"Give me your hand!" "Give me your hand!" " I thought you said no more pains." " It's this corset, it binds." "No three-way stretch?" "How very un-chic." "Well, you know those police department doctors, no sense of style." " Anyway, tomorrow will be the day." " Why, what's tomorrow?" "Tomorrow?" "The corset comes off tomorrow." "I'll be able to scratch myself, I'll throw this miserable thing out the window." "Be a free... free man." "Midge, do you suppose many men wear corsets?" " More than you think." " Really?" "You know that from personal experience?" "Please." "What happens after tomorrow?" " What do you mean?" " Well, what are you going to do?" " Once you quit the police force." " You sound so disapproving." "No, it's your life." "But you were the bright young lawyer that decided he was going to be chief of police someday." " I had to quit." " Why?" "Because of this fear of heights I have, this acrophobia." "I wake up at nights seeing that man fall from the roof and I try to reach out and..." " It wasn't your fault." " That's what everybody tells me." " Johnnie, the doctors explained..." " I know, I know." "I have acrophobia which gives me vertigo, and I get dizzy." "Boy... what a moment to find out I had it." "Well, there's no losing it." "There's no one to blame, so why quit?" "You mean sit behind a desk?" "Chairborne." " Where you belong." " What about my acrophobia?" "What...?" "Suppose I'm sitting in this chair behind the desk and a pencil falls to the floor, I reach down to pick it up," " bingo, my acrophobia's back." " Johnnie-o." "Well, what'll you do?" "I'm not going to do anything for a while." "I'm a man of independent means, as the saying goes." "Fairly independent." " Why don't you go away for a while?" " You mean to forget?" "Midge, don't be so motherly." "I'm not going to crack up." "Have you had any dizzy spells this week?" "I'm having one right now." "The music, don't you think it's sort of..." "What's this doohickey?" "It's a brassiere." "You know about those things, you're a big boy now." "I've never run across one like that." "It's brand-new." "Revolutionary uplift." "No shoulder straps, no back straps but it does everything a brassiere should do." "It works like a cantilever bridge." "It does?" "Aircraft engineer down the peninsula designed it, worked it out in his spare time." "Kind of a hobby." "A do-it-yourself type thing." "How's your love life, Midge?" "That's following a train of thought." "Well..." "Normal." "Aren't you ever gonna get married?" "You know there's only one man for me." "You mean me." "We were engaged once, weren't we?" " Three whole weeks." " Good old college days." "You were the one that called off the engagement." "I'm still available." "Available Ferguson." "Do you remember a fellow in college called Gavin Elster?" " Gavin Elster?" " Yes, funny name." "You'd think I would." "No." "I had a call from Gavin today." "Funny, we lost touch during the war." "Somebody said he went east." "I guess he's back." "It's a Mission number." " That's skid row, isn't it?" " Could be." "He's probably on the bum and wants the price of a drink." "I'll buy him a couple of drinks and tell him my troubles." "But not tonight, how about we go out for a beer?" " Sorry, old man, work." " I think I'll go home." "Midge, what did you mean, "there's no losing it"?" " What?" " The, er, the acrophobia." "I asked my doctor, he said only another emotional shock could do it, and probably wouldn't." "Don't dive off another rooftop to find out." "I think I can lick it." " How?" " I have a theory." "I think if I can get used to heights, just a little bit at a time." "Just a little like that." "Progressively." "I'll show you what I mean." "Here." "I'll show you what I mean." " We'll start with this." " That?" "You want me to start with the Golden Gate Bridge?" "Watch this." "Here we go." "There." "There." "Now, I look up, I look down." "I look up..." " You're kidding." "Wait a minute." " There's nothing to it!" " Here." " That's a girl." "We'll use that." "Put it right there." "All right." "Here's the first step." "There." "OK, now step number two." "All right, step number two coming up." "There we are." "See, I look up, I look down." "I look up..." "I'm going to buy myself a tall stepladder." " Take it easy." " All right, here we go." "No problem." "This is a cinch." "I look up, I look down." "I look up, I look down." "Johnnie, Johnnie." "How did you get in the shipbuilding business, Gavin?" "I married into it." " Very interesting business." " To be honest, I find it dull." "You don't have to do it for a living." "No, but one assumes responsibilities." "My wife's family has all gone, someone has to look after her interests." "Her father's partner runs the company yard in the east" " Baltimore." "So I decided, as long as I had to work at it, I'd come back here." " I've always liked it here." " How long have you been back?" " Almost a year." " You like it?" "Well, San Francisco's changed." "The things that spell San Francisco to me are disappearing fast." " Like all these?" " I should like to have lived here then." "Colour, excitement, power, freedom." " Er, shouldn't you be sitting down?" " No, I'm all right." "I was sorry to read about that thing in the paper." "And you've quit the force, is it a permanent physical disability?" "No." "No, it just means I can't climb steep stairs or go to high places, like the bar at the Top of the Mark." "But there are street-level bars in this town." "Would you like a drink now?" "No, I don't think so, it's a little early in the day for me." "Well, I guess that just about covers everything." "I never married, I don't see much of the old college