" Here you are, lady, number 13." " Thank you." "Our new home." " Come on, Jeff." " This is it, huh?" "Yes." "Come on." "There, how do you like it?" "It's kind of somber looking, isn't it?" "Darling, you've already made up your mind that you're not going to like it," " Now, haven't you?" " Oh, no, no, I think it's all right." "Well, anyway there'll be a lot of people around, and you'll have a chance to meet them and talk with them and find out what goes on inside of them." " That'll be 75 cents." " Keep the change." " You know, this place looks familiar to me." " It's familiar to me, all right." "I got the biggest tip I ever got in my life out of that joint." "25 bucks for hauling away a couple of stiffs." " Trying to be funny, wasn't he?" " I hope so." "It was just some pigeons." "Hey, are you sure it was 13 Gay Street?" "Come in." " Mrs. Troy, isn't it?" " Yes, and this is Mr. Troy." "Dear?" "Dear, this is Mr. Turner." " I didn't expect you till next Thursday." " I know." "But we thought as long as the apartment was vacant, we could come in a little earlier." "My husband is anxious to get to work." "Aren't you, dear?" " Well..." " We'll be very happy to pay you" " For the extra few days." " That's not the point." "You see, I haven't had the lights connected yet." "Besides, the housekeeper hasn't finished cleaning the place." "Oh, dear, our furniture is already on its way." "It ought to be here any minute." "We'll just have to make the best of it." "I did so want you to see it nice and bright for the first time." "Then perhaps you could go to a hotel for the night?" "By tomorrow everything should be ready for you." "Yes, but the furniture." "That's right." "Lead the way." "What was that?" " It wasn't the 6:00 whistle." " No." " Mr. Turner." "Mr. Turner." "It happened again." " What happened again?" "I was cleaning in the basement and that thing, whatever it is," " Crawled across my feet." " That thing?" "What thing?" " Mrs. Salter, you're talking nonsense." " But it's true." "For a minute I couldn't move." "It held me to the floor." "This is the third time it's happened, Mr. Turner." "I'm not going down there again, even if you fire me." "I will fire you if you don't stop this foolishness." " Now, go in my apartment and wait for me." " Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "Poor woman." "Suffers from hallucinations." "Keeps imagining some big animal crawls across her feet." " Absurd, isn't it?" " Yeah, silly." "Well, shall we take a look at our little nest?" "Honey, it's down here." "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" "Mr. Troy, your wife tells me you're a novelist." " That's odd." "She never told me." " Oh, darling, I don't tell you everything." " What kind of books do you write?" " Till now nothing but murder mysteries." " Murder mysteries?" " Yes, you know, the kind with blood seeping under the door and all that horrible stuff." "But my husband's next book is about Greenwich Village, a love story." " I see." " Come on, darling." "There." "It's all right, what I can see." "But just imagine how it's gonna look with all of our things in it." "I have everything planned out." "You'll have to make this do until the lights are turned on." " Very well." " The door." "I forgot to tell you, Mrs. Troy, the lock won't be fixed until tomorrow." "You'll have to prop something against it." "I'll hunt up some candles." "Oh, no, don't bother." "We're going out for dinner just as soon as our furniture arrives and we'll pick some up then." " Anything I can do?" " No, thank you, that's all." "Good night." "I hope you'll get through the night all right." " Yes." " Huh?" "Oh, yes." "Well, now, how do you like it?" " It's swell, it's grand, only..." " Only what?" " I've got the strangest feeling that..." " Now, listen, Jeff," "Mr. Turner told you that that housekeeper was a little..." "Nutty." "Oh, yes." "No, no, it's not that." "But I've got a feeling I've been in this place before." "Everything looks familiar." "Those windows and that door and the fireplace." "Now, how could you have been here before?" "This place has been vacant..." "Jeff!" " That thing." " What thing?" "That crawling monster is on my foot." "Don't be silly." "Come on, dear." "I'll show you the kitchen." "There." "Nice and airy, isn't it?" "Come on." " The bathroom." " It looks all right." "And now, the bedroom." "Just imagine being awakened by sunlight every morning." "And look..." "Here, hold this." "A garden outside of our bedroom window, and right in the heart of New York City." "Come on out and take a look at it." "See?" "A fountain." "I don't know how I've got along without a fountain all these years." "Oh, Jeff." "And we can put roses all along this patch, and..." " I wonder how they got it in here." " Got what in here?" "The horse." " What horse?" " Here's a horseshoe." "Jeff, that's good luck." "Close your eyes and make a wish." "I wish my dear wife had never found this place." "I wish my dear husband weren't such a dope." "I wish he'd just soak up some of this lovely atmosphere and write a best seller in which no one was murdered." "I wish my husband would do that again." " All right, all right." " Telegram for Mrs. Troy." " Yes, I'm Mrs. Troy." " 65 cents collect." " Well, come on, give it to me." "I'll pay you." " You didn't pay your light bill." " You're cute." "Pay him, dear." " Here, keep the change." "Thank you, sir." "And in the future, be more polite to ladies." "Who's it from?" ""Axle broke at Eastport, furniture will be delayed two hours." "Blue Van Express."" "Good, let's go and eat." "Well, how can we?" "Our bags are there and we can't lock the door." "Well, let's put them in that little hallway, that door locks." "Okay." " Anne!" "Anne!" " Anne who?" "Anne, wait a minute." "Anne!" " Hello!" " Why, Nancy." "Where on earth did you come from?" "But where did you come from?" "I haven't seen you in ages." "It's been two years at least." "Let me look at you." "You look wonderful." "I never was so glad to see anybody in my life." "Neither was I. Now tell me, where have you been keeping yourself?" "Around." "Where have you been keeping yourself?" "Around." "Anne, this is my husband, Jeff Troy." "This is Anne Stafford, dear." "Anne Carstairs, I'm married, too." "Well, congratulations to both you girls." "Carstairs, do I know him?" "What does he do?" "Well, he works in a brokerage house downtown." "You don't know him, but you should." "He's really swell." " I'm sure he is." " I'm swell, too." " Who asked you?" "Anne, do you live here?" " I live on the second floor." "How wonderful, we do, too." "We just moved in to the basement apartment." "Basement apartment?" "Well, why did you move here?" "I mean, did somebody tell you..." "I'm so mixed up, I don't know what I'm saying." "I have to be running along." "I'm terribly late." "How about you and your husband having dinner with us tonight?" "I can't." "We've already arranged to have dinner at home." "Besides, we're terribly busy, we seldom go out." "As a matter of fact, I..." "Well, I'll be seeing you." "I've got to hurry." "Well, that was a funny way to act, wasn't it?" "She was in a hurry." "Yes, and right in the middle of a sentence, too." " Well, have you know her long?" " Yes, I've know her for a long time." "I met her when I first came to new York." "We used to live in the same apartment house." "Of course, I haven't seen her in a long time." "But we were always the best of friends." "Jeff, what did I say to make her change like that?" "Nothing, except that we were moving in." "Come on, let's go and eat." "But I tell you, Scott, I didn't say a thing." "Yes, I know, dear, but you have ways of revealing things without saying a thing." "She's an old friend of mine." "I'm positive she's all right." "Darling, I have told you time and time again we can't trust anybody." "Don't you think you'd better come in instead of jabbering out in the hall." " I've to get upstairs and get dinner." " No, darling, that will wait." "I think you're allowing yourself to become upset over nothing, Scott." "They appear to be a nice, quiet couple." "Not the prying type at all." " What does he do anyway?" " That's the part I don't like." " He's a novelist, writes murder mysteries." " Fine." "So let him write them." "Yeah, so long as he doesn't try