"To us our course by lot is given... charge and strict watch, that to this happy place... no evil thing approach or enter in." "O Lord, you give us strength and guidance... to keep thy worlds in the image of his truth." "Let no evil thing... approach or enter in." "There is danger." "Toward the sun." "Action." "Come on, girls." "Shake those heads." "Put feeling into it." "Thanks." "The living room." "Three bedrooms, did you say?" "And a maid's room and a bath." "You could use that for a child." "Do you have children?" "No." "Uh, you are married?" "Not yet." "Oh, Jesus, Alison!" "Another unfurnished apartment." "Think of all the stuff you have to buy." "Well, at least I can get a full-length mirror." "A what?" "Just once..." "I'd like to check my clothes without having to race Michael to the mirror." "She'll like this." "Your lady?" "Say, are these the only closets for this room?" "What are you in, menswear wholesale?" "No, she's a model." "Are you in that line?" "Modeling?" "Well, you look kinda..." "well-dressed." "I'm a lawyer." "Uh, lawyers must spend pretty heavy on clothes, huh?" "How much is this one?" "600 a month." "Save your money." "Marry Michael." "I will." "Jenny, it's just that I've been with him for two years... ever since I got out of the hospital." "I just need some space." "I just need some space now." "1,000 a month is the least they'll take, huh?" "Got people lining up." "Look, I need more room." "I wanna get married." "Happy marriages are made in $1,000-a-month apartments." "Don't they dust in this place?" "I'll let you know about it though." "Ah, people are standing in line for this." "Where?" "Don't call us, we'll call you." "Thank you." "Thanks." "I'll call." "I still love him, Jenny." "I just need to get a place of my own." "I have to prove to myself that I can take care of me." "Maybe just for a year or two, you know." "Maybe just for a year." "Is your hair lustrous?" "Is your hair easy to manage?" "Try using Glamour shampoo." "You're missing one of my finer performances." "Yeah, I caught it last night, thank you." "Tell me what one man can do with 16 convertibles." "Get a lot of fresh air?" "All bought... with money embezzled... from the Hudson Bank of Albany." "Will you get him off?" "Depends if the judge is a car freak." "Say, what do you say we celebrate his going inside by getting married?" "Oh, Michael." "Are you gonna ask me that again?" "Well, we've been living together for..." "for God knows how long." "Yeah, but I want to get my own apartment." "Listen, you don't have to get your own apartment." "We can still meet." "Oh, well, thank you very much." "Hello." "Yeah." "Hi." "Yeah, just a minute." "It's Baltimore." "It's your mom." "Hello, Mom?" " What's the matter?" " It's my father." "Severe migraine." "Shock." "Perhaps we should go, Mary." "Mom, I just can't go." "Take one of these." "Best go without her." "Bye." "Bye-bye." "Good-bye, Alison." "See you at school tomorrow." " Dad!" " Who the hell is that?" "Get out of here!" "I told you never to come in this place!" "Get out of here!" "Get out!" "Get out of this place!" "I told you never again!" "Get rid of that thing!" "Get out of here!" " Jesus!" " Oh, my God!" "Are you going to be all right here, Mom?" "It'll be no worse." "Well, then why did you stay with him?" "I had nowhere to go." "Welcome back, Miss Parker." "Ah!" "We must stop meeting like this." "How was it?" "Awful." "Oh, hey..." "Uh, every real estate agent in town called you back." "Oh, good." "You're serious about getting your own place?" "I don't want to be left with nowhere to go." " What?" " Just something my mother said." "I'll be gone for a few days." "Long enough to defend my convertible freak." "Hey!" "Present." "Just to show you I still love you." "And I love you." "Hello." "Hello." "Is this Miss Logan?" "Yes." "Can I help you?" "Yes, I'm inquiring about the advertisement in today's paper." "The fully furnished apartment in old Brooklyn house." "View of Manhattan skyline." "It's not gone yet, is it?" "No." "Good." "Can I come by?" "Yes, of course." "Thank you." "Our questionnaire." "Also, we need another signature..." "for our commission." "Then can I see the apartment?" "Oh, I see no reason why not." "You'll be living alone?" "Well, I'll have an occasional visitor." "Oh, a model?" "Yeah." "Have I seen you on TV?" "Is your hair lustrous and easy to manage?" "Oh, yes." "Shaking your hair in the fields." "Oh, it must be a glamorous profession." "I'm sure the landlord will approve." "From Baltimore?" "Yes." "Hmm." "How nice." "I find New Yorkers have no sense for anything but sex and money." "Well, I guess there's something to be said for that too." "It's one of