"What's wrong?" "I had a bad dream." "Ellie for heaven's sake!" "Mr. Mullins you've got to get this girl out of here." "I've arranged a place for her, nurse." "I didn't ask to come to your crummy hospital." "I'll stay with her nurse, please, thank you, thank you very much." "Why are you keeping me here, I'm not even sick!" "It's the only place we could put you up temporarily." "I should've taken off right after the funeral." "Well, it's not too late!" "Ellie, you're still a minor." "I've got a father someplace and I'm going to find him." "Of course you have a father, but you don't know who he is, no one knows who he is." "Your mother knew, but she's dead." "So as far as the court is concerned, you're an orphan." "Well, as far as I'm concerned I'm free to do what I wanna do." "Ellie you're under court order, you can't leave the county." "Are you going to stop me?" "I'm a social worker, not a policeman." "But if you try to leave, I'll have to report it to the sheriff." "Okay Mr. Mullins." "If that's the way you're going to be." "Look you're an orphan now, and..." "I was an orphan the day I was born." "Or maybe you didn't know my mother." "Yes, I did." "I bet you did." "Every drifter and traveling salesman, schoolboy over 16 knew my mother." "Yeah, yeah..." "Ah!" "Hold it, hold it, hold it, don't be afraid," "I'm not going to hurt you." "Ellie my name is Calvin Carruthers." "You might know me, I used to work at the Bijoux Theater." "I used to see an awful lot of you, every Saturday for the matinee." "How come you chased me?" "How come you ran away?" "I thought you were somebody else." "Well I drive this road at night quite a bit since I changed jobs." "What's that got to do with me?" "Well, with the theater closed, I went to work for the county sheriff." "Ah wait a minute, hold it!" "Mullins told you, didn't he?" "Mullins told me you were having nightmares and that you were frightened." "Well, considering what you went through..." "Ellie I think I'd better take you back to the hospital." "Come on." "You sure don't look like any sheriff" "I ever saw." "Where's your uniform?" "I'm a detective." "You sure got a strange way of doing things." "How did a man like you ever get to become a detective?" "I was an ordinary sheriff's deputy for a while, and the detective we had, died but none of the married men wanted the job because of the hours." "Well I don't have anybody." "And the pay is $50 a month extra." "Heaven help the county." "Anyway I was going over your mother's case." "I'd like to ask you a couple of questions, Ellie." "If you were any kind of detective, you would've checked the report at the coroner's inquest." "I told them everything." "All right, now you told the coroner that you were asleep in your room, and you ran into the hall." "That's right." "That you saw a man running out of your mother's room, this was all before you noticed that the fire was in the house." "That's right, Calvin." "Now did you see a hammer in this man's hand?" "No I didn't see a hammer." "I only see it in my nightmares." "Ellie." "Ellie did you ever see the man's face?" "Yes, it was big and ugly." "A lot like yours." "All right." "This big, ugly face, have you ever seen it before?" "He was just another one of mother's clients." "Some drifter she picked up at the bar." "Ellie." "All right Ellie this is important." "Now this man you saw, did he see your face?" "Did the killer see your face?" "I guess he must've, why?" "Only because you're the only witness, and he just might come back here looking for you." "And not because you have a pretty face." "Are you trying to scare me?" "No." "But we don't know who the killer is, or where he disappeared too." "Well what if you never find him?" "I don't know." "But until we're through looking for him, you better not go any place by yourself." "Hiya Calvin, sorry I'm late." "Yes Harold, uhm, can I get you a beer?" "No thanks, you wanted to talk?" "What's on your mind?" "Ah yeah Harold." "Uhm, what do you and the country welfare bureau have in mind for uhm, Ellie Masters?" "Orphan's home, I'm taking her there tomorrow." "Ah." "She sure is a pretty little thing, isn't she?" "Yeah." "Looks a lot like her mother used to." "Yeah." "Poor Edna Masters." "Yeah." "Tell me Harold, did you and Edna ever uh..." "What the hell difference does that make?" "Well I doubt that any man in the county didn't." "Including you, huh?" "Well not in a long time, not since she turned