"Hey!" "Sleepy!" "Pick me up here at one o'clock." "Pick you up here at one o'clock." "Where?" "Age?" "Age?" "Middle um... twenties." "Nationality:" "Chicago" "My phone number is Granite 1466." "I'll check with my numerologist before I call." "What is it about you newspaper men?" "I've been trying to get her phone number for a week." "You didn't even have to ask for it." "It's all yours:" "Granite 1466." "You're not gonna put it in your column, are you?" "I'd be swamped with calls." " What's wrong with that?" "Yeah, what is wrong with that." "It's the lunch break Mr Mayo, would you like to see the switchboard?" "Sure." "Thanks, Miss Carpenter." "See you in the papers." " Thank you." "See you, Crystal." "All the long distance calls for the downtown Los Angeles area come through this room." "Oh oh!" "My roommates." "Art class is over." "Oh, be a good girl and give me another minute, will you?" "Where have I heard that before?" "Sorry, no posing overtime." "Try me some night." "With pleasure." "That's not what I meant." "Crystal, it looks just like you." " Oh, is that good?" "Like to see some more of my work?" "Your wasting your time, Rembrandt." "She's got a boyfriend in Korea." "Long way off, Korea." " Yes, a long way off." "But he wouldn't want you to get too lonely, would he?" "He wouldn't want you to get too friendly either." "Sally." "Sally!" "All finished with Granite 1466?" "Or, do you still get a busy signal?" "Mr Prebble, a call for you in the office." "A girl." "Thanks." "I've got more numbers than the phone company." "How's the wolf been doing with all the..." "little red riding hoods?" "Great." "If you ask him." "I've told you not to call me here." "I was busy last night." "Working." "I don't believe you, Harry." "You haven't worked three nights in a row in your life." "I've got to see you and talk to you!" "Rose, I'm tied up now." "Call me later at home." "How can I?" "You changed your number and I can't get it from the operator." "You have to help me, Harry!" "I just can't talk now." "Take it easy." "I'll be seeing you." "Like it?" "Isn't it wonderful?" "I'm glad you got black." "It'll look good on any of us." "You don't mind if I wear it first for one night." "Aren't you ever gonna open that letter?" "Right after the champagne." "Champagne?" "You bought champagne for yourself?" "No, not for myself." "You don't understand, Sally." "I know, it's your birthday, and that's fine." "Every girl oughta have birthdays." "Up to a certain point." " The flowers!" "Oh, will you tell Crystal to clean up the bathroom and I'll take her turn ironing tomorrow." " It'll wind up like it always does!" "With me doing everything." "I'm so sorry." "Did I hurt you?" "I think my sacroiliac shifted two points south." "Oh, Crystal!" "Which may be an improvement." "I'll get it." "My cigarette." "Just a minute, I'm coming!" "Hello..." "If that's for me I'm in, no matter who it is." "It's for you." "A man!" "Hello..." "Yes, this is Sally Ellis." "Tonight?" "Oh, of course!" "Oh, you don't know how I've waited for this." "I'll be right over!" "Bye!" "Sally!" "That's no way to talk to a man." "And it was a man." "It was the rental library down at the drugstore." "They just got in the new Mickey Mallet mystery!" "It's all about a beautiful red-haired debutante who gets in the head, stabbed in the back, shot in the stomach..." "Pow!" "Pretty badly hurt, she staggers down the stairs" "How do you know all that, you haven't even read it yet?" "That's what they're all about." "Lucky girl." "Living a life of passion and violence." "Now me, I've got my life with Homer." "Drive-in dinner, drive-in movie, and afterwards we go for a drive." "It's still better than a dime-store novel, Crystal." "You know, you don't appreciate Homer." "I don't know what exactly they are, but he has a lot of good qualities." "I never could understand why you two broke up." "Homer's so affectionate." "Well, I didn't think so when we were married." "But, now that we're divorced I'm beginning to like the big lug." "Homer always had a husband's faults." "But, now he has a boyfriend's virtues." "Yeah?" "Oh, you..." "If you've been listening, just forget what you heard." "Okay!" " Hello." "Happy birthday!" " Thank you, Homer." "Oh, that's sweet of you." "Thanks." "Well, aren't you gonna open it?" "Why?" "Don't you know what's in it?" "The roast!" "That's a roast?" "It shrunk!" "It's big enough for two." " Are you still playing games?" "Now look, Homer." "You have Crystal here, but like someone said today:" ""Korea's a long way off"." "And, if I can't have him here I can pretend I have him." "It's none of my business, Norah, but why stay in night after night eating your heart out for some guy who..." " He isn't "some guy who... "." "He's one of a couple of hundred thousand." "And I happen to love him." "It's fun for me..." " To let yourself go to seed?" "There are lots of guys who'd take you out, for laughs, no monkey business." "I would myself if it wasn't for..." " You'd what?" "Oh, Crystal!" "I was just uh..." " Come on, Homer." "Leave her