The Thin Man Goes Home Page #4

- Yes, but I promised her.

- She'd be awfully mad at me.

- Don't worry about that.

Yes, but I like to keep my promises

if I can.

- Ten. Fifty.

- I wish I'd gone into some other business.

Sixty. There you are.

Oh, don't worry about that.

- Thank you. Good day.

- Good day. And happy birthday.

- Has it come in yet?

- Yes. Has what come in yet?

- The painting.

- Painting? Oh, I have a lot of paintings.

There's the Barefoot Boy,

The Stag at Dawn...

...and Waiting for the Robert E. Lee,

all of them bad.

No, no. Don't you remember me?

I'm the woman who collects Bertons.

You were expecting another one in today.

Oh, that. Well, I just sold that.

Sold it. To whom?

To that woman who was

just in here with a birthday.

You... You old fool.

I knew she'd be mad at me.

There goes your painting.

Well, somebody's going to pay plenty

for that picture before we're through.

And it isn't going to be me.

- Oh, good evening, Willoughby.

- Mr. Charles.

You looking for clues?

No, I'm not. But my pup seems

to have found something.

Yeah.

Well...

Come on, Asta. You've had

enough botany for one night.

"'I never discuss Mr. Charles' activities.

You can draw your own conclusions.'"

There you are.

I thought you were never coming.

- Something happen?

- Nothing.

- I'm just glad to see you, that's all.

- Oh, well.

Has papa's little hunchy-punchy-bunchy

been having a busy time?

- Well, l...

- We mustn't tire ourselves out, must we?

What have you got behind your back?

The paper. I couldn't find it.

Father, does the old woodshed still stand

in its sheltered nook amongst the trees?

Yes, Nick.

And does the trusty razor strop

still hang behind the door?

Oh, no, no. I use an electric razor now.

Well, necessity is

the mother of invention.

Now, you're gonna get it

where Nellie wore the beads.

No, Nick!

Not here in front of your parents!

- Stop it!

- "You can draw your own conclusions."

- Nicky!

- This'll teach you the power of the press.

A fine son you've brought up.

A wife beater.

A brave boy. I've wanted to do that

to Mother for 40 years.

I dare you.

Who can that be?

Well, one way to find out.

- Are you Mr. Nick Charles?

- Yes.

I wonder if I could talk to you

for a few minutes.

You see, there's something

I've gotta get off my mind.

He's dead, Nick.

- Don't move him, Dad.

- No.

Is that you, Nick?

- Brogan?

- Yeah.

- Where are you?

- Here. Here in the bushes.

- Did you hear a shot?

- No.

- That's funny, neither did I.

- Why, something happen?

- Nicky, what is it?

- Darling, it's Mr. Brogan. You remember?

He was just coming to call on us.

What's he doing in the bushes?

Why, l...

- He was lighting a cigarette.

- Yeah.

Will you come up to the house with us?

A man has just been shot.

The bell rang. I opened the door.

He keeled over.

Mother, Dad, this is an old friend of mine.

Mr. Brogan.

How do you do, Mrs. Charles?

How do you do?

How do you do, sir?

Time and tide wait for no man.

Nick, you'd better

phone Bruce Clayworth.

He's the official coroner in this town.

He lives just down the street.

- Yes. What's his number?

- 148.

You know, doctor,

this is just typical of Nick.

Wherever he goes, you always

find bodies. It's just typical.

Is Dr. Clayworth there?

Just a moment.

- Dr. Clayworth.

- Yes?

- Phone for you.

- All right.

Thank you, Mrs. Hobby.

- Hello?

- Hello, Bruce. This is Nick Charles.

A man's just been shot over here.

- What? Well, who is it?

- I don't know. Will you notify the police?

Yeah, sure I will, Nick.

And I'll come right over too.

I'll be through here in just a minute.

Now, Nick, I don't want to seem

too personal.

But if you tell me you don't know anything

about this thing, all I can say is baloney.

Mac, it happened just as I said.

The bell rang, I went to the door, the boy

started to say something and was shot.

- Did you ever see him before?

- No.

His name's Peter Berton.

Yes, I know. I know that, Dr. Charles.

I was just telling you.

He lives at Tom's Auto Court.

I know that too. Just because

you've gotten used to me, Dr. Charles...

...doesn't mean I don't have a brain.

I can handle more than traffic.

Then handle it

and let's get it over with.

I'm not used to policemen

in my living room...

...or people messing around

in my laboratory.

- I like peace and quiet.

- Good for you. Tennyson says:

Peace shall pipe on her pastoral hill

A languid note and watch her harvest ripen

Thanksgiving.

Nick, did it occur to you somebody

might've been trying to shoot you...

...and hit the boy instead?

- Well, that's an angle.

He might have taken a shot at you

and missed.

And a miss is as good as a mile.

Mr. Brogan, if it isn't too much trouble...

...would you mind telling me

where you came from?

Why, I'm a friend of Nick's. Get it?

And I was just passing by. Get it?

- So I thought I'd just stop in.

- Get it?

Do you usually drop in the bushes?

Well, can't a fellow stop

to light a cigarette?

If Mr. Charles can be of any help

to you, Mr. MacGregor...

...I'm sure he'd be only too glad.

- No, I'm on a vacation.

Besides, you can't just barge in

on another man's case.

You could be called in as a specialist,

couldn't he, Father?

Of course a man could be called in

as a specialist. You told me so.

- Well, if I need any help, I'll ask for it.

- That's the right spirit.

The safety of this community

couldn't be in better hands.

- Who'd like some cider?

- Nick. Oh, Nick, here's the bullet.

I don't know about such things,

but I imagine it was fired from a.45...

...or something in that general field.

- Well, give it to Mac. It's his show.

- Thanks.

- I'll send this to a good ballistics expert.

- Nick's a good ballistics expert.

I'm a ballistics expert who's

on a vacation. Who'll have cider?

Very little water in mine.

- Is the cider in here?

- Yes, sir.

- Hilda?

- Yes, sir.

How about some glasses?

- Hilda?

- Yes, sir.

- Suppose you do the honors?

- Yes, sir.

- Thank you, sir.

- Yes, sir.

What's the idea? We ain't had a vacancy

in two months.

You have now. Peter Berton's just

been shot.

Peter Berton's been shot?

Number 19 with a bath and shower.

I want to ask a few questions

about him.

Know nothing about it.

Less you notice in this business, the better

it is. Mum's the word around here.

Mum's the word.

Well, I always said

something would happen to that boy.

Yeah? Why?

Bad-tempered and ornery.

He had a fight the other night.

- A fight, huh? With whom?

- Don't know the name.

The other fellow ended up

with two black eyes like a raccoon.

- What was the fight about?

- Can't say for sure.

But like as not it was

over that Laurabelle Ronson.

She was traipsing over here

all the time.

- I said, mum's the word.

- Mum's what word?

Yep?

Yep. Nope.

- Was that MacGregor?

- Yep.

- Is he on his way?

- Yep.

Okay. When he comes,

I'll be in number 19.

I hope you haven't touched anything

in there.

- Nope.

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