solving them, eh, Turner?" "What do you mean by that?" "I'm not guilty of any murder." "Now, now, Turner, nobody said you were." "The thing I can't understand is, why should a novelist live in this decrepit place?" "Why do we live here?" "You mean you think they're forced to live here the same as we are?" " Maybe." " No, I don't think so." "I'm sure they haven't the slightest idea of the mess we're in." "Mess is right." "Sometimes I think it would be better to just go to the police" " And tell them the whole truth." " Here, here, dear." " She's always talking like that." " Well, she's frightened." "Yes, and some day she will go to the police." "Then you know where we'll all wind up." "You'll get your head knocked off if you don't stop picking on her." "Now, now, now, there's no use in fighting among ourselves." "We've been together for a couple of years and we've been pretty loyal to each other." "We have no secrets." "Trouble has brought us closer and closer together." "We're all in the same boat." "The idea is to figure a way to get out of that boat." " I'm sorry." " Yes, you're right, Lingle." "Come on, darling, let's go upstairs." "Hey, look." "Looks like a good place to put on the feedbag." "You funny man." " Your check, sir." " Never mind," " He always gets the wrong hat anyway." " For two?" "Yes, please." " How's the food, the best?" " The very best." " Something to drink?" " Yes, please, two Old Fashioneds." " Two Old Fashioneds." " And, waiter, will you first bring me an order of dry toast." "Did you say rye toast or dry toast?" "It makes no difference, I just want to stick it under the leg of this table." "Well, in a place like this they'd call that good horse sense." " Where is the phone, waiter?" " Under the stairs." " Thank you." " Who do you want to phone?" "The cleaners about the drapes." " Hello, George." "Hiya, Harry." " Hello." " Hi, handsome." " Hiya, Polly." " Too big a bite." " Hiya, Polly." " Hi." " Cute hat, princess." " Have a drink, Polly." " I've seen the light, brother." "Comment ça va,  Polly?" " Hello, Frenchie." "Hiya, Polly." "Well, you're a stranger around here, aren't you?" "Not exactly." "I've been here a couple of minutes." "Artist, sculptor, painter, writer, tourist?" " Just hungry." " Writer." " That's right." " Hey, Pauline." "Well, what are you going to have?" "Our specialty is planked white fish." " Fine." "Well, we'll have two specialties please." " Two?" " My wife and myself." " A wife." "Come on, sit down." "She's gone to phone, she'll be an hour." "Thank you." "I understand." "Goodbye." "Hello, I want to see you right away, understand?" "You'll find out what it's all about when I see you." "Never mind where I am." "You stay there on Gay Street until I get there." "I'll be over there in a few minutes." "No, not in your apartment." "Meet me in the basement apartment." "What's the matter, haven't you got any ears?" "That's exactly what I mean, the basement apartment at 13 Gay Street." "You'd better be there." "Jeff, while I was in the telephone booth I overheard..." " Excuse me." " Darling, this is Polly." " Hello, darling." " Hello, Polly." "My name is Nancy." " How do you do?" " What did you say, Nancy, while you were in the phone booth you overheard what?" "Well, you see that man over there?" "The big one standing by the bar?" " Yeah." " I heard him talking in the next booth." " And he was threatening someone." " Who?" "Did he mention any name?" "No." "No, he didn't even mention his own name." "Why worry about a phone conversation?" "If you'd minded your own business, you wouldn't have heard him." "But he was telling whoever it was to meet him in our apartment." "They can't meet in a phone booth." "What's more natural..." " Did you say in our apartment?" " Yes, dear, that's right." " You probably misunderstood him." " Oh, no, I didn't." "I distinctly heard him say, "13 Gay Street, basement apartment."" " What?" "13 Gay Street?" " Yes." "Yes." "Why, does that surprise you?" "Why, I live there." " I have an apartment on the second floor." " Well, well, well." "Why, we're neighbors." " We just took the basement apartment." " Well, that's grand." "I'll probably be seeing a lot of you." "I must get back to my work." "All right." "And as for that beetle-browed guy over there, don't give it a second thought." "He's been in here several times, he's always suffering from jug trouble." "Enjoy your dinner." "I'll try to get back in time to give you some bicarbonate." "All right." "Jeff, I'm scared." "Okay, I'll go over and see what it's all about." " Are you really going over there?" " I certainly am." "After I've gulped down my drink." "Martin, I have to go out on an errand." " You take care of everything till I get back." " Yes, ma'am." "Well, you've finished your drink, haven't you?" "Oh, yeah, so I have." "Well, here goes." "All right, honey, come on back and sit down." "You can sip this one." "Jeff, don't be a fool." "Don't be silly, I've always been a fool." "Hiya, pal." "Hiya." "I guess you've forgotten me, eh?" "We met here a few weeks ago, don't you remember?" "Well, how have you been getting along?" " Out of my way, I don't even know you." " Hey." "Here, who are you pushing?" "Yep, that's what I figured." "He asked for it." " I could have sworn he said this address." " Nonsense." "Nonsense." "Jeff, the candle." "You left it burning, didn't you?" "Well, it's probably blown out." " The draft, huh?" " Sure." "You know, we were supposed to get some candles and we forgot it." "Yeah, that guy Turner said he'd find us some." "I'll go on upstairs and see if I can..." " Now what's the matter?" " Listen." "Do you hear that noise?" "What noise?" "I can't hear any noise." "Can't hear a thing." " You're letting your imagination..." " Keep quiet." "Now do you hear it?" " Sounds like water running." " Yes." "Wait a minute." "Here." "See?" "I told you it sounded like water running." " Don't you realize what that means?" " Sure." "The water meter wasn't turned off." "I could have told you that." "There's a fire ordinance that prohibits turning off the water." "That's not what I'm talking about, you idiot." "Who filled the tub?" "Who filled the tub?" "Why..." " Yeah." " That man from the restaurant's been here." "Nonsense." "Why would he want to fill the tub?" "Well, maybe he wanted to wash off the blood after the beating you gave him." "Honey, I'm sorry." "I thought you were making fun of me." " Well, I wasn't." " Well, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." "Gee, everything's gone wrong today." "No furniture, and the lights are out," " And so many strange things happening." " I know you're jittery, but you don't have to make snippy cracks at me." "Well..." " My toe." " Did you stub it, dear?" "Oh, no." "I'm playing like I'm a stork." "Look." "It's our luck piece." "Wait a minute." "I remember distinctly having put it right here on the windowsill." "Yeah, so you did." "Well, how did it get..." "That's what I want to know." "How did it get over there?" "Now, dear, there's nothing strange about it." "Oh, yes, there is, when you add up all the odd things that have been happening around here." "First the candle's out, then the tub is full of water, and now this." "I can give you the solution to the whole business." " You can?" " Sure." "That guy in the restaurant came here to take a bath." " Yes." " Well, he's a very modest fellow, so he blew out the candle and took his bath in the dark." "Then he discovered there were no towels, so he pitched horseshoes to dry himself off." " You funny man, you." " Well, I guess I'll go out and borrow some more candles before the furniture comes." " Bring the light a little closer." " I don't know if I should or not." " Come on, come on." " All right, all right, all right." "Gee, it's stuck." "Here, wait a minute." " I'll turn the key and you pull." " Okay." " Are you ready?" " Yes." " There." "Oh, honey, pull hard." " I am." " Maybe the key's in crooked, huh?" " No, it turns easily, see?" "Wait a minute." "What's the matter?" "Let's get out of here!" "Don't you think we ought to go and find out what it's all about?" "Aren't you scared?" "I was scared 15 minutes ago." "I'm petrified now." "Here." "Listen, you go and stand over by the door." " But..." " Lf you hear anything unusual, run like the devil." "And