gang," "I'm a retired detective and you're in the shipbuilding business." "What's on your mind, Gavin?" "I asked you here, Scottie, knowing you'd quit detective work, but I wondered whether you'd go back on the job as a special favour to me." "I want you to follow my wife." "No, it's not that." " We're very happily married." " Well, then..." " I'm afraid some harm may come to her." " From whom?" "Someone dead." "Scottie, do you believe that someone out of the past, someone dead, can enter and take possession of a living being?" "No." "If I told you I believed this has happened to my wife, what would you say?" "I'd say take her to the nearest psychiatrist or psychologist or neurologist or maybe just the plain family doctor." "I'd have him check on you too." "Then you're of no use to me, I'm sorry I wasted your time." "Thanks for coming in, Scottie." "OK." "I, er..." "I didn't mean to be that rough." "It sounds idiotic, I know." "You're still the hard-headed Scot, aren't you?" "Always were." " You think I'm making it up?" " No." "I'm not making it up, I wouldn't know how." "She'll be talking to me about something and suddenly the words fade into silence, a cloud comes into her eyes and they go blank." "She's somewhere else, away from me, someone I don't know." "I call to her, she doesn't even hear me." "Then, with a long sigh, she's back." "Looks at me brightly." "Doesn't even know she's been away, can't tell me where or when." "Well... how often does this happen?" "More and more in the past few weeks." "And she wanders." "God knows where she wanders." "I followed her one day, watched her coming out of the apartment." "Someone I didn't know, she even walked a different way." "Got into her car and drove out to Golden Gate Park, five miles." "Sat by the lake, staring across the water at the pillars on the far shore, you know, the Portals of the Past." "Sat there a long time without moving." "I had to leave, get back to the office." "When I got home, I asked her what she'd done all day." "She said she'd driven to Golden Gate Park and sat by the lake, that's all." "Well?" "The speedometer on her car showed she'd driven 94 miles." "Where did she go?" "I've got to know where she goes and what she does, before I involve doctors." " Have you talked to doctors?" " Yes, but carefully." "I want to know more before committing her to that kind of care." "OK, I'll get a firm of private eyes to follow her for you." " They're dependable." " I want you." "Look, this isn't my line." "Scottie, I need a friend, someone I can trust." "I'm in a panic." "I'm supposed to be retired, I don't want to get mixed up in this." "We're going to an opening at the opera tonight, we're dining at Ernie's first." "You can see her there." "Ernie's." "Will you tell me something?" "That lady, who's the woman in the painting she's looking at?" "That's Carlotta." "You'll find it in the catalogue." "Portrait Of Carlotta." " May I have this?" " Yes." "Thank you." "Yes?" "Is there something I can do for you?" " You run this hotel?" " Yes." "Who has the room on the second floor in the corner?" "That corner." "We couldn't give out information of that sort." "Our clients are entitled their privacy." "And I do believe it's against the law." "Of course, I don't think any of them would mind really but still, I..." "Dear." "Has she done something wrong?" "Please answer my question." " I can't imagine that sweet girl..." " What's her name?" "Valdes." "Miss Valdes." "Spanish, you know." " Carlotta Valdes?" " That's it." "Sweet name, isn't it?" "Foreign but sweet." " How long has she had the room?" " It must be two weeks." "Her rent's due tomorrow." " Does she sleep here ever?" " No." "She just comes to sit, two or three times a week." "I don't ask questions, as long as they're well behaved." " I must say..." " Don't tell her I've been here." "But she hasn't been here today." "I saw her come in five minutes ago." "No, she hasn't been here at all." "I would've seen her - I've been here all the time, putting olive oil on my rubber plant leaves." "There." "There, you see." "Her key is on the rack." "Would you please go up and look?" " To her room?" " That's right." "Of course, if you ask." " But it does seem silly." " Thank you." "Mr Detective?" "Would you like to come and look?" " Her car's gone." " What car?" "Midge... who do you know that's an authority on San Francisco history?" "That's the kind of greeting a girl likes." "Not, "Hello, you look wonderful," just, "Who do you know that's an authority..."" " Want a drink?" " No, thanks." "Well, who do you?" "You know everybody." " Professor Saunders, over in Berkeley." " I don't mean that kind of history." "I mean the small stuff, people you never heard of." "You mean the Gay Old Bohemian Days of Gay Old San Francisco." "Juicy stories like who shot who in the Embarcadero in August 1879?" " That's right." " Pop Leibel." " Who?" " Pop Leibel." "He owns the Argosy Book Shop." "What do you want to know?" "Who shot who in the Embarcadero in August 1879." "Wait a minute, you're not a detective any more, what's going on?" " You know him well?" " Who?" " Pop Leibel." " Sure." "Let's go." "I want you to introduce me." "Get your hat." "I don't need a hat." "Johnnie, what's it all about?" "Wait a minute!" "Yes." "I remember." "Carlotta." "The beautiful Carlotta." "The sad Carlotta." "What does an old house on Eddy and Gough Street have to do with her?" "It was hers." "It was built for her many years ago." " By whom?" " By, er..." "By, er..." "No." "The name I do not remember." "A rich man, a powerful man." "Cigarette?" " No, thank you." " Cigarette, miss?" "No, thank you." "It is not an unusual story." "She came