"23.976" "I'm sorry." "We don't give out that information." "Thank you." "Grose County Hospital." "Where?" "Hold on." "Wilson." "A shooting." "Two men." "Middleton and Bay." "Right." "7:58." "Here we go, Doc." " Hi, Lefty." " Hey, Luth." "What do ya know?" " I've been lookin' for you." " What's up?" " Dr. Smith, call Operator Two." " Hello, Brooks." "Good evening, Doctor." " Dr. Smith, call Operator Two." " Good evening." "Good evening." "Dr. Thomas wanted in Surgery." " Brooks." " Dr. Thomas wanted in Surgery." " Well, how does it feel?" " The reaction hasn't set in yet." "Like a woman who's just had a baby, I won't believe it till I see it." " I hear it was pretty tough." " It was for me." "But then I don't think state boards can be tough enough." "Well, that's one thing doctors agree on." "After they pass the examination, they all want it made tougher for the next one." " Congratulations, Doc." " Same to you, Eddie." " Anytime you need any help in Pathology" " I'll look you up." "Well, it looks like a busy night." "Good chance to polish up your hem stitching." "That's what tickles my wife when I tell her I sew people up." "She won't let me work on an old sock." "I'll bet she's happy you finished your year at County, huh?" "Yeah, I suppose so." "That part of it hasn't been much fun." "It's no good a man's wife supporting him, his mother and the rest of the family." " Well, it's over now." " Dr. Wharton, call Prison Ward." "Dr. Wharton, call Prison Ward." "Dr. Wharton." "Oh, I see." "Well, Brooks will cover." "Thank you." "One of the interns in the prison ward has reported sick." " You take over until he gets back." " Right." "Oh, Dr. Wharton..." " I've applied to stay on here another year." " Junior resident?" "Why?" "Because I think it's more important than a few extra dollars." "A little easier living." "I've got a lot to learn." " Well, you'll always have a lot to learn." " I don't mean it just that way." "I'm not sure of myself yet in many ways." "I think I need a little more time than the others." " I'll be happy to have you with me for another year." " I was hoping you'd say that." "I think that if I left you now, I'd never again find anyone as considerate and interested." "My interest in you, Brooks, is no greater than in any other good doctor on my service." " Good night." " Good night." "Hello." "Prison Ward, Brooks." "You on your way?" " As soon as I get my whites on." " Be right up." "Dr. Billings, call Ward 7." "Dr. Billings, call Ward 7." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Try Information right over there." "Right there." "That's the window right there." "Hold it, Lefty." "All the way up tonight, Lefty, I'm in Prison Ward." "You mind going down?" "Someone's leaning on emergency." "Right." "Say, what about that new exam you had to take?" " I thought you was a regular doctor already." " State board?" "Everybody's gotta take it so as you can get your license to practice." "Well, the boys were saying it was just for colored doctors." "Well, you can tell the boys it's for all doctors." " I bet they laid it on you." " No more than anybody else." "They don't even ask your name." "They give you a number." "They look at your number." "They know." " They got ways of knowing." " Oh, why don't you quit?" " What's it about?" " For the prison ward." "Shot in the leg, both of them." "I caught 'em sticking up a gas station." "A couple of two-for-a-nickel tough guys." "Hey, Officer, will you bend down for a minute?" "I wanna polish your badge." " You sure you hit this one in the leg only?" " Right over the knee, one shot." "And what's it to you?" "Clean that up." "Where's your mop?" " Take 'em away." " Hey, Mac, I thought this was a hospital." "You got mixed up." "We're at the Cotton Club." "How you doing, Johnny?" "N-Not so bad." "No, no, I'm over here, Johnny." "Not so bad." "Aw, a slug in the leg don't mean a thing." "We'll be outta here in a week." "A week, is it?" "I'll make book it's for two years or more." " Oh, dry up." " For how much, big mouth?" "The Biddle brothers." "Look at 'em." "Ray, he's the king of Beaver Canal." "Yeah, he's beat up more women and old people than anybody." "Such bright boys." "They don't figure a cop also knows a gas station's a setup in the rain." "I pops this one through the window, and he drops." "Then this one, he gets hysterical or something... and he runs toward me instead ofhis car." "Then when he sees me, he turns around and runs into the pump." "Then he misses me with a bullet, and I hit him with one." "Will you tell me something about your brother?" "Sure, sure." "What would you like to know?" "Has he ever been confused before in his sense of direction or maybe his sense of touch?" "Well, let me see." "Every time Beaver Canal went over to clean up nigger town..." "Johnny knew just what direction it was." " You shut up." " Of course, he could have just smelled where to go." "Shut up." "Shut up." "You're talking to a doctor." "A doctor?" "Him?" "Lie back and lie still." "You're in my charge." " Who's your friends, Kowalski?" " Public enemies one and two." " I'm Dr. Brooks." " Yeah, they said you'd be up." " Your first time here, isn't it, Doc?" " That's right." " Have an empty room?" " Number five." "Number five." "All right, let's get them in there right away." "Won't you wanna be booking' them first?" "I'd like to turn them over." "I think it's important to examine them first." "Him in particular." "Okay." "I don't want him." "I want a white doctor." "We'll turn the lights out, and you won't know the difference." " Haven't I got any rights?" " No!" "Will you be needing some instruments?" " You keep the cases locked?" " This ain't no maternity ward, Doc." "Just get their pants off." "Don't touch the dressings." "I'll do that myself." "Now there's a gadget I've always wondered about." "What are you gonna do, wrap something around his leg?" "It's for examining the interior of the eyes." "But they got shot in the leg." " We're ready, Doctor." " Thank you." " I gave them cigarettes, okay?" " No." "What are you doing to him?" "Just try to hold your head like this." "Don't do it, Johnny." "Don't do what he says." "What's the big idea?" "What are you gonna do now?" "Look, I'm trying to help your brother." "Why don't you just shut up?" "You watch yourself, black boy." "Watch how you talk to me." "Just shut up." "Keep looking up at the ceiling." "Attaboy." "Say, Doc, I don't recall anyone using that thing before." " You gonna shoot something in his eye?" " A spinal tap." " A spinal tap?" " Checking the amount of pressure on the brain." "First the eyes, now the spine." "Kowalski, you sure you shot these guys in the leg?" " You ever seen this doctor before?" " No." " Then maybe you'd better check." " No, I know we got one of them in the house." "This must be him." "Just rest easy, boy." "You help me so as I can help you." "Keep your legs in the same position." " Now just rest easy." " Doc, don't hurt him." "Don't do nothin' toJohnny." "He didn't do nothin' to you." "He didn't even say anything." "I was the only one." "Remember, Doc?" "I was out of my mind, you know, gettin' shot and all." "Doc, leaveJohnny alone." "Leave him alone." "Maybe one of you oughta go in and see what's happening." " When a doctor wants an orderly, he'll send for one." " Well, just in case maybe" "Somebody stop him.!" "He's killing Johnny.!" "Somebody stop him.!" "Doctor, stop.!" " Everything all right, Doctor?" " He killed him." "He killed him!" "That dirty nigger killed him!" "You shut up." "Anything wrong, Doc?" " He's dead." " He killed him.!" "He killed him, I tell ya." "I saw him." "He took it out on Johnny." "He wanted it to be me, but he took it out on Johnny." "I'll get you for this, you black rat." "If they hang me, I'll get you for it." "Johnny." "Johnny!" "Johnny." "Oh, Johnny, Johnny." "For a symptom like this to be significant, it should have an historical basis." "That's true, but the accumulation of symptoms- his confused sense of direction, running right into the policeman... the changes in his optic disks, his increased spinal fluid." "Brooks, I'm not ruling out your diagnosis of brain tumor." " I'm merely indicating other possibilities." " What other possibilities?" "Well, there isn't too much you can determine from the outside of a cadaver." "There is a possibility