leave the door open for me." "Look, it's a turtle." "A turtle?" "Yeah, you must have put the candle down on his back." "Hey, come and take a look." " He's a big old rascal, too." " Yeah." "Darling, the crawling monster on the housekeeper's feet." " That's right." " Of course." "Look." "Look, there's carving on his back." "Yeah." "They're initials, BP, MW, LS, J..." "JT, they're my initials." "Hey, do you remember my telling you this place looked familiar?" "Well, it is, this used to be a speakeasy." "Yes, this was Joe's place." " Well." " And this was Old Hickory." "Why, he was a pet around here." "Those initials on his back were the roll of honor." "Roll of honor?" "Every New Year's Eve they had a drinking contest, and last man on his feet was placed on the roll of honor." " Darling, and you only made it once?" " Why, I only competed once." "Those were the days." "Come on, Old Hickory, I'll put you to bed." "Jeff, where does he sleep?" "He used to sleep out by the fountain in the garden." "Turtle." "What do you know?" "Jeff." "Jeff." "What is it?" "Who's there?" " I..." "It's me." " It's the landlord." "Mr. Turner, am I glad to see you." "The housekeeper found this lamp." "I thought you might be able to use it." "Thank you, that's just what we needed." "Hey, how did you get in this door?" "I tried for five minutes to open it." "I just turned the knob." "Well, that's funny." " Good night, again." " Good night!" "Well, we finally got here." " The moving men at last." " I'm sorry we're late, Mrs. Troy." "That's all right." "Why, a few more hours and the furniture would have been antiques." "Darling." "We're glad you got here at all." "Don't you think you ought to start bringing it in?" "Sure." "Certainly, Mrs. Troy." "Anything you say." " Thank you." " Okay, Chuck, start throwing it in." "Okay." " Thank you." " It was nothing." "Boss, it's starting to blow." "Looks like rain." "We don't work when it rains, do we?" " Where do you want this, Mrs. Troy?" " Just put it down anywhere." "But I don't want you to have to lug those big pieces around, Mrs. Troy." " Mrs. Troy is as strong as an ox." " Just put it down there for the time being." " Put it there." " Well, aren't you going to help him?" "Sure, but I don't exert meself till we get to the big pieces." " Speed it up, Chuck." " Yes, sir." "Well, this time it's really stuck." "This is the last, Mrs. Troy." "Where do you want us to put it?" "Well, that goes in the bedroom, Pat." "Come along and I'll show you." "They sure collect a lot of junk." "Just put it right here." "That's fine." "Are you sure there ain't nothing more we can do for you, Mrs. Troy?" "No, thank you, Pat, I think we've done enough for one day." " There you are." " Oh, no, no." "Mrs. Troy, we couldn't take that." " Speak for yourself." " Scram." "It was a pleasure, Mrs. Troy, a real pleasure." "Thank you, Pat, that's very nice of you." " Well, good night." " Good night." "Good night." "He's such a powerful man, isn't he?" "Just a big wholesome boy." "Look, Mrs. Troy, you've been trying to make me jealous all evening." " Don't you think you'd better give it up?" " Why, Mr. Troy." "I'm going to bed." "Your pajamas are in the bag outside in the hall." "I broke my nose." "Darling, what's..." "Darling, I'm so sorry." "You poor little thing." "Jeff, it's all right." "Let me see." "Let me see." "Is it broken?" "All right." "Hey." "Hey." "Beat it." "Who are you?" "What do you want?" " Where is he?" " Where is..." "Jeff." "I don't know." "Still out there absorbing Vitamin D, huh?" "Why can't he sleep late like other men?" "Now, see here, what's this all about?" "You have no right to come charging in here like this." "My husband will take care of you." "Jeff?" "Jeff?" "Better not go out there, lady." "Say, what's this all about anyway?" "Well, we got a report that there was a guy sunbathing out in your backyard." "Oh, dear, he's been walking in his sleep again." "He ain't walking lady." "He's lying down." "I'll call headquarters." "Wake him up, Officer." "Wake him up." " Jeff?" "Jeff?" " It's too late, lady, he's dead." " What are you doing here?" " What are you doing here?" "Well, I went out to get some groceries..." "What?" "Why, I live here." " What's the matter?" " We just found a stiff in your backyard." "A stiff in the..." "What?" "Yeah, a dead person." "But I..." "But she..." "Nancy!" "Nancy." "How..." "Jeff." "Jeff." "Darling." "Aren't you dead?" "I don't think so." " Aren't you?" " Oh, no." " Nancy, sweetheart." " Jeff." " Somebody's dead." " Yeah, somebody's dead." " The man in the restaurant." " Yes." "Darling!" "What are you staring at me for?" "What does it look like, Inspector?" " I just got here." "Where is it?" " It's in the basement." " Any clues, Bolling?" " Yeah, a hat full." " All right, let's see it." " Come on, open up." "Break it up." "Break it up." "Well, there goes those guys with the big basket." "That means he's dead, anyhow." "Come away from that window, Polly, they'll see you." "Why shouldn't they see her?" "There's a lot of excitement going on in the street so she looks out of the window, that's natural." "You're right, we're not acting natural at all, huddled together in one room, scared to death." "I'm going downstairs and find out what's going on." " Scott." " It's not natural" " To stick your nose into things either, Scott." " You may be right, Lingle." "But sooner or later they're going to come around here asking questions." "Yeah, and the first person they approach will probably be..." "The man who's in charge of the building." " But I can't go down there, they know me." " Then you won't need an introduction." " That's not funny, Miss Franklin." " Who's laughing?" "Seriously, I think you'd better drop down to your own apartment." "They'll be looking for you soon and they ought to find you." " Well, what'll I tell them?" " Tell them nothing." "If that guy gets the chance to hang the rest of us he'll do it without the slightest hesitation." "He'll be all right, I think." "He's too scared to even make sense." "Come on, dear, let's go up to our own peaceful little apartment." "As I said before, there's no sense in us all sticking together" " As though we committed the murder." " Well, I imagine one of us did, don't you?" "Well, whoever it was I want them to know I appreciate it." " You're sure you never saw him before?" " Never." " Not before last night." " I see." "And you're positive you heard him talking over the phone to someone in this building?" " Yes, sir." " Therefore the person who killed him lives in this building." "I wouldn't be so anxious to make that point, Mr. Troy." "After all, you live here, too." "Yeah, and you admit exchanging blows with him." "There was no exchange." "Only two blows were struck." "He struck my husband, my husband struck the floor." "Now, Nancy, I pushed him once, didn't I?" "What's a little push, you didn't kill him, did you?" " Well, I..." " Of course you didn't." "Bolling, see if you can scare up the manager of this building." "Watch Mr. Muscles try to get that door open." "There must be a knack to that." "Well, well, well, if it ain't little Eddie Turner." " Hello, Bolling." " Come on in the parlor." "Hey, Inspector!" "Look what I found on the stairs." "Hello, Turner." "Still hanging around the old joint, huh?" " I own the building." " I ain't surprised." "The prices you and Joe used to get for that bathtub gin." "Hey, were you Joe's partner?" "Up to a certain point he was Joe's partner, weren't you, Turner?" "Then one day poor old Joe turned up missing." "Didn't he, Turner?" "I don't know what happened to Joe." "He and I never had any trouble." "We got along fine." "You mean you got along fine." "Say, there's a guy out in the backyard who can't tell us who he is." "Maybe you can." "Jeff, don't you go meddling out there now, it's none of your business." "I'm not going to meddle, I'm just going to take a look." "What did you find out, Doc?" "I don't think that blow on the head killed him." "Can't tell until we perform an autopsy." " Come here, you." " Come on." "Take a look." "Go on, look at him." "Know him?" " Yes, sir, his name is Louis Kaufman." " How long have you known him?" " About three months." " How well did you know him?" " Just enough to say hello, that's about all." " Know where he