professional, when I acquired this." "Where is this home you're taken Ellie too?" "You know, the old Jameson Deere mansion." "Oh come on Harold, what's the matter with you?" "There's a killer loose, Ellie could be..." "Now, now, now, don't get dramatic Calvin, you're not with the theater now, it's a perfectly safe place." "When old Jameson died last year, the widow Deere turned it into a nice home for kids." "We made an agreement between her and the county and it's worked out real good, for everybody." "I bet it does." "Look I inspect that house myself twice a year." "It's neat as a pin, and the kids are healthy." "Ellie Masters is healthy now, I want to see to it that she remains that way." "Calvin." "Your interest in that girl wouldn't go beyond police duty, would it?" "It might." "What makes you think she could ever be interested in you?" "I didn't say she would or she could." "And I think you'd better keep your interest where it belongs." "You know Harold, when you get to be my age and you start thinking seriously about getting married," "you start sniffing around for some good breeding stock." "I suggest you do your sniffing in some other pasture," "Calvin." "Now assuming that you have a business deal with Mrs. Deere about directing county business her way..." "Now you hold off!" "Which makes no difference to me, Harold." "The point is, don't give me a lecture." "When it comes to Ellie Masters, maybe neither one of us is strictly professional." "Don't you like it here boy?" "Sneaking out of the house at night, carrying a suitcase." "Very suspicious behavior, Ernest." "We don't like kids who try to run away from our home." "Of course if you weren't in here, the county won't pay us." "You get my drift, huh?" "Ow!" "You let a 16-year-old-boy make a fool out of you." "I tell you, he just disappeared, vanished." "He must've made it to the road." "You mean you were too drunk to look for him." "Well it shows you I came pretty close, I grabbed this." "Anyway it's only the first time one has gotten away." "Harold Mullins is coming here tomorrow with a new girl, he's going to inspect the place when he's here." "Oh come off it lady, you got old Mullins in your back pocket, or should I say under your skirt?" "My relationship with Harold Mullins can only be pushed so far." "When he counts the children tomorrow, there's going to be one missing." "You talk as if he really doesn't know what's going on in here." "Whether he does or not, your boozing has cost me" "$150 a month." "Okay, so you lose money on Ernest, but Mullins is bringing a girl you see, tit-for-tat." "Well you better set up the infirmary, and you get rid of that suitcase." "It's freezing in here." "Well, that's the idea." "Get going, we have two more." "Frozen solid." "It'll thaw out soon enough." "Come on, come on, this thing is heavy." "I think you and me are gonna renegotiate our deal." "Shut up and get the others." "I mean it, you get 150 a month for these kids and all I get is a hernia." "We'll talk about it later, the children will be up soon, get going." "Okay, we'll talk about it later, but just don't forget it." "I'm the only one who knows about your little secret." "What are you doing, Tom?" "I'm working, go back upstairs, Pete." "I wanna get something to eat." "I said go back upstairs, do you hear me?" "I didn't get enough supper." "If you don't go back upstairs, you will never eat again." "Okay, don't get mad." "What took you so long?" "Uhm, I bumped into an old friend." "Go wash the liquor out of your breath, we've got a big clay ahead of us." "Ssshh, quiet Mrs. Deere, loud talk, frightens the children." "Oh you are a foolish child, Alice, trying to run away." "Why, Tom could've killed you with that knife." "Lucky I got you to the freezer in time or you might've bled to death." "You know Mr. Mullins, you seem awfully anxious to get me to this orphanage." "It's my job, until you're 21, you're my responsibility." "Well, I got this funny feeling, like I used to get sometimes with my mother." "Like you're trying to get rid of me." "So this is Ellie Masters?" "Ellie, this is Mrs. Deere." "Hello." "I heard about your mother's tragic..." "Murder?" "Why, did you know my mother?" "No, but my late husband spoke so highly of her." "Tom, here's the new girl." "Ellie, this is Tom Kredge, our handyman." "He looks handy all right." "Ellie go out and get acquainted." "Later, we'll get you settled in a room." "There's something rebellious