"Lamp that." "Lamp what?" "Read what it says there, Spicer, about Kolley Kibber." ""Kolley Kibber is the special representative of the Daily Messenger" ""and will be mingling with the holiday crowds in Brighton today."" "What do you want me to read this for?" "Are we going prize hunting?" "Why not?" "Go on." ""His programme hour by hour will be found below." ""He will secrete his cards all the way along his route." ""Lucky finders can claim ten shillings from the Daily Messenger."" "Go on, go on." ""A prize of ten guineas will be awarded" ""to the first person carrying a copy of the Daily Messenger" ""who challenges him in the following words:" ""'You are Kolley Kibber and I claim the Daily Messenger prize."'" "Lamp the photograph." "Here." " It's Fred." " You bet it is." "This'll be as good as a dose of salts to Pinkie." " You won't show him that, will you?" " What do you think?" "Now be careful, Dallow." "You know what Pinkie is." "Pinkie loved Kite and Kite trusted Fred." "If Fred hadn't written about slot machines, Kite would be alive." "You know these newspaper blokes." "It's their job." "Let's carve Fred up a bit." "Then we'll tell Pinkie afterwards." "Ah, turn it up, Spicer." "Things are as Kite wanted them." "Pinkie's the leader of this mob now." "Pinkie, stick your mincers on that." "Hello Fred." "I said hello, Fred." "We've been looking for you for a long time." "I'm not Fred." "That don't make any difference." "Where are you going?" "Listen, have a drink." "Come over here and have a drink." "You know Pinkie don't drink." "You forget such a lot." "You won't be able to remember anything soon." "Just one drink." "Have a soft one." "Guv'nor?" "Two scotch and a grapefruit." "I'm only here on my job." "Just one day, see?" "I'm Kolley Kibber." "You're Fred." "All right then, I'm Fred." "I've got a card in my pocket worth ten bob to you." "We know." "We was reading about you in the paper this morning." "Here, take this Messenger." "You can have the prize, ten guineas." "I'll give you a fiver, too." "That's all I got on me, that and my return ticket." "You won't need that return ticket now, will you, Fred?" "Won't anybody shut that brass's mouth?" "¶ Oh, we must live for tomorrow... ¶" "Hey!" "What's the idea?" "The gentleman will pay." "Nice people you know." "That will cost you half a quid for the glasses." "Shoe laces, matches." "Razor blades, sir?" "Only half a crown for ten." "All kinds of blades, sir." "Half a crown for ten." "Well, they're not here." "I left them here when I went to the ladies'." " You never had 'em when you come in." " Must be at the Cricketers, then." " Lost something?" " A brand new pair of gloves, dear." "I'll give you another pair." " Have to catch you sleeping first." " I never sleep." " Oh, you poor thing." " What'll you have?" "That's very kind of you." "I'll have a port, please," "And my friends here, they take light ale," "Don't mind if I do." " One port, two light ales." " Right you are, sir." " Aren't you having one?" " No, I've had enough." "I'm working." " You in the entertainment business?" " In a way." " Oh, go on." "Have a Bass with me." " No, I never drink bottled beer." "It doesn't agree." "How about coming with me and having a bite to eat?" "Ooh, where shall we go, Sir Horace?" "The Cosmopolitan?" "If you like." "This gentleman has invited me to a repast at the Cosmopolitan." "Tomorrow I'd be delighted, dear." "Today I have a previous engagement with my friends, the Brothers Trudy, at the Dirty Dog." "Are you sick or something?" " No, I'm all right." " You look ever so queer." "I'm all right." "Hungry, that's all." "Well, I got to be going." "Lonely, I suppose." "Cigarette?" "Oh, thanks." "I don't mind if I do." " Down for the day?" " Yes." "Ever so nice, isn't it?" "How about coming and having a drink?" "My, you're a fast worker!" " Got a friend?" " No, I'm alone." "Oh, well, I couldn't possibly, not without my friend here." "You wouldn't mind?" "Well, would you, Molly?" "Soppy!" "Both of you come along, then." "We want to wait till one." "Kolley Kibber's coming then." "So there you are, Fred." " You said you hadn't got a friend." " You can't believe Fred." "Oh." "This is my friend Molly." "Hello." "Pleased to meet you." "What about that appointment, Fred?" "No, I'm not coming." "I don't know him." "My name's not Fred." "Now take it easy, Fred." "We're all going for a walk, see?" "Well, really!" "Hello, hello, hello!" "If it isn't Sir Horace himself." "Where you running off to, eh?" " Would you like to sit down?" " If you've got sixpence." "I haven't." "Would you believe it?" "I put my bag down for half a second, and when I look there isn't any bag." "First my gloves, then my bag." "What'll I lose next?" "Oh, I don't know what I'll do for money." "I'll have to borrow ten bob from somewhere till I get paid." "Here, have this." "Oh, now really." "That is kind of you, dear." "Here, what's your name?" "Fred." "Fred, whoever pinched my bag will wish he'd never been born." "I'm a sticker where right's concerned." "Sure you can spare it?" "Had a good day yesterday at Leicester." "Here, couldn't you give me a tip for Brighton on Saturday?" "Black Boy in the four o'clock." "He's ten to one." " Well, take it or leave it." " Oh, I'll take it." "I always take a tip." "That's my system." "Come back to London with me." "What now?" "Are you sick or something?" "Yes, I'm sick." "Oh, go on." "You're kidding, aren't you, Fred?" "Men are funny with me that way." "Think I'll mother them, I suppose." "But you'll stay with me, even if I'm not sick?" "Yes, of course I will." "Call me Ida." "I like you, Fred." "I liked you from the moment I met you." "You're a real sport, Fred." "Come along, dear." "Let's have a bit of fun." "But you won't leave me, even for a minute, will you, Ida?" "Not for a minute, Fred." "Come along." "Dante's Inferno, the thrill of the century." "90 seconds of pure horror, only a tenner a time." "Come along." "Come along." "Grandpa, take me on the train, please." "All right, dearie." "Show me the way." "Children half price." "The sensation of the century." "Come along." "Oh, Fred, I think I ought to pop back, dearie." " But you said you wouldn't leave me." " I left my