lived?" "No, sir, I never asked him." "As I told you, I've only known him a short time." "What do you know about him and where did you meet him?" "Well, I met him here in the building." "That is..." "Look, Hankins, I don't know anything about this." " Whereabouts in the building?" " Well, he..." "I..." "Stop stuttering and speak up." "He came here about three months ago to rent an apartment." " You rented him one, didn't you?" " Yes, sir, on the third floor." "Well, why did you say you didn't know where he lived?" "Well, I thought that..." "I mean, I was confused." "I thought you meant before he moved here." "Besides, he didn't stay here all the time." "Let's go upstairs and have a look at his apartment." " Excuse me." " That's all right." "Look, Inspector, if he lived on the third floor, why did he tell somebody to meet him here in our apartment?" "Maybe he didn't tell somebody to meet him here in your apartment." "But you're forgetting, my wife told you that she heard him make the date over the phone." "Oh, no, I'm not forgetting what your wife told me." "Here, wait a minute." "You're not insinuating that I..." "Mr. Detective, do you think the Inspector would object if I fried myself a couple of eggs?" "I'm hungry." " Go ahead." " Thank you." "If you fry 'em without breaking 'em, Mrs. Troy, I'd like to get a picture" " Just to show my wife it can be done." " I wish my husband had said that." "Inspector, if I'm a suspect in this case I've got a right to be heard." " A suspect?" " Very well, what do you want to say?" "Well, in the first place, I think you're going about this thing all wrong." "My, my, my, I'm sorry to hear that." "Look, Inspector, why don't you let me take this guy down to headquarters where we can have a nice quiet talk?" " Here, here, here, you let go of him." " Take me down to headquarters?" "Threatening me with the third degree, eh?" "Well, let me tell you something, the police are not allowed to use a rubber hose on anyone these days." " Can't we?" " No rubber." "Go ahead, Mr. Troy, you were saying I'm going about this thing all wrong." "Here, how about some nice ham and eggs?" "Now, don't you think..." "Just a minute." "Well, in the first place, you've no reason to think" " That my wife is lying." " Who said I was lying?" " Now, easy..." " All right, all right." "Your wife told the truth." " Now what do we do?" " Follow it up." "Find out who was talking to the dead man over the phone." " Question everybody in this building." " Thank you so very much, sir." "But do you mind if I take one look at the dead man's apartment first?" "Go ahead, but you're just wasting time, you probably won't find a thing." "Come on, dear, let's have some breakfast now." "Come on." "Hey, look here." "Murder in the Laundry,  Murder in the Post Office." "Murder on the Warf,  Murder in the Chop Suey Restaurant." "Somebody's been reading up on murder." "Murder in the Laundry by Jeffrey Yort." "You said you were a novelist, you didn't by any chance..." "Yeah, yeah, I wrote every one of them." "Here." "Here, Jeffrey Yort, that's my name spelled backwards." "T-R-O-Y, Y-O-R-T." "Y-O-R-T, T-R-O-Y." "Do you get it?" "Well, what more do we need, Inspector?" "This guy's got murder on the brain." "Murder on the brain." "Hey, that's a swell title." "Didn't you write a book called Murder on the Terrace?" "Yeah, it's right here." "How'd you like it?" "Well, as far as I can remember, it's the kind of a detective story that knits." "Knits?" "Oh, yes, I know what you mean, it's all knitted together tight, all the clues fall in place, eh?" "No, I mean knits." "It knits." "K-N-l-T-S." "You spell that backwards, too." "K-N-l-T-S." "S-T-l-N..." "Well, well, well, what do you know." "Empty." " You don't seem surprised, Turner." " I am." "I am." "Now, you're not gonna tell us you thought the place was furnished?" " It was furnished." " When?" "The last time I was up here." "A couple of days ago, I think it was." "He moved all his furniture out of here without you knowing it, huh?" "Yesterday morning I was at the bank transacting some business." "It could have happened then." "I told you you wouldn't find a thing up here." "Go away." "What sort of furniture did he have?" "The usual thing, I didn't pay any attention to it." " What color were the drapes at the windows?" " Honest, I don't remember." "You've got the same bad memory you had when your partner Joe disappeared," " Haven't you, Turner?" " No, no, no." "All right, come on out, Mother Hubbard." "I haven't done anything, honest, I haven't." " Who is this?" " Mrs. Salter, the housekeeper." "Honest, Mr. Turner, I don't know anything about it." " About what?" " About the furniture disappearing and..." "And whatever else has happened." "What makes you think anything else happened?" "Why, I saw the police arrive out my window out front, so I came in here to see what I could see out of those back windows, then I saw that all the furniture was gone." "Naturally, I was excited because it was here last night, and I heard somebody coming and I hid in the closet." "But why did you hide in the closet?" "I just told you." "I was looking out my front window when the police arrived, so I came in here to see what I could see out of those back windows, then I noticed that all the furniture was gone." "Naturally, I was excited because I saw it here last night." "Then I heard you coming and I hid in the closet." "You heard me coming and then you hid in the closet." "Why?" "Inspector, I can tell you why she hid in the closet." " Yeah?" " Sure." "She was looking out of her front window, she heard the police come, so then she came in here to see what she could see out of the back, then she found all the furniture was gone." "Well, naturally, she was excited because it was here last night, then she heard somebody coming, so that's why she hid in the closet." "I should be a detective." " Hello." " Hello." "Well, there's been a lot of excitement around here today, huh?" " Hello." " Hello." "Well, there's been a lot of excitement around here today, hasn't there?" "Yes, I was watching things from my window." "You were, hey?" "Hey, is that coffee that I smell?" " Yes, do you like coffee?" " I'm a great coffee drinker." " Well..." " I'd love it." "Come on in and have a cup." " Say, this is a cozy little place." " Thank you." " How do you like your coffee?" " Just as it comes, please." "No sugar." "Thank you, but aren't I taking your cup?" "That's all right, I'll get another one." "This coffee's been warmed over, hasn't it?" " Yes, how did you know?" " You'd have to heat it twice to get it this hot." " You've got a cozy little place here." " You said that before." "So I did, yeah." " Nice boy." " My son." "I keep him in a school upstate." " Where do you keep his father?" " About as far away as possible." "I'm a divorcee." "By the way, did you know that man that was killed was the same fellow that was in the restaurant last night?" "Why, yes." "Well, why didn't you tell me that he lived in this house?" "Don't use your handkerchief." "Wait, I'll get a towel." " That's my letter." " Oh, yes." "It's all right, it'll soon dry out." " Yes, I'm to mail it." " I'll mail it for you, there's a box right downstairs." " Mr. Troy, please." " It'll be all right." "I'll bet it's from the boyfriend." "I'm sorry, I forgot to knock." "That's all right, sweet, we were just kidding around." " Yes, about this letter." " Yes, about this letter." "I see." "Well, when you get through playing post office, your breakfast is ready." "Or maybe it won't be." "Nancy, darling, wait a minute." "Nancy, do you know, I think Polly thought you were jealous." " Take your hands off me, you wolf." " Nancy, sweetheart," " You're not jealous, are you?" " Of course I'm not jealous!" "I..." " Now, let go of me." " You are jealous." " I am not, and don't speak to me." " Suppose I acted that way about you." "You never have, have you?" "I certainly have not, jealousy is a childish trait." "What about that moving man last night, you weren't jealous of him, were you?" " I was not." " "I was not."" "Oh, no, no." "You were just mad enough to kill, that's all you were." " Don't be silly." " Now I'm silly." "Maybe you should have stayed up there instead of coming down here and..." " Now see what you've done." " See what I've