"Here you are, lady." "Is this seat occupied?" "Yes, please." "Well that's too bad." "Would you mind removing your purse?" "I'm sorry, but this place is taken." "I don't see anybody sitting here." "You will in a minute." "The nerve of some people." "Is this chair taken, miss?" "Yes it is." "Sorry." "Oh, it's you." "Then it's not taken?" "Stop clowning, Michael." "Sit down." "Thank you, miss." "You're late." "What held you up?" "Something very important." "Drink your orange juice." "We don't have much time." "Oh, so you don't think it was important." "Alright, wait'll you see the kitchen." "What kitchen?" "What are you talking about?" "Electric stove, refrigerator, washing machine, everything." "Even a special hole to dump garbage in, and guess what else?" "Whole wheat toast and orange marmalade, right?" " Right." "It's a table." "A real table on four legs." "With two chairs, so that two people can sit, and really see each other without wrenching their necks trying to catch a glimpse in the mirror behind the lunch counter." "Michael, is that what you were doing this morning." "The whole works is only 60 a month." "Well what happened?" "Did you win the sweepstakes?" "Better than that." "I got a 12 dollar raise." "Michael!" "Well how come?" "If the girl I'm about to marry were interested in my career, she'd have bought a late edition of the New York Star and found out." "Let me see." "By Michael Ward." "A by-line." "See what it says." "Star reporter." "That's me." "Think you can get a day off tomorrow." "Why?" "To get married." "I think I can manage." "Michael Ward." "The key witness." "Two and a half columns." "Not bad, eh?" "I didn't know he was so young." "He looks like a kid." "Some of them start young." "Do you really think he killed Nick?" "Certainly." "I don't know but, I have a funny feeling." "What?" "Somehow I..." "I wish you'd never been near Nick's place that night." "What are you talking about?" "That's the break I've been waiting for." "If I hadn't been there, there'd be no story, no raise, and we wouldn't be getting married." "I know, but..." "But what?" "Nothing, I..." "I guess I'm just being silly." "It's becoming." "I'll pass." "260." "290." "Ah, why can't I get a decent hand?" "Bye." "Spades trump." "You think he'll get the chair?" "Who?" "Ah, these public defenders." "He should have pleaded him guilty." "At least he'd have saved his life." "Suppose he isn't guilty." "What's the difference?" "He hasn't got a chance anyway." "That's it fellas." "Well I'll be." "Well, well look who's here." "Hello, boys." "As I live and breathe, Michael Ward, the shining light of journalism the boy who made good." "Say, you want to look neat, makes a good impression on the jury." "Cut out the humor." "Hiya, Tom." "Tell me Mr. Ward, how does it feel to hold the center of the stage in this eternal drama of life and death." "Shut up." "So you don't like it?" "Yeah, I'll bet he liked the raise, though." "How about a little touch?" "Are you good for a fiver?" "Nevermind." "Have they started yet?" "Sure, but they'll wait for you." "After all, you're the star of this little show." "Kill that stuff, will you?" "Don't mind them, Mike." "We're all tickled pink you got a break." "Thanks, Martin." "Aren't you guys going in?" "What for?" "We know how it's coming out." "What makes you so sure?" "What do you expect the jury to do?" "Take a poor mug's word against that of a gentleman of the press?" "What the devil are you talking about?" "It isn't a question of my word against his." "It's what I saw with my own eyes." "I was on my way home, and I looked into Nick's lunchroom to see if anyone I knew was there." "Well, did you see anyone?" "Yes, sir." "Who was it?" "Briggs." "You mean the defendant?" "Yes, sir." "What was he doing?" "He was standing behind a counter near Nick... ...who was slumped over the cash register." "What did you do?" "I ran into the place." "As I went inside, I saw Briggs look around and dash towards the kitchen in the back." "Did you follow him at once?" "No, I looked at Nick first." "Go on." "It wasn't very nice." "His throat was cut." "Blood was still dripping into the open drawer of the cash register." "Well what did you do then?" "I ran into the kitchen." "The back door was open." "I looked into the alley, but Briggs was gone." "I went back and called the police." "You said you recognized the defendant." "Where had you met him