alone." "Let's go." "That horse I could eat is getting cold." "You sure you won't go with us, honey?" "This isn't much of a birthday." "I told you, Crystal, it's the way I want it." "Have a good time." " Happy birthday again." "Thanks." " Happy birthday, darling." "Did you get paid today?" " Yeah!" "Oh!" "Well come on, darling." "Goodbye." "Toodaloo!" " Buh bye." "Have fun." "Dear Norah," "You've probably learned by now that I'm not so hot as a letter writer." "I remember when we were kids in Bakersfield and I worked vacations in San Joaquin Valley." "You used to bawl me out for not writing." "Well, I guess I've gotten worse." "But, that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about you... a lot." "And also thinking about someone else, Norah." "A nurse I met in Tokyo when I took a load of Commie shrapnel with me." "Angela, that's her name, supplied the strength and the courage and everything else to pull me through." "I didn't want it to happen but... there's nothing a guy can do about the real McCoy, and that's what this is." "We're in love." "And when I get out we're going to be married." "That's the story, Norah." "And, I guess there's nothing else to say except I hope you'll understand." "With affection, always... and best wishes for your future." ""Best wishes for your future"." "Yours very sincerely." "Yours very... truly." "Hello?" " Hiya honey." "Had dinner yet?" "No." "Who is this?" " Harry Prebble." "I'm taking you up on the suggestion you made this morning." "Suggestion?" "What suggestion?" "When you were posing for me, remember?" "How about slipping into something comfortable like a few drinks and some Chinese food?" "I'm sorry, Mr Prebble." "I..." "I think you made a mistake." "We'll discuss my mistakes over those cocktails." "What do you say?" "Hope in a cab and meet me at 'The Blue Gardenia'." "All right." "I will." "Yes." "'The Blue Gardenia'." "On Vine, right off Hollywood." "You got it?" "I've got it." "You got what?" "Just someone on the phone." "So I gathered!" "How'd the dashing lieutenant like the dinner he didn't eat?" "Fine." "It's in the kitchen." "I'm going out." "Out?" "Where?" "I've got a date." "With a man?" " With a man." "The one on the phone?" " The one on the phone." "Norah, I love mysteries..." "Look Sally." "I haven't got time to talk about it now." "I'll tell you tomorrow." "Good night!" "Good night." "Men!" "Chinese peas, fried rice and lobster Cantonese." "Well, that's the dinner." "For the drinks:" "Polynesian Pearl Divers." "And don't spare the rum." "I'll tell the bar." "Hello, Mr Prebble." " Hi, Joe." "Hello." " Well hi!" "Check please, Joe." "Alone?" "Granite 1466?" "Well, whoever she is, happy hunting." "Thanks." "Same to you." "He's a very fancy man with the ladies, Mr Prebble." "Jealous, Joe?" "Oh, no." "No." "I fancy man myself." "How you do with little black book?" "Yes and no." "I've gotta do a little research, right now." "Yes, madam?" "Oh, Mr Prebble's table please." " Oh, yes." "Of course." "Boy." "Table 14." "Coral room." "One moment please." "Hello, Mr Prebble." "Hello." "Well, this is a coincidence." "I was just talking to your friend Crystal." "You didn't talk to her, you... talked to me." "That was you?" "I tried to tell you it was a mistake but you wouldn't listen." "You see, Crystal and I live together and she wasn't home so..." "Well, even if you were wrong about the girl you were right about..." "I mean..." "I was alone and..." "I hadn't eaten, so..." "I probably shouldn't have come, it was a silly impulse." "Impulses aren't always silly." "Here, sit down." "Please." "Ever see a Polynesian Pearl Diver before?" "Not served as a drink!" "These aren't really drinks." "They're tradewinds across cool lagoons." "They're The Southern Cross above coral reefs." "They're a lovely maiden bathing at the foot of a waterfall." "Ah, that's pretty." "Doesn't make much sense, but it's pretty." "Did you make it up?" "No, I memorized it." "Do you know what a Mermaid's Downfall is?" ""To achieve a Mermaid's Downfall... "" ""we begin with a seductive rum that insidiously lulls the... "" "I think I'll stick to Pearl Divers." "It's good." "It's strong." "Mainly ice and pineapple juice." "Can I get high on one of these?" "You want to?" "I don't know." "I'm not sure what I want." "I only know one thing, I'd like to forget the early part of this evening." "Okay." "Tonight begins as of now." "To us." "To us." "Good evening, sir." "Would you like a Blue Gardenia for the lady?" "It's a specialty of the house." "Aren't they pretty?" " Oh, they're lovely!" "The lady would like one, May." "Oh, it's you Mr Prebble, nice to hear your voice." "How are you tonight, sir?" " Never better." "Here you are, Miss." " Thank you so much." "Thank you, Mr Prebble." "'Blue Gardenia'" "'Now I'm alone with you'" "'And I am oh so blue'" "'She has tossed us aside'" "'And like you'" "'Gardenia'" "'Once I was near her heart'" "'After the tear drops start'" "'Where are teardrops to hide'" "Waiter." "Two more." "'I lived for an hour'" "'What more can I tell'" "'Love