Return Of The Thin Man Part 2

He steps out of the huddled group.

Nick and Nora are looking around, amused at their not being recognized.

Jerry: "Listen, everybody. This is supposed to be a surprise party. Let's get together on this."

A Girl: "Well, I'm acting surprised."

Nick gently steers Nora into the dining room.

A couple is dancing in the dining room.

The man is the one who greeted Nick and Nora at the door. He is dancing with a very lovely girl. Nick and Nora come in, still dancing. For a minute, the man and girl sway in position, as the man speaks to Nick. The girl's back is toward Nick and Nora.

The Man, indicating the girl with him: "Not bad, eh?"

Nick: "Not a-tall bad."

The Man: "How are you doing? Anyone wise to you yet?"

Nora, amused: "No."

The Man: "What'd I tell you?"

He dances away with his girl. Nick and Nora laugh, and make a sudden dash for the pantry door.

There is bedlam in the kitchen behind the scenes. The fat cook, Rose, is trying to make sandwiches and hors d'oeuvres for the unexpected guests. She is, at any other time, a good-natured individual . . . a heritage from Nora's mother. She is being helped by a pretty young maid, Ethel. The butler is getting in the way, trying to get some ice cubes out of a tray. They are all absorbed in their various occupations. Nick and Nora come in through the pantry, but the three servants are too busy to notice them.

Nick, softly, so that he will not be heard by the party inside: "Hey, there!"

Rose, thinking it is some hungry guest: "Coming! Coming!"

She turns with a plate of hors d'oeuvres in her hand, and suddenly sees that it is Nick and Nora. Her att.i.tude changes immediately. She is delighted to see them: "Miss Nora! And Mr. Charles!"

The other two servants turn and eagerly smile at them.

Ethel: "Happy New Year, ma'am."

Nick, in a whisper: "Shush! Don't spoil their fun. They haven't surprised us yet."

Nora, in a whisper: "How are you, Rose?"

Then to the maid and butler: "h.e.l.lo, Ethel . . . Peters."

The maid and the butler smile at them and whisper.

Ethel: "Nice to see you, ma'am."

Rose, also in a whisper: "We missed you something fierce."

From this time on they all speak in whispers.

Nora: "We missed you something fierce."

Nora sees the sandwiches and picks up one of them. She is about to eat it, when Nick takes it from her.

Nick: "You can't have that. It's for the guests."

He puts the whole sandwich into his mouth. Nora gives him a look, and then goes snooping over toward the stove. The butler starts into the dining room with a bucket of ice cubes.

Nora: "What're we going to have for dinner, Rose? I'm hungry."

Rose: "Your aunt telephoned, Miss Nora. She expects you there."

Nora looks at Nick, appalled. This is evidently the last place she wants to go.

Nora: "My aunt!"

But she gets no help from Nick. He leans over and kisses her.

Nick: "Goodbye, darling. See you next year."

Rose: "She expects you, too, Mr. Charles."

Nick looks around at Rose, unable to believe his ears.

Nick: "Me?"

Rose: "Yes, sir."

Nick, turning back to Nora: "What have your family got against me?"

Nora: "It's that annual family dinner."

Nick, picking up another sandwich: "Remind me not to go."

There is the sound of a doorbell. Nora: "What excuse'll I make?"

Nick: "Tell her I left a collar b.u.t.ton in New York, and we have to go back for it."

Three pistol reports from the front door are followed by the sound of a door crashing back against a wall, and a man's hoa.r.s.e exclamation.

Nick, followed by Nora, goes to the front door. The man who admitted them to the house-sober now-is standing at the door staring down with horrified face at a dead man huddled on the vestibule floor at his feet. The man at the door turns his frightened face to Nick and gasps: "I opened the door-bang, bang-he said, *Mees Selma Young,' and fell down like that."

Nick corrects him mechanically-"Bang, bang, bang"-while kneeling to examine the man on the floor. He rises again almost immediately, saying: "Dead." By now guests and servants are crowding around them. Nora, craning her neck to look past Nick at the dead man's face, exclaims: "Nick, it's Pedro!"

Nick: "Who is Pedro?"

Nora: "You remember. Pedro Dominges-used to be Papa's gardener."

Nick says: "Oh, yes," doubtfully, looking at Pedro again. Pedro is a lanky Portuguese of fifty-five, with a pleasant, swarthy face and gray handlebar mustache. Nick addresses the butler: "Phone the police, Peters." Then he turns to discover that the man who opened the door has tiptoed past the corpse and is now going down the steps to the street. "Wait a minute," Nick calls. The man turns around on the bottom step and says very earnestly: "Listen, I-I-this kind of thing upsets me. I got to go home and lay down."

Nick looks at the man without saying anything and the man reluctantly comes back up the steps, complaining: "All right, brother, but you're going to have a sick man on your hands."

A little man, obviously a crook of some sort, plucks at Nick's elbow and whines: "You got to let me out, Nick. You know I'm in no spot to be messing with coppers right now."

Nick says: "You should have thought of that before you shot him."

The little man jumps as if he had been kicked.