that I killed him, isn't there?" " Don't be a fool." " That I was careless in the spinal tap." "That his brother's Negro-baiting got me down." "I don't wanna ever hear you say anything like that again." "You're a capable doctor." "You were the doctor in charge." "You did what you thought right, and there's an end to it." "Dr. Wharton." "What would you have done?" " Probably exactly what you did." " But you don't agree he had a brain tumor." "Well, not to the exclusion of other possibilities." "How can I?" "A man was shot in the leg." "He bled freely." "He ran." "He fought with the policeman." "He was forcibly overcome." "When you first saw him, he was gasping for breath in shock." "Yeah, a possible blood clot to the lung." "A possibility." "There are a half dozen more." "Is there anything else I should have done?" "It still depends upon what was the matter with him." " And when they go out that fast" " No, I was right." "I know I was right." "I've got to prove it." "I want an autopsy." "And you're entitled to it." "Unfortunately, this is one state which does not insist on an autopsy... in all cases of traumatic death." "We can't do a thing without permission of the family." "It's the family I've got to convince." " The brother?" " No." "He called me a murderer." "Said I murdered his brother in cold blood." "Every time anybody dies in a county hospital, somebody yells murder." " But it's not the same when they yell it at me." " It's got to be." "You're a doctor." "They're not yelling at the doctor." "They're yelling at the nigger." "I've got to have that autopsy." " Who's that man?" " I don't know." " Who is that man?" " Him?" "He's another brother, George Biddle." "He's deef and dumb." " He come up about five minutes ago." " What's he doing here?" "Well, he asked downstairs about his brothers, and they sent him up." "I let him stick around." "He wanted to claim the body... in case you said it was okay to release it." "Well, it's not okay." "Get him outta here." "Louie, get the dummy out." "I'm Dr. Wharton, chief medical resident of this hospital." " Hi, Doc." " Your brother had no right to be here." "Communication with prisoners is forbidden except by direct permission." "Oh, I'm sure George didn't mean no harm." "He's just a poor deaf and dumb guy." "Well, he's kind of broken up aboutJohnny." "Him and Johnny was always very close." "That's what he was telling me, Doc, how he misses Johnny... now thatJohnny's gone." "I understand you created quite a rumpus when Dr. Brooks was doing his best... to save your brother's life." "If you give us any more trouble, you'll be put under restraint." "Is that clear?" " Yeah, Doc." " Dr. Brooks is in charge here..." " and you're expected to cooperate with him." " Whatever you say." "Now, uh, about your brother." "He was undoubtedly dying as he entered this hospital." "I don't think anything could have prevented his death." "Well, he was shot in the leg, wasn't he, Doc?" "Same as me." "The gunshot was probably not the cause of his death." "Uh-huh." "Well, I was only wondering... 'cause if it was, then why ain't I dead too?" "Your brother was a sick man." "Johnny?" "In order to determine the exact extent of that illness... we'd, uh, like permission to perform an autopsy." "You mean cut him up?" "CutJohnny up?" "That is the only way we can determine the exact cause" " No, he's had enough." " But if there's any doubt in your own mind." "No, he's dead." "Leave him alone." "I'll talk to the chief in the morning." "He might ask the coroner to requisition the autopsy." " Thank you." " Good night." "Dr. Brooks." "Would you come here a minute?" "My brother George is quite a guy." "He's a dummy, but he's got eyes like an eagle." "He can read lips a block away." "He can read what people are thinking almost." "And you got big, fat lips." "You're a pushover for George." " Well?" " Wanna know what he really told me, huh?" "He told me everything you and your boss talked about." "How he wasn't sure at all you did the right thing toJohnny." "How maybe he thinks you did the wrong thing." "How he doesn't care whether you murdered my brother or not." "Just forget it." "But you ain't gonna forget it, Rastus." "I did the right thing." "An autopsy will prove it." "Ain't gonna be no autopsy, not on Johnny." "His pals wouldn't like it." "Beaver Canal, it's full ofJohnny's pals." "And wait till they find out how he got killed... and by what." "Yeah, I'd sure hate to be living in nigger town these days." "You live in nigger town?" "Sure you do." "Where else?" "And don't worry about the autopsy." "Yours, I mean." "You're gonna be wide open when they find you." "Dr. Thomas wanted in Surgery." " Dr. Thomas wanted in Surgery." " Good morning." "Go right in, Dr. Wharton." "Good morning, Sam." "What's been dropped out of our budget this time?" "I wish my job was as funny as you seem to think it is, Dan." "Have you seen the morning papers?" "Well, I thought I did." "I must have missed something pretty important." "Oh, just a little item on a back page." ""Policeman battles gunman in rain." "Policeman Edward Kowalski last night surprised two alleged holdup men"- et cetera, et cetera." ""One of the brothers, John Biddle..." ""suffering from a superficial wound in the leg..." ""died shortly after his arrival at the county hospital." "The cause of his death was not revealed. "" "Why not?" "Well, I imagine because the death certificate wasn't filed in time for the story." "Well, what caused the delay?" "The doctor in charge wanted me to corroborate his findings." "Well, did you agree with him?" "I was satisfied that he'd done what he thought was best." " Doctor in charge was Luther Brooks." " Dr. Brooks was in charge." "Dan, this is one of those things that I wake up at night in a cold sweat about." "A grain and a half of Seconal" "The cause of death was not revealed." "They'll follow it up, ask questions, imply this, imply that." "First thing you know, they'll whip it up into one of those hush-hush things..." " demanding investigations." " Selling papers." " Creating opinion." " Sam, an unimportant item on a back page." "You know what can become of an unimportant lump under the skin." "Let's hope it stays that way." "Fortunately, there was no mention of Brooks's name or the fact that he was a Negro." " And what if there were?" " Don't be childish." "Does the fact that Luther Brooks is a Negro... affect his responsibility toward this hospital?" " Or our responsibility toward him?" " Now wait a minute." "Don't go reading any anti-Negro implications into what I say." "I accepted Brooks here as an intern, and I'm all for him." "Next year I'd like another Negro intern." "Maybe two." "Why, if anything, I'm pro-Negro." "I'm not." "I'm pro-good doctor- black, white or polka dot." "As chief resident, I have no more right to wax sentimental... over a bad doctor because he happens to be a Negro... than I have to discriminate against a good doctor... because he's white, Protestant and independently wealthy." "A very commendable scientific attitude." " It's the only scientific attitude." " No, it's not." "But you can afford it because you live in that vacuum across the hall you call your office." "You've got on a white coat." "I haven't." "Public funds, public service." "You think one is the direct result of the other... like an intravenous injection?" "You think all I have to do is to pick up that phone and say send another million dollars?" "You think schools are run by educators?" "Do you think the police department is run by criminologists?" "Do you think the board of supervisors consider your serological lab equipment... more important than getting themselves reelected?" "Why, it took me three months of wheedling, begging and compromising... to get you two hydrotherapy units." "For the same amount of money, the mayor could have bought 300 birdbaths... with his name on each one of them." "Hold on to that white coat, Dan." "Don't change it for one like mine." "Sam Moreland, M.D." "Means something different now." "Means master of double-talk." "Let's hope that this doesn't start something." "You've got a couple of important appropriations coming up against strong opposition." "And the difference between winning and losing... can be the fact that Brooks is a Negro." "Brooks wants you to authorize an autopsy." "There's