"Good evening." "I've been examining the fingerprints... on the inside of your television screen." "Very unusual." "They're all thumbs." "That's it." "They must've been left by your television repairman." "You know, I could use this to watch television." "I have a 27-inch set with an 8-inch screen." "It also has an adjustment for color." "The adjustment consists of a palette and brush... and the viewer simply fills in the numbered squares." "It takes a very deft hand." "Tonight's tale is provocatively captioned Decoy." "Do I pique you?" "I hope so." "A program host should always be a good piquer." "In watching this story..." "I want you to pay particular attention... to the three undraped ladies... who dance in the final scene." "Because one of these young ladies has since married a titled Englishman... and her face is now quite well-known." "00." "I was sorry to see the day come to an end." "It had been a wonderful day." "But everything seemed wonderful when I was with Mona." "Even the arrangements I'd made for her new show..." "I thought was the best work I'd ever done." "Mona, so near and yet so distant." "I guess I fell in love with Mona the first week I began to work for her." "She had no idea how I felt, and I couldn't let her know." "She was married." "Married to Ben Cameron, one of the top theatrical agents in New York." "And though I respected her marriage... she'd somehow become very important in my life." "There was something about her... that set her apart from any woman I'd ever known." "Mmm-hmm." "I think I have that middle part now." "Now, let's try the beginning just once more." "Oh, no more work, huh, Gil." "I'm awfully tired." "All right." "Would you be an angel and fix me a drink?" "You, a drink?" "Mmm-hmm." "This is one time I feel I could use one." "Sure." "What do you have?" "Oh, I don't care." "I wouldn't know the difference, anyway." "Anything." "You know something, Gil?" "I really like that middle part now, now that I know it." "I'm glad." "I worked very hard on it." "Here." "Thank you." "Oh." "I'm sorry." "Oh, all over the rug." "That's all right." "I'll get you another." "No, no, never mind." "Mona, what's wrong?" "You've been rubbing your arm all afternoon." "Oh, nothing." "It's just a little sore, that's all." "Same time tomorrow?" "Mona, what's the matter?" "Nothing." "Can't a girl get tired after rehearsing all day?" "Sure." "Be careful of the glass." "I will." "Try and get some rest." "Good night." "Good night, Gil." "Mona, there's something wrong." "There's nothing wrong, Gil." "Please." "Now, don't tell me that." "There's something wrong." "I've known it all afternoon." "That's not true." "I'm just a little tired, that's all." "I'll be all right tomorrow." "Well, I'm going to wait till your husband gets home." "I'd like to meet him." "No, Gil, don't do that." "I wish you'd let me take a look at that arm." "Well, there's nothing wrong with my arm." "But I'm going to look at it." "Gil, ple..." "There's nothing wrong with my" "Just the same, Mona, I'm going to look..." "No, that's nothing at all." "How did you get that bruise?" "I hit my arm against the table." "Would you mind showing me how?" "Look, Mona, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." "I admit it's none of my business." "But it might help you if you'd talk about it." "Now, how did you bruise your arm?" "Was it your husband?" "Oh, Gil, that's not fair." "I don't care." "Was it?" "Please, Gil." "I don't want sympathy." "It was your husband." "What's the difference?" "It's been going on a long time." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because I'd give anything not to have told you now." "It's about time you did." "Darling, I love you, don't you just" " Gil, you mustn't say that." "Please." "Sorry." "Look, I had to tell you, even though I know I mean nothing to you." "Oh, that's not true." "That's not true at all." "You don't know how much it's meant to me to have you work with me every day... and take my mind off him." "These last few months have been so awful." "What do you mean?" "Tell me." "Well, go on, tell me." "It isn't easy to tell." "To try to talk about what it's like to live with a man... who's physically cruel and insanely possessive." "Tomorrow you see a lawyer." "Oh no, Gil." "I can't do that." "I've asked Ben for a divorce." "It doesn't do any good." "You can't go on like this." "I won't let you." "What am I supposed to do?" "You want the truth?" "I'm afraid of him, I'm afraid of what he'd do to me." "Well, I'm not afraid of him." "I'll go to his office right now." "It's time I met Ben Cameron." "No!" "Gil, please stay out of it." "I can't stay out of it." "Not now." "Gil, wait." "Look, I'll do what you said." "I promise." "Please don't go over there now." "Look, Mona, I know what I'm doing." "I just want to talk to the man." "Now, don't worry." "Yes?" "I'm Gil Larkin, Mrs. Cameron's accompanist." "He's expecting me." "Mr. Cameron's on the phone right now." "Would you wait a minute, please?" "Sure." "I've an appointment and I'm late already... so if you don't mind, I'll run along." "Not at all." "See that light on the phone?" "When that goes off, he's hung up, and you can go on in." "Okay?" "Fine, thanks." "Good night." "Good night." "First of all, I want a four-week guarantee... and your name above the title..." "Wait a minute." "Somebody just came in." "Yeah." "Something