"No." " Had he been drinking?" " Yes, but he was all right." "At the bar, what was he arguing with the soldier about?" "They weren't arguing, they were just talking." "I sent Sammy over to talk to the soldier myself." "I saw he was upset about something." "What was the soldier?" "I mean, what rank?" "I didn't notice." "I left them." " Where did you go?" " Up to my room." "It was the bar in my hotel." "I had to change, so I told Sammy I'd meet him here." "We had a date for dinner." "I rested a while, and I fell asleep." "I called to say that I'd be a little late." "There wasn't any answer." "I came over just as soon as I could find a cab." "Then I called you." " Do I have to stay here?" " No." "I'll get somebody to drive you home." "Could he have hit his head on the table when he fell?" "He could have, but with the beating he took it wouldn't have made much difference." " Take Miss Lewis home." " Right." "Check at the bar while you're there." "They won't know anything, but check anyway." "There were three soldiers." "She left Samuels talking to one." "Make a report for the Army and have the provost marshal's office locate this man." "All right, Miss Lewis." "What do you want?" " I'm sorry." "I must have the wrong place." " What place are you looking for?" "I thought it was this apartment." "I was looking for a buddy." "You cops?" " Has something happened?" " Tell us about this buddy of yours." "Yes, sir." "Well, we was here." "He left before we did." "Wasn't feeling good." "Said he'd be right back..." "Who's "we"?" " Me and another buddy of mine." " Who'd you come here with?" "With these two buddies of mine and this fella." "What fella?" "This fella we met in a bar." "Was this young lady with him?" " Was she with him?" " Yes, sir." " Is this the one who was with Samuels?" " No." "It was another one." "What happened?" "Somebody killed this fella you met in the bar." "Same fella?" "What's your name?" "Montgomery, sir." "Were you drunk tonight?" "Well, I had a couple, but I can handle that." "How long you been out of the service?" " Two weeks, about." " You live here?" " No, sir." " What are you doing in Washington?" "I came back to see a couple of my buddies." " Where are you staying?" " Stewart Hotel." "I used to be stationed at the Stewart." " I'm sponging a bunk from a buddy." " What's his name, this one who was sick who was coming back?" "Mitchell." "Mitch, we called him." "Corporal Arthur Mitchell?" " Where did you find it?" " In the sofa." " Must have dropped out of his pocket." " What's his outfit?" " Same as mine was." " What were you in?" "Signal Corps Detachment, Stewart Hotel." "Okay, clean it up." " Let's go." " Yes, sir." "Closing up at 12." " Since when?" " Since tonight." " Tonight we close early." " Why tonight?" " Mitchell's coming back." " So what?" "Deal him in." " No, we're going crawling." " What are you, his father or something?" "Come on in." " Everybody in here belong on this floor?" " Yep." " Whose room is this?" " Mitchell and Keeley." " Which one of you is Mitchell?" " He's not here." " Where is he?" " I don't know." " When will he be back?" " I don't know." " All right, who's Keeley?" " That's me." " Cops wanna talk to you, soldier." " What about?" "About Mitchell." " What about Mitchell?" " About Mitchell killing a guy." "Okay, deal." "Sergeant Keeley." "Sorry to break up your little Saturday-night game, sergeant." "Where's Mitchell?" " Who's he supposed to have killed?" " Sit down, sergeant." "We'll talk about it." " When did you see Mitchell last?" " This afternoon, 2:00." " Where was he going?" " Crawling." " Where?" " Nowhere." "Soldiers don't have anywhere to go unless you tell them." "When they're off duty, they go crawling, or they go crazy." " What did you do before the Army?" " What's that got to do with it?" "It might help me understand your answers." "I worked on newspapers." " What kind of a job you got now?" " Ink job." "Purple ink." "Instead of the Purple Heart, we get purple ink." " Mitchell too?" " Signs." "He's an artist." "He used to do cows eating grass." "He's branched out now." "He does signs." ""Keep This Washroom Clean."" " You think he killed anybody, you're crazy." " Why?" " He's not the type." " Everybody's the type." " He couldn't kill anybody." " Could you?" " I have." " Where?" "Where you get medals for it." "I see." "And this Mitchell boy couldn't do that either?" "No." "Tell me about this afternoon when he left." " Nothing to tell." "He left." " What did you talk to Mrs. Mitchell about?" "According to the hotel, you called Chicago this afternoon at 2:30 and talked to a Mrs. Mitchell." "His mother?" "His wife." " Well?" " It was personal." "It wouldn't interest you." "Nothing interests me anymore." "Used to, but not anymore." "I've been at this job too long." "I go about it the only way I know how." "I collect all the facts possible." "Most of them are useless." "What did you call Mrs. Mitchell about?" "She called me first." "Last week." "She was worried about him." "He hadn't written." " Why?" " I don't know." " Well, then guess." " He's homesick." "He's wife-sick." "Maybe something in her letters made him suspicious of her love life." "I don't know." "Anyway, he's got snakes." "He's been nuts." " But not nuts enough to kill somebody." " How was he this afternoon?" "He was trying to act like a soldier." "I think he went out to look for a girl." "What's your name, anyway?" "Finlay." "Look, Finlay, this sort of life doesn't bother some soldiers." "Doesn't bother me much." "I haven't seen my wife for two years." "When I do, maybe we'll pick up again." "Maybe we won't." "But I don't worry about it now." "Mitchell isn't like that." "Mitchell isn't tough." "He needs his wife." "I called her and told her what I thought:" "She ought to hop a plane and come down here and cheer him up." "She's on her way now." "She'll be here tonight." "I still don't know what this is all about." "Why did you pick me up?" "You're Mitchell's closest friend, aren't you?" "I don't advertise it." "Mitchell's other friend told us about you." "Let's have Montgomery back." "Where does Montgomery come in?" "He was with Mitchell and a boy named Floyd Bowers this afternoon in a bar." "They met a Mr. Samuels there and went up to his apartment." "Mitchell left first but told Montgomery he was coming back." "We were looking at Samuels' body when Montgomery came looking for Mitchell." "You're just taking Montgomery's word that Mitch went to this apartment?" "Not entirely." "We found Mitchell's wallet there, down behind a sofa cushion." "Where's Bowers?" "Keeley." "You hear all this they're trying to pin on Mitch?" "Part of it." "This is serious." "They're crucifying the kid." " You know Mitch." "He won't have a chance." " What do you mean?" "Well, I just mean that Mitch is not the kind of guy who knows the scoop on a thing like this." "He's an artist." "He's sensitive." " And you know all about things like this?" " Well, sure." "Like I told you I've been a