a brother in custody, isn't there?" "Get his permission." "He won't give it." "He claims Brooks deliberately murdered his brother." "The orderlies tell me he's as vicious a Negro hater as they've ever seen... on the verge of being psychotic about it." "Brooks is pretty upset." "He feels that an autopsy will justify his diagnosis..." " even to this hoodlum." " Hmm." "In your official capacity, have you any reason for dissatisfaction... with the manner in which Brooks handled the case?" " No." " Then in my official capacity..." "I feel that the welfare of the institution would be best served... by forgetting the incident as quickly as possible." "Tell Brooks how much I regret the necessity of rejecting his request." "Right." "Oh, Dan." "You've transferred Brooks from duty in the prison ward of course." "No, I haven't." "In my official capacity..." "I found no reason for transferring him." "As a matter of fact, he should just about have finished removing the bullet... from Ray Biddle's leg." "So, that's the slug that gave me the business, huh?" "When that procaine wears off, you may have some pain." "We'll give you something for it." " I can take it." " Stay off that leg as much as you can." "Can't afford to lose much more blood." "You're gonna come in and look it over every now and then, ain't ya, Doc?" "Doctor, there's a scalpel missing." "There are only two here." " You sure you had three?" " Very sure." "I can't understand it." "It must be here somewhere." "Just keep looking." "We'll find it." "A scalpel of all things." "We just can't have one loose in the prison ward, Doctor." " Where is it?" " Where's what?" " The scalpel." "You took it." " I wouldn't know a scalpel from a stomach pump." " You're outta your mind." " It was lying right next to you." "You had plenty of chances." "You took it." "You've got it on you now." "Give it back." "Eh, take it easy." "Nurse, can't you get him an aspirin or something?" "Orderly." "Sheriff." "You're not leaving this room till they find that scalpel." "You sure you've got enough help?" "How about the fire department?" " What is it, Dr. Brooks?" " This man has stolen a scalpel." "He's got it hidden on him." "I want him searched." " Hand it over, Biddle." " I ain't got it, Doc." " You sure there's one missing?" " I checked all three, Dr. Wharton." " We've only found two." " He's had every opportunity to take it." "Miss Blake and I had our backs to him most of the time." "The scalpels were lying right here on the instrument table... and all he had to do was" "Glad you didn't search me." "I was afraid maybe he'd slipped it under my sheet or something." "Take him back to his room." "Nobody would have believed me." "Who'd take my word around here... against the word of a... doctor?" "I don't know how it got into my pocket." "Well, it's been a long, hard night." "You think I'm imagining things." "I think you're exaggerating the importance of a pathological Negro hater." "His kind hasn't been important to me since I was a kid." "I've got a thick black skin by now, but this one thinks I've murdered his brother." "Well, let him." "You know you didn't." "You couldn't have." " You removed less than 10 drops of fluid." " But he's got to know that." "Dr. Wharton, there are Negroes who are pathological white haters." "If I were white and one of them thought I'd murdered his brother, I'd be afraid too." "I've got to have that autopsy." "It's occurred to you, hasn't it, that the autopsy could show you were wrong." " What chance would you say?" " Maybe 50-50." "Without it, I'm all wrong." " Moreland won't authorize one without consent of the family." " Why not?" "He thinks it contrary to the best interests of the hospital." "The, uh, police record shows the existence of another close relative." " Another brother?" " No, a wife." "The dead man's wife." "Last time he was booked, he listed her as nearest of kin." " A Mrs. Edith Biddle." " Where can I call her?" " Is there a phone number?" " No, only an address." "They had quite a time finding it." "Seems she moves about quite a bit." "Right now it's- it's 351 Front Street." " Wanna come along?" " Oh, but aren't you on duty?" "By now, as far as I'm concerned, you're a case." "I take clothes." "Any old clothes." "I take clothes." "I take." "I take." "I take clothes." " Ruby!" " What do you want?" "Stick your head in the dumbwaiter." "I don't wanna yell so loud." "...sauce." "Ten minutes before serving time... cook the spaghetti in a large pot ofboiling water... with one tablespoon of salt." " Cook it uncovered for" " Who is it?" "My name's Dr. Wharton." "I'd like to talk to you." "Whatever you're sellin', I don't want any." "I feel fine." "I'm not selling anything This is important." "Ain't it always?" "Some other time, buster." "Mrs. Biddle, if you'd just let me explain." " Who'd you say?" " Aren't you Mrs. John Biddle?" "Nobody by that name lives here." "Maybe you'd rather straighten that out with the police." "What's it to them?" "Stop being silly." "Open the door." "All right, so what, Dr. Wharton?" " What makes you think I'm Dr. Wharton?" " Aren't you?" " He might be." " Let's not clown." "This is Dr. Brooks." "He tried to save your husband's life." "You mean, Johnny died in a colored hospital?" "Dr. Brooks is on my staff at the county hospital." "He couldn't have had a better doctor." "Anybody want a coffee cake, it's on the table." " Maybe some coffee." " No, thanks." "Still fresh." "I pick 'em up late at night with the papers." "Saves getting up in the morning." "We want you to know how sorry we are, Mrs. Biddle." " We realize this is no time" " The name's Johnson." " EdieJohnson." " Since when?" "Since I divorced Johnny Biddle a year and a half ago." "It's nice of you to drop around and tell me you're sorry... only I'm not interested." "I'll tell you something else." "If you came by to say the whole Biddle family was dying... and this cigarette butt was the only thing that could save them" " Legally divorced?" " Wanna see the papers?" "Thanks just the same." "Well, I guess that's all, huh?" "Yeah, I'm afraid so." "It's too bad." "We came here because we thought you could help us." " What's there to help?" " We wanted to examine your ex-husband's body... to make sure he died from the causes we think he did." "We're not permitted to without permission of the family." " Well, what aboutJohnny's brothers?" " They won't allow it." " For cash they will." " I'm afraid not." "For two bits, they'd sell his eyeballs." "You're fond of them." "I can see that." "They're lovable." "And now Eddie Miller's new recording of..." ""In a Sentimental Mood. "" "I don't know why they bother opening the doors." "With these walls, I know just who brushes their teeth and who don't." "Well, good-bye." "Thanks just the same." "Uh, Dr. Wharton." "Um, Ray, the brother that was with Johnny... is- is Ray gonna die too?" "He's gonna be all right." "Why?" "Nothing." "Just come to my mind." "Ray Biddle thinks I killed his brother deliberately." "We want the autopsy to prove that I didn't..." " that he died of natural causes." " So?" "Perhaps if you could talk to him." " How well do you know Ray Biddle?" " Well enough." "Why?" " You seem concerned about him." " Because I asked how he was?" "You'd ask that about a sick alley cat." "When you were married to his brother, did you see much of him?" " He lived with us." " Beaver Canal?" " Where else?" " Where did you live before you got married?" "Where else?" "Next door to the Biddles, all my life." "My folks and their folks got loaded together every Saturday night." " Must have been fun for you kids." " A million laughs." " Just like having three brothers, huh?" " Just like it." "Look, if you don't mind, I gotta get dressed now." " Are you going to work?" " I work nights." " At what?" " I'm a carhop in a drive-in." "Anything wrong with that?" " No, nothing at all." " It's none of your business what I do." "It's a respectable job, and I pay my own way." "And you're not living in Beaver Canal anymore." "Yeah, I've come up in the world." "I used to live in a sewer." "Now I live in a swamp." "How do those babes do it in the movies?" "By now I oughta be married to the governor... and paying blackmail so he don't find out I once lived in Beaver Canal." " The point is you got out." " Five blocks away." "Five million