from somewhere small to the south of the city." "Some say from a mission settlement." "Young, yes." "Very young." "She was found dancing and singing in cabaret by that man." "And he took her and built for her the great house in the Western Addition." "And, er..." "There was a..." "There was a child." "Yes, that's it, a child." "A child." "I cannot tell you exactly how much time passed or how much happiness there was." "But, then - he threw her away." "He had no other children, his wife had no children." "So, he kept the child and threw her away." "You know, a man could do that in those days." "They had the power and the freedom." "And she became the sad Carlotta, alone in the great house, walking the streets alone, her clothes becoming old and patched and dirty." "And the mad Carlotta, stopping people in the streets to ask," ""Where is my child?" ""Have you seen my child?"" " Poor thing." " And she died?" " She died." " How?" "By her own hand." "There are many such stories." " Thank you, Mr Leibel." " You are welcome." " I appreciate it." " You're welcome." "Bye." "Wait a minute." "Goodbye, Pop, thanks a lot." " Now then, pay me." " For what?" " For bringing you here." "Come on, tell." " There's nothing to tell." "Tell or you'll be back in that corset." "Come on, I'll take you home." " Here you are." " You haven't told me everything." " I've told you enough." " Who's the guy, who's the wife?" " Out!" "I've got things to do." " I know..." " the one that phoned, Elster." " Out, please?" "The idea is that the beautiful Carlotta has come back from the dead and taken possession of Elster's wife." "Johnnie, really, come on!" "I'm not telling you what I think but what he thinks." " What do you think?" " Well, I..." " Is she pretty?" " Carlotta?" "No, not Carlotta." "Elster's wife." "Yes, I guess you'd consider that she would..." "You could..." "I think I'll go take a look at that portrait." "Goodbye." " Midge..." " Goodbye!" "Midge!" "You..." "You've done well." "You're good at your job." "That's Carlotta Valdes." "There were things you didn't tell me." " I didn't know where she'd lead you." " You knew about this." "You notice the way she does her hair?" "There's something else - my wife Madeleine has several pieces of jewellery that belonged to Carlotta." "She inherited them." "Never wore them, they were too old-fashioned." "Until now." "Now, when she's alone, she takes them out and looks at them." "Handles them, gently, curiously." "Puts them on and stares at herself in the mirror." "Then goes into that other world, is someone else again." "Carlotta Valdes was what, your wife's... grandmother?" "Great-grandmother." "The child who was taken from her, whose loss drove Carlotta mad and to her death, was Madeleine's grandmother." "And the McKittrick Hotel is the old Valdes home." "I think that explains it." "Anyone could become obsessed with the past with a background like that." "She never heard of Carlotta Valdes." "She knows nothing of a grave at the Mission Dolores, or that old house on Eddy Street, the portrait at the Palace of the Legion of...?" " Nothing." " When she goes to these places..." "She's no longer my wife." "How do you know all these things she doesn't?" "Her mother told me most of them before she died." "I dug out the rest here." " Why wouldn't she tell her daughter?" " Natural fear." "Her grandmother went insane and took her own life." "Her blood is in Madeleine." "Boy, I need this." "Madeleine." "Madeleine?" "Where is my child..." "Yes?" "No, it's all right." "I'll call you back." "Yes." "Yes." "Are you all right?" "You'll, er..." "You'll want this." "You better come over here by the fire where it's warm." "What am I doing here?" "What happened?" "Well, you... fell into San Francisco Bay." "I had to dry your hair as best I could." "Your things are in the kitchen, they'll be dry in a few minutes." "Come on over by the fire." "Here, I'll give you some cushions." "There you are." "Would you like to have some coffee?" "You'd better have some." "Or perhaps you'd like a drink?" "I fell into the Bay and you fished me out?" "That's right." " Thank you." " You don't remember?" "No, I..." "Do you remember where you were?" "Yes." "Yes, of course I remember that." "Then I must have had a dizzy spell and fainted." "Where were you?" "At Old Fort Point, out at the Presidio." "Of course I remember." "I often go there." "Why?" "Why do you go there?" "Because I love it so." "It's beautiful there, especially at sunset." " Thank you for the fire." " Where were you before?" " When?" " This afternoon, I mean." " Wandering about." " I know, but where were you just before?" "Downtown, shopping." "Here, you better have some coffee." "I think it's still warm." "You're terribly direct in your questions." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to be rude." "You're not." "You're merely direct." "What were you doing at Old Fort Point?" "Just wandering about." " You like it too?" " Yes." "Where had you been just before?" "I'd been to the Palace of the Legion of Honor, the art gallery." "Yes." "That's a lovely spot, isn't it?" "I've never been inside but it looks so lovely driving past." "It's lucky for me you were wandering about." "Thank you." " I've been a terrible bother to you." " No, you haven't." "When you..." "There were some pins in my hair?" "The pins?" "Right in here, I'll get 'em for you." "And my purse, please." " Here you are." " Thank you." " You shouldn't have brought me here." " I didn't know where you lived." "You could've looked in my car." "But then you didn't know my car, did you?" "I knew which one it was - it's outside now - but I didn't think you wanted to be taken home in