before?" "At Nick's." "When?" "A few days before he was killed." "I was sitting in his place when Briggs came in and ordered some food." "When Nick brought it..." "Go on." "Well when Nick brought it, Briggs said he didn't have any money." "Nick told him to get out or he'd throw him out that he wasn't in business to feed all the deadbeats in New York." "What did the defendant do?" "He grabbed Nick and shouted something like, "You wouldn't call me a deadbeat if I had a gun stuck in your ribs."" "Then what happened?" "Nick gave him a shove and threatened to call the police." "I told Nick to leave him alone." "I'd pay for his food." "You're a newspaper reporter, Mr. Ward." "Yes, sir." "As a newspaper reporter, you're a trained observer of men and" "I object!" "Eh, what?" "I object to this line of questioning, your honor." "Oh." "Sustained." "Very well." "One thing more." "You have stated that you're absolutely certain this is the man you saw in Nick's on both occasions." "Now be careful because on your answer may depend a man's life." "Are you absolutely positive he's the same man?" "I am." "That's all." "Your witness." "You said you saw the defendant standing beside the body of the lunchroom proprietor." "Yes, sir." "But did you see him actually commit the murder?" "No, I didn't." "That's all." "I wouldn't let him defend me if it was for stealing an apple." "Thanks for that cup of coffee." "Your next witness." "Dr. Evans." "Dr." "Charles Evans." "Jane, what are you doing here?" "Oh, I felt a little upset." "The boss let me go home." "I came here instead." "You shouldn't have." "Do you think they'll convict him?" "I don't know." "They might." "Shh!" "Quiet please." "You are a police surgeon?" "Yes, sir." "You examined the body of Nick Nanbajan?" "Yes, sir." "How long would you say he had been dead when you arrived there?" "About a half an hour." "And what, in your opinion, was the cause of death?" "A sharp instrument, either a knife or a razor." "Wielded, I'd say, with a great deal of violence." "The head was almost severed from the body." "So you want this jury to believe that you went back to Nick's just to repay a debt of thirty cents." "Yes, sir, that's the truth." "Mr. Ward was very nice to me, and I wanted to give him back the money he payed for my meal." "That's all I went back there for." "How did you know you'd find him there?" "Well, I took a chance." "That's where I'd met him." "He wasn't there when you went in, was he?" "No." "What did Nick say to you as you entered?" "Why he didn't say nothing." "He was dead." "What did you do then, open the cash register?" "No, I didn't." "It was open." "How much money did you take out?" "I didn't take no money." "I didn't need any." "I worked that day, and I made almost five dollars." "Well, why th" "Your honor." "Uh, yes, yes." "Oh." "Juror number two." "The jury will pay strict attention to the evidence." "I'm sorry, your honor." "I was up all night with a terrible toothache." "Well that's too bad." "But it's your duty to stay awake." "And try and follow the evidence with as much intelligence as you've got." "Proceed." "All they want is to get it over with." "Go home." "You said you didn't go there to rob." "Then why didn't you call the police instead of running away?" "Well, I was scared." "I didn't want to get mixed up in it." "You were so scared that you ran all the way back to your room to pack your bag." "You were packing your bag when you were arrested, weren't you?" "Yes, sir." "Why?" "Well, I..." "I don't know." "I was panicky." "I'll tell you why." "It's because this is not the first time you've committed a crime, is it?" "No, sir." "Why did you lie about that previous conviction?" "That was a mistake." "You forgot that fingerprints will always give you away." "You served three years in the Ohio State Reformatory for the holdup of a gasoline station at Lima, didn't you?" "Yes, sir." "But I was a kid." "I was desperate." "I only took five dollars." "There must have been at least fifty in there." "But if a man at the filling station had put up a fight, you'd have killed him just as you killed Nick." "No, sir." "And I didn't kill Nick." "I swear I didn't." "I didn't kill him." "I didn't kill him!" "I didn't!" "I didn't!" "I didn't!" "What's the matter, Jane?" "I just couldn't stand listening to him." "I know it's always pretty awful." "But suppose, for just one minute, that he's