The old street.
Wet, dirty, miserable.
Never know I'd been away at all.
Wreaks of murder.
Senseless murder.
Why did they have to be twins, Estelle and Linda?
Forget it.
Linda's dead.
I'll just have one more look at Estelle
and that'll be the end of it.
The old room.
Wonder who's living in it now?
Bet they never heard of Dixon and me.
McGinnis's.
I'm a sap to be going in there but...
Well, as long as I've gone this far,
I might as well go through with it.
She doesn't show, that'll be okay, too.
I'll just have a beer and say hello to old Tim.
Hi, Tim.
Well, well, if it ain't Michael Carr.
I'm glad to see ya, me boy.
How ya been, Tim?
Fine, fine.
You coming back to this neighborhood again?
No, I'm just keeping a date with somebody.
Shall I guess who?
That's right.
Special occasion?
I don't know, maybe.
Haven't seen her in six months.
After all that stuff in the papers,
I figured we'd better have some time
to wipe the ghosts out of our eyes,
so I told her to meet me here
at this bar at half past eight, six months from that night.
This is it.
That's good, that's good.
Eh, I guess I'm a little early.
What'll ya have?
Two beers, Tim.
Still up to your old tricks, eh?
Bourbon on the side for me.
She probably won't even remember the date we made.
Oh, I'm not so sure about that.
Women have memories like elephants.
She was in here once or twice while you were gone.
Alone?
No.
She sat there right where you're sitting now,
and she says to me, "Two beers," just like you did.
Hey, Tim, two more of the same.
Excuse me.
Wonder who she's playing around with now?
As if I cared.
But she did order two beers like old times.
She must have been thinking of me.
Why don't I get out of here before I get tangled up again?
It's not too late.
I remember that girl very well.
Say, there was a fellow by the name
of Dixon mixed up in this some way, wasn't there?
Yeah, he was my roommate.
Or don't you read the papers?
Of course, but that was the time of the World Series,
and that is pretty important, too.
But all kidding aside, Mike,
there was a lot of stuff in the newspapers
but I couldn't get head nor tail of it.
Nobody could.
Say, you and this Dixon
were pretty good friends, weren't you?
We were in the Army together, that's all.
He was my Lieutenant and I was only a Corporal.
Nobody in the outfit liked him very much.
You must have, rooming with him the way you did.
That was just one of those things.
I bumped into him after he got out
of the hospital with a psycho discharge.
Is that so?
Yeah.
He'd had a run-in with a mortar shell during
the Battle of the Bulge.
Threw a fountain pen clear through his shoulder
and knocked him goofy.
Once he found out I had the place across the street,
I couldn't shake him anymore.
He was scared to death to go home
and have his folks see him in the shape he was in.
Still used to go all to pieces ever so often.
Of course, he couldn't hold down a job for very long.
So, all he did between spells
was drink and chase around with dames.
That's how he got to be my roommate.
Not that I wanted any part of him, but...
Well, I guess that's the way it is with guys
who've been in a war together.
You put up with a lot of things without knowing why.
Come in, Doc.
Hello.
I'm sorry to bother you,
but I'm looking for my sister, Estelle, Estelle Mitchell.
I'm Linda.
Yeah?
Isn't this where Johnny Dixon lives?
Yeah.
Are you Mr. Carr?
That's right.
I thought she might be over here,
so I just dropped around to pick her up.
Did she say she was coming over here?
Why, I thought I heard her say so to Johnny on the phone.
She isn't here.
Perhaps they're out some place.
Thanks anyway.
Wait a minute.
Johnny's right here.
He's been sick all evening.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Is there anything I can do?
No, thanks.
- Oh, come in, Doc. - Good evening.
Wait, I'll be with you in a minute.
You fixed him up once before, Doc,
so I guess you know what's wrong.
He's been awful nervous lately.
Anything you want, call me, will ya?
Mm hm, yeah.
What's wrong with Johnny?
He looks awfully sick.
Oh, it's nothing serious.
He'll be okay tomorrow.
Shall I tell him you were here?
I'd rather you didn't.
I'm a little embarrassed about the whole thing.
Well-
- Tell me, something I don't quite understand,
why should Johnny be going out
with your sister if he's always talking about you?
I guess you don't know my sister.
No, I guess I don't.
Wait, I'll take you home.
Oh, that's all right, Mr. Carr.
Mike.
Johnny's told me a lot about you.
He says you're the only friend he has.
Sure you don't want me to take you home?
No, thanks, it's only a couple of blocks.
Okay.
Night.
That was Linda.
I might have known
that she'd look exactly like her sister, Estelle.
After all, they were twins.
Only Linda was the nicer of the two,
and I lied to her when I told her
I didn't know Estelle because I did.
I found out later that Linda
went straight home after she left me.
Her mother and sister were in the middle
of an argument about Dixon.
You never think of me, do you?
Sitting here worrying myself sick
not knowing where you are half the time,
and so many dreadful things happening to girls nowadays.
Just you wait, young lady,
until you have a daughter of your own.
Maybe then you'll understand.
Oh, for Pete sakes, Mother.
Don't you think I'm old enough to take care of myself?
At it again, huh?
I had to work late.
Johnny came along and wanted to bring me home, so I let him.
He's crazy about me, what's wrong with that?