hankie on the seat." " You can have my handkerchief." " Mine's got sentimental associations." "Now look here, dear." "You get two tickets and I'll be back." "Make them returns." "Two, please." "Come on." "Come on." "Roll up." "Dante's Inferno." "Only a tenner a shot." "Children half price." "Have a go." "Have a go." "Your mother won't know." "Come on, now." "Roll up." "Dante's Inferno." "Come along." "Come along." "The sensation of the season." "Dante's Inferno." "Sixpence a time." "Children half price." "Come along." "Walk this way." "Come along, please." "Come along." "Only six minutes of horror." "Have a basinful of Dante's Inferno." "Only a tenner a time." "Children half price." "The sensation of the century." "Come along." "Come along." "Only a tenner a time." "Children half price." "The kiddies love it." "Come along." "Come along." "Roll up, roll up." "Keep her quiet, Grandpa." "She'll kill the business." "Dante's Inferno." "This way." "Roll up this way." "Walk up." "Walk up." "Come on, lady." "Try your skill." "Don't be afraid." "Don't be bashful." " Got the time on you, Bill?" " You can see the clock, can't you?" "I don't stand for phoney alibis, see?" "That's all right, Bill." "I only wanted to know." "Quarter past one." "Take your ruddy prize and hop it." "What do you want?" "Chocolates?" "I don't eat chocolates." " Cigarettes?" " Don't smoke." "Here, give me the doll, the one with the yellow hair." "Reminds me of church, Bill." "There was no need to do it, Pinkie, no need at all." "What made you do it?" "You've put a rope round our necks, that's what you've done." "Poor devil, he didn't stand a chance." "It wasn't necessary." "I can't swallow this muck." "Let me have a drink." "Not today." "Go on, eat." " I'll be sick as a dog if I eat." " Ah, be sick, then." " Are the cards all right, Dally?" " We gave the cards to Spicer." " Did you put 'em out all right?" " Of course I put 'em out." "I don't see why you're so worried about the cards." "You don't see much, do you?" "They're an alibi, aren't they?" "They prove he kept to his programme and died after two." "Now he can die." "Where did you put the cards?" "I put one in a kid's pail near the Palace Pier." "I stuck one in a shelter." " I left one in Snow's cafe." " Snow's?" "Well, he had to eat, hadn't he?" "1.0 to 1.30." "The paper said so." "It'd look queer if he didn't leave a card where he fed." "It'd look queerer if the waitress spotted your face wasn't right and found the card soon after you left." "Where did you put it?" "Under the tablecloth." "She won't find it till she takes off the cloth." "You go back and bring that card here." "What me?" "No, I'm not going back," "I've done enough." " Cubitt." " Not me." "Suppose they found the card and see me looking?" "Leave it alone." "Dallow, you've got guts." "No, it'd be crazy to go to Snow's." "Sometimes I get tired of working with a mob like you." "Kite was all right, but..." "Kite's dead." "Which table was it, Spicer?" "The one with flowers on it." " What flowers?" " How do I know?" "Yellow flowers." "Pinkie, don't go." "Here, I want service." "I suppose I'd better go and see what he wants." " You are too late for the lunch." " I want a cup of tea." "Would you mind sitting at one of the tables laid for tea?" "This table suits me." "Well, are you going to take that order?" "The girl serving there will be back presently." "Have you lost something, sir?" "No, I want a cup of tea," " I've been waiting." " Oh, I'm sorry." "It's been such a rush and this is my first day." "I've got to change the cloth for tea, anyway." "There's nothing there." "I didn't say I had lost anything." "You'll never guess what I found here only ten minutes ago." "One of Kolley Kibber's cards worth ten shillings." "The other girls said I was a fool not to challenge him." " Why didn't you?" " I never thought." "It wasn't a bit like his photograph." "Maybe the card had been there all morning." "No, I'd just changed the cloth before he came in because the other customer upset his coffee." "Maybe you just didn't look at him close." "Oh, I always look at you close." "The customer, I mean." "You see, I'm new and I get a bit scared." "I wouldn't want to do anything to offend, like standing here talking while you want tea." "That's all right." "Don't go away." "I like a girl who's friendly." "Some of them, blimey, they freeze you." "They freeze me, too." "You're sensitive, like me." "I wouldn't say anything to anyone about that man, you know, not being like the photograph." "The newspaper might say there was a mistake and you'd lose ten bob." "What's your name?" "Rose." "You and me ought to get acquainted." "You got a boy?" "Not yet I haven't." "I'll meet you on the Palace Pier Sunday by the concert hall, 9 o'clock." "I have to be back by 11.30." "OK." "Here you are." "But what about your tea?" " I've got an appointment, 2.30 sharp." " You should have stopped me." "Oh, that's all right." "I shan't be too late." "You send in your card in quick and get the money." "See you Sunday." "But maybe you wouldn't know me again when you saw me." "Oh, I never forget a face." "How did you like getting up in the witness box and saying, "So help me", eh?" " I wish they'd let me ask questions." " Such as?" "Why those girls told the coroner he said he wasn't Fred." "He was Fred." "You don't always give your right name to a girl, Ida." "He gave me his all right." "And another thing, that boy never came forward." "That's easy to explain." "After all, he was..." "Ah, here's the old firm." "Evening, Jim." "Evening, Ida." "The usual, if you please." " How's the show going?" " Lousy." "She's in a bad mood, Mr Corkery, over this inquest." "They wouldn't let her ask questions." "Nobody asked any questions." "That's the trouble." "He hadn't any folks to make a fuss." "Only a second cousin in Middlesbrough and he was in Middlesbrough." " A clear enough case, Ida." " Was it?" "I'd have asked plenty." "Why he said he wasn't Fred." "Why he left me to go running down to the front with his cards." "He wasn't worrying about the cards." "I know that." " Why he said he'd wait." " You'd have to ask him that." "He'd say a lot if he could." "Death from natural causes, a bad