During this scene a crowd has been gradually a.s.sembling in the street around the door: first a grocer's delivery boy, then a taxi driver, pedestrians, etc. Now a policeman pushes his way through the crowd, saying: "What's going on here?" and comes up the steps. He salutes Nick respectfully, says: "How do you do, Mr. Charles? Glad to see you back," then sees the dead man and goggles at him.

Nick says: "We called in."

The policeman goes down the steps and begins to push the crowd around, growling: "Get back there! Get back there!" In the distance a police siren can be heard.

Indoors, a few minutes later, Lieutenant Abrams of the Police Homicide Detail-who looks somewhat like an older version of Arthur Caesar-is saying to Nora: "You're sure of the identification, Mrs. Charles? He's the Pedro Dominges that used to be your gardener?"

Nora: "Absolutely sure."

Abrams: "How long ago was that?"

Nora: "Six years at least. He left a little before my father died."

Abrams: "Why'd he leave?"

Nora: "I don't know."

Abrams: "Ever see him since?"

Nora: "No."

Abrams: "What did he want here?"

Nora: "I don't know. I-"

Abrams: "All right. Thanks." He speaks to one of his men: "See what you can get." The man goes to a phone in another room. (In this scene, the impression to be conveyed is that Abrams has already asked his preliminary questions and is now patiently going over the same ground again, checking up, filling in details.) Abrams turns to the guests: "And none of you admit you know him, huh?" Several of them shake their heads, the others remain quiet.

Abrams: "And none of you know a Miss Selma Young?"

There is the same response.

Abrams: "All right." Then, more sharply: "Mullen, have you remembered anything else?"

The man who had opened the door runs his tongue over his lips and says: "No, sir. It's just like I told you. I went to the door when it rang, thinking it was maybe some more guests, or maybe them"-nodding at Nick and Nora-"and then there was the shots and he kind of gasped what sounded to me like *Mees Selma Young' and fell down dead like that. I guess there was an automobile pa.s.sing maybe-I don't know."

Abrams, aside to Nick: "Who is he?"

Nick: "Search me."

Abrams to Mullen: "Who are you? What were you doing here?"

Mullen, hesitantly: "I come to see about buying a puppy and somebody give me a drink and-" His face lights up and he says with enthusiasm: "It was a swell party. I never-"

Abrams interrupts him: "What are you doing answering the doorbell if you just chiseled in?"

Mullen, sheepishly: "Well, I guess I had a few drinks and was kind of entering in the spirit of the thing."

Abrams addresses one of his men: "Take good-time Charlie out to where he says he lives and works and find out about him." The man takes Mullen and goes out.

In another room, the detective at the phone is saying: "Right, Mack. I got it." He hangs up. As he reaches the door, the phone rings. He glances around, goes softly back to it.

In the hallway, the butler answers the phone: "Mr. Charles's residence . . . Yes, Mrs. Landis . . . Yes, ma'am." He goes into the room where the others are and speaks aside to Nora: "Mrs. Landis is on the telephone, ma'am."

Nora goes to the phone, says: "h.e.l.lo, Selma. How are you, dear?"

Selma, in hat and street clothes, her face wild, cries hysterically: "Nora, you and Nick have simply got to come tonight! Something terrible has happened! I don't know what to-I'll kill myself if-you've got to! If you don't, I'll-" She breaks off as she sees Aunt Katherine standing in the doorway looking sternly at her. Aunt Katherine is very old, but still big-boned and powerful, with a grim, iron-jawed face. She, too, is in hat and street clothes and leans on a thick cane. Selma catches her breath in a sob, and says weakly: "Please come."

Nora, alarmed: "Certainly we'll come, dear. We'll do-"

Selma says hastily: "Thanks," and hangs up, avoiding Aunt Katherine's eyes. Aunt Katherine, not taking her eyes from Selma, puts out a hand and rings a bell, saying, when a servant comes in: "A gla.s.s of water." Both women remain as they are in silence until the servant returns with the water. Then Aunt Katherine takes the water from the servant, takes a tablet from a small bottle in her own handbag, and with water in one hand, tablet in the other, goes to Selma and says: "Take this and lie down until time for dinner."

Selma objects timidly: "No, Aunt Katherine, please. I'm all right. I'll be quite all right."

Aunt Katherine: "Do as I say-or I shall call Dr. Kammer."

Selma slowly takes the tablet and water.

The detective at Nick's who has been listening on the extension quickly puts down the phone and, returning to the room where the others are, calls Abrams aside and whispers into his ear, telling him what he overheard. While this is going on, Nora returns and tells Nick: "You're in for it, my boy. I promised Selma we'd come to Aunt Katherine's for dinner tonight. I had to. She's so upset she-"

Nick says: "That means outside of putting up with the rest of your family, we'll have to listen to her troubles with Robert. I won't-"

Nora says coaxingly: "But you like Selma."

Nick: "Not that much."

Nora: "Please, Nickie."

Nick: "I won't go sober."

Nora pats his cheek, saying: "You're a darling."

Abrams comes back from his whispered conference with the other detective and says: "Mrs. Charles, I'll have to ask you who you were talking to on the phone."

Nora, puzzled: "My cousin, Selma Landis."

Abrams: "She married?"

Nora: "Yes."