I Want to Live! Page #3

Don't let 'em make you the patsy.

You heard the inspector. The minute

you sign a statement, you're off the hook.

- All right, I'll name names.

- Now we're cooking.

The inspector,

the lieutenant, the sergeant,

especially you, Sarge, are jerks,

But I'll say this for you, Sarge, you sweat.

I'm tired of fooling around.

She's the hardest cookie I ever ran up

against, worse than her boyfriends.

- What about them?

- I have nothing for the papers yet.

Bear with me.

Next on your phone, Ed.

She won't confess,

so I'm gonna play up her vice record.

Dope, prostitution,

any other kick I dream up.

No, I'll keep Santo and Perkins in

the background. Graham'll sell papers.

Of course. She's had a record ever since

she was knee-high to a slot machine.

I'll piece together my usual valentine.

Cold-blooded sadist. Titian-topped tigress.

Titian. T... Skip it.

I'll have it for you in an hour.

is that how you got your Pulitzer?

it's Mrs Graham's tough luck to be young,

attractive, belligerent, immoral...

and guilty as hell.

- Ever been arrested?

- No. Hey,

What is this, a striptease?

Who do you wish to notify

in case of death?

Marlon Brando.

How about letting me have

that tiger back? He's housebroken.

After I check it,

it'll be placed with your property.

What are you doing?

No, don't,

My Bonnie lies over the ocean

My Bonnie sails over the sea

All right, Jenny Lind. I have to look

you over for scars, wounds, open sores.

Turn around. Siow.

Put your arms out.

So look for scars. You don't have to count

my pores one by one, do you?

What's that?

Push-button control.

Looks to me like someone used you

to put out a cigarette.

Don't touch the merchandise.

Think you're pretty hot stuff, huh?

This'll cool you off.

Come on, honey.

You're gonna pad with me.

Stone waits may not a prison make,

nor iron bars a cage.

But they sure help.

I don't get why your kind of bail just for

hanging some bad paper around town?

What I mean is it's way out of line.

25 grand for a chicken crime like forgery.

Unless they got something else on you.

Look, hon, you keep

your sympathy to yourself

and I'll keep my business to myself, OK?

Graham, front and centre.

Something for you.

- Barbara Graham?

- Yeah.

"Subpoena...

to appear before the grand jury

for the crime..."

Murder?

What is this? They're crazy.

No, they don't.

They don't pull a raw one like this,

They don't pin a murder rap on me,

I've done a lot of things in my time,

a lot of things, but not murder,

I told those cops,

I know nothing about any murder,

Nothing, you hear me?

Nothing, Nothing, Nothing,

"l Know nothing about any murder.

You hear me? Nothing!"

shouts Barbara Graham

as she is indicted by the grand jury

for the murder of Mrs Mabel Monahan,

a crippled Burbank Widow.

lndicted along with her are the other three

members of the Monahan Murder Mob,

Bruce King, Emmett Perkins

and John Santo.

Don't know who it is,

except the name I told you on the pass.

Peg.

Bonnie.

Of course. "Mrs Ciesliwicz."

You're married.

His name's Joe. He's an aircraft worker.

- Any kids?

- Boy and a girl.

Would you believe it, I'm a real square.

Thursday Afternoon Club, the Holy Rosary

Society, Community Chest - the works.

Me too, almost.

I have a boy 13 months. And smart.

- You shouldn't have come here, Peg.

- Don't be silly.

If the newspapers get hold of it,

your husband's liable to find out.

- He knows.

- Yeah, but...

Does he know about us, how we were?

I came clean about everything, long ago.

When I told him I was coming to see you,

you know what he said?

He said that's what friends are for.

- He did?

- Sure.

Bonnie, are you gonna be all right?

We might as well face it,

I'm in a real jam this time.

I'm the ball bouncing

around a roulette wheel,

everyone betting me to land

where it'll do them good.

Votes for the DA, circulation for

the newspapers, promotions for the cops.

That still don't give them the right

to hang a bad rap on you.

You didn't ask me if it was a bad one.

- I didn't have to.

- Thanks.

You'd do the same for me

if it was the other way around.

It could have been, Bonnie.

Believe me, it could have been.

We were so alike.

Stop that. You're a different person now.

You have been ever since you got smart

in San Diego and cut out.

All the stuff I read.

And I could...

never read the handwriting on the wall.

Is there anything I can do?

Bring your boy around for a visit?

No, I don't want Bobby down here.

- Maybe you could go and see him.

- Sure.

Barbara Graham, time's up.

- But I only just got here.

- Visiting room closes at three.

- Thanks for coming, Peg.

- See you soon.

Oh.

What about a lawyer? Have you got one?

Nothing to worry about.

I'll use the public defender.

No, sir.

No court-appointed attorney for me.

I don't want you, Mr Tibrow. Period.

I want the public defender.

I'll do the very best I can with the $500

given me to investigate your case.

500 bucks. That's not enough to

investigate who's pinching soap from a Y.

With the public defender

I could put up a fight,

even if he doesn't have

the men and dough the DA has.

- Why can't I have the public defender?

- Because, as I've tried to explain to you,

the district attorney pre-empted him for

Bruce King. Your interests are adverse.

- He's a defendant too, isn't he?

- But he claims you did the actual killing.

That crummy, no-good...

Mrs Graham, can't we spend our precious

time at something more constructive?

You're right. I should be thanking you

instead of fighting with you.

All I ask is complete honesty between us.

That's a deal.

Now then, you state that

on the evening of March 9,

you were at home

with your husband and baby.

But in your testimony to the grand jury,

you said your husband couldn't be found.

- Don't you believe me?

- A jury won't.

You can't simply tell them

"I wasn't there."

You've got to say "I couldn't have been

there because here is where I was,

and these are the people

who were with me to prove it."

I can't do that.

So let's level. What chance have I got?

With an uncorroborated alibi? None.

There is. I'm the someone.

- You shouldn't read other people's mail.

- There's a lot of things I shouldn't do.

Step into my office.

Little Rita'll take care of the pretty lady.

You really weren't there?

- That's right, Your Honour.

- Then you've only got one problem.

You weren't with anybody

some other place.

I was with my husband, but he's skipped,

and my son, age one.

I've got a friend. His name's Ben.

He could use money.

Yeah?

Ben's coming to see me Friday.

Maybe he should try to see you too.

No, thanks.

It's something to think about.

Look, you're in for manslaughter yourself.

Why would you wanna do this for me?

You're a friend in need.

- Tomorrow's Friday.

- Just another wild prison rumour.

My friend Ben comes on Friday.

- You thought about it?

- Yeah, a lot.

- It's an awful big chance.

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