heart." "I ask you!" "You can't get round his heart, Ida." "They cut him up." "And there were the cards, too." "It's my idea he was scared." "So would you be with a heart like that." "Someone scared him." "If only he could speak." " Well, the dead can't speak, Ida." " That's all you know, Phil." "I've heard 'em." "Look, I'll show you." "Jim, got a pencil?" "You're a terrible woman, Ida." "Now..." "Now, Jim, you chalk up the letters." "And Phil, you stop me when I come to an X, a Z, or a full stop." "E." "Y." "E." " Hey, Charlie?" " Yes." "What's she doing over there?" "Picking out the winners?" "Who, Ida?" "She's always at that lark." "Gets in touch with the departed." "She's psychic, mate." "You got an X, Ida." "E-Y-E..." "You can't make nothing out of that, Ida." "It's as plain as daylight." "E-Y-E, that's what I always say." "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." "S-U-I-C-I is suicide." "F-R-E is short for Fred." "What about them two Ls?" "I don't know about them, but I'll find out." "Don't you see?" "Fred spoke just as if he was in this bar." "Someone's drove him to suicide, and I'm going to find out who." " Hello." " Hello." "I ran all the way." "I thought you might have..." "I'd have waited." "Got your money yet for that card?" "Yes, I got it last night." "Anyone been asking questions?" "No." "But wasn't it dreadful, him being dead like that?" "Hm." "You saw his photograph?" "Yes, but it wasn't him." "That's what I don't understand." "People look different in photographs." "But it wasn't him." "I've got a memory for faces." "Here." "Sit down." "Look, I..." "I like you, Rose." "And I want to warn you, see?" "This fellow, Fred Hale, got mixed up in things." "What things?" "It don't matter what things." "Look, you forget all about the fellow who left the card." "He's dead." "You got the money." "All right." "Anything you say." "You can call me Pinkie if you like." "That's what my friends call me." "Pinkie." "Rose, er..." "Have you read about Peggy Baron?" "No." "Well, she got mixed up with a mob and people came asking her questions." "I wouldn't get mixed up with a mob." "You can't always help it." " What happened to her, Pinkie?" " She lost her looks." "They splashed her face." " Pinkie, you wouldn't." " You and me is friends, Rose." "Only, if anyone comes asking questions, say nothing." "Get me on the blower straight off." "Double six, six, five." "Three sixes and a five." " You can remember that, can't you?" " Yes." "You know an awful lot of things, don't you?" "I've had to." "Let's go inside out of this rain and hear some real music." "¶ More than ever" "¶ You're in my mind and heart" "¶ We are never" "¶ Far apart" "¶ More than ever" "¶ I need you as my guide" "¶ To be with me forever by my side... ¶" "It's lovely here." "You're soft enough, aren't you?" " How old are you?" " 17." "So am I." "You ever been in love?" " Oh, yes." " You would have." "You're green." "You don't know what's it all about." "I've watched it." "I know love." " You're a Catholic?" " Yes." "I'm one too." "You believe, don't you?" "You think it's true." "Of course it's true." "These atheists don't know nothing." "Of course there's hell, flames, damnations, torments." "Here." "Heaven too, Pinkie." "Ah, maybe." "I don't care what you say." "We've had a lucky break." "We ought to lay off for a while." "What if the bookies stop paying?" "You know who's behind them." "Colleoni's mob." "Now Kite's dead, we can't fight 'em." " You're milky, Spicer." " We ain't big enough to fight 'em." " Not with a kid running our show." " You're milky." "I'm against murder and I don't care who knows it." "Pinkie never knows when to stop." "What's this?" "A meeting?" "There's trouble with Brewer and Corkery, Pinkie." " They won't pay their subs." " Do we lace them, Pinkie?" "Ask Spicer." "He's been doing a lot of thinking." "Fred died last week, not last year." "I say we've got to act cautious." "You heard the verdict, didn't you?" "You forget the girl in Snow's." "She could hang us." "Pinkie's going to look after the skirt." "Are you marrying her, Pinkie?" "What do you mean?" "Spicer says you were seen courting on the end of the pier." " Who said I was marrying her?" " I only said it would make her safe." " A wife can't give evidence." " How do we make you safe, Spicer?" "It was only a joke, Pinkie." "Spicer's all right." "You think that was funny, eh?" "I don't need to marry a skirt to make her safe." " Are you with me, Dallow?" " Anything you say, cock." " Where are you going?" " To collect Brewer's sub." "Who is it?" "It's me, Brewer." "Dallow." "Well, this is a fine time." "Come round in the morning." "You don't want the whole mob round here, do you?" "My wife's sick." "She hasn't slept for three nights." "I've just got her to sleep." "All right, all right." "I'll be down." "Don't make any noise." "The old woman's awful bad." "We've come for that subscription, Brewer." "I've been worried, Dallow." " Kite's mob can't even protect Kite." " 20 pounds." " I've got to go." " When you've paid." "She'll want turning." "Now, don't move, Brewer." "Be human." "I'll come straight back." "She needs turning." "Pay up first, then." "I haven't got it, Pinkie." "I paid it all yesterday to Colleoni." "Yeah?" "What's Colleoni got to do with it?" "I'd have been laced if I hadn't paid Colleoni." "I can't pay both of you." "He's running the business from the Cosmopolitan." "You think I'm finished, Brewer." "I ain't saying that, Pinkie, but you stand on my advice and team up with Colleoni." "Oh!" "Don't!" "I warn you, I've got protection." "Look at him, Dallow." "He's got protection." "Mr Colleoni, please." " Have you an appointment, sir?" " Yes." "Take this gentleman to Mr Colleoni." "He's on the balcony." "Yes, sir." "This way please, sir." "This gentleman to see you, sir." " You were asking for me?" " You asked for me." "I got your letter." "Yes, but surely you are not Mr P Brown, are you?" "Well, I'm not his sister." "Mr Al Parker, please." "Well, I think we'd better go where we can talk in peace, eh?" "There you are." "I've been searching all over Brighton for you girls." "I want to have a word with you two." " What, us?" " Yes, my dear, both of you." "Take a