"IN UNDERWORLD SLANG, DOULOS MEANS "HAT."" "BUT IN THE SECRET LANGUAGE" "OF POLICE AND CRIMINALS," "DOULOS IS ALSO THE NAME GIVEN" "TO THE ONE WHO WEARS IT..." "THE POLICE INFORMER." "YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE." "TO DIE..." "OR TO LIE?" "Have you eaten?" "There's some stew in the kitchen." "Not hungry." "Take your things off." "Eat something." "Some days you can't." "More often than not lately." "What are you up to?" "I have two fences:" "One for the gems, one for the gold settings." "Neither wants the goods as is." "Worth how much?" "Between 150 to 200,000." "A lot less than the million the newspapers claim." "Did you see Rémy?" "About Neuilly?" "So what are you waiting for?" "You complain you're broke with this job sitting there all week." "Okay, there's a safe, but you have all night, and the house is isolated." "That's just it." "It looks too easy." "I don't like easy setups." "Six years ago it was easy too." "So when?" "Rémy wants to do it tomorrow." "He's right." "The sooner the better." "Did you tell anyone else?" "Who do you think I am?" "Not even Silien?" "Silien's okay." "That's not the word around town." "Silien's a pal." "Screw 'em." "I hope you're right." "Anyone casing the house?" "Thérèse." "She'll make sure nobody's home." "What does Rémy use?" "Blowtorch?" "No, a drill." "Just right for reinforced steel." "We'll discuss it." "Have a bite and turn in." "I'm seeing Nuttheccio downstairs." "He's coming here?" "Yeah, why?" "Got anything against him?" "Not personally." "But he's a real bastard." "How can you work with him?" "It's no worse than you and Silien." "Don't compare the dirt on Silien and Nuttheccio's deal with the cops." "It's day and night." "Want the details?" "Save your breath." "You better go eat." "His pal Armand coming too?" "A perfect match." "When are they coming?" "Any minute now." "I'm not staying." "I'll grab a cab and sleep at Thérèse's." "She'll be glad to see me." "Because Nuttheccio's coming by?" "I know how you feel." "Too many things seem changed these past six months." "You'll only get a new start when you have the cash and can get away with Thérèse." "Is that it?" "If you don't feel up to the job, drop it." "It's understandable after four years in prison." "When the fences pay, I'll set you up for a stay in the country, to pick up the pieces." " By the way..." " What?" "I'll need your gun." "For tomorrow." "Are you crazy?" "Let me explain." "I'm in no shape for any rough stuff, like I used to be." "There's nothing left inside." "So if I have to cover Rémy and things get out of hand," "I just fire a warning shot to scare them." "I don't like seeing you carrying a piece." "I've always been against it." "But you're not a kid." "Where is it?" "In the chest." "Top drawer right." "If you can't see, turn on the lamp." "A burglar's nightmare." " Where's the ammo?" " Back right." "Thanks, old man." "This will buck me up." "And don't worry." "Help yourself to some cash." "Sure." "And don't forget your cigarettes." "Wait here." "We'll be right back." "What's with that lamp?" "Hello." "When's your man coming?" "7:00." " Sure this isn't another botched job?" " I can't wait for something sure." "I'm tired of living off Thérèse." "I said I could tide you over." "That's the second offer in 24 hours." "You all think I'm finished." "I never said that." "I'm not offering you a free ride." "I just bought a house and..." "You'll need a caretaker." "That looks less like a handout." "You'll have work to do." "I won't let you off lightly." "Sure." "We'll discuss it 20 years from now." "I'll get it." "Who is it?" "It's Jean." " Why'd you come?" " To see how you were." "Could be better." "I had snails for dinner last night." "They didn't agree with me." "Got something for it?" "Seen the papers?" "Yeah, I saw that." "EX-CON GILBERT VARNOVE VICTIM OF GANGLAND KILLING?" "Whoever it was did a good job." "What do you think?" " I don't think anything." "Who gave you this address?" " You did." "Two weeks ago." " He can't remember." "We brought you home smashed from Donald's Bar." "Watch your drinking." "You tend to say things of interest to the cops." "Like what?" "What you told Jean about Arlette's death is no one's business." "What did I say?" "Not much." "Only that when Maurice was sent up, Gilbert killed her to make sure she wouldn't talk." "He was too cautious." "Arlette was no stoolie." "As for him, he's not the kind to rat on his partners." "Not my style." "Gilbert