about that girl." "She's going to be trouble." "Oh you can handle her, you do have a way with children." "Would you like to see the rest of the house, Harold?" "Why not." "Hi." "Hi, are you the new girl?" "I suppose so." "My name is Bunch." "I'm Ellie." "Does Mrs. Deere make everybody work like this?" "She says we have to learn to pay our own way in life." "Uhm, I thought the welfare bureau paid our way?" "Well Mrs. Deere says it's not enough to take care of us, so she needs extra income." "Oh that's uh, Walter Barns." "He's the eldest boy here, Mrs. Deere's pet." "He looks nice." "He's also my boyfriend." "I think I'll go over there and get acquainted with some of the other kids." "Jennifer tried to run away again, she's been locked in the attic as punishment." "I don't suppose you wanna see her." "Perhaps I better not, what I don't know won't hurt me." "Hey it must be pretty tough for you, suddenly becoming an orphan like that." "Not really, I've got a father someplace." "I was born an orphan, I've been in and out homes all my life." "That girl Bunch seems to be pretty nice." "Yeah she's a cute kid." "Oh I don't think she'd like to hear you say that." "Why?" "That isn't exactly, you know, the kind of thing a girl likes to hear from her boyfriend." "Her boyfriend?" "You gotta be kidding me, she's only 16, I'm nearly 21!" "Poor Bunch." "What do you mean by that?" "To be 16 and only a cute kid." "Well the house looks fine Dorothy, just fine." "I'm glad you're pleased, Harold." "Ah, why don't we step into my room and have a nice cup of tea?" "Yeah, but first I wanna count heads for my report." "Oh of course, the count." "I have the children stay outside, so you could inspect." "I almost forgot, we do have three in the infirmary." "Oh I'm sorry, nothing serious I hope?" "Just a little cold." "I suppose you'd like to see them." "Well you know the regulation." "You keep the infirmary locked?" "It keeps the other children out and the germs in." "Ssshh, they're sleeping, poor clears." "Maybe you can just peak in, we don't want our welfare officer catching anything, do we?" "I'll tip-toe." "On second thought, I don't wanna catch anything." "It might be fatal for a man of my age." "Let's see there's three in the infirmary, and one in the attic." "Let's see the others outside." "No this is serious, Dorothy." "You sure you have no idea where this boy" "Ernest could be?" "It's just terrible, no child has ever run away from my home before." "Uh-huh, well maybe I'd better notify the sheriff's office huh?" "Well if they find him, he won't be sent to reform school, will he?" "Well, oh, I can use some influence." "It would be just terrible," "I'd lose that income..." "Now, now, now, now, now, now!" "I'll do everything I can." "Yeah..." "Yeah..." "I am so grateful for you, Harold." "You know it's always a real pleasure doing business with you, Dottie." "Is everybody sleeping?" "Everybody in this room?" "My name is Ellie." "What are you doing here?" "I'm exploring." "Nobody's allowed in the house during inspection, get out of here." "Goodbye Ellie, be good." "Goodbye Harold, keep in touch." "I'll do that." "And now, we'll take care of you." "The girls' rooms are on this side." "The boys are over there." "How do you keep 'em apart?" "With strict rules." "When you unpack we'll store your suitcase, since you won't be needing it." "Who's my roommate?" "Oh she's a nice girl, you'll have a lot in common." "It's me." "Bunch, this is Ellie Masters." "Sweet 16!" "We met." "Well I see you two girls are gonna get along just fine." "Get settled Ellie, be down for dinner at six o'clock sharp." "Latecomers aren't fed." "She's a lovely little old bitch isn't she?" "Maybe it won't be so bad." "You know Bunch, you and I do have something in common." "Well I say, that the police will catch Ernest and probably have him back by morning." "Would you pass the rolls please?" "I bet he gets scared and comes back by himself." "Listen to Bunch, resident psychologist." "What do you know about the way a man feels?" "Not much, but I'm willing to experiment." "This boy Ernest, he was the first to run away, wasn't he?" "Are you kidding, runaway kids have run a regular path between here and the woods." "Well that's funny Mr. Mullen said..." "Don't worry about it, the cops will have Ernest back in the morning." "There just aren't enough children to keep the old place going." "I know how important it is, the house, the tradition." "I