The Man Who Wouldn't Die Page #4

- I'm Mr. Wolff's son-in-law. Blake's the name.

- Oh, yes, sir.

- Did you see anybody around here earlier tonight?

- Uh, no one.

- No one.

- Uh-huh.

You sure about that?

Dr. Haggard?

He's dead.

- What about the alarm?

- It didn't go off.

Then the ghost

was in the house all the time.

- Roger was right.

- Where is your husband, Kay?

- I don't know, but-

- Here I am, Dad.

- Where have you been, Roger?

- I've been out chasing the ghost. He got away from me.

- Say, where's Haggard?

- He's dead.

Dead?

Well, that makes this a case for the police.

I better call them.

- No, Roger. L-

- Let him, Dudley. Let him call the police.

We're all in danger.

We've got to have protection.

All right.

Dunning, call the police.

Right away, sir.

- Mighty important case.

- Yeah. I'm sure glad to be in on it, Chief.

I've been wanting to see

the inside of Dudley Wolff's house...

as long as I've lived around here.

How do?

I presume you gentlemen

represent the local constabulary?

Who? No. I'm the chief of police,

and this is Tim Larsen, the coroner.

If you'll come in,

I'll show you the body.

First case I ever covered

where they had a butler show you the body.

Follow me, please.

If I owned this, I'd subdivide it.

What a beautiful funeral parlor

this would make.

Make a better courthouse.

Would you care

to question the servants now, sir?

Yeah, yeah.

Better get 'em all together.

- They're already assembled in the dining room, sir.

- They are?

Glad I thought of it.

Yes, sir. Follow me, please.

You folks know anything,

you better own up right away.

Wait till later, it might not be healthy.

- Who are you?

- This is Mr. Blake, sir, Mr. Wolff's son-in-law.

You mind if I sit in

on the questioning, Chief?

I like to dabble in amateur detective work.

I got a couple of ideas on the case myself.

I ain't runnin' no school,

but if you stand there and keep quiet...

you might learn somethin'

about detectin'.

You. Where were you all night?

My eyes have been closed

since 8:
00 this evening.

- Answer yes or no.

- But it- it-Yes.

That's better. What do you know?

Uh, nothing. Nothing.

I can guarantee that.

I had a talk with him before you came.

- Suppose you let me do the questioning from now on.

- Hmm.

- Hello, Peggy.

- Hmm!

Peggy, I got to ask you

a few questions.

Just be careful what you ask,

Jonathan Meek...

or it may be embarrassin'

for the both of us.

Now, Peggy, uh,

what do you know about this murder?

- You know as much as I do.

- Interesting witness, eh, Chief?

Quiet, or out you go.

Anything else you want to know,

Mr. Snoop?

Well...

I guess that's all the questioning

I'll do around here for a bit.

I would think so.

- Where'd you say Mr. Wolff was?

- He's in the library, sir.

That's all right, Phillips.

I'll take the chief in to meet the folks.

Comin', Chief?

- Right over there.

- Can't figure Peggy out.

She's been sore at me ever since

I took her to that Halloween dance last year.

- Yeah?

- Yeah. She forgot her mask.

All I said was, "You don't need one. "

Women's funny critters.

You know, I can't understand

why she should be sore.

I guess all cooks

are temperamental, huh?

You first, Chief. Oh, wait.

- This yours?

- Sure. Excuse me.

Dad, I want you to meet

"Monathan Jeek. "

- Jonathan Meek's the name, the chief of police.

- Good evening, Chief.

Hiya, Mr. Wolff. I'd like to ask

a few questions if I might.

- Go ahead.

- Did any of you hear the shot?

- Yes.

- We all heard it.

Did any of you see who fired the shot?

Well, my husband

was the only one who saw the ghost.

- Ghost? What ghost?

- Well, you see-

- I don't mean-

- How do?

- What's the verdict, Tim?

- He was shot above the heart. Died almost instantly.

- Did you find the bullet?

- Was he shot with a. 32?

- Oh, you-

- What do you know about a. 32, ma'am?

Oh, well, you'll have to ask

my husband. He-

- Mr. Blake, you own a. 32?

- No. But, uh, Dr. Haggard did.

Oh. Well, maybe the deceased

was shot with his own gun.

Say, I wouldn't be a bit surprised.

I'm the one who'll be

surprised around here, young fella.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised.

Oh, I'm sorry.

- What's that?

- The burglar alarm.

Someone's trying to break in!

Someone's trying to get inl

Kay! Kay, get down!

There he is!

Come on, Chief!

Look out!

Keep shootingl

Stop him! That's my car!

Hey, Chief. Come on.

Hold on to your hat, Chief.

Oh, get out.

You're always worrying about my hat.

- See if you can stop him. Take a shot at his tires.

- Sure. His tires.

His tires?

Those are my tires.

- Okay. Forget it.

- Can't get any more.

There's a shortcut right ahead.

Maybe we can cut him off.

- Okay. Say when.

- Right over there.

- Let go, will ya?

- Don't drive so fast.

Oh, gosh.

His head's caved in.

He's done for.

This'll make it official.

No sign of breath.

- Deader than a mackerel.

- Well, I guess this winds up your case, Chief.

- You go get the coroner. I'll stay here and watch the body.

- All right.

My car.

And my tires.

- Hello, Charlie.

- Hello.

- Say, is, uh, Merlini on yet?

- No. He's in Number 1 dressing room.

Okay. Thanks.

- Come in.

- Hello, Gus.

- Mike! Good to see ya.

- Thanks.

- Where have you been?

- I've been playing hide-and-seek with a ghost.

Same old Mike.

Always talkin' in riddles.

- How's the detective business?

- It's full of riddles.

- So you're still giving out with the Merlini malarkey, huh?

- Finest in the world.

It's got me 14 weeks in this nightclub-

all due to my new routine.

Greatest thing since Houdini.

I tell you, Mike.

- I transform three eggs into three full-grown hens.

- Right.

Now hold it.

Hold it, will ya, Gus?

- Right now, I happen to be interested in an old routine.

- Oh.

- Three minutes, Merlini.

- Thanks. Excuse me, Mike. I must hurry.

Yeah.

Here. Hold Caspar for a minute.

You, uh-You were saying something

about an old routine?

Yeah. Uh, did you ever do

the "buried alive" act?

No, Mike.

That's too tough for me.

You have to master a trick

called "shallow breathing. "

- And that's a talent that very few people possess.

- Well, did you ever see it done?

Yes. I saw it done twice- once by Houdini...

And once by an Assyrian illusionist

named... Zorah Bey.

What's this Zorah Bey look like?

Well, he's a tall, dark,

effective-looking man.

- Mm-hmm.

- Well, there goes my music.

I'll tell you more about him

when I get through with my act.

- In the meantime, make yourself at home.

- Thanks.

Uh, you might find a couple of pictures

of him in that scrapbook.

See you later.

Mighty slick piece of detectin'.

Fastest job this country's ever seen,

even if I do say so myself.

Case like this might have gone unsolved

for months if it hadn't been for you.

- Calls for a little celebration.

- I knew the minute I entered that house...

the doc wasn't killed

by anybody there.

- Did you say celebration?

- You'll be the most popular man in the country.

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