was a bastard." "He wanted us to help with Arlette." "I never spoke to him again." "I know all that." "I was in the living room that night." "I could hear every word you said." "I'm off." "Have a drink first." "No, thanks." "I just came by to see how you were." "Sorry to come by uninvited, ma'am." "Silien, the pal I spoke of." "Hello, Mr. Silien." "Make me a sandwich." "Sure." "Say... those snails really did me in." "I'm feeling queasy." "Well?" "I sat in the car all afternoon." "I didn't take my eyes off the house." "Apart from an old man, it seemed empty." "The only problem is a poodle." "Tiny, but it barks all the time." "What else?" "I did as you said." "I phoned and asked for Mr. Delétang." "The old man answered." "The writer and his wife are in Biarritz." "The old man must be a friend who's house-sitting for them." "So that's the great Silien?" "Yeah." "He brought the equipment." " What equipment?" " For the safe." "How could you ask him?" "You said yourself he's secretive." "Yet you tell him everything." "Why not ask Jean?" "Jean can't deliver this kind of stuff." "It's not his line." "We'll see." "I consider Silien a pal... until proven otherwise." "But I'll make sure he doesn't see Rémy." "This way, if things go wrong, I'll take the rap alone." "Not my idea of a friend..." "I have to go." "Want to check out the stuff?" "If the drill collar and bits are there, I'm fine." "Bring some screws?" " Eight." "That's only two sets." "Drilling should take two hours." "Break one set, you start again." "That's four hours for the drilling alone." "Break the second set and it's time to get out." "Rémy knows his stuff." "So long then." "Don't lose the collar." "It's a rare item nowadays." "Not many people know how to make one." "If things go as planned, you won't regret it." " So your Silien finally left." " You weren't very nice." "Why should I be?" "Criminal investigations." "Inspector Salignari." "Excuse me." "Is Maurice still here?" "He just left." " Am I disturbing you?" " No." "Come in." "A whiskey?" "Sure." "Thanks." "I see you like brown." "It's my color." " Maurice likes it too." " What?" "Brown." "It's understandable with eyes like yours." "I'm not disturbing you?" "Not at all." "If you'd come ten minutes ago, you'd have seen him." "No other color will do." "For what?" "Your eyes." "Maurice is a lucky man." "And now, dear lady, be nice enough to give me the address of Maurice's job." "When you decide, let me know." "And now, dear little lady, be reasonable, and above all, don't scream." "Hurry up and tell me." "Where's the house?" "You were there this afternoon." "Well?" "86, Boulevard du Général Grenier, in Neuilly." "I hope for your sake you're not lying, because we'll meet again." "Stop it, Flip!" "Here, boy!" "Hands up and freeze." "One move and I'll shoot." "Don't try anything stupid." "This is an assault..." "a mugging." "No, we're just throwing a little surprise party." "Move it." "Get the light." "Look down." "Face the wall." "Don't turn around." "A good start." "The piggy bank." " Excuse me?" " The safe." "All the money is in the bank." "Sure, the safe is only for the kid's toys." "Over to the bed." "Easy does it." "On your belly." "Don't yell... if you don't want to get hurt." "Keep an eye on him." "Can't you ruffians find decent employment?" "We're going to join the police." "But we need a little nest egg first." "Now let the gentleman work." "The bastard!" " We gotta go!" " The tools!" "Leave 'em." "C'mon!" "Damn Silien!" "To the left." "Quick!" " Gimme!" " What?" "No shooting!" "Shit!" "What is it?" "Run for it." "I'm hit." "I'm done for." "Give me the gun." "I'll cover you." "Run for it." "And get that rat." "Thérèse." "Hello, Doctor." "Is it bad?" "A little hole over the armpit." "And I still blacked out?" "My boy, the last time I saw you," "I said prison life had taken it out of you." "I found you a lot weaker." "I prescribed some iron." "You misunderstood." "I meant spinach." "How did I get here?" "Jean's charming wife may know." "I only know what Jean told me over the phone:" "That you were here and I had to hurry down to perform the usual operation." "Remove the drip in an hour." "Stay in bed for 24 hours." "If you need me, you know where I am." "After all these years, who hasn't heard of the veterinary clinic" "of Dr. Lequay?" "See you next time." "What happened, Anita?" "I don't know." "Jean called me at my sister's." "He told me to get home." "He told me you were here." "He brought