the nicer tree-lined blocks in New York... and only 20 minutes from the center of town." "Oh, and just around the corner there's a supermarket and a cleaners." "I'm sure you'll find it all most convenient." "Shall we?" "Oh, and you can keep a bicycle here if you want." "The furniture fits beautifully." "I'm sure you'll agree." "Can I see the rest of it?" "Oh, of course." "Note the utility and workmanship of the items, Miss Parker." "Oh, I really like the view." "Oh, it's spectacular, isn't it?" "How much did you say this place was?" "$500 a month." "Oh, I'm afraid that's a bit too much." "400 is not excessive." "I thought you said 500." "400." "A $50 deposit will be just fine." "Do you have a pen?" "Uh, yes." "You've made an excellent choice, Miss Parker." "Miss Logan?" "Yes?" "There is somebody staring at me from that fifth floor window up there." "Oh, I'm sure you've been stared at before." "Yes, but..." "That's Father Halliran in 5A." "He's been here for years." "He's a priest." "He's kind of senile." "He just sits by the window." "He's blind." "Blind?" "Well, then what does he look at?" "Quick." "Give me the other camera." "I'm not going to get it like this again." "Alison, move to the left." "For Christ's sake, hold 'em still!" " Jack, help me." " Here, birdie!" "Here, birdie!" "Oh, my God!" " Get them on the cement!" " Come back!" "Come on!" " Oh, Christ!" " Oh!" "Let's get it together again, fellas." "Is there a Miss Parker here?" " Alison!" " Jack, may I?" "Why not?" "The ship's sinking." "Hello?" "Michael, hi!" "Oh, it's going just terrific." "Two Afghans are eating six peacocks." "I'll see you at 8:00." "Okay." "Bye-bye." "It was at the base of my skull, and then there was a tingling sensation in my arms and my legs... and then everything just went numb." "Anything now?" "Not a thing now." "I mean, they put an ice pack on my head and five minutes later I was just fine." " Is that clock right?" " Yeah, it's five to 8:00." "I'd best be off." "Aren't you going to stay and say hello to Michael?" "Never destroy a tender moment." "Oh, we've only been apart for two weeks." "Well, here." "Thanks a lot for the vase." "Hey, listen, be happy here." "Okay." "Bye-bye." "Thanks a lot." "Oh, you're welcome." "Oh, my love to Michael." "Okay." "Bye." "Bye-bye." "Chazen is the name." "Charles Chazen." "I'm your neighbor in 4B." "Oh." "And this is Mortimer." "He's from Brazil." "And this, on the other hand, so to speak... this is Jezebel." "Say hello to that nice lady, Jezebel." "That's it, darling." "He's got indigestion." "Well, hi, I'm Alison." "Really?" "Mm-hmm." "May we, uh..." "Oh, what a lovely apartment." "Absolutely lovely!" "I was wondering when I was going to meet my new neighbors." "My, and you're so pretty." "Haven't I seen you before on television?" "Now, don't tell me." "I know." "You were in, uh..." "I've done some TV commercials." "Oh, really?" "I thought you were an actress." "Let me see." "Herbert Hoover!" "A noble president." "Oh, dear, he's my favorite." "Isn't he lovely?" "That doesn't look like him." "Of course it does, darling." "I..." "I admired him so." ""I shall go to Korea," he said." "And got him elected." "That was Eisenhower." "Really?" "Well, Hoover must have said something, didn't he?" ""Give me liberty or give me death."" "That's it." "That's it." "Oh, a great man!" "Oh, my dear, your taste is impeccable!" "I wish you'd help me redecorate my poor place someday." "Would you, hmm?" "Were you waiting to go out?" "I'm sorry." "I'm waiting for a friend." "Ah, well!" "Friendships often blossom into bliss, as they say." "And speaking of bliss, Mortimer loves to have his stomach rubbed." "Would you?" "Do you know all our neighbors?" "Yes, I know all of them, and they're very nice people." "Except that priest who lives above me." "He's..." "Well..." "However, he's quiet most of the time." "Then there are the two women on the first floor, and..." "To tell you the truth, my dear," "Mortimer and Jezebel are my only true companions really." "It's way past their bedtime." "Isn't it, sweetheart?" "You wanna come with me?" "That's it." "Now, if there's anything I can do for you, let me know." " There is." " Just mention it." "Can I use your phone in case of an emergency?" "The phone company hasn't had a chance to put my phone in yet." "Of course, if I had one it would be a pleasure, but I don't." "Whom would I call, after all?" "Now say good night, Jezebel." "Say good night." "Maybe she's just got a cold." "I think so." "She's very unpredictable." "Good night, my dear." "Good night." "Remember, you eat and drink with moderation." "This is the Arc de Triomphe, as you can see." " It's upside down." " I took