chair." "Make yourself at home." "Drink?" "I don't drink." " Who is running your mob now?" " Ask Brewer." " That was very naughty, my boy." " Poaching's not healthy, see?" "You can't do me any harm, my child." "But I like push." "Well, if you want a job, we can talk about it." "I'll talk to you on the course." "I haven't been on a racecourse, let's see, for about 20 years." "I'm a businessman, my boy." "Nothing you could try with my men would affect me." "I got two in hospital now." "Best attention." "Grapes, flowers." "No." "You can't damage a businessman." "I could damage you." "It wouldn't pay, my boy." "There wouldn't be any fake alibis for you." "It would be your witnesses that would be scared." "You think you rule the world, don't you?" "Do you see that gold on them furnitures?" "Napoleon Iii used to have this room with Eugenie." "Who was she?" "Oh, some foreign poloney." "Now, you do understand, don't you?" "Brewer's been complaining, so don't do it again." "And Corkery." "Don't try any tricks on Corkery." "You think my mob's too small for you." "I employ a great many people." " Is this table free, dear?" " Yes." "What have we got today?" "Everything off?" "Fried fish." " Shepherd's pie." "Is the pie good?" " It looks lovely." "Nice and brown on top, not just leavings?" "It looks a picture." "You're a nice, friendly kid." " What's your name?" " Rose." "Rose, that's..." "Why, surely you're the one that found the Kolley Kibber card!" "I'll bet you won't forget that day in a hurry." " I'll remember that day always." " Or the fellow that left the card." " Oh, the little man?" " What were you saying, dear?" "I don't remember." "I'm inquisitive." "I can't help it." "I'm made that way." "Tell me how he looked." "This Kolley Kibber, I mean." " I don't remember faces." " I haven't ordered yet, dear." "Tell me, did he look as if he was going to die?" " How can I tell?" " You must have talked with him." "I just fetched him a bottle of beer and never saw him again." "'I never drink bottled beer." "It doesn't agree.'" "Hello?" "Hello." "Can I speak to Pinkie, please?" "No, Pinkie's out." "What do you want?" " I got to speak to him." " 'He's out, I tell you.'" " Who is that speaking?" " Er, I'm a friend of Pinkie's." "'It's urgent." "I've got to find him.'" "He told me to phone directly anyone came here asking questions." "A woman's been asking questions at Snow's." "Hello?" "Questions?" "I've got to find him." "Brown." "The inspector wants a word with you round at the station." "Next time tell him to send a sergeant for me." " Perhaps he'll come himself, old man." " Very funny." "Here's Brown, sir." "Ah, come in." " Sit down, Brown." " I'll stand." " Cigarette?" " I don't smoke." "I want to talk to you straight." "What's the charge?" "I want my lawyer here." "There's no work for Prewitt." "Brewer's not charging you." "I have more important work to do than prevent you arguing, but you know who's behind him." "There's not much escapes bogeys." "The races start tomorrow and I won't have any mob fighting." "I don't give a cuss for you but people who matter might get hurt." " Meaning who?" " Decent, innocent people." "Poor people out to put a shilling on the tote." "People who wouldn't be seen dead talking to you or Colleoni." "Come on." "What are you getting at?" "I'm getting at this." "Any fighting and I'll come down like a ton of bricks on you both." "But it will be Colleoni who has the alibis." "Take my advice and clear out of Brighton." "You aren't big enough for the filthy racket you're in." "You think I'm finished." "Now look here, Brown, this is private and unofficial, and I'm being human for once." "I don't care if you or Colleoni get carved, but I'm not going to have innocent people hurt." "Do you understand?" "It's valuable advice." "I'll have to think it over." "I think I'm too young to retire." "Right, Miss Arnold." "Sit down, Miss..." "Arnold." "Ida Arnold." "You wanted to see me about a death?" " Hale's the name, Fred Hale." " But that ease is closed, Miss..." "Now listen to me, Inspector." "I was with him that afternoon." "We was at the Palace Pier." "I only left him for a minute." "When I came back he'd gone." " We heard all this at the inquest." " You haven't heard this." "The man that left the card at Snow's wasn't Hale." "Fred never took bottled beer." "The man at Snow's did." "That means nothing." "It was a hot day, he felt bad, and someone went into Snow's for him." "That girl at Snow's, she's scared to talk." "Afraid of losing the ten bob perhaps." "That boy you had in here just now, do you know him?" " Yes." " Fred was scared of him." "He's mixed up in it somehow." "For you I'll stretch a point and show you Hale's medical report." "There you are." "Read it yourself." ""County Borough of Brighton Police." ""At 3pm on Saturday June 9..." ""Coronary thrombosis." What does that mean?" "You'd call it heart disease." "They do go into details, don't they?" ""Appendix scars, super nipples, varicose veins..."" "I wouldn't know more if I'd married him." "In-growing toenails as well." "Poor old Fred." "It don't seem right to know all that about anyone." "There you are, Inspector." ""Bruises on the arms."" "What do you make of that?" " Holiday crowds, Miss Arnold." " Brighton's not that crowded." "You've read too many detective stories." "So the police won't question that girl at Snow's?" "Even if he was frightened and killed himself, what can we do?" "Perhaps it wasn't suicide." " Perhaps it was..." " Miss Arnold, the case is closed." "Oh, no, it isn't." "Not half, it isn't." "Perhaps I'll handle this myself." "I believe in right and justice, and I'm going to see that it's done." "¶ Hello, hello" "¶ How are you?" "Pleased to meet you" "¶ Hello, hello" "¶ The promenaders greet you" "¶ With merry quips, a song or two" "¶ It's always our endeavour" "¶ To every year provide for you a show that's clean and clever" "¶ Hello, hello" "¶ It's Brighton air that braces" "¶ Hello, hello" "¶ What rows of smiling faces" "¶ There's lots of fun for everyone with a cheery cheerio... ¶" "Didn't you get my message?" "It's my half day." "I was coming to find you, Pinkie," "What message?" "I phoned Frank's." "I told him to tell