What did you say, Annie?" "(crying)" "(applies hand brake)" "(crickets chirping)" "I've got to talk to you." "Come over here." "Well?" "The police have been asking me questions." "Shh..." "Perhaps they're lonely." "Questions about you." "Well, I trust you spoke well of me." "So far, I've only had a hundred pounds." "I need the rest of the money." "Look, I promised you a thousand pounds." "You'll have to wait until I get back to the mills." "Right now I don't have it." "The police would like me to tell them that I drove you out here the afternoon your sister disappeared." "That would be lying, wouldn't it?" "I'll get you a hundred pounds tomorrow." "That'll ease the waiting period." "Now, look, I did a good job, just like we planned." "Yes, you did, fine." "(distant whistle blows)" "By the way, don't it bother you, knowing your sister's buried back there?" "Why should it?" "I didn't kill her." "You bought her death." "Huh." "It was a necessary purchase." "I'm paying you a thousand pounds for having done what you wanted to do anyway." "You came to me." "Yeah, that's true." "It's odd, isn't it?" "It was Geraldine herself who brought us together." "If I hadn't found out that you were having an affair with her, I wouldn't have known where to look." "People like your sister and you-- you don't think the rest of us are really human, do you?" "Hmm, you're wrong." "We don't think we are." "That girl Annie Jones-- she finds things, don't she?" "Things nobody wants her to find." "I have no idea." "Today she hasn't found anything but a cufflink I lost." "So I'm not a bit impressed." "Well, I'm worried about her." "As long as one of us is worried." "Carol is probably wondering what's happened to me." "Till tomorrow, Lucas, good night." "(gasping)" "(panting)" "(murmurs)" "¶" "(soft thud)" "¶" "LUCAS:" "You forgot the fireplace." "Wouldn't do to leave the fire burning." "Geraldine, you'd better let me do that." "¶" "¶" "¶" "¶" "DAVID:" "Annie?" "(whimpering)" "Annie?" "Annie, wake up!" "Wake up!" "She was calling me." "Who?" "(whimpers)" "I don't know." "(crickets chirping)" "(sighs)" "Hello, David." "Why are we here?" "You were walking in your sleep." "We better get you into the house, before you catch cold." "Your wife's nightgown." "She's got other things to keep her warm at night, ain't she?" "Well, if you do much sleepwalking, flannel would be much better." "(soft thud)" "(crickets chirping)" "Well, we got you back into the house without waking anyone." "I still think flannel is more suitable." "Certainly more respectable." "Do you walk in your sleep very often?" "No." "You better not do that anymore." "It's not really up to me." "Is there any particular reason why you went off into the woods?" "I don't remember anything about that." "You see, I only walk in my sleep when something sets me off." "What set you off this time?" "A dream." "A dream?" "About you." "A dream about me set you off to walking in the woods?" "No, the dream had nothing to do with that." "It was about you and me." "Well, I hope I didn't do anything I shouldn't have." "You didn't get the chance." "Perhaps that's just as well." "Now, look, young lady, no more midnight rambles for you." "I can't promise that, can I?" "'Cause I might get to dreaming again." "Well, then don't." "How can I stop it?" "Except..." "A girl don't dream about something she can have when she's awake." "You've been reading Freud." "Been reading what?" "Never mind." "But I do mind." "I mind a lot." "Now look here, young lady, you get to bed." "No more dreams tonight." "Who are you fooling?" "Yourself maybe." "Not me." "I was born and raised in a Liverpool slum." "I was 12 years old before I got sent to the orphanage." "In the gutter by the time you're 12 years old, there ain't much left for you to learn." "Not about men and women anyway." ""There now, you run off to bed like a good little girl." ""I've given you a slap here" ""and a pinch there so you won't dream." "Tomorrow, I may even give you a bit of a squeeze, who knows?"" "Think all I've been asking of you is a piece of chocolate?" "That ain't all you've been asking of me, neither." "I haven't asked anything of you." "Your eyes have." "And your hands." "Don't be a fool." "Ain't it about time you told me how much you love your wife?" "But I do love her." "Liar." "That's one thing we learn quick in the gutter." "A man who loves his wife keeps his eys and his hands to himself." "I know you want me as much as I want you." "CAROL:" "Neither of you were very careful about keeping your voices low." "You've never been