a change of clothes." "I found the doctor waiting outside." "Who brought me here?" " I don't know." " Thérèse and Jean?" "I don't know." "I gotta find that rat Silien." "Not in your condition." "Get me some paper and an envelope." "And something to write with." "GILBERT'S HOUSE" "Stash this like it was dynamite." "EMPTY LOT" "LAMPPOST" "20,000 IN CASH" "AVENUE MOZART JEWELS" "LEAVE THE GUN" "Don't keep it on you." "Give it to Jean if something happens to me." "No one but Jean." " Be careful." " Give me 30 francs." "Move it!" "Can you walk in your condition?" "There he is." "Pull over, Jo." "Paulo, you get behind him." " Did he see us?" " Sure." "He's not blind." "Hello, Silien." "How are things?" "Get in." "We want to talk to you." "It won't take long." "We need some information, so we figured " "You were friends with Sali." "Salignari." "Salignari." "You two were friends." "Salignari is dead." "An hour before he was killed, Sali got a call." "He rushed over to ask the boss for four men." "The chief had someone with him, so he didn't ask why." "So Sali ran down to the burglary scene without telling anyone." "He shot Rémy and was gunned down." "But Rémy's accomplice got away." "If it was you who tipped off Salignari, tell us who the guy was, and we'll leave you alone." "I didn't rat." "We found Rémy holding the gun that killed Sali." "But his jacket was pulled up under his arms, as if someone was supporting him." "You support a falling man, and a falling man is a dying man." "I can't imagine him at death's door, being held up by a friend and hitting a running man with one shot." "And Salignari died instantly, so he was the one who fired first." "But it's the other man who shot Sali, while supporting Rémy." "You don't support a dying man and let him shoot." "You shoot for him, then stick the gun in his hand." "So then... if only for Salignari, you have to talk." "You owe it to him." "He was your friend." "I wasn't the informer." "I don't repeat myself." "Now listen, all of you." "Salignari is dead, and I'm packing it in." "I'm going to live somewhere else." "I don't know where yet, but if there's a land without cops or hoods, it'll be there." "Until then, if I find the guy who killed Salignari," "I'll take care of it myself." "It won't cost me a minute in prison." "If I don't find him, no cop on earth ever will." "Have it your way." "I know how you feel." "When I think of it..." "We got the car's plate number." "We thought it was a stolen car." "Then we found it in a quarry this morning... totally wrecked, with a body inside." "I know." "A woman." "I saw the papers." "Did you know this Thérèse Dalmain?" "I don't know everyone." "The only fingerprints we found were hers." "She may have been Rémy's girl, or his partner's." "So maybe she was killed to keep her from talking." "Maybe she wasn't even in the car last night in Neuilly." "Maybe a third hood was driving with gloves on." "In that case, the girl may have been with him." "That's a lot of "maybes."" "And the cop chasing the second guy didn't see anything?" "Nothing." "Nobody saw anything?" "Sure." "From their windows." "Everyone saw something." "But it gets us nowhere." "Some claim they saw a man at the wheel, alone." "Others saw two men." "No one mentioned a woman." "But after the papers came out, one witness said he saw a woman driving." "In his first statement, he said he'd seen two men." "So we asked, "Was it a man and a woman?"" ""Oh, no!" "There was just a woman."" "That's the problem." "The newspapers influence witnesses." "Nobody saw the one who got away?" "Sure, everyone saw him." "They all say they saw a man running away." "But all they saw was a shadow." "No point showing them any mug shots." "After all, we can't haul in every hood in town." "Then we'd have to parade them past all the witnesses." "Even if we had a suspect, it's useless." "So much for witnesses..." "You're on your own." "Nab him before I get to him." "For his own sake." "It's getting late." "Wait." "There's something else." "And it's more up your alley." "It concerns another case." "Nothing to do with Neuilly." "But we're working on it too." "A few hours before he died," "Salignari received one of those famous anonymous tips." "We know - it wasn't you." "But you can't let us down on this." "We know about this case." "Salignari filled us in." "It concerns a certain Gilbert Varnove." "He was killed with a.44 at his home." "We found a ring from the Avenue Mozart job under his