The black widow, deadliest of all spiders...
earned its dark title through its deplorable practice of devouring its mate.
- I hope you find your mother better, honey. - Thank you, darling.
- Take good care of yourself. - I'll be all right.
And you stay just as long as you think she needs you, understand?
I will.
- Oh, did you get another bottle of vitamins? - Yeah, I got 'em.
And don't forget about Lottie's party.
Oh, I'm not going to that shambles.
Now, Peter, just a minute.
I'd just as soon go to a party in an insane asylum.
But that's not the point, darling.
She's the star of your show. You simply can't treat her like that.
All right, then let her give better parties.
What do you want to do, hurt her feelings all over again?
- Don't you think you better get on that plane? - Never mind the plane.
I want you to promise me you'll at least make an appearance at that party.
With Brian and Lottie living practically on top of us...
why, I don't want to get into a feud with her again.
- But those people she invites. - Just for a few minutes anyway.
Okay, okay. I'll drop in for a minute or two anyway.
That's all that I ask. Just long enough for her to see that you're there.
If she'll look fast enough.
I'll call you by 12:00.
Never fear. I'll be home long before that.
And so I went to Lottie's party.
Oh, no, you don't.
You're not going to leave me in there all by myself.
Where on earth did you and Lottie meet all these people?
Who's met 'em? Bring Mr. Denver a drink, will you?
- Yes, sir. - Yours is the first face I've recognized here tonight.
- Well, where's Lottie? - Oh, she's around someplace...
worming her way into someone's heart, as usual, I should imagine.
Hello.
Oh, darling! I'm so glad you could come.
There's something I've been wanting to tell you for ages.
Your husband is, without a doubt...
the worst dramatic critic in New York.
For one thing-
Oh, thank you.
What did Iris do, break her own leg?
No, I just put her on a plane.
Her mother's sick again.
Would you like to go out on the terrace?
Good heavens. You're not thinking of jumping, are you?
But you don't mind my being this frank, do you?
I couldn't be more interested, Miss Marin.
Except my husband isn't a critic.
How sweet of you to agree with me.
No, I mean I'm afraid you've got me mixed up with somebody else.
My husband is Franklin Walsh, the banker.
Banker? Well, then what are you doing in that hideous hat?
Would you mind saying just a word or two to me?
On what subject?
I don't think it really matters.
It's just that my mother always told me...
that if a girl could be at a party for 30 minutes...
without getting a man to talk to her...
she might just as well go on home and shoot herself.
I've already been here 25.
Well, in that case, I'll be very happy to save your life.
- You a friend of Lottie's? - No, I don't even know her.
That's a funny thing about New York.
Sometimes you meet the hostess at a party like this...
and sometimes you don't.
I came to this one with another girl, but she's disappeared.
And everybody else here is so important.
- Are you? - Not very.
May I ask your name?
- Peter Denver. What's yours? - Oh, dear.
- What? - You're important too.
- What's your name? - Nancy Ordway.
- Actress? - No, I'm a writer.
At least I'm trying to be.
I haven't had anything published yet, but I'm still at it.
How old are you?
Nineteen.
No, that's not true. I'm 20.
I just hate to admit it.
'Cause in your 20s you ought to have accomplished something.
I know.
Mozart had written an opera by the time he was 12.
You know what I mean.
You ought to have shown some talent of some kind.
- Don't you think? - And you haven't?
Well, not yet apparently.
My last story-
Well, the editor said it was all right to write like Somerset Maugham...
and it was all right to write like Truman Capote...
but not at the same time.
Why don't you do like everybody else and write like Hemingway?
I tried.
- Wouldn't you like a drink? - No, I don't drink, thank you.
I used to, but I broke myself.
- But if it wouldn't be troubling you too much- - What would you like?
I'm terribly hungry. Do you think there's anything here to eat?
Well, I think I saw a tray of rather revolting little lumps on toothpicks here.
Yes. Just a minute.
- Good night, Miss Marin. - Oh, and do give my love to dear Benjamin.
- Franklin. - Benjamin Franklin?
That's not possible.
What are you doing after this?
Just go on home, I suppose.
Well, could I persuade you to have dinner with me first?
What about your wife?
- She's out of town for a while. - Oh.
And you don't have to read the line like that.
The invitation is for dinner only.
I'm sorry. You're very much in love with her, aren't you?
- Very much. - I know.
How do you know?
How could I not know? It's a famous marriage.
Famous Broadway producer, a famous actress.
Even in Savannah people know that.
So all right then. What do you say?
I'd like very much to have dinner with you.
Okay, then let's go.
- Darling, how wonderful to see you without your wife. - Yes. We've been-
Oh, Peter, you poor thing. I've neglected you shamefully.
Who is this?
- One of your guests, darling. Miss Nancy- - Ordway.
Your hostess, Miss Carlotta Marin.
- How do you do, Miss Marin? - Oh, I'm terribly sorry, pet...
but there are always so many people at my parties that I didn't invite...
that I rarely get a chance to speak to my guests.
I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I'm one of the ones you didn't invite.
Oh, really? Then let us say there are always so many guests...
that I rarely get a chance to speak to those I didn't invite.
- Where are you taking her? - Out to dinner.
After which we're going to say good night to each other.
And at 12:00 when Iris calls...
I'm gonna tell her all about it myself...
thus saving you the trouble, sweetie.
Good night. Come on, Miss, uh-
Ordway. Good night, Miss Marin.
And I never said a mumbling word.
Yeah, I went. That's the trouble living in the same building with Lottie.
You can't very well get out of her parties.
- How long did you stay? - Not long.
I took a kid I met there out to dinner.
She's about 20, I guess...
so if you hear I'm running around with moppets while you're away, that's right.
Did she get the job?
No, that's the funny part about it.
She's not an actress. She's a writer.
Matter of fact, she didn't seem that much interested in the theater.
- You want to bet? - No, I guess not.
Just wait until the next time you see her.
You'll find out how uninterested in the theater she is.
Except there ain't gonna be no next time. This baby eats too much.
Do you know what that kid got away with for dinner?
A whole mess of marinated herring...
two big bowls of pea soup...
steak about the size of a doormat...
four vegetables and some tomatoes...
a bucket of salad...
some cheese and a chocolate nut sundae.
No coffee.
Lottie's party and my meeting with Nancy Ordway...
was on the sixth ofJune.
Let us now go back exactly three months...
to the sixth of March...
which, as we learned later, was when Miss Ordway arrived in New York.
Yes?
Don't you really recognize me?
Well, Nanny. Good heavens. Come in.
Here, let me.
No wonder. You've grown so.
Even if I had been expecting you...
I wouldn't have looked for a beautiful young woman.
- Well, how old are you now anyway? - I'll be 20 next month.
You were still in pigtails the last time I saw you.
That was six or seven years ago.
Yes, I suppose so. Well, come on.
- Take off your hat. Make yourself comfortable. - Thanks.
But don't worry. I haven't come to put up on you.
This is just to say hello and leave my stuff here, if you don't mind...
while I look for a place of my own.
- I'm gonna live in New York now. - Tired of Savannah?
Well, after Mama died, there was nothing else to keep me there.
- I want to write, you know. - Oh, really?
- This is Greenwich Village, isn't it? - Good heavens.
Do kids still come to Greenwich Village to write?
Well, isn't it cheap here?
Well, in comparison to some of the more fashionable parts of town...
it is, of course.
Are you acting now?
Oh, yes. I'm in a hit too.
Uh-uh.
What's the name of it?
Star Rising. Drama of sorts.
- Can I get you a drink or something? - Oh, no, thanks.
But I'm hungry enough to eat a bear.
Oh, well, I guess we can do something about that.
Within a week ofher arrival...
she was already on her way uptown.
