The Postman Always Rings Twice Page #4

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That gorgeous blond

was driving careful...

...and the old boy has a bandage

on his head.

Oh, that poor little pussycat.

- Sure killed her.

- Yep. Deader than a doornail, remember?

Yeah.

It was for her sake as well

as mine that I knew I had to move on.

If I waited for them,

I couldn't convince her...

...to give up the place

and go away with me.

And if I stayed there,

I could see where she and I were headed.

But after a couple weeks in L.A...

...I sunk low enough to hang around

a wholesale market...

...where they bought a lot of their stuff,

hoping I'd run into her.

I just couldn't get her out of my mind.

It kept nagging me all the time.

Hey, Frank!

I've been looking for you

all over for weeks!

- Hello, Nick.

- Come on. Get in.

- We're going back to Twin Oaks.

- I can't.

Something important's

happening tonight, and you're in on it.

Besides, I wanna tell you

about my accident.

That's the truth.

Yes, sir, I can show you

the doctor's bill receipted.

That little business in the bathroom

that night cost me $322, believe it or not.

- That's a lot of hamburgers.

- Yeah-- Aw, no...

Well, where did you come from?

I found him near the market.

Hello, Mrs. Smith.

How have you been?

Splendid, thank you.

You're quite a stranger.

Well, I've got work to do.

Hope it was cooler in town.

Uh-oh. It's a customer. Just a minute.

Have you been thinking about me, Cora?

I couldn't forget you that quick.

- How have you been?

- All right.

Have you got a little kiss for me?

We're going to have dinner in a few

minutes, and you'd better get ready.

As a homecoming, this is the worst flop

I ever saw in my life.

Of course, they took a lot

of x-ray pictures...

...but this is the one

that makes it look worse, see?

- What's this? A family album?

- Sure.

There's my first license to sell food

in Los Angeles County.

And that's a snapshot of Cora and me

the day we were married.

Wasn't she cute?

Just a minute. I'll put the other light on.

Which one of you two is working

for the electric light company?

Put on the lights again, Cora, please.

All right, waste your money.

The next time the electric light bill

comes in, I'm not gonna be here to pay it.

- You're not going to be here?

- No.

Oh, now you've made me

tell the big surprise before I was ready.

I'm selling the Twin Oaks.

Well, that's not a very good joke.

It's not a joke.

A fellow named Stanton said

they're turning this road into a highway.

He's offering a big price for the place.

Why sell now when it might turn out

to be a gold mine?

Somebody's bound to open up

a better place and put us out of business.

But mainly, Cora, so as you can

stop work and take it easy.

Stop work? Where? Doing what?

- We're going back to live with my sister.

- Your sister?

Nick, you never even told me

you had a sister.

Well, I didn't want to worry you

about her. You see...

...she hasn't been very well

for a good many years.

- Where is she?

- In northern Canada. She's got a house.

Of course, half of it belongs to me.

Nick, this is pretty sudden.

- Let me tell you what I think about it.

- No, Cora.

- This is best.

- But, Nick, please.

- Let's talk this over.

- No. There's nothing to talk over.

I've given it a good deal of thought.

My mind's made up.

You thought it over and your mind's

made up. Without even talking to me...

...your mind's made up. Well, mine isn't!

That's too bad.

You see, my sister recently

became paralyzed.

She can't move at all.

Oh, she's going to live

for a long time yet. I hope.

But she needs us to take care of her.

Especially you, a woman.

Nick, you...

You mean you want me to...?

Nick, don't sell the place!

I'm telling you, don't sell it!

Well, I'm...

I'm going to sell it.

I'm superstitious. I...

Never turn down a good offer.

You always regret it.

I'm going to close the deal now

before something happens to it.

Excuse me. I'm gonna use the extension.

Hello, Mr. Stanton.

This is Nicholas Smith.

Oh, Mr. Stanton,

you've just bought a restaurant.

How soon can you have the papers ready

to sign? And, of course, the check?

Sure, I'll come to Santa Barbara

on Wednesday. Oh, Mr. Stanton...

... I've located that fellow I said

would be a wonderful manager.

Yeah. Sure, I'll bring him along.

Yeah. Goodbye, Mr. Stanton.

Until Wednesday, 10 a.m. sharp.

Now everybody's got something

to celebrate.

My boy, you're gonna have

a first-class job with a future!

As you get along in the world,

you'll lose that itching in the feet.

Cora, my dear, in years to come,

you'll thank me for this.

As for me, well, I'll have enough money

to live out my days...

...in the house where I was born.

What was good enough for my father

is good enough for me.

Come on. Let's get a good night's rest.

We'll close up early tomorrow.

After a nice little supper party,

we'll drive up to Santa Barbara.

Wednesday at 10 a.m. sharp,

we've all got ourselves set for life.

Come on. Good night, Frank.

Come on, Cora.

Oh, uh...

We'll let Stanton have a big electric light

bill. He got the place too cheap anyway.

Why did you come back?

I had to. That's all.

No, you didn't.

I could've gone through everything

if you hadn't come back.

Why couldn't you just leave me alone

and not come back?

Cora...

...let's...

Let's figure something out.

I love you, Cora.

You love me...

...and what do you do?

You let him take me away

to some miserable little dump of a town...

...where I'll rot the rest of my life away

waiting on him and his...

...half-dead sister.

You love me...

... I love you, but what do you do?

You let him take me to Santa Barbara.

And you're even going

right along in the car with us.

You're gonna stay

at the same hotel with us.

Why, if you really loved me,

you could--

- All right.

- No!

Yes. I can't leave you.

But isn't there any other way

out for us?

You were just gonna put a knife

in him, weren't you?

No.

That knife was for me, Frank.

Not him.

Cora. You love me that much?

That much.

We tried every other way.

I guess it's in the cards.

That other time had cured me

of any idea we could pull a perfect murder.

This was gonna be such a bad murder,

it wouldn't be a murder.

A regular drunk automobile accident...

...with liquor in the car

and all the rest of it.

Closed up early?

Hello, Mr. Sackett.

We're just going on a little trip.

Anything I can get you

before we close up?

I need a little air in my tires.

I'll get it myself.

Oh, my bag!

It's all right, Mrs. Smith. I'll get it.

- Frank, that's Sackett!

- Perfect. The DA will be our witness.

We'll do our act here instead of

at the next gas station. Hop to it!

Let me get behind that wheel.

You're too tight to drive.

No. You're as drunk as Nick is,

only you don't show it.

Me, drunk? I'm not drunk.

I'll prove it to you. Listen.

Frank Chambers, get in that back seat.

Okay, Mrs. Smith, if you want Nick

to drive, I don't wanna fight with you.

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