just have to cut down." "Those other kids, they must've gotten away?" "Yeah lucky for them." "Just because they weren't brought back doesn't meant they weren't caught and maybe sent to reform school." "What happened to those three kids in the infirmary?" "There hasn't been anybody in the infirmary for over a week." "I heard talking." "It's only a roll." "This is no restaurant, those rolls have to last three days." "I warned you Pete, now tomorrow you won't eat at all!" "As for you Ellie, tomorrow will be the beginning of your chores, in this house you earn your way." "You'll start here and work your way down," "Polish all the woodwork and the floors." "That'll take a week." "And next week there'll be something else to do." "We work hard in our house, Ellie, chores, classes." "Well when do we get a day off?" "Sunday you may do as you please." "I can see you're not used to discipline, Ellie." "Oh, I've had my share." "I suppose things are always simpler when you're beautiful." "I can remember." "Oh yes, I was beautiful once." "My husband Jameson thought I was very, very beautiful." "And then one morning I looked in the mirror and I was old." "And Jameson had found other beautiful women." "Women like your mother." "Well, he had a lot of company." "My husband was the only thing in my life that mattered, no children, no friends." "Only Jameson." "And then..." "Oh but that's in the past." "And you young people people only concern yourselves with today." "And tomorrow." "Yes tomorrow." "Well Ellie I'll do my best to make sure that all your todays and your tomorrows are full, and then perhaps one day you too will look in the mirror." "Who are you?" "Jennifer." "I'm thirsty." "How long have you been here?" "I don't know, days." "Why?" "I tried to run away." "I'm thirsty." "Where are you going?" "I'm taking this to the girl in the attic." "You wanna keep her company?" "But that girl is gonna die." "There's only one thing worse than trying to run away kid, that's seeing things and saying things." "You get my drift, huh?" "That's ridiculous." "Maybe." "But it wouldn't hurt to give this place a good going over." "What do you mean, going over." "A search from top to bottom." "Excuse me." "Oh Tom, Tom, come here a minute." "Tom this is detective Carruthers." "Tom Kredge, my handyman." "Yeah I've seen you around, Tom." "Tom, Mr. Carruthers thinks that Ernest might be hiding in the house." "Oh is that so?" "He thinks the house will have to be searched." "Didn't you say something about seeing Ernest, that night he ran away?" "Yeah that's right, I..." "I saw him outside, kind of walking towards the road." "Did he have anything with him, like a bundle or a suitcase?" "Yeah, a suitcase." "Oh, his belongings are gone, I can show you." "All right." "I'd like to see Ellie Masters, Mrs. Deere." "She's in the kitchen." "I certainly hope you find her mother's murderer." "So do I." "It's frightening having some maniac walking around loose." "Kredge, let me see your hammer." "Yeah." "This is a fine tool." "You know I used to be able to, with one whack, drive a 16-penny nail through a couple of 2x4s." "Any cop that is worth his wage can do that." "Yeah I guess you're right." "You get into town much now Kredge?" "No, not much." "You know Edna Masters, don't you?" "Yeah I know her, so what?" "I mean as a carpenter or customer?" "I just saw her around town, she wasn't my type." "Her daughter is something else," "I'd like to take a crack at that." "What the hell is the matter with you?" "I don't like that kinda talk." "Ellie happens to be a nice girl." "Yeah, sure she is." "That's the way you like 'em, huh officer?" "Nice and young." "Well, it appears you made yourself a home." "Home, you mean workhouse." "It's like they say in jail." "The first week is the toughest." "That's a good comparison." "What brings you here?" "I'm checking out the runaway boy, Ernest." "Well, you're not gonna find him, any more than you'd find any of the others." "What others?" "The other kids that ran away." "Mr. Mullens tried to tell me that there weren't any." "But I know different." "Uh Ellie." "About your mother." "I don't have any leads but uh," "I do have some ideas." "What am I supposed to do, wait around?" "You're going someplace?" "Well anything's better than this concentration camp." "Well this is the safest place for you, we can keep an eye on you." "Well you haven't exactly been keeping me company." "I've got an awful lot of