- Hello. Thought you'd given us up. - Oh, I've been busy.
Well, it's about time.
I've been getting ready to send out an expedition for you.
I've been working. This is my brotherJohn.
- This is Sylvia. - Welcome to the joint, John.
- You an artist too? - No, I'm still going to law school.
- I'm just here for a few days. - Hey, Nanny.
Nanny, take care of Mr. and Miss Amberly. They're old friends of mine.
Let me know if she spills anything on you, huh?
She's crazy. I spilled one drink the first day I worked here.
To hear her tell it, you'd think I was spilling things on people all the time.
- What are you, brother and sister? - Uh-huh.
- Well, what are you gonna have? - Well, for heaven's sakes.
I'm certainly glad to see somebody else besides myself reads Conrad.
- You, uh-You like Conrad? - I love him.
A lot of people may think he's slow and deliberate...
after the way writers move along these days...
but I like that.
I like to get right in there with those people...
and find out what they're thinking and feeling.
- What did you say you wanted? - I want a Bloody Mary.
Well, what on earth is that?
Vodka and tomato juice. Haven't you ever heard of it?
No, and I hope I never do again.
What's yours? Same thing?
No, I'll just have a beer.
- Did you ever hear of a Bloody Mary? - Certainly.
It's slop, but if that's what she wants, get it for her.
Well, it's her funeral.
- Where did you get her? - Oh, friend of mine-
a fella I used to work with in a stock company-
brought her out here a couple weeks ago...
and asked if I could give her a job.
She's his niece. What did she do, give you some kind of an argument?
Not at all. Just kind of natural and friendly.
She's cute too.
Her next stop, two weeks later...
was 24th Street...
at the kind invitation of a new friend.
- Nanny. - Yes?
It's John.
He's flying down this afternoon and wants to take us to dinner.
What about you?
It'll be all right, I suppose.
I was going to work, but-
- Tell him I'd love to. - She says fine.
You sure you really want me along?
All right, all right.
Come on down whenever you get in.
- Does this bother you too? - What?
- John and me. - Why should it?
I'm sure you never figured on anything like that...
when you invited me to live here with you.
Could have happened anyway, couldn't it?
I suppose so, but-
Do you think he's really serious?
I think so. Why? Aren't you?
I don't know.
I mean, I don't know whether I should be or not.
- What do you mean? - Oh, you know.
Your family, Boston - all that.
I can just imagine what they think of me.
What's that got to do with it?
For one thing, they're not as stuffy as all that.
For another, the only important thing in a case like this...
is do you love him and does he love you?
Well, I'll tell you anyway.
I'm crazy about him.
I think he's the kindest, gentlest...
most understanding person I've ever known in my whole life.
By early May, about a month before Lottie's cocktail party...
she had reached 45th Street and the theater where Lottie was starring...
in my production of Star Rising.
Excuse me. Which way to the stage entrance?
First alley around the corner.
- I'd like to see Mr. Ling, please. - Mr. Ling is gone already.
Oh, dear. Did he say where he was going?
- May I ask your name? - I'm his niece, Miss Ordway.
Was he expecting you?
No, I just took a chance I could have dinner with him. Do you know where he eats?
- Good evening, Mr. Denver. - Hiya, Fritz. How are all your ails?
Oh, just about the same, thank you, sir.
- Maybe my hips- - Miss Marin still here?
- Yes, sir. - Ah. Just the fellow I was looking for.
What about you and Iris for dinner with me?
Can't tonight. We're booked. What's with Lottie?
She's eating with Alec Waterhouse.
She's going to try and steal that play from your wife.
- She can have it. Iris doesn't want it. - Isn't it any good?
The play's all right, but he wants to do it in London.
- Iris doesn't want to go to London. - Don't tell Lottie that.
She's all set to hijack the poor bloke.
It might break her poor little heart that she got it on the level.
I won't say a word. Sorry about dinner, Brian.
Oh, that's all right. I'll find somebody.
Do you know where he usually eats on matinee days?
No, I don't, but maybe Mr. Mullen does.
- Where who eats? - Mr. Ling. This is his niece.
He got out so quick she missed him.
I'm sorry, I don't know.
Oh, well. It's not too important.
- Thank you both very much. - I'll tell him you were here.
Thanks.
I didn't know Ling had any family.
I didn't either.
Hold it a moment. What did he do, stand you up?
Oh, no. I just took a chance.
- He didn't know I was coming. - I'm sure he didn't.
He's far too gallant to stand anyone up, even a relative.
- You know him? - Very well. I'm, uh-
Well, to be perfectly honest with you, I'm Miss Carlotta Marin's husband.
- Really? - I have a name of my own, of course...
but it seems stupid to use it when I can get...
so much more attention simply telling whose husband I am.
- I know it. - You do?
- Brian Mullen. - How did you know it?
From the newspapers when you got married.
Well, I've never heard of such erudition.
- Does it really bother you that much? - What?
- Being married to a famous star. - Oh, not in the least. I love it.
You've no idea how many parties I get to now.
- But why do you say that? - I think it must bother you.
You mention it so quickly and make such a joke of it.
- What are you, a psychiatrist? - No, I'm a writer.
Then how do you know whether it bothers me or not?
Well, I don't actually. I'm just guessing. Anyway, it shouldn't.
My guess is you do all right for yourself anyway, with or without her.
You mean you think I have an identity of my own?
Well, I don't know, of course...
but that's quite a line you've got there.
Is your name Ling too?
No, I'm Nancy Ordway. My mother was Gordon Ling's sister.
- Do you drink? - No.
But I'm hungry enough to eat a bear.
We'll split one.
With that background to the tragedy...
let me now pick up the story of my friendship with Nancy Ordway...
ten days after our meeting at Lottie's party.
Were you drunk when you did these?
A little.
They're very good.
Yes?
There's a Miss Ordway who wishes to speak to you on two.
- What's her name? - Ordway. Miss Nancy Ordway.
Oh, yes. Yes, sure.
Nancy? Uh, hold it just a second, will you, honey?
- Uh, when can I, uh, get the others? - Monday.
Yes. Monday'll be fine.
Oh, but mind, don't go on the wagon on me.
Oh, no. No.
- I'm sorry, honey. - Am I interrupting something?
No, not a thing. How have you been?
I just called to tell you the good news.
I sold my first story today.
That's wonderful, Nancy.
How did it come out, Somerset Maugham or Truman Capote?
Mmm. I decided not to take any chances.
I made it pure Damon Runyon from start to finish.
Well, you couldn't have done better, kid. He's money in the bank.
Did you get my little sketch?
Oh, yes. Yes, I certainly did.
It's, uh...
right here on my desk now.
It's, uh-
Yes, it's very cute.
I was hoping you might find a chance to call me sometime.
Well, I intended to, Nancy, but I've just been so busy lately...
I simply haven't had the time.
- Did Mrs. Denver get back? - No, they operated on her mother yesterday...
so now I don't know when she'll be back.
The secret of love...
is greater than the secret of death.
That's the way I'd really like to write.
That sort of mood.
You're not afraid you'll be charged with frivolity?
I'll never be able to do it, I suppose.
But that's it.
That's the goal to try for-
death and grandeur.
Well, you're right, of course. Always shoot for the moon.
In a place like this...
with such music and such a view...
space, beauty...
comfort like this...
I might come close to it.
I don't suppose you'd consider renting it out by the day.
Just when you're not here.
You don't think it's a little cheerful...
for "The secret of love is greater than the secret of death"?
All right, I'll change it back to comedy then.
I'm not narrow about what I write, you know.
I'll try whatever the mood is.
I take it then you weren't very much impressed with the play this evening.
- Why do you say that? - It was a little too lowbrow for you, wasn't it?
I didn't mind that.
I understand the needs of the commercial theater...
but I think of everything from the viewpoint of the writer.
That means I examine the psychology very closely.
Oh, I see.
That was basically a stupid idea in that play-
That a man could run around with another woman...
and then find out suddenly that he was really in love with his wife all the time.
It just isn't possible with genuine people.
- Is this official? - Really, I'm not kidding, Peter.
When you're in love, you're in love.
When you stop being in love, you stop.
You just can't start up again, like a stalled motorboat.
Why not?
Because you can't. That's why not.
You, for example.
You couldn't possibly fall out of love with Iris and then fall back in again.
Nor she with you.
But she did.
What do you mean, she did?
Exactly what you said she couldn't do.
She fell in love with another guy a few years ago...
and when that turned out to be a mistake...
she fell back in love with me...
just like your motorboat starting up again.
And all the time you kept on being in love with her?
I did.
- Who was the man? - Fella named Martin.
Friend of the family, of course.
But what does it matter who he was?
Did you hate him?
I think you could be safe in assuming that this...
didn't leave him embedded in my heart.
Well then, that doesn't prove anything, just because she says she loves you now.
I don't want to be personal, of course...
but psychologically speaking, I wouldn't be so sure that you're in love with her now.
Maybe not, but I wouldn't risk any dough on that if I were you.
And I wouldn't be at all sure that if another girl came along...
just as attractive-
Oh. Hello.
What is it? Wrong floor, or coming to see me?
Coming to see you, of course.
Lottie, you remember Miss Ordway, don't you?
- Matter of fact, I met her at your party. - Indeed I do.
You were the girl who wasn't invited. How are you?
- Fine, thank you. - And, uh, Mr. Mullen.
- Of course. How are you? - How are you?
Lottie, I'm terribly sorry, but I have to take Miss Ordway home now.
- Would you all like to go in and wait until I come back? - Not tonight, thanks.
It was just a drop-in in case you were still up... and lonely.
What do you hear from your wife Iris?
Another two, three weeks yet.
- How'd it go tonight? - All but the last two rows.
- Good night, Miss Ordway. - Good night.
- See you tomorrow, Brian. - Sure.
Odd choice, if I may be so bold.
Oh, for the love of Pete, Lottie.
- Good morning, miss. - Good morning.
I'm Nancy Ordway. Did Mr. Denver tell you I'd be here?
Yeah. He told me you were gonna write here.
Well, I'm going to try anyway.
I'll be here every day until Mrs. Denver gets back.
Will I be in your way if I just stay here in this room and write?
Oh, no. I'm generally through here by 10:00 or 10:30.
I work upstairs for lunch...
but if you want anything before I go...
you'll find me in the bedroom or the kitchen.
Thank you. Lucia, isn't it?
Yeah, that's right. Lucia.
Iris is coming in. I've got to meet her at 6:00.
Sure, Peter. I'll look in tomorrow, if it'll be convenient.
Tomorrow will be fine. Did you get in touch with Miss Ordway?
Yes. I told her Mrs. Denver was coming back today...
- and that you'd get in touch with her in a couple of days. - Fine.
Said she understood, and for me to thank you.
I'll see you tomorrow, Gordon.
Uh, did he say Miss Ordway?
Yeah. She's a young writer he picked up somewhere.
She's been working in the apartment for the past few weeks.
Sounds goofy to me, but you know what a soft touch Peter is.
Why? Do you know her?
No. No, I guess not.
- Hiya, honey. - Hiya, darling.
What about the show?
Holding up very well.
In fact, it looks now as if it might run into next season.
Lottie behaving herself?
Well, I think I'm the only one around the theater still speaking to her...
but nobody's actually clobbered her yet.
- Poor Brian. - If he doesn't like that sort of thing...
he should never have said yes.
Oh, for heaven's sakes.
You haven't let Lottie put on some frightful homecoming production, have you?
No, I'm afraid we've still got Miss Ordway with us.
Who's Miss Ordway?
You remember I told you I took this kid out to dinner the day you left?
- Oh, yes. - Well, I've been letting her work here during the day.
She's a writer. She's supposed to be gone.
I'll, uh - I'll tell you about it later.
What does she do, write in the dark?
She's a nut about that piece.
She must be a nut about other things too.
"The secret of love is greater than the secret of death. "
Maybe she's in the kitchen.
- She must be in the bathroom. - I'll get her.
What is it?
What's the matter, honey?
Hey, what's the matter? Can't you pull that sheet back off her face?
Hold it. Hold it. Hold it.
Hold it now. Hold it.
Thank you.
How did she happen to be here in this apartment?
I gave her a key.
She said where she lived wasn't very cheerful for writing...
so when she asked if she could work here during the day, I said okay.
- How long ago was that? - Something like two weeks ago.
And how long had you known her?
Two, three weeks before that.
He met herJune 6, the day I left for New Orleans.
He told me about it on the phone that night.
Where did you meet her, Mr. Denver?
- Upstairs, at a party at Carlotta Marin's. - The actress?
That's right. She's in a show of mine.
Was she a friend of Miss Marin's?
No, she came to the party with another girl.
I don't know who the other girl was. I never met her.
- Did you see much of her after that? - Not a great deal, no.
We had dinner together that night and a couple of other nights.
Now and then I'd talk to her on the phone.
Did you know anything about her family?
All I know is that she said she came from Savannah, Georgia...
and that her mother and father were both dead.
What do you make of this?
That's a quotation from the opera Salome.
She was writing a story around that theme, I believe.
Why the drawing? I don't know...
except that she often left drawings like that around...
with some kind of a facetious comment on them.
I don't know what to make of that one.
You think it was meant as a suicide note?
I suppose so, if you want to take it that way.
- But how else could you take it? - I don't know.
I don't know what she might have meant by it.
Well, if we take it for the moment as a suicide note...
wouldn't that suggest something else to you?
- What? - Wouldn't that suggest that there was something more...
than a casual relationship between you?
I don't care what it suggests to you.
The fact remains that I had no romantic interest in Miss Ordway...
nor the slightest reason to suspect that she had any in me.
And in case there's any doubt about it, Lieutenant...
I think you ought to know that Mr. Denver and I...
are not members of a giddy nightclub set...
who run around having casual affairs with other members of the group.
We've been married for seven years...
and if you'll forgive an old-fashioned expression...
we're still in love with each other.
I'll try and keep that in mind, Mrs. Denver.
You said there were other drawings like this.
- Where are they? - I threw 'em out, I suppose.
I can't remember.
Oh, wait a minute.
Yes, here's one.
This is the first one I ever got from her.
That's how she reminded me of her phone number.
I'll keep this one for the time being.
Now, if we dismiss the idea of a romance between you...
what other motive can you think of for what she did?
Well, she was almost unbelievably serious about her writing.
She might have been discouraged about that.
- But why in your apartment? - I don't know.
- You can't even suggest a possibility? - No, I can't.
Did she ever strike you as a neurotic?
Not much more than the rest of us, no.
- Reasonably normal? - So she seemed to me.
- Then if you can't think of anything else at the moment
Will you stop this silly imitation of Dragnet...
and let me in?
Let her in.
What is it, Peter?
Miss Ordway killed herself here this afternoon.
Do you mean that child you met at my party?
That's the one.
Oh, good heavens. Iris, you poor thing.
Well, how did she do it?
She hanged herself.
- She was insane. - Why do you say that?
To hang herself when she could have used pills. Who are you?
Lieutenant Bruce is a detective.
- Miss Carlotta Marin, Lieutenant. - I recognize Miss Marin.
How do you do?
We won't stay, darling. I know this is no time for that.
- But may I say one thing to you? - Of course.
Without knowing anything else about the case...