done?" "Yes, yelling about me being mad enough to kill somebody with a corpse in the backyard." "Matt, take a couple of men, find out what you can about the other people in the building and report back to headquarters." "I think we've found something, boss." "The guy was conked with this horseshoe." "There's some blood on it, and those strands of hair are the dead man's." " Any fingerprints?" " Yeah, quite a few," " A man's seems to predominate." " Yes, and I'll bet they're Troy's." " Nasty looking..." " Hey, that's mine." " It is?" " Yeah, that's our luck piece." "Not so lucky for the other guy though, was it?" " What do you mean?" "I don't get it." " Where'd you find it, Curly?" "It was hidden behind this chair." "Well, it must have fallen down, it was on the windowsill." " It was, huh?" " Yeah, I found it out in the backyard." "Hey, wait a minute." "Do you think that's what the murderer used to..." "Now you're getting hot." "And I mean hot." "Get your hat." " What?" " Get your hat." " Come on." " But..." "That's 30 for tonight." " Who is it?" " It's the electrician." " How do I know you're an electrician?" " How does she know I'm an electrician..." "Turn on your light switch." "The lights are on." "I don't need an electrician." "Look, lady, I'm the guy that turned them on." "Will you open the door?" "Why should I open the door?" "'Cause you can't sign your name through the woodwork." "All right." " There." " Thank you, ma'am." "On the bottom line." "Looks just the same." "Ain't changed a bit." "Lady, the stuff they sold in this joint would take the hair right off your..." "Well, look." "And they used to call me Bushy." "Did you ever make the honor roll?" " On the turtle?" " Yeah." " No." " My husband did." "He did?" "Well, then hang onto him, lady." "Do you mind if I use this door?" " Why, no, but why?" " Just nostalgia, lady, just nostalgia." "Nancy." "No!" "No!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Cut it out, will you?" "Wait a minute, Charlie, hold it." "There's somebody down there." "You bet your life there's somebody down here." "Well, what are you doing down here?" "I'm hanging out my laundry, what do you think I'm doing?" "Come on and help me get out of here, will you?" " Go back the way you came." " I can't, the door's locked." "I'll run around and open it for you." "Hey, Nancy, the killer's home." "Hey, baby, where are you?" " Okay." " What's okay?" "Hello." "Hey, why did you close it again?" "Open it." "Open the door!" "Please!" " Jeff!" " Hello, dear." "Why, your mascara's running!" " You funny man." " But, angel..." " Now, tootsie, what are you sore about?" " Go away." "Nancy." "But listen, sugar, don't you want to hear about what happened down at headquarters, giving me the third degree and everything?" " Yes, but after I've had my bath." " But I haven't had a bite to eat all day." " What?" " I'm hungry." " Well, go munch on some crackers." " All right." " Don't spoil your dinner though." " No." "I have a nice roast all ready for the oven." "That's right." "There we are." "Now, then." "Now then, pepper and salt." "Hundred, 250." "Now, potatoes, potatoes." "What are you doing?" " Nothing." " You're awfully quiet." "Sure, that's because I'm doing nothing." "Now stop kidding and tell me what really happened." "Well, I just wanted to surprise you, but I guess I wasn't used to that oven." "Oh, no, no, I mean what happened down at police headquarters?" " Oh, that!" " Yes." "Well, they asked me a lot of questions." "At first they thought the guy died from that crack on the head, but after the autopsy they found out he was drowned." " Drowned?" " Yeah." "Remember the water running out of the tub when we came in last night?" "I'm gonna get some more coffee, but you go on talking." "Well, I told him about it." "See, whoever killed him must have knocked him unconscious and then put him in the tub..." "What is it?" "What's the matter?" "I took a bath in that tub." "Well, why didn't you stop me?" " Well, you were dirty, dear." " Jeff!" "This is a horrible place!" " Let's get out of here." " Get out?" "Oh, sugar, don't talk silly." " Whatever became of your great idea?" " What idea?" ""Jeff," she said, "if you want to write about Greenwich Village," ""you must live in Greenwich Village" ""and meet the people who live in Greenwich Village."" "You're not meeting people." "You just meet cops and corpses." "But, Nancy, don't you see?" "This is our big break." "Why, I came down here to write a story." "And by Jupiter, I've got one." " But it was going to be a love story." " Well, you love me, don't you?" " And I love you, don't I?" " Well, what's that got to do with it?" "Well, that's our love story." "Two people deeply in love with each other" " Get mixed up in a murder." " I don't like it." "But, sweet, listen to me, I've never had a really successful book." "Well, that's because you keep on writing murder mysteries." "No, it's not." "It's because they're corny murder mysteries." "Well, this time I've got a real plot." "I'm going to find out who killed that guy and then I'll write the novel." "Think of the publicity I'll get." "Jeff, it isn't worth it." "This place gives me the jitters." "Why, right now I feel as if someone were watching me." "Nonsense." "How could anybody..." " You do?" " Yes." "That's funny." "You know, I sort of feel like..." "Somebody's watching me, too." "Let's go upstairs, see if Tip-toe Turner's got some curtains or something." " I feel like a fan dancer." " How do you know how a fan dancer feels?" "Because I've felt a..." "Because I felt like a fan dancer." " Cold." "You know what I mean." " Oh, yes, I know what you mean." " You do?" " Yes." "Goodbye." "Be patient, he'll get it open." "I beg your pardon." "I hope I didn't frighten you." "Frighten us?" "Well..." "Oh, gosh, no." "I was cleaning my gun and it accidentally went off." " Frightened poor Mrs. Salter out of her wits." " Well, I should imagine so." " We wanted to ask you..." " Won't you come in?" " Thank you." " Thank you." "We wondered if you could find us some sort of window shade, Mr. Turner." "People keep looking in at us." "I'm sorry, I've ordered shades, but they haven't come yet." " Well, how about this Afghan?" " That'll do very nicely for the door." "Now if we could just find something for the windows, huh?" "Well, there must be something that ought to serve temporarily." "Yes." "Hmm!" "Yum yummy, huh, honey?" "I was just looking." " Quite an unusual screen, isn't it?" " Yes." "It was left here some time ago by a tenant." " It ought to do the job, if you'd like it." " Thanks." "We'll take it." "Darling, I thought the idea was to stop people from looking in." "The pictures will be on the inside, sweet." " Sorry." " I beg your pardon." "Mrs. Troy, this is Mr. Lingle who has the apartment across the hall." " How do you do?" "This is my husband." " Hello." "How do you do?" " Can I give you a hand?" " It's all right, thanks, I can manage." "Good night, Mr. Turner, and thank you." " That's quite all right." " Good night." " You stupid cluck." " What have I done?" "That screen came out of the apartment on the top floor, didn't it?" "That's all right." "I told them I've had it for a long time." " Did you point out the address to him?" " What address?" "Bruhl's address, 507 West 12th Street." " It was written on the screen." " Well, why didn't you tell me?" "I just saw it as he carried the screen out the door." "Say, wait a minute." "Where are you going?" "To get the screen back." "I'll tell them I've changed my mind." "No, you haven't got a mind." "Jeff!" "Jeff!" " I know." "You want a drink of water." " Look." " What are you doing?" " Nothing." "Why, it's Old Hickory." "That turtle." " Darling, what did you let him in for?" " He must have come in through the door." " Good night." " Good night, dear, good night." "Jeff." "Now what?" "Jeff, there's somebody in this apartment." "I can hear him moving around." "Well, tell him to sit down and be quiet." "Hear it?" "I wish I didn't." "Don't go out there." "You might get killed." "Oh, no, you've only had three lessons." " You wait here." " Oh, no, I'm going with you." "If you're going to be murdered, I'm going to be murdered, too." "Stop talking about murder." "You might as well give up." "You haven't got a chance." "Jeff, are you hurt?" " I don't think so." "Turn the light on." " All right." "I'm going to give up fencing." "Look." "A knife." "That scraping noise." "Do you suppose he wanted one of these pictures?" "I hope not." "Here." "Now let's see." "Look, here's something." "Looks like it's been scratched off." " Something 07 West 12th Street." " That looks like the top of a five." "Yes, it is. 507 West 12th Street. 