cases to handle." "But I'll be around." "Hmm?" "Please, I'm thirsty." "Yes Jennifer, I have water." "I'm sorry." "I'll never do it again, I promise." "I'm sure you will never do it again Jennifer, but you're going to stay in detention, so the other children will learn by your example." "Oh you were fortunate you know." "When Tom caught you he could've..." "He wanted to kill me." "Tom's very angry at you." "It was lucky I was there, I saved your life." "And did you say thanks?" "Well?" "Thank you." "Thank you." "That was nice." "You're important to me, Jennifer." "All of the children are important to me." "Oh, oh yes, the water." "It's so cold and clear." "And sweet." "I used to dream about a girl, a stroll in the woods." "But there was never anybody to do it with." "I'm very glad you came, Ellie." "I'm not gonna be here for long, Walter." "What do you mean?" "I mean I'm gonna run away the first chance I get." "Will you help me?" "I can't help you, Ellie." "You could if you wanted." "You can't run away, Ellie, you wouldn't stand a chance." "Other kids did." "They were boys Ellie, they could take care of themselves in the woods." "Besides, it's not really that bad living in the home." "Then you're blind." "Jennifer's dying in the attic and that stupid witch is starving us to death." "Well, we get enough to eat." "Walter, I did see three kids in the infirmary the first day I got here." "I told you Ellie, we were all outside for Mr. Mullens inspection, now you're just blowing us all out of shape." "And Jennifer, she'll be okay too." "Mrs. Deere is a little strict, that's all." "Tom Kredge, he gives me the creeps." "He was a harmless lush." "A starving hobo before Mrs. Deere took him in." "Ellie?" "I can't stand being cooped up in one place," "I never could." "Besides, I gotta find my father." "What for, what good is it going to do you, Ellie?" "Maybe you've got folks somewhere, don't you wanna know?" "Know what?" "Well, you got a mother and you got a father, and you're a little bit of both of them, and you can look at them and see what you're going to be." "Maybe it's better not to know." "Well I've got to." "There's gotta be something better than my mother." "Maybe my father was strong and kind." "He's probably just some horny salesman." "You're horrible!" "Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's horrible to find out, Ellie?" "You know I'm kinda glad I never knew my folks." "Because I've got nothing to live up to, or down." "I'm just me, Ellie, and that's all I care about." "That is all you care about." "Poor Ellie Masters, all cooped up in this old house, out in the middle of nowhere." "Doesn't it get to you?" "Well it isn't exactly my doing." "Do I get the feeling you kinda wanna get away?" "Hardly more than all the time." "And now you can." "Can what?" "Escape." "Is this part of your job, trying to see who wants to run?" "Well if you're not interested..." "Okay, I am." "We can't talk here, meet me in the cellar." "Cellar?" "That's where I keep my tools, no one will see us talking." "Here hold this for me." "No." "Take it so I can get down." "No, I'm afraid of those things." "It won't bite, it's just a hammer, take it." "Tom was that you?" "What are you doing here?" "Have you finished your chores?" "No ma'am, not yet." "Then why are you dawdling boy?" "Well, you told me once that I ever saw anything that looked suspicious," "I should come and report it to you." "Well?" "Well..." "I was outside a few minutes ago, and I saw something I think you wanna know about." "How did you get in here?" "I came in through a window." "I don't want anybody to know we're down here together." "You better tell me what you got in mind." "If I show you a way to escape, what will you do for me?" "Anything you want." "You promise?" "Show me." "A deal." "Here it is." "The great escape - whiskey." "You bastard!" "You bastard!" "Let go of me!" "Why are you always trying to escape?" "You'll be punished for this, Ellie." "Tom, come here." "I know what you've been up to." "He tricked me into coming down here." "I'll deal with you later, Ellie." "Go to your room." "You don't understand" "Ellie!" "I think what really happened was," "I caught her fooling around the freezer and uh..." "You are a liar and a stupid one at that." "She doesn't suspect anything about the freezer." "You've had your last warning." "You're right lady, I have." "From now on, you keep your mouth shut." "You're fired, get outta