Kiss Me Deadly Page #2

Ha-ha! Va-va-voom!

I'm sure glad you're back, Mike.

Like Lazarus, rose out from the grave.

Now tell me, what happened?

Did you drive too fast in that new rod?

Where is it?

Velda says you were picking it up.

There's nothing to pick up.

You ought to have seen that pretty little

rod of yours. All torn up. Scrap. Junk.

Never gonna go va-va-voom no more.

Break my heart.

- Anyway, you're all right now?

- A little shaky.

A little shaky, huh?

Know what we're gonna do?

We're gonna pick up

a couple of cute little Greek girls!

What I mean, va-va-voom! Pow!

Uh-oh. Forgot to tell you. Some guys were

looking for you. Asking a lot of questions.

- What kind of guys?

- Tough guys. Very tough guys, Mike.

Ah, forget it. Look, I'm glad

you're back. You look swell.

I'll see you tomorrow.

And take care of yourself, will ya?

Are you all right, Mike?

I don't know yet. Maybe not.

Oh.

Hey, Sammy,

what does he mean, ''maybe not''?

Ah, who knows what he means.

(phone rings)

(female voice) This is Crestview 5-4 1 24.

Mr Hammer, whom you are calling,

is not available at present.

If you wish to leave a record of your call,

please state your message at the tone.

(Velda) Hello, Mike. Just checking to see

if you got home. Call me when you...

Velda.

Oh, I'm glad you're there.

Are you all right?

- Sure. Why?

- I'll be right over.

(hangs up)

- What did they want?

- Asked a lot of questions.

- What kind of questions?

- Questions.

When you leave, tell Nick...

What do you want me to tell him?

You know, just to hold

the soft part of your arms is a meal...

Tell him to drop his car off tonight

and pick it up in the morning.

What's in the folder?

A fella named Ray Diker called up

while you were in the hospital.

He wants to see you and I thought

you'd want me to check up on him.

(knock at door)

Don't answer it.

(another knock)

Mike? lt's Pat. Official business this time.

Maybe he'll go away.

(lock jiggles)

Go ahead. Don't mind me.

I'm revoking

your private investigator's licence.

Also your gun permit.

If I catch you snooping around with

a gun in your hand, I'll throw you in jail.

I don't think you'd like it in jail.

Who's Ray Diker?

What do you do with this guy?

He was a reporter on the News, wasn't

he? Used to write a science column.

Why did he drop out?

I hear your friends

were over to question him too.

I've gotta say it: he's got a nose.

He can sniff out information

like nobody I ever saw.

What else did you hear?

Couldn't find him. He dropped out of sight.

Science editor of a newspaper drops out

of sight and nobody knows why.

If you know anything,

you'd better tell me, Mike.

If I knew anything, I would.

Sure you would.

You ought to tell him, Mike.

- Did Diker leave an address?

- Somewhere over on Flower Street.

But if I were you, I wouldn't go.

- That tape of you and lover-boy got lost.

- There goes your case.

Call him up and set up another session.

Tell him you're sorry, you want

to make up for all the pain you gave him...

Give him some of that sincerity.

What'd you find out about the girl?

Christina Georgina Rossetti,

poetess, English, born 1830, died 1894.

Your Christina was being held

in that hospital for interrogation.

Who by? The feds or state?

That they wouldn't tell me.

What's the point of all this?

If it's any of my business.

She told me if I dropped her off

at the bus station I could forget her.

But if she didn't make it,

she said... ''Remember me.''

So remember her.

She's dead.

But I'm not dead.

Hey, remember me?

Yeah!

I remember you from somewhere.

Weren't you supposed to call that fellow,

Mr... What's his name?

Friendly?

That's my name for him - Mr Friendly.

He certainly was friendly.

Maybe he'll give you some of that

nice dialogue again, that honey talk.

That tape sure was nice.

Do me a favour, will you?

Keep away from the windows.

Somebody might blow you a kiss.

- 1 21?

- South.

- Popcorn?

- Yeah. How much?

Dime, like always.

Thank you.

Drop the knife. Drop the knife.

Drop the knife!

(more knocking)

What do you want?

(whispers) Force your way in.

- I want in!

- Who do you think you are?!

(whispers) Make it sound good.

- Make it sound good.

- What's on your mind?

You were with her the night she died.

She knew she was gonna get killed.

- She must've talked to you, told you.

- Told me what?

If you knew, you'd be afraid,

like she was afraid.

Like I am. You'd better go.

She told me her name was Christina.

Christina what?

Bailey. Christina Bailey.

Her address, the last place she lived?

(loud) If you change your mind and wanna

talk, get in touch with my secretary.

(accent) Oh, you are the one.

Every time when I pick up the trunk,

I take a deep breath.

Make you stronger, deep breaths.

This time I think ''Oh, you breathe

good deep - trunk feels very light.''

''By golly, old man,

you are becoming very strong,'' I think.

But you are the one, eh?

Moving somebody in?

Move in, move out.

Always people come and go.

One place they never leave.

You know, 63 years I live in one place -

the house of my body.

Move in when I born, move out when I die.

You bet. Yes, sir.

- Can I help you?

- Oh, no, grazie. I mean thank you.

If you help, then afterward

other thing gets heavier.

I go and get the other one.

- What do you want?

- To see the super.

- What can I do for you?

- Card on the mailbox, Christina Bailey.

The police have been

through her apartment.

The police have been

through her apartment.

I wanna go through her apartment.

- Ask him who he is, Horace.

- Tell her to shut up.

Shut up.

- Can I help you?

- I don't be fooled so easy this time.

Is the young fellow, my deep breath.

Always willing to help an old man

moving people around.

Because people, they always move.

They never stand still.

Move from here, from there,

and move all the time...

Her lease still has a month to go,

but the police said I could rent it.

Whose stuff is this?

We rent it furnished,

but she fixed it up to suit herself.

- No bird?

- Her roommate let it die.

- What's her name?

- Carver. Lily Carver.

She moved out a couple of days ago.

All of a sudden, in the middle of the night.

Didn't say where.

(Schubert's ''Unfinished Symphony''

on radio)

She always had it tuned to that station.

OK.

Hey, mister.

Look, mister, you make a deep breath

for me. I'm a-gonna tell you a little secret.

The other girl, the roommate

of Miss Christina, she tells me not to say.

Afraid, she is.

Like somebody is afraid to die.

I moved her.

I tell you where.

- Buona notte.

- Buona notte.

Come in.

Who are you?

My name is Mike Hammer, if it matters.

What do you want?

I was with Christina

the night she was killed.

They tried to kill me too.

If you like, I'll show you the scars.

- How'd you find me?

- Picked up a thread. Anybody could do it.

Mind if I sit down

while you're making up your mind?

Christina was my friend.

The bird in the cage, what happened to it?

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