"She deserved to be compared with Mary Stuart." "No-one else ever had two such diverse claims to fame." "One is a murderess, the other is a martyr, but she was a lady." "A real aristocrat." "I hear his mother was supposed to be a big-time actress." "The way I heard, she was supposed to be a big-time whore." "To my mother!" "He's doing his 'nostalgic mama' thing." "Italians love that." "I said, for Mother." "All right, scum of the earth." "Let's all give generously." "My mistress has a libation to perform." "Come on..." "Give me your heartfelt offerings for my wife." "Here you are..." "Of course, you'd much rather be drinking from my skull." "Oliviero, not like this." "To our joyous matrimony!" "Bottoms up, dear wife!" " Quaint customs you have here!" " Why yes, my dear." "We have a cultural background straight out of Attila the Hun." "So sorry, my mistress." "I got the wrong mixture, I guess." "Where do you think you're going?" "This is Brenda." "Not bad for a maid, huh?" "In losing our colonies and then gaining a servant like Miss Brenda," "I think we made a whale of a deal." "Have you a thing for black girls, Oliviero?" "A common Caucasian disease called the white male's burden." "Who knows if a night with a negress isn't everyone's secret dream... ♪ Daughter, daughter, lift your head What colour are your eyes?" "♪ Daughter, daughter, look ahead Don't let them tell you lies" "♪ Be yourself, prove yourself Help yourself, free yourself" "♪ Know yourself, show yourself Help yourself, be yourself" "♪ Daughter, daughter, please yourself" "♪ Daughter, daughter, lift your eyes What colour are your dreams...?" "♪" "Clothes hide the tools of the world." "Naked we are all equal!" "♪ Daughter, daughter, lift your head What colour are your eyes?" "♪ Daughter, daughter, look ahead Don't let them tell you lies" "♪ Be yourself, prove yourself Help yourself, free yourself" "♪ Know yourself, show yourself Help yourself, be yourself" "♪ Daughter, daughter, please yourself" "♪ Daughter, daughter, lift your eyes What colour are your dreams?" "♪ Daughter, daughter, sweet and wise No man is what he seems" "♪ Daughter, daughter, lift your head What colour are your eyes?" "♪ Daughter, daughter, look ahead Don't let them tell you lies ♪" "It's simple for this generation to come on like it's something because when you get right down to it, it's nothing at all." "How dare you, to have put that on?" "Why?" "Doesn't it excite you to see me like her?" "You wanted to give a show like always." "So all the better in costume!" "Which mother was the real mother for you?" "Mad Mary or bloody Mary?" "You're a crummy slut!" "You're a stinking whore!" "No!" "Ah, the bottles!" "Look at all the bottles!" "I'm not against drinking, good God." "I'm the first to enjoy having a triple now and then, but I don't understand how these folks' livers can take the excess." "They're always inviting friends over, Mrs Molinar." "Them critters that sleep out at that camp ground." "If you ask me they look like they crawled out of the forest." "Now, don't believe for a minute that I include you, my dear, but Professor Oliviero has got the strangest ideas." "My God, to think that 40 years ago" "I was working in his house with his mother, the countess." "There was a harlot, brought him into the world." "Those were the days." "Hello there, Satan!" "He's the only intelligent critter around, if you ask me." "God!" "Have respect for an old lady, why don't you?" "Road hog!" "Dario, since you're so hot with chocolate drop, how about putting in a word for me with the great white mistress?" "You can put in a good word for me for both of them." "I like salt and pepper on my meat." "Forget it, that there is way out of your league." "The things that go on in Villa Rouvigny would blow your provincial mind." "Fighting these international shippers is getting harder every day, Mr Rouvigny." "Sometimes it takes months to get a book from London or Paris." "You'll have to be patient." "Tonight at the usual place?" "All right." "If I can make it." "I may be busy." "Listen, you can bag all that shit if you're working all the time." "Like you began with me out back at the schoolhouse, so now