I can do for you?" "I'm Gil Larkin." "I'd like to talk to you." "Sure, make yourself comfortable." "I'll be with you in just a minute." "Now, how much did you say they offered you?" "That's perfectly ridiculous." "The answer is no." "I don't care what kind of success they promised you." "Certainly I'll talk to them." "They shouldn't have called you directly in the first place." "No, Ritchie." "Ritchie, don't!" "It couldn't have been more than 20 seconds before I came to." "At first I didn't believe what had happened... then I looked at what was in my hand." "Hello." "Hello." "Can you hear me?" "Who..." "It was crystal clear." "Someone had followed me and turned me into a patsy, a fall guy, a clay pigeon." "Whoever had killed Ben Cameron had wanted to pin the blame on me." "I was a decoy." "What should I do?" "What could I do?" "Go to the police?" "Say I was in love with Cameron's wife and I wanted to ask him for her freedom?" "While I was there, someone came in and killed him." "Would they believe me?" "Never in a million years." "They'd figure it for the way it looked." "They'd claim I came in, we-we argued, and in a fit of anger I shot him." "Wait." "Someone on that phone had heard Cameron call out the murderer's name." "Ritchie." "Someone had heard the shot." "Now if I could find the person Cameron had been talking to... they might be able to help me." "But-but how?" "Sasikawa and Dave Packard." "Cameron was probably talking to one of them." "Either could have overheard Ben call out the name Ritchie." "But which one?" "It was a long shot, but what else could you do?" "The cleaning women." "When did they come to the office?" "After midnight, probably." "That would give me time, a few hours at least." "I had read about Sasikawa." "She was the greatest dancer in Japan." "20." "I could still catch her in her dressing room before she went on stage." "If I could get by the doorman." "Yes, yeah, yeah." "Look, lady, I'm just the doorman in here." "Well, wait a minute and I'll write it down." "Go ahead." "Right." "Goodbye, lady." "Yeah?" "Oh, you want to go here, huh?" "All right." "I don't know where this is." "I mean, I don't know, see?" "You ask man down there, huh." "All right." "Bye." "l-I'm sorry." "I'm looking for Miss Sasikawa." "I'm Sasikawa." "Won't you come in?" "Thank you." "Who are you, sir?" "My name is Gil Larkin." "I'd like to ask Miss Sasikawa a few questions." "You are a reporter?" "No, but I think she can help me." "I am her husband." "We are at your service, Mr. Larkin." "Thank you." "Do you know a man named Ben Cameron?" "We both know him." "He is my agent." "A very kind man, Mr. Cameron." "Thanks to him I was hired from Japan to dance in this show." "I consider him to be wonderful." "I see." "Did you call him at his office tonight, around 7:00?" "Did you call him?" "What are you people saying?" "Please, this is extremely important to me." "Did you call Mr. Cameron tonight?" "Well?" "Curtain time, one minute." "Curtain." "I am sorry." "I must be on stage." "Please wait a minute." "Did you call Cameron's office?" "No!" "Now please leave me alone!" "Did you call him?" "Neither of us called Ben Cameron." "We intended to." "But we changed our mind and decided to let it wait till the morning." "If we cannot help you in your trouble, we are sorry." "Thanks, anyway." "That left Dave Packard... the most famous disc jockey in New York." "He was only here until 9.:00." "I still had time." "That's Dave Packard in there." "His program will be finished in a minute." "Excuse me." "Well, all you crazy cats, wherever you are listening... this is the story for tonight." "Tomorrow I'll have a bunch of new platters to roll." "Keep out of mischief, and keep 'em rocking." "This is old Dave Packard saying nighty-night." "No, please." "I got a date with a chick." "I got to hurry." "You know how it is." "I really gotta get out of here." "There you go." "Mr. Packard, I have to talk to you." "Well, you come around tomorrow and I'll play you your favorite platter." "Please, I think maybe you can help me." "Tomorrow." "Not tomorrow, now!" "Well, get with it, man, get with it." "You know Ben Cameron?" "Ben Cameron, sure." "He's a doll, a real doll." "Been my agent for years." "He's a real sweetheart." "Great." "Did you call him tonight around 7:00?" "Did you?" "Hey, I don't like your tone of voice." "I don't like anything about you." "Why should I tell you anything?" "Because Ben Cameron was killed tonight." "Did you say killed?" "You mean" " You mean dead, defunct, kaput?" "My agent?" "That's right." "You mean my pal, my buddy, was killed?" "Hey, you're crazy, man." "Real crazy." "Hey, well, I gotta get to my chick" "Look, did you call him tonight?" "Do you know a man named Ritchie?" "Ritchie?" "Hey, hey, I don't dig you, man." "Look, Mr. Pa-Packard, I'm sorry, but somebody's trying to frame me." "Now, you left a message you were going to call his office around 7:00." "Now, all I want to know is did you call him?" "No, I got tied up." "I'm going to call him in the morning." "I'm going to call him in the morning." "That tune!" "That's the tune I heard on the phone." "Hey, my lapels!" "You must've called Cameron." "You know what you did?" "You just made me out like I'm a liar." "Well, you're the end, the limit." "But that's the tune I heard on the phone." "But it's an old record." "I wouldn't play it." "That'd be