you." "Told who?" "Sounded like the man who left the card." "He's dead." "You read it in the paper, didn't you?" "Dead." "Well, it doesn't matter." "What matters was someone was in, asking questions." " A bogey?" " A woman." "What did she want?" "What the man who left the card looked like." " Well?" " I didn't tell her a thing." "Who was she?" "I don't know." "She wasn't our kind." "A big woman with a laugh." "You should have heard that laugh." "¶ Now, Ida Arnold is my name, goodhearted Ida's me" "¶ The boys say I am just the type to take upon a spree" "¶ I'll meet you any night you like and have a glass of port" "¶ And if you're hen-pecked you'll agree that Ida is a sport" "¶ Hello, hello!" "It's Brighton air that braces" "¶ Hello, hello!" "What rows of smiling faces" "¶ There's lots of fun for everyone with a cheery cheerio" "¶ So altogether, boys and girls" "¶ Hello, hello, hello ¶" "Look, Pinkie." "Don't those two look silly?" "Yeah." "Look who's here." "It's the man who left the card." "I told you he wasn't dead." "That's an old picture." "No, it's not." "This is where they stick today's pictures." "He must have been just around." "We may run into him any moment." "And you said he was dead." "Spicer?" "Spicer!" "You've been drinking again, Spicer." "I saw you go off with that bogey, Pinkie." " I was scared." " Just a friendly visit to the nick." "You had a message for me, Spicer." "Why didn't you bring it?" "I wasn't sure where you was, Pinkie." " It was nothing special." " No?" "But it scared you just the same." "I know what it is, Spicey." "You think about it, and you dream about it." " You're too old for this life." " What do you mean, Pinkie?" "This racket." "It's not safe, you and Rose in the same town and that brass asking questions." "You'll have to disappear, Spicer." "Dis...?" "What do you mean?" "What do you think I mean?" "Go away, blow, take an holiday." "That's what I'd like, Pinkie." "I'll go to Nottingham tomorrow to the dogs." "Oh, there's..." "There's not all that hurry, Spicey." "I'll need you at the races tomorrow, a pal I can trust." "You can trust me all right, Pinkie." "I'll never let you down." "Of course you won't." "You go to sleep, Spicey." "Don't worry." "I'll fix everything." "I've been thinking things over, Mr Colleoni." "You remember what you said about laying off Corkery?" "Well, I want to play, see, but there's one here who's going to cause trouble." "He's a killer." "All right, on the course." "Your team will know him all right." "Tell you what I'll do." "I'll wish him good luck and pat him on the back." "Come on, Black Boy!" "Black Boy!" "Come on!" "Black Boy!" "Black Boy!" "He's won!" "There you are, Phil." "Black Boy ran like a dose of salts." "Come on, pay up." "Smash and grab, that's what I call it." "That brass again." "Who is she?" "I don't think I'll be needing you after all, Spicey." " We might as well say goodbye." " Goodbye, Pinkie." "I thought you'd like to know, I'm going to make it up with Colleoni." "You are?" "I'm glad to hear that, really I am." "When you got time, drop us a line." "You know where I'm going." "Yeah, I know where you're going." " So long, Spicer." " So long, Pinkie." "Turn it in there." "It's not me you want, it's him." "The bogies, boys." "Scarper!" "I'll get some more water." "Were you afraid when they did it?" "Of course not." "They got more than they gave." "They didn't count on me." "Only on poor old Spicer." " Spicer?" " My pal." "He's dead." "I was defending him." "Oh, Pinkie." "No one else has been asking questions, have they?" "That woman was asking for me but I wasn't here." "I don't understand." "She's back!" "Oh, I'm scared, Pinkie." "I don't know what she wants." " She wants me." " Rose?" "Rose?" "I'll have to go." "You won't give me away to her, tell her it wasn't you-know-who who left the card?" "Pinkie, I don't care what you've done." "Hello, Pinkie." "Your mouthpiece, Prewitt, has been here looking for you." "Wants to talk to you about Brewer." "He's just gone to have one down at the Lion." "He'll be back." "Why, Pinkie, they've laced you up." "Colleoni's mob." " Where's Spicer?" " They killed him." "Killed him?" "Poor old Spicey." "We needn't get worked up about Spicer." "He was milky." "He said we oughtn't to go after Brewer." " He was a good pal." " It's a good thing he's dead." "That girl in Snow's saw him leave the card." "When he's buried, no one can identify him." "We might have him cremated." " That will be Prewitt." " Send him up." "I'm off, Pinkie." "I can't stand this fellow's chat." "I've got a date with a bird." "He's upstairs." "You're to go up." "Then I'll to his highness and let him command upon me, to the which my duties are with a most indissoluble tie forever knit." "Macbeth, my friend." "Ah, Pinkie." "Your stairs are steep to climb." "Oh dear, you have been in the wars." "Never mind that." "Thou canst not say I did it." "Never shake thy gory locks at me." "The swan always has a word for it." "The swan?" "The immortal bard, Pinkie." "Now look here, Pinkie," "I want to talk to you about Brewer, like a father." "Forget Brewer." "I've got more important things." "I think I'm going to get married." " You're under age, my boy." " I know." "So is the girl." "Mm, that's difficult." "Of course, there are cases of people who give their ages wrong." "Mind you, I'm not suggesting it." "Would it be legal?" "Hard and fast, in certain circumstances." " But it takes time." " Well, it mustn't." "In church?" "Of course not." "This won't be a real marriage." "Not like when the priest says it." "Your feelings do you credit, Pinkie." "But this won't be easy." "Not easy at all." "Consent of parents, discretion of registrar." "It will be expensive." "I'll pay." "Could you manage a little on account, perhaps?" "One or two things I have to buy for the spouse." "You'll find five nicker on the washstand." "So you're married, eh?" "My silver wedding next year." "May the devil take her first." "I don't see any money." "In the soap dish under the cover." "What's happened to Spicer?" "Colleoni's team killed him." "They nearly done for me, too." "Killed him?" "I've just seen him." "He's in his room." "You're imagining things, Dally." "I tell