you pay." " Will that be all, sir?" " Yeah, fine." "Thank you." " Bartello, put these on my account." " Sure, Mr Rouvigny." "It's beyond me why Perini's have never re-issued any of your books." "It'd be a pleasure to see them in our windows." "I'd find a new publisher if I were you, Mr Rouvigny." " Good morning." " Good morning, Mr Rouvigny." "Get away!" "Scat!" "I'll kill you one of these days." "Trying to drive Satan outwith a broom?" "There's a twist in exorcism." "I just wish your cat would leave my coop alone." " You eating out tonight?" " If I feel like it." "Help!" "Help!" "Oliviero, Oliviero!" " What do you want?" " Somebody just drove in." " So what?" " It's the police." "What do you think they're here for?" "You must have gotten in late last night." "I didn't hear you." "Brenda's not here." "You'll have to answer the door." "Come on." "Real heavy sleepers, Inspector." "Morning." " Mr Rouvigny?" " What do you want?" "I'm sorry to wake you up at this unusual hour." "I'm Inspector Farla." "It's annoying, I know, but there are some questions I'd like to ask you." " Concerning?" " Well, let's say they're... personal." " I'm Oliviero Rouvigny." " I know you very well, Mr Rouvigny, at least by name, that is." "Odd though it may sound, even Inspectors do a little reading now and then." "I'm no fanatic, but I do recall one or two of your books having passed through my hands." "Don't you feel that that we better go inside, Rouvigny?" "Yeah, sure." "Come in." "This may be rather unpleasant for Mrs Rouvigny to have to listen to." "I'd prefer our talk were held in private." "Why?" "There are no secrets between us." "So much the better." "That should expedite matters for us." "Last night you had an appointment with a young woman who worked at the Bartello bookstore." "Am I right?" "Fausta?" "Yes." "I used to see quite a bit of her, Inspector, but not last night." "The fact is, I taught Humanities for a short while at the local high school, and Fausta took some of my courses." "And people talk about kids' indifference." "To see a friendship lasting between pupil and professor, eight years after school is out is quite touching." "Don't you think so, Mrs Rouvigny?" "Very." "The truth is, all of Oliviero's female students had a weak spot for him." "I imagine it was never more than a passionate crush." " One sugar or two?" " Without sugar is fine, thank you." "So I presume that Fausta has turned me in for allegedly standing her up?" "Sergeant." "Unfortunately, I don't believe she had time for that." "We rather doubt she died of a broken heart, Mr Rouvigny." "Good God..." "That's just what we're trying to find out." "At the moment, all we know for sure is that her throat was cut with a sharp, curved blade." "A sickle, quite possibly, Mr Rouvigny." "I'd like you to tell us just exactly where it is you were last night between 8:00 and 10:00." "I was here at the villa." "My wife can confirm that." "Ah, I see." "Is there anyone else who can confirm it?" "Some household servant, for example?" "As you probably know, we've got a negro girl." "Yesterday was her day off, though." "She often stays out all night." "Anyone else spend the night at the villa?" " What do you mean?" " Any of the inhabitants of that mountaintop mad house they call The Worldwide Campgrounds." "It's amazing, the network townspeople have for spreading gossip." "No." "Last night, no one." "I'm sorry to have to put you through this." "And it may happen again." "You see, murder has a habit of involving all sorts of people for no reason." "So, you don't have a trip lined up, do you, Mr Rouvigny?" "I see." "No... no trips lined up." "That's what I thought." "A writer's mind does all his wandering." "Well, whatever, don't stray too far." " You've made your point, Inspector." " That goes for you, too, Mrs Rouvigny." "Sure." "I don't know, Bartello probably overheard our conversation." "The girl was persecuting me." "It's been going on for years." "She was impossible." "She seemed to refuse to accept the fact that it was all over and done with." "Anyway, thanks." "You could've undone me." "Got me locked up for nothing." "I was late because of an accident." "A tyre blew out