I can just imagine the first thought...
that came into your mind when you heard what had happened.
But it's not true.
Not possibly.
To put the kindest face possible on it...
the girl was a little horror-
a transparent, syrupy little phony...
with about as much to offer a man as Cuckoo the Bird Girl.
Not even Peter, with all of his radiant innocence about women...
could have been stirred for one instant by that dingy little creep.
Lottie, the girl is dead.
I know...
and that's precisely why I refuse to speak harshly of her.
But you and Iris are my friends...
and I refuse also to remain silent...
when a thoroughly tragic misunderstanding is possible here.
Well, isn't that so, Officer?
I hope not, of course.
Well, then believe what I'm telling you.
I know exactly what's in your mind, and it's utter nonsense.
Stick to it, and you can only wind up...
by making a public spectacle of yourself.
- Thanks for the tip, ma'am. - And don't you worry either, darling.
I'll explain the whole thing to Iris.
Call me the minute these people are out of here.
Come along, darling.
A very forceful woman.
One more thing, Mr. Denver.
I wonder if you could tell me where you were this afternoon...
before you went to meet Mrs. Denver.
- I went to a movie. - Which one?
It was an old picture at the Star Theater on 42nd Street.
I'm casting a play now. There was a Hollywood actor in it I wanted to see.
What was the name of it?
The Girl in the Window.
- Anybody with you? - No, I went alone.
Did you see anybody that you knew, or might know you?
No.
Thanks.
- Good night, Mrs. Denver. - Good night.
Come here, dear.
Sit here.
Was that the truth?
That was the truth, all right...
but I'm beginning to wonder who's going to believe it.
Well, I am, for one.
Do you mind Mrs. Denver being here?
Not if you don't. Come in, Mrs. Denver.
- Thank you. - Sit down.
We were just wondering if you had anything to add...
from what you told us last night.
No, not that I can think of.
Too bad about the fuss it's kicking up in the papers.
But that's one of the penalties of fame, I suppose.
Send in Miss Colletti.
- Miss Colletti? - Lucia.
- Oh, of course. - You're on friendly terms, aren't you?
Quite. We're very fond of her.
There's no reason to assume a grudge or anything like that?
- No, not that I know of. - Come in, Mrs. Colletti.
- I'm sorry, Mrs. Denver. - That's all right. We understand, Lucia.
You're Mrs. Lucia Colletti. You work as a part-time maid for Mr. and Mrs. Denver...
and also for Mr. and Mrs. Brian Mullen...
in an apartment upstairs in the same building.
Mrs. Mullen being better known as Miss Carlotta Marin.
- Is that correct? - Yes, sir.
Did you tell us last night that Mr. Denver once gave you $10...
not to mention Miss Ordway's presence in Mr. Denver's apartment?
I'll answer that. I did.
But it was only not to mention it to Miss Marin...
who is a foolish gossip and a mischief maker.
I didn't care to have Miss Marin make a scandalous story...
out of an innocent, if possibly stupid, arrangement.
I thought you and Miss Marin were very good friends.
Not really.
She likes Mrs. Denver, I believe, after her fashion, but I'm sure she loathes me.
For any particular reason?
I'm her employer.
How often did you see Miss Ordway in Mr. Denver's apartment?
- Every day, sir. - And what was she doing there?
Writing on the typewriter.
And how was she dressed?
Always, sir.
Uh, except that once.
Do you mind telling us again about that once?
Once she was asleep in the bed.
Whose bed?
One of the beds in the bedroom.
What was she wearing that morning?
- Pajamas, sir. - Whose?
- Mrs. Denver's, sir. - Was she alone?
Oh, yes, sir.
That's all, Mrs. Colletti. Thank you very much.
I'm sorry, Mrs. Denver. I had to tell them.
That's all right. I understand.
So all right, she took a nap one morning. What does that prove?
Send Miss Amberly in.
You know who Miss Amberly is, don't you?
- No. - She's the young lady that lived with Miss Ordway.
Mr. and Mrs. Denver, Miss Amberly.
- Sit down, won't you? - No, thanks.
You don't mind going over some of the same ground of your story...
as you did last night, do you?
Not at all. Anything you want.
Well, from what Miss Ordway told you...
what was your impression of the relationship between her and Mr. Denver?
It was not simply an impression.
Nanny told me what it was in so many words.
She was in love with him, and he was in love with her.
- Now, just a- - Don't interrupt, Mr. Denver.
I want you to hear what she's got to say first.
Then you can talk if you want to.
Did Miss Ordway know that Mr. Denver was a married man?
Of course. That was the tragedy of it.
But you understood from her he promised at last to divorce his wife?
That's what he told her, but I warned her then he'd never do it.
This woman must be out of her mind.
I don't know whether these are Nancy Ordway's lies or her own...
but every word she's uttered is a lie.
And from your talks with her, were you able to decide for yourself...
whether this relationship was platonic or not?
It wasn't necessary for me to decide for myself.
Nanny told me the whole sordid story. It was not.
That's all, Miss Amberly. Thank you very much.
No. No, that is not all. Just one minute, Miss-
But you're not gonna let her get away with that.
Get away with what?
You just let that woman accuse me of seducing a girl...
make a false promise of marriage, and then drive her to suicide...
without giving me the slightest opportunity to come back at her.
Now, is that what you call a fair shake?
But you deny it all, don't you?
Of course I deny it all, because it isn't true - not one word of it.
Then can you offer a suggestion why either she or Miss Ordway...
should make up such a story if it weren't true?
Well, obviously, the woman is a neurotic.
I can't even understand your listening to such a lunatic.
We have to listen to everything that has a bearing on an unnatural death, Mr. Denver.
- That's our job. - Is it a crime to have known a girl that killed herself?
- No. - Then what's the reason for all this gumshoe work...
dragging in all these people to blacken me in this case?
- Oh, that was your idea. - What do you mean?
Suicides are almost invariably neurotics of one kind or another...
but you insist that this girl was quite normal.
And there was no reason for her to kill herself because of you or in your apartment...
so obviously we gotta look further for the explanation.
- Is there anything else? - Not now.
I'll call you if there is.
The time of her death, in case you're interested...
was between 2:30 and 4:00 in the afternoon.
Thanks.
- Do you want to go home? - I suppose so.
Sixty-seventh and Fifth.
- And where are you going? - The office first.
I'll be home around 6:00 or so.
I don't want to be troublesome, Miss Amberly...
but I've got to know something more...
about that story you told the police.
I have nothing whatever to say to you, so will you please get out?
- Mr. Denver? - Will you make him leave, John?
- Who are you? - I'm her brother, John Amberly. What do you want?
- I want to know why your sister lied about me this morning. - I did not lie.
Then Miss Ordway lied to you, Miss Amberly, if that's where you got your story...
because there's not one word of truth in it.
Now, why do you think she did that?
- You're Peter Denver, aren't you? - Of course.
- Husband of the celebrated Iris Denver? - I am.
Then she didn't lie about it.
Well, then will you at least tell me where you met her, or who introduced her to you?
She was a waitress at Sylvia's over on 17 th near Eighth Avenue.
- What's that got to do with it? - Where was she living then?
With some other girl. I don't know who.
Why do you answer him? He has no right to ask us questions.
Are you going to get out, or do you want me to call the police?
I wish you'd try to understand my position, Miss Amberly.
No matter what she told you, I was nothing whatever to Nancy Ordway.
Nothing whatever.
My life's being chewed up here without my having the slightest idea how or why.
That's really wonderful. Your life's being chewed up.
And what about his? I suppose that's nothing.
I don't know what she's talking about.
I loved her. I wanted her to marry me.
And she would have too, if it hadn't been for you.
Did she tell you that?
No, that's what she told my sister.
- Is that true, Miss Amberly? - It is.