here." "Oh no, I'm not not fired." "As a matter of fact, you and me just became partners." "From now on I'm in for 50% of the action." "You're in for nothing but trouble if you don't leave my house." "If I leave here, I'll take our little secret with me." "Only when I get through, it won't be a secret." "You're not that stupid, you'd implicate yourself." "You're looking at a man who has nothing to lose." "Plus if it's worth having," "I never really lost it." "It's you and me, 50/50." "Or you will own zero." "All right Tom, if that's the way it has to be." "Please." "Stop your whimpering." "You're a witch!" "A crazy witch!" "You weren't entirely at fault, Ellie, otherwise I'd really punish you." "Like Jennifer in the attic?" "Jennifer tried to run away, and I was advised to punish her." "By who, god?" "My husband Jameson, always advised me and counseled me." "I thought he was dead." "He's not living but that doesn't mean he's dead." "Science is making marvelous progress with drugs and transplants." "Someday, people who have passed away before their time, will be restored." "Like my husband and others." "If we preserve their bodies." "So you see Ellie, what you call death may be only the temporary absence of life." "Then you don't really care if Jennifer lives or dies." "Everything's so simple when you're young isn't it?" "Black and white, good and bad, life and death." "Youth and beauty." "You children are so fortunate." "And you hate us for it, don't you?" "On the contrary Ellie." "I'd like to preserve you all, just as you are." "Walter." "Ellie I did an awful thing." "I was the one that told Mrs. Deere that you were in the cellar with Tom Kredge." "Why?" "I was jealous I guess." "That's pretty dumb isn't it, being jealous of Tom." "Yes, now you can clean up the shed." "Hey, I can use this when I run away." "The old witch took mine." "Is there anything in it?" "Walter, how many girls have you made love to?" "Hundreds." "That's what I thought." "Then what the hell difference does it make?" "If you got into town once in awhile, you could've patronized my mother." "Ellie for crying out loud." "Oh I knew a lot of her clients, the mailman, the postman, Mr. Samuels the banker..." "Ellie, how can you talk about your own mother that way?" "Sometimes I'd hear them coming in late at night." "Laughing and giggling and..." "And then later I'd hear them trashing around and I..." "I'd used to lie there in my bed and wonder..." "Wonder what?" "Wonder what it would've been like to have had a real father." "Not a stepfather, not a foster father, but a real blood relation." "Maybe it's better not to know." "Mother wouldn't even talk about him." "You know she wouldn't..." "Wouldn't even tell me who he was." "The only thing she ever said was that the first man who made love to her got her pregnant," "and ruined her figure." "That the only feelings that she ever had for me was blame." "Oh, you know Walter, maybe you're right." "Maybe it is best not to know." "Not to know what?" "That you're just some poor accidental bastard that nobody even wanted." "Well, if it isn't the answer to a maiden's prayer." "I thought I'd get a little bit of sun before class this afternoon." "I don't think Mrs. D ought to catch you in that outfit." "What makes you so damn good, Walter?" "Maybe your age?" "Well, Ellie is only a couple of years older than I am." "Come back in a couple of years, and we'll talk about it." "Boy, are you dumb?" "Can't you see what she is?" "No Bunch, what is Ellie?" "You know, strange." "She's a big tease, anybody can see that." "All girls tease, Bunch." "It's just part of the equipment." "Look at you!" "I wish you would, Walter." "Well?" "Yeah it's all there." "I know I shouldn't worry about money, but losing that $150 on Ernest could mean the difference between profit and loss." "If we lose another child it could be the end." "I mean there's the mortgage to pay and the food, so many problems, money, the children running away and now Tom Kredge." "Yes, I suppose I'll have to get rid of him, just as you say." "I still want." "Oh but, but I am grateful for your help, Jameson." "It came from that room!" "What happened?" "I don't know, I think she had a bad dream." "Ellie, did you have a nightmare?" "What's wrong?" "I saw the hammer." "This horrible..." "Horrible..." "Horrible what?" "Face." "It was a nightmare, of course." "I don't know, it seemed so real." "Ellie, have you had nightmares since your