conspicuously discreet, David, let alone loyal, but isn't she rather young?" "What were you doing at her age, playing with dolls?" "No, I wasn't playing with dolls." "I wasn't making love to other women's husbands, either." "He don't love you." "Perhaps not, but I've tried to believe he does." "Why don't you two have a nice, heart-to-heart talk about me?" "In my absence." "What did you expect him to do, Annie?" "(door closes)" "Divorce me?" "Carry you off in a blaze of glory?" "Or more probably in a rented Bentley." "Marry you at high noon?" "Maybe there ain't so much difference between girls from Liverpool and girls from wherever you come from, but he wouldn't have to marry me." "You are only 16, aren't you?" "I'm 17." "Would have been different if he'd loved you." "For whom?" "Me." "I know what you think of me." "I always know what people think of me." "But I don't care." "Only I've got to tell you that if I thought he loved you, that would have stopped me." "Isn't there something else that should have stopped you?" "What?" "Knowing that I loved him." "(sobbing)" "(bells tolling)" "Thank you, Margaret." "We'll serve ourselves." "Aunt Helen, I've had enough of this." "Do have your breakfast, dear." "Carol and I are returning to the mills this afternoon." "I don't know where Geraldine is, and I don't care." "I doubt very much whether anyone else does, either." "I'm very fond of Geraldine." "Bully for you." "Carol, don't you think...?" "I think David is right." "HELEN:" "But there's Annie." "She hasn't had time to absorb Geraldine's aura." "She's had time to absorb a lot more than you realize." "My advice to you is to pack her off to the orphanage immediately." "I admit that may be a little rough on the orphanage people, but then, that's what they're getting paid for, isn't it?" "She should be given her chance." "She's had her chance, and she's taken it, believe me." "That girl is a troublemaker, and nothing more." "As for her gift, the only thing she can find is her way back to the gutter." "(Annie cries)" "Be still, David." "Annie, come and have your breakfast, dear." "Mrs. Demarest?" "Yes, dear?" "I'm ready to find Geraldine." "Really?" "I felt her close to me last night, but I didn't look for her." "Not then." "I'm going to now." "You better get the police here." "HELEN:" "Are you sure?" "I'll be waiting in the other room." "(door closes)" "Marlowe, do you know that the Bromley assassin used just such a paper knife as this to dispatch six of his wives?" "Really?" "Must have been very painful for 'em, Sergeant." "(phone ringing)" "Now, hold on a moment, in case it concerns you." "Hello." "Sergeant Henry speaking." "Yes." "Oh, hold the line a moment, please." "That's all right." "Run along." "And keep an eye on Lucas." "Oh, uh, I'm being invited to partake of spirits." "(laughs)" "Lovely." "This hour of the morning?" "Unfortunately, not alcoholic spirits." "Yes?" "Yes, of course, Mrs. Demarest." "Yes, you're quite right." "I'll come over there myself." "I'm leaving immediately." "Good-bye." "(sighs)" "Six wives." "No wonder." "What's she waiting for?" "A violin obbligato?" "David, please." "She's just going into a trance." "It's a very difficult moment for her." "A very difficult half hour is more like it." "Sergeant, do you believe in nonsense?" "If it is nonsense, no, sir." "Why are you here?" "To see if the girl will speak." "Suppose she does." "Suppose she says that Geraldine is cavorting in the Upper Amazon with Peruvian headhunters?" "Well, that would be very odd, sir, seeing that the Upper Amazon isn't in Peru at all." "Well, you have no idea how Peruvian headhunters get around these days." "(whimpering) CAROL:" "David?" "Stay where you are, Carol." "But she's suffering." "Nothing you can do will help her." "(panting)" "(whimpering)" "(gasps)" "Aunt Helen." "Aunt Helen." "Who are you?" "I'm Geraldine, Aunt Helen." "Yes, dear, of course." "Is..." "Is anything wrong?" "I'm so lonely." "Lonely and afraid." "Everything's going to be all right, Geraldine." "Just tell us where you are." "I don't know." "You must try to tell me where you are." "You must try very hard." "I am trying, Aunt Helen." "But I can't see." "It's so dark." "He won't let me rest." "There's noise and there's movement." "I go from place to place." "I don't know where." "I want to rest, Aunt Helen." "I want to sleep!" "Did I... did she tell you anything?" "Nothing of any practical importance, I'm afraid." "Well, if you'll, uh, excuse me, Mrs. Demarest," "I don't think I can be of any further service to you." "Uh, neither can I. We'll