 I'm the Whistler, and I know many things before I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak. Pullable in that first moment of shock hit Clay Bowman with its full impact as he stood on the terrace of the penthouse high above the city. And he could only stare down at the lifeless form of the young woman sprawled out of his feet. He seemed rooted to the spot, his body refusing to obey the impulse to run to get away as fast and as far as he could. It was only when he became aware of the voices close by that he moved, ran half-stumbling across the living room to the front door of the apartment, partly open. You can hear the voices in the corridor outside. Closer. Closer, Clay. You look around frantically for a place to hide and then drop quickly to your hands and knees behind the large sofa. Hello? Anybody home? Anita? She must be home, Fred. She wouldn't go out and leave her front door open. Maybe she's out in the terrace. I don't have a look. Fixer's a drink. What is it, Lina? Sure. Anita, you out here? Fred, looks like there's no soda here. Plain water okay? Fred, do you hear what I- Hello. Well, what's the matter? It's- it's Anita. She's out there. She's been murdered. Murdered? Better call the police. Crap, don't you, Clay. They're certain to remain in the penthouse until the police arrive and find you. You watch as the woman moves slowly toward the terrace. The man is talking into the telephone. He's back to you. Now is your chance. You dart out from behind the sofa, but your elbow hits the table and crashes into the floor. The man moves and then leaves at you. Clay's in the struggle. You break away. Oh, you don't try and he catches you before you can reach the door. Finally, your fist crashes. Pull into his face and he falls back against the piano. And you whirl and race out of the apartment. Good evening. Oh, yes. Room 308. Just a moment. I'll connect you. Oh, how clerked. Yes, sir. Oh, good evening, Mr. Bowman. My key, please. Certainly. Enjoying your visit in town, Mr. Bowman? Huh? Oh, oh, yes. I'm sorry, sir. Your key isn't in the box. Perhaps you took it with you. What? Oh, oh, yes. That's right. Come to think of it. Let me see it. Hey, your top coat pocket, sir. It's pretty Bradley torn. Did you know that? Torn, uh... Oh, yes. Yes, I, uh... Key, I remember now. I put it in this pocket. I'm afraid you lost it then. It dropped it somewhere. No matter. I'll let you have another. No, never mind. Mr. Bowman. Never mind. This is a surprise. Come on in, fella. Come on in. What are you doing here in town? Business trip. Got in this afternoon. Boy, it's good to see you. It's been a long time, Clay. Yeah, it looks like you could stand a drink. Look, I've done a full frame, Tony. I don't know what got into me. I just must have been out of my mind. Yeah, it sounds serious. It is, Tony. It's a girl. I never saw her before. I never even knew her name. Don't start it on the telephone when I try to phone Charlie. Hey, look, I'm not following this at all. Tell me it's from the top, huh? Yeah. Well, as I said, I arrived this afternoon. I found out the man I was supposed to see had gone out of town. Won't be back until Monday. So there I was, stuck here for the weekend. I didn't know what to do with myself as you drink. Well, look, Clay, why didn't you give me a buzz? Well, I planned to, Tony, but... Yeah, I know. You called Charlie first. You and Charlie never did like the way I lived, did you? Well, it was too fast for you, boys. The old high school freesome has been a twosome the last few years. It's not that, Tony. Sure it is. But that's okay. I got dollars where you guys had got dimes. Well, anyway, go on. Tell me your troubles. Well, when I called the number Charlie gave me when I was here last year, a woman answered the phone. Seems the phone company had changed a lot of numbers and given this woman Charlie's old number somehow. Oh, yeah? Well, go on. Well, she seemed very nice, real friendly, sounded kind of lonely too. Well, so it all ended up with her asking me over for a drink. What? I don't know what made me do it, Tony. I wouldn't do anything to hurt Marcia for all the money in the world, but... I didn't see anything particularly wrong in it at the time, so... Well, so I went. Yeah. When I got there, I found the apartment door open, huh? I went in and... there she was. Dead. That was apartment just off