on me." "There's no need to say anything." "Yeah." "It might spoil your new image of me running around carving up women's throats." "Completely impotent as a novelist, but what a sadistic killer." "Who knows, someday I might even try it." "Maybe this throat will be my very first one." " There was no need to say anything." " Let me go!" "A tyre blew out on me so I got it repaired." "Is that clear?" "And you watch your mouth from now on." "Be careful." "The kids from the campground are here." "Should I let them in, sir?" "Tell them to go away." "I have enough whores in this house as it is." "Get out!" "Go on!" "Please, you have to call the police." "Are you out of your head?" "They already suspect I killed Fausta." "It'd be like putting a noose around my neck." "They'll say I'm a crazy homicidal maniac." "But you've got to!" "I'm not going to." "They'll never believe I didn't do it." "But you don't believe me either." "You have to help me, please." "You've got to help me do something." "We can't just leave her there." "We've got to get rid of her." " What do you mean, get rid of her?" " Just that." "Listen, no-one will miss her." "If questions get asked, we gave her the sack." "And she left without telling us." "She didn't tell us anything about where she'd gone." "In the cellar!" "We'll bury the body in the cellar." "Where no-one will be able to find it." "It'll disappear forever." "You'll have to clean it." "Get all the blood out." "Bury the gown with her." "I can't do that." "You know I can't." "Damn it." "You can tell." "Man, keep it down, boy!" "You can put the groceries there." "How come Brenda's not here, Mrs Rouvigny?" " We let her go." " You fired her?" "And she just took off?" " Hm." " Well, I'll be damned." " Is there anything wrong?" " No, nothing!" "It's just that I got along pretty well with Snow White." "That was my nickname for her." "Ah, wait a second..." "I brought some mail for you." "I was at the post office and Maroni slapped it on me." "He thought, since it was a wire, it might be urgent." " A telegram for us?" " Yep." "Good news, I hope." "ARRIVE MONDAY TRAIN 15:00." "REGARDS, FLORIANA." "That loudmouth little ball-breaker." "Dumb ass visiting relatives is all we needed." " Didn't she come to our wedding?" " I think so." "It was '58 when my sister moved to Paris." "You know the loudmouth little ball-breaker isn't little any longer." "Yeah, I know." "Hey!" " What's the matter, honey?" " He touched me right on..." "Right here." "He couldn't help it." "It's his camouflage training." "You look too good to be real." "Giovanna!" "Welcome home!" "Welcome home, my dear." "Ignore the loudmouths, dear." "Soldiers behaved better in the old days, back in the Great War." "She's not here." "Well, let's go home again." "How do you like that?" "First, the ball-breaker invites herself, then makes us come here for nothing." "Better this way." "Hi Oliviero!" " Thanks a lot." " Any time." "Thanks!" "Ciao!" "It's cheaper than hitchhiking and you meet the grooviest people." "He was going to Bologna and came out here just for me." "What's the matter?" "Are you sick, Oliviero?" " You couldn't be Floriana?" " That awful little child?" "Yep." "And don't gawk so hard." "Any moment you'll swallow a fly." " How are you, Irina?" " Fine, thanks." "There's no need to ask about you, though." "You look marvellous." "Let's get moving." "The sooner we get back to the villa the quicker we can celebrate." " Here, let me take that." " Thanks." "How many rooms do you have here anyway?" "Too many." "We've emptied out quite a few of them, though." "They're a hazard." "The whole roof is going to fall in on us one of these days." "Well, I've never had to cope with that feeling." "I've never had a roof of my own." "Doesn't earn much, your genius, does he?" "Oliviero claims that the novel is dead." "What's really dead is Oliviero." "He hasn't been able to write a single line for three years." "The only thing he sells nowadays is the household furniture." "It's only a cat!" "And a pretty one too." " Are you afraid of cats?" " I just don't like him." "His name's Satan." "He belonged to Oliviero's mother." " Aunt Esther's famous