Lady in the Lake Page #5

---

- And if you need anything, just ring.|- Thanks, Santa Claus.

What is this?

How'd you get back from the lake so soon?

Fast dog team.

You seem to forget|my position around here.

You couldn't have made more of a scene|out there. I hired you.

- You're to report to me confidentially.|- Yes, and I'm loving every minute of it.

What's in the package?

Why don't you open it?

- I've been looking for you, Miss Fromsett.|- Yes, Buster?

Well, this is Christmastime,|Miss Fromsett...

and I've been working here|for almost a year now.

Would you think I was awful|if I asked you for a kiss?

- Why, I...|- Go on, kiss him. You're full of charity.

Thank you, Miss Fromsett.|I've waited all year for that.

You've had your Christmas, son. Beat it.

And tell your boss not to send a boy in|to do a man's work.

- Whose is it?|- Lavery's dead.

That gun killed him.|You said sooner or later I'd find a gun.

Were you afraid of Lavery talking,|Miss Fromsett?

It's Christmastime, Miss Fromsett,|so tell the truth.

- You didn't go to the lake.|- No.

- You went to see Lavery.|- And found him dead.

I repeatedly told you not to go see Lavery.

What brand of perfume do you wear,|Miss Fromsett? Do you recognize it?

The initials are A.F.

I don't have to ask|the obvious question, do I?

I found it on the dresser|in Lavery's bedroom.

And you quickly deducted|that I left it there.

Such great, blinding brilliance,|Mr. Marlowe.

What am I to say now?|Did you bring a confession for me to sign?

No. I thought you'd like|to have your handkerchief back.

Nobody knows about it but me.

- And whoever killed Lavery.|- Yeah. Whoever killed him.

Or was he the type|who kept those kind of souvenirs?

If I say no, that makes me a murderess|or a good suspect.

- lf I say yes, what does that make me?|- Human, maybe.

What are you trying to do, Miss Fromsett,|play the bright, hard lady?

You're afraid of life, Miss Fromsett,|and people.

You don't give your real self a chance.

Come in, Mr. Kingsby.

Don't stand out there all cold|and chewed up with curiosity.

- You may as well be in on this, too.|- What's going on here?

Come view my gift of love, Mr. Kingsby.

- Is this a joke?|- Chris Lavery wouldn't say so.

To coin a phrase we confidential agents|use, he's a dead one.

- Dead?|- Did your wife own a gun, Mr. Kingsby?

- What does my wife have to do with this?|- Break it to him gently.

Derry, I hired Mr. Marlowe|to try and find Chrystal.

- You didn't.|- Yes, I thought...

You had no right to meddle.

Chrystal is to be left alone|to do what she wants. I've told you that.

No, you didn't. What you said was|you were tired to death of her.

You're not? Why didn't you say so?

I won't have you prying|into my private affairs.

The police may be prying|into your private affairs, Mr. Kingsby.

Your wife was mixed up with Lavery.

He's dead.|The evidence points to a woman.

Does she own a gun or doesn't she?

Surely you don't believe|my wife had anything to do with this?

What I believe has nothing to do with it.

Here's a gun that can be identified|and traced. It's got a serial number on it.

But maybe a woman didn't do it.|Maybe it was arranged to look that way.

Maybe you did it, Mr. Kingsby.

Don't be an idiot.|I don't go around shooting people.

Besides, I have no motive.

The police would say you had|the best motive there is: jealousy.

But let's get back to the woman angle.|Did Chrystal own a gun or didn't she?

- I don't know.|- Okay.

But I've found a dead man,|and I've got the gun that killed him.

And I was seen in that house|by the owner.

So what do you propose to do,|Mr. Marlowe?

Put that right back where I found it,|call the law and wait for them to come.

What else can I do?

Would $1,000 make you|change your mind?

- So Mrs. Kingsby does have a gun?|- Yes.

Does it look like that?

- But that $1,000 offer...|- Don't think I'm too proud to take it.

I'm just too smart to get stuck with it.

Then the situation just has to be accepted.

One thing you might bear in mind,|Mr. Kingsby.

The Bay City cops are going|to come up here and talk to you.

That'll be the first you've heard of all this.|You better remember that.

- To protect you?|- Or you. Or Miss Fromsett.

I'll tell the police|anything they want to know.

And as for you,|I don't know what you're doing in this...

but if you think you're going to harm|Chrystal, you're very much mistaken.

- Derry.|- And please understand this clearly.

If I have ever said anything endearing|to you, Miss Fromsett...

it was because I was lonely.

And I don't ever intend|to say anything endearing to you again.

Now or anytime.

So you lost me my million dollars.|Aren't you smart?

You forced a showdown|with him deliberately.

Now what am I supposed to do, reform?|Become poor but honest?

On what corner would you like me|to beat my tambourine?

Some nice warm corner|where there isn't too much traffic.

I might have known this was coming.|You and your lectures.

You don't like my morals.

You thought you'd make me lose Kingsby|and then I'd come flying into your arms.

Tell me, Mr. Marlowe, do you|always fall in love with your clients?

Only the ones in skirts.

If you think I'm gonna settle for|a cheap detective, you're sadly mistaken.

I've been pushed around too much|in this world.

There's more than one Kingsby|on the Christmas tree, Mr. Marlowe.

And I'll shake one loose yet,|don't you worry.

And as for you, you're off the case.|There isn't any case anymore.

Now kindly haul yourself out of here,|and send me a bill for your failure.

I never want to see you again.

- Merry Christmas.|- What?

I said merry Christmas, and I'm glad|to have met you, and have a good cry.

Merry Christmas!

Mr. Marlowe.

- Yeah?|- May I speak to you?

Why not?|Everybody's been speaking to me.

I don't know what your arrangement is|with Adrienne...

There isn't any anymore.

Then I'd like to make one with you.|It's about my wife.

Perhaps about myself.

I've made some mistakes in my life,|Mr. Marlowe.

But the one thing I know is,|I love my wife intensely.

She's done things she shouldn't,|but perhaps that's my fault, too.

I haven't been perfect.

No one is, Santa Claus.

I do know that|no matter how things look...

Chrystal couldn't have killed anyone.

If you could locate her for me|so I could protect her...

I'd be willing to pay you any fee you ask.

You say Lavery's murdered.

- I'd like to keep my wife out of it.|- That may be tough.

That's why I'm willing to pay you|whatever you ask. You know the case.

I'm imploring you.|Will you take the assignment?

I get soft in the head|once every Christmas.

Yeah, I'll take it.

By the way, if we're going|to keep your wife out of it...

who are we going to pin this murder on?

- What do either of us know of Adrienne?|- Don't you know anything about her?

She came here, she was very efficient,|she worked herself up to a big position.

But as to her past life,|her background, it's blank.

Like Lavery's was.

As a matter of fact, she knew Lavery.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes