Crooked House Page #4

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aren't you?

I also know

where they're hidden.

I know lots of things.

I listen at doors.

People don't pay attention to me

in this house.

They're way too selfish

for that.

But I pay attention to them.

Bye-bye, Mr. Hayward.

Bye.

- Hello, darling.

- Hello.

Closing in on your prey,

Mr. Hayward?

Lady Edith.

Yes.

I was wondering, are the gates

locked at night?

Religiously.

Aristide was a fervent believer

in the communist threat.

Personally I can't conceive

of Swinley Dean

having a very active cell.

Unless of course

you count our Mr. brown.

He is an intellectual, isn't he?

May I ask you a blunt question?

They're the only

interesting kind.

What's wrong with people

in this house?

Heh.

It is a blunt question indeed.

Sorry.

Don't be.

Passion.

It is a hothouse

of suppressed passion.

This is what happens

when the person

you love the most in the world,

who you would give

your life for,

is actually the same person

that you hate the most.

I'm certain you understand,

Mr. Hayward.

You wouldn't be in this house

yourself otherwise,

would you?

Hello?

Brent, it's Charles Hayward.

Charlie, what a surprise.

What can I do for you, buddy?

Aristide Leonides.

What about him?

What are you doing here?

No, Charles.

The question is...

What are you doing now?

You're not scared, are you?

Not in the least.

You should be.

Off!

So you like it?

Let's go upstairs.

This is what my grandfather

wanted me

to keep him up to date on.

What the young people

were doing.

The music scene.

He believed that this

was the future for his business.

Leisure, entertainment.

I suppose that's what he meant

by the whole world going soft

after the war.

So this is what Vegas was about?

I suppose you don't want to talk

about his memoirs either?

You know,

I saw a picture of you.

As a ballerina.

That was when

I was a little girl,

before I injured my knee.

You were sweet.

Will you shut up

and light my bloody cigarette?

Charles. This little girl

feels like dancing.

Just like in Cairo.

The last will and testament

of Aristide Leonides,

which was drawn up by me

and signed by him,

in front

of all his family members,

on the 24th of July, 1957.

In it,

each and every one of them

is handsomely

and equitably provided for.

However, Mr. Hayward,

Miss Leonides

has specifically instructed me

to give you

all the information you need.

But I hope I can rely

on your absolute discretion

here.

Of course.

Because, as I just told

the family,

we realized only this morning

that this will has no signature.

Everyone present,

myself included, saw him Si--

Or rather we thought

we saw him sign it.

But--

He died intestate?

So it would appear.

But if he died intestate,

then...

Then the primary beneficiary

of the will is,

of course,

the second Mrs. Leonides.

Brenda.

Indeed.

Josephine!

Josephine!

Thank you.

Nice setup.

What do you want?

I know about the will.

And I also know

that you had a heated discussion

with your father

the night he died.

Now, a stab in the dark...

But might it have concerned

the imminent collapse

of associated catering?

You are an extremely

intrusive person, Mr. Hayward.

I thought you could do

with some...

Now, what was it?

One last attempt

to get your father

to bail you out?

And he refused?

It's made out to

associated catering.

For 2 million.

Phew. This sort of money

would solve

most people's problems.

Not mine.

All I ever did was let him down.

But he always forgave me

and bailed me out.

Again and again.

That night,

clemency told me

to destroy this check.

That it would be the end

of me if I were to accept

one more penny from my father.

But I'm not as strong

as my wife.

The next morning...

He was dead.

There you are.

Don't creep up on people

like that.

People who eavesdrop seldom

hear good of themselves.

And put that horrid notebook

away.

Hello?

Buddy, you're being followed.

Yes, I know.

I thought it was you.

Oh, you could never spot us

that easily.

So do you have anything for me?

Only if you tell me

why you left the foreign

office. You were promising.

And the free world

needs people like you.

The free world.

Please.

Yeah, all right.

Leonides was a friend of ours.

But I don't think his death

has anything to do with that.

What was your business with him?

He helped us in Greece

during the civil war.

Financed a bunch of

anti-communist organizations.

Mm-hm.

Gave money to the right people.

In return, we helped him out

in the states.

Helped him cover up

some of his shady businesses.

Which explains Las Vegas.

He was a strange cat.

Saw himself as

the next Alexander the great

or something.

He had a thing for empires.

And the British empire

is falling apart.

Every dog has his day.

And that's it?

Look. Everybody wants to know

who killed him,

and nobody has a damn clue.

But we're talking

about a lot of money here.

This guy was everywhere.

Like an octopus.

So who benefits from his death?

It's just far too obvious.

Maybe your friend in the car

could help us.

Hi. I believe

we have a mutual friend.

Sorry?

Your wife.

What? What can--

Hey.

Get off, get off, get off.

Aah!

Hey, calm down.

We just wanna know who you are.

Hey, hey, hey. There we go.

Come on. Yeah.

Oh, boy.

Charles,

meet sergeant Glover

of Scotland yard.

Ha-ha-ha.

Easy. Easy, big fella.

What on earth were you thinking?

Charles,

it's not as bad as it looks.

I'd have thought, considering

your friendship with my father,

you'd have had more trust

in me than this.

I swore I'd look after you

should anything happen to him.

Seriously, you're saying to me

that this clown of a man

was there to protect me?

- If anyone's the--

- Shut up, Glover.

He's right, you are a clown.

Now, get out of here.

Charles, you have to understand,

I'm under

a lot of pressure here.

There's politics involved here.

It's sensitive.

And with your past--

I'm sorry? My past?

In Cairo.

I was a diplomat.

Of course.

And I am a duchess.

Now, give me something,

so I can still have faith

in you.

All right.

Any one of them

could have done it.

They all had means.

They all had opportunity.

Motive?

Oh.

Anger, jealousy, love, greed.

Take your pick.

So no communist,

no Las Vegas mafia,

no CIA conspiracy?

We're investigating too.

Quietly.

But you can go in the house

without a warrant.

Get back in there

and find out who killed

the bloody midget.

Brenda admits she gave

the fatal injection.

But anyone, anyone could have

swapped out those bottles.

Including her.

Yes, including him.

Tell me this.

How would Brenda have known

the consequences

of swapping over the Insulin

with the eye drops?

Oh, we all knew about that.

He made a point

of telling us about it

at his 86th birthday party.

He went into great detail

explaining how we could

do away with him.

Yes, he had a very twisted

sense of fun.

You met with him

the night he died?

Yes, he wanted to discuss

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