507..." "Now, that address is familiar." "Where on earth..." "I've got it, Polly's boyfriend." "That was the address on that letter." "The letter that you and she were playing post office with?" "That's it, all right, and the name of the guy was Bruhl, Andrew Bruhl." "Well, whoever it was, he didn't want us to see that address." "Call me a cab, will you, sweet, while I get my clothes on?" "But, Jeff, it's after 1:00 in the morning." "In that case, if Mr. Bruhl is a respectable guy, he'll be home and asleep," " And I'm going to wake him up." " You mean we're going to wake him up." " No, you wait here, toots." " All right, but be careful, honey." "Okay." "What's your boyfriend looking for?" "Trouble?" " Why, no." "Why do you say that?" " I don't know." "I guess 'cause that joint looks like the kind of a place where trouble lives." "Nonsense." " Good evening." " It's morning." "Yes, well, I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's very urgent that I see Mr. Bruhl." "I thought so." "For months people have been coming around here asking for Mr. Bruhl, Mr. Bruhl." "But I must say the others had the decency to come in the daytime." "Well, I'm sorry, but could I see him?" "Not around here you can't, because there ain't no Mr. Bruhl living here and there ain't never been no Mr. Bruhl living here." " Well, then why the..." " Good night." "Old bag." " What did she say?" " Well, she says that Bruhl doesn't live there, but I don't think she's telling the truth." "Don't tell me you're going to start writing the basement murder mystery at this hour of the night?" "I'm going to write a nice, friendly letter to Mr. Andrew Bruhl of 507 West 12th Street." "Tomorrow morning I'm going over there to see whether it's delivered or not." "That's funny." "I'm going to be at 507 West 12th Street tomorrow morning myself." " Here he comes." " At last." " Hey, mailman." " Yeah?" "Haven't you got any mail for me?" "Andrew Bruhl at 507." " Bruhl?" "Nope." " But you must have." " A nice white envelope about so big, huh?" " Sorry." "Just move in?" "Why, no." "You've delivered lots of letters to me." " Oh, no, I haven't." " But certainly you have." "Listen, mister, I've been on this route for over a year and I'm dead sure I've never seen your name." " Sorry, maybe I'm wrong." " Maybe you are." "Well, what do you know about that?" "I write a letter and it's not delivered." "Well, look in your pockets, maybe you forgot to mail it, huh?" "Why don't you stop it?" "You saw me mail it at the post office." "Yes, that's right." "Why don't we go to the post office and find out about it?" "Why don't we?" " Angel, it can't be you." "That's too smart." " I know a thing or two." "Your name is Andrew Bruhl" " And you live at 507 West 12th Street." " Yep." "And you say you haven't been getting your mail lately?" " That's right." " Well, I can understand that." "You've moved." "You now live at 143 Tilton Place." "Just a moment until I check and see if the carrier's been notified." " 143 Tilton Place." " That's it." "That's right." "You now live at..." "I know where I live." "Just give me three 1-cent stamps, please." "Next window." "143 Tilton Place." "Yeah, this is it." "Well, come on." "Have you any idea what you're going to do?" "What are you going to say?" "Well, just call me Eddie." " What is it?" " Mr. Bruhl at home?" " No." "Who are you?" " My name's Turner." "Edward Turner." " Come in." " Thank you, Edward." "Thank you." "I've no idea when Mr. Bruhl will be in, but if you want to leave a message..." "Well, if you don't mind, we'd like to wait." "Very well, wait if you want to." "Will you go in?" "Thank you." " Are you Mrs. Bruhl?" " Oh, no." "I'm Mrs. Devoe." " Won't you sit down?" " Thank you." " Thank you." " You see, this is my house." "I rent Mr. Bruhl an apartment on the top floor." "I see." "Of course, it isn't any of my affair, but I think you're rather silly to wait." "Sometimes he doesn't show up for days." "Well, he doesn't really live here all the time." "As a matter of fact, I often wonder if he lives here at all." "He just pops in and out to get his mail." "I see." "That's how you knew I was associated with him." "Mrs. Devoe must have seen my name on the letters, darling." " Oh, yes, Edward Turner." " Yes, I see it every Saturday." "I don't know what it's all about." "Of course it isn't any of my business." "And he gets a letter every week from Miss Polly Franklin, too, doesn't he?" " You know, Polly's Stable?" " Regular as clockwork." "And somebody named Lingle." "I suppose you know who he is?" "Oh, yes, yes." "Tell me, does he still get mail from Scott Carstairs?" "Yes." " How about Louis Kaufman?" " Kaufman?" "Kaufman..." "No, I don't remember any Kaufman." "Say, you seem to know more about this than I do." " What are you asking me questions for?" " Well..." "Well, naturally we're interested in knowing who else is doing business with Mr. Bruhl." " I see, yes." "Well, answer me a question." " Yes?" "What kind of business is this?" "You know, I've seen him taking money out of the letters." "Always in cash." "Never a check." "There isn't anything shady going on, is there?" " Oh, no, no, perfectly legitimate." " Well, after all, he's living in my house." "I wouldn't want to get mixed up in any trouble on his account." " Oh, no, of course not." " Look, Mrs. Devoe, you tell me what I want to know, and I'll tell you what you want to know." " What does Mr. Bruhl look like?" " Haven't you ever seen him?" "No, no, our business was all done by correspondence." "I see." "Well, he isn't exactly my type." "He's sort of large and bulky and smells of liquor most of the time." " He's a very unpleasant person." " Kaufman." " Who is Kaufman?" " Just a friend of ours who sounds kind of like your description." "Tell me, is he blond?" " No, he's black haired." " Well, not a bit like Kaufman, darling." "No, course not." " Is that all you want to know?" " Yes, I think that's just about all." "Well, darling, as Mrs. Devoe says, Mr. Bruhl may not show up for days." "I really don't think we need to impose on her any longer." " No." "Goodbye." " Goodbye." "Well, what do you know?" "Kaufman and Bruhl were the same guy." " Maybe." " What do you mean, maybe?" "You just heard that women describe Kaufman and say that he was Bruhl and everybody at 13 Gay Street was mailing him dough." " Blackmail." " Sure." "One of them killed the blackmailer and the others are helping to hide the murderer." "But, dear, don't you think it's odd that they're all living in the same apartment house?" " I've got that all figured out." " How?" "He made them live together so that he could keep an eye on them." " Well, maybe." " Maybe, maybe, can't you see?" "He mingled with them under the name of Kaufman and he blackmailed them under the name of Bruhl." "Then somebody found out and killed him." "Why, it's simple." "It's too simple." "Very well, Mrs. Sherlock, what's wrong with it?" "Well, dear, in the first place, Mrs. Devoe was awfully well dressed for a woman who has to rent out an apartment to make a living." "And that pearl on her finger." "Why, it was so heavy she almost couldn't lift her hand." " Didn't you notice?" " What are you getting at?" "Well, Mrs. Devoe isn't all she pretends to be." "She talks too much, too." "Yeah, come to think of it, why should she give me all that information?" "Because the murderer wanted you to have it." "Everything she told you, he wanted you to know." "If you'd just asked her" " A few unexpected questions." " Unexpected?" "Yes, you know." "Something that she hadn't had a chance to rehearse beforehand." " Yeah, you wait right here." " All right." "I forgot something." "I mailed a letter to Mr. Bruhl last night." " I wondered if you could let me have it back?" " I'm sorry, no." "Then I'll wait till he comes and get it from him." "Well, he was here at noon and picked it up." "He did, did he?" "I see." "Thank