body." "You follow me?" "The informer claimed the killer was Maurice Faugel." "Seems the informer asked Salignari to hold off a bit before arresting Faugel." "Sali said okay." "So tonight, while we were looking for you, we tried to track Faugel down, but we couldn't find him." "But there are certain " "May I?" "This has nothing to do with Salignari's memory anymore." "If I understand right, you want me to cooperate." "Forget it." "Too bad." "Hold on, Silien." "You built yourself a nice place out by Ponthierry." "How'd you pay for it?" "You take me for a kid?" "If you want explanations, get a warrant." "We'll have one in the morning." "Really." "We just saw the vice squad." "They just nabbed a gang in a drug bust." "Say, isn't that your line - heroin and coke?" " A pity to get mixed up..." " And no Salignari to cover you." "You talk too fast for me." "We told vice you were involved." "They'll get a warrant tomorrow." "Meanwhile, we'll keep you on ice." "And turn your house inside-out." "A pity." "There's nothing at my house." "Don't make me laugh." "I don't touch drugs in any way, shape or form." "I'm just a poor slob." "Yeah, right." "Did you buy those clothes hawking papers?" "Tell it to the judge." "I do the garbage cans." "Knock it off." "We'll find something." "No, you won't." "We all know there's nothing." "But we can always find something." " If you do, we'll go halves." " If we look hard enough." "So what do you say?" "I say you're real bastards." "Be polite." "So, don't you want us to ask vice to forget the warrant?" "What do you want?" "You're known all over town." "You can phone a few places and ask for your friend Faugel." "Faugel's no friend of mine." "All the more reason." "Why don't you raid them?" "We considered it." "But gunshots in the air scare the quarry away." "If we raid three or four bars without finding him, he'll either see us or get tipped off." "In short, if I don't help you, you're lost." "Is it a deal?" "7:15." "Good timing." "It's cocktail hour." "Let's go." "I'll call from here." "They don't know me." " Telephone, please." " Downstairs." "A dozen tokens." "Try the "New York."" "Who?" "Maurice?" "He just left." "He was asking for you and Mr. Jean." "He can't be far." " Across the street." "What did you say?" "Just a second, Mr. Silien." "Where?" "He bought a paper and went across the street." "He's across the street." "Shall I call him?" "No, that's all right." "We have time to nab him." "There's one more call." " To who?" " The vice squad." "Relax." "We were just kidding." "You're smart, but we're smarter." " Then I'm off." " Not until we get to the bar." "The phone is faster than the car." "You expect me to pay for the calls?" "I'm not on an expense account." "BODY OF THÉRÈSE DALMAIN FOUND IN HER WRECKED CAR" "POLICE PURSUE TWO POSSIBILITIES:" "1) ACCIDENT DUE TO FATIGUE 2) SILENCED BY THE MOB" "CAR TOOK DIZZYING PLUNGE INTO QUARRY" "On your feet, Faugel." "Don't try anything stupid." "Me?" "What did I do?" "Don't make me repeat myself." "Are you armed?" " Anyone ever say yes?" "Save your breath." "I have money in my pocket." "Pay for my drink." "But you ran like a coward." "That's not like you." "They came busting into Gilbert's place." "I heard the shot upstairs." "I wasn't going to take a look." "I stayed in the kitchen." "Then they came down." "I escaped through a window." "The footprints behind the house are mine, but not the tire tracks by the gate." "I went down by train." "The others came by car." "But you had good reasons for killing Varnove." "Someone told you a week before how he'd drowned your girl, Arlette, five years ago in Deauville." "In your shoes, I'd have done the same." "It wasn't me, I tell you." "I won't confess to a murder just to make you happy." "Here's the deal." "I'll let you go... if you give me a single lead on the Neuilly affair." "The Neuilly affair?" "Inspector Salignari murdered by a bastard." "A bastard like you." "I'm a thief, okay." "But I fight with my fists, not a gun." "Give me the name of a friend, someone close to Rémy, and I'll let you go." "I don't care if you killed Varnove." "That's one less hood." "And if you stole the 200,000 in jewels, and you had that much money, you wouldn't risk your freedom in some small-time heist the next day." "I don't know a thing." "I hardly know this Rémy." "Too bad." "Really too bad." "Then you'll go down for the murder of Gilbert Varnove." "But I didn't kill him." "If you had, would you tell me?" "Even