You'll be the death of me yet.
Boy crazy.
I thought he was supposed
to be in love with Linda.
Can I help it if he likes me better?
I don't know this Dixon,
but he's a fool if he let's you go.
Nice of you to think so, Alex.
Sorry I messed up our movie date.
Oh, that's all right.
I played cards with your mother for awhile and...
Alex Tremholt had been living
with the Mitchells for years,
and was just like one of the family.
The girls never got along,
but now that Estelle knew that Johnny Dixon
had given her the gate for Linda,
she made up her mind to break 'em up.
That's probably why she left
the gold bracelet on the dressing table,
so Linda would see it.
Is this something new?
What do you care?
Got a new boyfriend again?
If you're really interested to know,
it's from Johnny Dixon.
Is that where you were tonight, with Johnny?
Any objections?
You're lying, Estelle.
Am I hurting you, dear?
For your information,
he never went out of his house tonight.
He was sick.
So that's where you were, spying on me!
Get out of here!
Johnny didn't give you this bracelet.
You bore me.
And he never asked you to marry him, I'm certain of that.
Who are you trying to kid?
We grew up together,
only you always got the best of everything.
Well, I've stopped giving up to you.
From now on I'm taking my share of everything,
and I'm beginning with Johnny Dixon.
If want Johnny, I don't have to ask you for him.
Okay, if you've decided you really want him,
you can have him, over my dead body.
I'll remember that, darling.
Funny how I got dragged into this mess.
The next night I was all settled down to do some studying
when Dixon came home with other ideas.
Hi.
Say, Mike?
Estelle said she had to see me tonight.
She said it was important.
She's comin' up here.
Estelle, huh?
Don't tell me you're gonna start that all over again.
No, it's just that I'm scared of that dame, I tell ya.
I don't want her framin' me into something.
I'm nuts about Linda
and I don't want anything to happen to spoil it.
So, I've got to see her.
Why didn't you tell her
to meet you at Tim's or some place like that?
It was her idea comin' up here.
I guess she doesn't want anybody to see us together,
and that's all right with me.
Well, it sure messes up my studying for Tuesday's class.
Look, I know it's a big favor I'm asking,
but I've got to do it, it's important.
And I can't go to her house
with her mother and Linda around.
Don't you see how it is, Mike?
What time's she comin'?
8:30.
It's almost that now.
Okay.
Thanks.
Don't let it get to be a habit.
The sooner I get this book work done,
the sooner I'll get a better job with more dough.
I'm trying to get some place
and that's more important to me than all your dames.
It won't happen again, Mike.
Don't be sore, will ya?
Here, take this five and take in a show
and get yourself a coupla drinks.
Forget it.
Thanks anyway.
Estelle.
To show you what kind of a dame she was,
she started to make a play for me
while she was still chasing around with Dixon.
Then, when he dropped her and switched over to Linda,
she and I started going together.
I knew there was no future in it,
but it was just one of those things
when a guy knows it's all wrong
but still can't let go of it.
Mike, you scared the life out of me!
Where are you goin'?
I gotta talk to Johnny.
What about?
About Linda.
Mother asked me to.
Your mother asked you to, huh?
You're hurting me.
Mother wants Johnny to stay away from Linda.
She thinks he's no good for her.
What about yourself?
I don't get you.
Where'd you get this?
Like it?
Where'd you get it?
I bought it myself.
You mean Johnny Dixon bought it for ya.
Why, he-
- Don't lie to me, I saw it on his dresser.
I live with the guy, ya cheap little chiseler.
I didn't ask him to give it to me.
You and Dixon make a fine pair.
I'm not gonna just stand here and let you insult me!
I'm not gonna let you push me around any longer, you hear?
I'm not, Mike.
Johnny and I are all washed up.
I was just going up there to give him back his bracelet,
and to tell him that Linda's crazy about him
and ask him not to hurt her.
You know how he is.
Give me that piece of junk.
Why?
I'll handle this, and I'll tell him a few more things.
Like what?
That if he fools around with you on the side any longer,
I'll knock his teeth out.
It's okay with me,
just as long as you love me, Mike.
You do, don't you?
I don't know.
Let's go somewhere, huh?
Where to?
We'll see.
Hiya, Mike.
Hiya, little lady.
Hi, Tim.
What'll it be?
Two beers.
Comin' up.
Let's play the machine, huh?
Let me pick one.
Go ahead.
Do you know that we've been out for over two hours?
So what?
I'd better phone Mother.
You know how she worries.
Got another nickel?
Thanks.
Hello?
Who's that?
This is Estelle.
I've got to see you.
I'll meet you in about a half an hour.
I can't.
I'm busy.
Who's up there?
You're lying.
I'll bet it's Linda.
No, no.
No, I'm telling you the truth.
No, nobody.
Well, make it an hour.
Yeah.
Okay.
He was one of the greatest fighters I ever saw.
Why, there was no one that could touch him.
I've gotta go home, Mike.
Mother's all alone and she's worried.
How much, Tim?
Four bits.
Why don't you stay and finish your beer?
I'll get home all right.
I'll take ya.
I think I'd better go home alone, Mike.
It's only a couple of blocks.
Mother will be watching from the window.
I'll meet you here tomorrow night.
We can have the whole evening together.