blocks- what's the difference?" "You hate Beaver Canal." "You hate what it stands for." "You talk like I was a poet or a professor." "I found an open manhole, and I crawled out of a sewer." "Wouldn't anybody?" "Ray Biddle wouldn't." "He likes Beaver Canal." "He likes what it stands for." "I don't even know what that means, "stands for. "" "There's no difference in people except the size of the tips." "A drunk's a drunk and a pass is a pass if it's a Ford or a Cadillac." " Let's stick to Beaver Canal and Ray Biddle." " You stick to him." " Dr. Brooks asked you a question." " That was 50 questions ago." "Beaver Canal hates Negroes, and so does Ray Biddle." "His only reason for refusing the autopsy is because Dr. Brooks is a Negro... and he wants to think that he murdered his brother." "There's no difference in people, you say." "Will you help us?" "Will you talk to him?" "An autopsy will give me the chance I need to prove I didn't kill his brother." "I don't want any part of it." "Why not?" "And I don't wanna talk about it." "Coming?" "You sure you won't have some coffee with me?" "Thanks just the same." " There's no sense getting into a depression about this." " I'm not." "A cup of coffee and some talk might help." "There isn't much left to talk about." "And there'll be coffee waiting for me." "There always is." "Well, then how about asking me in for some?" "I'd rather not worry Cora or the rest about what happened." "I want you to stop worrying too." "Am I to go back on Prison Ward tonight?" " Of course." " Thanks for all your trouble." " Hi." " Hi." " Where's Cora?" " Market." "Hi." " You're late." " Something came up." " How's the leg, Sis?" " Okay." "But the job's gone." "They couldn't wait." "Well, standing on it isn't the best thing." "Somebody's gotta wash my husband's shirts." "Out of work six months... and from his shirts you'd think he was digging a tunnel under the river." "That six months will pay off when he gets to be a mailman." "Sure is a great house for studying books." "Plenty of books coming in the door, but no money." " The money will come along in time." " I wanna see it." " How long has Cora been gone?" " Oughta be here by now." " She's picking up some whipping cream." " Whipping cream?" "What for?" "It'll go good on this apple cake." " Is it somebody's birthday?" " Never you mind." " It's a surprise." " For whom?" " Never you mind." " For me." " Hey, what is it?" " You'll know when it's time." " Go get some sleep." " I won't sleep." "Beat it." "I think it's silly going to all that fuss- apple cake, whipped cream." "It don't hurt none to put on the dog." "Makes a good impression." "That depends on whom you're trying to impress." "Old Dr. Clark, he lives high." "Show him you live high, and he'll think high when it comes to paying money." "Dr. Clark." "So that's it." "Ain't that just what we've been talking about?" " I'm going to sleep." " Hey, Luth." " What's the capital of South Dakota?" " Who knows?" "Boy, you couldn't get to be a mailman." "Sure, maybe you could deliver babies all right, but you couldn't deliver no letters." " Luther home yet?" " Just went to bed." "Take these in for me, will you?" "He didn't know the capital of South Dakota." "You know what I said?" ""Boy," I said, "maybe you can deliver them babies," I said..." ""but you sure can't deliver no letters. "" " Hello, honey." " I've been worried." "Where have you been?" "I waited as long as I could to have breakfast with you." "Dr. Wharton and I had to go on an errand." " What kind of an errand?" " Hospital business." "You ought to have more than coffee." "Let me fix you some eggs?" "Mm, this is fine." "Just stay here and talk for a minute." "You and Dr. Wharton, you get along fine, don't you?" "There's never been anyone like him in my life." "He must be a wonderful man... and I'm sure he's taught you a lot... but you're pretty wonderful yourself." "Yeah, a second Dr. George Washington Carver." " And why not?" " So many reasons, Cora." "One, I'm not even a good intern yet." "Dr. Clark says your record's one of the best the county hospital's ever had." "That, plus Mom's apple cake with whipped cream oughta get me a pretty good job..." " shouldn't it?" " Let's not talk about it now." "I wish I'd been consulted about his coming." "Keep it as a surprise." "You do that with kids." "It's kinda childish." "Well, it was really his idea." "I need another year with Wharton." "Not now." "Let's not talk about it now." "I'm not sure of myself in so many ways, Cora." "Not now." "Clark and his big, fat practice." "I'd never know whether I was a good doctor." "Get some sleep, honey." "You're so tired." "You've worked so hard." "Harder than anybody to get where you are." "The shoes you shined, the dishes you washed." "The garbage you dumped." "The food you couldn't buy because you needed books, remember?" "How you studied." "How I'd ask you questions over and over." "Questions I couldn't even pronounce." "Coffee, coffee and more coffee." "Slapping you to keep you awake." "And when you told me "A" was your passing mark... not for the others, just for you." "You got 'em, all A's." "No wonder you're tired." "Even I'm a little tired." "Cleaning up after parties, eating leftovers." "One day off a week to be with my husband." "Be a woman." "Be loved." "We've been a long time getting here." "We're tired, but we're here, honey." "We can be happy." "We've got a right to be." " Looking for somebody?" " Uh, yes, my husband, Ray Biddle." " I couldn't get here till just now." " This ain't visiting hours." "Well, you see, sir, I can't come anytime I want." "I just took an hour off from work, and it's way on the other side of town." "And, well, tomorrow the boss says I can't come." " Where's your pass?" " A pass?" "Just to see my husband?" "Go get a pass and come back." " Dr. Wharton didn't say anything about a pass." " Wharton?" "Yeah, he said for me to come up here." "He's the one told me where to go." "It's funny he didn't give you a pass." "Yeah, ain't it?" "Well, I guess he would have... only I was in such a hurry, and he was too, going someplace." "Wait a minute." "He gave me this." "Is that any good?" " It's a visiting card." " Maybe he thought that would be enough." " Visiting card ain't no pass." " Look, buster, I didn't print it up." " The man gave it to me." " I'll see if I can get him on the phone." " Oh, forget it." " It's no trouble." "Forget it." "Next thing you'll be wanting fingerprints and a blood test." "Life's too short." "Go file a big, fat report... on how you kept me from breaking in your jail here." "And tell my husband I'll try to come back again sometime... and I'll tell Dr. Wharton what a fine figure of a cop he's got up here." " Wharton ain't my boss." " Lucky for you." "If he was, you'd be out in the rain." "Wait a minute." "I guess it's okay." "Let me see your pocketbook." " Okay." " Maybe you'd like to search me?" "Some other time." "Straight ahead, Room 5." "Why couldn't it have been you that got killed instead ofJohnny?" "That's your favorite question, ain't it?" "Only the last time you asked it, it wasn't about being dead." "You scum." "It was, "Why couldn't it be you I'm married to instead ofJohnny?"" "You dirty scum." " Sounded good in the dark." " I should have killed you." "You had other things on your mind." "You weren't fit to live in the same world with him." "I don't see no tears on your face." "Where's your black dress?" "If it was you, I'd sing and wear flowers." "All right, Edie, what's on your mind?" "What do you want?" "They tell me you ain't hurt so bad." "I've lost a lot of blood." "That's a shame." "Gimme a cigarette." "Matches." "Tell me something." "Who's "they"?" " The head doctor, Wharton." " Did you go to see him?" "He came to see me." "He and the" " Dr. Brooks." "Well, now that was real nice." "They don't always do that." "Why won't you let them examineJohnny's body?" "Ah, so that's why you're here, huh?" "Well, why won't you let 'em?" "Let me give you a light." "No." "It's all right." "Come over here." " Let me go." " What are you scared of?" "I can't move." "There's cops all around." "After all this time, you won't even sit for a minute." "Now that's better." " Edie, listen to me." " I've done too much of that already." "What we did toJohnny, we did together." "He didn't know it." "It didn't hurt him." " I know." "I'll always know." " Then how are you gonna make it up to him?" "You know what they do, Edie, when they examine a dead body?" "They cut it in pieces." "Th-They chop it up like it was a hunk of wood." "The way you feel aboutJohnny, I guess maybe you think he's got it coming to him." " Johnny was a good kid." " Yeah, that's why I was wondering." "Johnny's body, the body you used to love." "They say it's on account of you they gotta have the autopsy... 