Now I've asked you for the last time.
Are you going to get out, or shall I call the police?
Well, if you don't mind my saying so...
I'm very sorry for you too, Mr. Amberly.
Oh, I'm sure there's a perfectly innocent explanation for this.
After all, the girl was alone in the apartment...
and she may very well have decided...
to simply sleep instead of work that morning.
Not an altogether unnatural choice, if you ask me.
But what about that other woman?
I have a confession to make to you, Iris.
I lied to that detective last night.
I was giving Peter the benefit of the doubt.
But after what you've heard this morning...
I see no further need of trying to protect him.
- I've known all along about that girl. - Have you really?
I saw her in and out of this building a dozen times, day and night.
Not that I placed any evil construction on it then...
but now I find myself quite unable...
to continue thinking of them as two young music lovers...
listening steadily to the phonograph for something like six weeks.
Well, I still can't believe it.
Now, there's no one in the world fonder of Peter than I am...
but if I were in your place-
and believe me, I say this for your own good-
We, uh, just dropped in to see if there was anything new.
- Good of you. - Thank you, darling.
Honey.
Now what was it you were going to tell Iris for her own good, may I ask?
Can you really hear through the keyhole of a Yale lock?
The organ tones of an old-fashioned actress, yes.
I have no objection your knowing what I was going to tell my friend.
I was going to suggest to her that she move out of this place.
- Why? - You're not that obtuse.
All right, then I'm going to take the liberty...
of making a suggestion to you.
From now on, would you be good enough to keep your advice to yourself?
- Now, Peter, please. - I don't see how you could take a wiser position...
after all that's gone on in this apartment...
- while your wife was away. - Oh, cut that out, Lottie.
In fact, it might be just as well if you never came in here again.
Look, both of you, I know we're all upset and all that...
but don't let's say anything we'll be sorry for later.
Ever since she moved into this building...
she's been poking her nose into my business, and I'm sick of it.
- Now get out and stay out. - With the greatest of pleasure, Mr. Denver.
Out of here and out of your theater too.
Oh, don't be a fool, Lottie.
We'll see who the fool is when our young hero...
tries to raise the curtain tomorrow night.
Ring for the elevator, will you?
- Don't take that too seriously, Peter. - Oh, forget it.
I don't care whether she ever plays again or not.
She doesn't mean it, really. She just flew off the handle for a moment.
In her heart, she's for both of you, believe me.
Like this afternoon when that detective was prying around upstairs-
- not one word out of her. - Come on, will you?
I'm coming.
You, uh, heard the girl was pregnant, didn't you?
No, I didn't.
That cop told us this afternoon.
Anything else?
Nothing to top that.
Think you'd like to go out for dinner?
Listen to this.
"My dear Iris.
"We've talked of you so often and with such sympathy...
I'm sure you won't mind my calling you Iris. "
Who's it from?
From Nanny. Nanny Ordway.
"Nevertheless, this is not an easy letter to write, as you can well imagine.
"But since Peter's already told you what has happened to us...
I feel I must add something by way of explaining Peter's side of the case. "
- Let me see that. - Let me see it first, if you don't mind.
"You must understand that he was no more to blame...
"he had no more control over his emotions...
than you had when you realized you'd lost your heart to Martin. "
How could you have told her that?
But I didn't.
Not like that, I mean. I-I never told her one thing-
Oh, Peter, please. Don't talk to me as if I were an idiot.
- Where else would she have got the name? - Will you let me explain?
What did you do, just sit here and tell her everything about you and me?
No, no, of course not. What she's done-
She's taken one stupid, foolish remark...
and built it into this impossible lie.
Everybody's lying but you.
Lucia, that other woman, Nanny Ordway-
they're all lying but you.
But it's the truth, darling.
I swear it.
- Please. - What are you gonna do?
I don't know.
Except I - I can't stay here any longer.
Well, she's gone.
- Oh, no. - Mmm. Cook just told me.
- Where'd she go? - Who knows?
Poor Peter.
Yes, indeedy. My heart just bleeds for him.
Don't you think you're being a bit unfair to him?
Do you think so, really?
Well, you have no proof of anything, have you?
Do you think it was all right for him to go running around with another woman?
Well, I have no reason to think it was all wrong.
Would you do it?
Ah, well, that's a somewhat different situation.
In what way?
Because, after all, you and I have an understanding.
What sort of understanding, may I ask?
You know. The understanding that if ever you catch me with another woman...
you'll break my neck.
- You object to that? - Of course not.
You better not.
You want me to pick you up after the show?
What show?
- You weren't serious about that, were you? - Indeed I was.
I'm through with Mr. Peter Denver forever, and that's final.
But you've got a contract, darling. You can't just walk out like that.
I can if Dr. Harstone advises it...
for the sake of my health, can't I?
- Oh, hello, Lieutenant. - Mr. Mullen.
Do you have any idea where we might be able to find Mrs. Denver?
There's no answer at her apartment.
No, I haven't seen either of them today.
Isn't this apartment identical with theirs?
Yes, except that we have a terrace and they don't.
- May I see the arrangement? - Of course. Come in.
- Sergeant Welch, Mr. Brian Mullen. - How do you do?
- It's just a matter of measurements...
and if these rooms are identical, I guess this is just as good as the other.
- Is it all right if he goes into the bedroom? - Of course.
The maid hasn't been in yet, but, um, right straight through.
But don't you dare tell her I let anybody in there before it was straightened up.
Cops don't matter. May I see the kitchen arrangement?
Certainly.
It's just this dining room. This is the breakfast room.
And this is the kitchen.
And it's exactly the same in the apartment downstairs?
Except for the furniture.
Is this anything?
Oh, no, that's just some doodles my wife makes when she's phoning.
Would you answer one or two questions strictly off the record?
I'll try.
What do you think of Denver's story?
I don't know. I can't figure it.
This is entirely confidential, you understand.
I understand.
What was his reputation about women?
Very good, so far as I know.
- No chasing? - I've never known of any.
You think he'd be capable of murder?
Murder? Why murder?
Look, as it turns out, the girl didn't kill herself.
She was murdered - choked to death and then strung up.
We just got the report.
Oh, no.
Do you think he could have done it?
I don't think so.
Well, what about the evidence against him?
I just can't see Peter doing a thing like that.
There's nothing official about this, you understand.
We're just talking off the record.
But sometimes you have a feeling about a person that you know very well...
that either he is capable of killing somebody or he isn't.
It's just a feeling, but occasionally I've found it has a definite bearing on the truth.
Is he charged with it?
Well, we can't very well dismiss the evidence, can we?
This about it?
And, uh, what if he could prove that he was at that movie at the time the girl was killed?
To tell you the truth, Mr. Mullen...
I've rarely met a murderer who wasn't at a movie at the time of the murder.
I hope you'll remember, please, that this was strictly between ourselves.
I won't mention it, and I'd rather you didn't, if you don't mind.
- I understand. - We're all after the same thing, of course- the truth.
And every little bit helps, you know.
Well, I just can't believe it about Peter. That's all.
- Thanks anyway. - Glad to meet you, Mr. Marin.
- Mullen. - Oh, that's all right. I'm used to that.
- Yeah? - Mr. Mullen on two.
- Brian? - Have you heard from the police yet?
Nothing new. Why?
I've got some very bad news for you, Peter.
Nanny didn't kill herself. She was murdered.
Who said she was?
That Detective Bruce was up here just now and told me.
Had a report from the autopsy.
Obviously, they're gonna try and pin it on you.
- You mean arrest me? - I suppose so. That's the usual routine, isn't it?
Have you got a lawyer?
Just a minute. Yes?
Sergeant Owens from the police is here to see you.
Okay. Uh, just hold it a minute, will you?