How 'bout it?
Is that the way you want it?
Yes, darling.
Okay.
Goodnight.
Night.
I didn't trust her as far as you can throw a boxcar.
I was jealous, all eaten up inside.
I'd been gone three hours,
with enough happening to mess up the lives of six people.
Who is it?
Mike.
Hi.
Didn't we have another jug around here some place?
Don't look at me, I didn't drink it.
Boy, you really must have been putting it away.
What of it?
Nothin'.
These shoes won't be dry for a week.
How'd you keep yours so dry?
Didn't have to clear outta here after all.
Estelle never showed up.
Here.
Maybe you can get your dough back on it.
How'd you get it?
Estelle.
She tell you to give it to me?
That was my idea.
Thought you two were all through?
We are.
I was gonna give it to Linda,
but when we had a fight last week,
I gave it to Estelle instead.
Thought I'd bring her up a little.
How do you figure in this?
Estelle and I have been going together ever
since you made your switch to Linda.
Any objections?
Well, that's okay with me.
You can have her.
Thanks.
Now that you know would you mind sticking to one thing?
You'd better tell that to Estelle, too.
I'll handle that.
Well, I think I'll run over
to Mac's and get a quick one.
Better take your own key.
I'm going to bed.
I've got it.
Hello?
Who?
Hello, Estelle.
What?
Linda hasn't showed yet?
This is Mrs. Mitchell.
Linda wouldn't stay out like this.
I've been pacing the floor
until I just can't stand it anymore.
I've even been down to the corner three times
to see if I could see her coming.
I demand to speak to Mr. Dixon.
He said he was just going down to the corner
but he hasn't come back yet.
Don't try to cover up for him, Mike.
Tell Johnny it's Estelle and I want to talk to him.
Say, look, Estelle, I wouldn't kid you about this.
I know how worried you are and I'd like
to help you but Johnny just isn't here.
If Linda isn't home in 15 minutes,
we're going to call the police.
That's what I'd do if I were you.
I'm sorry.
Yeah, goodnight.
It's about time you turned up.
You go down for a quick one and you stay half the night.
Why didn't you tell me Linda was up here?
What's the matter?
She didn't get home from here tonight.
You'd better get over to this phone
and call up her mother because the last thing she said
she was gonna call out the cops.
Where is she?
How do I know?
Better call up her old lady and tell her something, though.
No use in my talking to them,
but I can't tell 'em anything.
Suit yourself.
You're gonna have the cops on your trail.
But I didn't do anything!
Who said ya did?
Where were you, McGinnis's?
What's the matter with you tonight, can't you talk?
Johnny, you gotta do something about this.
You let that girl go home alone she never got there.
Here they are.
Cop just came in.
Mike, Mike, you gotta stick by me!
What do you mean I gotta stick by you?
If they should ask you if you saw her leave,
tell "em that you did.
Tell 'em that you came along just in time
to see me at the front door and put her in a taxi.
What are you trying to do, make a liar outta me?
I didn't see you.
I know you didn't.
But don't you see the way it is now?
No one saw her leave here.
She ends here!
Your shoes were bone dry when I came in.
Are you sure you took her down and put her on a cab?
No, I didn't.
I was ashamed to let you think
I was heel enough not to take her home.
But we had a fight about Estelle
and she tore out of here like blue blazes.
Then I heard her whistling from the doorway downstairs.
The taxi drove up and stopped.
How do you know it was a taxi?
I got off to the balcony just as she was getting in.
Is it gonna hurt you to say you saw from the corner?
That's all I'm asking, Mike.
Stick with me, stick with me!
Good evening, boys.
Good evening, Officer.
Sorry to bother you, but do you fellows know anything
about a girl named Linda Mitchell?
Yeah, she was here.
She left at about a quarter to 12.
I saw it, too.
The buckle of a girl's raincoat.
Linda's.
Smoke?
Thanks.
You didn't take her home then, huh?
No, I offered to, but she wouldn't let me.
She said she had a raincoat and would get a cab.
You see, she was kind of upset
on account of something I said.
I don't know, but she wouldn't let me go with her.
You know how women are when they're kinda sore.
Did you see her get in the cab?
Yeah, I was watching from the window over there.
You here, too?
No, I came in right afterwards.
Okay.
Thanks, boys.
Goodnight.
Goodnight, Officer.
I want you to call up Mrs. Mitchell.
If you had nothing to do with it,
why won't you talk to her?
I, I can't.
What about this buckle off Linda's raincoat?
What happened?
Gonna have another one of those, huh?
I got home the next day wondering
if there'd been any news of Linda,
and whether Estelle wanted me to keep that date with her.
Hi, Jake.
Hello, Mr. Carr.
What's the trouble?
Kid trouble.
They're always messin' up the place.
Brats.
Hello.
How'd you get in here?
Jake.
What goes on?
Just waiting for you boys to come home.
Which one are you, Carr?
That's right.
Trying to find out something
about that girl who was up here last night.
Don't tell me you guys haven't picked her up yet.
Suppose you tell me about her.
Mind if I sit down?
Go ahead.
I've been standing up all the way home.
I don't know very much, I wasn't here.
What time did you get home?
A little before 12, she'd just left.
How do you know she'd just left, did you see her?
As good as saw her.