telling the truth." "You're just upset, Jane." "Everybody is at their first trial." "No, it isn't that." "It's you." "If they convict him, it'll be on your testimony." "Well what'd you want me to do, lie?" "I had to tell them what I saw." "Oh, Michael." "Why did you have to be there that night?" "Pull yourself together, darling." "I've got to call the office." "It'll only take a minute and we'll run over and look at the apartment." "No." "No, not today." "But they might rent it." "Well, we'll find another place." "Ok." "Wait right here and we'll go out and get a cup of coffee." "Michael." "Hello, Jane." "Hello, Martin." "Will you tell Michael that I've gone home?" "Alright, sure." "Thanks." "I'll wait for the verdict." "Sure, I'll call right away." "Where are you going?" "Over to the drug store with Jane." "She just told me to tell you she had to go home." "Oh." "What's the matter?" "A little family row?" "No, she got a little upset by the trial." "Well, that happens." "Come on, I'll buy you a drink." "Funny part of it is she acts as if I were personally repsonsible for the whole thing." "Well, maybe you were." "After all, if you hadn't seen him, he'd never have been caught." "But I did see him." "What was I supposed to do?" "Take it easy." "You did the right thing." "What if she's right?" "He didn't do it, and they give him the chair." "Suppose they do, what difference does it make?" "There's too many people in the world anyway." "What's the use of talking to you?" "You think everything's a joke." "My son, it is." "If it weren't, life wouldn't be worth living." "Mine host, two more of the same." "Two more of the same, yes sir." "No thanks, not for me." "I've got to get back to the courtroom." "That's a good boy." "Go in there and earn your raise." "All rise." "The justice of the court." "Be seated." "The defendant will rise and face the jury." "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury." "Have you reached a verdict?" "Yes, your honor." "We find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree." "No!" "Come on, son." "No!" "I didn't do it!" "I didn't do it!" "No, let me go." "Let me go!" "Mr. Ward!" "Mr. Ward!" "I didn't do it!" "You know I didn't do it!" "Nick was dead!" "He was dead, Ward!" "What's the matter, Mike?" "Didn't you like the verdict?" "It's what you wanted, wasn't it?" "Well, so long." "Yes, Michael." "I don't know." "I got awfully tired." "What was the verdict?" "They have." "I knew it." "Well, it's over anyway." "What's say we go to Tony's for dinner?" "No, Michael." "I don't feel like going out tonight." "Can't you understand?" "I want to be alone." "I'm tired." "Well I can't!" "I can't forget it!" "Please, Jane!" "After all, what do you know about law and trials and all those things." "The odds are a million to one that that boy is guilty." "It doesn't make any difference, Michael." "He'll be with us for the rest of our lives." "I'll always hear his voice." "Jane..." "Jane!" "Oh, excuse me." "I thought you all had gone already." "Oh, that's alright." "I'm going now." "I didn't do it!" "I didn't!" "What's the matter with me?" "I'm getting soft." "He did it." "Of course he did." "Suppose for just one minute that he's telling the truth." "What if she's right?" "After all, I didn't see Briggs actually kill Nick." "And all the rest of the evidence was circumstantial too." "So what?" "That doesn't make it less reliable." "If the courts had to have an eye witness for everything nobody would ever be convicted." "But sometimes they do get the wrong man." "Why did he have to have a criminal record?" "Now they'll have to give him the chair." "He'll die and I'll never know for sure." "Business as usual." "All you have to do is repaint the sign." "Put Jack instead of Nick and they'll go on drinking their coffee as though nothing had happened." "Paper, Mr. Ward?" "Why did I have to live across the street?" "A lot of people live in Brooklyn." "Why couldn't I?" "Then I wouldn't be mixed up in it." "What a gloomy dump." "Why can't they put in a bigger lamp?" "Listen to him snore." "It'll be a big day in my life when I move out of here." "Poor kid." "She'll forget all about it in a couple of days." "How I hate doing this every night." "Two years." "I don't know how I stood it." "With that snoring animal next door." "He was certainly easy to spot." "I'll never forget the way we met." "What do you want?" "Mr." "Ward." "What's