'cause you think he was killed, and they wanna prove you wrong." "Because that nigger doctor murdered Johnny." "It's the truth." "I swear it." "I seen it with my own eyes." "Edie, sit down." "Please, sit down." "Look, I'm on the level." "What's in it for me not to be?" "Why wouldn't I believe them?" "Unless I knew better." "They say you wanna think the way you do because Dr. Brooks is colored." "Yeah, sure, I know." "I'm supposed to forget it." "I'm supposed to forget my brother couldn't have a white doctor... forget he'd be alive if he did." "Edie, I wanna ask you something." "If you had a kid, would you send him to a nigger doctor?" "Would you like one putting his dirty black hands on you?" "Would you like to be lying here like me watching Johnny in that bed... shot in the leg, watching a nigger doctor jab a needle into his back?" "Watching Johnny die?" "If you're so sure, what are you afraid of?" " Give him a chance to prove it." " No." "'Cause they won't be lookin' for anything they don't know." "They wanna fix it so nobody ever knows the truth." "I don't know what to believe." "Yeah, It certainly don't figure you're gonna believe me." "Why should you?" "When have I ever leveled with you?" " Never." " When I do, I get kissed off." "It figures." "What else?" "Ray Biddle out of Beaver Canal." "What was it you used to call us?" "Human garbage." "We stink up the street." "Where do I stack up against the great Dr. Wharton?" "But when the head doctor of the hospital comes to see me himself... to explain and to ask me for help" "Be smart, Edie." "Why would he come?" "'Cause he's on a spot." "He wants an out, a patsy." "Dr. Wharton coming after you with his hat in his hand." "Do you think that's his job?" "And who did he come begging to?" "To Mrs. John Biddle of the country club?" "No, to EdieJohnson, another hunk of garbage out of Beaver Canal." "Yeah, like me, likeJohnny." "Somebody he can double-talk and push around, play for a sucker." "He didn't treat me like Beaver Canal." "He knows I don't want any part of it." " How does he know?" " I told him." "And he gave you a great big hand, didn't he?" "Made you feel great." "Like you were a nice, clean girl in a nice, clean world." "The head of a big institution comes all the way across town just for that." "Just to tell you how far away Beaver Canal is." "Just to play you for a chump." "It's funny." "What is?" "Almost the last thing Johnny was saying yesterday." "I can hardly believe it was only yesterday." " What?" " It ain't important." "What?" "Just that he might have been you talking." "He talked about getting out of Beaver Canal... and making something out of himself." "How you were right all along, and he was wrong." "He was gonna come and tell you about it... today." "He's better off." "Now he don't have to know that you don't get out... because it never gets outta you." "The stink gets in your skin." " Oh, they can smell you a mile off." " Don't talk like that, Edie." "Didn't that doctor tell you you were doing fine?" "Yeah, he had me going good." "He had me all set to marry the governor." " Well, what do we do about it?" " About what?" "Johnny." "About the nigger doctor." "Come here." "First thing, you go find George." "You can talk dummy language." "He'll tell you everything you have to know." "Make him take you to the club." "Spill it all to Rocky Miller." "Tell Rocky what they tried to pull on you." "And then do what Rocky tells you." "It makes sense they killed Johnny and they're trying to cover." " What else?" " It makes sense that" "They wouldn't come to me unless they needed something bad enough." "A chump." "I'm the type." "This way we can make it up a little toJohnny." "You're a good kid too, Edie." "The cream off the top of the bottle." "That's me." "Autopsy, my eye." "They wanna cut him up." " Cut 'im up so nobody will ever know." " Dirty, stinkin' dinge." " You said that before." " I'll say it again." "That helps a lot." "That helps Johnny a lot." "Is that how Ray told it to you?" "Edie." "It ain't right to cut him up." "Cut him up like- like he was a hunk of wood." "They even sent her to talk Ray into it." "Well, they- they didn't just put it like that." "But that's what they want, ain't it, to cut him up?" "Answer the man." "Yeah, that's what they wanted." "That's what gets me, the way they butter up them jigs." "What are you gonna do about it, cry?" "The dummy threw a rock at least." "They kill his brother, and he throws a rock through a window." "Big hero." " He's only a dummy." " And what are you?" "What are you gonna throw, Mac?" "Who's next?" "That's what I wanna know?" "Who's next?" "I saw a boogie the other day in a car a block long." "Like he owned the world." "The city hospital, we pay for it, for niggers killing white men." " What are we gonna do about it?" " We could all wind up likeJohnny." " Well?" " When?" " Tonight." "How many, Whitey?" " It's after 6:00 now." "It's kinda late." "Maybe I can hustle up a dozen." "Hustle hard." "Tell 'em aboutJohnny." "Make it two dozen." " What time?" " 9:00 at Andy's junkyard." "Andy knows about it." " What about you, Rocky?" " We'll all be there." " Johnny belonged with us, didn't he?" " Yeah." " What about you?" " Don't worry." " 9:00." " Yeah." "Me and you and the dummy better start making some calls." "You hit that stuff like it was lemonade." " I'm cold." " On a hot night like this?" "I'm hot." "You're a big girl now, ain't ya, Edie?" " I even smoke." " I'll bet." " If you're gonna get going someplace, you better" " We got time." " I'm hungry." " Get something on the way." "I wanna eat here." "We're all out of your favorite dish." "Tell the dummy to go out and get some food and bring it back." "Tell him I wanna talk to you some more about what Ray said to do." "What's he staying for?" "I told him you was just leaving, and you wanted him to stay with me." "Being such a good friend of Ray's, I told him you didn't want me to be alone." "You gettin' smart with me, Edie?" "He reads lips, remember?" " I'll see you at the junkyard." " George will be there." " I gotta go to work." " Work?" "If I don't show, I'll get fired." "Well, that's too bad." "Does Ray know you're not gonna be there?" "Does Ray know she ain't gonna be with us tonight?" "Ray wouldn't like it." "Rocky, I gotta keep that job." "It's all I got to live on." "This is Johnny's night." "She oughta be there." "Ray would want that." "That's why I said for you to stick close to her." "Mustn't get smart with me, Edie." "I came here, didn't I?" "I said everything you told me, didn't I?" "What more do you want?" "I can't swing a club." "I can't break a head." "Rocky, I got a right to live too." "I got a right to live." "Dr. Smith, call Ward 7." " You mind taking the next car, please?" " Dr. Smith, call Ward 7." " You're late." " I know." " I've been looking for you." " I'm still on Prison Ward, Lefty." "Up." " Henry will take you back up." " Why Henry?" "He's taking over for me." "I ain't riding' no elevator tonight." " Why?" " Trouble's coming over from Beaver Canal... and I'm gonna get me some." " What are you talking about?" " Jonah just told me." "One of the janitors picked it up from Joe the barber." "He flops in the mission there 'cause he passes for white." "He heard 'em talk." " About what?" " About you and what they're gonna do to nigger town tonight... 