Take a glance.
Lieutenant Bruce speaking.
Sergeant Owens, Lieutenant.
- The so-and-so powdered out on us. - You're kidding.
Without even asking us what we wanted.
- What was he wearing? - What was the man wearing?
Dark slacks.
- Yeah. - Light, checked sports jacket.
- Yeah. - Gray hat.
All cars, especially cars in the vicinity ofTimes Square...
be on the lookout for Peter Denver.
Wanted for questioning in homicide.
Denver, about 36, 180 pounds...
wearing dark slacks, light, checked sports jacket.
- Hello? - Brian?
- We got cut off. - Are you alone?
- Yes. - Well, they came for me, but I got out.
If they lock me up now, I'm a dead duck.
Can you stay by that phone for a while?
Of course, but are you sure you should have done that?
I don't now, but it's a cinch I'm not gonna be able...
to do anything for myself if I'm in the Tombs.
I've got to dig into this thing while I can.
All right. Well, what do you want me to do?
Nothing. Just stand by in case I need to get in touch with somebody.
- Okay. I'll be here. - I'll call you later.
- Who is it? - Lieutenant Bruce, Miss Amberly.
- Let me go! - Try to scream, you're gonna get hurt. You understand?
- Please! - Do you understand what I said?
- Yes. - I don't know whether you know it or not...
but Nancy Ordway was murdered, and they're trying to hang it on me.
So you can figure out for yourself whether I mean this or not.
- You let me go! - Are you gonna keep quiet?
- You've got no right- - Are you gonna keep quiet or not?
- Yes. - All right.
But don't kid yourself.
You make one sound, and you're gonna be sorry for it.
You understand that?
Now I want you to tell me something, and I want the truth too.
- When did that girl first tell you about me? - You killed her.
Answer me, you idiot! When did that girl first tell you about me?
- Please! - Then answer me.
It was the dayJohn asked her to marry him. She told me that night.
When was that? How long ago?
June 2. It was on his birthday.
What makes you so sure of that?
That's when he asked her - the day he was 21.
And that same night, she told you about this other man?
Yes. But I'd already guessed some of it.
What had you already guessed?
That she was in love with somebody-
a married man probably.
She was so unhappy about it.
How long had you guessed that?
I don't know. Several weeks I suppose.
And that same night, she told you that it was me?
She did.
What did she say exactly?
That you were in love. That you were married.
You didn't think your wife would give you a divorce.
Did she tell you then that she was gonna have a child?
No. Not then.
When did she tell you that?
Last Tuesday-
the day before you killed her.
How long had she been pregnant?
I don't know. She didn't say.
I don't know whether to break your neck or not...
but you're lying to me and I know it.
But I'm not. I swear it, I tell you.
- Where's your brother? - Back at school.
All right, stop worrying.
I'm not gonna do anything to you now.
But remember this.
If you tell the police about this...
I'll get you if it's the last thing I ever do.
That girl's got me in a box here.
And apparently no one's gonna help me out of it but myself.
So you think twice before you decide to do anything foolish.
Operator, get me the police, quick.
Hold it here a minute.
When does this place open?
Don't open anymore. Closed up.
- You mean for good? - Yeah. The cops took up their license.
Who do you want there?
Well, I left a raincoat in there the other night...
and I'd like to get it back if I could.
- You want to see Anne about that. - Who's Anne?
The checkroom girl.
Look, you go around there on Eighth Avenue...
on the west side next to the corner, and it's a bar and grill.
- She's workin' there now. - Thank you.
I beg your pardon. You Anne?
Yeah.
Can I talk to you alone a few minutes?
- What about? - Nancy Ordway.
- Oh, you're Peter Denver, aren't you? - Yeah.
I saw your picture in the paper.
- Charlie. - Yeah?
This is a fella who wants to talk to me about Nancy Ordway.
- Okay. - Okay.
Looks like you're in quite a jam.
It's worse than that. Now they say that it wasn't suicide.
- I could have told you that from the start. - How?
Girls like that don't kill themselves. They're too busy for that.
- What do you mean "busy"? - Gettin' on in the world, butterin' up to people.
- You know what she did one night? - Huh?
Humphrey Bogart came in the place.
She gave me two bucks to let her help him put his coat on.
- You know the Amberlys? - Yes.
Well, look at the way she went after them.
That's the way she went after everybody.
I certainly don't want to speak disrespectfully of the dead...
but that Nanny was strictly a purpose girl.
Do you think she was hustling the Amberlys?
What else? Big rich family in Boston...
social register, nice unmarried boy.
- That was a big deal for her until you came along. - But why me?
Why not? You're a big character - famous, plenty of dough.
Why take the kid if she could get you?
- But I wasn't interested in her. - Oh, weren't you?
Not in the way everybody thinks.
What was it then, a shakedown?
I suppose so, but I can't tell you how.
She was gonna have a baby, you know.
- Wasn't yours? - No, I'm just the chump she hung it on.
- Well, then whose was it? - That's what I'm tryin' to find out now.
Did she have any other boyfriends that you might know about?
That I couldn't tell you.
Oh, she had 'em, all right, but somewhere else, away from the joint.
That's all I ever saw, was her in the joint.
What about this girl that she lived with before she moved in with the Amberlys?
That wasn't any girl she lived with. That was a fella.
I forgot about him.
- Are you sure about that? - I'm positive.
I took her paycheck there once, and it was his place.
- He answered the door. - Can you remember that address?
Matter of fact, I can.
Ninety-nine West Ninth.
Three nines in a row.
You don't know his name though?
No, I can't remember that. Just that he was gray-haired and quite a good-looking guy.
Mm-hmm.
Well, that's something worth shooting at anyway. Thank you very much, Anne.
- Cops after you for it? - I guess so, by now.
Well, don't worry. I never saw you.
No, don't do that. Don't get yourself mixed up in this.
If they ask you, you just tell 'em exactly what you've told me.
Okay then, if that's the way you want it.
May I come in?
Certainly, Peter.
- You've come about Nanny I suppose. - You bet I have.
And I think you ought to know that the police are coming down here too.
That fellow Bruce, that detective-
he talked to Sylvia on the coast.
She told him that I was Nanny's uncle.
- You're Nanny's uncle? - She's my sister's child.
Then why didn't you say so before?
- Well, I assumed that you knew that anyway. - Well, I didn't.
So what else you been holding back?
I don't know how you want me to answer that, Peter.
You knew she had a lover, didn't you?
- Yes, I knew it. - You know who he was?
- Yes. - Well, who?
I'm not gonna argue with you about this, Gordon.
Now, if she had a lover, that's the man that killed her. And I want his name.
Now let's have it.
- Killed her? - That's right, killed her. She was murdered.
Now is that clear to you?
Oh, good heavens.
Oh, no, Peter. Oh, it can't be.
Who was he?
- Oh, please, Peter. - Who was he? Tell me.
Well, she told me it was you.
Gordon, you're lying to me.
That's what she said. I swear it.
When did she say that?
- The day- The day before she died. - What else did she say?
She told me everything. She told me the whole story.
All right, then suppose you tell it to me.
Well, I knew that she'd been bringing somebody here when I was out.
She still had a key to the place.
But I had no idea who it was...
until that day she came here crying and half out of her mind.
And then she told me the whole story.
And she actually said me by name?
Yes.
Uh, not at first, but, uh-
Who did she say at first?
Well, I meant she didn't say any names first.
She was pretty hysterical, you understand.
And even when she went on about this man...
and about his being married to a famous wife and all...
and what a fight she'd probably make against a divorce-
Even then it wasn't until she said Iris...
that I realized you were the one she was talking about.
And then when I heard she was dead in your apartment-
Well, it was then I decided not to say anything to anybody.