it standing on my head." "This is the Laughing Cavalier, better known as the Mona Lisa." "You notice there's glass in front of it because someone tried to desecrate it just..." "You have some of the most boring friends." "Well, we always make out in the movies." "Not here." "Hey, I hear you fainted today." "Who told you?" "Your boring friend, Jack." "Well, I'm okay." "Al, come back." "Marry me." "It's only been two years since Karen." "Karen and I were not like you and me." "Forget it." "I can't forget it." "Think of us." "Au revoir to Paris, and welcome to Siam!" "Ingrates!" "I'll be one second." "Who's this?" "Charles Chazen." "Minus parakeet and cat." "This man looks like a prune." "Well, I think he's cute." "Oh." "What's this?" "I found it in my father's room." "I didn't know you were Catholic." "Does it matter?" "Hello?" "Is anybody here?" "Hello?" "How may we help you?" "I just moved in upstairs and I just thought I'd introduce myself." "I'm Alison Parker." "We don't get many visitors." "I'm Gerde and this is Sandra." "Hi." "Why don't you stay and have some coffee with us?" "Oh, I shouldn't." "Oh, I insist." "Cigarette?" "No, I don't smoke." "Good." "Sit." "I've already put coffee on." "Or would you rather tea?" " Oh, coffee's fine." " Good." "Have you met anyone else in the building?" "Yes, I met Mr. Chazen from upstairs with his animals." "Have you lived here long?" "Don't be alarmed if Sandra doesn't speak." "She seldom does." " Help yourself." "Enjoy." " Thank you." "The crucifix you're wearing..." "where did you get it?" "That's from my family." "It looks French from Alsace." "The gentleman who left here this morning... is, uh, that your boyfriend?" "Yes." "Seems an adequate lover." "Sandra here lived with a man for some time." "He treated her badly." "Are you in ballet?" "Excuse me." "We're very proud of our apartment." "It took us a long time to furnish it properly." "W" " What do you do for a living?" "We fondle each other." "Fondle." "Caress." "Going so soon?" "It's rather rude to eat and run." "I didn't eat." "I drank." "Hello, Alison, my darling." "Have you been shopping?" "Making friends?" "You could put it that way, I guess." "Peculiar couple, aren't they?" "To each his own, I say." "However, there are some things..." "Alison, Jennifer, we're ready." "You okay?" "Yeah, I just don't think I got enough sleep last night." "You should hear my neighbors." "About time." "Now, Alison, darling, you will turn and set the bottle here." "Make sure I can see the label." "Okay?" "Quiet, everyone." "Roll 'em." "Seventeen, take one." "Action." "Cut it." "It was no good, darling." "I have to have the bottle just here." "Okay?" "Mm-hmm." " Take two." " Action." "Cut." "The bottle is wrong again." "Take eight." "Cut." "Jesus, darling." "All you have to do is get the label so we can see it." "Take 14." "Action." "That looked all right." "Cut." "By George, I think she's got it." "It's out of focus." "Unbelievable." "All right, we'll use take 10." "Alison, take a break." "I think you ought to know we'll go into overtime." "How much longer have we got?" "About half an hour." "Oh!" "Oh, my God!" " Get somebody over here." " Call an ambulance!" "That's just what I needed." "Look, get another girl in her dress, and then we'll use somebody else's hand for the close-up." "All right?" "Jesus Christ!" "I've got these little white pills." "They're supposed to relax me." "Are you sure they checked you thoroughly at the hospital?" "Yes, I was tested for four hours, and they said if it got any worse I'm to consult a neurologist." " Well, I'll come over." " No, it's okay." "Jennifer's here and she's gonna give me a ride home." "Isn't there anything I can do?" "You can use some influence to get a phone put in my apartment." "Got an easier one for me?" "No." "Bye." "Vicky, what's the matter?" "It's Charles." "I think someone shot him." "Where is he now?" "He's at the house." "I didn't dare call the police." "I'll come with you." "What if Harry sees you?" "It's too much of a risk." "Who is it?" "Who's there?" "It's me." "My dear, I have a surprise for you." "Oh, I've had such a bad day." "Then my surprise will make you well." "Come on." "Well, I'll only stay for a few minutes." "Okay?" "All right, darling." "Did you leave your photograph?" "Yes, I left my picture for you." "You like this flower?" "Yeah." "I grew it myself." "Come on!" "Come on!" "Alison, I'm going to blindfold you." "And don't peek until I tell you you may." "I promise." "All right now, step forward." "But be careful." "Be very careful and in we go..." "And..." "Open up!" "Open up!" "Surprise!" "Surprise!" "Surprise!" "Surprise." "Now, I want you to meet Jezebel's