bloomed like a flower'" "'Then the petals fell'" "'Blue Gardenia'" "'Thrown to a passing breeze'" "'But rest in my book'" "'Of mem-or-ries'" "'I lioved for an hour'" "'What more can I tell'" "'Love bloomed like a flower'" "'Then the petals fell'" "'Thrown to a passing breeze'" "'But rest in my book'" "'Of mem-or-ries'" "Not more food!" "These were just the appetizers." "The we oughta have another round of Poly..." "Po-ly-ne-sian..." "There, I got it!" "South Sea Piledrivers!" "Waiter, bring us another two, will you?" "You know what we oughta do?" "We oughta order four more now..." "so we wouldn't keep that poor man running backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards." "Are you trying to get me drunk?" "That's the trouble with you modern men." "You can't hold your liquor." "Even with... many tradewinds, over lagoons." "Mr prebble." " Harry." "Mr Harry." "How do you feel?" "Like a lovely maiden, bathing at the foot of the Southern Cross!" "Perfect." "Wonderful!" "And just right." "That's good." "I wouldn't want you to have had one too many." "I think I've had several too many." "Where are we going?" "To my apartment." "I've invited a few friends in." "Oh, good." "Every girl should have a party on her birthday." "It's your birthday?" "All day!" "California dew." "I've been working on that for quite a while." "I have to finish it tonight if I want the money I've been promised." "Tonight?" " I have to, but I'm not going to." "The night is still young." "Your birthday party is just beginning!" "That's not the way I feel right now." "A glass of champagne and you'll feel fine." "No." "No." "I couldn't possibly have another drink." "Oh, so you had a few." "One glass won't hurt you." "See." "It's dangerous even before you drink it." "Oh, it's nothing." "No." "Keep it." "Just a moment." "Special record, to remember our first date." "To The Blue Gardenia!" "Oh, I'm sorry." "I think I better have some coffee quick." "Should be perking in a minute." "I think I better lie down." "Thank you, Mr Prebble." "Harry!" "I'll get the coffee." "Hey!" "Coffee time." "What happened?" "You feel asleep." "Oh, no-no." "I just closed my eyes for a minute." "Here." "Well, that's delicious!" "Now I feel like dancing!" "You're very tall." "No shoes." "Women always surprise me when they take off their... shoes." "I don't think the dancing was such a good idea." "Here." "How's that?" "Fine." "Happy birthday, Norah." "Why did you have to write that letter?" "Letter?" "Why did you have to meet that nurse?" "That must've been quite a letter." "No." "Don't!" "All confused." "I better go." "Where's my... hat?" "What's your hurry, Norah?" "Okay, kids." "You heard the mind whistle." "Up!" "It's Thursday." "I get the bathroom first, you make the orange juice." "Norah." "You're on toast and coffee today." "Norah!" "Norah!" "She's dead." "Dead?" "Come on, honey." "The lady's here with another bright, new morning!" "My head." "It's right where you left it." "Hey, what happened to your nightgown?" "I didn't wear one, I..." "I just fell into bed the way I was." " The way you were when you came home?" "I don't remember coming home." "I don't remember much of anything." "I know I had a couple of drinks." " A couple?" "The rest of the evening is a complete blank." "Here's your Vitamin C." " Oh, thanks." "Here." "Fall into this." "The arms go into the sleeves." "Don't worry, it'll wear off by noon." "And if it doesn't there's always aspirin, raw eggs and worcestershire sauce, sauerkraut juice, or milk and bourbon." "All right, Norah." "Give." "What happened?" "Nothing happened." "At least nothing I can remember." "Well, I don't blame you whatever it was." "You had plenty of reason." "Oh!" "I read your letter, Norah." "I know I shouldn't of, but I did." " Ah, it's all right, Sally." "Don't take it so hard." "No man's worth it." "Not 6000 miles away, that is!" "They were probably struggling when she backed into the fireplace and grabbed the poker." "She must've raised it over her head like this, smashed the mirror and let him have it." "Take it easy!" "Both of you!" "Now then..." "You wiped the fingerprints off the poker, huh?" "I didn't see any fingerprints." "I picked it up and put it in its place like I'm supposed to." "I see... and the coffee cup, you washed that, huh?" "That's what I'm paid for." "Not finding dead bodies." "Captain!" " Yeah?" "Excuse me." "A pair of women's shoes in the hall closet." "Suede pumps, 51/2." "I put them there." "They were in front of the couch." "You're very helpful." "They're not the first pair of women's shoes I found in front of that couch." "Add 'em to the collection." "Hey, do you mind?" " He ain't very photogenic today." "Pardon us." "How about another one, just for good luck?" "Hello, Casey." " Hello, Sam." "Got another cigarette?" "What are you doing on a routine murder case?" "Sleepy heard it on the car radio." "He wanted a peak at the dear departed before the other boys beat him to it." "Anything special, Captain?" " Not much." "Artist." "He got murdered to music." " What key?" "Grab