Just, uh-Just tell me one more thing.
Whatever I can, Peter.
You say, at first, that you didn't realize she meant me.
Who did you think she meant at first?
Why, as a matter of fact-
- Is that them? - I suppose so.
- How do I get out of here? - You're not gonna run away, are you?
Is there a door at the back of this hall?
Yes, but don't you think that's rather foolish?
They're bound to catch you sooner or later.
- May we come in? - Right in here.
- Can I, uh, fix you a drink? - No, thanks.
- We'd just like to ask you one question. - Yes?
We'd like for you to tell us everything you just told Mr. Denver.
Oh, darling. Oh, I'm so sorry.
That's all right, honey.
Miss Mills just told me, but neither of us knew where to look for you.
She tell you what they say now?
What idiocy.
You may be dumb about some things, but you're not dumb enough...
to kill someone in your own apartment and then leave her there.
Then all I've got to do now is sell that to the cops.
Have you any idea yet?
Yeah. A very good idea.
- Who? - I think it was Brian.
- Brian? - That's who I think it was.
But Brian's such a nothing.
I don't know, of course, but...
I've been slamming around town like a TV detective...
and that's the way it looks to me.
All I can prove though is that I wasn't her sweetie.
How can you prove that?
Because she was talkin' about this guy on June 2...
and I hadn't even met her on June 2.
I never met her until the day you left town, which was June 6, remember?
- Did Brian know her then? - That I don't know either.
But she was already talking about a famous wife.
And then just about 10 minutes ago...
it finally began to trickle into this thick skull of mine...
that I'm not the only character around town with a celebrated wife.
Well, then that's it, isn't it?
For me maybe, but not for the police, I'm afraid.
Not yet anyway.
No, what I- I really think I better do now is-
What?
You feel like helping me a bit with this?
You name it, honey.
I want Lottie out of their apartment for about an hour or so...
so I can have a little talk with Brian.
Think you can manage that?
You watch and wait and see.
Hello?
Hello. Is Lottie there, Brian?
Right here, darling. How are you?
I'm all right. Thank you. Will you put her on, please?
Of course, darling. Just one moment.
Poor Lottie.
Iris, darling, where are you?
Are you doing anything important right now?
I'll be right over. Where are you?
Well, I'll be back at my hotel. I'm at the Grenada.
- In 15 minutes? - I'll be there.
I've been wanting to talk to you all day. What's the room?
Room 411.
Oh. Come in.
Lottie just went out - to see Iris, as a matter of fact.
I know. I asked Iris to call her.
Oh, really? Would you like a drink?
No, thanks. Not now.
I've just been talking to Gordon.
Gordon Ling?
He told me about you and Nanny.
Who told him?
He just put two and two together.
Is that what Iris is gonna tell Lottie?
No, but I'd like you to tell me about it, if you don't mind.
I'm terribly sorry, Peter.
I'm sure you are, but that's not gonna be enough this time.
I'm being chased for murder, remember?
I was just too scared to say anything at all.
And it wasn't murder then, you know, and you were already in it.
Go on.
You don't know what it means to be married to a woman like Lottie...
but I'll tell you this.
It's pretty lonely at times.
Pretty humiliating too...
when you let yourself think about it.
"Rich actress's kept husband," and all that sort of talk.
Get on with it, will you?
And so when this thing started with Nanny...
it was a new kind of life for me-
loved like that, and being treated with, really, respect.
You know what I mean?
I know what you mean. Go on.
It was really pretty wonderful, and then...
all of a sudden I realized that this girl was almost literally insane about me.
It was no use trying to make her understand...
that I couldn't get a divorce from Lottie.
Not that I wanted one, to tell the truth.
But even if I had, Lottie would never have gone for a deal like that...
in a thousand years, and I knew it.
So I told her that even if I was able to find a way out...
how was I going to support her?
I've never been able to make a decent living, Peter.
I don't kid myself about that.
I'm a hitchhiker.
Without Lottie, I'd be doing good not to starve.
You know that as well as I do.
So what did you do?
Are you sure you want me to go on about this, Peter?
Why not?
Well, then she started to threaten me.
She was going to tell Lottie.
That's when I really began to get panicky.
- About the baby? - Well, that's the strange part of it.
I didn't know anything about the baby until that afternoon.
What afternoon?
That afternoon in your apartment.
What happened then?
Well, it was about 2:00 when she called me.
Lottie was out, thank heavens, at the photographer's.
Are you alone?
Yes, but you shouldn't call me in the daytime.
- I've asked you. - I won't do it again, but I had to this time.
I've got something very wonderful to tell you.
Will you come down here?
- Now look, dear- - Please, darling.
This is very dangerous, you know.
Now stop worrying.
Lucia's gone and Peter won't be back until 6:00.
This may be the very last time we'll have to sneak around and be scared like this.
Because I've fixed it so we can be married.
- You do love me, don't you? - You know I do, darling, but I've told you how impossible it is.
Then it's got to be done, Brian, because we're going to have a child.
I'd do anything on earth-
I'd give half my life if I could make you as happy about it as I am.
Nanny, darling...
if only there was some reasonable way for us-
- But there is now, if you love me enough. - How?
Because I'm going to get some money-
so much money that you'll be able to leave that woman...
and then never have to worry about that part of it again.
- Well, what do you mean? - I'm going to get it from Peter.
I'm going to send a lawyer to him about our child.
Are you joking?
Of course not.
Peter's rich.
Don't you think it would be worth $50,000 to him...
to keep a story like that out of the papers?
You must be joking.
Don't you want to marry me?
- I do, darling, but what you're saying is insane. - Why is it?
Well, for one thing, you'd never get away with it.
But it's already fixed, I tell you.
Claire Amberly knows it, Uncle Gordon knows it...
and I've even written to his wife and told her about it.
Well, this is really crazy.
Peter's my friend. He's been your friend. How could you-
Do you mean you're more concerned about him than you are about me?
Well, that's not it at all. It's just that you simply can't do this...
to a perfectly decent, innocent person.
- Then what would you say if I sent the lawyer to you? - Now listen, darling-
How would you like that in the papers? "Carlotta Marin's Husband Father's Girl's Child. "
- Think you'd like that better? - Don't be a fool. All I'm trying to tell you-
All you're trying to tell me is you want to leave me this way!
You want everyone in the building to hear you?
You bet I do! I want everybody in the world-
Very clever, Mr. Denver.
It's just too bad your wife wasn't actress enough to carry it off.
What's he trying to pull over here?
Go on, tell her.
I couldn't help it, darling. The girl was murdered.
I don't believe it.
It's true nevertheless, Miss Marin.
Then why don't you arrest him?
- Arrest who? - Who do you think?
I think first I'd like to hear the rest of Mr. Mullen's story.
Sergeant Welch, who has rather an old - fashioned approach to criminal investigation...
was thoughtful enough to leave this little mike here this afternoon...
so we were able to listen to the first part of it in the office downstairs.
Can I persuade you to continue with it now?
What's he talking about?
Mr. Mullen was tellin' us about a discussion he had...
with Miss Ordway the other afternoon in the Denver apartment.
According to this version, she wanted to blame their baby on Mr. Denver-
an idea to which Mr. Mullen said he objected.
It's not true.
Will you go on from there?
She quieted down then, but she still insisted on that insane idea.
Whichever you wish. I can send the lawyer to him or to you.
- I don't care which. - But it can't be done that way, Nanny.
Either way, you'll bring the whole house down on everybody.
Nobody wins. We've got to find some sensible way out of this thing.
All right, then you suggest one.
That's impossible right this moment. You have to give me time to think about it.
- How much time? - How can I answer that either?
But don't you think it'd be better in any case to wait until we're less upset emotionally...
and then try to find a way out calmly?
