Nightmare Alley Page #9

- Yes.

That means we're on hallowed ground.

Kneel.

Kneel.

Dory! Dory!

Quiet. Don't move.

Stay where you are.

Dory. Dory.

Oh, Dory, forgive me.

Forgive me, Dory.

I believe now.

I believe everything.

Oh, Dory, ask God to forgive me.

Ask him to give me one more chance.

Please. Please!

I'll do anything.

What right have I to ask for mercy...

when I have never shown mercy

to anyone?

No! No!

- I can't, Stan! I can't!

- What happened to you?

- Not even for you.

- Who are you?

- I'm Stan's wife.

- Get out of here! Get out of here!

Fake! You crook!

You dirty, sacrilegious thief!

Help! Help!

I couldn't help it, Stan.

I know I've ruined

everything for you.

- I know you hate me.

- All right, all right, quiet.

I don't know what happened.

When I saw that man down on his knees,

praying to God...

I just couldn't go on.

I don't wanna hear

any more about it.

As soon as I find a taxi stand,

I'm getting out of here.

What for?

There's something

I've gotta do.

Now listen,

I want you to go back to that motel...

change your clothes

and meet me at the Inglewood Station.

- You're going to take me with you?

- If you hurry.

What about our things

at the hotel?

We haven't got time

to monkey with things like that.

Oh, Stan, I love you.

I love you.

Yeah, I know.

Here we are.

There he was on his knees,

I had all that dough right in my hand...

- and she has to go and blow her top.

- Then what happened?

Well, he called me a dirty, sacrilegious thief,

and he grabbed me.

I hurt him, I think, accidentally.

- You think?

- Well, anyway, he went down.

You better get going.

- Yeah, yeah, I know.

- You'd better take your money with you.

- What are you going to do?

- I'm going to leave most of this with you.

- What for?

- In case I get caught, I'll have some fall money.

That wouldn't be any good. You'd just lead them

straight back to me and pull us both in.

Yeah, you're right. You suppose

there's a chance of handling Grindle?

Well, it depends.

He's not going to be easy.

- He has his pride, you know.

- Yes, but you can work on the publicity angle.

- His board of directors and so forth.

- You leave that up to me.

The important thing for you

is to leave town.

Don't try to get in touch with me

under any circumstances.

Watch the papers.

If nothing happens, you can call me.

Okay.

What a mug I've been.

I had the whole world right in my vest pocket.

Everything I wanted.

The kid said I couldn't get away with it,

and I had to stick my chin out.

You'll stick it out even further

if you hang around here much longer.

I guess you're right at that.

- Good-bye, Stan.

- Good-bye, Lilith.

Say, buddy, how much longer

is it gonna take us?

Inglewood Station?

About a half hour.

- Can't you step on it a little bit?

- Sure.

- Take me back where you picked me up.

- What?

- I said take me back where you picked me up.

- Okay.

Who is it?

You're good.

You're awful good.

Just about the best

I ever saw.

Instead of 150 grand,

I get 150 brand-new one dollar bills.

- The gypsy switch.

- I don't know what you're talking about.

- Where's the rest of it?

- The rest of what?

- Open that safe.

- Miss Ritter.! Miss Ritter.!

Come in, Jane.

I saw a man on the fire escape,

and I...

It's quite all right, Jane.

This gentleman's a patient of mine.

Will you make yourself comfortable

in there, please? I'll be with you in a minute.

When you first came to me,

you were in bad shape.

I had hoped by getting at the roots of

your anxieties, I could avert a serious upset.

Well, I seemed to have failed.

Wait a minute. If you're thinking

of throwing the cops at me...

don't forget that you've

been in this with me.

Please, Mr. Carlisle,

try to understand...

that these delusions of yours in regard to me

are a part of your mental condition.

When I first examined you,

you were being tortured by guilt reactions...

connected with the death of that

drunken mentalist during your carnival days.

Wh-What are you trying to pull?

You can't prove anything.

Besides, it was an accident.

I told you that.

I'm a psychologist,

not a judge.

What I want to explain to you is...

all these things that you think you have

done lately, or that have been done to you...

are merely the fancied guilt of your past life

projected on the present.

Do I make myself clear?

You must regard it all as a nightmare.

The police records show that a carnival employee

by the name of Peter Krumbein...

actually died of wood alcohol poisoning

in Burly, Texas.

Self-administered. You told me you gave him

that bottle of wood alcohol yourself.

But I suppose that was just another one

of your homicidal hallucinations, wasn't it?

Or was the homicide a reality too?

Speaking of records,

would you like to hear a playback...

of the recital you made to me

that night?

It's on file in my office, but I'll be glad

to let you hear it anytime you like.

Listen. I can prove that you've been

in this with me from the start.

That's another thing,

Mr. Carlisle...

which clearly indicates the serious nature

of your malady.

Since I've been your counselor,

you've made a strange transference to me.

You see me as a confederate

who's cheated you.

That explains your entrance

by way of the fire escape tonight.

Really, Mr. Carlisle,

I hate to say this to you...

but you simply must have hospital care.

These hallucinations of yours.

We can't have you wandering about,

getting into trouble, can we?

Listen, you can't bluff me

with that doctor-patient baloney.

I want that dough. I want that...

That's why you were stalling, huh?

Waiting for the cops.

That's ridiculous.

Why should I call the police?

Don't you think I got ears?

What about that?

- What about what?

- That police siren.

I don't hear anything.

- Huh?

- Let me get you a sedative.

I'll drive you down to SaintJoseph's Hospital.

It's not far from here.

They'll take good care of you,

and you can have a nice, long rest.

Please, Mr. Carlisle,

put yourself in my hands.

You can trust me, absolutely.

No.

Stan, where have you been?

I've been waiting for hours...

walking up and down the platform,

looking all over for you.

- Huh?

- What's the matter, darling?

What's happened to you?

A lot of things, baby.

A lot of things.

Zeena wasn't so far off after all.

- Zeena and her boob-catchers.

- Zeena?

Where's the carnival playing now?

Do you know?

Galesburg, I think.

But why?

- You could go there by bus.

- But, Stan...

Yeah.

Yeah, that's the best idea.

What about you?

Where are you going?

I don't know.

Oh, but, Stan,

I thought I was going with you.

So did I.

What's happened?

You've got to tell me.

All aboard.!

Listen, baby.

I want you to get on that train.

Go anywhere,

then get back to Galesburg.

Keep out of sight

as much as possible.

Here.

Here's the bankroll.

Take good care of it.

But what about you?

Won't you need some?

No, I'll be all right.

So long, honey.

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