the idea of breaking in that way?" "Mr. Meng complains he can't sleep with you pounding away at that machine." "I have some work to do, and besides, it's only a little after ten." "People who don't loaf in the daytime don't have to work at night." "This isn't an office building." "That's right." "It's a rooming house." "Exactly." "I paid my rent and I'll do as I please." "Now if you don't mind." "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" "Mr. Meng's been living here nearly 14 years and always paid his rent promptly." "Every week!" "So do I." "Yes, but you won't live here 14 years." "Heaven forbid." "But, as long as you do live here, stop using that thing." "Come, Mr. Meng." "If you have to write, write with a pencil." "I am tired." "Who's that?" "It isn't Meng." "What do you want?" "Who are you?" "Hey!" "Wait a minute." "Where the devil did he go?" "What do I care?" "What was he doing in here?" "Was he trying to rob the place?" "He can't be very bright." "There isn't anything worth stealing in the whole block." "What an evil face." "He and Meng would make a swell team." "Meng." "He isn't snoring." "He must be awake." "Maybe he heard that man in the hall." "But why is he so quiet?" "I can't hear a sound." "Is he?" "Is there something wrong with him?" "That man." "Maybe he did something to him." "Maybe he killed him!" "What's the matter with me?" "I'm acting like an old woman." "You forgot that fingerprints will always give you away." "Why is it so quiet in there?" "He didn't hear me." "Shall I knock again?" "I'll wake the whole house." "What if I do?" "Why should they think I had anything to do with it?" "And why did I believe Briggs was guilty?" "But that was different." "He said himself he'd kill Nick if he only had a gun." "I've never said anything like that." "Oh, yes I have." "That time in Nick's." "Everything very special, just as you like it, Mr. Ward." "Thanks, Nick." "How's Trix?" "Oh, everything is fine." "Thanks, thanks." "How's the newspaper business?" "Fine, fine, thanks." "That's good." "Another cup of java, Nick." "Coming up." "Great character." "An artist." "You know, it isn't every dope can make a cup of coffee like this." "It's a big secret." "But I like you girls so much, I tell you how." "You see, I put a raisin in each cup of coffee to make it sweet like you." "Good evening, Mr. Meng." "Good evening." "Good evening." "Well..." "One of my best customers." "I'll have a bottle of milk, my friend." "Milk?" "A bottle of milk, please." "Shall I wrap it up?" "No thank you." "Oh, look, a runner." "Who is that citizen?" "That's my next door neighbor." "He looks as though his mind could stand a little laundering." "Hello, neighbor." "Ah ah, shouldn't drink coffee before going to bed." "Milk's the thing." "Makes you sleep like an innocent babe." "Good night." "Did you ever want to kill a man?" "My son, there's murder in every intelligent man's heart." "He's no man." "He's a worm." "The kind you ought to jump on with heavy boots." "You'll have to do an awful lot of jumping." "The earth is covered with them." "It'd be a real pleasure to cut his throat." "Say, you're not kidding." "Put down that knife." "But it was just talk." "Just something you say." "You can't convict a man on that." "In every crime there has to be a motive." "I hadn't any." "Wait a minute." "How about last month?" "The night it rained." "Are you sure it's alright for me to come up here?" "Certainly." "I was never told not to have friends in my room." "Michael." "I like your room." "It's very nice." "Oh, I've read this one." "I liked it didn't you?" "M-hmm." "Your face is wet." "Thank you." "I'm glad I came up." "I have the rain to thank for that." "I've always liked the rain." "I do too." "Now." "The park was wet and damp tonight." "It's snug and warm here." "I'm tired of the park." "Me too." "I'm tired of the movies." "They're so dark, I can never see your face." "I'm tired of the bus tops, even in spring." "I hate Riverside Drive." "So do I." "I hate every place where I can't take you in my arms." "I've always wanted to see your room." "To know where you sit when you're tired, and where you sleep." "Do you talk in your sleep?" "I don't know." "I've always lived alone." "Telling your secrets to the walls." "Maybe." "Darling." "Your shoes are soaking wet." "You'll catch cold." "Your stalking too." "You better take them off." "I'll