caught with a gun in your hand, you'd keep denying it." "Varnove was my friend." "He took me in after my release." "I didn't kill him." "You did kill him!" "And you stashed the Avenue Mozart gun and jewels." "He was working on them." "I couldn't have killed him." "I've never carried a gun." "His Avenue Mozart accomplices did it, probably to get his share." "No, that's not how it usually works." "Burglars split the take and don't argue." "If the thieves are straight." "But these guys were scum." "Check out your informers." "One thing bothers me." "You say Gilbert was your friend." "You have a good reputation." "Why didn't they fill you in?" "Why didn't Gilbert tell you?" "I can't be in the know on every job in town." "I'm no boss." "Besides, I was in prison at the time." "And even if I did know, why would I tell you?" "Don't confuse me with one of your stoolies." "I don't rat." "I don't care." "I'm telling you this for your own good." "When your trial comes up, the prosecutor won't spare you." "You have two motives:" "Theft and revenge." "That could get you 10 to 15 years in the slammer." "Fifteen years is a long time." "You must have realized that doing time." "Go upstairs." "They'll take your statement." "If you change your mind, my offer about Rémy still stands." "Don't bet on it." "Hello, guys..." "if that's what you are." "What are you in for?" "Machine-gunning a police van." "I took out 25." "My name's Kern." "Looking for someone, Mr. Silien?" "No." "Just thirsty." "Silien at Nuttheccio's for a drink." "Who'd believe it?" "It smells bad." "What'll you have, Mr. Silien?" "Scotch." "What's on upstairs?" "Here?" "No, upstairs." "Which game?" "Tables busy?" "I don't know." "What is it?" "Baccarat?" "Chemin de fer?" "I just tend bar." "Poker?" "I think so." "Well, well." "To what do we owe the honor?" "I was thirsty." "His drinks are on the house." "All right, Mr. Armand." "Your scotch." "You can have it." "Two whiskeys for that table." "I want to drink with the lady." "But sir, not with that lady." "That's impossible." "Why not?" "Because she's the boss's girl?" "I said two whiskeys." "Got it?" "It's been ages." " I left you in peace." " Is my serenity so vital?" "He ditched you to gamble?" "For once, let's not talk nonsense." "Why the sudden visit?" "I felt like it." "What's the real reason?" "I need information." "Nothing much." " About what?" "About Nuttheccio." "So that's it." "What do you want to know?" " Not here." " Where?" "At your place." " Think you can still order me around?" " Don't tell me you love him." "Your self-confidence is galling." "I know he makes you sick." "If you want to dump him, I'm giving you a chance." "How kind of you." "You dream of escaping." "Admit it." "You're not cut out for living with him." "That galls me too." "Where can I see you later?" "I won't see you or give you information." "You don't believe I'm offering you a way out?" "I'm fine like this." "A pity." "Leaving?" "Obviously." "For a moment I thought you'd come for me." "You wanted me to be frank." "I was." "I messed up a lot of things, but I also know you're not happy." "You're afraid to confide in me again." "It's a vicious circle." "What kind of information do you want?" "I'll see what I can do." "Why not?" "Because I meant it when I said that I wanted to see you." "I'd have liked to spend some time alone with you, with no one around." "I wanted to sleep with you." "11, rue de Franqueville." "Give me an hour, so no one gets suspicious." "I'll be there." "Try to remember." "You have to." "There's an innocent man in prison." "You have to remember." "I was in the car." "I couldn't see anything." "If Nuttheccio and Armand had killed Gilbert Varnove," "I'd have heard the shot." "You were in the car." "It was probably cold." "The windows were shut." "The house wasn't so near." "The shot was barely audible." "Look, Fabienne, if they left you in the car, they had it all planned." "No, Silien." "Nuttheccio's safe has the jewels from the Avenue Mozart job and the gun that killed Varnove." "That's not true." "Tell the cops he kept you locked up, so you weren't an accomplice." "Who do you think I am?" "Don't you see it's your big chance, your only chance to break free?" "What good will that do me?" "When the police arrive, there'll be no one to contradict you." "Nuttheccio and Armand will be dead." "You have to believe me." "I swear that Faugel didn't kill Gilbert." "Faugel is innocent and in prison." "Keep that in mind." "And