that way." "You're right." "I'm glad you didn't take me home," "I wouldn't have known you." "Thank you." "But we don't know each other." "My name is Madeleine Elster." " My name is John Ferguson." " Good strong name." " Your friends call you John or Jack?" " John, mostly." "Old friends call me John, acquaintances call me Scottie." " I shall call you Mr Ferguson." " Gee whizz, I wouldn't like that." "After this afternoon, I should think you'd call me Scottie, maybe even John." "Well, I prefer John." "There, that's done." "And what do you do, John?" " Wander about." " That's a good occupation." "And you live here, alone?" " One shouldn't live alone." " Some people prefer it." "No, it's wrong." "I'm married, you know." "Will you tell me something?" "Has this ever happened to you before?" " What?" " Falling into San Francisco Bay?" "No, it's never happened before." "I've fallen into lakes out of rowboats as a little girl." "I fell into the river once, trying to leap from one stone to another." "But I've never fallen into San Francisco Bay." " Have you ever before?" " No, it's the first time for me too." "Here, I'll get you some more coffee." " Hello?" " 'Scottie, she's not home yet.'" "No, she's all right." "She's here, I'll bring her home soon." " 'What happened?" "'" " She went into the Bay." "Hello?" " 'Did she hurt herself?" "'" " No, she'll be in fine shape." "But she doesn't know - do you understand that?" " she doesn't know what happened." "'Scottie, Madeleine is 26.'" "'Carlotta Valdes committed suicide when she was 26.'" "Just hold on a minute, Gavin." "Well now, Johnnie-o, was it a ghost?" "Was it fun?" "Is that for me?" " Yes, hello." " Hello." "I worried about you last night, you shouldn't have run off that way." "I suddenly felt such a fool." "I wanted to drive you home." " Are you all right?" " Yes, I'm fine." "No aftereffects." " The water was cold, wasn't it?" " It sure was." "What a terrible thing for me to do." "You were so kind." "It's a formal thank you note, and a big apology." " You've nothing to apologise for." " Yes, I do." "It must've been so embarrassing for you." "Not at all, I enjoyed... talking to you." "Well, I enjoyed talking to you." "Well, I'll get my mail." " Would you like a cup of coffee?" " No, thank you." "I couldn't mail it, I didn't know your address." "But I had a landmark" " Coit Tower." "It led me straight to you." "First time I've been grateful for Coit Tower." " I hope we will too." " What?" " Meet again sometime." " We have." "Goodbye." " Where are you going?" " I don't know." " Shopping?" " No." "Well, anywhere in particular?" "No, I just thought I'd wander." "That's what I was going to do." "Yes, that's right." "It's your occupation, isn't it?" "Don't you think it's a waste for us..." "To wander separately?" "Only one is a wanderer, two together are always going somewhere." "No, I don't think that's necessarily true." "You've left your door open." "Be right back." " How old?" " Some 2,000 years or more." " The oldest living things." " Yes." " You've never been here before?" " No." "What are you thinking?" "Of all the people who've been born and have died when the trees went on living." "Their true name is Sequoia sempervirens, always green, ever-living." " I don't like them." " Why?" "Knowing I have to die..." "Here's a cross section of one of the old trees that's been cut down." "Somewhere in here I was born, and there I died." "It was only a moment for you, you took no notice." "Madeleine." "Madeleine." "Madeleine, where are you now?" " Here with you." " Where?" " Tall trees..." " Have you been here before?" " Yes." " When?" "When were you born?" " Long ago." " Where?" "When?" " Tell me." "Madeleine, tell me." " No." "Where do you go, what takes you away?" "You didn't know where you were when you jumped in the Bay." "I didn't jump, I fell - you told me." " Why did you jump?" " I can't tell you." " What told you to jump?" " No, please..." "What?" "What?" "Please don't ask me." "Please don't ask me!" "Take me away from here." "Shall I take you home?" "Somewhere in the light." "Promise me something, promise you won't ask me again." "Please." "Why did you run?" "I'm responsible for you now." "The Chinese say that once you've saved a person's life you're responsible for it forever, so I'm committed." "I have to know." "There's so little that I know." "It's as though I were walking down a long corridor that... that once was mirrored." "Fragments of that mirror still hang there and when I come to the end of the corridor, there's nothing but darkness." "And I know that when I walk into the darkness... that I'll die." "But I've never come to the end, I've always come back before then." " Except once." " Yesterday?" "And you didn't know what happened until you found yourself with me." "You didn't know where you were." "But the fragments of the mirror, you remember those?" " Vaguely." " What do you remember?" "There's a room... and I sit there alone, always alone." " What else?" " A grave." " Where?" " I don't know." "It's an open grave and I..." "I stand by the gravestone looking down into it." "It's my grave." " How do you know?" " I know." "Is there a name on the gravestone?" "No." "No, it's new and... clean and waiting." "What else?" "This part is dream, I think." "There..." "There's a tower and a bell, and a garden below." "It seems to be in Spain, a village in Spain." "It clicks off and it's gone." "Well... a portrait?" " Do you see a portrait?" " No." "If I could just find the key, the beginning, and put it together." "And so explain it away?" "There is a way to explain it, you see." "If I'm mad, then that would explain it, wouldn't