what you need, Al, and let's get out of here." "I've got a lot of work to do." "Work?" "You call writing a column work?" "The cleaning said this was still playing this morning." "Not much of a clue." " We've got a few." "A lace handkerchief with blood stains." "A pair of suede pumps, size 51/2." "And a blue gardenia broken off at the stem." "If you want to improve your mind..." "I'll take mine in the flesh." " That's how Prebble got his." "Prebble?" "Harry prebble?" " Yeah, you know him?" "Yeah, I knew him." "Slightly..." "That's quite a list." " He was quite a man with the ladies." "Are you sure that one of our girls is involved?" "All I'm sure of is he got killed." "Who's next?" "Send her into my office, please." " All right." "Hazel, you posed for Mr Prebble, didn't you?" "Yeah." "They want you in the public relations office." "I'll take your board." "There go the next seven years." " The janitor will get it, Hazel." "What's the matter, Norah?" "Don't you feel well?" "What?" "I'm all right." "Here we are... a blue gardenia." "Just like the one I sold to Mr Prebble last night." "And the girl with him..." "Can't you remember anything about her?" "Her perfume maybe?" "No." "And that's usually the first thing I..." "Oh yes!" "Her dress... taffeta." "Taffeta has a voice of its own." "It rustles, like no other material." "Taffeta." "Probably black." "That's the fashion this season." "And, I remember her voice too." "It was a friendly voice." "Friendly and quiet." "Hamstead 1234." "I feel like I've been put through a ringer!" " Well, it didn't take long." "Here's your party." "What's it all about?" " They told us not to talk." "They?" "The cops!" "And what questions!" "Asked if I was out in the rain last night without my shoes on!" "Just cause I have a little cold." "Tombstone, Arizona?" "One moment please." "In the rain without your shoes on?" "Miss Stanley?" "Miss Stanley, would you take my board?" "I feel dizzy." "Well, certainly." "The afternoon papers, have they come in yet?" "No, not yet honey." "Thanks." "The Evening Tribune!" "Watch it, Mack!" "Here you are, Miss." "Got him with a poker." "Old fashioned." "Here you are, Miss." "Going up!" "How is it?" "Not bad, if you want to read about murder." "Everybody wants to read about murder." "Even when an unknown doll kills a guy nobody ever heard of before." "Sudden death sells papers, son." "Lesson #1 in modern journalism." "Lesson #2:" "Add the element of sex." ""Beautiful blonde defending her virtue"." " What makes you think she's a blonde?" "The Chinese boy who showed her to Prebbles table." "To an Oriental, all American women are beautiful blondes." "I don't dig your code system." "What do three exclamation points after a girl's name mean?" "Hey!" "That's private stock." " I can dream, can't I?" "Mr Mayo, how do you know this... this Blue Gardenia girl's beautiful?" "They're always beautiful!" "What did you call her?" "'The..." "Blue Gardenia'." ""So, here's a bit of information about 'The Blue Gardenia'"" ""for my good friend Captain Haynes of the Homicide detail. "" ""The murderess you're looking for, Captain... "" ""... was wearing a taffeta dress, probably black. "" "Probably black?" "Probably bright red!" "That type of girl never wears black." "What type of a girl?" " You know the type..." "Listen to this!" "He's almost as good as Mickey Mallet!" ""And I know a few other facts of special interest to the girl who done the whodunit"" ""Her voice was quiet and friendly as she drank half a doz... "" "Half a dozen!" ""..." "Polynesian Pearl Divers in The Blue Gardenia Cafe last night. "" ""But, if I know the kind of high voltage dolls... "" ""the late and unlamented Harry prebble went for... "" ""She was just a flashy blonde, putting on an act as a lady. "" "Maybe she was... fighting for her honor." "Norah, a girl who'd go out with a guy like Prebble never heard of that word." "Yeah, that's what I told the cops this afternoon." "Maybe she was lonely and bewildered." "Well, she sure had to be plenty bewildered to go up to that wolf's apartment!" "Maybe she wanted some excitement." "Well, she sure got it when she gave him that fast right with the poker." "Maybe he deserved it!" " Honey..." "If a girl killed every man who got fresh with her, how much of the male population do you think there'd be left?" "I didn't like Prebble when he was alive." "But, now that he's been murdered..." "That always makes a man so romantic." "Don't be such an idiot, Sally." "Me?" "An idiot?" "Don't pay any attention." "It's just that letter from Korea." "Now, I always give a man the air before he gives it to me." "Did you have a good time with Homer last night?" "I must have..." "He called twice to apologize." "Let's turn in." "Homer!" "The clue of the black taffeta dress, uncovered by ace columnist Casey Mayo, is believed to be the most important single piece of evidence brought to light in the Blue Gardenia murder case." "Which the police say should be solved in a matter of hours." "Now, here's one:" "The United Press..." "Lady, don't you know it's