'cause you killed Johnny Biddle." " You've got to stop them, Lefty." " Stop who?" "Beaver Canal?" "It won't help." "It never has." "It only makes it worse." "Not for us it won't." "Not tonight." " We're gonna be ready tonight." " You're talking like a crazy man." "Yeah, sometimes I do get a little crazy when these things happen." "Like six years ago when Beaver Canal came over." "You were in school." "My kid sister's still in a wheelchair." "I got this from a broken bottle." " They're waiting for you outside." " Thanks, Henry." "Lefty." "But don't you see?" "This way you're no better than they are." "Ain't that asking' a lot for us to be better than them... when we get killed just trying to prove we're as good?" "Okay, boys." "I gotta take it up, Doc." "Get me Union 64817." "Dr. Brooks, personal." "Hello?" "May I speak to Alderman Tompkins?" "Dr. Brooks at County." "Oh, hello, Mrs. Tompkins." "Oh." "When do you expect him?" "I'm afraid it can't wait till then." "I've got to talk to him as soon as possible." "I'm on duty and I can't get away." "Please try to get a message to him." "Have him call me here at County at once." "It's vitally urgent." "Yes, thank you." " I'm going out." " Where?" "Do I have to say where?" "For a walk." "I'll be finished in a minute." "I'll go with you." " I wanna walk by myself." " You mean, you wanna meet Lefty." " I've got a right to take a walk if I want." " Not where you're going." "Let him go." "Go on, John." "Take your walk." "You ain't gonna change the world." "You got work to do." "Quiet!" "Quiet down!" "Quiet!" "Quiet down!" "Standing behind that eight ball, Lefty boy?" "Now quiet down and listen." "You better do your laughing now, boy... 'cause if you don't listen good... you ain't gonna have no teeth left to laugh with." "Shut up and listen!" "Quiet down!" "We're gonna be in four sections." "Y'all know who you're with." "I got one." "John's got one." "Jonah and Lester." "Be quiet going through the streets and not too many together." "We're gonna be at Boot Hill at sharp 9:00." "They don't know we're comin', but they're gonna know when we get there." "Hold it." "Joe here's got a navy flare gun." "That's our signal." "Then we come in from four sides." "Any questions- ask the man in charge." "Who hasn't clubs, get 'em here before you go." "And that's all." "Hello?" "Hello, Mr. Tompkins." "Yes, it's very important." "I'll make this quick." "There isn't much time." "I haven't called the police, because it's something you might handle without them." "There's gonna be trouble tonight with Beaver Canal." "They're coming over." "LeftyJones is getting his gang out." "With or without the police, Mr. Tompkins, you've got to stop it." "They usually meet at Lester Peabody's poolroom." "Right." "Where ya been, baby?" "You lookin' for Rocky?" "How ya feelin', baby?" "I feel good." "Take that, ya black crud.!" "How do ya like that, black boy?" "You wanna try it, baby?" "You wanna hit a nigger?" "Come on, baby." "Hit a nigger!" "Hit a nigger!" "What's the matter?" "You gone nuts?" "Prison Ward." "Yeah?" "Right away." "What goes?" "Right away." " Emergency Disaster just called for you, Doc." " What happened?" "Race riot." "They're bringing 'em in now." "The basement's being rigged for emergency." " Have the nurse finish the dressing." " Right." "Hey, Sheriff." "Let me in on it." "Is there anything left of nigger town?" "It's the other way around." "From what I hear... the boogies lowered the boom on Beaver Canal." "How are we fixed for nurses?" "Do what you can." "We'll need twice that much plasma." "Get after the bank right away." "That'll hold till I get there." "You're doing fine, Wilson." "Soon as I can." "Right." "Gladys." "Hello there." "What's the matter with you?" "I feel sick." "You look it." "We'd better get you where you can lie down." "Get my coat out of my room." "I've had an emergency call." "I know." "How'd you know where I lived?" "Phone book." "Why didn't you go to the hospital?" " I didn't want to." " Why not?" "Why not?" "I don't need a doctor." "Then why did you come here?" "You said you were sick." "I am, but not that way." "How then?" "I don't know." " Gladys, this is Miss Jackson." " Johnson." "Johnson." "She's not well, and I want her to stay here." "Can you sleep over tonight?" "Be a good night for me to sleep away from home." "Try to stay up till I come back." "I'll call if it gets too late." " You're gonna be there all night." " When did you hear about it?" "Like everybody else- when it was too late." "I've got to leave now." "Gladys will take care of you." "You're to do what she says." "Eat when she tells you and sleep." " I was there." " Where?" "I ran away before it happened." "I could hear it." "The noise, the- the hitting, the yelling." "It was all lit up like the Fourth ofJuly." "It was crazy." "I don't remember." "It was like they were all... comin' after me." "What were you doing there?" "Feed her and put her to bed in the study." " What's the matter with her?" " She's had too much to drink, and she's exhausted." "There's probably more, but we can't do anything about it right now." " What about tomorrow morning?" " Have her come to see me at the hospital." " And you take the day off." " You could use one." "I had one once." "Feelin' any better?" "I got an idea." "You get into bed... and I'll bring your supper to you on a tray." " I'm not stayin' here." " No?" " What'd he tell you about me?" " That you're wore out." "That you need food, that you need sleep." " What else?" " Come on." "Let's get" " You stay away from me." " I'm just tryin' to help you." " I don't need your help." " Well, okay." " Get into bed by yourself." " I don't want your food." "'Tain't my food." "It's his." "I just cook it." "I'm not gonna stay here with you." "I'm not gonna sleep with you around." "What are you afraid of?" "Me?" "Why" " You keep your hands off me!" " What are you afraid I'll do to you?" " I'm gettin' outta here." " Why?" "Come on, honey." "I'll put you into bed." "Dr. Thomas wanted in Surgery." "Dr. Thomas wanted in Surgery." "Terry!" "Oh!" " What about Surgery?" " Two waiting up there now, and three more ready to go up." "Get them out of here." "We'll need these beds." "Dr. Snyder wants you, Doctor." " Nothing helped." " He was too far gone when he came in." "All right, Snyder." "Help out with the ambulatories." "They're jammed." " Get a screen." " Yes, Doctor." " How long has he been unconscious?" " He's just come in, Doctor." "Terry!" "Here, you won't help him that way." "Keep your black hands off my boy." " Brooks." " Fractured ribs, Doctor." " I'm afraid of a possible puncture." "Over here." " The last bed." "I never seen such a man for split pea soup- three and four times a week." "Some men, it's liquor." "With the doctor, it's split pea soup." " With my old man, it was liquor." " He never gets home on time, so soup gets lumpy." "He sure don't like lumps." " My mother and me-we got the lumps." " Hmm?" "When my old man would get drunk, he'd beat up on us." "I got a brother like that." "Drinkin' makes him crazy." "More coffee?" "I wonder what makes 'em like that- like animals." "I guess maybe they think it proves something' if they can hurt somebody." "I seen a newsreel once where some dogs were chasing a rabbit." "They'd tear it to pieces, and then they'd go after another one." "And another one." "Like men." "Not all of them." " Some dogs don't either." " Huh." "Gladys, what do you do on your day off, like today?" "Oh, go sit in the park." "Maybe go to church, maybe to a movie." "Come suppertime, I go somewhere and cook." " Where?" " Friends." " I fix 'em a good supper." " Some day off." "I like it." "I'm a good cook." "It's somethin' I can do better than other people." "It makes me a somebody." "Gives me a reason to be alive." "Everybody gotta have that." "Or a reason not to be." " Oh." "The doctor's come home." " Better make some fresh coffee." "He only takes milk when he's been up all night." "Helps him to sleep." " Workin' day and night-what's he get out of it?" " Circles under his eyes." " Then why does he do it?" " He says it's a doctor's job." "He says doctors ain't like other people... and they shouldn't expect to live like 'em." "Do you know the colored one- Dr. Brooks?" "Luther?" "Sure." "Why?" " Gladys, I told you weeks ago to get that lock fixed." " Here's your milk." "You never pay the slightest attention to what I say around here." " I'm getting sick and tired" " You're tired all right." "That's what makes you so touchy." "Someday, somebody's gonna walk right in here and grab you." "I stopped worrying about that 20 years ago." " How are you this morning?" " Okay." " She give you much trouble?" " We got along fine." " Drink your milk." " Come in to see me at the hospital this afternoon." " I feel fine." " About 3:00." "I want to talk to you