Crossfire Page #6

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.

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