companion." " Yes." "What's this?" "Don't tell me." "A pair of black silk stockings, no less." "Irina, have you some kind of fetish going on or something?" "Hm?" "Give it here." "They must belong to the girl who used to work for me." "I had to let her go." "She was completely hopeless as a maid." "Let's finish your room." "So you went to live in this commune." "How long were you there?" "Six months." " What did you do in the commune?" " Everything, pretty much." "Did you hear that, Irina?" "A couple of months or so in there would do you wonders." "Where the women belong to everyone." "Where the men belong to everyone!" "His sex is old hat and he's scared to death of impotence." "Literarily speaking, of course." "Sex is a very demanding occupation." "The basic requirement is imagination." "Something Irina is totally devoid of." "Isn't the tired illustrious author" " being a little naive?" " What else is there?" "All the imagination in the world wouldn't do you any good, if you couldn't get a hard on." "Well, go see who it is." " Mrs Rouvigny?" " Yes." "Sorry to bother you." "I was asked to deliver this." " Thanks." "Goodnight." " Goodnight." " What the hell is it?" " I don't know." "You had it dry-cleaned, you fool." " No, I thought you did." " Sure." "You're going upstairs." "Come on." "No!" "Oliviero, please!" "No." "Irina!" "Irina!" "Oliviero!" "What's going on around here?" "Nothing's going on around here." "Irina doesn't feel well." "It's been a hard day." " Is there something I can do to help?" " No, not now." "She's just tired." "It's not easy keeping this house up without servants." "I also feel tired." "It's a strenuous trip coming from Paris to here." "See you tomorrow." "Who is it?" "Excuse me." "I just wanted to get some notes out of this closet." "Do you need some stationery?" "No, I'm just writing down addresses." "Now, would she or wouldn't she?" "However sad the world of Oliviero Rouvigny, however unimaginative, his niece Floriana stands poised to help her helpless uncle enjoy life again." "What made you decide to visit us?" "Hearing the news about Aunt Esther's kicking the bucket." "Just didn't get it together until now." "What have you heard about me?" "Nothing." "Just the usual." "That since you got married your illustrious brain has gone sterile." "That you're a brute, an alcoholic and a drug addict." "Etcetera, etcetera." "Etcetera, etcetera." "Incidentally, is it true you slept with your mother, Oliviero?" "When you were already grown up, I mean." "Is it true about you being a two-bit whore?" "Well, they might be considered two bits well spent." "Irina!" "What the devil did he lock you up in here for?" "He said you weren't feeling well." "Can you make it to your room?" " Yes." "Where is he?" " I just heard him go out the front door." "For God's sake, why didn't you call for help?" " He's a damn sadist." " You don't know." "You don't know how sick Oliviero is." " He frightens me." " You mean he's crazy?" "Well, sometimes." "He doesn't realise what he's doing." "Come to my room." "I knew Oliviero belonged to a family of nuts but I think you ought to get him to a doctor." "No..." "He's sick, but doctors?" "No." "No outsiders." "I want to help you Irina." "If you trust in me." "What is going on?" "Last week we had a visit from the police." "They found this woman with her throat cut..." "Now you know it all." "You can't go on living with someone you think is a killer." "Don't say anything, please." "Don't repeat a word of what I've said to Oliviero." "Because, oh my God, I'd be dead if he knew." "Not as long as I'm around." "You've got a fever." "You're really boiling." "Now, don't you worry." "I won't say a word to the monster." "Naturally, I'm on your side." "All the way, Irina." "You're very sweet." "But now..." "Yes, go on, say it." "Now that you know, you'll want to leave." "And rightfully so." "It never entered my head." "We're going to be allies, the two of us." "United." "Why are you doing it?" "Hello?" "Good evening, your honour." "Giovanna just got in from Florence this morning." "Giovanna!" "You remember, the one with the funny little scar." "Certainly." "Tomorrow?" "Tonight?" "Well, she's very tired." "Poor