some more." " When are you leaving?" " Soon as I clean up." "I'll be asleep before then." "If anyone calls before you go, I'm out." " Unless it's Dr. Brooks." " Luther works nights." "Why won't he be sleepin' same as you?" "If he's asleep, the chances are he won't call me." "You know that ain't what I mean." "Gladys, I am much too tired" " I'll get it." " You're too tired." "What'd you wanna talk to me about?" "I was wondering how you made out with Ray Biddle." "They tell me you saw him yesterday." "It can wait." "Is that- Is Dr. Brooks in any trouble?" " Not that I know of." "Why?" " It's just that" "Well, from the way you and Gladys were talking" " Mrs. Brooks." " They told me at the hospital you had left." "Oh, this is Miss Johnson." "Dr. Brooks's wife." " How do you do?" " Hello." " Sit down." "How about some breakfast?" " No." "Don't trouble." "I" "Sit down." " Where's Luther?" " Luther's in jail." " For what?" " He's given himself up for the murder ofJohn Biddle." "What for'd he do a crazy thing like that?" "I stayed with him as long as I could." "He told me to come to you to tell you before you read about it in the papers." " Start from the beginning." " Who knows where a thing like this begins?" "You should've seen him when he came home." "2:00 this morning." "Maybe 3:00." "I don't know." "He'd been walking for hours." "He woke us up- all of us." "He's never been like that- almost crazy." " He hated everybody." " Everybody white." "Even you." "He madeJohn take Connie and Mother to our cousin's house." "He said ours wasn't safe." "They'd burn it down." "We'd be killed." "We had to realize we weren't human beings." "We were just so much dirt." "He wouldn't go to bed after they left, so we walked again." "We walked till it was almost light." "Then, all of a sudden, he was calm." "We sat in the park... and he told me he knew what he had to do- that the only thing that could help him or us or anybody was the truth." "But it ain't the truth that he murdered that man." "Of course he didn't." "And that's what he says the autopsy will prove." " The autopsy?" " It's at 4:00 this afternoon." "He wanted to be sure you knew about it." "The autopsy." "So that's it." "He's had himself arrested to force the autopsy." "Now that there's a presumptive evidence of crime... the coroner has no choice... and a confession is certainly presumptive evidence." "It will prove Luther didn't do it, won't it, Doctor?" "Mrs. Brooks, any doctor might have treated John Biddle just as your husband did." "There is a chance he made a mistake, just as any other doctor might have." "Luther says that too." "Either way, though, he says, we'll know the truth." " It can be rough on him if it goes wrong." " I know that." " He's quite a guy." " I know that too." " I'm going down to see Luther." " What about your sleep?" "I've got work to do." "He'll get a fair shake." "I can promise you that." "I'll drop you off if you like." "Ready to go?" "See you later, Mrs. Brooks." "Have a nice day, Gladys." "You get some sleep." " Bye, Mrs. Brooks." " Good-bye." " Thanks, Gladys." " Good luck." "That's it, baby." "Let it go." "They're gone now." "They can't hear you." " How about a cigarette?" " No." " It's been over an hour." " No." " You made a good diagnosis, Doctor." " Then you found it." "Glioma." "Couldn't miss it." "Large areas of hemorrhage." " Luther." " Easy, honey." "I know, I know." "What's this all about?" "It's official now, Biddle." "Your brother died of a brain tumor, just as Dr. Brooks diagnosed it." " Says who?" " I say so, young man." "And I shall so inform the district attorney." "The spinal puncture was fully justified." "Dr. Brooks was doing everything he could to save your brother's life." "By determining the intercranial pressure" "Stop with that doctor's double-talk.!" "He killed Johnny." "He confessed it." "That's why he's in jail." "You were supposed to find out how he did it." "Now you're sayin' he didn't." "Well, I say you're liars." " You're puttin' up a front for him." " Easy does it." "Haven't you figured out yet why he confessed?" "To force the autopsy you wouldn't let him have." " To prove he didn't kill your brother." " Who'd he prove it to?" " Not to me, he didn't." " Perhaps you'd like to see for yourself." "How would I know what you showed me?" "You guys stick together- black and white- like some kind of a mob." "Then bring your own doctor." "Any doctor, anyone you believe." "I believe what I see." "I seen you killJohnny." " But it's just been proved" " It's no use, Luther." "You've done everything you could- more than anyone had a right to ask of you." "You've convinced everyone in this city but one sick mind." " Let it go at that." " Not everybody, Doc." "There's a lot more like me." "Then maybe some future autopsy... will show us how you got to be that way." "You go on back." "Dr. Cheney will phone the district attorney... and you'll be released on your own recognizance." "Then after the inquest tomorrow, you'll be discharged from custody." " What about tonight?" " What about it?" " Will you want me for duty?" " No." "Technically, you're still in the clink." " See that he gets some sleep." " And starts forgetting this ever happened." " How can I begin to thank you two?" " This is not a high tea." "The amenities can be dispensed with." "Would you have thanked us if you'd been wrong?" "Let's get outta here before they change their minds." " I'm glad it turned out all right." " Thanks." " I'm glad for both of you." " Thanks, Miss Johnson." "Thanks, Miss Johnson." "Why don't you take that maniac out of here?" "Wagon don't come back till half past 5:00." " What are you doing here?" " I just thought I'd come." " I'm glad you did." " Nice of you to drop in, Miss Johnson." " Make him shut up." " Don't pay any attention." "He's a mental case." "Whatever happened to Mrs. Johnny Biddle?" "She laying' somewheres cut in pieces likeJohnny in there?" "I'm more toJohnny this minute- and he's more to me- than you ever were to anybody." "You picked a good way of showing' it- goin' back on him and me and your whole life up to now." "I never went back on Johnny ever, except on account of you." "And as for you and my whole life up to now" "Time to close up shop." "You ready, Dan?" "Handing Brooks tonight off gave me an idea." "Hope it starts with my buying you a drink." "Right." "Next, I inform the county hospital... that Dr. Wharton will be unavailable until tomorrow morning." "Next, I get into that bedpan I use for an automobile and drive." " Where?" " One half hour from here... in a certain summer hotel at Lakeview, there's a certain bed." "One halfhour from now, I will be asleep in that bed." "Sometime, I want to spend a year in that bed." "And when I die, I wanna die in that bed." "What's he hanging' around for?" "It's all over." "He likes to hang around." " Well, tell him to beat it." " What's he gonna hurt?" "Come on." "We'll wait downstairs." " Hey." "Hey, take it easy." " What's eatin' you?" " I got a kink in my good leg." " It'll go away." " Let me walk it out for a minute, will ya?" " Okay." "Boy." "That's a bad one." "I used to get these all the time playin' ball." " How were you, pretty good?" " Not bad." "I played some semipro." "Get the car." "Hey." " Gonna be a hot night." " Looks like." "Beats me why all of a sudden you want to move- a hot night like this?" "Well, when you gotta go, Mr. Reilly, you gotta go." "I've been thinkin', I might put in new wallpaper... if you decided to stay on." "Thanks just the same." "Hello, Miss Johnson." "We kept it dark in here because we thought you'd like it better... if you couldn't tell we were white." "Now I'll turn the lights on." "My leg." "I must have hurt it bad comin' down that fire escape." "It's bleedin' like a faucet." "Nah." "I ain't got time." "Put her in a chair." "Give me some water." "Water!" "Put your hand on her mouth so she can't yell." "I'd like to play games with you, but I'm too tired." "I got too much to do." "And you're gonna do somethin' for me." "You're goin' out with George and make a phone call to your boogie boyfriend." "You're gonna say what George tells you." "He's gonna watch your lips when you talk." "George." "Don't be a hero." "You don't get medals for being a nigger lover." "Just a lousy phone call, Edie." "Oh, yeah, you got character, ain't