Evelyn Prentice Page #6

You do?

Say, you are interested

in this case, aren't you?

Well, seems to me she certainly

deserves a first-rate attorney.

Thank you.

That's a very pretty compliment.

Even if we did stay home...

...l'd probably be head over heels

with work at the office.

Well, could you at least go down

and talk with her?

Yes, I could do that

if you want me to.

I wish you would.

All right, dear.

I'll go down and talk with her tomorrow.

You're very sweet, John.

Well, there's nothing in the world we

wouldn't do for our Mommy, is there?

- Good morning.

- Good morning.

Good morning, Ms. Wilson.

This is Mr. John Prentice.

Heard of him?

Yes, I think so.

Mr. Prentice has interested

himself in your case.

- I thought you were my lawyer.

- No.

I'm only the public defender

appointed by the court.

I will be in my office

if you want to get in touch.

Right.

Now, suppose we go over this

from the beginning, Ms. Wilson.

But I haven't any money.

Don't worry about that. Sit down.

And that's all I remember, Mr. Prentice.

The next thing I knew, I was in a room

with big lights shining down in my eyes.

And a lot of men shouting at me,

telling me I'd killed Larry...

...and asking me to confess.

But I didn't kill him, Mr. Prentice.

Did you ever threaten to?

- Yes, I did.

- Why?

I was jealous.

But I didn't do it, Mr. Prentice.

Who was this other woman?

I never knew her name.

I only heard Larry say that she was

the wife of a prominent man.

But you never heard her name?

No, sir.

Well, that's all for now.

You'll hear from me later in the day.

And don't worry.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Eddie, I want you to have Clark and

Thompson at my house tonight at 8:00.

Right.

Get a court order, look over that flat.

Number is 78 Greenwich Avenue.

Meet me there at 4:00.

Right. You're gonna take the case?

Yes. Got a match?

- Good evening, chief.

- How are you?

- Good evening.

- Evening, Mrs. Prentice.

Delaney will be along shortly. Sit down.

You're in the headlines

of the evening papers.

Yes, I saw one of them.

- I bet Farley's seen all of them.

- Are we going to lick him?

I shouldn't be surprised if we did.

But we got a pretty tough case

in front of us.

There's another woman involved.

A woman who may possibly

have been clever enough...

...to kill Kennard in his own apartment

with his own gun without leaving a clue.

We've got to find that woman.

Smoke, Mack?

Was this Wilson girl able

to give you any help?

Not much. All she knew was the woman

was the wife of some prominent man.

- Sounds like a blackmail set-up.

- That's my conclusion.

I've already got a pretty good line

on Kennard. He's quite a ladies' man.

He had no qualms about allowing

the ladies...

...to help him out every now and then,

financially.

Man like that, when he got

a married woman in the right spot...

...especially the wife

of a prominent man...

...he'd probably make it

very difficult for her.

How about the apartment?

Anything there?

Bloodstains?

- Yes.

Of course, there was the pool of blood

on the carpet...

...of the living room where Kennard fell.

But in the hall,

just outside the living room door...

...there was a trail of blood spots

that lead all the way down the stairs.

That blood was not from Kennard.

Someone came out

of that apartment who had been hurt?

Right, and as there was no evidence

of any weapon having been used...

...it was probably caused

by a blow from a fist.

Nosebleed.

Or a cut in the mouth.

Yes, and the Wilson girl's face

was absolutely unmarked.

How about having a look

at the man's hands for teeth marks?

Planned that. He was buried yesterday.

We'll get an order,

have the body exhumed.

Suppose the DA tries to hold us up?

We'll look at the body without an order.

Mr. Delaney, sir.

Good evening. How do you do,

Mrs. Prentice, Mack, Pat?

What luck, Eddie?

We're batting 100 percent.

I got the janitor...

...from 81 Greenwich Avenue,

81 is after 78.

She was in front of the house that day

and saw the grocery boy go to 78.

Minutes before the boy went in,

she saw a woman come out...

...holding a handkerchief

to her face.

She claims she can identify that woman.

Good work, Eddie.

It looks like we're in luck.

I think I'll go upstairs, dear.

No, darling, I'd like you to hear

this woman's story.

Bring her in, Eddie.

Come right in, Mrs. Blake.

Mrs. Blake, Mr. Prentice.

- How are you?

- How do you do?

- Mr. Thompson, Mr. Clark.

- How do you do?

These gentlemen

are our special investigators.

- Hmm.

- And this is Mrs. Prentice.

How do you do, ma'am?

How do you do?

This is a nice place you've got here.

Well, thank you.

Won't you sit down?

Thank you.

I'm on my feet all day,

and sometimes half the night...

...if Jerry comes home with a load on.

- Jerry's my husband.

- Never mind about Jerry and his load.

You know you can identify the woman

you saw come out of the house?

What sort of looking person

was this woman?

Oh. That's pretty hard to say

with the handkerchief and everything.

- But, oh, I'd know her again, all right.

- Was she tall or short?

Well, let me see, she was about...

Well, she wasn't short

and she wasn't tall.

Sort of medium-like, I'd say.

Could you be a bit more definite?

It's important.

Well, it seems to me

she was more on the tall side.

But maybe it was the hat

that made her look that way.

Would you say she was 5-feet-5?

I don't know, sir.

I have no head for figures.

Darling, would you mind standing

for a moment?

Now, would you say she was as tall

as my wife?

She was just about her size,

maybe a little shorter.

Good. Thank you, dear.

Was she dark or blond?

Well, that's pretty hard to say

at that distance.

But I should say she was on the dark

side, like your wife here.

- How was she dressed?

- Oh, swell.

In the height of fashion,

as my dead mother used to say.

Was she wearing dark or light clothes?

She had a dark, short coat,

brown, with fur.

- Fur collar?

- Oh, no, not on the collar.

Only on the sleeves.

There are hundreds of those.

Mrs. Prentice has one.

Had one, I gave it to the mission

two weeks ago.

The fur was completely gone,

you know.

Ho-ho. I understand.

Them fur sleeves are great places

for the moths, ain't they?

Did you notice her hat?

Yes, it's one of them little dinky ones

that sits on the top of the head, brown.

Hmm. How does it happen that you didn't

speak about this woman before?

She went out of me mind when I heard

the Wilson girl had been arrested.

I never thought of it again

till this fella come down...

...and started asking me if I'd ever seen

any woman going in...

...or coming out of number 78.

I see.

I appreciate it if you don't mention

having been here to see me tonight.

- Oh, I won't tell a soul.

- Good.

How much will I get?

Now, I haven't promised you anything.

Of course, you will be paid

for your time.

I understand. Anytime you want me,

I'm always on the job.

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