it?" "Madeleine!" "Scottie!" "I'm not mad!" "I'm not mad!" "I don't want to die!" "There's someone within me and she says I must die." " Scottie, don't let me go." " I'm here." " I've got you." " I'm so afraid." " Don't leave me, stay with me." " All the time." " Hi, Johnnie." " Hi." " Did you get my message?" " I did, indeed." " I'll get you a drink." " OK." "Since when do you go around slipping notes under men's doors?" "Since I can't get them on the phone." "For a man with nothing to do, you're certainly busy." " Where do you go these days?" " Just wandering." " Where?" " Round about." "What was this... what was this desperate urge to see me?" "All I said in my note was, "Where are you?"" "That doesn't sound very desperate." "I detected a little undercurrent." "Well, I thought if I gave you a drink and fed you some dinner, you'd take me to a movie." "That's fair enough." " What will we talk about at dinner?" " This and that." " What I've been doing?" " If you want to." "Naturally, we won't talk about anything you don't want to." "Naturally." "What have you been doing?" "Wandering." "What have you been doing?" "Thank you, dear." "I've been having a wonderful time." "I've gone back to my first love, painting." "Good, I said you were wasting your time in the underwear department." "That's a living but I'm really excited about this." "What is it?" "Still life?" "No, not exactly." "You want to see?" "As a matter of fact, I thought I might give it to you." "Johnnie..." "It's not funny, Midge." " Johnnie?" " No." "Johnnie, I just thought..." "Er..." "Let's make that movie some other night." "Johnnie?" "Marjorie Wood, you fool!" "Idiot!" "Stupid!" "Stupid!" " Madeleine." "What's the matter?" " I should've phoned you but..." " I wanted to be with you." " Why, what's happened?" "I had the dream." "The dream came back again." "You're going to be all right." "You'll be all right." "Here, I'll get you some brandy." "Drink this down, just like medicine." "There, now." "It was a dream, you're awake." "You're all right now." "Now, can you tell me?" "It was the tower again and the bell and the old Spanish village." " Yes?" " So very clear for the first time." "All of it." "Tell me." "It was a village square, a green with trees and an old whitewashed Spanish church with a cloister." "Across the green was a big, grey wooden house with a porch, shutters and a balcony." "Next to it was a livery stable, with old carriages inside." "Go on." "At the end of the green was a stone house with a pepper tree at the corner..." "And a wooden hotel from the old California days?" "And a saloon?" "Dark, low ceilings with hanging oil lamps?" "Yes." "It's all there." "It's no dream." "You've been there before, you've seen it." " No, never!" " 100 miles south of San Francisco, there's an old Spanish mission, San Juan Bautista." "It's been preserved as it was 100 years ago as a museum." "Now think hard, darling." "Think hard." "You've been there, you've seen it." "No, I've never been there." "What is it, Scottie?" "Go on about your dream." "What was it that frightened you?" "I stood alone on the green searching for something." "Then I started to walk to the church... then the darkness closed in and I was alone in the dark." "Being pulled into the darkness." "I've got to wake up." "You're going to be all right now, Madeleine." "You've given me something to work on now." "I'll take you to that mission and you'll remember when you saw it before." "It'll finish your dream, destroy it, I promise you." "All right?" "Come on, I'll take you home." "I'll be all right." "You'll come back here around noon." "Madeleine?" "Where are you now?" " Here with you." " And it's all real!" "Not merely as it was 100 years ago, or a year ago, or six months ago, or whenever it was you were here to see it." "Think of when you were here." "There were not so many carriages then." "There were horses in the stalls." "A bay, two black and a grey." "It was our favourite place." "But we were forbidden to play here," "Sister Teresa would scold us." "Look at this." "Here's your grey horse." "Have a little trouble getting in and out of the stall but even so." "You see, there's an answer for everything." "Madeleine... try." "Try for me." " I love you, Madeleine." " I love you too." " Too late..." " No, we're together." "It's too late." "There's something I must do." "No, there's nothing you must do." "There's nothing you must do." "No one possesses you, you're safe with me." "No, it's too late." "Look, it's not fair, it shouldn't have happened this way." "It had to happen, we're in love." " Let me go!" " Listen to me!" "Listen to me!" " Do you believe I love you?" " Yes." "And if you lose me, you'll know I loved you and I wanted to go on loving you." "I won't lose you." " Let me go into the church." "Alone." " But why?" "Madeleine!" "Madeleine!" "Madeleine!" "Mr Elster, suspecting that all was not well with his wife's mental state, took the preliminary precaution of having her watched by Mr Ferguson, lest any harm befall her." "As you have heard, Mr Elster was prepared to take his wife to an institution where her mental health would have been in the hands of specialists." "Mr Ferguson, being an ex-detective, would have seemed the proper choice as watchdog and protector." "As you have learned, it was an unfortunate choice." "However, you'll agree no blame can be attached to the husband." "His delay in putting his wife under medical care was due to the need for information as to her behaviour, which he expected from Mr Ferguson." "He had taken every precaution to protect his wife, he could not have known that Mr Ferguson's fear of heights would make him powerless when he was most