mother..." "Yes." "Well that's that, all right girls, back to bed." "There's nothing to be afraid of Ellie, it was a bad dream, wasn't it?" "A bad dream." "That's all wrong for you." "How would you know what's wrong or right for me?" "Well I do know that that looks like something out of a carnival sideshow." "Let me help you." "Okay look, will you just leave me alone?" "I really don't need any of that big sister stuff." "Okay." "But a girl your age shouldn't be wearing make-up anyway..." "Oh yes, a girl in my age." "You're so mature and wise." "Bunch, why do you hate me?" "Walter was never interested in you even before I got here." "I'll make him interested." "Oh I'm sure you can make Walter." "But you'll never interest him." "All right ladies, let's not wreck the joint!" "She started it!" "You're a liar in addition to everything else." "Oh, look who's calling names!" "We know all about your father, Ellie, tell us about your mother!" "Well we don't know anything about yours except that she had four legs and barked!" "Cut it out!" "Ellie, where's my hammer?" "How should I know?" "You had it in the cellar." "Well then that's where it is!" "Only it isn't." "It isn't?" "I had a dream." "I saw a hammer..." "No wonder it looked so real." "It wasn't a dream." "Now Pete can you remember what you're supposed to do?" "Yeah but what is this, the senior play?" "You just go find Walter and tell him what I told you." "Okay." "Then what do you do?" "Exactly 10 minutes after Walter gets to the shed, I tell Ellie that Walter wants to see her in the shed right away." "Good, now get going." "Okay." "Hey Walter!" "Yeah?" "Bunch is over at the shed." "So?" "She says she's got something to show you." "What is it?" "You've got to see it to believe it." "Walter I've decided..." "Ellie!" "Don't worry Walter." "You and your little slut can have each other," "I'm clearing out." "Let her go, Walter." "But I think she's gonna run away." "Good!" "But I don't want her to go." "Mrs. Deere, it's Ellie." "You've gotta stop her." "Walter every time I see you, you've got some hot news about Ellie." "What is it this time?" "Well, she's gonna run away." "Who told you?" "She did." "Someone tried to kill me last night, and I know who." "It was just a dream." "That was no dream, there was a man in my room!" "And where is this man now?" "I don't know, maybe he's still in the house." "Stop it!" "I'm not staying here to be killed by some maniac." "And where would you go, that this maniac you've imagined couldn't find you?" "I don't know, maybe the police!" "All right Ellie." "Mrs. Deere?" "Mrs. Deere!" "Mrs. Deere please let me out of here." "Mrs. Deere!" "Please, you've got to let me out of here!" "I knew that girl was trouble." "You've gotta let her run away, to hell with the money!" "Suppose she goes to the police, with a wild story about a killer hiding in the house, what do you suppose would happen?" "Yeah, we'll have cops all over the place." "There's only one thing to do." "Walter knows Ellie wants to go." "And by now all of the children know." "So nobody is surprised when she shows up, absent." "Sure, just like our friends in the freezer." "I'll keep all the children outside." "So you and Ellie won't be disturbed." "Okay." "What about that welfare guy, Mullens?" "Next time he comes, we'll simply show him" "Ellie Masters in the infirmary, poor dear, she caught a cold." "Oh lady, I wanna talk to you!" "Why Harold, what a surprise." "You can save the crap, you made a fool out of me." "Oh, I don't know what you mean!" "You said Ernest was the only kid that ever ran away from here." "That's right." "Yeah but somebody told the police there's been a whole lot of others." "Oh, Harold, shhht, the children." "Oh to hell with the children, to hell with you." "I got a job at stake." "Let's talk about it in the house." "Uhm, no, let's take a walk." "I don't wanna take a walk." "Let's go into the house." "At this time I wanna speak to every single kid." "Well of course Harold, whatever you say." "And they better all be there." "Certainly, you'll see them all, everyone." "Pete, I think you've finally cracked!" "I saw it." "It happened!" "In your mind, you mean!" "In the cellar I mean, he put her in the freezer and he locked it!" "Bunch, Ellie is gonna die in there!" "I'm not falling for your corny joke, go talk to Mrs. Deere!" "Are you kidding, Tom works for her, they're probably in on this together." "What an imagination." "Bunch, you've