you." "Hello." "Yes, he was here." "Yes." "The girl was with him." "He swallowed everything, hook, line and sinker." "You've got nothing to worry about, he's proud of himself for having pumped so much out of me." " Well?" " You were right, sweet." "She said my letter was picked up at noon today." "Well, they certainly wouldn't let Kaufman out of the morgue to pick up his mail." "Then Bruhl, the blackmailer and the murderer, is still alive." " Yeah." " Jeff, I'm scared." "Hey, taxi." " Where are we going?" " To the police station." " That I'm in favor of." " Taxi, taxi." "Listen, there's one thing I don't get." "Why did you ask me to describe Kaufman instead of you?" "They're liable to check up on Kaufman and he'll talk, won't he..." "Dead?" "Kaufman's dead?" "Now, wait a minute." "I'm not going to get mixed up in any murder for you or anybody else." "Yes, I am." "I'm already mixed up in it." "He came back a second time and asked for the letter." "What would I tell him?" "Well, I told him Kaufman had picked it up today." "Yes, I know that was wrong, but you didn't tell me about Kaufman." "Listen, let's get out of town before..." "Taxi?" "Taxi!" "Taxi." "Here you are lady." "We'd be glad to give you a lift." " No." " Yes." "No." "I don't know what this is all about." "I don't know anything." "Well, nobody ever knows anything." "Come on." "Well, that's about all, except that it proves that a man named Bruhl was the murderer and that he's living in that house under an assumed name." "So you've boiled it down till all we've got is a house full of people and all we've got to do is to find which one is Bruhl." "I'll find out if you'll help me." "Very well." "What do you want me to do?" "Well, when the police investigate a murder, they try to find out all they can about the man who was killed, don't they?" "That's our method." "Maybe a little old-fashioned, but occasionally it works." "Okay, now what have you found out about Kaufman?" "Well, he's only been out of jail a month or so." "Did six years for forgery and before that he was a private operator for the Bruhl Detective Agency." " Bruhl Detective Agency?" " There, don't you see?" "Why, it all ties up." "That's where Bruhl got the information to blackmail these people." "And Kaufman found out what he was doing and tried to chisel in, so Bruhl knocked him off." "What makes you think Bruhl is a man?" "Could be a woman, you know." "Well, whether it's a man or woman I'm going to find out." "Come on, sweet." "By the way, if I were you, I'd have that Mrs. Devoe arrested and brought in for questioning." " That is an excellent suggestion." " Just common sense." "Send out a couple of cops and have her picked up." "You better make it quick." "Have Bolling and Mathews bring in that Devoe woman and quick." " Thanks for the advice." " It was nothing at all." " So long." " So long." "Is that quick enough?" "Yeah." "Go on, dear." "Bye, Inspector." "Then he must have had that Mrs. Devoe there all the time." " Of course, dear." " Nancy, Nancy." "Why, Anne, Anne, what's the matter?" "I thought you'd never get home." "I've been waiting for ages." " How did you get in?" " The housekeeper let me." "I had to." "I feel like I'm losing my mind." "You've got to help me, Nancy." " Of course I will, Anne." " Sure." " What are you afraid of?" " That's a silly question, Nancy." "You know what she's afraid of, the same thing we're all afraid of." "She's afraid that the reason for Bruhl blackmailing her will come out, aren't you, Anne?" "Bruhl?" "Blackmailing?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "Now, you don't have to pretend to us, Anne." "Why, everybody in this house knew about Bruhl." "He was taking all of us for our dough, but thank heavens he's dead at last." "Then he made you come here, too?" "Here, dear, sit down." " There." " There." "We're all in the same boat." "All in the same boat." "All in the same boat." "I've been hearing that for a year." "It was bad enough when Scott and I had to scrimp and stint ourselves in order to pay that terrible person." "At first when I heard he was dead I was glad, then I realized that one of us had killed him." "I've got so I don't trust anybody and yet I want to talk..." "I want to..." "I must keep my mouth shut." " I must keep my mouth shut." " Anne, Anne, you need a drink." "Me, too." "Now, tell me, Anne, how did you folks find out that Bruhl and Kaufman were the same person?" "Everybody suspected it, so when we found out he was dead," "Scott and Turner searched his apartment." "They found letters, papers..." "I don't know what all." "I see." "Well, who discovered that he was dead?" " I don't know." " Sure you do." "Your husband discovered it, didn't he?" "Oh, no, no, Scott isn't mixed up in it in any way." " I discovered it myself." " You did?" "I came down here to see Nancy." "I felt I had to talk to someone and Nancy was an old friend." "There was no one here." "I thought you might be in the backyard, so..." "I went and told the others." "That was a mistake." "I know it." "I've made nothing but mistakes from the start." "I should have turned myself over to the police in the beginning." "I was innocent." " Innocent of what?" " It's so long ago it seems unreal." " Do you remember Robert Higby?" " Higby?" "You mean the playboy murder case?" "That guy who was found shot in his penthouse about a year ago?" "Yes, I was in the apartment." "The shot came through the window." "I was scared and ran away." "Oh, yes, I remember reading about that in the papers." "So you were the mysterious redhead?" "The stupid redhead." "After the story died down I thought I was going to be all right." "I met Scott." "Then after we were married..." " Bruhl began to blackmail you." "I see." " Well, this ought to help." "Thanks, dear." " What did he have on Lingle?" " Well, Lingle was an art dealer." "He frankly admits he forged a painting." "The man who bought it set Bruhl on his trail." "And then Bruhl double crossed his client and has been making Lingle pay ever since." " Yes." " Do you believe Lingle's story?" "I don't know what to believe." "What do you suppose happened to Kaufman's furniture?" " Yes?" " We split it up in the various apartments." "We thought it would keep the police from finding out that he was Bruhl." "Now, about Polly." "I don't believe that a happy, light-hearted girl like Polly" " Could have anything to do with it." " Oh, no, no, I don't." " You did say light-headed, didn't you, dear?" " No." "Polly's only fault is that she's incurably romantic." "She wrote some silly love letters and this man got hold of them and threatened to turn them over to her ex-husband." "She has a little boy, you know." "And she was afraid the father would try to take the child away from her." " Yes." " I see." "Now, what about Turner?" "Well, Jeff, aren't you going to go and see what that was?" "I don't have to find out." "I know what it was." "Somebody screamed." " See, what did I tell you?" " Go on, dear." "Go on, Jeff." "Go on." "I think it came from the basement." "Hurry up." "Go on, honey." "Go on." "Well, what do you know." " What happened?" " She's all right." "She just fainted." " What frightened her?" " I know what frightened her." "That turtle." " Turtle?" " Yes." "There he is." "Old Hickory." "You numbskull, how would you like it if people went around frightening you?" " That thing, that thing." " Yeah, get that out of here" " Before she faints again." " I want to get out of here." " I want to get out of here." " Where did that thing come from?" " It used to be our mascot during Prohibition." " Hey, there's your wife." "Anne!" "What are you doing here?" "I thought you went out." "She was just down here visiting with us, weren't you, Anne?" " Then we heard that scream." " How long have you been down here?" "Yes, what were you doing down here, Anne?" " We were just gossiping." " Yes." " So you did blab, after all." " No, no, no, only about herself." " I knew about all the others except you." " Except me?" "Yes." "What did Bruhl..." "Yes, I said Bruhl." "I know he was blackmailing you all." "What did Bruhl have on you?" "Why should he tell you?" "So you can blackmail him?" "He's in it." "He was being blackmailed, too." "He told me." "So you tricked her into talking?" " I ought to punch you on the nose." " Wait a