get you something to dry them with." "Who's that?" "I don't know." "Go and see." "Who is it?" "It's me, Mrs. Kane." "What do you want?" "Mr. Meng here says you've got a woman in there." "What if I have?" "What did I tell you?" "It's against the rules of the house, Mr. Ward." "You ought to know better than that." "Look, look." "There she is." "Look at her legs." "I'm surprised at you, Mr. Ward." "I thought I made it quite clear that ladies are not allowed in the rooms." "You did nothing of the kind!" "Oh, yes I did." "I tell that to all the tenants." "Anyway, you better get her out of here." "Yes, this is a respectable house I want you to know." "Get out of here." "Both of you before I throw you out." "Don't you dare." "I'll call the police." "Please, Michael." "Don't argue with them." "Don't worry." "I'll go at once." "Oh, no you won't." "You won't leave because of this obscene, old fool." "I ought to wring your neck." "Take your hands off me." "Mrs. Kane!" "Michael!" "Mr. Ward!" "Get him out of here before I kill him." "Alright, alright." "You heard him." "You heard him." "You saw him assault me." "You're my witness!" "I'm sorry, darling." "Terribly sorry." "I don't care." "I really don't." "They can't hurt me." "I should have known this would happen." "He's always spying on me." "He probably had his ear glued to the wall from the minute we came up here." "Well, forget it, darling." "Please." "You must believe me." "She never told me I wasn't supposed to have you up here." "Of course she didn't." "Look." "It stopped raining." "I love the smell of the park after the rain." "Don't you?" "Yes." "I love the park anyway." "And the movies and Riverside Drive." "Michael, stop it." "Jane, why do you love me?" "What makes you think I do?" "Just a hunch." "Let's go, Michael." "Before they come back again." "You're right." "Let's." "What's the matter?" "Nothing." "I'm moving out of here tomorrow." "Why bother?" "What do you mean?" "Oh, nothing." "I just thought that in a few weeks we both might move." "Darling." "What's the matter?" "Don't you like the idea?" "What a dope I am." "Why didn't I think of it?" "Why didn't you think of what?" "Getting married." "Michael." "You really never did?" "Not because I'm bashful." "I just could never figure out what we'd live on." "That doesn't matter." "I can wait." "You will?" "Forever." "If necessary." "It won't be that long." "One of these days I'll get a break." "I got mine tonight." "Poor Jane." "Don't drag her into it." "But Meng isn't dead." "What's the matter with me?" "I'm just tired." "I can't think straight anymore." "If I could only drive it out of my mind." "And get some sleep." "Wake up." "Why did you do it?" "Speak up!" "Why did you kill him?" "Come on." "Come clean." "Confess, and we'll go easy on you." "I didn't." "Stop lying." "You know you killed him!" "I didn't." "I didn't." "The stranger did it." "The man I saw in the hall." "Where'd you hide the gun?" "I never had a gun." "Where did you put the knife?" "What knife?" "This one." "You thought we wouldn't find it, eh?" "I didn't kill him!" "I didn't!" "I didn't!" "Extra!" "Extra!" "Read all about it." "Wow, has he got a by-line now." "Yeah?" "How do you know he did it?" "Who cares?" "What a story." "What a story." "Oh, Michael." "Why did you do it?" "I didn't do it, Jane." "I didn't." "It was that man I saw." "Nobody believes me." "But you do." "Don't you?" "Do you?" "Do you?" "Do you?" "!" "Michael, you're hurting me!" "I'm your lawyer." "I'm supposed to defend you at your trial, but..." "I must know the truth." "I didn't do it." "That's what they all say." "Now, here's my advice." "Plead guilty, and throw yourself on the mercy of the court." "I won't do it." "Don't be a fool!" "Do you want to get the chair like Briggs?" "I won't do it." "I won't admit something I didn't do." "Somebody on that jury will believe me." "Oh yeah?" "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury." "The state will prove that the defendant, Michael Ward deliberately, willfully, intentionally and with malice aforethought murdered Albert Meng on the night of May 17." "But I didn't." "The defendant will refrain." "He has a viscious temper, always picking fights." "Once, he almost struck me!" "Well, it isn't true!" "I object." "The defendant will refrain." "Sit down." "I heard with my own ears what he told Mr. Meng when he asked him to get his lady friend