Wait Until Dark

Come on, Louis. Come on.

They should make heroin

look like something else.

Candy bars, maybe.

You're gonna have to hurry, Louis.

l'm gonna miss my plane.

Be careful, Lisa.

You too, Louis.

Taxi!

Taxi!

Air Canada...

...flight 7 60 dC-9 jetliner service...

...for New York's Kennedy

International Airport.

Hey, is this St. Luke's Place?

-You, number 98.

-Who, me?

-Where's St. Luke's Place?

-l don't know nothing. l'm a dropout.

l asked you a question, kid.

-Yeah, this is it.

-Thanks.

Big man on campus.

What did she say?

l told you, she just left a message.

-But she asked for me?

-That's right.

-Happy days are here again, huh?

-Well, we'll see.

-You sure this is right?

-Read it yourself.

Don't make waves.

l only asked a question.

Lisa?

-Lisa?

-What are you calling for?

She says she's not here.

-Lisa doesn't live here.

-Yeah, l know. lt's clean.

What's the matter?

Since when can Lisa type?

Since never. Come on.

You think the place is bugged?

-You want something?

-You, Mr. Talman.

And you too, Sgt. Carlino.

l want you too.

ln fact, l want both of you,

and l've come here to buy you.

Sgt. Carlino, if you'd

just shut that door, please.

Don't call me "sergeant."

Why? Are you a touchy man?

-Just don't call me "sergeant."

-No matter. Sit. Sit.

We'll have a little chat.

-We'll start with, who are you?

-l'm Harry Roat Jr. From Scarsdale.

Scarsdale?

Well, now, may we have

weapons on the table?

We'll have explanations first.

Well, this goes back a little.

-So go back a little.

-Alrighty.

Once upon a time...

...there was a fairy princess

named Lisa.

And she had two very good friends,

who shall remain nameless.

Now, these three were fond of performing

little dramas for select audiences.

Their most memorable performances

were that of outraged husband...

...and detective breaking in upon

guilty wife in the arms of her lover...

...or vice versa.

They were adaptable.

The detective, it's worth mentioning, was

particularly convincing in his performance...

...but then he had had the benefit

of previous on-the-job training.

-Man, you're a charmer.

-Thank you.

Things went trippingly

for our three heroes...

...until one day, a certain stockbroker,

a Charles F. Parker, wasn't it? Got nasty.

And then our poor heroes went to jail,

or two of them did.

Lisa, well....

Well, she....

She escaped.

What's the point?

Lisa would like to do something

for her two friends...

...now that they're back

in circulation again.

-What does she want?

-A doll...

...for which she will pay handsomely.

Now may we have weapons on the table?

-l'm clean.

-Scout's honor?

Lisa says you favor brass, sergeant.

That pocket looks a little lumpy.

l cannot negotiate in an atmosphere

of mistrust.

Why, you?

-And, you, what's your favorite toy?

-Geraldine.

What does she do?

-May we have Geraldine on the table too?

-No, we may not.

-Why the hell not?

-Because she's the referee.

Now, Lisa will pay you $2000 each

for a couple hours work.

lnterested?

What kind of work?

Finding Lisa's doll.

-Are you serious?

-l am.

-What kind of doll?

-An ordinary doll, a child's doll.

What's in it?

-Do we hurt anybody?

-Not a fly.

-Do you care?

-No.

-What do you think?

-What's to think? He's a creep.

Yeah, baby. Not like us, huh?

We want an advance.

Lisa and l thought more like 500 each.

Why so generous?

So you don't ask what's in the doll.

So now we know what's in the doll.

Well, win one, lose one.

lt's all straight.

What do we do?

What you always do, Mr. Talman,

lie and cheat and play-act.

-Go on.

-Lisa gave the doll to a man named Hendrix.

She met him on the plane from Montreal.

Lisa's friendly.

Why?

Somebody waiting for her,

she hadn't expected...

...so Hendrix brought it home here.

Hendrix? Who's he?

He's...nobody.

Mr. Clean. A photographer.

Looks like he has a wife. Where's she?

Out.

She goes to school.

Come on. This is a hell of a place

to be talking.

Don't panic, sergeant.

-Why not?

-Because it's arranged. lt's all arranged.

By you?

Photographer Hendrix is in his studio

waiting to photograph a certain Miss Lejiana.

But a little while ago,

her male secretary phoned...

...very efficient, very humble,

grovelingly polite...

...to say that she had been delayed.

-He's terrific.

-Last night, Lisa called up about the doll...

...but Mr. Hendrix couldn't find it.

He looked all over for it,

but he couldn't find it.

Doesn't that strike you odd?

lt strikes me odd too, Mr. Talman.

-Was he lying?

-l don't know, but we're gonna find out.

Now, look around.

Familiarize yourself with the place.

We're coming back here tomorrow.

And the doll is here, you're sure?

Lisa and l checked earlier.

We didn't see it. lt's here, though.

Did you look in here?

Well, anyway, we don't work safes.

l know, but you talk, and that's why

you've been invited to this party...

...to talk your way into that big,

black safe, sergeant.

-There's a locked closet in the bedroom.

-Not there. Just clothes.

-How do you know?

-l looked.

-You got the key?

-lt's on the ledge above the door.

No, it isn't.

They must have taken it with them.

Lock the closet when they

don't bolt the front door?

They're strange people.

They lose dolls.

l think you just made a mistake.

l'd like the key.

Well, if you--

All right, fat man, over there.

Both of you through the door, backwards.

lf you'd only said please.

And now l'd like the key.

Please?

Go look.

Well, she was trespassing, Mike...

...poaching...

...going into business for herself.

Bad news.

Things like that go on,

what do you have?

Anarchy.

No discipline, no sense of order.

Bad news.

Out!

-Haven't you forgotten something?

-We just earned the money.

l mean fingerprints.

You just signed your names

all over this place.

Even if you could remember, it'd

still take you hours to wipe them up.

lf not days.

As for me...

...well, l've only touched one thing

since l've been in here.

And now it's clean...

...like me. No police record,

no known associations with Lisa.

Nothing, in fact.

l could let you go and what would happen?

l'd evaporate.

But you? Bad news.

Don't forget this, sarge.

And the icebox, don't forget the icebox.

Carlino, knock it off!

We can prove where we were

when this happened.

Oh, and when did it happen?

-Just before you let me in?

-So?

So if you do exactly what l tell you...

...there will be no police,

there will be no problems.

Go on.

First, get her out of here.

Roll her up in this.

l got a van by the corner.

l'll bring it out front.

Why not the back, where

there's less publicity?

There's no back door.

We'll dump her where l found this.

Give me a hand.

-She'll be found.

-l hope so.

All she's got on her is a hotel key.

When they check...

...they'll see she's Mrs. Harry Roat Jr.

-From Scarsdale.

-Right.

This changes things a little, you know?

That's what l figured.

We'll talk about it later.

No, we'll talk about it now.

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