needed." "As to Mr Ferguson." "You have heard his former superior," "Detective Captain Hansen from that great city to the north, testify as to his character and ability - he was most enthusiastic." "The fact that once before, under similar circumstances," "Mr Ferguson allowed a police colleague to fall to his death," "Captain Hansen dismissed as an unfortunate incident." "Mr Ferguson is to be congratulated upon having saved the woman's life, when, in a previous fit of aberration, she threw herself into the Bay." "It is a pity that, knowing her suicidal tendencies, he did not make a greater effort the second time." "But we are not here to pass judgment on Mr Ferguson's lack of initiative." "He did nothing." "The law has little to say on things left undone." "Nor does his strange behaviour after he saw the body fall have any bearing on your verdict." "He did not remain at the scene of the death - he left." "He claims he suffered a blackout and knew nothing more until he found himself back in his apartment several hours later." "You may accept that, or not." "Or you may believe that having once again allowed someone to die, he could not face the tragic result of his own weakness, and ran away." "That has nothing to do with your verdict." "It is a matter between him and his own conscience." "Now, from the state of mind of Madeleine Elster prior to her death, from the manner of her death, and from the postmortem showing the cause of her death, you should have no difficulty in reaching your verdict, gentlemen." "You may retire if you wish." " We've reached a verdict." " Thank you." "The jury finds that Madeleine Elster committed suicide while of unsound mind." "The verdict will be so recorded." "Dismissed." " Let's go." " Do you mind if I speak with him?" " No, go ahead." " Scottie." "Sorry, Scottie, that was rough." "He had no right to speak to you like that." "It was my responsibility, I... shouldn't have got you involved." "There's nothing you have to say to me." "I'm getting out, Scottie, for good." "I can't stay here." "I'm going to wind up her affairs, and mine, and get away as far as I can." "Europe, perhaps." "I probably never will come back." "Goodbye, Scottie." "If there's anything I can do for you before I go." "There's no way for them to understand." "You and I know who killed Madeleine." "Come on, Scottie, let's get out of here." "It's Mozart." "Wolfgang Amadeus." "I had a long talk with that lady in musical therapy." "She says that Mozart's the boy for you." "The broom that sweeps the cobwebs away." "Well, it's what the lady said." "It's wonderful how they have it all taped now." "They have music for dipsomaniacs and music for melancholiacs and music for hypochondriacs." "I wonder what would happen if somebody got their files mixed up?" "I brought a lot of other things, you can see what you like." "It shuts off automatically." "Johnnie." "Johnnie, please try." "Try, Johnnie." "You're not lost." "Mother's here." "Time?" "OK." "I'll be in again, Johnnie." "Want me to shut that off?" "Johnn-o... you don't even know I'm here, do you?" "But I'm here." "Nurse, could I see the doctor for a moment?" "Doctor, Miss Wood." "Won't you go in, please?" "Yes, Miss Wood?" "Doctor, how long is it going to take you to pull him out of this?" "It's hard to say." "At least six months, perhaps a year." " It really could depend on him." " He won't talk." "No." "He's suffering from acute melancholia, together with a guilt complex." "He blames himself for the woman's death... we know little of what went on before." "I can give you one thing." "He was in love with her." "That does complicate the problem." "I can give you another complication - he still is." "You want to know something, Doctor?" "I don't think Mozart's gonna help at all." " Where did you get this car?" " I beg your pardon?" "I bought it from a man who used to live here." "Mr Gavin Elster." "I bought it from him when he moved away." "You knew him?" "And his wife?" "The poor thing" " I didn't know her." "Is it true that she really..." "I'm..." "I'm sorry." " Good evening." " Good evening." "Give me a Scotch and soda." " Well?" "What is it?" " Could I ask you some questions?" " What for?" "Who are you?" " My name's John Ferguson." " Is this some kind of Gallup poll?" " No." " Just a couple of things..." " You live here?" " I happened to see you as you came in." " I thought so, a pick-up." "You've got a nerve!" "Following me right up to my room." " Now, you beat it!" " Please, I just want to talk to you." " Listen, I'm gonna yell in a minute." " I'm not going to hurt you." "Please." "Just let me talk to you." " What about?" " You." " Why?" " Because you remind me of somebody." "I heard that one before too." "I remind you of someone you were in love with but she ditched you for another guy and you've been carrying a torch ever since." "Then you saw me and something clicked." " You're not far wrong." " It's not gonna work, so you better go." "Please, let me come in." "You can leave the door open, I just want to talk to you." "Please." "Well, I warn you" " I can yell awful loud." "You won't have to." "Well..." "You don't look very much like Jack the Ripper." " What do you want to know?" " Your name." " Judy Barton." " And who you are." " I work at Magnin's." " How come you're living here?" " It's a place to live, that's all." " But you've not been here long?" " About three years." " And before?" "Salina, Kansas." "What is this?" "What do you want?" " I just want to know who you are." " Well, I told you." "My name is Judy Barton, I come from Salina, Kansas," "I work at Magnin's and I live here." "My gosh, do I have to prove it?" "All right, mister - my Kansas driver's licence." "Judy Barton, number Z296794." "425 Maple Avenue, Salina, Kansas." "See the address on this one?" "It's this place, right here." "A California licence, issued May 25th, 1954." "You wanna check my thumbprints?" "Are you satisfied?" "And whether you're satisfied or not, you can just beat it." "Gee, you have got it bad, haven't you?" "Do I really look like her?" "She's..." "She's dead, isn't she?" "I'm sorry." "And I'm sorry I yelled at you." "That's me with my mother." "And that's my father." "He's dead." "My mother married again but I didn't like the guy, so I decided I'd see what it's like in sunny California." "I've been here three years." "Honest." " Will you have dinner with me?" " Why?" " I feel I owe you something after..." " You don't owe me." " Then, will you, for me?" " Dinner and what else?" "Just dinner." "Because I remind you of her?" "Because I'd like to have dinner with you." "Well..." "I've been on blind dates before." "Matter of fact, I've been picked up before." " OK." " I'll get my car." "Be back in half an hour." "No, you better give me time to change." "An hour?" "OK." "'Dearest Scottie... 'and so you've found me." "'This is the moment that I dreaded and hoped for, 'wondering what I would say and do if I ever saw you again." "'I wanted so to see you again just once." "'Now I'll go and you can give up your search." "'I want you to have peace of mind, you've nothing to blame yourself for." "'I was the tool, and you were the victim 'of Gavin Elster's plan to murder his wife." "'He chose me to play the part because I looked like her." "'Lt was quite safe because she lived in the country and rarely came to town." "'Chose you to be the witness to a suicide." "'The Carlotta story was part real, part invented, 'to make you testify that Madeleine wanted to kill herself." "'He knew of your illness, he knew you'd never make it up the tower." "'He planned it so well, he made no mistakes." "'I made the mistake" " I fell in love." "'That wasn't part of the plan." "'I'm still in love with you and I want you so to love me." "'Lf I had the nerve, I'd stay and lie, 'hoping I could make you love me again, as I am, for myself, 'and so forget the other, forget the past." "'But I don't know whether I have the nerve to try.'" "Here, I'll do it." " There you are." " Thanks again." " Good night." " Can I see you tomorrow?" "Tomorrow night?" "Well..." "No, I mean tomorrow morning." " But I have to go to work, I've got a job." " Don't go to your job." "What will I live on, my oil wells in Texas?" "Let me take care of you, Judy." "Thanks very much, but no thanks." " You don't understand..." " I understand all right." "I've been understanding since I was 17." " And the next step is?" " No, no." "No, no." "No?" "Then what?" "We could just... see a lot of each other." "Why?" "Because I remind you of her?" "That's not very complimentary." "And nothing else?" "No." "That's not very complimentary either." "I just want to be with you as much as I can, Judy." "Well, I guess I..." "I could phone the store in the morning and... make some excuse." "Hi, John." "I like that one." " That?" "All right." " That's very nice." "It's beautiful." "There we are." "We'll get this and then we'll buy you those clothes." " Honest?" " There's Ransohoffs." "Only the best." " How much is that?" " That'll be 50 cents." " You don't have to." " I want to." "No, that's not it." "Nothing like it." "But you said grey, sir." "Look, I just want an ordinary, simple grey suit." " But I like that one, Scottie." " No, it's not right." "The gentleman seems to know what he wants." "All right, we'll find it." " What are you doing?" " I'm trying to buy you a suit." "But... but I loved the second one she wore." " And this one, it's beautiful." " No, none of them are right." "I think I know the suit you mean, we had it some time ago." "We may still have that model." "Thank you." "You're looking for the suit that she wore." "You want me to dress like her." "I want you to look nice, I know what would look good." "No, I won't do it!" "Judy." "Judy, it can't make that much difference to you." "I don't want any clothes." "I want to get out of here." " Do this for me!" " Here we are." " Yes, that's it." " I thought so." " I don't like it." " We'll take it." "Will the thing fit?" "It might need some slight alterations but it's madam's size." "All right, dear." "You can try it on in a moment." " How long will the alterations take?" " Well..." " By tonight?" " If it's absolutely necessary." "Yes, it is." "We'd like to look at an evening dress." "Short, black, with long sleeves and kind of a square neck." " Scottie..." " My!" "You certainly do know what you want, sir." "I'll see what we have." "All right, that's it." "Do you have them in brown?" " Yes, we have." " Fine." "Here, Judy." "Drink this straight down, just like medicine." "Why are you doing this?" "What good will it do?