you know Nuttheccio is capable of murder." "He killed Gilbert to have all the jewels for himself." "If I wasn't sure about all this, would I fight to spring a man who was never my friend?" "I need your help." "I need your testimony." "The hell with Faugel!" "I can't stand the thought that Nuttheccio could do this and get away with it." "You have to remember." "Then we'll go away together." "I swear." "Think." "A door slamming or the sound of tires." "The train." "What?" "While they were inside, a train went by." "I remember now." "See?" "I was right." "In your mind it was a quiet suburb." "You didn't remember any isolated sounds." "You were right." "There was none." "The train is a familiar sound you don't notice." "But we didn't think of that." "The sound of the train covered the gunshot." "It makes sense." "They shot him as the train passed." "You're not staying?" "We'll have time soon, but I have to finish what I started." "You'll be free soon enough." "I'm scared." "If you knew me like others do, you wouldn't be afraid with me." "Nuttheccio's clever too." "Nuttheccio's a walking dead man." "You don't love me." "Try to remember." "Wasn't there a kind of a bang as the train passed?" "You don't love me." "How do you know?" "I'll be back tomorrow, maybe." "I think I did hear a shot." "Don't say that just to make me happy." "I'll finish this without your help." "You'll have a clear conscience." "I heard a shot." "I remember now." "I'm sure of it." "No, Fabienne." "I tell you I'm sure." " Absolutely?" " Absolutely." "Now, yes." "You heard it?" "I heard it." "Then we agree." "There was a shot as the train crossed the steel bridge." "Fabienne?" "I'm here." "Stay by the phone." "What is this?" "Sit down." "Hello, Armand?" "Nuttheccio found the diamonds." "He wants to see you." "Recognize these?" "Looks like jewelry." "Exactly." "From Avenue Mozart." "You planned the job." "You've been misinformed." "It wasn't me." "I make enough as it is." " I don't give a damn." "But I have the jewels, and I need money." "I'll gladly help you out." "You don't have to " "Who'd you call just now?" "The cemetery." "To book you a spot, in case you misbehave." "I've bailed out friends in need before." "You didn't have to." "I need 20,000." "20,000." "30,000, if you want." "Okay, make it 30,000." "Feel 'em." "They're not fake." "I trust you." "Feel 'em." "No need." "I know I can trust you." "I said feel 'em." "Look at this brooch." "And this one." "And this bracelet." "Platinum and diamonds." "Feel the weight." "It's beautiful." "Fine merchandise." "I'll give you 50,000." "Let's have it." "In cash." "Sure." "I must have enough in the drawer." "Get it out of the safe." "I prefer that." "But it's the same." "Fine." "As you wish." "The keys are in my jacket." "Left-hand pocket." "Stop." "How much in there?" "300 to 400,000." "Stand with your back to the wall." "You want to break me?" "If anything, it's your face I'll break." "Put these on." "I'll give you 200,000." "Okay?" "You can even keep the jewels." "Shut up." "500,000?" "What's going on, Silien?" "What happened?" "What happened is... this bastard " "This bastard..." "I brought him the jewels." "He said we'd split them." "I trusted him." "That's when he pulled out a " "Fabienne?" "Do it." "Hello, police?" "Don't tell me Silien didn't rat on me." "Then who sprang you?" "Explain how I got arrested first." "That was no accident." "Only I knew about Gilbert." "How did the cops know more than me?" "Maybe Gilbert wanted to make amends for killing Arlette by putting me up after I got out." "He became a friend." "It was tough to kill Gilbert." "I wouldn't have had the guts, if he hadn't done something simple and irreparable." "He turned around." "He saw the gun aimed at him." "It was one look too many between us." "You don't aim a gun at a friend." "There was only one solution." "Jean?" "Who fingered me?" "You really don't know?" "Salignari was my friend." "Some months ago, I met him with a girl who seemed in love with him." "He said she was a valuable informer." "I didn't think twice about it." "I forgot all about her." "Until I met her again with you, when I brought the drill collar." "And to think I had her case the Neuilly house." "I figured it was time to help you out, but you wouldn't have believed me." "So I let you and Rémy go ahead." "I phoned Sali." "I invited him to dinner." "He said he couldn't." "I insisted." "He finally told me he had two burglars to nab in Neuilly." "I got