take the train this afternoon." "It was kind of you to come, Sergeant." "Well, good-bye." "(door closes)" "She must have told you something." "Weren't you listening?" "I wasn't here." "She came into my head." "I..." "I wasn't here at all." "Well, then, for your information, she seems to be traveling around the countryside with a rather athletic lover." "I know you can't help being cruel, David, but need you be vulgar, as well?" "(door closes) Why blame me?" "Take it up with Geraldine when she returns." "(car starts)" "(car door opens)" "(car door closes, car driving away)" "Well, Annie, that was a very good try, but not good enough." "Get your things together." "Your things, not my wife's, if you don't mind." "Maybe nobody's going to believe me, maybe not ever, but when I'm taken over, it's not by the spirit of anybody living." "I don't know what she said with my lips or what she saw through my eyes, but it's because she can't speak anymore with her lips or see anything with her eyes." "She's dead." "(gasps)" "I admire that girl." "She goes down fighting." "(door closes)" "You've let her upset you." "Mmm..." "It's just what the little devil wanted." "Believe me, the sooner she leaves this house, the happier you'll be." "Oh, David, are you sure?" "Of course I am." "And as soon as my idiotic ersister decides to come home, you and she will have the laugh of your lives over this whole business." "Now, you tell Margaret there'll be one less for lunch today." "We're bundling her off and back where she belongs." "Now, go on." "(door closes)" "(birds chirping, crow cawing)" "You've got it all your own way now, haven't you?" "Not really." "I haven't entirely forgotten last night." "It's a pity Carol woke up when she did." "However... they'll be letting you out of the orphanage soon, and when they do, you might consider applying for a job at the Wheeler Mills." "(door opens)" "Ask for me." "(door closes)" "(car starts)" "(engine roaring)" "(clock chiming)" "(door opens)" "Are you ready?" "Did she hate me so much?" "DAVID:" "Annie?" "No, I don't think she hates you." "You're just the superfluous wife." "That does describe me, doesn't it?" "Superfluous wife." "Now, don't be childish." "I know I've behaved badly, but you'll forgive me." "You do it so well." "I've had enough practice." "(birds chirping, crow cawing)" "(car starts)" "The bird's about to fly the coop." "Wheeler?" "Yeah." "No salt to put on his tail either, not a pinch." "You run ahead and get the tickets." "I'll settle with Lucas." "(train passing)" "The police have been watching me." "I hope you haven't done anything illegal." "Your hundred pounds." "Put that envelope away." "Not that it matters particularly." "The police have nothing to go on, not with Geraldine tucked away safely in that clearing." "Not with that Annie Jones around." "I've seen that girl's eyes." "I'm still worried about her." "You can stop worrying." "She's back at the orphanage." "Then I did right." "Did what right?" "I dug up your sister's body." "You stupid fool." "I did right." "I dug her up in the middle of last night." "That girl would have found it if it was still there." "That body was perfectly safe where it was." "What have you done with it?" "Don't worry about that now." "Annie Jones'll never find it now." "You let go of me!" "Annie Jones is a devil." "Forget Annie Jones." "It's the police I'm worried about." "MARLOWE:" "Lucas." "Lucas." "Sergeant Henry wants to ask you some questions." "(Marlowe grunts)" "David, the train'll be here in a minute." "(brakes screeching)" "He caught me by surprise, Sergeant." "Yes, I can see that." "I think you'd better come along with us, sir." "What for?" "Questions later, huh?" "Am I under arrest?" "We'll see." "(tires screeching)" "(tires screeching)" "David, are you in trouble?" "No, I just like drives in the country." "Darling, please." "Why don't you leave the questioning to the police?" "(horn honking)" "¶" "(tires screeching)" "(tires screeching)" "(Lucas screams)" "(Carol gasps, car crashes)" "(car doors closing)" "(gasps)" "(moaning)" "Lucas." "Lucas, can you hear me?" "Now, listen, you've got to tell me." "What do you know about the death of Geraldine Wheeler?" "I killed her." "You did?" "But why?" "(Lucas mumbling)" "Is Lucas dead?" "He lived long enough." "Annie Jones knew after all, didn't she?" ""There is noise." ""There is movement." "I go from place to place."" "Mr. Wheeler, I'm placing you under arrest, and I must warn you that anything you say will be taken down and may be used in evidence." ""I go from place to place.""