cop myself." "St. Louis." "Four years on the east side." "I know the score." "Then you can understand why I need your help." "I'm not helping stick a pal of mine into trouble." "I'm not asking you to." "All I'm asking for is facts." "How did it get started this afternoon in the bar with Samuels?" "Like always." "Bunch of people in a bar." "Something happens, you're talking to somebody." "What happened?" "Leroy knocked a drink all over this..." "What did you say her name was?" "This Miss Lewis." "You didn't tell me about Leroy." "He's a dumb hillbilly." "A friend of Floyd's." "He came in with Floyd, but he didn't stay long." "Go on." "Well, like I said, we was talking." "I was worried about Mitch." "What's the matter, Mitch?" "What's eating you?" " Nothing's eating me." " Let's go." "Nothing's gonna happen here." "Sit still." "The idea is to sit still." "You don't meet people by going in and out of one bar after another." " I'm sorry, I..." " It was an accident." "You silly hillbilly." "Why don't you look what you're doing." "You'll have to forgive Leroy." "Leroy's from Tennessee." "He just started wearing shoes." " Apologize to the lady." " I said I'm sorry." " That the best you can do?" " It was just an accident, soldier." "Leroy's all right." "He's just dumb." "He was our secret weapon." "Won the war with him." "By not letting him across." "He's that dumb." "If the Krauts caught him and asked how many generals we had Leroy would've told them." "Because his mother said, "Leroy, never tell a lie."" " Where you going?" " See you, Floyd." "Well, look there, now." "I hurt Leroy's feelings." "Right back, Sammy." "That's the way it is, Sammy." "That's what you get when you get an army full of civilians." "I been in the regular Army, see?" "But I been out a couple of weeks." "Same as Floyd." "And am I glad to be out." "I had enough of an army full of stinking civilians." "I never seen anything like these guys." "Some of them are okay, get that." "Now, Mitch here, he's okay." "He was one of my boys." "He's very talented." "But most of them, they got no manners." "Floyd, will you give me my drink?" "And the stealing." "I never seen as much stealing as we had." "One day, one of the men complains he had swiped from him a wristwatch his mother sent him." "His mother sent him." "Half these guys, I think, got no mothers." "They got no respect for the service." "You can tell a man by how he don't respect the service." "He don't respect the service, he don't respect his mother." "That's the kind of a guy that spoilt the Army for a guy like me." "When I got in, it was a good racket." "You could live good." "You played it smart, you could save 1000 bucks a year out of a sergeant's pay." " Take me, when I..." " What I couldn't do with 1000 bucks." "What would you do with 1000 bucks?" "Well, man, if I had 1000 bucks, I could..." "Well, I could go to Mexico California..." "Know what I'd do?" "I'd live on the beach." "I'd fish, and I'd eat and just live on the beach." "And I'd steal me a air-cooled machine gun." "I shoot anybody tried to bring me back." "Criminy, Monty, what's the use of being out if you got no dough?" " Wonder where I should go." " Floyd and me talked some more." "I don't know how long." "The next time I looked, they were leaving." "So we left then too." "Things were pretty expensive in that bar anyway." "I figured if the Jew boy was setting up drinks, we might as well get in on it." "We followed them to the apartment and just walked in." "Hiya, Sammy." "We come to the party." " There isn't any party, sergeant." " You thought you could skip out on us." "You feel sick?" " I'm all right." " Maybe you better go get some air." " Mitch." "What's the matter, boy?" " I'll be right back." " You want me to come with you?" " I'm all right." "I'll be right back." " I have to get ready to go in a few minutes." " That's too bad, Sammy." "We gotta look after Mitch." "Come on." " Here's to you, Sammy." " Come on, Floyd." "Thanks just the same, Sammy." "And that was the last we seen of Sammy, the last we seen of Mitch." "He wasn't outside." "I couldn't figure out where he'd got to." "Floyd was pretty stinko." "I started back to the Stewart with him." "Then I got worried." "I put him in a cab and went back to look for Mitch." " And ran right into me." " You ought to know." "You came up to Samuels' apartment even though you saw police cars?" "Well, how did I know they had anything to do with Samuels?" "You're just a bunch of hick cops here." "You won't pin anything on Mitch." "Not in 100 years." "I'm sorry." "It's just that I'm worried sick about Mitch." "Did you have some sort of an argument with Samuels?" "What was there to argue about?" "His liquor was good." "Everything was okay." "You'd never met him before?" "No." "I told you, I just met him in the bar." "I never even seen him before." " You sure?" " Well, sure, I'm sure." "Of course seen a lot of guys like him." " Like what?" " Oh, you know guys that played it safe during the war." "Scrounged around keeping themselves in civvies." "Got swell apartments, swell dames." "You know the kind." "I'm not sure that I do." "Just what kind?" "Oh, you know some of them are named Samuels." "Some of them got funnier names." "You'll be at the Stewart Hotel?" "Sure." "I got nowhere else to go." "I'm sponging a bunk from one of the boys." "Coming, Keeley?" "There are one or two more questions I'd like to ask Sergeant Keeley." "He ought to look at a casualty list." "There are a lot of funny names there too." "I said Monty was illiterate." "Said he ought to read." " I was just philosophizing." " I'm not interested in philosophy." "I'm trying to solve a murder." "Mitchell was in a strange mood tonight." "You admit that." "He left Samuels' apartment intending to come back." "We arrive and find Samuels beaten to death." "And we find Mitchell's wallet in the sofa." "I say Mitchell did come back." " Some sort of an argument developed..." " I say you're nuts." "Why?" "Or don't you think Mitchell could kill Samuels that way?" "I don't think Mitchell would kill anybody any way." " You still don't know where he is?" " No." "I didn't know when I came in, and I haven't suddenly gotten brighter." " You don't believe he did it." " He was there." " So were Floyd and Monty." " They left." "Mitch said he was returning." " According to Monty." " To Monty." "Monty's a liar." "What makes you believe his story?" " Happens to be the only story I've got." " Then why did you let him go?" "Did I?" "You don't think he's gonna lead you to Floyd Bowers, do you?" "Is that all for me?" "You know where to find me." "Mitchell hasn't been here?" " What happened?" "Who'd he kill?" " He didn't kill anybody." "He's in trouble, but nobody knows where he is." "We gotta find him." " What are we waiting for?" " That lobby is full of cops and MPs." "Spread out." "Find him." "Try and tag him before he gets here." "Scare the pants off that knucklehead." "I made him promise to meet me here at