minute, Scott." " Scott, please don't." " Yeah, wait a minute, Scott." "If you could grow about a foot real quick, you could talk like that." "You think you're a pretty smart guy, don't you?" "I'm smart enough to know something the rest of you don't know." "He's just popping off." "Then why don't you wait a second and hear me pop off?" "Yes, wait a minute, Scott." "Let's hear what he has to say." "He hasn't anything to say." "Don't you see he's just trying to pump more out of us?" "Wait a minute." "Go ahead." "All right." "Well, to begin with, I'll tell you one thing." "I'm not interested in the private life of any one of you, only if in finding it out I can discover who killed Kaufman." "Somebody in this house did it and already I have a good hunch who it was." "The rest of you think you're protecting a benefactor." "You think that Kaufman was Bruhl." "But I tell you that Bruhl is living in this house." "Why, you're a silly man." "We have positive proof that Bruhl is dead." "What proof?" "There, you see?" "He's trying to find out more." "Come along, Anne." "Call me silly, but when things quiet down around here, you'll hear from Mr. Bruhl again." "You've got quite a lot of information." "Try using it on my wife and I'll stop you." " Good night." " Good night." "Good night." "You dope." "You told them that Bruhl is still alive." "You even pretended that you knew who he was." "Don't you realize what he'll do now?" "Sure." "As soon as he thinks we're asleep he'll probably come down here to knock me off." "Then I'll find out who he is." "That's a dandy idea, dear, just dandy." "When he comes down here to kill you, you'll know right away that he killed Kaufman." " Yes." " And then he'll kill you because you know that he killed Kaufman, and then I'll know he killed you, so he'll kill me." "Jeff, you're an idiot." " But, sweetie, you won't be here." " Why not?" "I've planned on your waiting in a hotel uptown." "Waiting for what?" "That little urn with your ashes in it?" " Nancy." " Jeff." "For years I thought I was married to a moody genius." "Now I discover you're just a plain fool." "Hey, wait a minute, those are my pajamas you're packing." "I'm glad to see you haven't lost your eyesight, anyway." "But I'm going to stay here." "This is my big chance." " It's the last chapter of my novel." " The last chapter of your life, you mean." "Don't you worry about me." "Jeff, for heaven's sake, you idiot, you haven't even got a gun." "Well, he won't have a gun either." "A gun makes too much noise." "So he'll drown you in the bathtub quietly." "Oh, no, he won't." "I can take care of myself." "Jeff, will you be sensible?" "Kaufman knocked you down with one blow and he took care of Kaufman." "You haven't got a chance." "Well, you don't want a husband that's a coward, do you?" "I'm not particular, I just want a husband." "Well, anyhow, I'm staying here." "I'm going to see this thing through to the finish." "Okay, darling, okay." "If you've made up your mind to stay, then you stay." " And I'll stay, too." " Now, dearest, be sensible." "Sensible people just go to the phone, dial 0 and ask for a policeman." "And let the police have all the glory after I've done all the work?" "All right, all right, all right, Jeff." "While we're waiting to be glorified perhaps we'd better make out our wills?" " Okay, you win." " You mean you'll go with me?" " Darling." " But I'll live to regret this." "Yes, but you'll live." "Now come on, help me pack." "Thanks." " I forgot my typewriter and my books." " Leave them, hon." "Leave my books?" "You're out of your mind, darling." "Driver, I wonder if you'd give me a hand?" "I got a lot of loose books here." " You stay there, sweet." " But hurry up." "All right." "Listen, pal, how would you like to pick up 20 bucks?" "Well, is it legitimate?" "Would you call it legitimate to drive that lady in your cab to an uptown hotel?" "You mean your wife?" "That's just it, my wife arrives on the midnight train." " You understand?" " Explicitly." "Just put them right in here, driver." "That's fine." "Hurry up, Jeff." "The sooner we get away from here, the better." "Okay, buddy." "Hey, wait a minute." "Driver, wait a minute." "Jeff." "You stinker." "That ought to do it." "Well, hello, Hickory." "Sorry that I can't ask you in, old timer, but I'm expecting company." "Now if you hear anyone coming, bark." "Who's there?" "Jeff." "Jeff." "Nancy." " Darling, am I glad to see you." " Gee, I'm glad to see you." " Hey, what are you doing back here?" " I came back here to be with you, of course." "But I told that taxi driver to take you uptown to the Shelby Hotel." "He took me to the first red light, then a cop took him to the police station." " You had him arrested?" " I certainly did." "But, sweet, don't you realize what that'll do?" "It'll bring Hankins and a raft of policemen down here." " I hope so." " Can you keep a secret?" "I hope so, too." "Things are not working out like I figured." " Darling, what happened to the lights?" " Somebody stole the fuses." "Come on." "Let's get far away quickly." "Come on." "No, wait a minute." "If the police are on their way there's nothing to fear." "We might as well take things easily." "Well, if you're going to sing, dear, sing out loud." "Look out!" "Jeff!" " Jeff, the police are coming." "Hold him." " Hold him?" "I can't let him go." "Darling, darling, are you all right?" "I was so afraid that he..." "Jeff?" "Darling." "Jeff." "Inspector, quick, he went through there." "Spread them out, Mac." "What happened to him?" "I bopped him with a chair." "Maybe it will knock some sense into his head." "There ain't a chair in the world could do that." "Cover the fire escape, Mac." "Temple, you cover the alley." "Simmons, Whitney, the roof." " Were these doors open, Mac?" " Yes, sir." "That's a fine place to put a fuse." " There you are, dear." " Did he get away?" "Yes, the police are here, they'll catch him." "Don't worry." " Who was it?" " Well, I didn't see his face." " Don't try to get up yet, dear." " Why not?" "The police are here, aren't they?" "Hey, how did that fellow hit me from behind when he was in front of me?" "Well, when everything's all over I'll explain it to you, dear." " It's quite a trick." " Yeah." "Get up." "There." " I wonder why I didn't use that golf club." " Well, I've been wondering the same thing." " What's that?" " The lights." "The police must have turned them on." " Oh, yes, the police." "Well, where are they?" " In the bedroom, I think." "I've got Fletcher and Weaver going through the apartment across the alley." "Can I be of any help, Inspector?" "Offhand I'd say no." "I've got him!" "I've got him!" "Jeff!" "In here, Inspector." " Who was it?" "Where is he?" " I guess I spoke too soon." "Well, what are you trying to do?" "Kill the whole police force?" "No, sir." "I saw something move and I shot at it." " Well, what was it?" " You ain't gonna believe this." "Well?" "Why, it's Old Hickory." "How long has it been since you walked a beat?" "Did it ever occur to you that there might be something on the other side of that wall?" "Yes, sir." "No, sir." "Well, there is." "It's a bedroom." "And we were in it." "We've gone over every inch of the neighborhood." "I guess whoever it was got away." "How could he get away without anybody seeing him?" " Well, maybe he's still here." " Sure, he's just waiting around" " To play hide and go seek." " Well, why not?" " That seems perfectly logical to me." " All right, Mr. Crime Expert." "Why would he open these doors?" "To let more air in?" "That's easy." "So that you guys would think he went out that way." "Instead he'd hide in this room." "Like the killer in one of your detective books." "Well, it's possible." " "Possible."" " Well, it is possible." "Sure, there's plenty of room for a guy to hide under one of those beds or in a closet like this." "What's the matter?" "Shot right through the heart." "The shots came through the back wall here, Inspector." "Through the back wall?" "Then I got him." " Great piece of brain work, Bolling." " Thank you, sir." "Call the wagon." "That's Lingle, all right." "Darling, do you remember that you..." "He's sensitive." "Well, he is, and that's why I love him." "Jeff, Jeff, get up." "Get up." "That's your good suit." "Honey, come on." "There..." "He'll be all right."