Dancer In the Dark Page #5

on their property.

Yeah.

And didn't they also

take careof your young son

when you were at work?

Yeah.

They bought him a...

birthday presentrecently.

Is that right?

Yeah. Theygot him a bike.

Right.

Your sightwas poor,

you claim,contrary to

the expert testimonywe have received.

But you sawwell enough

to inflict 34 woundson Bill Houston.

So why did youkill him, actually?

If I may beso bold to ask?

He asked me to.

He did?

How intriguing.

A man witha fine career

and some wealth,a happy marriage,

why wouldthis Bill Houston

ask you to kill him?

I promised not to say.

Well, that clearsthings up immensely.

You promisedyou wouldn't say.

In that case, we'll justhave to take your word for it

when you saythat the money you stole

that Bill Houston's savings

also disappearedso mysteriously

that same day.

Just, uh...

Just where did youget your money?

Well...

I'd been saving up.

Well, I supposeyou could call it that.

What were these savingsto be used for?

You never bought your son

so much asa single birthday present,

as we've heard.

Yes?

My--my father.

In Czechoslovakia.

Your father?

And what,pray tell...

is his name?

My--my father is...

Oldrich Novy.

So...

We're meant to believe...

that you killedBill Houston

by inflicting34 wounds on him

because...

He asked you to.

Just as we're meantto believe

that you were blindwhen you did it...

Are meant to believethat it was your own savings

that you stole from him...

Just as we're meantto believe

that you sent all you had

to your father back home,

a man by the nameof Oldrich Novy.

Is that right?

Yes.

Thank you,Miss Jezkova.

Ladies and gentlemenof the jury,

you've now heard fromthe defendant's own lips.

You must believe her,

just as youmust believe her

when she claimsher father's name

is Oldrich Novy.

Your Honor...

at this time,the state calls

to the witness stand...

Oldrich Novy.

Please stateyour full name.

The name isOldrich Novy.

And you used to livein Czechoslovakia?

That is right.

I live now in California,as you know.

That's right, that'swhere we found you.

What exactly isyour relationship

with the defendant?

I do not know her.

You don't know her?

So...

You have not received money

from her.

Money that--that...

she says was so dearly earned?

No, I have not.

Perhaps you'renot her father then?

No, I am not.

Well, ifthis relationship

was made upby the defendant,

then...

can you thinkof any way

she might've cometo know your name?

I was once well knownin Czechoslovakia

uh... because of my profession.

Yes, Mr. Oldrich Novy,what is your profession?

Maybe that can give usa clue to why,

why this somewhat...romantic,

certainly communistic, woman

who worships Fred Astairebut not his country,

why she might've lied...

and misused your name...

to make us thinkall her money was spent

on a poor fatherand not on her own vanity.

What is it that you do?

I was an actor.I made films.

They were musicals.

Say it again!

Will the court please rise?

The honorable JudgeA.D. Mantle presiding.

Have you reached a verdict?

Yes, Your Honor.

Will the defendantplease rise?

We, the jury,find the defendant

Selma Jezkova

guilty of murderin the first degree

and hereby sentence herto death.

Is thisthe verdict of this jury?

You fully understandthat it must be unanimous?

We do, Your Honor.

Selma Jezkova...

You are hereby sentenced

to be taken from this place

and confined inthe state penitentiary

until such timeas you shall be executed

by being hangedby the neck

until you are dead.

This court is adjourned.

All rise!

I've just heardabout the...

Supreme Court decision.

Yeah, l...

I just want to talkpractical stuff.

On Gene's birthday...

he will receivea letter.

And it's so important,Kathy...

that he reads itreally carefully.

I need you to take careof that for me...

because I'm notgonna be there

when he gets it.

He should not be afraid,

because there's nothingto be afraid of, Kathy.

Listen, Gene wantsto see you so badly.

Won't you let him?Please?

There's nothingfor him to see.

He's got you now,Kathy.

And there'sone more thing:

He has tocall himself Novy.

That'svery important.

All right,time's up, Selma.

I know that soundsa bit foolish.

Novy?

I'm sorry I didn'ttell you before

about all this.I just didn't dare to

because they wouldruin everything.

But what--Why does he

have to call himself Novy?

Stop asking questionslike that, Cvalda.

Please... Iet metell Gene hello...

from you to him.

No.

I know you loveyour son very much.

I love him very much.

Got a boy of my ownback home.

You never told me that.

Good night, Brenda.

Good night.

Say hi to your sonfrom me.

Thank you, Selma.

Can I help you?

Did you once havea patient called...

Jezkova...

Selma Jezkova?

Well, if it wasn'ttoo long ago,

I can checkmy records for you.

Jes... Jez... Jess...

Sorry, there's no onehere by that name.

What about Novy?

I have good news for you.

What's that?

We found a new lawyer...

and he's going to getyour case re-opened.

He says your lawyerwas incompetent.

What do you mean?

Well, the case isgoing to be re-opened.

You won't getthe death sentence.

Is that true?

Yes. New informationhas turned up.

Wh-what information?

Well, we knowthe whole story, Selma.

Why didn't you tell usanything?

You know, about...

about the moneyfor Gene's operation.

How did you find out?

Well, Jeff talkedto the doctor.

Does--does Gene know?

I mean,have you told Gene?

No.No, I didn't.

But you've gota much better case now.

That's very important,Kathy.

His eyes might getworse from worrying,

and then the operationwon't work.

Yes, but, Selma...

Don't you seethat it would help you

if they knew that youwere trying to save your son

from going blind?

The lawyer,he'll come and see you

in two weeks' time.

Kathy, but, uh...

You knowthey're hanging me

in one week.

We know that,but he says

you can apply for a stay.

You know, most casesget one the first time.

Well, you can smile.

Selma...

Yeah... it's justtoo much for me.

I thoughtI was strong.

I just can'ttake it, Kathy.

Apply for a stay.

What if theydon't phone?

Uh, well, you'll betransferred to the other...

cell blockat some point tomorrow.

That's the cell blockwhere they hang people.

Yeah,that's where they...

spend the last day.

And then they dotheir 1 07 steps.

It's from that room...

to the gallows,isn't it?

That's what they say,Selma, but...

Look at...

You're gonna getyour stay.

Why don't you try tothink of something nice,

all right?

It's justso quiet here.

What's that gotto do with it, Selma?

You know, when I usedto work in the factory...

I used to dreamthat I was in a musical,

because, in a musical,

nothing dreadfulever happens.

But it's so quiet here.

Don't the prisonersmarch or something?

March?No.

Yeah?

No, they don't.They don't...

There's not...

There's not much noisearound here, Selma,

I know.

But later theyturn on the radio.

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