The Norliss Tapes Page #2

In return for

some kind of promise.

He refused to discuss it.

Where's the ring now?

Do you know

where it is?

Yes.

It's in his coffin.

His coffin?

Jim even specified

that he was to be

buried with that ring,

That it be

kept on his hand.

And his body

is in the crypt

On the grounds

of the estate?

That's where

his body should be,

But after

what I saw last night,

I don't know anymore.

The next afternoon,

I had lunch with marsha,

Who was taking

a flight to new york.

She was quite worried

about her sister.

You know I'm not

easy to panic.

And when ellen phoned me,

I knew she was desperate.

I suggested

she talk to you.

Actually, we haven't

been close for over 3 years

Since she married

that james cort.

Why, didn't you

get along with cort?

No, I didn't.

And when ellen married him,

it affected our relationship.

We just haven't seen

very much of each other.

And now,

when she really needs me,

I can't be here.

How long do you

have to be in new york?

Well, only a few days,

But I felt that

we should talk before I left.

It's important.

If she says that

she saw james alive,

Well, then, somehow-

marsha.

If I didn't believe

she was telling me

the truth,

And she knows it,

I wouldn't be here.

I know, but it's just

all so fantastic.

I mean, how could

such a thing be possible?

I don't know,

But we're certainly

going to try to find out.

However, before I was able

to contact ellen again,

Another bizarre

incident occurred.

That night in carmel,

a salesgirl was closing

her shop for the day.

Millie parks.

Pretty, blond,

in her early twenties,

Was tired after

a full day's work.

She was anxious

to close up,

get into her car,

And drive

the six miles to her home,

A small one-story beach house

on the ocean near big sur.

just my luck, you know.

I'm running late,

trying to make frisco

by 3:
00,

And this happens.

I never would've seen it.

I was so tired,

I was almost

asleep at the wheel.

If that other rig

hadn't come along

in the opposite direction

And given me a blast,

I might never

have seen it.

It's unbelievable.

sheriff, huh?

I suppose he'll wanna

talk to me about it.

All right.

Get a blanket

over that fast.

Hey, come here.

I wanna talk to you

over here.

Gene, mike,

get these spectators

out of here.

Come here.

Is that the way

you found her?

Yeah, but I ain't

seen nobody ever

look like that

After no

car crash, sheriff.

She was, like-

Never mind

what she was.

You just keep shut

on that part of it.

Anybody asks you,

you just found her

dead in the car.

Sheriff, nobody

looks like that after-

I just got through

telling you

I don't want any more

talk about this at all.

Now is that clear?

Yeah, it's clear,

but let me ask you something.

How am I gonna forget

the color of that face?

Help him get on his way,

will ya? Charlie?

Charlie?

I'm putting

the lid on this one.

Nobody talks to anybody

about the condition

of the deceased.

Give me your mic.

This is sheriff hartley.

We have a 946.

Let me talk to the coroner.

Now, you know

where I am if you need me.

Sid.

Ah, can't you ever

be on time?

What've you been

so sour about?

What do you think?

You know, every time

I manage to steal

an afternoon,

Up come

the rain clouds.

Don't know what

you're crying about.

Doesn't look so bad to me.

Well, if I came

from chicago,

It wouldn't look

so bad to me, either.

Hey, what about

the autopsy report?

I didn't get it yet.

Oh, might be ready now.

Why don't I call

the office and find out?

It's gonna take

a couple of minutes.

Why don't

you go get changed?

Unless you wanna

play in those.

Aren't you funny.

I'll meet you

on the first tee.

What'd you get, sid?

Extraordinary case.

I've never

heard of anything

like this in my life.

Even when I was

a lab assistant

in chicago, we never-

Never mind chicago.

What about this girl?

The cause of death

was strangulation,

But from the depth

of the indentation marks

in her neck,

It seems that the murderer

must have possessed

exceptional strength.

Okay, I know

she was strangled.

What I wanna find out

is what else

was done to her.

All right. That's

the extraordinary part.

The sallow skin cast

and the collapsed sack-like

appearance of the body

Was a direct result

of a total evacuation

of all the main arteries.

Oh, sid, I don't-

All right,

I'll make it simple for you.

The girl's body

was totally drained of blood.

It was-

Look, I don't want

the media to get

a hold of this.

That's all I need,

a bunch of newspaper men

crawling up my back.

Now, I can see

the headlines now.

"vampire killer

loose in monterey."

What can you

do for me?

I'll do the best I can,

but I can't guarantee anything.

You know that

I have to file a report.

I cannot

falsify the report.

You know that.

You know damn well

I don't want you

To do anything

like that.

All I want

kept under wraps

Is the condition

of the corpse,

Not the fact that

she was murdered.

Look, I gotta have time

to work this thing out.

Okay, I understand.

I'll try and keep it

under wraps for you.

Okay. That's

one favor I owe you.

From the looks of that,

I'm gonna have to take

two shots a side.

Sid, now, you know

the only people

Who give shots

are doctors.

Tee it up.

The morning I drove down

from san francisco,

the weather was foul.

A curtain of cold rain

fell from a gunmetal gray sky.

I'd set up a meeting

with sheriff hartley in carmel

To discuss

the ellen cort situation.

I didn't expect

much cooperation from him,

But it was worth a try,

a way to begin.

When I pulled up

in front of hartley's office,

The sky had

begun to clear

And the sun

was breaking through.

I hoped it was a good omen.

Mr. Norliss, at the risk

of seeming inhospitable,

I just don't understand

why any of this

Would interest a man

who spends his time, uh...

...Chasing ghosts.

I'm sure

you find this all

very amusing, sheriff.

Mrs. Cort swears

her husband is alive.

She asked me

to help her,

I agreed to.

What do you

want from me?

Any information

that ties in

With the man she shot

in her husband's studio.

Shot at. It's plain

she missed him.

Nobody can take

a shotgun charge

and keep walking.

Look, she saw an intruder,

she went panicky.

It could've been anybody,

Some bum looking

to spend the night indoors.

It gets cold out here

in these woods at night.

Now, I'll bet you

that right now your "ghost"

Has hopped a freight

and is halfway to chicago.

As for information,

I don't have any to give.

What about that girl

who was murdered

in her car the other night?

The late millie parks.

Well, what about it?

Well, I stopped in town

before I came here,

And I heard a few people

talking about it.

Well, it's like they say,

Read all about it

in your daily newspaper.

I have.

Somebody hid in the car,

strangled her,

the car hit a tree.

And that's

all there is to it.

Mm-hmm. Are you sure

that's all there is to it?

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