girl." "She's had an awfully rough day." "Yes, marvellous." "Till tomorrow then, your honour." "Get plenty of rest now, your honour." "Good night, your honour." "I really am kind of tired, Aunt Millie." "I think I'll turn in, OK?" "It's nothing like it was, Giovanna, my dear." "Now all my customers have money and the prices are going up daily round here." " Sleep well, darling." " Goodnight!" "Tomorrow's going to be a big day!" "Aunt Millie, is that you?" "Hey, hot potato, got any cream in that tricycle?" "Hot potato?" " Well, mash me, mash me!" " I'll need some cream." "The best in the county, coming right up." "Because it's the purest, the freshest and it's the only kind I've got." "How provincial." " You're not Italian, are you?" " I'm a hybrid." "So you're the latest victim of their slave trade." "Before you, they had this coloured chick." "Made the poor girl do every dirty job in the book." " Could be why she hightailed it." " Did you know her very well?" "What a piece of..." "She was a nice girl." " She shafted you then?" " Well, not exactly." "One bright morning and she was gone." "I hope she didn't end up like poor Giovanna." "How's that?" " Morning, Mr Rouvigny!" " Morning." "Certain days I race trail bikes." "If you want to go along I'll show you a real hot potato." "Yeah?" "One potato, two potato, three potato, four..." "Kind of pleasant, this integration of Europe, don't you find?" "Sorry, I'm afraid I'm a bit behind the times." "One of the pitfalls of a writer." "Integration in what way?" "Here we are in a piazza in the north of Italy with German ale and Scotch whisky." "It's all poison, no matter where it comes from." "That's the trouble with you intellectuals." "Your cynical pessimism." "Come on." "You're not going to tell me that the homicide squad is a hotbed of humour, Inspector?" "No, it's not." "We do whatever we can with whatever is available." "And to think that our laboratory even has a magnifying glass somewhere." "Jokes apart, though." "I'm very sorry." "You're sorry?" "Why?" "Well, the killer turned out to be the bookstore manager." "Ah, you mean Bartello?" "His real name was Lipori." "Seven years ago he escaped from an institute for the criminally insane." "Killing women gave him sexual gratification." "Well, you shouldn't have any more problems, then." "No." "Not with this particular case." "But who knows what the next will bring." "So you see, dispatching my ex-student to that great high school in the sky wasn't my doing." "You'd like to believe that only there's this tiny voice that can't stop saying, "Oliviero's a killer."" "Does it arouse you to think that you're sleeping beside a killer?" "Let go of me." "You're drunk!" "Yes, I'm drunk as a lark." "As drunk as I was that night!" "But as drunk as I was I did not kill our black Cinderella." "It wasn't me." "I didn't do it." "Do you understand, wife?" "I didn't do it!" "All right, husband." "Why don't you go and tell the police that?" "No!" "You're mad!" "You're crazy!" "Let me..." "Let me..." "Dario Louis, number 7, has taken the lead on this 5th lap." "And it looks like he's trying to set a very fast pace." "Armando Carchidi, number 3, has dropped back to 2nd and Lucio Cavallero is holding onto 3rd." "4th the Spaniard, Luis Borrego." "Come on!" "Come on!" "Leader Dario Louis, number 7, has just cut the Gopher Tail corner." "Looks like he's got mechanical trouble and may be out of the race." "Cavallero has taken over the lead, and four seconds behind is Luis Borrego, with Carchidi in 3rd and closing fast." "Say, where's the Gopher Tail corner?" "Down at the base of the hill." "Thanks." "Stupid bitch of a rotten mother of a lousy no good psycho." "I'm waiting three laps for the finish and you conk out on me." "Shit!" "Hail, son of the centaurs." "Three whole months I've been working on this goddamn race." "This mother has to get its valves all clogged up just when I was winning." " What are the valves, anyhow?" " Go to hell, will you!" "Go home." "I'm sorry, Floriana." "I didn't mean it." "It's just that this race was everything to me." " Everything." " Was it really?" "There they go on their last lap." "Come on." " Well, here we