other guests." "Everybody, listen." "Listen." "That's right." "I want you to meet Alison Parker." "She's just moved into 2A." "That's right." "Right, right." "Come here." "This is Mrs. Clark from 4A." "Miss Parker, dear." "Hi." "How do you do?" "Glad to meet you." "This is Miss Emma Clotkin... and her twin sister, Lilian, from 3B." "My pleasure!" "Glad to have you." "Malcolm Stinnett." "Th-Th-The Clotkin's cousin." "This is my wife, Rebecca." "Hi." "What apartment do you live in?" "We used to live in the one above you." "But the ceiling leaked so we moved to Murray Hill." "They couldn't let it anymore." "We come back here a lot." "You know Gerde and Sandra." "Have a hat and noisemaker for the party." "Everybody, listen!" "The polka!" "Everybody, the polka!" "I used to dance at the Foxland Casino in the Bronx." "And one and two, and one and two, and one and two, and one and two, and one and two." "The gals would sit in one side, the guys would sit in another." "Then we'd meet." "We'd go one and two." " It brings back memories!" " I remember!" "Around we go and around we go and around we go and around we go." "All right, here we go." "Around we go, and around..." " Oh, well, never mind." " Oh, more." "More." "No, dear." "It's time for the cake." "Good." "Now, everybody, now tune up your voices." "Black-and-white cat, black-and-white cake." "Ready." "Happy birthday, dear Jezebel" "Happy birthday to you" "Ah, dear sweetheart!" "Note the utility and the workmanship of the items, Miss Parker." "My dear, your taste is impeccable!" "I'm sure you've been stared at before." "This is Mortimer." "He's from Brazil." "He's blind." "Black-and-white cat, black-and-white cake." "Surprise!" "Surprise!" "Surprise!" "Surprise!" "We used to live in the apartment above you." "But the ceiling leaked." "Gramercy 7-9945." "Yes, let me have Brenner, please." " Hello." " Yes, Jim, this is me." "I've, uh..." "I've got something for you." "Alison was just here in my office." "Some story about footsteps and clanging metal in the apartment above her last night when it's supposed to be empty." "I'd like you to get over there for me." "It's 10 Montague Terrace." "Yeah?" "Brooklyn Heights." "Hi." "Hello." "I hope this isn't too inconvenient for you." "Oh, not at all." "It's because my associate is interviewing in the office." "Do you mind?" "Come along." "We're this way." "I've ordered some coffee for you." "Thank you." "It takes forever in this place when it's crowded." "Here." "Is everything going well with you?" "Oh, yes." "Renting out apartments by the dozen." "Well, I'm glad somebody's doing well." "You're not?" "Not exactly." "I haven't been able to get much sleep lately." "Oh, not the old priest?" "No, it's the others." "The others?" "Mr. Chazen in 4B." "He keeps coming around." "And those ladies downstairs really carry things a little bit too far." "The Clotkin sisters... they are very strange." "And that old Mrs. Clark..." "I don't know where she comes from." "I don't know what apartment she lives in." "But what really scared me, there was somebody upstairs... walking back and forth last night." "Just banging on some sort of metal or something." "I couldn't get to sleep at all." "And this is what you..." "you wanted to see me about?" "Yes." "My dear Miss Parker, aside from the priest, and now of course you, nobody has lived in that building for... three years." "Well, if they're squatters, there's certainly no sign from here." "True, I haven't been here for a long time, but whole families?" "Oh, he exists." "I am here, Holy Father." "I have come that you may shed your burden in peace." "This is where the lesbians live." "Be my guest." "The furniture was different in here before." "Oh, come now, Miss Parker." "These pieces have not been touched in years." "The landlord's renovating all the apartments." "Renovating?" "Well, rather slowly." "Well, it certainly doesn't look as if anybody was clattering about here last night, does it?" "My God, could I have just been dreaming?" "So the only other one you thought you were in was, um..." "Mr. Chazen's apartment." "Miss Parker, it's getting late, and I have to get back to my office." "Just one more." "Happy birthday, dear Jezebel" "Happy birthday to you" "Where's the cake?" "Believe it or not," "I attended a birthday party here last night... for a cat." "Oh, I'm sorry I missed it." "I want to see the old priest." "I'm sure he can't hear." "Have you ever met or spoken to him?" "No." "Well, then how does he live?" "The Diocesan Council of New York own the building." "I'm sure they see he's cared for." "Well, I'd like you to let me in, please." "That would be highly improper." "Watch the office." "Will