against the law to burn your incinerator at night?" "I'm sorry, I..." "I forgot." "I guess it's too late now, but don't let it happen again!" "No." "I won't." "It stinks!" "So?" "Open a window." "I need an angle!" "An angle that'll bring that dame into this office before the cops get to her." "You've been seeing to many TV shows lately." "She's hot copy!" "She's one out of a hundred murder cases that broke all the wire services." "So, what happens if she comes in here and throws herself on your tender mercies?" "If she's guilty she might get off with 1-10 years for manslaughter." "If she's guilty?" "You don't think he hit himself with a poker, do you?" "No, I don't." "I'll turn her over to Haynes with the best wishes for her future." "After you get your story, of course." "Well, what do you want me to do?" "Hide her in a desk until this whole thing blows over" "I'm a newspaper man, I live on headlines!" "I want to be the guy to nail her!" "I don't hear the cheerful sound of busy little typewriter keys." "Hiya Chief!" "I was just lying on the..." " I know." "I know." "Hiya Mack!" "Aren't you on the wrong side of the tracks?" "Well, my heart's still down here in the city room, Casey." "You leave in two days." "Passport." "Plane tickets." "Government clearance." "Front row seat at the next H- bomb blast." "On the house!" "That's quite an assignment." "But, what about my girlfriend, 'The Blue Gardenia'?" "You've left dames before." "Write her a letter." "At ease." "Casey." "You!" "Hey Casey!" "Casey!" "Well, what do you know." "Even a Managing Editor can have an idea." "A letter." ""A Letter to an Unknown Murderess"." "Dear Blue Gardenia," "Any day now, any hour... any minute, the police are going to catch up with you..." "But, all they want is a quick confession..." "I want to help you." "When I say "I", that means my newspaper and me." "To us you're a story... a big story!" "If we get it first we will go all out for you." "You can trust me." "And, I promise not to print a line without your permission." "By now you must be frightened out of your wits." "You don't know which way to turn, there's no place to hide, nowhere to run... except to me." "So take my advice, Blue Gardenia." "Go to the nearest phone booth and invest a dime on the rest of your life." "Dial Madison 60025." "And ask for, yours very earnestly, Casey Mayo." ""Yours very earnestly... "" "You can make it stop ringing by taking the receiver off the hook!" "I'm sorry." "I'll get it." "Hello?" "Is this the Blue Gardenia?" "Who was it?" "Nobody." "It was a wrong number." "Well, "Nobody" just dialed the wrong number again." "Hello..." "Oh, Homer." "What?" "I don't get it." "I said what makes?" "I asked if this was the Blue Gardenia." "Some joke." "Who ya trying to amuse?" "I can't hear ya, Homer." "What are you doing, Norah?" " I'm going for a walk." "But dinner's ready." " I don't want any dinner!" "Norah, what's gotten into you?" " Nothing!" "Call me back, Homer." "We're having a little domestic crisis." "Where you going, Norah?" " What business is it of yours?" "Well, non." "None at all." "I'm just concerned when I see you get so upset." "Who's upset?" "We're just concerned about you, that's all." "You haven't been yourself the last couple of days now." "And last night..." " What about last night?" "Well, I heard you in the kitchen." "Then when you went back to bed you were tossing around and talking in your sleep" "What were you doing?" "Lying awake all night, spying on me!" "Both of you!" "Why should we spy on you, Norah?" "I don't know why." "Oh, leave me alone!" "Sorry if I startled you, Miss." "Where can I find the manager?" "Two doors down... 7B." "Thank you." "I'm sorry I lost my temper." "Don't wait up for me!" "Lady, if you were the Blue Gardenia, you'd know what size shoes you wear." "She's all set, Mr Mayo." " Thanks, Steve." "Just a minute please." "Hello?" "Yes, this is Casey Mayo." "Would you hold on a second, please?" "Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss." "But, if you want your picture in the paper you'll have to go out and kill somebody first." "All right now, tell me just how you murdered Harry Prebble." "You know how I killed him!" "Do you want to know why?" "Because, I loved him." "With a passion that was bigger than both of us!" "The size of the passion's important, lady... but tell me first, what size shoe do you wear?" "Shoe?" "81/2 C." "I could wear an 8, it's just that 81/2 is more comfortable." "Sorry lady, but your feet's too big." "What have we got?" "Two dozen even." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Yes, this is Casey Mayo." "Mr Mayo, how..." "How sincere were you in your column tonight about... about wanting to help the Blue Gardenia?" "Very sincere." "And you... don't think I should... go to the police?" "Not if you're the Blue Gardenia." "You'll be black and blue before they got through with you." "Is that so?" "Who is this?" " Your good friend..." "Captain Haynes, of the homicide detail." "Oh, hello Sam." "I read your ad in the paper." "If you'll just tell me what size police badge you wear," "I'll come over and pin it on your chest." "By the way, has the little lady turned herself in to you yet?" "Not yet." "Well... in case she does do me a favor, will you?" "And give her our number." "Michigan 5211." "Got it?" "5211." "We'll be most happy to hear from her." "Bye now." "Haynes and his pixie sense of humor." "Didn't seem to take my letter seriously." "Hello?" "Yes, this is Casey Mayo." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello!" "Hello!" "Hello." "Her voice is muffled, like she's talking through a handkerchief." "Well, how can I be sure that you're the Blue Gardenia?" "The newspapers said they found her shoes." "Weren't they suede shoes?" "Size 51/2 B?" "And wasn't the rubber heel loose on the left one?" "Trace this call." "We've hit the jackpot!" "I want to take you up on your suggestion, Mr Mayo." "Meet you someplace." "Where are you now?" "I'm..." "I'm at a..." "Where's the washroom?" "Are you still there?" "Gardenia!" " Gardenia?" "Who's this?" " Officer McManus, sir." "Who?" " Officer McManus." "Where's the girl I was just talking to?" "There's no girl here now, sir, but she..." "She dropped her handkerchief." "Lace edge." "Officer, this is Casey Mayo on the Chronicle." "Get that handkerchief right down to the police lab!" "I'll call Captain Haynes and tell him you're on the way." "Yes, sir!" "I traced it to a gas station near the Santa Monica pier." "A cop frightened her away." "Do you think she'll call again?" " I don't know." "Why don't you two go home." "I'll hang around here a while." "Yeah?" "Congratulations, Casey." "The handkerchiefs match." "Well, what happens next?" "I don't know, Sam..." "I..." "Just a minute." "Hello?" "This is about the call that was interupted earlier this evening." "Hold the line a minute, please." "Another phony, Sam." "Sure, I'll let you know if she calls again." "Look lady!" "I've had a couple of dozen phone calls tonight..." "Unless you're the one that was interupted by the arrival of the cops I'm just not interested." "That's the one I mean." "The one about the shoes, remember?" "Size 51/2 B..." "With a loose heel on the left shoe." "You didn't make that call, it's not the same voice." "Or, did you loose the handkerchief you had over the mouthpiece?" "No, I..." "I didn't make that call, but I know who did." "If you could..." "If you, if you could meet me someplace..." "Well, where are you?" " A block from your office." "Come up here." "It's as good as any place." "There's a self-service elevator on the Olive Street side." "Come up to the city room on the second floor, it's right opposite the elevator." "No one will see you, I promise." "All right." "I'll be there." "Hello." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to frighten you." "Please, come into my office." "Would you sit down, please?" "Cigarette?" "Thanks." "Still foggy outside?" "Very." "I've been cooped up here since noon." "Los Angeles girl?" "No." "I live here but it's not my home." "I don't know where I'm from." "My father was a Mick from Boston." "That's where I got the 'Casey'." "My mother was Italian." "He met her in Naples during the first World War." "I was born on a Greyhound bus somewhere between Tucson and Los Angeles." "I've lived here all my life." "Fog seems to be lifting." "Feel like talking yet?" "Where would you like me to begin?" "Let's start with your... friend meeting Harry Prebble." "Maybe I better explain first why she didn't call you back?" "Yes." "Why didn't she?" "She was frightened." "So she dragged you into this?" "She didn't know whether she could trust you." "Look..." "I don't want to sell myself to you or to your friend." "I told you..." "I mean her... the truth in my letter." "My paper and I want an exclusive story." "We'll pay for it with the best criminal lawyer in town." "If she plays ball with us." "Otherwise, the police may not be so generous." "Will you tell that to your friend?" "I'll tell her." "Where'd she meet Prebble?" "At the phone company?" "The phone company." "Why there?" "Prebble was trying to make time with a lot of the operators." "I thought she might be one of them." "She never told me where they met." "She knew him intimately?" " No!" "But, well enough to go alone with him to his apartment and get drunk, didn't she?" "He said there'd be other people!" "You want me to believe that?" " I believed it!" "And I..." "I only know what she told me." "What did she tell you?" "Everything." "Everything up to..." "Mr Mayo..." "Do you think it's possible for a girl to kill a man and not remember?" "She doesn't remember killing him?" "No." "A lot of murderers forget what they don't want to remember." "They call it: "Killer Amnesia"." "A smart D.A. sees to it that it's only temporary." "But, couldn't something else have happened?" "It's doubtful that a man would hit himself over the ehad with a poker." "You must believe me." "She wants to remember but... she just can't!" "Her mind's a blank for most of that evening." "Oh, I'm sorry!" "Here, use my handkerchief." "If I can find