are." " Here we are, where?" " Here we are where we want to be." " Here we are!" "The Eskimo insulated bag is highly recommended for when climbing in the Himalayas." "And here's the bridal suite..." "You don't mean we're going to make love up here?" "Why not?" "What do you want?" "The Grand Hotel?" "It's more romantic here, isn't it?" "Watch your head." "Here we go..." "the instant bed." "Did you make love to the coloured chick here too?" "Such nasty thoughts!" "You're not prejudiced, are you?" "Come on, get undressed." "It's not cold." "Don't just stand there fidgeting." "Come on!" "You and your preparations." "Good grief, you're slow." "Come on!" "Hm, I swear!" "If I ever get the national trail racing championship," "I'm going to hire me a maid just like you." "Come on." "See, you can't change your mind once you're zipped in." "Here we go, beautiful." "You're good." "Maybe we could even do it again sometime." "But no complications, understood?" "What do you want?" "Just old bottles..." "and newspapers and junk." "Get out of here!" "Get out of here!" " Ah!" " Well?" " When will we have another go?" " Who knows?" " Didn't you like it?" " Tremendously." "Can't you tell me when you think you'll be free?" " I'm always free." "Ciao." " Ciao." "You almost gave me a heart attack." "What are you doing here in the dark?" "What is it?" "Are you all right, Irina?" "An awful thing just happened, Flo." "With that beastly cat." "And no I'm so afraid." "So terribly afraid." "And you're the only one who can help me." "Take it easy." "Calm down." "Come on, tell me what happened." "Well, it's about Satan." "That little monster is diabolical." "Irina." " My wife dead?" " Oh, cut it out!" "Why did you buy that awful stuff?" "Awful stuff?" "It's a question of taste." "Satan's favourite meal is sheep eyes and cream." "Irina, come on, it's nothing." "Why don't you get some brandy?" "Or at least a glass of water!" "I guess Satan's in love too, at the moment." "I haven't seen him since yesterday." "If life had only granted me someone like you before, it all would have been so different." "You're so beautifully fresh." " Go away!" "This beast...!" " Calm down." "It's all over." "You just had a little shock, that's all." "Here, drink this." "That's it." "Now, don't be scared." "He's still totally unaware." "And luckily, the cat's disappeared." "Is this how the coloured girl looked when you murdered her?" "All right." "I don't look like Mary Stuart but then you're no Earl of Leicester either." "I've done research on the subject." "Quite a story, two queens struggling against each other." "Extremely enlightening." "And what's Irina story?" "That she's stuck here with a drunken homicidal maniac?" "No, nothing like that." "It's just that with all that's gone on here lately she's frightened out of her wits." "And you?" "You see a lot more when you're willing to look." "Yesterday, when you were spying on us in that loft of course I saw you." "It had to be you." "I kept thinking of how it would have been to have had you in that bag there." "And you?" "I see you're the cheap piece of tail I thought you were." "And you really have the imagination you claim?" "Take this dress off right now." "You rip it off my shoulders." "Strip me down." "No." "It's all right." "Irina!" "Irina..." "Where did these come from?" "Do you mind answering me, Irina?" "I lost the other one so..." "So I got a new pair." " It's odd." " Why?" "The cat's been gone now for two days." "He hasn't come around at all, not even to eat." "Don't you find that odd?" "What have you done to him?" "Have you hurt him?" "Are you crazy?" "Why should I hurt the cat?" "Because you would loved to have hurt him." "And I know why." "You hate poor Satan because he belonged to my mother!" "And because he belongs to me like you never did, because he's a part of me like you can never be, because you're a stinking, rotten lousy slut!" "Please, Oliviero." "Please stop it." "I can't take this torture anymore." "It wouldn't take much - one small push." "You're hurting me." "No..." "No!" "Captain, could I ask you a question?" "Well, I'm not a..." "Ah, good morning, Mrs Molinar." "Good morning." "Can you help