out of his room." "And what did he tell Mr. Meng?" "He told him, "You'll be sorry for this."" ""I'm going to kill you."" "But I didn't!" "She's lying!" "The defendant will refrain." "Keep your mouth shut." "Do you realize you're under oath to tell the truth the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" "I do." "Did he say, "Before I kill him?"" "I don't remember." "Would you swear he didn't say it?" "Would you?" "No!" "No, I wouldn't." "I'm sorry, Michael." "I had to tell the truth." "You hated Meng, didn't you?" "Yes." "But I didn't kill him." "Did you ever think of killing him?" "I don't know." "I might have." "That's all." "No, it isn't." "I'm telling you, I didn't do it!" "Ladies and gentlemen you're the jury." "Please believe me." "I'm innocent." "There was a man in the hall." "A stranger, he..." "Why aren't you listening to me?" "Please, Your Honor, they're not listening." "Make them hear me." "They've got to!" "The defendant will refrain!" "I didn't kill him!" "I didn't!" "I didn't!" "You can't convict me!" "You can't!" "I didn't kill him!" "I didn't!" "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury have you reached a verdict?" "Guilty!" "But I'm not guilty!" "The stranger killed him!" "There." "There he is!" "Why don't you do something?" "He'll get away." "Arrest him!" "Michael Ward face the court." "It is the judgement of this court that you be taken to the state prison and be there put to death in the manner prescribed by law." "And may God have mercy on your soul." "I'm not afraid to die even though I don't know why I have to." "But before I do..." "I've got to know there's someone on this Earth who does believe I'm innocent." "You're the last man I'll ever talk to." "Please say you don't believe I killed him." "Aha!" "Now you're looking for somebody to believe you to say you ain't done it!" "Why should they?" "Did you believe me?" "Would you tell me you didn't think I done it?" "No." "Ok, kid go and die!" "My, my..." "Quite an occasion, isn't it?" "Look!" "Look!" "He's alive!" "I told you not to drink coffee before going to bed." "That proves I didn't kill him." "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "Can't you see he's alive?" "Let me go!" "He's alive!" "He's alive!" "He's alive..." "Of course he's alive." "But why don't I hear him?" "I'll go in there and wake him up." "Dead." "Hello." "Jane, listen." "Get dressed and meet me in the park." "I can't now." "I'll tell you when I see you." "It's terribly important." "Bring all the money you have with you." "Yes, hurry." "Please, Jane." "I've got to leave town at once." "The minute they find the body I'll be arrested." "Oh, Michael, pull yourself together." "Nobody's going to arrest you." "Why should they?" "I've told you why!" "But it doesn't make sense." "Besides, where will you go?" "They'll find you no matter where you hide." "It's the only chance I've got." "Did you bring any money?" "Michael." "Don't you realize?" "It'll only make things worse for you." "Why don't you try to figure it out first?" "Are you even sure that Meng is dead?" "Of course I'm sure." "Nobody can live with his throat slashed open like..." "His throat." "What is it, Michael?" "It was cut just like Nick's." "What are you talking about?" "Nick on the corner." "Don't you remember?" "He was killed the same way." "The same way." "The same man killed them both I tell you!" "The same man?" "Must be." "Couldn't have been anybody else!" "Then you think that boy's innocent?" "Of course he is." "But what's the use?" "I can't prove it, and they'll convict me just like they did him." "Can't you see, Jane?" "I've got to get away." "And let Briggs die when you know he's innocent." "But what can I do?" "I can't help him." "Yes, you can." "You can help the police find the man you saw." "A lot you know about cops." "They won't even listen to me." "They will!" "They've got to." "Alright." "If that's what you want me to do." "Please." "Where do you think you're going?" "I live here." "Well you can't go in now." "There's been a guy killed in there." "I know." "I called the police." "Oh, well that's different." "Come on, the lieutenant wants to see you." "What do you say, doc?" "Death was instantaneous." "The jugular vein was cut." "How long ago?" "Oh, I'd say about six hours." "This guy here says he sent in the call." "Hello, lieutenant." "Hello, Ward." "You found the body?" "Yeah." "Do