How do you mean?
When I came around the corner
I saw a cab in front of the house.
Saw a girl run out and get in
and the cab drove away.
You sure the girl was Linda Mitchell?
I didn't say it was.
I wasn't close enough to tell and besides, it was foggy.
But when I got upstairs a minute later,
Dixon said she'd just left in a cab.
Draw your own conclusions.
How well do you know the Mitchell girl?
Which one?
Linda.
Only met her once.
Nice girl.
What time does Dixon usually get back?
When he feels like it, mostly.
Yeah?
Well, I'll wait.
Make yourself at home.
Say, do you mind if I step out and feed?
I've been running on a malted milk since noon.
No, go ahead.
This is just routine.
Nothing serious yet.
Thanks.
Say, that book you're reading, that's only Volume 1.
If you get through with that,
I'll have Volume II for you over here in a couple of days.
Much obliged.
Psst, psst!
Mike?
What are you doing down here?
There's somebody up there, isn't there?
Yeah, a cop.
He wants to ask you a few questions.
Why don't you go up there and get it over with?
Oh, those guys never believe you
when you tell them the truth.
Look, Johnny, you're doing this thing all wrong.
Your plea was to notify the cops
just as soon as you found out Linda hadn't shown up yet.
And if it was me, I'd have raced over there
and raised holy Cain with Mrs. Mitchell
for having the nerve to think
that ya had anything to do with it.
I know, I know, that's what I should have done.
Maybe we could go over now, huh?
Will you come with me, Mike?
Why do you wanna get me mixed up with this thing?
I've got nothing to do with it.
Please, Mike, come with me.
All right, come on, let's get it over with.
Hello.
Well, speaking of the devil.
Your mother in?
She's pretty upset, I don't think she'll
buy anything you're selling.
We're not selling, we're telling.
Come on in.
Thanks.
"Yes, not much else will grow out there.
You'll forgive me, but you're from Flats, aren't you?
I mean, you've not been out here very long,
five years"- Mother.
Good evening, Mrs. Mitchell, this is Johnny Dixon.
How do you do, Mrs. Mitchell?
I just brought Johnny over, I-
- So you're Dixon!
What have you done with my daughter?
What have you done with her?
- Now- - Mother, let him talk.
I didn't do anything with your daughter, Mrs. Mitchell.
Get out of my house!
Get out.
- Nora, please. - Come now, sit down.
- Take it easy. - Now stop.
Johnny is just trying to tell ya
he had nothing to do with it, Mrs. Mitchell.
Please, please.
Come on, Mike, it's no use.
Nora?
I'm sorry your mother wouldn't listen to Johnny.
Do you blame her?
I guess not.
Am I seeing you later?
She's pretty upset.
Why don't we forget about it?
I'd like to get outta here for a little change.
I've been taking care of her all day 'til Alex got home.
Okay, then, same place, same time.
Sorry, Estelle.
Won't you listen to me either?
I heard you.
- So long. - Bye.
Hi, Tim.
Hiya, Mike.
A little something to settle your dinner?
Some brandy, maybe?
- Two beers. - What?
Two beers.
You take one at a time
or will you have 'em both together?
I'm not tryin' to be funny.
I've been tendin' bar for a good many years.
I've heard of double gin
and I've heard of double whisky
and I've heard of double or nothin',
but I never heard of double beers before.
What's the matter, did you lose your job or somethin'?
Nope.
Say, Tim, was my roommate in here last night?
Dixon?
Yeah, he wasn't feeling very well.
He wasn't, huh?
No.
He wasn't able to finish his drink.
He said his stomach was upset.
Spent most of his time back there in the washroom.
Say, if a little blonde comes in here looking for me,
tell her to sit in front of her beer.
I'll be right back.
Why didn't you say so in the first place?
I was only playing a hunch.
I remembered that buckle Dixon stepped on.
But where was a coat?
Maybe he tried to get rid of it.
This wouldn't be a bad place.
It was wet and dark out there.
Then I saw something lying in the mud,
kind of shiny with a hunk of green cloth at one end of it.
Has Mike Carr been in?
He certainly has.
Sit down behind that beer, it's yours.
He'll be back in a minute.
Good evening, Tim.
Good evening, Mr. O'Brien.
- Hello, Terry. - Hello, Max.
It was an old stunt I used to do when I was a kid.
Put chewing gum on the end of a stick
and pick up coins through a grate.
It was another buckle off Linda's raincoat.
Now I was sure Dixon knew more than he was telling.
Something burning in here?
Somebody must have tossed
a lighted cigarette in the basket there.
I just put it out.
Well, I see you finally made it.
Nice of you to show up, too.
You know I don't like waiting around bars all by myself.
Any news yet?
Not a thing.
Come on, let's get outta here.
Don't you want your beer?
I don't feel like it.
Okay.
Night, Tim.
Oh, what a day I've been through.
You saw how Mother was.
The police have been in and out all day asking questions.
I've tried to call everyone we know.
No trace of her, huh?
No.
They checked all the taxi cab companies.
Nothing.
I'm going nuts.
Mike, do you think Johnny had anything to do with this?
I don't know.
He's pretty hysterical, he doesn't make much sense.
Come on, let's go.
Where did you go last night after you left me?
Home.
You didn't go to see Johnny Dixon?