midnight." "That's an hour ago." "I was gonna watch him till his wife showed up." "When you find him, put him someplace safe." "I'll be waiting in the coffee shop." "One at a time." "Don't go through that lobby like a pack of drunken buffaloes." "You see Monty or Floyd, let me know." " Where's Monty come in?" "What's he doing?" " Helping Mitch." "Every time he opens his mouth, he hangs him a foot higher." "Where do you suppose that stupid birdbrain is?" "What's the matter, corporal?" " I'm all right." " Don't sit on the curb." " Just sit down to rest." " Better go rest somewheres else." "Papers all right?" "Okay." "You don't want a little help?" " I'm all right, thanks." " Well, watch yourself." "And don't sit on no more curbs." "You get killed that way." "Pickup on a Corporal Mitchell." " 29645217." " What for?" "I don't know, but it's a double A. Must have murdered somebody." " Cup of coffee, please." " Any luck?" "Ask the desk if there are any messages." "Mitch's wife might have phoned from the airport." "Okay." " Sure you know Mitchell when you see him?" " Sure." "Hi, Harry." "What's the matter?" "Which one?" "Beat it." " What's the matter, Keeley?" " Shut up." " Break it up." "Stand back." " Got the wrong guy." "Mitchell got away." " He took off..." " You started after me." "What do you expect me to do, get run over?" " Where's Keeley?" " Who's Keeley?" "Okay, let him go." "Tragedy struck this great waterfront city in the early hours of the morning." "Fire, starting in this warehouse, spread quickly." " I couldn't have killed this guy." " That's not the point." "We can't stay here forever." "You've gotta have a story for the cops." "They've got Monty's, and it sounds pretty good, but not for you." "I want you to tell me everything you can." "How drunk were you?" "I don't know." "Pretty drunk, I guess." "How long were you with this girl?" " Well, I..." " You ought to know." "Was it one hour, two hours, three hours?" "I can't remember." "My head hurts." " I can't remember any of it very well." " Okay." "You ran into Monty and Leroy and Floyd." "And you went to some bar with them." "Okay, take it from the bar." "Take it slow, and remember everything you did." "Well, we were there quite a while, I guess." "I got restless." "I wanted to shove." "Monty was shooting off his mouth." "I wasn't really listening." "Some of them are okay, get that." "Now, Mitchell, here, he's okay." "He was one of my boys." "An artist." "Very talented." "But most of them, they got no manners." "You don't wanna hear that." "Let's have a good time." "Have another round." "You never seen such stealing." "I remember I was suddenly sick of him and Floyd." "I wanted my wife." "I wanted to be alone." "I wanted to be somewhere else." "They got no respect for the service." " What will you have?" " Beer." "My girl is worried about you." "We were talking about you when that kid spilled that drink on her." "She says you're not drinking but you're getting drunk anyway." "Anybody that can do that has got a problem." " It's a funny thing, isn't it?" " Very funny." "It's worse at night, isn't it?" "I think maybe it's suddenly not having a lot of enemies to hate anymore." "Maybe it's because for four years we've been focusing our mind on..." "On one little peanut." "The win-the-war peanut." "That was all." "Get it over." "Eat that peanut." "All at once, no peanut." "Now we start looking at each other again." "We don't know what we're supposed to do." "We don't know what's supposed to happen." "We're too used to fighting." "But we just don't know what to fight." "You can feel the tension in the air." "A whole lot of fight and hate that doesn't know where to go." "Guy like you maybe starts hating himself." "Well one of these days maybe we'll all learn to shift gears." "Maybe we'll stop hating and start liking things again, huh?" "What sort of an artist are you?" "I did a mural once in a post office for the WPA." "Oh, a lot of fine artists came from there." "I thought at first he was just plain screwy." "Then suddenly I changed my mind." "He was easy to talk to." "I don't remember exactly what we talked about  but I remember we talked a lot about baseball." "I think he must have been on a newspaper or something." "We were still talking when his girl came back." "They wanted me to go out, eat with them." "That seemed all right." "I guess I said I would." "But she had to change, so we decided to go up to his place and wait for her." "I don't remember exactly what we talked about  or how long before Monty and Floyd came." "Suddenly I began to feel worse instead of better." "Everything began to get fuzzy." "You're doing all right, kid." "You're doing all right." "You know what I'd do if I had some dough, Sammy?" "I'd go to the liquor store, and I'd tell the man wrap up three bottles of this liquor." "Three bottles all at one time." "Sammy let me tell you something." "Not many civilians will take a soldier into their house like this for a quiet talk." "Well, let me tell you something." "A guy that's afraid to take a soldier into his house, he stinks." "And I mean he stinks." "He ought to have the screws put to him." "Am I right, or am I right?" " Don't you think...?" " I asked you a question, Sammy." " What was that?" " You know what was that." "Am I right, or am I right?" " You're right, sergeant." " You can say that again." "You're all right, Sammy." "You're okay." " Are you all right?" " I'm all right." "I'll be right back." "I just need a little air." " Can I get you anything?" " He's all right." "You heard him." " Let's have another round." " There isn't time." "What kind of a brush is this?" "What's the matter, Jew boy?" "Afraid we'll drink all your stinking wonderful liquor?" "I didn't wanna hear anybody yelling at anybody." "I decided not to go back." "The air felt good." "I must have started to walk." "I don't remember." "I remember a street sign." "I couldn't read it." "I don't know how far I walked." "It must have been a long way." "I don't know what the place looked like on the outside or how I got there  but I remember looking up and seeing this girl  this Ginny..." " What did you say your name was?" " Ginny." "Because I'm from Virginia." " I sure get tired of it here." " What do you work here for then?" "For laughs, dear." "For laughs." " Every night?" " Every night." " To nothing." " Until when?" " Till we close." " Then what?" "Then I sleep." "Me and myself in my great big bed." "We sleep." " I could have killed my girlfriend." "She..." " You got that in quick, didn't you?" " Drink up and be nice." " You know what I'd like to do?" "I'd like to take you dancing." " That's what the music's for." "I work here." " I mean really take you dancing." "The two of us going somewhere eating something, talking about ourselves." " I'm serious." " Sure." "I know, I remind you of your sister." "You remind me of my wife." "Be nice." "Order us some more drinks, and then we'll dance." "I've had enough to drink." "What did you