Playback Page #40

MAGDRUDER:

(hoarsely)

The guy pulled a gun on me. I

thought it was a stick-up. I hit

him with a sap. Why wouldn't I?

Maybe I hit him too hard, and it

scared me. I wanted to get him

away from here. A guy like me

don't always get believed by guys

like you.

DRISCOLL:

You had over sixteen hundred dollars

in your pocket, a thousand of them

in twenty-dollar bills. With a

kind of new look about them at

that. Would you be interested in

what I think about this, Magruder?

Magruder doesn't answer. He is beginning to look very

groggy.

DRISCOLL:

(sharply to the

other dick)

Hold him. He's trying to sag on

us.

The other dick straightens Magruder up, pushes him against

the wall. Magruder's eyes are rolling in his head.

DRISCOLL:

(mercilessly)

This man Goble rented the car,

gave a false name. He had no

licence, no identification. But

he put up a sufficient deposit.

He was a suspicious man. He was

on a dubious errand. He had a gun

in his pocket and I'm thinking one

of these manila envelopes--

(he points to the

waste basket)

Contained those sheets of blank

paper which he was going to sell

for money. And get out before

anybody looked at what he'd sold.

You had the money, Magruder. But

you didn't give it to him. You

killed him instead.

Magruder starts to sag again.

DRISCOLL:

(more gently)

Perhaps you didn't mean to kill

him. But here he was dead, and

his car was outside in the street.

So you brought it around to the

alley and you carried the man down

to it, and you drove him away.

And what happened to him after

that, nobody knows until he was

picked out of the water of the

Sound, dead. But not long dead.

Where did you leave the car,

Magruder? Who helped you? What

boat did you have?

(pauses. His voice

changes to a dry

business-like tone

addressing the

other dick)

All right. Take him in. Set him

down. Give him what he wants to

make him comfortable. And get a

stenographer. And warn him. And

don't rough him. He's a nice little

man. All he wants is to collect

his thoughts. And then he'll tell

us the whole story in his own words.

(his voice becomes

positively corny)

Won't you, Magruder, darling?

Magruder pitches forward to the floor in a dead faint.

The two detectives stand looking at him.

DRISCOLL:

(somberly)

He'll be giving the priest a bad

time, this one. Maybe You'd better

call an ambulance. He might have

a wonky ticker.

EXT. VANCOUVER YACHT CLUB BUILDING PARKING SPACE IN FRONT --

DAY:

CAMERA PICKS OUT BRANDON'S SEDAN which has just parked.

Brandon and Betty are getting out.

CLOSER SHOT - ON BRANDON AND BETTY

BRANDON:

Over this way.

They start towards the corner of the building away from

the entrance.

EXT. NARROW WOODEN WALK ALONG THE SIDE OF THE YACHT CLUB

BUILDING -- DAY

Brandon stops at the padlocked door, unlocks it, opens it.

They start through.

INT. VANCOUVER YACHT CLUB - BOATHOUSE -- DAY

The seaward end is open, a big cabin cruiser is moored in

the slip, a wooden ladder going down to it. Brandon goes

down the ladder to deck of cruiser, steadies it by pulling

on the line, helps Betty down, then down into the cockpit.

INT. CABIN CRUISER VALKYRIE - COCKPIT -- DAY

SHOOTING DOWN THE SHORT COMPANIONWAY

Brandon loads Betty down the companionway to the cabin of

the cruiser. It is paneled, with curtained windows,

luxurious.

BRANDON:

You'll be safe here. I won't be

long.

(puts a bunch of

keys on the table)

Help yourself to anything you want.

The galley's through there.

(he points to a

door up forward)

You can make coffee if you like.

BETTY:

(looking around

here)

This must have cost a fortune.

BRANDON:

It did, but it never paid off--

until now.

(he looks at his

watch)

I ought to be back within an hour.

We can't leave until near dark

anyway.

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