you live in there?" "Yeah, that's my room." "Any leads so far?" "Nothing much." "They're checking for fingerprints now." "What do you know about it?" "Not much." "But I've got a slant that might help you." "Yeah?" "There was a man hanging around in here last night when I came home." "Yeah?" "Maybe he was visiting somebody." "Maybe." "But when I spoke to him he ran." "He did, huh?" "Well, thanks, Ward." "It's a lead anyway." "Here's another one." "You remember Nick?" "Sure." "His throat was cut the same way." "That's right." "Yeah?" "Well I don't think it was a coincidence." "You don't, huh?" "What do you think?" "Well, I think" "Well don't you think we'd better let the D.A. know about it?" "A fellow was convicted for the other murder yesterday." "I guess so." "If we can get him out of bed." "Amazing." "Almost incredibly so." "Have you been out to pick up this fellow he saw?" "Yes, sir." "I have." "No sign of him yet, I suppose?" "No, sir." "Not so far." "I see." "Well sit down while I shave." "In the meantime, something's got to be done about Briggs." "Oh, yes." "Yes, of course." "Now let me get this straight." "You said that you had a premonition that Meng was dead right after you ran into that queer looking customer in the hall." "Yes, sir." "Extraordinary." "We could use a few men with a gift like that on the police force, eh lieutenant?" "Why didn't you do something about it?" "It was only a vague feeling I had." "I see." "So what made it less vague later on?" "I had a nightmare." "I told you." "You must be psychic." "Do you often have such nightmares?" "No, I don't." "Listen..." "I didn't get you out of bed just to talk about my dreams." "What's going to be done about Briggs?" "Why are you so worried about him?" "Because it was me who helped you convict him." "Yes, that's true." "You were the only witness." "So now you believe both murders were committed by the same man, eh?" "Yes, I do." "Well, maybe you're right." "As you pointed out there are certain similarities between the two crimes." "But you missed one." "Perhaps the most important." "Both murders were discovered by the same man." "You." "What are you driving at?" "Tell me has there ever been any insanity in your family?" "Listen I'm as sane as you are and if you think I had anything to do with it, you're crazy." "I tell you, it was that man I saw." "Might be." "But for your sake, Ward I hope you didn't dream him up to." "What do you mean?" "Better take him down to headquarters with you." "Material witness." "Come along." "Congratulations you'll be governor yet." "And thanks for your order of..." "Where was I?" ""And thanks for your order of..."" "You better make that thank you instead of thanks." "Say, what's the matter with you this morning?" "You look like you wasn't here." "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. McLain." "Yes?" "Hello, Michael." "Arrested?" "But why?" "Can't they find that man?" "Well why aren't they looking?" "Oh, I see." "Yes, I do." "More than ever." "I'll come up as soon as they'll let me see you." "Goodbye." "Please, Mr. McLain." "Can I have the rest of the day off?" "What again?" "I'm sorry, Mr. McLain, but something terrible has happened." "Won't you let me go, please?" "Well what can I do?" "Thanks, Mr. McLain." "Alright." "Thank you very much." "Yes ma'am, what can I do for you?" "I got some very nice, fresh bananas today." "No, thanks." "Tell me, you must know pretty nearly everybody around this neighborhood." "Oh sure, and they all know me." "Honest waiter Giuseppe, that's what they call me." "Well, maybe you can help me find this man I'm looking for." "A man?" "What's his name?" "I don't know." "You don't know?" "What does he look like?" "I don't know that either." "I never saw him." "All I know is he he has big, protruding eyes and he wears a funny-looking, long, white scarf." "And you never saw him?" "I never did either." "Thanks." "Thick lips, bulgy eyes long scarf?" "Never saw a guy like that." "How about you, Charlie?" "Me neither." "Thank you." "Please." "Yes, ma'am." "Do you know a strange looking man?" "He has big, bulgey eyes, and thick lips, and and he wears a long, white scarf." "What's his name?" "Well, I don't know." "Sorry, lady, but people are just names to me." "Sometimes I try to think what this or that name might look like but I never thought of anybody that'd look like that." "Thanks." "I'm sorry, dear." "Thank