leave for?" "You didn't wanna drink." "You wanted to yap." "I don't make any money on that." "You're not getting so rich out here all by yourself." " What's wrong with me, anyway?" " You're corny." " What did I say?" "We were just talking." " Oh, is that what that was?" ""Know what I'd like to do?" "I'd like to take you dancing." "You remind me of my wife."" "What's the idea saying a thing like that?" "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to insult you." "I haven't really been dancing in almost two years." "Why not?" " Because I haven't." " Why?" "Because I've been working for a living." "What do you do when you're not working for a living?" "I live." "How much would you charge to dance with me now?" "I mean here." "It's nice out here." "Used to be a spaghetti restaurant." "They don't use the garden anymore." " Would you like me to make you spaghetti?" " Sure." "I live at the Regal Apartments, on Southern Street." "You could wait for me." "I won't be home for a couple hours but, well, you could sleep or some..." "I'll try to get away early." "But if you don't wanna wait, just lock the door and put the key in the mailbox." "It was a crazy thing to do, I guess, but it made sense at the time." "Besides, I thought I could use a little sleep." "I walked around some more, then I went up to her apartment." "First thing I remember was somebody knocking on the door." "I couldn't figure out at first where I was." "Then when I remembered  I couldn't remember whether Ginny had been there or not." " Hasn't she come home yet?" " I don't know." "I don't think so." " You mean Ginny, don't you?" " Who do you mean?" "I guess I mean Ginny." " You belong here or something?" " Or something." " How long have you been waiting?" " I don't know, I just woke up." "I don't even know what time it is." " I got a key somewhere she gave me." " I know." "I saw you with her at the joint." " Who are you?" " I'm a man who's waiting for her." "Is that all right?" "Sure." " Want some coffee?" " Sure." "I'm her husband." "I'm Ginny's husband." "I was a soldier." "I conked out." "You're wondering about this setup, aren't you?" "Yeah, I guess I am." "Well, ask her, then." "She was a tramp when I married her." "I didn't know it at first but I knew it before we married." "That's one reason I enlisted, to get away from her." "But I couldn't wait to get out and come back to her." "When I did, she didn't want me." "Funny, isn't it?" "But I still want her." "I still love her." "You know what I just told you?" "That's a lie." " I see." " I'm not her husband." "I met her the same as you did, at the joint." "I can't keep away from her." "I wanna marry her, and she won't have me." " I see." " Do you believe that?" "Well, it's a lie too." "I don't love her, and I don't wanna marry her." "She makes good money there." " You got any money on you?" " No." "She makes good money sometimes." "Hey." "Do you suppose I could be a soldier?" "Maybe I could in the regular Army." "Make a good rating and make some dough by the next war." " Why not?" " Why not?" "Because I don't want to." "What do I wanna be a soldier for?" "I'm too restless." "I don't know what I wanna do." " You gonna wait for her?" " I don't know." "Well, wait for her if you want to." "Soon as we've had some coffee, I'm gonna take a nap." "Got any cigarettes?" "No." "I remembered what you said when I left you, Keeley." "You said, "Meet me at the hotel at midnight. " I said, "Why?"" "You said, "Meet me." "I wanna show you Washington." "It's educational." "Maybe you'll learn something." "Meet me, or I'll murder you. "" "Suddenly, the whole thing was screwy." "I decided to get out of there." "I went straight to the hotel, and next thing I knew, you were pushing me around." "How long was it from the time you left Samuels' till the time you met this Ginny?" " I don't know..." " How long were you in her apartment?" " Well, I..." " Oh, you ought to be kept in a cage." "What's happening?" "Is everything suddenly gone crazy?" "I don't mean just this." "I mean everything." "Or is it just me?" "Oh, it's not just you." "The snakes are loose." "Anybody can get them." "I get them myself, but they're friends of mine." " I think Samuels understood it." " That's a big help." "Are you still in love with your wife or not?" "I guess I am." " She still in love with you?" " That's a screwy thing to ask." "Maybe it is, but she's here now." "Or she should be." " I gotta figure out how much to tell her." " Mary?" "Oh, she doesn't know anything." "She was coming here anyway." " Why?" " To see you." "That's why I tried to keep you sober tonight." "I talked to her this afternoon." "Maybe she's here now." "She was supposed to be on a plane." "I don't know where she is, but I'll go and try to find her." "Keeley, I couldn't have killed that guy, could I?" " Leroy found Floyd." " Where?" "He's in a room on Maryland Avenue where he's hiding out." "He phoned Leroy, trying to raise some dough." "Leroy says he sounds scared." " You got the address?" " I don't want nothing to do with this." " I don't wanna get in trouble." " Just tell us where Floyd is." "Then go back to the hotel and stay there and forget it." "Don't move, even to another seat." "You want a sandwich or something?" "Okay, watch the picture, then, and don't move." "Open up, Floyd." "It's Monty." "Let me get out of here." "What do I have to stay for?" "We have to be careful now." "The cops are screwing down." "And that Finlay is sharp." "I tried a couple things, but I don't know about him." " We'll be okay." "Keep our stories straight." " Give me a cigarette." "Let me have a cigarette, huh?" "Get ahold of yourself." "I gotta leave so I can go out and keep in touch with things." " Keep out of sight till they find Mitch." " Let me go away someplace." "That won't do no good." "You gotta talk to the cops sometime." "No, Monty." "I can't talk to them." "You got nothing to worry about as long as our stories are straight." "I can't say there was no argument." "Mitch was there when you went after Samuels." " The cops will pick up Mitch..." " Mitch won't say nothing." "Mitch was stinko." "He won't remember exactly." "Nobody knows exactly except me and you." "Why'd you go after the guy?" "Why'd you have to start an argument?" "No Jew is gonna tell me how to drink his stinking liquor." "There wasn't no argument." "There was just a quiet discussion." "We left right after Mitch." "Remember that, Floyd." "Right after Mitch." " Yeah." " We was worried about him." "Sure." "Floyd." "Floyd, open up, it's Williams." "We heard you're in trouble." "What's the matter, Floyd?" "Leroy tells me you're in a jam, you need some dough." "We don't like to see anybody in a jam." "How much dough do you need?" "Oh, I talked to Leroy about something else." "Got it wrong, I guess." "Anyway, I was going away, but now I don't know." "Heard about Mitchell?" "The cops think he killed that man he met with you and Monty." "Did you hear about it?" "Yeah, I heard