one." "I have one." "There's a trick to eating one of these things but I've never learned it." "Do that again." "What?" "Laugh!" "It's the first time since you walked into my office." "The first time since I found out about that night." "Doesn't seem to me you found out very much." "It's clear up until the time she went to his apartment." "The rum drinks, the flower he bought..." "Even after that, when he put on that..." "King Cole record." "To celebrate their first date." ""The Blue Gardenia"?" "Yes." "That's what she said it was." "It's a pretty song." "Too bad it was a background for murder." "Go on." "He gave her some coffee." "It only made her groggier." "Then he kissed her." "She thinks she kissed him back." "After that..." "She can't recall struggling with him?" "Only vaguely." "It's all mixed up in her mind." "She just can't remember." "Well, tell her to remember this:" "She hasn't much time." "The police are putting a lot of clues together." "They know where she bought her shoes." "They've got two of her handkerchiefs." "And they're looking for fingerprints on that phone she used tonight." "What if um..." "What if I got her to call you?" " No!" "No." "No more phone calls." "I want to see her." "Tell her to meet me here at 3:40 tomorrow afternoon." "Why 3:40?" "I'm still a newspaper man." "I've gotta have time to make the sunset edition." "You know, I'm kind of disappointed that you're not the Blue Gardenia?" "Disappointed?" " In a relieved way, of course." "When I heard your voice on the phone I made a mental picture of you." "Was I wrong!" "What did you expect?" "Oh no..." "Not till I know you better!" "But you were a big surprise." "You know, with those dried tears at the edge of your eyes and that mustard on your nose..." " I have not!" "I have!" "I see I can trust you, Mr Mayo." "That's what I want you to tell your friend." "Certainly what she needs..." "Someone she can believe in." "Bill!" "What do we owe you?" "Two hamburgers and five coffees, three for you and two for the lady..." "That's uh... $1.40, Mr Mayo." "Which way is home?" "I'd..." "I'd rather not say." "I'm meeting my friend and..." "I understand." "Hiya, Casey!" " Hi!" "Did you catch The Gardenia yet?" "Hiya, boys!" " Say, how about a beer?" "Look..." "Oh, you're too proud to have a drink with a couple sober reporters, huh?" "Now look fellas, I got a date..." "I had a date!" "Aren't you working that community key overtime?" "I'm fighting a cold." "The flower girl call back?" "No." "But, she sent a friend." "A female?" "Very." "Did she go in the little black book?" "Wrong type." "I didn't know there was one." "I bought her a hamburger." "And then like an old good mystery story, she vanished into the fog." "It's too bad." "We were making beautiful jukebox music together." "On the level." "I had a feeling I could go for her." "Why don't you go on to bed and sleep it off?" "That's what I do with all my girls." "A noble thought." "But, you don't meet a girl like that very often." "At least I don't." "Hi." "I asked you not to wait up for me." "I'm sorry about the fight." " I know." "I didn't wait up for you, I just got home." "Homer took me to 'The Blue Gardenia' tonight." "What a mob!" "Everybody wanted to sit where the murderer sat, and everybody thinks he did." "Want some milk?" "No, I had a hamburger and coffee." "Good night." "Norah." "After Homer phoned I wanted to borrow your new black taffeta dress..." "I couldn't find it." "And then I noticed your pumps were gone..." "The black suede ones." "I know I'm a little slow, Norah." "I was a late baby..." "But, that big blind date you've kept such a mystery..." "And your jitters all the time about everything..." "Norah..." "Bill, has a girl..." "Hello, Mr Mayo." "Granite 1466..." "I might have known." "In fact, I suspected." "But, you look like you could have gotten rid of him in some other way." "Oh, I could've..." "It just so happens I'm not the girl who did it." "I hate Gardenias." "I'm allergic to them, any color." "Then, why are you here?" "Because, the real girl is ready to give herself up to you." "Because, she believes what you told her last night." "Last night?" "I hope you meant what you said in your letter, Mr Mayo." "Yes?" "Where is she?" "Now you know." "Yes... now I know." "Bill, some coffee." "Coming up!" "So you see, Mr Mayo..." "I'm just a girl in love with a guy who... fell in love with someone else." "I know I'm not the only person this has ever happened to." "I know I'm not the only girl to get a letter like that, but..." "Well..." "Anyway, that's how it started." "When Harry Prebble called, I made the date." "Crystal's date." "So, Norah Larkin from Bakersfield winds up killing a man she's never even been out with before." "Not much of a story." "Just the truth." "But, last night you said your friend..." "I mean you weren't sure you killed him?" "There isn't any other explanation." "Mr Mayo..." "I guess I should of told you last night but I just couldn't." "I had to have more time to think." "I had to be sure I could trust you." "Are you sure