Charlie Chan at the Opera Page #3

The flowers were never in my room.

Contradiction, please.

What are you doing?

Cremated ghost of card

from flower shop.

I know nothing about that.

You'll... You'll have

to go now, Mr. Chan.

Thank you so much.

Gravelle.

- Do you believe her story?

- Not sure until burnt card prove otherwise.

I'm afraid it's too charred

to tell us much.

Sometime jewel found in ashes.

Here, you let my supers alone.!

Here, you let my supers alone.!

Now listen, Inspector.

I've never been a violent man...

...but if you don't stop this lunkhead cop

of yours from chasing my soldiers around...

I'll... I'll...

I won't be responsible.

All right, line up. Quick.

There's your cue.

Go on. Enter.

- There's the Chinese mug I've been looking for!

- Kelly.

What's that, a laundry ticket?

Much laundry, but all dirty.

- "Dear Pop..."

- "Pop"?

Say, is that your kid?

Chip off ancient block.

"Somebody hiding in opera house.

"Madame Lilli and husband in big fight.

Also, have fingerprints you ask for."

Say, if that's your son,

who are all the other Chinese?

Honorable fraternity

brothers of worthy son...

...incognito.

Hydrochloric acid, please.

And here's the ferricyanide potassium.

Marriage of two acids reproduce

lost writing on burnt card if lucky.

- Have, uh, fingerprints you mention in note?

- Sure.

This is Mr. Whitely's.

I'll bet he's wondering when he lost it.

I almost got caught lifting this

out of Mr. Arnold's vest.

This is Madame Barelli's.

- What's the matter, Pop? Lose something?

- Not yet.

But light fingers on number-one son

most alarming.

Gee, Pop, we've got it.! This proves the flowers

were in Madame Barelli's dressing room.!

Madame Barelli's fingerprint, please.

Fingerprint on card not hers.

You wouldn't dare do such a thing.

Sorry, Lilli. I've given you

your last chance to make a fool of me.

You can't prove anything with your cheap

insinuations and lying detectives!

If you name Enrico in a divorce action,

he'll deny everything and so shall I!

Barelli will deny nothing

when I get through with him tonight.

Tonight? What are you going to do?

Madame Rochelle, two minutes.

- All right. I must go.

- I'll wait.

- Lilli. What's wrong? You should be on the stage.

- I must talk to you.

- Whitely?

- Madame Rochelle.!

For the sake of Puccini,

Verdi, Wagner and me...

...get on that stage!

I'll see you after the first act.

You!

Yes, Barelli.

I've come back

to take your place tonight.

Get out of here.

Get out of here, I say!

If it's the dead you're afraid of,

don't worry!

I'm alive, even though

I was locked in a burning theater!

I didn't do it. I swear I didn't!

It was a mistake. Lilli...

Yes, Lilli!

Two minutes, Mr. Barelli.

Mr. Barelli, your cue!

This is Madame Lilli's great scene

with Mephisto. He joins her in a duet.

She refuses his love, and he stabs her.

Strange. I never heard that quality

in Barelli's voice before.

It's great. Eh, Charlie?

All right, Lilli. Lilli! Lilli!

Mr. Arnold!

Will someone bring me a chair, quick!

- What happened? What's the matter?

- Something's wrong.

- What's happened?

- I don't know.

She must have been unconscious

when I picked her up on stage.

I bet Barelli had something

to do with this.

Hey, you! Come on, boys.

Stop!

Open up here!

- Open up!

- What's the matter?

It's Barelli, Inspector!

He just ran in and locked the door.

- Break it in.

- Wait a minute.

I got a personal grudge

against that canary.

Barelli!

Stabbed through heart.

But I just saw him come in here.

- Yeah, he must've bumped himself off.

- Contradiction, please.

Observe. Implement of death missing.

Dead hands cannot hide knife.

You're right. Someone must've been

waiting in here to kill him.

Whoever it was certainly worked fast.

He had to commit the murder and escape

while we were breaking in the door.

One moment.

Examine wound, please.

It's beginning to dry.

Coagulated blood denote murder

committed some time ago.

Oh, yeah? Then I suppose

it was his ghost that socked me.

Perhaps substitute devil

sock honorable colleague on chin.

Aw, you're just guessing, brother.

This window hasn't been opened

so long, the bolt's rusty.

And that door was locked

on the inside!

If he didn't sock me and then run in here,

where is the guy who did?

Perhaps murderer knows

other way of departing from room.

Inspector Regan,

there's a trapdoor up here.

I'll handle this.

Go up there with him

and take a look around.

- Get the coroner here. Tell the boys to keep their eyes open.

- Yes, sir.

All right, folks, back up.

Out of the way.

Wait a minute, lady.

You can't go in there.

Let me in to him.

He's my husband!

Oh! Enrico! Oh!

Find anything, Kelly?

Nothing yet, Chief.

There ain't nobody up here.

I'm gonna find out if there is.

No Chinese cop's gonna show me up.

Take a look down that other end.

Come outta there.

Stay where you are.

- Who's he?

- I don't know who he is...

...but I'm gonna find out

what he's doing in here.

Get Regan.

What's wrong?

Lilli!

She's dead.

- What's the trouble?

- Murder. And here's your man.

- That's a lie.

- I came in here...

...and found him standing over the lady

with blood on his hands.

There's a dame with him too.

She must be around someplace.

- Go and get her.

- Keep your eye on him, Dugan.

Stabbed. Just like Barelli.

Yes, but Barelli die first.

Blood here still fresh.

He must've come in here

while I was out phoning for a doctor.

You leave Madame Lilli alone?

Why not? She was supposed to have

police protection, wasn't she?

It's your negligence that is

responsible for my wife's death.

- That's enough, Whitely.

- Please. Mr. Whitely's right.

Humility only defense

against rightful blame.

Here's the knife!

He must've put it there!

I never saw that knife before!

Whoever commit crime

safe for moment.

What do you mean?

By handling knife you have covered

fingerprints of murderer.

Come on, everybody.

Into your second act costumes.

Well, come on! Hurry up!

Hurry up, all of you!

- Are the understudies ready?

- Yes, sir.

We're not going on, Mr. Arnold.

Not with a madman loose.

- Two people have been killed already!

- Any one of us may be next.

Don't you realize this is opening night

and there's a packed house?

You might as well

go on with the show...

...because none of you hams are leaving

the theater until this thing is cleared up.

- This is an outrage!

- Come on. Come on.

I knew Madame Barelli very well.

I was with her this afternoon.

- What time, please?

- Oh, about 4:
00 or 5:00.

He's lying. At 4:30, my wife

was in Inspector Regan's office.

Pardon, please.

How you know that?

Why, Lilli told me, of course.

You knew Madame Lilli received

threat of death this afternoon?

- Certainly not.

- What did you think she was doing in my office?

Why, she told me she'd missed a piece

of jewelry from her dressing room.

Be so kind to explain what happened when

you carry Madame Lilli into dressing room.

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