about it." "This has got nothing to do with that." "I wasn't there." "I left." "Me and Monty left." "Cops can't pin anything on me and Monty." "I got in a jam about something else, Keeley, and it just caught up with me." "That's what I need the dough for." "I haven't got enough dough on me, but I'll scrounge around, see what I can dig up." "Gee, thanks a lot, Keeley." "I'll be back before morning." "Anybody else know you're here?" "Leroy and you, unless you told somebody." "No, we haven't told anybody." "How about Monty?" " Monty?" " You haven't seen him?" "No." " He doesn't know you're here?" " How would he know?" "Okay, sit tight." " Monty, I didn't call Keeley up..." " I told you not to go out anywhere." "You got in touch with Keeley." "You shouldn't have done that." "No, I didn't get in touch with Keeley." "I called Leroy." "Leroy must have told him." "Criminy, all I did was try to get some dough." "You got plenty of dough." "You said you'd saved." "All I wanna do is go away." "Give me some dough." "I had everything figured out." "Just what we was gonna do." "You went out and phoned, and you spoiled everything." "I didn't spoil nothing." "I told Keeley I hadn't seen you." "I told Keeley I knew nothing about you." "You heard me say that." "Nobody can pin anything on you, Monty." "That's right, Floyd." "Nobody can pin anything on me." "Look, Monty, I'll go to Mexico." "I'll never come back." "I don't wanna get mixed up in this." "I had nothing to do with it." "Criminy, you went crazy or something." "Samuels didn't do anything to you." " You just went crazy." " I didn't do nothing to Samuels either." "Except I flicked him." "Like that." "Not that hard, maybe." " Stop it, Monty!" "Monty, stop!" " More like that." "Monty, stop it!" "You went nuts!" "I got nothing against Jews." "Monty!" "Well, I don't like Jews!" "And I don't like nobody who likes Jew..." "I'd like to see Captain Finlay." "It's important." " What's your name?" " Peter Keeley." "Sergeant Peter Keeley." "Captain Finlay isn't in now." "Have a seat, sergeant." "Captain Finlay wants to see you now." "You're sure he's not too busy?" "I wouldn't wanna bother him." "What happened?" " What are you doing here?" " Floyd's dead, sergeant." " Tell him how it happened." " I told you to wait." "I did wait." "I'm sorry, but I waited." "Nobody came in, nobody went out, I still waited outside." "Then I thought I'd go up and take a look." "There he was, strung up by his necktie." "I didn't know what to do." "You weren't around." "I thought I better call the police." "I came two hours ago to tell you I talked to Floyd." "If you'd come as soon as you found out where Floyd was I could have talked to him, and he'd still be alive." "Now, don't you think you better tell me where Mitchell is, sergeant?" " Why?" " I don't want anybody else killed." "You should start working with me." "It's the only way, if you wanna help Mitchell." "Because you're in custody." "So is Williams." "You'll both stay there forever, if necessary." "I'll listen to anything constructive you two have to say but I won't stand for any more interference." "You've got a mind like a dogcatcher." "I'm in custody." "Williams is in custody." "Everybody's in custody." "What does that prove?" "Except that you've got a big jail." "If you want Mitchell, you can go find him." "All right." "I just hoped there was an easier way." "Okay, Dick." "Come on, Keeley." "I talked to Mitchell a while ago." " Where is he?" " I said I talked to Mitchell, captain." "He couldn't have killed Samuels." "He didn't go back to Samuels' apartment." "He went and met a girl." "Spent a couple hours in her apartment." " What does that prove?" " That he went to a joint and he met a girl." "Would a man who has just killed somebody go on the make for some tramp?" " And it proves where he was for two hours." " Which two hours?" " All you have to do is ask the girl." " Who is she?" "She's a girl." "She calls herself Ginny." "Mitch knows where she lives." " When did he tell you all of this?" " Before I went to see Floyd." " Did he know where you were going?" " Yes." " He could've killed Floyd." " He didn't know the address." "He could have followed you." "Mary, I'm sorry." "Captain Finlay, if Keeley tells you where Mitch is, will you let him go?" " Let me talk to Mitch first, by myself." " I won't let Keeley go, no." "But you can talk to your husband alone." "I'll be waiting for you outside, wherever he is." "He's in the balcony of an all-night movie." "The Regent." "About four blocks from the hotel." "Oh, Mitch." " Oh, Mitch." " Mary, darling." " When did you get here?" " About 1:00." " They were waiting for me at the airport." " "They"?" "The police." " Did you see Keeley?" " Yes." " What did he say?" " He told me what had happened." " Where is he now?" " He's in jail." "The other boy, Floyd, was killed." "Police are waiting downstairs." " We've only got a minute." " No, Mary, listen." "I've gotta say this first." "Whatever you think..." "I don't care what Keeley told you." "Nothing tonight that happened has anything to do with us or how I feel." " That doesn't matter now." " Yes, it does." "You've got to understand." "I've been sitting here." "I think I have things straight now." "I couldn't write to you because I was depressed and jittery." "Samuels, the man who I was supposed to have killed tonight, he understood it." "I can't explain what he said." "But he said a guy like me now, with the war over, could start hating himself." "Maybe that's what happened." "Maybe I started hating myself because I was afraid of getting going again." "Of trying to draw again." "Of looking for a job." "Of having you waiting all the time, after having waited four years already." "It began to be hard for me to think about you." "I just couldn't write." "Does that make any sense?" "Yes." "Mitch, I wanna go see this girl, Ginny." "Why?" "I wanna see her." "If you were in her apartment the time this man was killed the police will be satisfied you didn't do it." "Please, I'll be all right." "Captain Finlay's going with me." "You remember the name of the apartments where she lives, don't you?" "The Regal Apartments." "We'd better go." "I told Captain Finlay we wouldn't be too long." "Captain Finlay, would you let me try first, by myself?" "She might tell me more than she'll tell you." "All right." " What is it?" " Ginny?" "I'm Mrs. Mitchell." " How's Mr. Mitchell?" " My husband's in a great deal of..." " What do you want, anyway?" "It's late." " I wanted to talk to a girl named Ginny." "My husband's a soldier that was here tonight." "There are no soldiers here now, just me." " I don't have anything to do with soldiers." " Please, wait." "I've got to talk to you." "It's terribly important." "I know it's late, but you've got to help me." "Can't I come in for just a minute, please?" " My husband's in trouble." " I know nothing about your husband." "Why don't you go home." "Maybe he's waiting for you." "He's in jail." "They say