Why, no.
You weren't home when I talked
to your mother the first time.
Who'd you call from McGinnis's?
It wasn't your mother.
Who do you think?
I've never known a dame like you.
But you kinda like me, don't you, Mike?
Frankly I'd like to break your neck.
Why don't they ever come down instead
of havin' us bring this up here?
I don't know.
Maybe she couldn't make it.
Can anybody identify these clothes?
It's Linda's.
Linda's raincoat.
Are you Mrs. Mitchell?
Mother!
I didn't stick around to ask any questions.
All I wanted was to get out of there.
It made me kinda sick because I knew what it meant.
Is that you, Mike?
What's the matter?
They had me down at headquarters.
I thought they never were gonna let me go.
If you acted down there as you've been acting around here,
you didn't do yourself much good.
No, I guess I didn't.
Don't you know yet what's happened?
What?
Linda's dead.
Yeah, I just left the Mitchells.
They had her clothes over there for identification.
I saw the raincoat she was wearing.
Just like the one you stepped on, remember?
Where'd you get those?
Where do you think?
Mike, you don't think I did it, do you?
Why, I was so crazy in love
with that girl I couldn't see straight.
I tried to tell her so last night,
but she thought I was still going for Estelle.
We had an awful fight and I...
She tore outta here.
I tried to hold her, to talk to her,
but she wrenched out of my hand and left those buckles.
I don't know why, but I had to get rid of them somehow.
I don't get it.
We all do foolish things sometimes, don't we?
Look, Johnny,
when you get one of your spells
anything could have happened to ya.
You might have killed her.
No, no, no, Mike.
You've lied so much already I don't know
- what to believe in. - I didn't!
I'm gettin' outta here!
No, you sap!
It's the worst thing you can do.
Sit down!
You don't know what they did to me down at headquarters.
I can't take any more of that!
The reason they let me go
is because they didn't have anything on me then.
But now!
Oh, Mike, help me.
Give me a chance.
Don't you see what you're doing?
If you run out on this thing,
you're as good as admitting ya killed her.
If you didn't, the thing for you to do is face it!
I can't face it I tell yah.
I'm gonna crack up all the way,
just like I did the first time.
I just never got a chance!
Here.
I don't know whether you did this or not,
but you're entitled to one chance.
Don't go out the front way, they'll be watching for you.
Go down the back alley.
Better try to look like me.
Wear your head down forward
and keep your hands in your pockets.
Got enough dough?
A few bucks.
Here.
I'll keep in touch with you, Mike.
Thanks.
I'd just as soon you didn't.
Hello.
Where's Dixon?
Dixon?
I don't know, he was here.
What do you mean you don't know?
Looks like he's gone.
Yeah.
Whose hat and coat is this?
Dixon's.
Where are yours?
That's funny,
they ought to be around here somewhere.
You mean he walked outta here in 'em.
- He did, huh? - You know he did.
What were you doing while this was going on?
Shaving.
How did I know he was gonna take a duster?
It's a funny time to be shaving.
I shave every night.
Are you sure you weren't in on this?
Look, what would I get out of it either way,
whether he stayed or went?
All right, Carr.
Put on his hat and coat and come with us.
Thanks, I got another one of my own over here.
Tell Mrs. Mitchell what happened in front of the house.
I saw a girl get into a cab.
How did she stop it?
She didn't just stand there and wave at it, did she?
She whistled for it.
Oh, she whistled, huh?
Yeah.
Tell her, Mrs. Mitchell.
Linda couldn't whistle a note.
She tried and tried.
We used to laugh about it when she was a little girl.
So, if you heard a girl whistle for a cab,
it wasn't Linda.
You did not see her come out of that house,
nor did anyone else.
I'm sorry, but she's in no condition
for this sort of thing.
Who are you, the doctor?
No.
I'm sorry.
It's Mr. Tremholt, Mr. Heller.
He's lived with us for years.
Oh, he has?
Maybe we should have a little talk sometime, Mr. Tremholt.
I'm home every evening.
Come on, Carr.
So long, Estelle.
Goodnight, Mike.
Now I wanna show you a few things
in case you don't know what that pal of yours did.
Linda Mitchell.
Here we are, gentlemen.
Take a good look, Carr.
22 years old.
She'd been going around with that pal of yours
and he'd been giving her the brush.
Now here's what I figure happened.
She said something that stung him and he hit her.
She ran out of the place and he ran after her.
He caught her on the landing
and started to drag her back by her raincoat.
She must have screamed
because he caught her by the throat.
See the fingermarks?
He thought he'd killed her
and it scared him so he lost his head,
dragged her down the hall.
Musta heard somebody coming
because he hid in the incinerator closet up there.
You know, those closets in your building
and that incinerator chute that goes down to the basement?
Now, listen to this.
Dixon pulled down the flap.
He tried to jam her body down into the chute head first
while she was still alive.
He wedged her in there and broke her neck.
But the chute wasn't wide enough so he pulled her out again.
See those marks on her forehead?
Those aren't bruises,
that's brown paint from the side of the chute.
Cut that out, will ya?
He finally dragged her out then hauled her on up
to the roof where he found a barrel.
So, he put her in the barrel and covered
her over with the gravel he'd emptied out.