me?" "I'd like to speak to the Police General." "You'll find him at the station." "See that sign there?" " Thanks." "Good morning to you." " Good morning, ma'am." "You wish he were dead, don't you?" "I know life is hell for you." "I've seen it." "Why do you stay?" "He'd never let me go." "Never." "You could be wrong." "He told me last night he wants to kill you." "No." "Destroy his plaything?" "His victim?" "He wouldn't think of it." "It's just his way of bragging." "What he really wants is to go to bed with you." "He already has." "Jealousy?" "You jealous, Irina?" "No, not the way you think." "He's a failure, not only as a writer." "And he knows it." "And refuses to acknowledge it." "Perhaps that's the cause of the whole thing." "Have you ever thought of ending the whole thing, once and for all?" "It would really be quite simple." " Quite simple?" " Hm-mm." "You'd just have to choose the method, that's all." "Like, for instance, a picnic with a tragic ending." "The husband slipping and going over the precipice." "The inconsolable widow." "Doesn't it sound romantic?" "Now that I've found you I can't take her anymore." "Between her hysteria and your sex fixations" "I can't take either of you anymore." "You keep this up, I'm leaving." "Now, I think you'd better go." "Any moment she could walk in on us and I haven't the least desire to see another one of your spectacles." "You're not going to see another spectacle because I'm getting rid of her this time." "Please don't leave me." "I've re-opened the wall in the cellar." "There's plenty of room for her in there." "I swear this time I'm serious." "You're drunk." "Get out of here." "You were spying on me, weren't you?" "I'm going to break your bloody neck." "You, just watch it." " What do you want?" " Come down." " What do you want?" " I'm racing tomorrow." " I have to leave early in the morning." " So what?" "Why don't you come?" "If I win, I'll be up for a contract to race for a manufacturer." "I'll meet you down at the bridge at 8:00." " Come on." "We'll have a ball." " Get out of here." "You'll wake everyone." " Not till you tell me you'll be there." " All right, I'll be there." "No go." "Ciao." "Such a simple solution, wasn't it?" "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever take it." "I didn't know there was..." "Look at this." "Look what it says!" "I knew he was going to kill me." "He'd already opened up the wall in the cellar, right next to the coloured girl." "You can tell your side till you're blue in the face." "You're still going to spend the rest of your life in prison." "Yes." "You know judges are almost always married." "And they're not about to absolve a wife who has..." "It's a matter of..." "defending a privilege." "My mother once told me that Auntie Esther had a valuable set of jewels." "Where are they?" "They're no use to you now." "I'll inherit them anyway." "Please, Flo." "Please don't talk like that." "You should take the jewels with my blessing." "My God, I couldn't care less." "But don't run out on me." "Partners, huh?" "All right." "Let's get rid of the body." "This is all there is." "I've no idea what they're worth and I don't want to know." "Hm." "Her taste was awful." "But then value is what I'm interested in." "Auntie Esther's lovers gave her these and they were all rich men." "Take them." "They're all yours." "Well, I think I'd better be on my way." "No." "Not yet." "Please, I'm afraid." "Yes, I believe you are." "That's your problem, though." "So start facing up to it." "What are you going to say about Oliviero?" "That he went to..." "He's gone on a cruise." "In a month I'll..." "Don't know." "I'll just leave, I guess." "Well, it was some little vacation." "Ciao." "Please stay, Floriana." "Just for tonight, would you?" "Please, Floriana, don't go." "Tonight, but tomorrow I go." "No." "Don't you think that my way of making you feel sleepy is far nicer?" "Floriana?" "Floriana?" "Floriana?" "Who is that there?" "Why did you ask me to stay?" "Were you planning to kill me?" "No." "Floriana, what are you going to do?" "Floriana!" "Floriana!" "She's sure to be at the bridge at 8:00 now." "She has no other choice." "Yes." "It'll be