that he killed a man, but he didn't." "Okay, then there isn't any problem." "What do you want from me, a character reference?" "All I want you to do is to say he was with you tonight." "Tonight's a long time ago." "I wouldn't be able to remember." " You'd remember Mitch." " Why?" "He have two heads or something?" "You danced with him out in back of where you work in a sort of garden." "You gave him your key and told him your address." " He told you he was here with me tonight?" " Yes." "He lied to you." "If he was here, I didn't know about it." "And I don't know where you got my name and address." "I can't tell you anything else." "You'd better go now." " What do you want?" " I wanna talk to you." " What's your name?" " Are you a cop or something?" " What's your name?" " I don't like cops." "Nobody likes cops." " What's your name?" " Virginia Tremaine." "Why?" " Where are you from?" " From here." " Before you were from here?" " Pennsylvania." "Wilkes-Barre." "So what?" " What do you do?" " I work." " Where?" " At the Red Dragon." "What's wrong about working there?" "That make me a criminal?" "Does that give you the right to bust into my house and ask me a lot of questions?" "Is that where you met Mitchell?" "That's where I meet a lot of people." "I never heard of Mitchell." " You live here alone?" " Sure." " Is there something wrong in that?" " The police won't hurt you." "He promised." " All we want you to do is to tell the truth." " Sit down, Virginia." "Now, about Mrs. Mitchell's husband..." "He's in pretty deep, Virginia." "Looks like he killed a man, maybe two." "Mrs. Mitchell doesn't think he did, but that's only natural." "I know he was here." "He told me." "That doesn't matter now." "Never mind me." " We've got to think of him." " Oh, brother!" "Listen to that." ""Never mind me." "We've gotta think of him."" "Well, isn't that sweet." "Isn't that just too sweet." "He wasn't here with me." "He could have been, but he wasn't." "He could have come up." "I could've cooked him something, and we could've talked." "What's wrong with that?" "What's the matter with me being with her precious husband?" "Does he break?" "And where was she?" "Where were you when he needed you?" "Maybe you were someplace having beautiful thoughts." "Well, I wasn't." "I was in a gin mill, where all he had to do to see me was walk in and buy me a drink." "And that's all I know about it." "I didn't ask him if he killed anybody." "Listen, Virginia..." "You're not involved in this murder, so nothing will happen to you." " That's the first point." "Got it?" " You bet I got it." "Okay, now." "When was...?" "I mean, what time?" "This is all a question of time." "What time was Mitchell with you at the Red Dragon?" "We found the body of this man, Samuels, at 10:00." "He'd been dead half an hour." "So if Mitchell was with you between 9 and 10, he's all right." "Was he?" "Tell me the truth." "No." "I gave him my key, I don't know, maybe 8:30." "I liked him." "I felt sorry for him." "I was sick of the stinking joint." "I was gonna ditch early, only I couldn't get away." "I didn't get home till 1, maybe 2." "He wasn't here." "He'd been and gone." "Left the key." " But I don't know what time." " Is that the truth?" "I said it's the truth." "What do you want me to do, light up like a Christmas tree?" "We're wasting our time." "This isn't going to help your husband." "He was up here." "The soldier you're talking about was up here." "I talked to him." "Thanks." "Who are you?" "A guy." "What does it matter?" "You wanna know if a soldier..." "This has nothing to do with you." "Mind your own business." " Any man you bring here is my business." " It's not your business to spy watch me like I belong to you, because I don't." "I hate your guts!" "What time?" "What time was it?" "He was here when I came." "I asked him how long he'd waited." "Said he didn't know." "I should have thrown him out." "I started to make coffee, and he left." " What time did you get here?" " Twelve-thirty." "Ginny's usually here by then." "I'll be glad to help if I can." "I'll be here if you need me." "You will not." "You'll get out right now!" "She hates me, all right." "She sure hates me." "I'm a DD." "Dishonorable discharge." "I was in the Army." "I'm her husband." "We've been separated, but I still love her." "I don't want a divorce." "I don't know what to do." "We made a lot of plans, but they all fell through." "I'll be around if you want me." "Where's my wife?" "Why can't I talk to her?" "Your wife's all right." "I sent her to a hotel." "You can't talk to her because you're being held on a murder charge." "I didn't murder anyone." "Why would I murder him?" "What motive would I have?" "Maybe you didn't like him." "Maybe you hated him." "Hate's a good motive." "Why would I hate him?" "I hardly knew him." "I only talked to him for a couple of hours." "He seemed like a nice guy." " You knew he was a Jew." " No." " You didn't know he was Jewish?" " No, I didn't think about it." "What would that have to do with it?" "What's that got to do with me?" "I've got Montgomery for you." "I'll see him outside." "I'm through here, but I wanna talk to Keeley." "Here's what you wanted from the War Department on Samuels." "He was hit in Okinawa, got a medical discharge last summer." "Come on, Mitchell." "You wanted to see me, captain?" "I figured it was important." "I wanna help all I can." "Sit down, Montgomery." "Yes, sir." "How did you know that Samuels hadn't been in the Army?" "What?" "When I talked to you earlier, you were sure that Samuels had never been in uniform." "How'd you know that?" "Well, like I told you, you could tell." "You could see." "Those guys got ways of keeping theirselves from getting dirty." " Why'd you ask that, captain?" " Oh, I was just curious." " You know who killed him yet?" " Yes, I think I do." "Is that all?" "Don't you wanna ask me something else?" "No, that's all." "I can go now?" " Oh, Montgomery." " Yes, sir?" "You haven't seen anything of Floyd Bowers, have you?" " No, I haven't." "I can't figure that..." " Let me know if you do, will you?" "Yes, sir." "Well Mrs. Finlay will be just about leaving for early Mass." "Now that I know that, do you mind if go back to bed?" "What's the matter?" "I thought you were gonna have this case solved by now." "I'm not doing anything except breathing." "You've got Mitchell, your fairy story all written." "Drunk, trouble at home, can't tell a clear story." "Open and shut." " What's holding you back?" " Is that all?" "That's all." "All right, then." "Do you really wanna help me wind this up?" " I thought you didn't like me." " You talk too much sometimes." " You're appealing to my better side?" " Yes." " You're making me a proposition?" " Yes." " I'd like to sleep on it." " You can sleep all day when we're finished." "Okay, then." "I've done a lot of work here tonight." "Some of it you know about, some of it you don't." "Routine, most of it." "I look for motives, as I always do." "It's