Murder, My Sweet Page #8

- She's doing all right?

- That depends, too.

Did you tip the johns off on her?

I wouldn't want Velma to serve no stretch.

What stretch?

You two mixed up in something together?

You tipped the johns off. They got her.

Listen to me, and stop dancing with me.

The johns haven't got her.

She's got herself.

She wants to talk to you.

Of course, things have changed a little

in eight years.

- Okay.

- Tomorrow.

I'd like to pay you some more

for finding her.

Skip it.

Here. Grab yourself a hamburger

and lay low.

See you here tomorrow

as soon as it gets dark.

- You got that?

- Yeah.

- What do you do?

- I wait here. Then I come up.

When do you come up?

You open the window.

I open the curtains. You'll see the light.

I've got to get set, so don't jump the gun.

Don't move.

I'll leave the door open.

That was like lighting a stick of dynamite

and telling it not to go off.

But I had to know one more thing.

I had to know how the jade figured.

You're trembling.

I was afraid something had happened.

Did you find Amthor?

He's gone undercover.

He'll be here around 12:00.

Let's get set. What's the program?

Pull the curtains and turn on the lights.

You told Amthor

you'd have it for him, didn't you?

Don't you like it?

I don't know.

I've never seen a necklace

worth $100,000 before.

Where'd you get it?

Lower left-hand drawer

of my dressing table.

It was never stolen?

There wasn't any holdup?

You faked the whole thing.

I wasn't going to let him get it.

It would have just whetted his appetite.

I'm not going to let him get it now.

We'll just let him look at it.

He'll start quibbling...

Last time, he tossed his gun at me.

Maybe he'll shoot it.

He'll never get that far.

Let's not talk about it now.

It's really quite simple.

And then this is yours.

You're much too nice

to be a grubby detective all your life.

You told Marriott

this thing had been stolen. Why?

It had to look real. They had to believe

it actually had been stolen.

I had to pretend to buy it back.

- Marriott fell for that?

- Yes. Why not?

I didn't really like him.

He wasn't any good.

But remembering

does something to my stomach.

You still think Amthor killed him?

Who else?

You.

No.

No, you can't mean that.

Why?

I think the picture was a little different.

Marriott was scared because he'd agreed

to help you kill a nosy detective...

the one Mrs. Florian phoned him about.

He had to help you to protect his interest.

You knew that.

You belonged to him, and to Amthor...

and to Mrs. Florian, in her modest way.

You supported them.

They didn't want me cutting in, either.

You wouldn't be worth blackmailing

if I'd found you for Moose.

He might even have hurt you.

And if Marriott hadn't been scared silly...

he'd have realized you were pushing

us both in the corner. Nifty thinking.

One of us would get out of the car.

Didn't matter which.

Either way, you had us separated.

Then you'd tag us one at a time

and get Amthor later.

It might have worked, too,

if it hadn't been for Ann.

But my head's pretty hard, and killing

a man with a sap is no work for a lady.

Please don't!

It's all true.

Suddenly, I was trapped.

Everybody was closing in on me.

- I didn't know what I was doing!

- You almost did it anyway.

- I almost ended up as dead as Marriott.

- I didn't know what you'd do!

I can't go back now.

I'm so close to peace, so close.

Just Amthor.

But I can't face it alone.

Don't desert me now.

Sorry. It won't work twice.

It's a good technique,

but it won't work twice.

I don't count the first time,

eight years ago.

You were just learning.

Moose was in love with you.

I don't know what you talked him into.

Was it murder or something serious?

You almost had me, sister,

because you almost told me the truth.

Sure, Amthor's blackmailing you,

but you didn't give me the right reason.

It wasn't just men.

Pop understood the men.

That was part of the setup:

An understanding grandpa.

It was the clink coming up.

It's no good understanding the clink.

You still don't get silk sheets.

Don't do that.

I've kept forgetting to tell you...

that you shouldn't kiss a girl

when you're wearing that gun.

It leaves a bruise.

I'll try to remember that.

I could like you.

I could like you a lot.

It's too bad it has to be like this.

Don't move.

Come in.

Your sense of timing, dear,

gets worse and worse.

I'm to blame. I insisted on coming.

I was worried.

Why didn't you tell me

you were in such serious trouble?

I wanted to spare you.

I might have been able

to help prevent all this.

Now, of course, it's too late.

Mr. Amthor's coming.

I think, perhaps, you'd better do it quickly.

Get his gun.

This'll be the first time I've killed anyone

I knew so little and liked so well.

What's your first name?

Philip, for short.

Philip Marlowe. A name for a duke.

And you're just a nice mug.

I've got a name for a duchess:

Mrs. Lewin Lockridge Grayle.

Just a couple of mugs.

We could have got along.

What's stopping us now?

I can handle Moose. He's in love with you.

He broke Amthor's neck

because he's in love with you.

Then that leaves only you.

I don't want to do anything

about you now. I know enough.

You know too much.

It's gone too far...

and I'm so tired.

Let's have the police.

Don't you realize he saved your life?

Why must he suffer for that?

Why must he suffer more?

The cops like to solve murders

done with my gun.

She's dead. Isn't that enough?

She was evil, all evil.

What difference can it possibly make

who killed her?

You don't call me. I hear it, so I come up.

I'd like to talk to Velma now.

It didn't work out

the way I planned, Moose.

You got a refund coming.

She ain't hardly changed.

Just like always...

only more fancy.

Cute as lace pants... always.

I wasn't going to bother her none

if she done all right.

It was the only thing I could do.

You must try and understand.

I couldn't let her go.

I loved her too much.

You shouldn't have killed her.

- You shouldn't have killed Velma.

- Moose, listen to me!

That old black pit opened up again,

right on schedule.

It was blacker than the others, and deeper.

I didn't expect to hit bottom.

I thought I was full of lead.

That's all I know.

On account of I don't see so well

with my eyeballs scorched.

I heard the shots. I didn't fire them.

Don't know who got hit.

It wasn't the kid, was it? It wasn't Ann?

Randall!

He'll be back in a minute.

How soon do I get

to take these wrappings off, Nulty?

A couple months, if you live that long.

- You mean I'm sprung?

- Get out of here and out of my hair.

I'll have the statement

for you to sign tomorrow.

Who backed me up?

Who got shot? I heard three.

- Malloy.

- Dead?

Yeah. And Grayle.

He didn't go down right away.

They fought for the gun.

Grayle got the third slug himself.

The kid's okay, then.

She thought it over

and came around to back me up, right?

I didn't say.

She here now?

No. Okay, Nulty. See that he gets home.

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