you, I've just seen him now." "So you're alive, Spicer?" "I got away, Pinkie." "I got away." "I'm clearing out, Pinkie, right out." "I'm too old for this game." "I'm far too old." "Nobody wants an old man." "I'll go to my cousin in Nottingham at the Blue Anchor." "Yes, I can stay there all right." "I can stay there as long as I like." "You can find me there if you want to, Pinkie." "You're always welcome, Pinkie." " Don't do anything." " All right, Spicey." "Goodbye." "What is it?" "Good God!" "These banisters have needed mending for a long while." "It's a good thing we have a lawyer like you on the spot who saw the accident." "I'll deny it." "I'm getting out of here." " I'll swear I was never here." " Stay where you are." "Send for the police and a doctor." "There's been an accident." "Now look here, Prewitt." "I only want you to say what's good for you, see?" "But it wouldn't look good if I was taken up for killing and you was here, looking in the soap dish." "You'd better throw his suitcase down." "It was heavy and made him stumble." "Dally!" "I've got a headache." "I ought to be at home." "I've got a splitting headache." "Be careful of fingerprints." "I'm going now, Prewitt." "Remember what happened." " You can't go." " I wasn't here." " The police will see you." " I've got things to do." " Don't tell me." " Get that marriage fixed quick." "What about Cubitt?" "Tell him what you tell the bogies." "He had a liking for Spicer." "And send a wire to the Blue Anchor, Union Street, Nottingham." ""Regret tell you Spicer passed away." "Condolences from his old pals."" "They'll like that." "Shows proper feeling." " Where are you going, Pinkie?" " I'm going courting." "A wife can't give evidence." "She's late." "'Tis the privilege of a bride." "There's no call on us to wait on her." "You can't get out of it now, Pinkie." "I know how you feel." "I was married myself once, when I was young." "It sort of gets on your nerves." "I even bought one of them books on flowers that tell you things." "I know the rules all right." "Flowers can't teach me." "When I was a kid, I swore I'd be a priest." " You a priest?" "That's good!" " Why not?" " They keep away from all this." " The world's got to go on." "Why?" "You're a Roman." "You know the answers." " All I know is..." " Let's have it, Dallow's creed." "The world's all right if you don't go too far." "And Mr Prewitt?" "What does Mr Prewitt say?" "If thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them." " Where have you been?" " I'm sorry I'm late, Pinkie." " I went to church." " What for?" "I wanted to be in a state of grace when I married you." "But then I remembered, it wasn't any good confessing any more, ever." "Come along now, I'm ready." "May God forgive us." "Ah, leave that alone." "Where are we going, Pinkie?" "The Cosmopolitan." "I'm going to take a suite." "Pinkie, how wonderful!" "Look, Pinkie!" "Make a record of your voice for me." " It doesn't cost much." " We haven't got a gramophone." "If ever you're away, I can borrow one." "And then I can hear your voice." "All right." "You asked me to make a record of my voice." "Well, here it is." "What you want me to say is, "I love you."" "Here's the truth." "I hate you, you little slut." "You make me sick." "Why don't you get back to Nelson Place and leave me be?" "I want a double room for my wife and myself." " I'm sorry, sir." "No room." " What do you mean, no room?" "The hotel is full." "We have no vacancies." "Now look, Charlie, my money's as good as anyone else's." "Ida, here." "See this?" "I see it all right." "I've got to work fast." "The show's packing up in a week." " He married her this afternoon." " Little fool!" "Come back to your tea, Ida." "It wouldn't be right, Phil." "I've got to save that girl." " She doesn't want to be saved." " What does that matter?" "Do you remember that day in the pub when the dead spoke?" " What?" "The dead?" " You remember." "When I couldn't think what the two Ls stood for." "They meant "kill"." "Fred was telling me they killed him." "You didn't tell the police that yarn?" "Fred didn't leave the card at Snow's." "Somebody planted it." "And for why?" "An alibi, of course." "And you don't plant an alibi unless you commit a crime." "You've got something there." "If the girl won't talk, you must find the geezer who left the card." "It'd be bad luck if it turned out to be Spicer." "Spicer?" "Who's he?" "The geezer that fell downstairs, the one Colleoni carved." "It's a funny thing, Ida, but Pinkie wanted him carved." "Funny?" "It's as clear as daylight." "Don't you see?" "Spicer was evidence." "He wanted him out of the way." "Who was there when it happened?" "Well, not the boy, Pinkie." "Trust him." "One of the mob and that crooked lawyer of his, Prewitt." "Prewitt, eh?" "He ain't half a card, ain't he, eh?" "Daddy Pinkie's going to smack you." "Ah, she's just like her mum, ain't she?" "Good job she ain't like her old dad, Pinkie." "He's a scream, isn't he, eh?" "Hello, Pinkie." "Where's the bride?" "Gone to bed already?" "Come on, Pinkie." "Have a drink." "You'll need it." "She's going to make a man of you." "Now look, Cubitt." "I'll do you up the same as I did Spicer." "Don't be a mug, Pinkie." " What did you say?" " Don't listen." "He's lakes." "You think you're so smart, don't you?" " So did Spicer." " Here, what are you getting at?" " Don't listen to him." " I mean this." "Spicer was milky and I'm the only one in this mob who knows how to act." "You mean, it wasn't the banisters?" "I killed him, Cubitt, and I'll kill you, too." "Don't believe him." "I was there." "Spicer?" "What has Spicer done?" "All right." "I'm off." "I'm turning it in, see?" "And I'm not coming back." "Go on, Cubitt." "Clear out and starve." "I shan't starve." "Go on." "You, too." "We'll soon see how you get on without me, the lot of you." "It's all right, Pinkie." "I'm not leaving you." "Or the girl." "Mr Prewitt?" " Madam, I haven't the pleasure." " I've got to see you." "You ought to have made an appointment." "But I think I can fit you in before Colonel Prideaux arrives." "Does that noise go on all the time?" "When I can stand it no more, I beat on the wall." "Now, madam." "You ought to eat more careful." "Nothing