habit from training." "But I couldn't find any." "I realized the reason I couldn't find an ordinary motive was because none of these men knew Samuels long enough to have one." "You usually have to know something about a man to have a reason to kill him." "You have to know him well enough to be in love with his wife well enough to know he has some money." "Samuels didn't have any money." "Didn't even have a wife." "That's beside the point." "Not one of these men knew that, or anything about him." "Mitchell talked to him maybe for an hour." "The others, less." "So it had to be something else." "The motive had to be inside the killer himself." "Something he brought with him." "Something he'd been nursing for a long time." "Something that had been waiting." "The killer had to be someone who could hate Samuels without knowing him." "Who could hate him enough to kill him, under the right circumstances." "Not for any real reason, but mistakenly and ignorantly." "The rest wasn't too hard." "I looked at my suspects." "I thought back over the answers I'd had." "Some of them fit." "I knew who'd kill Samuels." "I should have known right away." "But the motive was so simple that it slipped through the machinery." "You're smart enough to know what I'm talking about." "You don't have to draw me pictures." "I know what you mean." "I think you're right." "What do you want me to do?" "It'd take months to polish this off the usual way." "I've nothing on Montgomery." "I might never get anything." "I wanna take a long chance on nailing him quick." " How well do you know him?" " I tried to like him." "Not my type." " Does he have many close friends?" " One." "Bowers." "I think he killed him." " So do I. What about Leroy?" " I don't think so." "He's in Monty's platoon..." " How does he feel about Monty?" " You're getting ahead of me." " I was hoping he didn't like him." " He's scared to death of him." "Is he as dumb as Monty says?" "He's kind of young." "He doesn't always know which end is up." "Monty doesn't think he's smart enough to lie." "What if Leroy told Monty a fantastic story?" "Would Monty believe it?" "He might." "I'll risk it." "Keeley's on his way." "I don't wanna see anything about Floyd's killing." "Not a word." "As far as we know, he's still alive." "We've never heard of him." "I want you to get Leroy without being seen and bring him here." "Can you do it?" " I can try." " Be back in an hour if you can." "I'll talk to your CO and tell him what's up." "It isn't that I don't wanna help, it's just..." "Well, I don't..." "I've never been around Monty and Floyd much." "Monty never wanted me around." "He says I'm stupid." "I guess I am." "How do you know he killed him like you say?" " That's what we want you to help us prove." " I don't wanna get in any trouble." "You won't." "And stop worrying about Monty." "Captain Finlay won't let anything happen to you." "Maybe you're right, but I can't think he'd do a thing like that without no reason." "He thought he had a reason." "You know the way Monty feels." "You've heard the things he says." "Well, yes, I guess I heard him say a couple of times about the Jewish people living off the fat of the land while he was out there." "You say that's all lies." "I guess it is, but..." "Look, maybe Monty roughed this guy up a little, and that's all." "That was all he started out to do, yes." "He didn't have a plan, or anything like that." "This business of hating Jews comes in a lot of different sizes." "There's the "you can't join our country club" kind and "you can't live around here" kind." "Yes, and the "you can't work here" kind." "And because we stand for all of these, we get Monty's kind." "He's just one guy." "We don't get him very often, but he grows out of all the rest." "Look, Leroy you know we have a law against carrying a gun?" "Sure." "We have that law because a gun is dangerous." "Well, hate, Monty's kind of hate, is like a gun." "If you carry it around with you, it can go off and kill somebody." "It killed Samuels last night." "Sir, I don't feel right getting mixed up in anything." " Don't you see what I mean, major?" " Yes, I see what you mean." " Ought I do what Captain Finlay wants?" " Well, that's up to you." "I can't tell you what to do." "This isn't an Army matter." " Monty was in my outfit." " The Army isn't proud of that." "The Army has never been proud of men like Montgomery." "So don't worry about being disloyal to your outfit." "You think, sir, that Monty would kill anybody, like he says?" " He might." " He killed Floyd." "I hate to think of anything like that happening to Floyd." "After going through the Philippines and everything." "And I hate to see Monty get away with anything." " But I'm getting out soon, and..." " This won't change that." "I might get into trouble." "I don't see this as any of my business." "Leroy has Monty ever made fun of your accent?" " Sure, lots of times." " Why?" "He calls you a hillbilly, doesn't he?" "Says you're dumb." "He laughs at you because you're from Tennessee." "He's never even been to Tennessee." "Ignorant men always laugh at things that are different." "Things they don't understand." "They're afraid of things they don't understand." "They end up hating them." "You get me all mixed up." "You know about these things I know nothing about." "How do I know what you're trying to do?" "How do I know you aren't a Jewish person yourself?" " Something." " You don't." "But would it make any difference?" "Well all right, Leroy." "But I'd like to tell you one more thing." "Then you can go, if you want to." "About 100 years ago, in Ireland the potato crop failed." "It was serious." "Lot of the Irish came over here." "Immigrants." "Their talk was different." "Like yours, Leroy." "Their religion was different." "They were Catholics, most of them." "They settled down in different places." "They liked it here." "One of them I knew about." "He'd been a farmer." "Stayed in Philadelphia." "He worked and saved to buy some land." "He thought of himself as just another man living in America." "But suddenly one day he looked around and saw that something had happened." "It frightened him." "Fear and hatred of all Irish Catholics had developed and spread like a terrible disease." "He saw that he wasn't an American anymore." "He was a dirty Irish Mick." "A priest lover." "A spy from Rome." "A foreigner trying to rob men of jobs." "He didn't understand." "He didn't know what to do." "He didn't do much of anything." "He couldn't." "But one day, when a bunch of men attacked his parish priest on the street he waded in to help the priest." "He managed to get him inside a store." "That night, on the way home from work, he stopped off for a beer." "When he left the bar two men followed him carrying empty whiskey bottles." "They didn't mean to kill him." "They were just going to rough him up a little." "They didn't start out to kill, they just started out hating." "The way Monty started out." "But 20 minutes later my