gotta go to the cellar with me." "I'm too scared to go by myself." "That's ridiculous." "Or maybe you're scared too?" "Okay, I'll play your game." "Let me out, let me out of here, out!" "There, do you hear that?" "No, I don't hear a thing." "That pounding you can't hear it?" "I don't have time for your dumb jokes, little boy." "And you better mind your own business, because you know Mrs. Deere doesn't like us down here." "But I saw them!" "You're just trying to get me in trouble." "Tom, Mr. Mullins doesn't seem to feel we run a proper home here, he wants to inspect again." "From top to bottom." "It'd be better from bottom to the top." "Yes Tom, good idea." "Start with the cellar Harold," "Tom will guide you." "I wanna see every nook and cranny in this house." "Oh you will." "And then I wanna talk to each child, alone." "You may find, that some of them aren't really talkative." "I'll take that chance." "This way, Mr. Mullins." "What are you doing, Pete?" "I was trying to get in there." "You know you're not allowed in the cellar, now get outta here then." "Go outside with the other kids, go on." "Why was he so anxious to break this open?" "Beats me, crazy kid." "It's a cooler room for meat storage." "Let's get to work on those nooks and crannies." "Where's Pete?" "Where's Pete?" "Oh here he comes, right here." "Where were you?" "I wanna see the inside of this thing." "Well sure, only I don't have a key." "Then you'd better get it, Kredge." "Sure, you wait right here, Mr. Mullins." "Ahem." "He wants in the freezer." "Then that's where we'll put him." "Come on, come on," "I haven't got forever." "But Harold, that's exactly what you do have." "Who the hell are you?" "Whoever you are, you're a dead one!" "You're not leaving my house!" "Ellie, you got out!" "She tried to kill me!" "See I told you, I wasn't making it up." "She's got the bodies of the kids that tried to run away in the freezer!" "Ellie!" "She murdered them!" "Look all of you, run, run away this is your only chance, run!" "Come on, let's go!" "Let's go where, Pete?" "You're going to leave me in here to die." "Why Tom, you won't die, not in here." "We're just going to chill your blood and stop the bleeding." "Please, don't leave me in here." "But Tom, all your friends are here!" "No, no!" "No, don't kill me!" "No please, I didn't mean to hurt you!" "I didn't even know that you were there!" "I didn't wanna hurt you!" "Calvin?" "That's right, Calvin." "Last week I found the body of a man in your mother's house." "He was burned and his face was smashed to a pulp." "It wasn't hard to figure out, Ellie." "He was in bed with your mother that night." "But you didn't kill and he managed to crawl away." "Oh you said you never saw the hammer but I thought it was kinda funny you'd have nightmares about unless you did." "Well you learned that the man wasn't found with your mother, you knew he got away." "So you decided to pin everything on him." "He was just another one of mother's clients." "I figured you knew you smashed his face in pretty good and you made a fugitive out of him." "So you might be afraid he'd be out for revenge." "Back at the house they tried to kill me." "I thought there was something fishy about that Mrs. Deere and her house." "Well, I thought I'd do some snooping around." "I got the idea I would use you as bait." "And scare you into running off." "Just see what they would do." "Well, I found out." "You're so clever, Calvin." "False face and all." "This is nothing but theatrical make-up that's all." "Come on." "What's gonna happen to me now?" "Well that's up to you, Ellie." "You don't think I would want anything to happen to you, do you?" "What do you mean?" "Well I figure we could become friends." "Very good friends." "Now that we've gotten to know each other so well." "Don't you wanna arrest me?" "Arrest ya?" "No Ellie, I..." "I want to marry you." "Marry me?" "Yeah." "No one would have to know what I know." "You mean you wouldn't say anything?" "Not if you're my wife." "It wouldn't be loyal." "And if I'm not?" "Be a shame to see that pretty little neck in a hangman's noose." "Would they really hang me?" "I'd say at least life imprisonment." "No I couldn't stand that." "Well, you have a choice." "Calvin, you are corrupt." "Well evil breeds evil, honey." "How about it?" "Mother always said that, older men made the best husbands." "I bet your mother never told you that," "I was the first one to make love to her."