does it any good." "You drink too much." "A glass of the old and crusted occasionally." "Now listen, Prewitt, you were there when Spicer got knocked off." " Knocked off?" " Killed." "Who are you?" "It was the banisters, the broken banisters." "Did you do it or was he there all the time?" " You don't know what you're saying." " You look ill, you know." "Real bad." " I bet you got an ulcer." " No, no, nothing like that." "You ought to have your inside photographed." "I don't believe in the knife." "Why don't you have a drink to cheer you up?" "A glass of wine and a loaf of bread." "Yes, it's a help." "You must forgive the cups, madam." "But as a rule, I only take tea in the office." "Now listen, Mr Prewitt, you gave wrong evidence at that inquest." "If I know, don't you think others do?" "Do you want to ruin yourself?" "Ruin?" "I'm ruined already." "Shut up that filthy row, can't you?" "What ho, old mole." "Canst work in the earth so fast?" "The spouse." "Married 25 years." " You ought to think of her." " Her?" "I married beneath me." "An affair of uncontrollable passion for the nursery maid." "You should see her now." "A hag." "With a passion for tinned salmon." "Imagine that, madam?" "Tinned salmon." "Do you know what Mephistopheles said to Faustus when he asked him where hell was?" ""Why, this is hell." "Nor am I out of it."" "He's brought you to this, that boy." "The spouse, madam." "The spouse." "What a joke to tell her everything, that people are on my trail, that I am concerned with murder, to pull down the whole rotten house, like Samson." "See that photo there?" "That school group?" "Lancaster College." "Not one of the great schools, perhaps, but we had field days with Harrow." "You see me there, cross-legged in a straw hat." "Let them put me in the dock." "I'll give them revelations." "I've sunk so deep, I carry the secrets of a sewer." "Did you push Spicer yourself?" "No, I was in the other room when Pinkie called." "So he was there, eh?" "Come in." "Hello, dear." "I'm Judy." "Welcome to Liberty Hall, ducks." "Thought you might like a cup of tea." "Oh, thanks." "If you want any breakfast, there's plenty of grub downstairs." "What's this?" "A gramophone record?" "Yes, but I haven't got a gramophone." "Oh." "Frank's got an old portable downstairs." "He never uses it." "You can have it, as a wedding present." "Oh, I'd love it." "Thanks." "I'll bring it up to you sometime." "Works all right, provided you're not too fussy." " Judy, there's someone at the door." " OK, I know." "Well, how are you?" "Everything all right?" "I feel awful bad, sleeping so late." "Pinkie's gone out and he's never had his breakfast." "Oh, you don't want to worry." "We all go our own road in this place." "If you want a dress cleaned any time, let Frank have it." "He won't charge Pinkie's wife." "And he's pretty hot with the cleaning lark." "It's the only real dress I've got." "Pinkie will buy you a new one." "He's not mean." "At least, not like that." "You're his friend, aren't you?" "Yes." " I wish I was." " You're his wife." "Yes." "You don't want to worry." "Just let him be." "He's got things on his mind." "I don't want to be on his mind ever." "I just want to be with him." "Yes, I know." "He's lucky." "You're a good kid." " Dally?" " What is it?" " It's Rose's mum." " What?" "I'm sending her up." "It's your mum." "I'll scarper." "My mum?" " I had to tell them something." " I'll call Pinkie." "I'd like a word with your Pinkie myself." "I won't have anyone worry Pinkie." "He'll have plenty to worry him soon." " Who are you?" "Why do you interfere?" " I'm like everyone else, my dear." " I want to see justice done." " But you're not the police." "I'm your friend, you fool." "I'm here to help you." "I don't want any help from you." "Look here, my dear, you've got to go back home." "This is my home." "Now listen, dear." "I'm human." "I've loved a boy or two in my time." "It's natural, like breathing." "Not one of them's worth it, let alone this fellow you've got." " Keep away from me." " Your life's in danger." " Oh, if that's all." " All?" "You've only got one life." "He's a murderer, your Pinkie, twice over." "First Hale, then Spicer, the man that left the card." " Did you marry him knowing that?" " Why don't you go to the police, eh?" "Don't you see?" "You're an accomplice after the fact?" "You know Kolley Kibber never left those cards." "You've got to tell the police everything." "I never will." "You think he's in love with you, don't you?" "He's not." " He married me." " To stop you giving evidence." "You're just a witness, like the man he killed." "He'd kill you, too, if he could find a safe way to do it." "People change, repent." "Oh, no, they don't, my dear." "Look at me." "I've never changed." "I'm like those sticks of rock." "Bite all the way down and you still read Brighton." "I'm here to save you." "I wouldn't want to be saved if he was lost." "Hello, Pinkie." "You're just in time to meet one of your in-laws." " What's that?" " It's her mum." "Upstairs, waiting to kiss you." "I've not finished, dear." "I'll be back." "Judy says your ma's been here." "She just looked in." "You've been writing letters." "I wrote it last night, before you came upstairs." "Who to?" "You can read it, Pinkie." ""I love you, Pinkie." ""I'll love you forever." ""You've been so good to me." ""Wherever you go, I'll go, too."" "You gave me that gramophone record." "I wanted to give you something, too." "This is just the sort of note I wanted, Rose." "You go down and give Judy a hand and tell Dallow I want him, urgent." "All right." " You wanted me?" " Did you hear about her ma?" " Yeah." "Anything wrong?" " Well, it wasn't her ma at all." "It was that brass who's been asking questions." "And Rose said it was her ma." "Well, maybe she had her reason." "I'd trust that kid all the way." " Have I got to have a massacre?" " Half a mo, Pinkie." "That kid loves you." "Love!" "I want security and I'm going to get it." "She should be easy." "Now, don't be a mug." "Don't you touch that girl." "I remember reading in the paper once about a boy and a girl who killed themselves." "Only they brought the boy back." "And they didn't hang him, Dallow." "They didn't