Double Indemnity Page #20

you afraid, baby?

PHYLLIS:

Yes, I'm afraid. But not of Keyes.

I'm afraid of us. We're not the same

any more. We did it so we could be

together, but instead of that it's

pulling us apart. Isn't it, Walter?

NEFF:

What are you talking about?

PHYLLIS:

And you don't really care whether we

see each other or not.

NEFF:

Shut up, baby.

He pulls her close and kisses her.

FADE OUT:

END OF SEQUENCE "C"

SEQUENCE "D"

FADE IN:

D-1 INSURANCE OFFICE - TWELFTH FLOOR - ANTEROOM - (DAY)

Two telephone operators and a receptionist are at work.

Several visitors are waiting in chairs. Lola Dietrichson is

one of them. She's wearing a simple black suit and hat,

indicating mourning. Her fingers nervously pick at a

handkerchief and her eyes are watching the elevator doors

anxiously.

(Now and then the telephone operators in the background are

heard saying, "PACIFIC ALL-RISK. GOOD AFTERNOON.")

The elevator comes up and the doors open. Several people

come out, among them Neff, carrying his briefcase. Lola sees

him and stands up, and as he is about to pass through the

anteroom without recognizing her she stops him.

LOLA:

Hello, Mr. Neff.

Neff looks at her a little startled.

NEFF:

Hello.

His voice hangs in the air.

LOLA:

Lola Dietrichson. Don't you remember

me?

NEFF:

(On his guard)

Yes. Of course.

LOLA:

Could I talk to you, just for a few

minutes? Somewhere where we can be

alone?

NEFF:

Sure. Come on into my office.

He pushes the swing door open and holds it for her. As she

passes in front of him his eyes narrow in uneasy speculation.

D-2 TWELFTH FLOOR - BALCONY

Neff comes up level with Lola and leads her towards his

office, CAMERA WITH THEM.

NEFF:

Is it something to do with -- what

happened?

LOLA:

Yes, Mr. Neff. It's about my father's

death.

NEFF:

I'm terribly sorry, Miss Dietrichson.

He opens the door of his office and holds it for her. She

enters.

D-3 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE - (DAY)

Lou Schwartz, one of the other salesmen, is working at his

desk. Lola enters, Neff after her.

NEFF:

(To Schwartz)

Lou, do you mind if I use the office

alone for a few minutes?

SCHWARTZ:

It's all yours, Walter.

He gets up and goes out. Lola has walked over to the window

and is looking out so Schwartz won't stare at her. Neff places

a chair beside his desk.

NEFF:

Won't you sit down?

At the sound of the closing door she turns and speaks with a

catch in her voice.

LOLA:

Mr. Neff, I can't help it, but I

have such a strange feeling that

there is something queer about my

father's death.

NEFF:

Queer? Queer in what way?

LOLA:

I don't know why I should be bothering

you with my troubles, except that

you knew my father and knew about

the insurance he took out. And you

were so nice to me that evening in

your car.

NEFF:

Sure. We got along fine, didn't we.

He sits down. His face is grim and watchful.

LOLA:

Look at me, Mr. Neff. I'm not crazy.

I'm not hysterical. I'm not even

crying. But I have the awful feeling

that something is wrong, and I had

the same feeling once before -- when

my mother died.

NEFF:

When your mother died?

LOLA:

We were up at Lake Arrowhead. That

was six years ago. We had a cabin

there. It was winter and very cold

and my mother was very sick with

pneumonia. She had a nurse with her.

There were just the three of us in

the cabin. One night I got up and

went into my mother's room. She was

delirious with fever. All the bed

covers were on the floor and the

windows were wide open. The nurse

wasn't in the room. I ran and covered

my mother up as quickly as I could.

Just then I heard a door open behind

me. The nurse stood there. She didn't

say a word, but there was a look in

her eyes I'll never forget. Two days

later my mother was dead.

(Pause)

Do you know who that nurse was?

Neff stares at her tensely. He knows only too well who the

nurse was.

NEFF:

No. Who?

LOLA:

Phyllis. I tried to tell my father,

but I was just a kid then and he

wouldn't listen to me. Six months

later she married him and I kind of

talked myself out of the idea that

she could have done anything like

that. But now it's all back again,

now that something has happened to

my father, too.

NEFF:

You're not making sense, Miss

Dietrichson. Your father fell off a

train.

LOLA:

Yes, and two days before he fell off

that train what was Phyllis doing?

She was in her room in front of a

mirror, with a black hat on, and she

was pinning a black veil to it, as

if she couldn't wait to see how she

would look in mourning.

NEFF:

Look. You've had a pretty bad shock.

Aren't you just imagining all this?

LOLA:

I caught her eyes in the mirror, and

they had that look in them they had

before my mother died. That same

look.

NEFF:

You don't like your step-mother, do

you? Isn't it just because she is

your step-mother?

LOLA:

I loathe her. Because she did it.

She did it for the money. Only you're

not going to pay her, are you, Mr.

Neff? She's not going to get away

with it this time. I'm going to speak

up. I'm going to tell everything I

know.

NEFF:

You'd better be careful, saying things

like that.

LOLA:

I'm not afraid. You'll see.

She turns again to the window so he won't see that she is

crying. Neff gets up and goes to her.

LOLA:

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to act like

this.

NEFF:

All this that you've been telling me --

who else have you told?

LOLA:

No one.

NEFF:

How about your step-mother?

LOLA:

Of course not. I'm not living in the

house any more. I moved out.

NEFF:

And you didn't tell that boy-friend

of yours? Zachetti.

LOLA:

I'm not seeing him any more. We had

a fight.

NEFF:

Where are you living then?

LOLA:

I got myself a little apartment in

Hollywood.

NEFF:

Four walls, and you just sit and

look at them, huh?

She turns from the window with a pathetic little nod.

LOLA:

(Through her tears)

Yes, Mr. Neff.

DISSOLVE TO:

D-4 LA GOLONDRINA (NIGHT)

In the foreground, Neff and Lola are having dinner. In the

background the usual activity of Olvera Street -- sidewalk

peddlers, guitar players, etc.

NEFF'S VOICE

So I took her to dinner that evening

at a Mexican joint down on Olvera

Street where nobody would see us. I

wanted to cheer her up..

DISSOLVE TO:

D-5 INT. NEFF'S COUPE (DAY)

Neff and Lola driving along the beach near Santa Monica.

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