grandfather was dead." "That's history, Leroy." "They don't teach it in school, but it's real American history just the same." "Thomas Finlay was killed in 1848 just because he was an Irishman and a Catholic." "It happened many times." "Maybe that's hard for you to believe, Leroy, but it's true." "And last night, Joseph Samuels was killed just because he was a Jew." "Do you see any difference, Leroy?" "Any difference at all?" "Hating is always the same." "Always senseless." "One day it kills Irish Catholics, the next day, Jews." "The next day, Protestants." "The next day, Quakers." "It's hard to stop." "It can end up killing men who wear striped neckties." "Or people from Tennessee." "Will you tell me exactly what to say?" "I'll tell you exactly what to say." " Hiya, Monty." " Hiya." " Heard about everything that happened?" " Yeah." "Heard they got Keeley and Mitchell and are holding them." "Good thing I left the bar when I did, or I'd be mixed up in it too." "Floyd didn't have anything to do with it, did he, Monty?" " Knock it off." " What's the matter, Monty?" "Monty, Floyd couldn't have done it, could he?" " Floyd wouldn't bump anyone off, would he?" " I don't know." "He sure was acting funny when I saw him last night, though." " When did you see him?" " I saw him after." " After what?" " After all that happened." "He wants to see you, Monty." "He asked me to tell you he wants to see you." "Honest." "I didn't know whether I ought to tell you." "You don't wanna get mixed up in anything more than you are." "But he was acting crazy." "He gave me a crazy thing to tell you." "Said to tell you the necktie wasn't any good." "What did he mean by that, Monty?" "When did you see Floyd, Leroy?" "How did you happen to see him?" "He called me and asked me to come over to where he was." "Where was he?" "Some old place up on Maryland Avenue, on the second floor." "I wrote down the address." "I had it here someplace." "He was really acting crazy, Monty." "He said you'd give him some money to go away." "I must have left it in my room." " Let's see if we can find it, Leroy." " You want to see him?" "Let's see if we can find the paper you wrote the address on." "I had it here someplace." "He said not to come today." "He wouldn't be there." "He said to come tonight before 10:00." "That he had to have the money before 10:00." "Here it is." "Will you go see him, Monty?" "Will you give him some money?" "I wouldn't say anything about this, Leroy." "I wouldn't say anything about talking to Floyd." " I'd like to talk to Captain Finlay." " He's not here." " Could I talk to Mitchell or Keeley?" " They're in custody." "Anything I can do for you?" " My friend Floyd Bowers..." "You remember." " Yeah." "I started him to the hotel like I told Finlay, but I'm worried." "He ain't showed up." "I thought I should tell Finlay." "Well, I'll tell him." " You haven't heard anything about Bowers?" " No." "What do you want, soldier?" " Is Floyd Bowers here?" " Who?" "I must have got the wrong room." "This is the second floor, isn't it?" " Yeah." " They didn't tell me which room it was this friend of mine was in." "It must be one of these rooms." "Floyd Bowers." "You don't know anything about him?" "You better ask the superintendent." " What's your problem, Montgomery?" " I was looking for Floyd Bowers' room." "Somebody said he was here." "What's Floyd Bowers doing here?" "I don't know." "Somebody said he was here." " Supposed to be on the second floor." " Well, let's see if we can find him." "Captain, Montgomery here is looking for Floyd Bowers." "What's wrong, captain?" "Has something happened?" "Bowers is dead." "Dead?" "Yeah, he was killed here today." " Well, do you know who killed...?" " Not yet." "How did you know he was here?" "Last night you didn't know where he was." "I didn't then." "I didn't know then where he was." "Fella back at the hotel told me Floyd was here." "Floyd was scared and wanted to talk to me about something." "I just come." "I don't even know which room it was." "I was looking for the right room." "He was knocked off in this room, eh?" "Same guy that knocked off Samuels, maybe." "Could be." "I liked Floyd, captain." "I liked Floyd a lot." "L..." "Naturally, I came here to help him." "Fella said he needed money for something." "Should've come right away." "Well, this fella said that Floyd said not till tonight." "I figured if Floyd said that, he must have got a reason." "I see." "Looks like somebody was stringing you along." "Yeah." "What was his name this fellow who said Floyd wanted to see you?" "Look, captain I don't wanna be a pigeon." "This fella..." " What was his name?" "Leroy something." "He was a friend of Floyd's." " Maybe you remember me mentioning him." " You should have come to me." "I asked you to tell me if you heard anything." "I did." "I went right to the station." "I asked for you." "I talked to him." "He said you wasn't there." "What did you tell him?" "Well, captain, I figured the best thing was to tell him that Floyd hadn't showed." "I said I was worried about Floyd not showing up." "I figured then that you'd get in touch with me and I could tell you about Floyd wanting to talk to me." "I see." " You've never been in this house before?" " No." "No, I've never been here before." "I've never even been in this part of town." "I didn't know which room it was except it was on the second floor, like Leroy said." "I was looking for the right door." "Seems like you have a lot of trouble with doors." "First time I met you, you were looking for the right door." "But you knew the address, which house to come to." " Sure." "Leroy give me the address." " Was it written down on a piece of paper?" "Yeah." "Do you have the piece of paper with you?" "No, I..." " I just looked at it." " Where is it?" "Well, it's in Leroy's room, I guess." "I..." "I just looked at it." "I didn't take it." "I..." " I left it there." " Is this it?" "Is this it?" " Guess it is." " Then I'll have to arrest you, Montgomery." "Why would you arrest me?" "What would you arrest me for?" "For the murder of Samuels and Bowers." " You're kidding." "I've never been here..." " You didn't look at this carefully." "This is the address of the house next door." "I wrote it down myself." "You made a mistake, sergeant." "You came to the right house anyway." "Montgomery!" "Montgomery, stop!" "Well, that's it." " Okay, clean it up." " Yes, sir." " All right." " Stand back." "Captain, is he...?" "Is he dead?" "He was dead for a long time." "He just didn't know it." " I guess I did the right thing." " The rightest thing you ever did, soldier." "Captain." "Where's Mitchell's wife?" "She's with him at the station." "You wanna see them?" "No, I guess not." "What about them?" "Think they're gonna be able to make a go of it now?" "I think they're gonna be all right." "Be a little rugged for a while but I think they'll be all right." " Can I drop you anywhere?" " No, thanks." "Okay." "Well, how about a cup of coffee, soldier?" "Sure."