The Blue Dahlia Page #7

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How long does it take to become

a friend of Johnny Morrison's?

Oh, excuse me. Captain Hendrickson's

on the phone asking for Mr Harwood.

What shall I tell him?

Tell him to soak his head.

Get out of here and close that door.

If I got to listen to any more

of that monkey music, I'll...

Mr Harwood's on his way

to the Captain's office.

- Just tell him he's left, Paul.

- Yes, madam.

It's a shell fragment

right above the ear.

It kept playing over and over and over again.

Like it was the only record they had.

It was in one of those ritzy bungalows.

Buzz, what are you talking about?

I don't know.

What are you doing that for?

- Doing what?

- Picking at that flower.

I don't like it.

Say, that's funny.

That's the same monkey music they kept

playing in the apartment next door.

All day long, beating in my head.

You've got to pull yourself together, fellow.

It wasn't next door, either.

It was someplace else.

The music was right in the same room

with us, and she kept picking at that flower.

Just like you were doing.

Only she wouldn't stop.

She kept right on doing it.

Hello, this is Mr Harwood. Is Paul there?

What?

Give me that again, slow.

Okay, tell him to relax.

I'll be right back.

Still playing the hotshot, huh?

Don't look so disappointed.

The boys did their best.

Mr Bauer.

Would you mind telling

me how you found out?

Recognise that photograph on the floor?

Well, read what's on the back of it.

That would be Helen.

She wasn't a girl to throw

away this kind of information.

Why didn't you make sure of

that before you killed her?

In a hotel bungalow? With a.45?

I could've arranged things better than that.

Like you arranged this?

This could've stood a little more polish, too.

Just a cigarette.

Maybe you're right at that.

I'm not much of a hotshot after all.

Such a nice clean start I had, too.

Helping another wild kid shoot

a bank messenger back in Passaic.

And for free. Didn't have a dime on him.

And I spent the next 15 years trying

to kid myself it never happened.

I get to own a war plant, a night club.

I even marry a girl.

A girl who oughtn't to have

given me the time of the day.

This is how I end up.

What makes it even worse is the cops

aren't interested in either of us anymore.

They've already got their killer.

When?

They caught up with him at the Blue Dahlia

a little while ago.

One of your buddies. He just confessed.

What are you trying to give me?

There's the phone.

All right, repeat that.

"Newell:
Okay, so she

did give me a little dough

"once in a while to keep my mouth

shut. What's so wrong with that?"

- That's the last I got.

- Newell, come here.

Are you positive this is the man you saw

go into the bungalow with Mrs Morrison?

I told you I did, didn't I? Ain't that enough?

- It's our business to know what's enough.

- Take it easy.

Now, let's get back to this shot you heard.

Seeing you finally made your

mind up to tell us about it.

Oh, now, wait a minute,

Captain Hendrickson.

I ain't trying to hold anything back.

It might have been backfire.

It ain't always so easy to tell.

- What time was it?

- Near as I can figure, about 7:50.

And what time did you say

this man got home?

I didn't say. I didn't even say he went out.

Quit trying to cover up for me, George.

Give them what they want.

What for? To back up the

evidence of a cheap blackmailer?

- Hey, just a minute.

- Shut up and sit down.

Over there!

Come on, son.

You just about told us you killed

her. Why not give us the rest of it?

Why do you have to keep pounding at him?

What more do you want him to say?

It's got to make sense to us, too,

Mrs Harwood.

You didn't go there to kill her.

You'd never even seen her before.

What did she do that got you going?

The things she said. What she was.

What she did to Johnny.

She didn't even care.

All she did was pick at that flower.

And the gun lying right there in the chair,

asking you to use it.

My head hurts.

- I don't remember so good.

- Sure you remember.

It's Johnny's wife we're talking about.

You remember Johnny's wife, all right.

Johnny.

Johnny. George. George, where's Johnny?

Why ain't Johnny here? He'd know

I wouldn't mean to do a thing like that.

No? Why wouldn't you?

All you had to do was grab hold of the gun,

jab it against her heart

and squeeze the trigger.

That's the way it was, wasn't it?

Come on, give out!

Don't try to dummy up on us.

That's the way it was, wasn't it?

- Sounds like you said it all.

- Johnny!

Hello, Mr Morrison.

About time we got together.

Nobody's gonna get hurt with

this, except maybe me. Buzz.

Okay, Buzz, light it.

Johnny, you're crazy.

- Let him alone, give him back that gun.

- He can't do it anymore.

He can do it with his eyes shut.

On your feet, Buzz.

On your feet, I said.

Now give him back that gun.

All right, fella, light it up.

Okay, skipper.

I did it!

- I did it, didn't I, Johnny?

- Sure you did.

Jab it against her heart, huh?

Still buying that?

I have to. That's how she was killed.

- What says he killed her?

- It was his own idea.

- Who sold him the idea?

- I did.

- It would be me, wouldn't it?

- Would you mind telling me how?

He got terribly upset when I began

to pull the petals from this flower.

This is beginning to make sense.

He must have seen Helen do that, too.

It was my gun. Helen and I were quarrelling.

We were loud.

You knew that. You heard us.

Or didn't you tell them about

coming through that door?

Sure I did. Kind of had

to, didn't I, Mr Morrison?

Well, you got a fall guy standing right

in front of you. What more do you want?

I just happen to be dumb enough

to want to get the right fall guy.

When your wife was killed,

you were 50 miles north of here.

Lets you out, doesn't it?

Lets Mrs Harwood out, too.

Makes things a little tough for us, doesn't it?

Yeah, you're right out on a limb.

So all you've got left is to pick on him.

- We've still got Harwood, if we can find him.

- Well, you can count Harwood out.

That's interesting.

If you know where Leo's ranch is,

maybe you better go take a look.

Think you can arrange that?

Any further details?

Look, Captain,

I'm not trying to run your business.

You're doing fine. I'm not proud.

You were swell in there a minute ago, Buzz.

Still got that old circus

shot, ain't I, Johnny, huh?

Sure you have,

but you got to have a lot more.

Come on, tell me the part that counts.

- Counts? The part...

- Yeah, come on, come on.

That's what they keep saying. I hit that match

just like I used to, didn't I, Johnny, huh?

He can't remember, Johnny.

He just doesn't know.

Well...

What's the matter with me, Johnny?

There's nothing wrong with you, Buzz.

You just got to think.

You got to remember, that's all.

All right now, for me. For me.

What happened in the bungalow?

Come on, come on. That's right.

Yeah, it was a bungalow, Johnny.

Yeah, and she...

Come on.

She kept picking at that

flower, Johnny. Just...

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