Now, do you still wanna help
a guy that'd do a thing like that?
Your roommate?
You look like a pretty decent guy to me, Mike,
so I'm gonna ask you just once more.
Where do ya think he went?
I don't know.
Have you got any ideas?
Believe me, I'm gonna try to find him.
If I do, you can have him.
All right, Mike, go on home and get some rest.
Keep in touch.
Linda?
Mother!
Mother, I saw Linda.
Hello, Estelle.
Mike!
What are you doing here?
What's the matter?
I'm scared.
I'm sure someone was following me.
I don't see anybody.
I had that awful feeling that somebody was after me.
I don't blame ya, I've got the jitters myself.
Let's go inside, huh?
I can't take you in there.
Where to?
The roof.
I've just come from Police Headquarters.
I had to identify Linda's handbag.
Her compact was in it, her lipstick.
Oh, it was awful.
Yeah, I know.
Heller with his questions, questions, questions.
Did you tell him about Johnny Dixon?
Yes.
And about you, too.
What'd you tell him?
Everything.
Did you tell him what a sucker you'd made out of me?
Don't say those things to me, Mike.
I never meant any harm to anyone.
I'm so in love with you, you know that.
You never loved anybody in your life except yourself.
Not even Linda, your own sister.
But I did!
That's what hurts.
Linda was good.
Too good.
Not at all like me.
I keep thinking that if you hadn't stopped me
from going up there that night, I might have saved her.
It's too late to think about that now.
Oh Mike.
If we could only go back.
Go back where we started.
Linda alive again, us in love.
Nice and clean,
and something to look forward to.
Yeah, if.
Mike, what are we going to do?
I don't know.
Maybe we're to blame.
But we need each other now.
Can't we try it again, Mike?
Please be sweet to me like you used to be.
Mike?
Please.
Mike!
Mike, hold me, hold me!
And so, three days went by and nothing happened.
I tried to do some studying,
but it was pretty hard to get interested
in things like commercial geography.
It was Monday night again and I had a class on Tuesday.
I'd been to the library that afternoon
and picked up Volume I of my textbook.
And then I saw something.
It was Johnny's handwriting, all right.
He knew I had to get Volume I'll out of the library,
so he took a chance and wrote
a message on the flyleaf, hoping I'd see it.
I guess he didn't dare call me
at the office or at the house.
Estelle.
I had a little trouble getting away.
What's up?
He was supposed to call here at eight.
It's five of now.
Any chance of this guy Alex barging in here after you?
I don't think so.
I'm supposed to be in bed.
What are you going to do?
Find out where he is and go after him.
Are you?
What's the matter, nervous?
Mike, if you're hurt.
Why don't you send the cops?
If the cops go up there,
he might kill himself or get himself killed.
He's that kind.
I wanna bring him back to the apartment to face you.
That'll break him down quicker than anything.
You game for that?
If you say so.
There's one thing I want to ask you before I do this,
and I want the truth out of ya.
What?
You didn't go straight home the night Linda was murdered.
Where were you?
Mike, you don't think that I-
- You were plenty sore at Linda that night.
Where did you go?
Let's keep the record straight.
I got it, Tim, I think it's for me.
Hello?
Yeah, this is Mike.
Yeah, I got your message.
No, no one followed me.
Yeah, wait a minute.
Go ahead, shoot.
Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes.
Was it...?
Yeah, but I asked you a question
before the phone rang, remember?
Believe me, Mike,
it's not at all important compared to this.
You're wasting time.
Who'd you call?
Johnny.
He said he'd meet me at the corner,
so I went down there and hung around for almost an hour.
Then I got sore and went home.
You may need that alibi later.
Hope you can back it up.
What do you mean?
Nevermind.
Here's the keys to my place.
Go there and wait for us.
If I'm not there in an hour, send the cops to this address.
Got it?
I got it.
Johnny?
Who is it?
It's me, open up.
Anybody see ya?
Nobody.
Tore off the front pages.
Are they still hot for me?
Brother, you're hotter than a firecracker.
Mike, you're about the only friend
I got left that still believes in me.
You're wrong, I don't believe in you.
What else can I think after the way you've been acting?
You tell me you took her down and put her in a cab.
Sidewalks were wet and the soles of your shoes were dry.
But I explained that to you, Mike.
You tell me you heard her whistle for a cab, too.
You let me stick my head out to the cops about that.
To find out from her mother that she couldn't whistle.
Never whistled a note in her life.
But I did hear a whistle.
Why did you throw that buckle
out of the window at McGinnis's?
I threw the buckle out the window like a guy picks up
a stone and throws it at a tin can,
or kicks a lamp post when he's mad.
Brother, you picked an awful bad time
to get mad like that, Johnny.
Are you sure you knew
what you were doing?
You get those spells, you know.
But I loved her, I loved her!
What are you hiding out in a dump like this for then?
You don't believe me, huh?
Well, what are you gonna do about it?
Tell the cops where I am so they'll come and get me?
No.
Then what?
I'm taking you back to our place.
You're coming back with me if I have to drag you!
Oh, no, I'm not!
I'm not goin' anywhere.
So you bought a gun with the dough I gave ya, huh?
That's great.
I'm fighting for my life now, Mike.
Don't come close to me.
If it's gonna be you or me, it's gonna be you.