ya?" "You ain't smart, but you got character." "Okay." "We play games." "The last of the Mohicans." "I've been dry as a bone." "We brought our own beer, Edie." "Thought that was only fair." "You're doing your part." "Anyway, you're gonna do it." "So make up your mind soon... you could wind up in worse shape than me." "I thought you'd jump at the chance to speak to him... for the last time." "There oughta be a law about apple fritters." "After a certain number, it gets to be a vicious habit, like drugs." " Eat some more while they're hot." " I've had five." "Can't hardly get the taste in your mouth with only five." "That's because you eat 'em five at a time." "I'll get it." "Sit still, honey." "I need the exercise." "Isn't it wonderful how suddenly apple fritters can become the biggest worry you've got?" "Ain't so wonderful if you ain't got the apples or the flour or the fat to fry 'em in." " Now, really." " Ain't no such thing as big worries and little worries." "All worries are the same size." "Just depends on who's got 'em." "Mother, when do you suppose you're gonna start getting some fun out of life?" " Most likely when I die." " More coffee." "I'm gonna have to leave for a while, but I'll be back in time for the show." " Who was it?" " A woman just called from some hotel in Lakeview." "Said Dr. Wharton's on his way in and would I meet him at his home in about a half hour." "It must be something pretty important to drag him back from that hideaway of his." "Maybe he's heard from Moreland." "Maybe my application." "I'd sooner it was Dr. Clark's house you was goin' to." " I wouldn't." " Wouldn't you really?" "I want you to be the kind of doctor you want to be." "Pass me some more of them fritters." "I just hope you whistle good and loud before you bust." "Well, how'd it go?" "Did you talk to him?" "Did you say what I told ya?" "Not you." "I want her to tell me." "Do you want some more of what you got?" " Answer me!" " I talked to him." "Wharton's house in half an hour?" " He said he'd be there." " Yeah." "Most likely be early." "Chance to suck around a white man." ""Yassuh, boss." "Yassuh. "" "Well, I'll be there ahead of him." "I'll be there with the lights on and the door open." "Oughta have a brass band." "Black louse killed my brother." "I'm hot." "I'm hot." "Open a window." "I'm burnin' up." " "Sophisticated Lady. "" " No more beer!" "Oh, my leg." "The bleeding's stopped, but it's swollen." "It's beatin' like a drum." "But who cares?" "Who cares about me?" "Does anybody care if I'm bleedin' to death, if I'm burnin' up?" "If I'm alive or dead?" "No!" "Nobody cares about Ray Biddle 'cause he ain't a stinkin' nigger!" "Okay." "Okay, I don't need nobody." "I never did." "Give me some dough for a cab." "Yeah, I remember. 324 Walnut." "Keep your eye on her." "Don't let her turn her back so she can yell." "You won't have long to wait." "Keep yourself busy." "You'll hardly know the time's passin'." "Maybe you'd like to finish your packing'." "Where were you gonna go when we busted in on ya?" "Where were you goin', Edie?" " I don't know." " Just anywheres, huh?" "Away from this terrible place and us terrible people." "Well, finish up." "When I get back, we'll all go." "All the Biddles together- one lovin' family." "Johnny would've liked that." " You'll like it too." " Don't do it, Ray." "I beg you not to do it." "You ain't on your knees." "You gotta beg on our knees." " He didn't killJohnny." " I say he did." " You know he didn't!" " I say he did!" "You're just sayin' it because you want to, because you gotta have somethin' to hate." "Okay!" "I just got it in my mind to kill a coon." "Argue me outta that one." " What's that seven bucks doin'in your pants?" "You stay outta my pants.!" " Where'd you get 'em?" " I won 'em shooting'crap.!" "I told you that.!" "Every payday you win seven bucks?" "In a pig's eye.!" " Gimme back my dough.!" " Holdin'out on your wife and kids.!" "You cheap chiseler.!" "Come back here with that seven bucks.!" "Here's an oldie but a goody." "Guess what and guess who." "Okay if I turn on the radio while I pack?" "Shut that radio down.!" "What's the matter, you gone deef?" "Stop that awful racket.!" "Turn off that radio.!" "What are you, crazy or somethin'in there.!" "I'll call the landlord.!" "Mr. Reilly.!" "Open up the door.!" "Grab him and call a cop!" "He tried to kill me!" " What's goin' on?" " What are ya tryin' to do?" "County Hospital?" "Give me the police ward." "Anybody up there." "Hello." "Look, this is important." "Ray Biddle is at Dr. Wharton's house... and he's gonna kill Dr. Brooks." "Yeah, yeah." "Biddle- the one that got away this afternoon." "It don't make any difference who this is." "Get somebody up there right away." "324 Walnut." "Get somebody up there quick!" "Taxi!" "Taxi!" "Check and see if Dr. Wharton is home." "If no, check Dr. Brooks." "If no, check if Ray Biddle's been picked up." "If no all around, get a squad car quick down to Dr. Wharton's house." " 324 Walnut." " Yes, sir." "Hey." "Put your hands in your pockets." "You keep droppin' in places, don't you?" "In your pockets, sambo." ""Sambo. " I keep callin' him that." "All the time- sambo." "Little Black Sambo- like when I was a kid." "It's funny." "I been" " I been thinkin' all night about when I was a kid." "Little Black Sambo." "I-I can't remember the story." "Only" " Only the name." "And-And catch a nigger by the toe." "If he hollers, let 'im go." "Yeah, that's what we're playin', Edie." "Only he don't holler." "And I ain't gonna let him go." "But they said it wasn't nice to say "nigger. "" "Nigger!" "Nigger!" "Nigger!" "Poor little nigger kids." "Love the little nigger kids." "Who loved me?" "Who loved me?" "Oh, Edie." "Edie, I'm- I'm burnin' up." " Get me some water." " No." " How'd you get here?" " I got here." " Who's with ya?" " Nobody." " Then why'd you come?" " To try and stop you." "In your pockets, sambo." " How you gonna stop me, Edie?" " I don't know." " You called the cops." " No." "You called the cops." "You're tryin' to stall me." "You wanna have a talk, Edie, a nice long talk so's the cops can get here?" " That's kid stuff." "You're too smart." " No, I ain't smart." "He's smart." "He's a doctor." "He went to college." "I'm garbage, remember?" "Why don't he jump me?" "Why don't he take a chance?" "What's he got to lose?" "Maybe he wants to live as long as he can." "Yeah?" "Johnny wanted to live too." "You're not thinkin' aboutJohnny." "We're just talkin'." "I" " I got no time to talk." " I'm burnin' up." "I'm burnin' up." " You're sick, Ray." "You're sick in your mind." "You're crazy." "Maybe, but" " I-I just got no time." "I got no time." "Okay, sambo." "This is it." "Lay down on the couch." "LikeJohnny." "Lay down." "No." "Don't turn your back." "I wanna see your face." "Now get your legs up." "Get 'em way up." "Just likeJohnny." "Yeah." "You help me, and I'll help you." " Just like you told him." " Let me get you some water, Ray." "Yeah, sure." "Sure, you go into the kitchen and get it." "I'll be right in." " I'll bring it in to you." " No." "You wait there." " I'll be right in." " It'll just take a minute." "I got no time to talk." "Luther.!" " You all right?" " My arm." "Maybe my shoulder." "I can't tell." " It's not so bad." " My leg.!" "It tore." "Somethin' tore in my leg." "It's" " It's bleedin'." "It's bleedin' hard." "Please!" "Let it bleed." "Tear it some more." "Let it bleed fast." " You'll have to help me." " To do what?" "Whatever I can to keep him alive." "Why?" "What for?" "A human being's gotta have a reason for bein' alive." "He hasn't got any." "He's not even human." "He's a mad dog." " You kill mad dogs, don't ya?" " Don't you think I'd like to?" "Don't you think I'd like to put the rest of these bullets through his head?" " Then go ahead." " I can't." " Why not?" " Because I've got to live too." " Then give it to me." " You've got to live." "I will, believe me- happy as a bird with him dead." " Please help me." " No." "Look, he's sick." "He's crazy." "He's everything you said." "But I can't kill a man just because he hates me." "What do you want me to do?" "Take your scarf off." "Put it around his thigh." "There." "And tie a knot." "Not too tight." "You sure you're all right?" "Thanks." "They took their time gettin' here." "Don't cry, white boy." "You're gonna live."