All right. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes - until 3:00.
And then you can tell me whom you want the lawyer to go to.
Please, Nanny, you're behaving like an idiot.
Let me in. Let me in.
- Yes? - Well, are you going to answer me or not?
- Look, darling- - Look, Brian, I don't want to argue anymore with you.
All I want to know is if you're with me or not.
Yes, I'm with you.
Oh, darling, I'm so glad.
I can't tell you how glad I am.
You do love me, don't you?
I do.
And think what it'll do for us, darling.
You'll be free. We'll have more money than we can possibly need.
And we'll have a home together with our child.
Doesn't that sound worth anything we have to do to get it?
I suppose so, but-
But they can stand it, darling.
They're rich and famous and important. We're not.
Oh, they've got other things to make up for a little trouble.
Maybe it'll bother 'em for a week or two or even a month...
but then it'll all be over for them.
They've got other interests. Peter will make the money back.
Meantime, look what it'll do for us.
Can't you think of it that way for just a little while?
I'll try.
Will you come down here now?
I can't now. I'm expecting Lottie back about 3:30.
- Just for a few minutes. - No. I'll call you tomorrow.
Please, darling.
All right then, but just for a few minutes.
Just tap at the door.
All right.
Go on.
That's all there was to it.
- You mean that's all you're gonna tell us? - Nothing more to tell.
While I was getting up enough courage to go down and see her, Lottie came in.
I'm sorry, darling.
- It's a very extraordinary story, Mr. Mullen. - It's the truth.
Downstairs all alone in an apartment was a young woman...
who was threatening to expose you to your wife as the father of her child.
A few hours later she's found dead - murdered.
Do you know all you need to establish a case for murder?
I didn't kill her, I tell you.
You only need two things - a motive and an opportunity.
You're a man of intelligence, so I invite you...
to examine your own story in the light of those two facts.
I didn't do it. I don't know who did it, but I didn't do it.
Then suppose we offered this case as we have it now to a court and jury.
- How would you disprove it? - I don't know, but I didn't do it.
- The truth is that you did go back down there, didn't you? - I didn't.
You didn't go back and try to persuade her again to drop her threats?
I wanted to, but I didn't. I - I hadn't got the guts.
You didn't stop her screams this time with your hands on her throat until she was dead?
- As God is my judge, I- - Then who do you think did, Mr. Mullen?
Didn't Peter?
What makes you think that?
Well, I took it for granted he came home unexpectedly...
and she told him what she was going to do.
Have you any evidence of any kind to support that suggestion?
I have.
What sort of evidence, Miss Marin?
Everybody's known about Peter and the girl for weeks.
But he was a friend of mine.
Is that why you accused him of the murder twice already?
I accused him because I knew you had nothing actual against him.
It's better that I be set down as a wicked, jealous, spiteful woman than that-
Than that your husband should be suspected?
Yes.
You mean you knew about your husband and the girl?
No.
Not until just now.
I knew there was someone, but I had no idea it was her.
I thought she was Peter's girl.
I knew nothing about Brian and her.
But that's not evidence, Miss Marin.
Is that all you've got to tell us?
No.
I was willing to keep quiet for Mr. Denver's sake-
for the sake of anyone who has been as close to me...
as he and Mrs. Denver have been.
But not at the risk of my husband's life...
regardless of what he's done to me.
He's hurt me...
he's destroyed my love and happiness...
but he's still not a murderer.
Go on.
I came home that afternoon from the photographer's around 3:00...
with the proofs of the pictures that Mr. Denver had ordered.
I knew he was anxious to see them as soon as possible...
so I decided to stop off at his apartment...
in case he should be there to show them to him.
Let go, Peter.! Let me go.!
I'll let you go when you come to your senses.!
Help, police.! Police.!
- And that was a little after 3:00 you say? - It was.
And are you prepared to swear to that statement, Miss Marin?
I am.
She's lying. I know it.
- Mr. Oliver, isn't it? - Yes, sir.
- Do you know this young man? - No.
He's an actor - temporarily without a vehicle.
I'm afraid I don't remember.
Mr. Grady, my agent, took me in to see Mr. Denver...
when he was casting the Duncan play about two years ago.
That was just for a few moments, of course.
Oh, yes. I remember now. You're the boy that Mr. Kaufman recommended.
- Yes, sir. That's right. - Yes.
- Have you seen Mr. Denver since? - Yes, sir.
- When? - The other afternoon.
Uh, Thursday afternoon when he came into the Star Theater.
- And you're sure it was him? - Oh, sure.
Most actors know Mr. Denver by sight anyway.
And what time was that?
Oh, he came in about 2:30, I should say, and he left about 4:30.
What makes you so certain about those hours?
Well, I was planning to speak to him when he came out...
about a part.
So I was keeping an eye on him...
but sometime after 4:30, he got out without my seeing him.
You mean you hung around there all that time just to speak to him?
I wasn't just hanging around. I work there, taking tickets.
Temporarily, of course.
And you're still willing to swear to that statement, Miss Marin?
Okay then. You're under arrest, Mr. Mullen.
But he didn't do it!
Don't you think you interfered in this thing enough already?
He couldn't have!
How do you know he couldn't have, Miss Marin?
Because I know him. I know what kind of person he is.
No, no, Miss Marin. That's not what you meant at all.
You meant something else entirely.
May I suggest what it was?
Everybody else has taken a shot at what happened.
Perhaps I can offer a version too.
What do you think of this, Miss Marin?
Will you come down here now?
I can't now. I'm expecting Lottie back about 3:30.
- Just for a few minutes. - No. I'll call you tomorrow.
Please, darling.
All right then, but just for a few minutes.
- Just tap on the door. - All right.
What do you want here?
You filthy, dirty little beast.
You get out of here.
You're the one who's going to get out of here...
and out of New York too if you know what's good for you.
I don't know what you're talking about.
You don't have to. All you've got to do is get out and stay out.
That ought to be clear enough.
There.
And if ever you try to see him again...
I promise you now you'll be sorry for it as long as you live.
You just wait until I tell him about this.
Did you hear what I said?
Maybe you're the one who's going to be sorry for this.
You try to see him again and you'll soon find out who's going to be sorry.
You dreadful old woman. Do you really think this will do you any good?
- Are you going to get out or not? - He loathes you. He despises you.
- And if you don't believe it, ask him. - I've told you-
You don't dare to, because you know what he'd say.
He's sick of you and your meanness, and he's sick of being a slave.
He hates you! He hates you!
How about that, Miss Marin?
- It's not true! - No?
It's a complete lie, you've made the whole thing up...
and you can't prove one word of it!
I got this in your kitchen this morning, Miss Marin.
Is it yours?
It's some scribbles and a grocery order.
Mr. Mullen said it was yours.
Now, uh, the police lab tells me that this drawing...
which we took to be by the girl...
was actually drawn by the same hand and same ballpoint pen...
that did those doodles-which you did.
In fact, that's all we had to go on until you-
Lottie!
You don't hate me, do you?
Please tell me.
Please!
Nancy Ordway's trouble was that she was a purpose girl who forgot her purpose.
She fell in love.
Unfortunately, the fellow she fell in love with was Miss Carlotta Marin's husband.
Personally, I'd just as soon try to take something away from Rocky Marciano.
What do you think they'll do to Lottie?
That I couldn't tell. A thing like that's up to the jury.
I can hardly wait.
Why, Peter.
No, I mean, for one of the greatest...
dramatic actresses in this country to open in court.
I can already see her in the witness chair-
without any makeup...
her hair just a little straggled and gray...
wearing a rather faded print dress from a bargain basement...
and no girdle.
And when this poor, brave, pathetic little housewife...
gets through with that jury-
They'll probably convict me.
That is not impossible.