you be back later?" "Miss Parker?" "Yes." "Mr. Lerman said to tell you that he had to go out of town tonight to get a client out on bail." "All right." "Thank you." "Hello?" "What do you want from me?" "Who are you?" "Well, well, well." "You have an ill effect on your women, Mr. Lerman." "This isn't police business." "A girl running through the streets at 4:00 a." "M... saying she's knifed her father, blood on her... that's police business." "You know the girl, Gatz." "You know how she is." "I haven't seen her, not since your wife Karen's... suicide." "Don't get in too deep." "Closed." "Closed, closed." "The case is closed." "Mrs. Lerman jumped from the 59th Street Bridge." "Miss Parker... mistress of the bereaved husband... took an overdose, but lived." "And now, here we are again... in a hospital waiting room," "you and me." "Except this time... there's no corpse for you to invent murder theories about." "Certainly not the lady's father." "He died in Baltimore three weeks ago." "Cancer, we were told." "And no body in the apartment." "Just a poor, deranged girl... who thinks she killed someone." "You can have five minutes." "She's still heavily sedated." "Will the following doctors go to the emergency room stat." "Dr. White." "Dr. White..." "Alison?" "It's me, Michael." "Can you hear me, Alison?" "She can't respond." "She should be better in a few days." "Can't we be alone?" "Mr. Brenner's office." " Is Mr. Brenner there, please?" " He's not." "Did you call here before, sir?" "When do you expect him?" "Uh, I don't know." "If you'd like to leave your name..." "Hello?" "Are you there?" "Gatz, we've had a complaint." "Michael Lerman?" "Senior partner in his law firm called the deputy commissioner." "And said I threatened him with a closed case... his wife's suicide." "And you did." "Not so much a threat, sir." "More an observation." "Lerman took you apart in court, Gatz." "He made you look like a liar." "If we didn't exaggerate some of the evidence every crook in town would go free, instead of only 90% of them." "That's over." "We all took a beating on it." "Now, just lay off him unless you've got any real evidence." "Thin pickings." "The blood on the girl was her own." ""O" Rhesus-negative." "There was no sign of a struggle in the room where she claimed she killed someone." "No body." "She's in the hospital blurbing about neighbors that don't exist." "Except one... a priest." "And he wouldn't know it if the building burned down." "Anna Clark." "One of the invisible neighbors." "That's funny." "I know that name from somewhere." "Did you ever see her before?" "That's Anna Clark." "She was at Charles Chazen's birthday party." ""Mrs. Anna Clark." ""Convicted murderess." ""Sent to the electric chair at Sing Sing..." ""March 27, 1949... for the murder of her lover and his wife."" ""When her lover refused to leave his wife, she chopped them up in bed with an ax."" "Charming." "Do you remember reading about her?" "Black-and-white cat." "Black-and-white cake." "Hmm?" "That's what she said." " How long has he been here?" " About a week." "Any identification yet?" "Nope." "Nothing on the body..." "cards, notes." "Nothing." "He was cleaned out and dumped here." "The print boys have just taken impressions." "Okay." "Does he fit anyone on the missing persons list?" "Well, we're checking." "When you find out his blood group, call me." "Right." "Doctor, what about her psychiatric condition?" "I'd like to get her stronger before putting her through heavy psychiatric examination." "Going over her fantasy won't help at the moment." "All right." "Thanks very much." "You're welcome." "The doctor says you shouldn't take so many pills." "They're depressing you." "They are?" "Uh, I've got to call the office." "You sure that was the last time you saw him?" "You take it." "Hello." "Mr. Brenner's office." "Who is this?" "So you found a body." "Multiple stab wounds." "Probably done on the same night the Parker girl claimed to have killed someone." ""Probably."" "Blood type "O" Rhesus-negative." "Same as was on the girl." "Same as the girl." "It narrows it down." "To half a million people in New York City." "And Michael Lerman's name, address and phone number in Brenner's file." "That's all?" "He kept names and addresses in the office only." "Nothing in his apartment." "Where he kept his real files, we don't know." "Accused of extortion 10 years ago." "He was a detective in name only." "He did, uh..." "What's the fashionable word?" "Uh, dirty tricks." "Meaning?" "Meaning, we have a New York lawyer, Michael Lerman, boy genius with a drunken wife who wouldn't divorce him, a wife who let it be known from time to time he took bribes in plea