you." "Sorry, lady." "Cup of coffee, please." "Yes, miss." "Have you seen a man who oh..." "I'm sorry." "I asked you that before." "Here you are, miss." "Catch up with that fellow yet?" "No." "That's too bad." "Yes, sir." "What's it gonna be?" "I want a couple of hamburgers, and I'd like them raw." "Two hamburgers raw?" "Right away." "Tartar style." "Kind of like the taste of blood, huh?" "No, thank you, I don't care for the buns." "Just put them in some paper, please." "I want to take them with me." "Alright." "Ok, twenty cents." "Good night." "Now here you are you poor, little devil." "Now don't eat too fast." "You'll get a tummy ache." "He followed me for two blocks." "I had to get him something to eat." "Why are you looking at me like that?" "Oh, I'm sorry." "I'm afraid I made a mistake." "For a minute, I thought you were someone I knew." "Well, that's alright." "He's awfully cute." "You ought to keep him." "Yes." "I wish I could." "I have no home to give him." "Well good night." "Good night, you." "What do you want?" "Why are you following me?" "I was going in the same direction and I thought maybe I could walk with you." "Why?" "It's so late and it's so dark." "Yes, it is dark." "Come along." "I'll see that nothing happens to you." "Thank you." "It's this neighborhood that frightens me." "So many terrible things have happened here." "What things?" "Don't you live around here?" "Haven't you..." "Haven't you heard what happened up there in number 39?" "Have they sent you to take me back?" "No!" "Who?" "Don't you know?" "The people who lock you up." "No, of course not." "How do I know I can trust you?" "They wouldn't send a woman would they?" "No." "No, they they wouldn't send a woman." "The only person who ever was kind to me was a woman." "She's dead now." "Oh." "Why?" "Why do they want to lock you up?" "Oh, so they can hurt me." "They..." "They put you in a shirt with long sleeves and they pour ice water on you." "That's terrible." "Did Nick want to send you back to them?" "Yes, he did." "How do you know?" "Did Meng try to do it too?" "Meng?" "Who is Meng?" "You know." "The man up there in that house." "Oh, that man." "He said he was going to report me." "I had to kill him." "What's the matter?" "Nothing." "I live in here." "Oh." "Good night." "It was very nice." "Don't go." "I forgot my key." "I have to ring the bell." "Please." "Wait'll I get in." "They must be all asleep." "I guess so." "What do you want?" "Please, let me in." "I've got to call the police." "Drunk!" "Waking up people this hour of the night." "Get out of here or I'll call the police." "Why did you lie?" "I didn't." "I just made a mistake." "The houses are all alike around here." "Mine must be next door." "No." "You don't live next door." "You don't live here at all." "You live there with them!" "No." "No, I don't." "I'm your friend." "Why are you afraid of me?" "I'm not." "I'm not afraid." "They sent you because they know I would trust a woman." "Help!" "Please let me in!" "Let me go!" "Help!" "I'll not go back there!" "I'll not." "Help!" "It's not my fault, miss." "I couldn't help it." "I honked." "You can't stop one of these things in five feet." "You'll be a witness for me, won't you?" "What happened?" "It wasn't my fault." "Call an ambulance." "Sure." "He went right in front of it." "She saw him." "Is that right?" "Yes." "He was chasing me." "He was going to kill me." "He looks like the guy we were looking for this morning." "Yes." "He is." "And he admitted everything." "He killed them both." "Did you?" "Yes." "But I'm not going back." "Is this place taken, miss?" "Yes, it is." "I beg your pardon." "Sit down." "Thank you, miss." "Where were you?" "You're late again." "Why, I..." "Whole wheat toast and orange marmalade, right?" "Wrong." "What do you mean wrong?" "That's what I serve you every morning." "That isn't what I want." "But that's what you always have." "Never again." "From now on I'm switching to eggs cooked by my own wife in her own kitchen." "Bill, you've lost two customers." "Is that so?" "Congratulations." "Thanks, Bill." "Right." "Come on." "Where are we going?" "The judge and the D.A. are waiting for us." "Michael, something wrong again?" "Not if this marriage license is ok." "Taxi?" "City Hall." "Oh, no." "We aren't going to start our life together like that." "From now on we save." "It's alright, lady." "This one's on the house."