Might as well be hung for two murders as one,
is that your idea?
There's no future in that, Johnny, you ought to know.
Why don't you go ahead and pull the trigger?
I'm only your roommate.
Come on, we'd better get outta here.
Somebody might have heard the shot.
Come on, let's go.
Who is it?
Mike.
Alex followed me over here.
I had to tell him what was going on.
Sit down, Johnny.
Hasn't there been enough tragedy
around here without you asking for more?
Look, I didn't ask you to get mixed up in this thing,
but as long as you're here,
do you mind letting me handle it?
Haven't you got any better sense
than to try and take matters in your own hands?
We've got a police department
to take care of a thing like this.
You've got no right to jeopardize other people's safety.
Alex, Alex, wait!
Don't let him, Mike, don't let him!
You can talk to Dixon when he's behind bars
just as well as you can now, it's a whole lot safer.
Police Headquarters!
Put that down.
Taxi!
Wait a minute.
Hold it, driver!
I've got a fare.
Police business.
- I'll be right back. - Are you crazy?
You're leaving us with a desperate man.
Here.
Watch out for him, Johnny, he might be trigger-happy.
Do you live here?
Yeah.
Last Monday night a week ago tonight it was foggy.
Somebody called a cab from this house
by whistling for it like you just did.
Was that you?
Probably was.
I take a cab every night, rain or shine.
It's the only way I get to work on time.
What do you do?
I'm in the floor show at the Carioca Club.
What's your name?
Leonora Waters.
I gotta go now, I'm on at 12:05.
If I've been disturbing people by whistling for a cab,
I'll tone it down.
Get away from that door!
John, listen to me.
You were right about that whistle.
Please, for your own sake.
You don't need that gun.
Stay away from me!
I'm trying to help, don't you understand that?
Get away from that door.
And don't anybody try to follow me.
Johnny!
You're just making it tough on yourself.
The cops will pick you up sooner or later
and you'll be convicted on circumstantial evidence.
Come on back- Oh, no!
Don't try to follow me, Mike.
I'll let you have it.
So help me, I will.
If you leave like this,
there's only one thing I can think.
You did Kill Linda.
I'm all mixed up myself.
Maybe I'm going nuts.
Okay, it's your funeral.
I guess you gotta eat.
- Here. - Oh, no!
Toss it on the steps.
Sooner or later you're gonna pull
that trigger and be sorry.
Throw it back up here.
Come on, I'm not gonna follow ya.
I hope you're satisfied.
How did it happen?
Alex went over to the phone and called the police.
Johnny jumped him and took the gun.
There wasn't anything I could do.
Why didn't you listen to me in the first place?
When you got a gun on a man
you don't fool around with a telephone.
Kinda torn up, huh?
What'd he do, step on it?
I don't know.
Well, we found out one thing anyway.
Johnny did hear somebody whistle for a cab.
It was a girl from downstairs
been whistling for a cab every night.
What does that prove?
He's heard that whistle every night.
It's an alibi, that's all.
When you're a little older, my boy,
you'll learn to stick to your own business.
From now on the police will take care of this.
Come on, Estelle.
Maybe he's right.
Goodnight, Mike.
Sorry it didn't work out.
See you tomorrow, hm?
Yeah, I'll call you.
Goodnight.
Hello, Mr. Carr.
Hi, Jake.
Workin' late?
Yeah, have to do this kind
of a job after people go to bed.
You know, there's women in these apartments
who won't use this chute no more?
I've been carrying the trash out
by hand ever since that girl was killed here.
It's gettin' me down.
Think you can fool 'em with a little paint, huh?
Well, I can get rid of the marks
but somebody tried to shove the girl's body down the chute.
That's what bothers the tenants.
They don't like to look at it.
What kinda marks, Jake?
Just scratches.
Yeah? Let's see.
Yeah, right in here.
- Right here. - Uh huh.
- Yeah. - Fresh paint, too.
I only painted this the day before it happened.
What color was it before?
Brown.
I was out of brown so I'm usin' baby blue now.
I had some left over from Mrs. Carter's bathroom.
Nice color, baby blue.
Oh, the cops got pictures of it.
Goodnight, Jake.
Goodnight.
Come right in, Mike.
Where've ya been?
Down the hall talkin' to Jake.
Where'd you come from?
We met Mr. Heller outside.
Alex phoned for him, remember?
We told him about Johnny and you
- and what happened. - Yeah.
You had Dixon here, huh?
Yeah, he'd still be here
if good old rover hadn't gummed it up.
You mean if a girl hadn't whistled for a taxi.
Yeah.
Yeah, I know all about that.
Her name's Waters.
But it's a bum steer, Mike, believe me.
The trouble with my job is that everybody thinks
he can do it better than I can.
Why didn't you let me help you pick him up?
I knew him better than you did.
I thought maybe I could get him to talk.
Okay, Mike.
Dixon's your pal.
You've been trying to protect him.
That's what you were doing all along, protecting him.
What are you trying to tell me?
Are you trying to tell me that I-
- No, no.
I'm not trying to tell you anything.
I want you to tell me.
You're the one that wants to play detective around here.
Go ahead.
Suppose we start with a week ago tonight,
the night of the murder.
Where did you go?
McGinnis's.
She was with me.