square." "Real square." "Damn." "Hey, you're- you're real crazy." "You know what I think happened to you?" "You-You've flipped." "I felt as though I were living in a crazy nightmare that made no sense... and it seemed so long since I'd left Mona." "I figured I had about two hours... before the cleaning women would notify the police." "Mr. Larkin?" "Yes, of course, we've been expecting you." "Who are you?" "I'm Lt. Brandt, Homicide." "Who are you?" "I'm Lt. Brandt... we're from Homicide." "Come in, Mr. Larkin." "Come in." "Mona, I didn't do it, believe me." "I didn't." "Of course you didn't." "How did you find out?" "Somebody called Headquarters." "Lieutenant, Cameron was on the phone when he was killed." "He was shot by someone standing directly behind me." "Now... whoever Cameron was talking to... would've heard him call out the murderer's name." "Ritchie." "Whoever was on that phone must have called you." "They said nothing about a Ritchie." "You don't believe me." "Where have you been the past three hours?" "Trying to find who Cameron was talking to." "Look." "I found this message in Cameron's office." "Now, I went to see these people." "And?" "Well, they couldn't help me." "You admit you were in Cameron's office?" "Of course I admit it." "But he didn't kill Ben." "He couldn't have." "Gil is incapable of killing anyone." "There are fingerprints all over the gun." "It will be easy to find out whose they are." "Lieutenant, they're mine." "I was slugged." "When I came to, there was a gun in my hand." "Now, I wasn't thinking about fingerprints." "You'll find them all over the office." "Does that sound like a guilty man, Lieutenant?" "Would a murderer leave his fingerprints on a gun?" "Lieutenant, if Gil were guilty... he'd never have come back here to see me." "Ready, Mr. Larkin?" "I'm coming, too." "No, we want to talk to him alone." "You'd better stay here." "Mona." "You stay here." "All right." "It must've been 2.:00 in the morning... when I finished dictating my statement." "I told them everything I could remember." "I swore to them it was the truth." "Then Lt. Brandt handed me a cigarette... lighted it for me and... as I took my first puff, he said..." "You know, Larkin, that's as involved a statement as I've ever heard." "You don't think you could tell it the same way twice, do you?" "I certainly can." "I'd like to hear you try." "All right." "Gil." "Hello, Mona." "They let you go." "Forgive me for coming back." "It's late, I know." "Don't be silly." "I've been so worried." "Come in." "What happened?" "I told them the whole story." "Every move I made." "And?" "Seemed to satisfy them enough." "Now all I have to do is testify before the Grand Jury." "Oh, Gil, it isn't fair." "It's all my fault. l-I shouldn't have let you go." "Forget it." "I could sure use a drink." "Of course you could, you must be so tired." "Uh, whisky on the rocks, please." "Mmm, I could use one, too." "Thanks." "To you." "To you." "And to all that you've done for me." "To both of us." "To both of us." "It's funny, Gil... l-I don't feel any shock at all about Ben." "In fact, I feel guilty for almost feeling glad." "Oh, I'm going to be such a different person now." "I can live and breathe and feel free again." "You're going to be so..." "Gil, at this hour?" "Sorry, I wasn't thinking." "Funny." "That's the second time I've heard that record tonight." "Quite a coincidence, don't you agree?" "I suppose so." "I don't know." "It's an old tune." "You don't hear it very often." "What's wrong, Gil?" "Finding that record is no coincidence." "You were playing it tonight when you called Ben." "I called Ben?" "Oh, no, Gil." "Gil, do you know what you just said to me?" "What's the matter with you?" "Darling, you're talking to me." "I love you, we love each other. I" "Don't tell me about loving me." "You never loved me." "Oh, you planned this very well." "I was pretty dumb, wasn't I?" "But it's easy to fool someone who's in love with you." "And what a fool I was... believing your story about Ben's beating you... about his physical cruelty." "I didn't know Ben." "Is that why you picked on me?" "And did you laugh when I went up to his office like a stupid errand boy... because I was concerned about you?" "I wanted you to be happy." "And what did you want from me?" "A murder charge?" "And for what?" "You must have had a reason?" "What were you after?" "Your freedom?" "Ben's money?" "What were you framing me for?" "Ritchie." "What do you want me to do with him, angel?" "What can we do with him?" "Let's see." "A man that committed a murder would have a guilty conscience." "And a guilty conscience could lead to suicide." "Couldn't it?" "I won't stop him." "Come on, pigeon." "Is it all right if I get my coat?" "Drop the gun!" "Put your hands up." "Turn around." "One murder a night is enough." "Oh, thank heavens, Lieutenant." "I don't know what's going on." "Th-This man rushed in with a gun and-and he..." "Gently, please, I bruise easily." "Don't I, Gil?" "Well, Mr. Larkin." "Looks like you figured it just right, Lieutenant." "Afraid I did." "Could I have a second?" "Surely." "These are my arrangements." "Is it all right if I take them?" "Go ahead." "About that, uh, scene I mentioned... we ran overtime and had to cut it at the last moment." "I'm sure you don't mind." "It had nothing to do with the story... but, uh, it was a lot of fun making it." "Good night."