bargaining sessions." "Maybe Brenner conveniently pushed her off the bridge." "Maybe Lerman wants to scare the Parker girl to death." "Maybe..." "That's a handful of "maybes."" "Most cases start with maybes." "Ask us in." "Miss Parker." "I hope you're feeling better." " I thought you were..." " Warned off?" "I've got permission to talk to you, Michael." "Alone." "I can go for a walk." "Darling..." "It's all right." "I can still walk." "A half hour will be enough." "We have our body, Mr. Lerman." "A man who knew you very well." "I never saw him before." "Give us this day our daily bread, and deliver us from evil, amen." "You came to be heard." "It's eight years since I've been to confession." "Then talk here." "I've rejected Christ." "I need to come back." "Is there anything else, my child?" "I've committed adultery." "And I've tried to take my life twice." "There is more?" "I saw my father." "I stabbed him, but he's already dead." "It makes me feel like I should take my life again." "Since you have abandoned the Church and Jesus Christ, you have been lost... and without guidance." "Once you have re-embraced him, the guilt within you... that breeds suspicions and deceptions... will vanish." "The Lord brought you here." "The Lord will protect you." "For each one of us... he has a purpose." "Embrace Christ, my child." "Trust again." "And if you have any doubts or fears, come back... to me." "I was worried." "It's been three hours." "Was it?" "I went for a walk." "For three hours?" "And then I went to the church." "Why'd you go to a church?" "'Cause it helped me." "Well, you do look better." "You know that man?" "The detective?" "Mmm." "A one-ulcer man in a two-ulcer job." "You know, I was thinking, just maybe you didn't imagine what happened." "I'd like to take a look at that house." "With those?" "Yeah." "A gift from a grateful client." "Okay, now where exactly... did you step?" "Well, I ran for the door, and he was right here in front of me." "It was right here, Michael." "Well, then why didn't the police technicians find any blood?" "Maybe somebody washed it up." "No." "No, there would have been a residue left on the carpet." "Michael, there's something really different about this room." "Hmm?" "When Miss Logan showed this room to me," "I thought the carpet was gold." "Well, I've been to parties in worse places." "The table was there, a gramophone was over here, there were plants everywhere." "And this bookcase..." ""'Charter House of Parma. '"" ""Techniques of Torture by Allard. '"" "You'll like this one for variety." "What do you mean?" "All the pages are the same." "Alison, there's nothing strange about this book." "What do you mean?" "All the pages are different." "All the pages are the same." "All of them!" "Alison, either one of us is lying, or one of us is seeing something that isn't there." "Tell me, what do you see in this book?" "Latin." "I see nothing but Latin." "Everything in there is Latin!" "Okay, come here." "Come here." "Come here." "I want you... to write down... exactly what you see." "Right there." "Okay?" ""'Tibi... sortu..." ""'cursus..." ""'tuum... vigiliaque...'"" "Jesus, Alison!" "You really are seeing Latin." "Suppose he hears you, but he can't answer the door?" "Well, maybe he doesn't want to." "Alison, if something happened, he knows." "Michael!" "The lock's been changed." "Now, you say that Miss Logan told you that the Church owns this building?" "Well, that's what she said." "I want you to go back to my apartment and wait." "I'm gonna get this translated, and I'm going to the diocesan council... and see if somebody will talk to me." "Ah, Flavius, my dear." "You must always remember what he said to Sophocles." "Come." "Ah!" "Eldridge!" "Um, no." "I'm, uh..." "I'll see you Wednesday, professor." "Wednesday?" "That's when I go old-time dancing." "But every Wednesday is my tutorial." " What's your name?" " Alice." "Alice Marchak." "Alice?" "Oh!" "It's written here." "You're right." "When do I go old-time dancing, then?" "Here, Professor." "I phoned?" "Ah, yes." "Form of early Latin used, oh, three or four hundred years before the Caesars." "Tea?" "No, thank you." "Can you translate this?" "You know, when you phoned..." "I thought you had a serious problem, something challenging." "Well, I'm glad to see that it won't take too much of your time." "What does it say?" "A word or two, now, I must be certain." "Now, a few seconds, Eldridge." "Uh, Lerman." "Michael Lerman." "Yes, Eldridge Lerman." "Right." "Okay." "All right." "Yes, there we are." "Well." ""To thee..." ""thy course..." ""by lot is given..." ""charge and strict watch," ""that to this happy place..." ""no evil thing... approach or