now?" "I'm sure." "What do we do?" "I don't know." "You don't know?" "After everything you've promised in your letter... and... to me, last night?" "I hadn't expected you'd be the girl." "What's that got to do with it?" "Didn't you mean what you said?" "Frankly, no." "And you weren't telling the truth?" "You promised I wasn't just to be a story for the sunset edition!" "I know, but..." "Can't you understand that things..." "Can be so different this afternoon from what they were last night?" "No." "No, I can't!" "Norah..." "It's not "things"." "It's you." "Last night I didn't know that you and the Blue Gardenia were the same girl." "You always meant to turn her over to the police." "You were lying all the time!" "Now, wait a minute." "Norah!" " Come on, Crystal." "I made another mistake." "Your check, Miss." " Norah!" "Wait!" "Thanks, Casey." "You better go along, Miss." "Hold it, Sam." " Why?" "You've done a thorough job and we appreciate it." "Norah!" "It was a trap, Crystal." "A dirty trap." "You've made a mistake, Sam." " You made the mistake." "Got a cigarette?" "You underestimated me." "Well, I may not have been ahead of you, but I'm here right now and that's what counts." "There's a penalty, and a stiff one, for aiding and abetting a criminal." "I'm glad it didn't come to that." "You can have credit for finding her, even if you didn't get that exclusive you wanted." "Bill!" "Thanks for keeping your ears open." "Thanks." "Come on, Mack!" "We got deadlines to make!" "Okay, she's all yours." "Read all about it!" "Blue Gardenia in police trap!" "Casey Mayo captures Blue Gardenia!" "Read all about it!" "Blue Gardenia in police trap!" "Paper?" "Paper, sir?" "No thanks." "Beautiful murderess caught by columnist!" " No sale." "Scoot!" "Paper?" "I was wrong, Al." "She can't mean that much to you?" "She might have." "You sense those things from the first time you meet a girl." "What's that?" "Music." "Canned." "They can everything these days." "Al..." "That's the record that was on Prebble's phonograph when the cleaning woman discovered his body." "So what?" "But it isn't the record that was playing when Norah blacked out!" "Where do we go from here?" "'Melrose Music Shop'." " That's not much to go on, casey." "You want the real murderess, don't you?" "I've already got one that's confessed and all the evidence I need to convict her." "Look, Sam." "Stay with me a little while longer." "This can be your headline." "Haynes, Homicide." " Yes, sir." "You ever hear of Harry Prebble?" " Who hasn't?" "Good customer of ours." "Or, was." "Know anything about this album he bought here?" "Miss Miller handled his account." "I'll get her for you." "Do that." "There's a cop outside to see you, wants to ask some questions about Prebble." "I'll be right out." " I'll tell him." "This is a wild goose chase, Casey." "We aren't going to learn anything here." "I'd been walking around..." "all evening... in a daze." "I even forgot to take a hat ... or a coat, or a purse." "It started to rain." "When I passed by his apartment at least the third or the fourth time... there was a light in his window." "Go on, Miss." "I knew he was home." "I could hear him... moving around." "So, I kept knocking." "Knocking and knocking!" "Finally... he opened the door." "He seemed disturbed about something." "He didn't want to let me in... but he did." "The lights were turned down." "I was too upset to see anything." "Even the poker in his hand." "I was working on the fire." "Look, I haven't got much time." "I have to finish this job tonight, there's a lot of money involved." "I can't go through with this alone, Harry!" "That's why I'm here!" "You've got to give me your word!" "Tonight!" "Control yourself." "Have a glass of champagne." "I didn't come her to drink!" "Are you or aren't you going to marry me?" "You heard me, Harry!" "Answer me!" "Rose!" "Rose, don't get so excited." "Everything will be all right." "Remember the afternoon I bought these?" "We came back here." "Let's listen to this." "Then you ought to go home, I have to finish that painting." "He turned to put the record on." "The one he bought me, the first day I met him." "The one he was using to get rid of me." "Then I saw another woman's handkerchief." "How he was trying to hide it." "And I knew... what I was going to do." "The record was playing..." "And he didn't hear me." "The last time they put my picture in the paper I had to get bitten by a dog!" "I'll take a dozen of each, boys." "Mother keeps asking for a picture." "How about a big sigh of relief, Miss Larkin?" "How's this?" "That's perfect!" "Now, give the boys a nice smile." "Excuse me!" "Excuse me too!" "Didn't Captain Haynes explain?" " Oh, sure." "He explained." "But you know women... the stubborn sex." "But, take a tip from information, honey..." "The phone number is..." "Granite... 1466?" "Yeah." "Crystal, I did what you told me." "I played hard to get." "Yes, but don't be too eager when he calls you tonight." "Yes, ma'am!" "How ya doin'?" "You can read all about it in The Chronicle." "Wow!" "Oh, brother!"