Compulsion Page #7

Do you realize what

the consequences could be?

Can't be as bad as what

my old man'll do.

He'll skin me alive if he finds out

I was out with a couple of tramps.

He doesn't need to find out.

You wanna tell us about it now?

Didn't that blabbermouth

tell you enough?

We'd like to hear it

from you.

All right.

Well, look. It wasn't

so much anyway.

Look, we were just out cruising

in Judd's Stutz...

and we saw these two tramps, Mae and Edna,

they said their names were.

Couple of crows.

Anyway, I wound up with Edna

and Judd was left with

Yeah. Yeah. Follow 'em?

On what, roller skates?

They just went down the freight

elevator and took off.

Yeah, well, Johnson says that Horn

took 'em to dinner Maybe he did.

I got the kid making the rounds of all

the restaurants in the neighborhood.

Yeah, well, the feeling is

there's nothing much to it...

particularly since they were

taken out to dinner.

Yeah. That's right.

I'll let ya know.

Here we are, Mr. Judd.

Will this be satisfactory?

Excellent, Robert.

Merci.

I told Robert to order for us, Mr. Horn.

I assure you, it'll be excellent.

How many languages

do you speak, Judd?

14, including English and German

and Italian and French...

Sanskrit, Russian,

Latin, Greek

that's Classical Greek

and modern Greek, Umbrian.

I expect to brush up on some of them

in Europe this summer.

- Europe?

- Yes, I plan to leave next week.

Europe, a Stutz Bearcat,

the best restaurants

You fellas really have a hard life, don't you?

By the way, that Stutz

is a two-seater, isn't it?

I thought you'd be wise

to that one, Mr. Horn.

You see, in a two-seater,

a girls has to sit in your lap.

Oh, cozy.

You boys really had us worried for awhile

especially you, Artie.

I'm sorry, sir, but...

I didn't thinkJudd was going

to back out of our agreement.

If you'll excuse me,

I think I'll wash up.

- I'll join you.

- Might as well go too.

Mr. Horn, it looks as if

you're still not quite certain.

Oh, don't be silly.

Sit down, Davis.

I don't think they had anything

to do with it.

Hmm. I don't know.

Their stories tally,

but what do you think, Whitey?

These kids? A couple

of powder puffs.

They're too afraid of their fathers

to do anything

And far too intelligent.

If they'd have come up with

the same stories right away...

I might have thought something was fishy,

but, anyway, how long can you hold 'em?

- There's the commissioner, Judge Conway

- I know. I know.

I know. I wish I were

as sure as you are, but

Those damned glasses

keep bothering me.

Here they come!

Come on.

Give us a statement.

You're getting all excited

over nothing!

There's no story here because

there have been no charges.

There are no star-chamber

proceedings.

- I'm trying to get information

on the kidnapping.

If I think I can get it from these two boys,

I'll keep 'em as long as I like.

- Shut that door.

- Give us a statement.

You know, they're

right, Chief.

We can't hold them much

longer without a charge.

I'm surprised the families haven't

sent a lawyer down here before this

All right. All right. All right.

I'll release them.

I don't know why I've kept them

as long as I have, except

No. Never mind.

- Who's this?

- He's the Steiner chauffeur.

Albert, sir.

Mr. Steiner sent me.

I brought pajamas and a few toilet articles

for Mr. Judd in case you kept him overnight.

That's subtle. Well,

Mr. Judd won't need them.

You stay here

and drive 'em home.

- I knew the boys couldn't have done it.

- How?

Well...

I mean, they couldn't have been

anywhere near Hegewisch Park...

unless they walked.

Mr. Judd's Stutz was in

the garage all afternoon.

His Stutz Bearcat?

- Wednesday?

- Yes, sir.

I know because Wednesday

is my afternoon off.

I stayed home to change

the brake linings.

- You're sure it was Wednesday?

- Yes, sir. I'm sure.

Why of course

you're sure.

Thank you, very much, Albert.

I wish we'd known this before.

Thank you.

So, they were cruising around

in the Stutz Bearcat Wednesday...

where they

were picking up girls.

The little devils.

They almost had us believing them.

- That still doesn't prove

- It proves they lied

And this time,

I'm gonna get the truth.

Which one will we

hit with it first?

- Well, it's Judd's car.

- Yeah, but Artie's the wise guy.

Johnson's buddy, nice and cocky

I'll bust him apart at the seams.

You go in

and keepJudd happy.

Well, Artie, how do you

feel after your dinner?

- A little sleepy.

- Oh, really?

Why it's the shank

of the evening.

Well.

It's all over, Steiner.

Your partner's confessed

to everything.

Oh, come now, Mr. Horn.

Isn't this the sort of thing

they do in detective stories?

You can hardly expect me

to be taken in by that...

even if there was

something to confess.

Yes, I guess it was rather

stupid of me at that.

You might also have taken

into consideration that...

aside from the fact

that he's my best friend...

Artie is far too

intelligent to

To be trapped by us

poor specimens?

I suppose so.

But Artie was such

a good friend of a young man...

who helped him write a ransom note

on a stolen typewriter...

and who rented a black sedan

from the Collins drive-yourself agency...

on May 16, that I thought

it might joggle your memory.

- Do you take me for an idiot?

- What did he say about that car?

Oh, yes. "I drove it.

"Judd Steiner was sitting

in the back seat with Paulie Kessler.

"I don't know how it happened,

but Paulie started to struggle.

"Judd told him to be quiet

and then he hit him.

He hit him very hard".

Oh, that weakling.

That child.

That inferior weakling.

- Where is he?

- Hold him!

If he said that, he's lying!

It's a cheap, cowardly lie!

Mr. Strauss didn't

drive the car, I did!

And I didn't kill Paulie,

Mr. Strauss did!

He's lying! He's lying!

There's only one man

for this case.

He's the best lawyer in the country,

and he's here in Chicago.

That atheist.

I won't have him.

He's a skeptic who makes

a mockery of religion.

- And the best trial lawyer in the country.

- A charlatan.

- A lying, drunken jury-swayer.

- But a winner.

And he's fought capital punishment

all his life.

I'm not even sure

he'll take the case.

If it's a question

of money, we can

But the fee must be

a consideration.

I've known him 30 years.

It never has been.

Will you let me get him on the phone

and see if I can persuade him?

No.

Judd's my son.

No matter what he's done,

it's my duty to speak for him.

Give me Information.

I want the number

ofJonathan Wilk

W- I-L-K.

"Judd cleaned up most of it

and I helped him.

"When it was as clean

as we could get it...

"we got in the car

and drove for awhile.

"Then we started back,

and coming along Ellis Avenue...

"I threw the taped chisel into

the bushes at the side of the road.

"Then Judd drove me home

and I went to bed.

"These are the facts to

the best of my recollection.

Signed,

'Arthur A. Strauss".'

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