Compulsion Page #4

Mm.

Well, what about

the teachers? Any oddballs?

Most of'em, if you ask me, Lieutenant.

Yeah? Like who, for instance?

Oh, uh

Well, Mr. Henderson was one.

Always telling us we're spoiled brats,

and too much money.

- You know, that kinda

- Yeah. Is he still here?

Why, sure!

He's right over, uh

Gosh, Lieutenant, you don't think he had

anything to do with Paulie?

No, no! Which one

did you say he was?

The, uhThe guy

with the sweatshirt.

Just throwing the ball.

Henderson, huh?

Any others?

Well, uh

Pop Wiggen.

Uh, that's the-the

the gray-haired one.

I guess you wouldn't say

he was exactly normal.

Snapping towels at kids in the gym

stuff like that.

But, uhThat-That wouldn't

mean anything.

No, no.

Wiggem, huh?

"Wiggen".

With an "n".

It's the place where I discovered

the Kirtland's warbler.

I was the first person

to find one in 60 years.

Of course, it doesn't exactly compare with

Red Grange running 97 yards for a touchdown.

I think it does.

I think it's fascinating.

- I'd love to go out there sometime.

- You would?

- Yes.

- Really?

- Yes, I would.

- I'm going out Thursday afternoon.

- If you'd like to come along.

- I know how interested you are...

but an inquest is

strictly official business.

Look, why don't you talk to your friend,

LieutenantJohnson?

- Maybe he'll get you in.

- Great! I never thought of it!

Hi, Ruthie. I'll see if I can find him.

I'm busy.

- I guess I'd better run along.

- You'll never catch up with that skyrocket.

It's not that.

I have some studying to do.

- You have time. Please stay.

- Sure. Stick around.

I'm sorry, I have to go.

I do hope you'll be

able to make it Thursday.

- I know I'm late. I got tied up at the Globe.

- Sid.

You could have at least

been polite to him.

First Artie brushes him off, and then you

treat him as if he's some piece of furniture.

Okay, honey. I'm sorry.

What's this aboutJudd and Thursday?

He wants to take me out

to Hegewisch Park.

Mm. Well, if you're an ornithologist,

I guess that's the best place to go...

to find various species

of birds.

Should be a very entertaining

afternoon for you...

watching Judd and all

the other strange birds

Oh, stop it.

Judd isn't as strange

as you're making him out to be.

And I really don't think

he's that different from any other boy.

- Yeah, I guess he isn't. But

- What?

Well, you know, the birds,

the genius I.Q., graduate school at 19

I just don't get the feeling he's gonna

challenge Dempsey for the title.

Just because he can

speak about something besides sex...

you, Artie and all the rest of you seem to think

he's some kind of freak.

Look, honey, for all I know,

he's another Casanova.

I just don't think I'm gonna have to worry

about you at Hegewisch Park.

All right, let's break it up here. Come on.

Keep these folks up on the sidewalk, will you?

Come on.

Let's break it up here.

You too, Mist

Oh, hello, Artie.

Everybody and his brother

wants to get underfoot.

Sure looks that way.

What's goin' on, Lieutenant?

Ah, somebody phoned in,

said they saw some mysterious man...

throw a bundle in the sewer

here on Wednesday night.

So we gotta dig it up!

Pretty stupid, huh?

Sure is.

I'd like to get my hands

on the guy that called.

Listen. You know anybody around here

talks with a German accent?

- With a what?

- With a German accent.

A German accent? Yeah, uh, the Wainwrights

live right across the street there.

They have a German chauffeur.

Real Prussian.

Rupert.

Yeah? Think I'll have a little chat

with this Rupert.

- Hey, Johnson.

- What?

Find anything?

Sure! Just what you'd

expect to find in a sewer.

Aw, this case gets

nuttier day by day.

I wonder if there's anyplace

I can find a phone around here.

Use the one in my house,

Mr. Daly. I live right here. Come on!

You know, I have another theory

I was telling the lieutenant about.

Hey, you and Johnson are really

running this case, aren't you?

No, I've just given him

a couple of ideas.

You see, nobody's thought of the possibility

of the kidnapper being a woman.

But I remember a nurse that

the Kesslers had for Paulie.

She did some of the weirdest things

you ever saw.

- I used to watch her at night.

- Yeah?

How?

Just a minute, fellas.

Bunch of old biddies

playing cards.

If they knew you were a reporter,

they'd be all over you.

- Uh, phone's right over there, Mr. Daly.

- Oh, thanks.

- Uh, would-would you like a drink?

- Why not?

- Yeah.

- Sid, come here.

- State 1097, please.

- Okay. Hold it.

Now, uh, watch this.

- Hey!

- All pre-war, too.

Uh, what would you like

to drink, Mr. Daly?

If it's pre-war,

I wouldn't know the difference.

Oh, give me Ryan.

Let's see. Is Scotch all right, Sid?

It's 12 years old.

Great!

What do you, uh, think

about that nursemaid, Sid?

I think she'd sweat

as much as the schoolteachers.

Now, wait a minute.

You surely don't think I told...

the lieutenant about them just

to get them in trouble, do you?

Well, they got into it, just the same.

Think the school will

take 'em back?

Well, gee, I hadn't

thought of that.

But that was a terrible thing

for me to do, wasn't it?

Well, not if there were

any chance of them being guilty.

- Well, even so, that's just

- Okay, call you back.

Anything new, Mr. Daly?

Oh, not much. Police are so desperate,

they're looking for anybody who even had...

mud on their shoes

last Wednesday night thanks.

Oh, uh, they did make a positive

identification of the typewriter...

that was used

to write that ransom note.

- Oh, the Corona they wrote about.

- No, it was, um...

an Underwood portable

with a bent key.

They're sure of it.

Arthur, for pity's sake,

you scared the life out of me.

Sorry, Mumsy. These are friends of mine.

We didn't want to disturb you.

Reporters, working

on the Kessler case.

- This is Mr. Daly. Mr. Sid Brooks.

- How do you do?

- How do you do?

- How do you do?

I've been telling them my theory

about Margaret, Mumsy.

- You remember her?

- Margaret? Margaret.

You had so many theories, dear.

He's done nothing but talk

about the case ever since it happened.

Oh, such a terrible thing!

And so tragic for the poor Kesslers.

Arthur, dear, get me the sherry, will you?

Mrs. Bainbridge is in such a state...

she has to have something

for her nerves.

Oh, we're all on edge, I guess.

Horrible thing.

Police digging up

the street out there...

that crowd making such a racket

you can't hear yourself think

I declare, I expect the next thing they'll

do would be to search this house.

- Thank you, dear. - They have

to follow up every clue, Mrs. Strauss.

Of course they do.

And they should.

None of us will get a wink's sleep

until this fiend has been captured.

Every one of us

has children, and

Mrs. Strauss, have you any idea

why the Kesslers were the victims?

Not the slightest. And Paulie

was such a handsome little boy.

Yeah, but still.

If you were looking for a kid to kidnap...

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