Hotel Noir Page #6

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What are you doing?

I don't know.

Something's keeping you here.

Vance...

Don't!

Vance

Holy Moses.

Hey, do you have any idea...

how much money's in here?

Vance!

Okay, okay, uh...

Okay, I'm gonna figure this out.

Right, uh...

Right, I'm gonna say this one time.

I'm gonna take this money

and I'm gonna live like the king of kings.

Everything else is water under the bridge.

A brand new start.

I'll make all your dreams come true.

A do over. You and me.

You coming?

Crazy as a couple of waltzing mice.

So long, sweetheart.

Follow that car.

Vance!

I'm sorry he hit you.

I know when you wake up

you're gonna want to have a word with him.

I'd like to have a word or two with him myself.

Who is it?

Housekeeping.

Go away.

I do not need my room cleaned.

It's me!

Sevilla.

Sevilla. It's really you.

What are you doing here?

Can I come in?

No, no...

Oh, are you in the middle of something?

No...

Why did you say you were the housekeeper?

I am the housekeeper.

Dressed like that?

Oh...

It's not my uniform.

You're the housekeeper.

It' s not like I'm a third-class citizen.

It's only a job.

No, no, I didn't mean it like that.

Housekeeping is a noble occupation.

What do you want?

Are you a doctor?

No.

I'm a salesman.

I install shower doors.

I was really hoping you were a doctor.

What's wrong?

I think he's dead.

But I'm not sure.

Who's dead?

The fellow I was gonna go see.

How did he die?

I didn't say he was dead. I said he might be.

But I'm not sure. But I hope not.

You should call an ambulance.

Oh, no, I can't afford to get fired.

And if they were to find out

that I was doing anything unusual...

Like what?

Nothing.

Can you come up with me?

Sevilla, I wouldn't be any good.

I don't know what to do in a situation like this.

Please, please, please.

I don't know anything about that.

Let me put my pants on.

Okay...

Were you in the bathroom?

Just took them off.

You're very quiet.

Yeah.

That's nice.

Not dead. Dead drunk.

Why did you hit him?

Oh, not me.

A man named Vance.

A real brute of a man.

Subhuman.

One of those people who just takes

what he wants and never apologizes.

No manners.

I wish I was more like that.

Reckless.

We could all use to be

a little bit more like that, I guess.

Some things we do, some things we don't.

You have a very soothing demeanor, Eugene.

You remembered my name!

Of course I remembered.

Don't be too sure because people

forget it in a second.

Not me.

It's my favorite name.

My mother used to read me that book

Eugene Onegin when I was a child.

Have you read that?

No.

Oh, it's a wonderful story...

about a selfish Russian man

and this wonderful woman

who loves to read books.

And she falls in love with him.

She declares her love for him and he rejects her

and then he ends up shooting

this innocent young poet.

That sounds very sad.

It is.

It's about the death of innocence.

I'll never forget this horrifying passage

where Tatyana has a nightmare

being chased through this

frozen landscape by a terrifying bear.

And then she hides in a hut and is

confronted by demons and goblins.

You say your mother read this to you

when you were a child?

A lot.

It was the only book we had in the house.

It was left there by a Russian pianist

when he came visiting.

Pianist.

Yes.

It was an opera by...

What's his name?

Piotr Ylitch Tchaikovsky.

Do you like opera?

Just the hits.

I don't remember very much about it.

But I think the voices are soothing.

Like your demeanor.

I had an uncle named Piotr.

You did?

Not really.

Of course I was immediately staggered

by her beauty.

I blind man could tell you that.

But as I watched her,

what I was thinking was this:

What if you were reading a book,

a fine book,

maybe even a great book,

and what if you already knew

how this book was gonna end?

Would you still root for the protagonists to fall in love

even if they don't end up together?

Would you still love the people you love now

if you knew eventually they were gonna leave you?

What's wrong?

Excuse me.

You're not supposed to show your mug around here.

Yeah, well, I'm not here to see you.

Don't get too excited.

That's what I'm here to see him about.

Hey, hey!

What are you doing?

You're not invisible, you know?

I'm such a fool.

What seems to be the problem?

Well, I... I locked the keys in my car and...

my husband's gonna kill me.

He won't be too impressed

if you smash the window.

I don't know how to pick the lock.

You wouldn't happen to know how to do that?

You sure this is your car.

It's my husband's.

What are you doing down here at this hour?

That's, um... private.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry.

Can I be honest?

Please, don't.

Honest women, they frighten me.

I like that.

You do?

Hey, Paul, get back here.

I came downtown with a friend...

if my husband finds out, he'll be upset.

Nothing unbecoming, you understand, but...

he has a temper.

Little skittish, aren't you?

It's past my bedtime.

You gonna help me?

Thank you.

I can take it from here.

Aren't you gonna look for your key?

Oh.

Of course.

You know, I'm sure you have to go back to work.

I don't want to keep you, so...

You need me to start it for you?

I can maybe hotwire it for you.

I'm not really following you.

I know this isn't your car.

But I like you.

That's nice.

So let me offer you a riddle.

Mr. Freddie says you can go.

You're square?

He says you can go.

He counted the money. He knows we're square.

I even threw in a little lecture

for his extraordinary patience.

He said,

tell him he can go.

You answer this riddle correctly,

I start your engine and let you be.

You don't answer it correct,

I still start your engine,

but you gotta let me check your oil

cause you look just about due.

Is this already the riddle?

Right.

Have a nice life.

The riddle is this.

I was a prophetess who became leprous.

White as snow for a short time.

Who am I?

This is a riddle.

From the Bible.

You do go to church, don't you?

Never. It really bangs my nylons.

Vance.

Freddie wants to see you.

The correct answer is Myriam.

Now scoot on over, Toots.

Hey!

Hey!

Where are you going?

I was just having a bit of fun with you, darling.

Eugene, what is wrong?

I'm just clearing up in here.

Uh...

I think it's decent now.

Why did you clean up the room for me?

Everybody does that when the housekeeper comes.

Make yourself comfortable.

Who's Rosemary?

Absolutely nobody.

That was a poem, wasn't it?

Nonsense. I was practicing my typing.

You should go.

What is wrong?

It's been a long night and...

I gotta get to sleep.

I'm not going anywhere.

Well, you can't stay here.

Why not?

You're worried about getting fired for one.

That's a suicide note, isn't it?

Let me see it.

It's beautiful.

But why?

It's a hard thing to summarize.

Try.

You're young.

You have your whole life ahead of you.

I'm sick.

So?

I don't want to be a burden to anybody.

Do you have family?

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