the end and the start of everything." "You came to the end you deserved!" "I'm only sorry you suffered so little." "I only pray that there is some kind of life after death, because then your mother will be there to tell you just how long my vengeance has taken." "Since I started by killing her!" "And I saw to it that you could lie together with your little black slave for eternity." "You hear me, Oliviero?" "Yes, yes, it was I who had your darkie killed!" "Simply for the delight of watching you begin to think you might actually have done it yourself." "It was so easy." "So easy with your memory drowned in alcohol for me to slash away until your last scrap of self-confidence was ripped to shreds." "Oh, I destroyed you, yes." "Little by little." "Hour by hour." "And I was going to go on destroying you and see you burst with madness." "Until I found out you wanted to get rid of me as well." "But I hope somewhere some part of you is still alive so you go on suffering for ever." "It went all slick as oil." "It was child's play." "Even simpler than that coloured girl." "And the jewellery, did you get it all back?" "All of it." "She'd put it in a plastic bag, of all things." "The bitch." "Convinced she was the smartest thing around." " The problem now is the two bodies." " Why?" "Typical highway accident." "I meant the two corpses in the cellar." "They might be found." "Come here, Walter." "I want to show you something." "How about bringing them up here in the middle of the night?" "What do you think?" "Far enough down for you?" "What can I say?" "It's a great idea." "Hello, Mrs Rouvigny." "We were just about to give up and leave." "No one answered the door." " Good morning." " Mrs Rouvigny." "Back again?" "We thought it was all settled." " Well..." "You see, my husband's away." " No, it's you we're here for." "You're accused of a gross crime, Mrs Rouvigny." " A crime." " Yes, torturing a cat." " A cat?" " Yes, sounds silly, but it's one of those things we have to look into." "Mrs Molinar, the old junk woman." "I understand she worked for your husband's mother," "Countess Esther Rouvigny, at one time." " Yes, I know her." " Well, she filed a formal complaint." "The truth is, raising white doves is a hobby of mine." "That beast was always doing its best to make a meal of them, so I..." "Nature, I understand." "I just thought I'd talk to you first before calming down the old lady." "I'm sure she only did it out of the goodness of her heart." "If you'll write out a statement for us..." " Do you want to come in?" " Yes, thanks." " I hope you'll accept a drink." " I shouldn't." "For some reason I can't get the feeling I'm on duty investigating a cat!" "Thanks." " Here you are." " Thank you." "To your health, Mrs Rouvigny." "And to the cat's too." " That's him in the picture, isn't it?" " Yes." "Do you hear that?" "The cat seems to know we've come on his account." "Black, infernal beast." "He frightens me, Inspector." "There's something about him..." "No, don't worry about it...!" "Sounds like it's coming from that door." "It leads to the cellar but that door's always shut." "Well, it's open now." "If we find him we'll get rid of him for you." "No, my husband's very attached to him and he'd be awfully mad if the cat weren't here when he came home again." "From his meowing, it sounds like he's hurt." " I think we'd better have a look." " But..." " I don't see him." " Some great vintages here." "Barolo, Gattinara '51, Cabernet, Merlot '56..." "I swear this is where the meowing was coming from." " This one here is worth a fortune." " I'm afraid I wouldn't know." " Well?" " I don't know." "Seems he isn't down here." "Since you enjoy wines, here, take one if you like." "You're too generous." "I'm not sure you're husband..." "Oliviero would insist." "Please take it." "How can I refuse?" "Thanks very much." "There's a hole in the wall." "Looks like it's been dug out from inside." "And the plaster all around it is fresh." "He's there." "He's in there." "The monster is in there." "Mrs Rouvigny, calm down." "Take it easy." "There's nothing to be afraid of." "He wants me to die, to be destroyed." "He's a monster!" "He's Satan!" "He's Satan."