The Strange Love of Martha Ivers Page #5

- Thank you.

- Very sure of himself.

- He always was.

This is the first time

I've ever seen you off balance.

- I wasn't aware of it.

- I was.

- It came as a shock.

- Yes, it did. To me, too.

"Sam will never tell."

I'll never forget you saying that.

- What makes you think he will?

- What makes you think he won't?

- How long has he been here?

- He came in last night.

Did he tell you much about himself:

Where he's been? What he's been doing?

I thought you'd ask what he wanted.

- What does he want?

- He's playing it smart.

Sam was always a smart boy.

All he wanted was for me to get his girl

out of jail.

- His girl?

- That's what he said he wanted.

- What do you think he wants?

- What he can get.

He's a gambler, a sharp shooter,

an angle boy.

They come through my office

by the hundreds.

Couldn't you see blackmail in his eyes?

- I haven't your experience with criminals.

- You will...

- when Sammy starts to shake you down.

- Release the girl.

- Maybe he'll just pick her up and leave.

- Leave?

Do you think he'll leave

a touch worth millions?

There's only one way you'll find out.

Release the girl.

Good-bye, Miss St. John.

Yes, Mr. O'Neil?

I want a routine check

on a Samuel Masterson, non-resident...

registered Gable Hotel.

Miss St. John, close the door!

I want a routine check of all garages.

One of them has his car. Stay here, please.

I want a check up on all local banks.

Get that private detective McCarthy,

and tell him to come right over.

I thought I might improve my mind,

while I waited.

I thought I might improve my mind,

while I waited.

Boswell's Life of Johnson.

- Surely you didn't expect to wait that long?

- I was just going to look at the pictures.

I found your message

when I got back to the hotel.

I asked you to phone.

I figured you wouldn't mind

if I came in person.

- I figured you would.

- Why?

You impressed me this morning as a man

who would bet on anything.

Almost anything, depending on the odds.

I'll bet you'd like to hear

the story of my life.

- What do you bet?

- My story against yours.

You got a bet.

Let's see, you left here September 27, 1928.

We'll start from there.

The exact date.

How come that's so clear in your mind?

Why shouldn't it be?

You know, I used to think

this was the swellest spot in the world.

But you've really made it just that.

It used to be so dark and ugly when she...

I hate it.

Come on, I'll show you what I've done

with the rest of the house.

Okay, fine. I haven't been

on a rubber-neck tour in years.

Soon after my aunt died the executors

of the estate wanted to close the house...

- and send me to school, but Mr. O'Neil...

- Mister?

You're kind of formal about your husband,

aren't you?

No, I was speaking about his father.

- Mr. O'Neil was my tutor, you remember?

- Oh, yeah.

After my aunt died,

he and Walter lived here.

- That was cozy.

- This is Walter's room.

Rich.

Very rich.

Well, you lived here all the time, then?

Except for the few years I went to college.

Mr. O'Neil...

Walter's father. Walter's father

thought it would be...

good for me to get away for awhile.

Mr. O'Neil, Walter's father, he sort of

took care of everything didn't he?

- Yes. Yes, he took care of everything.

- You didn't like that?

- Let's talk about something else.

- What do you want to talk about?

Pick a subject.

This is the dining room.

Isn't it kind of crowded?

All right. I pick Walter as my subject.

When did you marry him?

- When or why?

- I asked when.

- When I finished school.

- All right.

Now, why did you marry him?

- Pick another subject.

- It's your turn.

You.

An open book.

I went out of this town with the circus,

the one you were supposed to go with.

Made friends with the animals

and lived happily ever after. Almost.

- Almost?

- Yeah.

I got ambitious and that tore it, but good.

I got so I wasn't satisfied just

being friendly with the animals.

I got so I wanted to own the animals.

So I bought some animals.

Well, my lion got the mange

and gave it to the monkeys.

The animals became a responsibility

and a liability.

I lost my hard-earned cash

and ran like a thief out of there...

with a great yen

to become friendly with people.

Now in that I had some success...

me being a gambler,

and people being what they are.

Well, that brings us up to my 21st year...

when I became a man officially.

How did it feel to become a man officially?

I felt I'd been there before.

How did you feel

about becoming a woman officially?

I felt I'd been there, too.

Why, this is the room that you...

Do you remember, Sam?

- Do I.

- It's the only room I didn't change.

It seems that only yesterday

I came through that window.

We were going to run away together

that night.

You do remember.

Yeah.

And it was Walter who let me in.

I come here often, Sam.

Little girls grow up.

But they never get through

playing with dolls.

There was a storm that night,

thunder and lightning.

I was afraid of the thunder.

Why, in the freight car that night,

you told me you weren't.

I didn't want you to know.

I wanted to be like you,

never afraid of anything.

You remember that, too, don't you, Sam?

- Things come back to you.

- Don't say it like that, Sam.

Not to make me feel good,

but because it's true.

All right, it's true.

We were just a couple of kids.

- We're not kids now.

- No, Martha, we're not kids.

No time for dreams.

Only one dream, Sam,

and it came true. You're here.

So is Walter.

- About Walter and myself...

- Don't tell me...

- I want you to understand.

- I understand, Martha.

I understood when I saw

both of you together in the office.

I watched the way he looked at you.

I never saw a guy so nuts

about anybody in my life.

- Sam, if you stay in Iverstown...

- Well, I'm not staying in Iverstown.

All right, Sam. What do you want?

- What do I want?

- Yes, why did you come back here?

- The road curved, but I didn't.

- Answer me!

Hey, now, wait a minute.

You sound like I have to.

As a matter of fact,

you sounded just like your aunt used to.

- Don't say that to me. Don't ever...

- Look, baby...

I won't be around long enough to repeat it.

As soon as a certain young lady

is out of your husband's clink...

and my car's out of

Dempsey's alleged garage...

I'm headed west.

- I think you really mean that.

- Any objections?

No. No objections.

- I should have known if I remembered.

- You should have known what?

You. That you'd be like this.

I'm sorry.

Sorry that you ever left here.

Sam, for old time's sake?

Yeah. Sure. For old time's sake.

Bye, Martha.

Dempsey's garage.

Yes, Mrs. O'Neil.

- Mrs. Walter O'Neil?

- Yes, ma'am.

Well, it was a rush job anyway,

and I'm rushed enough as it is.

Don't mention it.

Glad to be of service, Mrs. O'Neil.

You can add this to your report.

Mrs. O'Neil, don't like this guy to go.

- Not yet.

- All right, Dempsey. Thanks.

- Drink?

- Thanks.

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