enter in."" "What does it mean?" "You would have to check the book." "You can get it in English." "The book?" "Yes." "By Milton." "The English religious writer, from his great work..." "Paradise Lost." "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." " Oh, Father, you frightened me." " This is my church." "Well, I was just here a couple of days ago, and there was another priest here." "Another?" "Here?" "He had a big r..." "He had a big ring on his finger." "It was very heavy." "It had the figure of Jesus Christ on it." "I know of no such priest." "Perhaps he was a visitor!" "Yes." "Yes." "Monsignor Franchino?" "Can I help you, Mr. Lerman?" "Yes." "They told me downstairs in the office that you were the man that I should see." "I was told you wanted some information... about one of our clergy." "A Father Matthew Halliran." "You are a lawyer?" "A client of ours, now deceased, has left some money to a Father Matthew Halliran," "10 Montague Terrace, Brooklyn Heights." "He lives on the fifth floor." "At least that's what we're told." "Let me look at the files." "Oh, yes." "I recall the man now." "Father Halliran... has led a difficult life." "He has a chronic case of palsy... and he doesn't take kindly to visitors." "We have to satisfy ourselves that he's the right man for the bequest." "He was pastor at the Church of the Heavenly Angel... in Flushing, Queens." "He retired in 1952... after the congregation was disbanded and the church torn down." "I'd like very much to see him, if I could." "He has become sedentary, a recluse." "Even a legacy would do him little good." " The Church takes care of his needs." " Could I look at that file?" "I wonder if, uh," "I could have a copy of this." "Church property." "Oh, yes, uh, this quotation." "Uh, I just had it translated from the Latin." "I was wondering if it might be familiar to you... a religious writing or something?" "No." "It's not familiar." "Are you sure?" "I have never seen it before." "Thank you very much for your trouble." "Jennifer." "It's Alison." "She called me." "Hey, how you feeling?" "Terrible." " The headache back?" " And the dizziness and the nausea." "And I'm losing control of my reflexes." "By the time I got here she'd fainted." "Did you call the doctor?" "No." "Why not?" "'Cause I was scared!" "I keep dreaming that I see that priest in the window, and there's a funny light behind him." "This man Perry called." "He said to meet him tonight at 9:00 at the Grand Army Plaza." "Can you stay with her tonight?" " Are you leaving?" " Yeah." "I have to, darling." "I'll be back, but I'll be late." "Jennifer will stay with you." "Dr. Orton's number's in the book." "If you need him, he'll come." "I just don't wanna be by myself." "Don't worry about a thing." "I'll just be gone for a couple hours." "Okay?" "Hello, Perry." "Been a long time, Mr. Lawyer." "It's all there." "You take a high chance." "Let's go." "Open these two locks." "Sure." ""Father Matthew Halliran."" "William O'Rourke?" "Father Halliran?" ""William O'Rourke, disappeared July 12, 1952... after attempted suicide."" "They're the same man." "William O'Rourke became a priest named Halliran." "Yes, but why?" "I just open doors." "Before Halliran, there was Father David Spinnetti, who started life as Andrew Carter." "Declared missing, Carter reappeared as Spinnetti... and died... the day that Halliran started life as a priest." "Before him, Mary Thoren... becomes Sister Mary Angelica." "All of these people, going back for years, lived ordinary lives... and then became priests or nuns." "And all of them, sometime or another," "attempted suicide." ""Alison Parker, Sister Therese"?" ""Father in Baltimore." "Attempted suicide." "Meets Michael Lerman." ""Second attempted suicide on the death of Lerman's wife, killed July 17, 1976."" "If these files are right," "Father Matthew Halliran dies... the same day that Alison Parker disappears... and becomes Sister Therese." "Tomorrow." "When did you get in?" "A couple of hours ago." "Nice of you to drop by." "Anyone I know?" "You don't trust me, do you, Jennifer?" "Not much." "I think Alison may die." "Tomorrow." "She had a bad night and I heard her calling out, but that's ridiculous." "Look, Jennifer, there's no way that I can explain this to you." "Try me." "Look, that girl upstairs needs our help." "Now, I can be with her all day today, but tonight I have to be somewhere else." " The house?" " I'm not asking you to believe anything." "I'm just asking you to be with her tonight." "You know I'm giving a party tonight." "Fine." "Fine." "We'll come." "She can stay the night with you." "But please, whatever you do, don't leave her alone after midnight." "Promise