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "No good, I guess." "I don't know." "I wish you'd leave me alone." "I want to go away." "You can, you know." "No, you wouldn't let me." "And I..." "I don't want to go." "Judy, these past few days have been the first happy days I've known in a year." "I know." "I know, because..." "because I remind you of her." "And not even that very much." "No." "No, Judy." "Judy, it's you too." "There's something in you that..." " You don't even want to touch me." " Yes, I do." "Couldn't you like me?" "Just me, the way I am?" "When we first started out, it was so good, we had fun." "And..." "And then you started in on the clothes." "I'll wear the darned clothes if you want me to, if you'll just... just like me." " The colour of your hair." " No!" "Judy, please, it can't matter to you." "Lf..." "If I let you change me, will that do it?" "If I do what you tell me..." " will you love me?" " Yes." "Yes." "All right." "All right then, I'll do it." "I don't care any more about me." "Come on over and sit by the fire." "I'm afraid it will take several hours." "The young lady thought she might see you at home." "No, you tell her I'll go to her hotel and wait for her there." "You're sure about the colour of the hair?" " Yes, it's an easy colour." " And the rest..." " We know what you want." " Thank you." "Well?" "It should be back from your face and pinned at the neck." "I told her that." "We tried it, it just didn't seem to suit me." "Please, Judy." " Where shall we go for dinner?" " Anywhere you like." " Ernie's?" " You have a thing about Ernie's." "After all, it's our place." "Hello, my love." "Like me?" "Is that the best you can do?" " Come here." " No." "You'll muss me." "That's what I had in mind." "Come here!" "It's too late, I got my face on." "I'm suddenly hungry." " Would you rather go somewhere else?" " No, Ernie's is fine." "I'm gonna have..." "I'm gonna have one of those big, beautiful steaks." "Let me see." "To start, I think I'll..." "Help me with this, will you?" "I have it." " How do you work this thing?" " Can't you see?" " There you are." " Thank you." "I'm just about ready." "All I've got to do is find my lipstick." "Where did I put it?" "I had it a minute ago." "I wonder if it's here?" "There it is." "There, I'm ready." "First, muss me a little?" "Scottie, I do have you now, don't I?" "Would you like to go someplace out of town for dinner?" " We could drive down the peninsula." " If you like." "We're going awfully far." "I just feel like driving." "Are you terribly hungry?" "No." "It's all right." "Where are you going?" "One final thing I have to do." "And then I'll be free of the past." "Scottie... why are we here?" "I told you." "I have to go back into the past once more." "Just once more." "For the last time." "Why?" "Why here?" "Madeleine died here, Judy." " I don't want to go, I'd rather..." " No, I need you." "Why?" "I need you to be Madeleine for a while." "And when it's done, we'll both be free." " I'm scared." " I have to tell you about Madeleine now." "Right there." "We stood there and kissed for the last time." "She said, "If you lose me," ""you'll know that I wanted to keep on loving you."" "And I said, "I won't lose you."" "But I did." "And then she turned..." "and ran into the church." "And when I followed her, it was too late." "I don't want to go in there!" "It was too late." "Scottie..." "I couldn't find her." "Then I heard footsteps on the stairs." "She was running up the tower." "Right here." " Scottie..." " See, she was running up the stairs." "Through the trap door at the top of the tower." "I tried to follow her but I couldn't get to the top." "I tried but I couldn't get to the top." "One doesn't often get a second chance." "I want to stop being haunted." "You're my second chance, Judy." " You're my second chance!" " Take me away!" "You look like Madeleine now." "Go up the stairs." "Go up the stairs!" "Go up the stairs, Judy." "And I'll follow." "This was as far as I could get but you went on." "Remember?" "The necklace, Madeleine." "That was the slip." "I remembered the necklace." " Let me go!" " We're going up the tower!" "You can't!" "You're afraid!" "We'll see." "This is my second chance!" "You knew that day that I couldn't follow you." "Who was up there?" "Elster and his wife?" " Yes!" " And she was the one who died." "The real wife, not you!" "You were the copy, the counterfeit." " Was she dead or alive?" " Dead!" "He'd broken her neck." "Wasn't taking any chances, was he?" "When you got there, he pushed her off." "It was you that screamed!" "Why?" "I wanted to stop it." "I ran up to stop it." "Why did you scream?" "Since you tricked me so well up to then." "You played the wife very well." "He made you over, didn't he?" "Just like I did." "Only better." "Not only the clothes and the hair but the looks, the manner and the words and those beautiful phoney trances." "You jumped into the Bay, didn't you?" "I bet you're a wonderful swimmer." " Aren't you?" " Yes!" "And then what did he do?" "Did he train you?" "Did he rehearse you?" "Tell you exactly what to do and say?" "You were a very apt pupil too, weren't you?" "A very apt pupil." "But why did you pick on me?" "Why me?" "Your accident!" "My accident." "I was the setup, wasn't I?" "I was a made to order witness." "I was..." "I made it." " I made it." " What are you going to do?" "We're going up to look at the scene of the crime." "Come on, Judy!" "This is where it happened." "The two of you hid back there then sneaked down and drove into town." "Is that it?" "And then, you were his girl?" "Well, what happened to you?" "Did he ditch you?" "With his wife's money, all that freedom and power, and he ditched you." "What a shame." "He knew he was safe, you couldn't talk." " Did he give you anything?" " Some money." "And the necklace." "Carlotta's necklace." "There was where you made your mistake, Judy." "You shouldn't keep souvenirs of a killing." "You shouldn't have been..." "You shouldn't have been that sentimental." "I loved you so, Madeleine." "Scottie..." "I was safe when you found me, you couldn't prove anything." "When I saw you again, I couldn't run away, I loved you so." "I walked into danger and let you change me because I loved you." "Scottie..." "Scottie, please." "You love me now, you'll keep me safe." " Please!" " Too late, there's no bringing her back." "Please!" "No!" "I heard voices." "God have mercy."