the picture." "I ran over to Thérèse's and got to the point." "She gave me the Neuilly address." "I tied her up, then raced down to Neuilly in her car to head off the disaster." "Rotten luck." "I arrived to see you running and wounded." "You blacked out." "Somehow I managed to get you to Jean's." "I tried to call Sali to see if we could smooth things out, only to learn he'd died 10 minutes earlier." "Despite Sali's friendship, I didn't back out on you." "Sali was going it alone." "Only he knew your names." "No other cop knew." "That's why they got stuck." "Then, for my own safety, I decided to get rid of Thérèse." "She could finger me as the "accomplice in the car" they'd be looking for." "Jean phoned Anita to come home." "You were still unconscious." "We ran down to Thérèse's." "She'd just about gotten free." "I hope you don't mind me telling you I beat her unconscious." "What happened next cost me a raincoat." "Almost new." "So Jean handled Thérèse." "Meanwhile, I went to an address I was given to get you a forged passport so you could get away." "There was no answer." "I spent the whole day looking." "I met up with Jean at 7:00." "We phoned to see how you were." "Anita said Lequay was on his way." "Knowing you were in good hands, I went passport hunting again." "But how'd I get arrested in the bar?" "No one knew where I was." "Suddenly, I got picked up by Clain and his boys." "I realized nobody knew who the second man at Neuilly was." "But I found out Salignari was on another case:" "Gilbert's murder." "You were a suspect." "Sali had mentioned you." "Thérèse must've tipped him off, long before you did it." "Maybe that night you got drunk." "I must've told her I was going to kill Gilbert." "Clain grilled me about your hideout." "They promised me so much trouble," "I decided to play dumb to get them off my back." "I agreed to call around your favorite bars to find you, thinking you were safe at Jean's." "Just for show, I called here." "The bartender, suspecting nothing, said you were across the street." "I'd just left Jean's." "Jean gave me your map." "I dug everything up, despite your instructions." "Now you know what I used them for." "By the way..." "I dragged Fabienne's testimony out of her." "An old flame of mine who became Nuttheccio's girl." "I made sure there were prints on the Colt." "The two guys shot each other at the Cotton Club and - surprise, surprise - the jewels were in the open safe." "I think you have the whole story now." "Fabienne and I will pick you up here for dinner." "I plan on moving in with her." "I've had a nice isolated place built out in Ponthierry." "I'm packing it in." "In this business, you either end up a bum or full of lead." "I'm heading out to Ponthierry for now." "A guy asked me to hide him for a while." "I don't even know him." "My last good deed." "See you later." "I'm a real bastard." "Why?" "I took Silien for a rat." "I wanted him dead." "Before my arrest, I was ready to murder him." "While he..." "You can't tell, just like that." "Silien doesn't let his feelings show." "But he'll do anything for a friend, hood or cop." "I can assure you that Salignari and you were his only friends." "Telephone, Mr. Maurice." "Kern will deliver the wreath this afternoon." "Have the money ready tomorrow." "Where's Silien's place?" "First right after you leave Ponthierry." " Lend me your car." " What is it?" "Nothing, if I act fast." "Take my car." "A small scotch." "Hello, Jean." "How's Anita?" "A nice girl, but unluckily for you, she talks too much." ""Sucy-en-Brie quarry, end of the line."" "Why was Faugel at your place, wounded, after Salignari was killed?" " I don't get you." " Don't waste your breath." "We found a raincoat in your closet." "Don't tell us it's not yours." "And the piece of cloth that got torn off by the fender." "I didn't put it there." "I don't understand." "Come with us." "We'll explain it." "I expect to have charges dropped, but I still need 10,000 when I get out to start a nice, regular business." "10,000?" "Listen, Kern." "I have a very dear friend... whom I'd hate to see in an accident." "That's normal." "I wouldn't even be around to send him a wreath." "I'd like him to have one, a real fine one." "A wreath worth 10,000?" "Even 20." "I'd give my lawyer a letter to forward to my friend Jean," "who'd give you 20,000 to buy a wreath." "You may be right about that accident." "The screen..." "Fabienne?" "I won't be coming tonight." "FILMED AT RUE JENNER STUDIOS"