me." "Jesus, Michael." "You're really frightened." "Thou art not a God that has pleasure in wickedness, nor will the evil dwell with you." "Let all those who put their faith in thee rejoice." "Amen." "God be with you this night." "I can't make this party, Michael." "Darling, it'll make you feel better." "That's what Charles Chazen said." "Alison, it's really important that you're with people tonight." "Jennifer will take care of you." "I'd rather be with you." "I have to see this thing through." "The house?" "After tomorrow, it'll all be over." "What do you know?" "God, I love you." "I love you." "Oh, I just wish I knew what was happening to me." "Rebecca and Malcolm Stinnett." "Sell." "Gerde Engstrom." "Emma and Lilian Clotkin." "Anna Clark." "All people the Parker girl said she met." "All killers, all dead." "She went to a party with eight dead murderers." "Doesn't everybody?" "Alison!" "She's aged him." "I said, "'Whenever. '" And she said, "'I don't know. '"" "Hello." "Well, you're the last." "I was dressing." "Oh, it doesn't matter." "No one's started eating yet anyhow." "What's wrong with Alison?" "Nothing." "Nothing?" "Michael, let me go with you." "Take good care of her, will you." "Here's the doctor's number, just in case." "Excuse me." "Be careful." "Call the doctor!" "Oh, no!" "Get a doctor!" ""Through me you go into the city of grief." ""Through me you go into the pain that is eternal." ""'Through me you go among people lost." ""Abandon hope, all ye who e..."" "The entrance to hell." "Talk!" "Talk, you bastard!" "Why the charades?" "Why Chazen?" "Why Mrs. Clark?" "You'd better say something, or I'm gonna strangle it out of you!" "Goddamn it, I'll kill you!" "You tell me what happened, or I'll kill you." "I swear to God, I'll kill you!" "I'll kill you!" "I'll kill you!" "I'll kill you!" "Michael!" "Michael." "O God, help me!" "O angel of God, my guardian, please help me." "Ohh!" "Michael!" "It's all right." "Listen." "Listen." "The Latin you saw in that book was an ancient warning... from the angel Gabriel to the angel Uriel." "Michael, what are you talking about?" "The angel Uriel was stationed at the entrance to Eden... to guard it from the devil." "Since that time, a long line of guardians... sentinels... have guarded the world against evil." "Right now it's Father Halliran upstairs." "But tonight... you become the next sentinel." "The people you saw here... the lesbians, all of them... are reincarnations." "Devils." "The only way they can stop the new sentinel... is to make you commit suicide." "That's what they were trying to do." "The cat!" "Kill it, Michael!" "Oh, don't." "You don't understand." "I was killed by Monsignor Franchino for trying to strangle Father Halliran." "I'm damned to eternal hell for my sins, for having Brenner murder my wife." "I am one of the legion." "Welcome home." "Don't be afraid." "I was waiting for you." "You're such a sweet child." "I just love... having you around." "Please!" "So much noise!" "It hurts my ears." "Now, quiet, my dear." "Quiet." "You are here to join us." "I call ye and declare ye now returned!" "May horror and confusion expedite our glorious march!" "Rise, and enter now into full bliss!" "Hi." "Yes." "You are the chosen of the Lord God, the tyrant and our enemy." "You are she who is to guard and protect... the entrance to this Earth." "Now you must destroy yourself, kill yourself." "Be one with us." "No!" "A queen in our kingdom." "Here." "Take it." "Take it, my love." "Take it." "Take it, my love, and remember, friendships... can blossom into bliss." "Be with him." "Here." "Let this knife lead you to us, make you well again." "Be well again." "Stop!" "Guard us against evil, and your soul that is doomed for your attempted suicides... can be saved." "Resist." "Resist!" "Resist!" "Attack!" "Stop them!" "Stop them!" "No, no, you must fight it." "You must fight it!" "Resist!" "Resist!" "That's the enemy!" "That's the tyrant!" "Resist!" "Forgive us!" "Bow down." "Down." "Down." "All of you." "You say you'd like an apartment by the river." "Let me see now." "We've got a new block in Brooklyn overlooking the Manhattan skyline." "If you'd like to come by, I'd be happy to show it to you." "Shall we say 3:00, then?" "Your first time in New York?" "Been transferred here." "I'm sure you'll like this apartment." "Spectacular view, isn't it?" "And all fitted out to the very highest standards." "Lovely kitchen." "Are the neighbors quiet?" "Oh, yes." "There's a Mr. Jenkins on one side... nice man." "He plays violin with the New York Symphony Orchestra." "And the other side?" "Oh, the woman who lives in 5A." "She's a recluse." "She's no problem at all." "She's a nun."