After she left you, what did you do?
I walked around for a little while.
Why didn't you go home?
I was a little upset.
What about?
About her.
Oh, lovers' quarrel, huh?
Uh uh, she had me on a merry-go-round.
You know that isn't true, Mike.
It's all in your mind.
You mean she was still going for Dixon.
Yeah, Dixon and 10 other guys.
11, if you want to include Mr. Tremholt.
I've heard all I want to hear!
I'm getting outta here!
Sit down.
How about that, Mr. Tremholt?
What are you driving at?
I've lived with the Mitchell family for a good many years.
It's my home.
Those two girls were like my own daughters.
But Estelle was you favorite one, wasn't she?
What are you insinuating?
There are a couple of other things, too.
Your room is near the front door.
You could have slipped in and out a dozen times
the night Linda was killed.
I've already explained how I came in
at 8 o'clock and talked to Mrs. Mitchell.
And at 11:30 when she came and knocked
on my door and told me that Linda wasn't in yet,
I was already in bed.
Maybe you've already asked him all these things.
But have you asked him about his fingernails?
Look at 'em, torn down and filed down to the quick.
Why did you feel that you had to do that, Mr. Tremholt?
- I've always- - I'll tell you why!
Because you got paint under your nails
from the incinerator chute
in this building when you tried to get Linda-
- You're crazy!
Or maybe it was tar.
Tar out of the barrel on the roof
when you tried to get rid of the body-
That'll be enough of those shenanigans, Tremholt!
You are in love with her, aren't you?
You don't understand.
Understand what?
You couldn't possibly understand
what I've been through all these years.
How I've loved this girl,
waited for her to grow up.
She promised to marry me one day.
Well, I-
- Tremholt told us the whole story.
Not very pretty, either.
How Estelle had tied him hand and foot
with his own heartstrings,
while she two-timed him by running around
with a lot of younger guys, including myself.
But a terrible mistake had been made.
Linda was killed instead of Estelle.
And Tremholt still had murder in his heart.
I guess Heller figured he could break him down
and get a confession because he took him in,
and I went out to find Dixon
and tell him he was in the clear.
Johnny!
I cut him down just in time.
I took him over to the Army hospital,
got the kinks out of him and put him back to work.
He's doin' all right now.
Do you ever see him?
Once in awhile.
We just say hello and let it go at that.
What about the girl?
She got under my skin like no other dame ever did.
I wasn't in love with her but I couldn't let her alone,
you know what I mean?
I know a lot of dipsos
that hate the taste of liquor.
Yeah, I guess so.
I ought to get off this stool,
and walk out that door and just keep goin'.
Why don't you, Mike?
Yeah.
Yeah, why don't I?
So long, Tim.
Thanks for listening to me
and letting me get it off my chest.
I feel a lot better now.
It's okay, Mike.
So long.
Mike!
I'm sorry I'm late, darling,
but you didn't mind waiting, did you?
You timed yourself perfectly.
Come on, let's get outta this dump.
What are you doing down here, slumming?
What's on your mind?
Let's go up to my place.
Your place?
Oh, I have a little apartment of my own now.
Nothing fancy.
Come on, quit stalling.
I've been waiting for you for six whole months.
I'm not going with you.
What's the matter with you?
It's all over, Estelle.
Remember old Tim?
I just got through telling him
the story about Johnny Dixon and Linda,
your mother and you and me.
They all came out on top except you.
I had to tell him the story to see where I stood.
Yeah, even I came out on top.
You're crazy.
Make up your mind!
Are you coming with me or aren't you?
No.
Suit yourself.
Mike, let me go!
Just come across the street with me
to the old place where Linda died, remember?
You're hurting me.
I'm hurting you just a little bit and you're crying.
What about the rest of us?
We aren't crying.
You did a good job on us, Estelle.
Just a little girl from a neighborhood street.
What a laugh that is.
Who is it?
Don't tell me you've forgotten me already.
Is that you, Heller?
Who else?
You got a gun?
What would I do with a gun?
What's the idea?
Come on out.
Turn on the lights.
What do you call this game?
Cops and robbers.
Very funny.
Where'd you come from?
I was right behind you, Mike, all the time.
The whole six months.
You never did settle down for very long
in any one place did you?
Guilty conscience, Mike?
What are you trying to say, Heller?
Remember this?
No.
You've seen it, Mike.
In fact you had your hands on it.
Linda wore it the night
you killed her thinking she was Estelle.
You nuts?
It came off her neck when you tried
to crammed her down the incinerator,
but it didn't go down the chute.
It only went part way down, and stuck.
Jake, the janitor just found it a coupla days ago.
What does that make me?
A murderer.
It had your fingerprints all over it.
Just as pretty and clear as anything you've ever seen.
Let's go some place where we can talk about it, shall we?
How many guys are you gonna pinch for this, Heller?
Oh, you mean Tremholt?
I only held him for a couple of hours.
He's living in Detroit now.
I just had a postcard from him the other day.
How nice.
You first.
You know, Mike, this is the first time I've ever seen
a murderer return to the scene of his crime.
Pretty corny.
So, that's the whole story.
Linda's dead and Estelle is alive
because of my blind, murderous jealousy.
Anyway, who'd wanna look at a girl
for the rest of his life and always be reminded of murder?