hang him." "It was called a pax." "A suicide pax." "That's Latin for peace." "Don't be morbid." "It will be all right." "Well, I want to be prepared, see?" "You said to me Pinkie called out when Spicer fell." "No, madam." "You said Pinkie called out." "I said Spicer called out." "Now, if you don't mind, Inspector," "I have an appointment with Colonel Prideaux." "It was Johnny." "Cubitt's blown." "He caught the 6.15 to town but nobody stopped him." " What's the letter?" " Colleoni." "He says he'll pay 300 if we'll stop lacing his geezers and blow." "300 nicker?" "That's a good offer." "With that dough, we can start somewhere else." "Dally." "All right, you can have it back tomorrow." " Who is it, Judy?" " Just someone wanting his suit back." " Well?" " Only someone for Frank." "Oh, well." "No news is good news, I suppose." "It's like you said, Dallow." "I'll have to see the world, travel." " I could take to other things." " Don't forget you've got a girl now." " We'll be safer without her." " She's safe enough." "The trouble with you is, Dally, you don't look ahead." "Any day she may fall for a new face or get vexed or something, if I don't keep her smooth, smooth all the time." "Love!" "It's not safe." "We can't be sure." " What are you looking for, Pinkie?" " Evidence." "If something happened, this would be evidence." "Judy said that she brought me up a gramophone." "That's right." "It's over there." "See who it is, Dallow." "This time, I bet you it's bad." "We're nearly through, Rose." " Through?" " Finished." "The police, Pinkie?" "Don't worry, Rose." "I know what to do." "Just leave everything to me." "You don't want them to take me away, do you?" "Don't worry, Rose." "I've got it all thought out." "It won't hurt." " What won't hurt, Pinkie?" " Dying together." " You don't want to leave me, do you?" " Pinkie!" " It's a mortal sin." " Just one more." "No, no, no." "It's despair, Pinkie." "It's the worst sin of all." "There must be some way not to." "Let's talk about it first." "There's time to talk." "If the worst happens, we got to act quick." "You don't want to see me hang, do you?" "No!" "Dallow's a long time on the blower." "Something must have happened." "You stay here, see?" " Who was it?" " It's all right." "Give yourself time." "Johnny's been on the brass's tail and says she's packing up now." "Her show's going on." "Prewitt stuck to his story and Cubitt's blown." "Yeah, she hasn't got any evidence." "That's why she's pushing off." " This calls for a celebration." " Celebration?" "And Leicester's not a bad town." "We'll move up to Leicester, all three of us." "You'll like the country, Pinkie." "You and your little missus will live to be 80 down there." " Won't you, ducks, eh?" " Hope so." "Of course they will." "So will we, Dally." "Yeah, that's right." "60-odd years." "That's a long time, Dallow." "Yeah, but..." "Evening, Jim." "Seasonable weather." "Evening, Mr Corkery." "Evening, Ida." "What are you having, Ida?" "The country don't suit Rose and me." "We're through, broke." "Colleoni's taken over." "Well, turn it up, Pinkie." "Never say die, boy." "You got to say it sometime." " Goodbye, Dallow." " But..." "Goodbye, Judy." "Rose and me is going for a walk." "But Pinkie, it's raining." "Me and Rose don't mind a little thing like that." " Is anything wrong, Pinkie?" " Everything." "Let's go on the pier." " Where are they going?" " What's the matter?" "Where's he taking that girl?" "Did you see his face, Phil?" " He grinned at me." " Grinned?" "Just as if he'd said, "You can't stop me now."" "Where's he gone?" "Where's he taken the girl?" "They want to be alone." "You know what love is." "I know he hates her guts." "I know more than that." "I was with Fred the day they finished him." "You know an awful lot, lady." "Do you sleep at night?" "You know what he's planning." "I don't." " He's gone for a walk?" " In the rain?" "With a gun in his pocket?" "His gun?" "You meant this, didn't you?" "Yes, Pinkie." "Cos I'm going." "We're both going, see?" "Listen, we've got to find them." "Look here." "You fetch a policeman." " Me, a bogey?" "Not likely." " Do you want another killing?" "Judy, you heard what the lady said." "Get a bogey." "We'll have no peace, Pinkie." "What do you mean?" "There'll be no forgiveness." "All right, you win." "I'll go alone." "You can have your heaven by yourself." "No, Pinkie, I'm going with you." " All right, Charlie." "Let 'em in." " OK." "It won't hurt." "You don't want me to do it first, do you?" "In front of you?" " No, Pinkie." "No!" " All right, all right." "You stay here and I'll take a walk." "When it's all over, I'll come back and do it, too." "Understand?" "Yes, Pinkie." "It won't hurt." "No, not in here." "Let's try outside." "Pray for our sins." "Now and at the hour of our death." "Amen." "Wait a minute." "He's probably up at the end of the pier." "You all shove off up there and I'll go downstairs." "We know you're down there, Brown." "Why didn't you shoot?" "Give it to me." "Give me the gun!" " I threw it away." " What?" "Good, Dally, you're just in time." "You get the bogey and I'll do the girl." " I told you not to touch that girl." " Dally!" "Come on." "Take him if you're going to take him." "No!" "Don't think I repent." "I don't." " I repent not dying." " Go on." "Don't be afraid." "I ought to have gone with him." "I don't want any absolution, ever." "I'd be with him if I was damned, too." "That woman saying he wanted to get rid of me, she doesn't know a thing about love." "Perhaps she was right, my child." "And you don't, either." "I know." "I've got proof." "I've got his voice." "I don't want to be forgiven." "I'm afraid of missing him." "My child, there's always hope." "It's the air we breathe." "You can't understand." "Nor I. Nor anyone, for that matter." "The appalling strangeness of the mercy of God." "We have to hope and pray." "I want to hope, but I don't know how." "You say he loved you." "There's hope." "Even that sort of love?" "Any love." "He loved me." "I'll show you he loved me." " Mother, can I?" " If you want to." "'You asked me to make a record of my voice." "'Well, here it is." "'What you want me to say is, I love you." "'I love you." "'I love you."