Sunset. Anyway, I got panicky and I got out of there as fast as I could. I didn't want to get involved. Police questions are storing in the papers because... You were sure because of your wife, Marcia. Yeah, so you ran. Anybody see you? Yeah, before I could get out, a man and a woman came to the apartment. He tried to stop me. There was a struggle. But you did get away. That's important. This man, he doesn't know you. Oh, no, no. Oh, but Miss Struggle, my... my coat pocket was torn. I lost my hotel key. What? Yeah, don't you see? Don't you see the name of the hotel? The room number's on the tab. When the police find that... Sure, they'll trace it down and identify yours. The man who ran from the apartment. Oh, wow. You are in a jam, Clay. Yeah, yeah, I know. Tommy has turned out to be a real friend, hasn't he, Clay? Yes, you realize that now as the two of you drive across town in his convertible. And you feel ashamed because you've misjudged him all these years. You think back the old days, how you, Tony, and Charlie used to pal around. How Tony grew more wild and reckless as the years passed and drew away from you and Charlie. How Tony and then Charlie left the little town of Carterville for bigger things in Los Angeles. How you stayed home? Married. You're prospered. Why are you stopping, Tony? Because this is as far as we go. Huh? Surely your friend doesn't live in this neighborhood and nothing to worry about. That's right. You can get out, Clay. What? Get out, I said. Well, Tony, wait a minute. What's the idea of the gun? I've got it all figured out, friend. When the police find that hotel key, they'll think you killed an eater. And when they find you dead with a murder gun in your hand or suicide, they'll be certain. What? Tony, I don't understand. Why? Why do you want... They're samples. Don't you see, Clay? I'm the one who killed an eater tonight. Available isn't it, Clay? Weird. Fantastic. Like some horrible nightmare. And it all started less than an hour ago. In panic, you ran from the scene of a murder, a crime you had nothing to do with. But because you lost your key to your hotel room there, you're certain the police are looking for you. And you turned to an old friend for help. Then came the shocking revelation. You learned that he was the killer. Yes. Tony Grayson is the murderer of the woman in the penthouse. And now, sitting next to him in his car, he holds a gun on you. He means to kill you, doesn't he, Clay? Leave you for the police to find a suicide and fix the blame for the crime on you. Funny the way it turned out, isn't it, Clay? Of all the people in town, you had to come to me. Kind of too bad. The shame you had to try to call Charlie tonight and talk to that woman instead. Oh, she was poison. Why? Why did you kill her? That, my friend, is a long story. I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say that I had to. You know, I met Anita pretty much the way you did. I decided to call Charlie Bigelow one night, and I called his old number. I had the same experience you did. So I went up to that little penthouse apartment. That's how I met her. That's how it all started. Is Charlie still in town? Oh, yeah, he's doing real well. He lives at the Shelton Plaza now. All right, come on, Clay. Get out of the car. Now, now, wait a minute, Tony. He said, move. As you step out of the car, you suddenly slam the door. He catches Tony unaware and knocks the gun out of his hand. You turn and race down the street. This is Clay. Yeah, yeah. Well, dog, Conrad Clay, it's good to hear from you. Charlie, I've got to see you. Oh, sure, sure. You come on over. My wife will be glad to see you, too. No, no, I can't come over, Charlie. Can't we meet somewhere? Meet somewhere? Hey, is something wrong, fella? Yeah, yeah, I'll explain everything when I see you. Okay. Where are you from? Drugstore in the corner of Palm and 16th across in the park. I'll meet you there in 10 minutes. You can watch from the shadows of the park. In the minutes, drag by slowly, don't they, Clay? Then finally you see Charlie drive up and stop in front of the drugstore. You call out to him and he hurries over. Quickly you tell him what's happened. Clay, this is unbelievable. He's crazy. But it's all true. Everything I've said. Tony Grayson, a murderer. He admitted it to me, Charlie. Did Tony ever mention this in need of you? No. But then Tony and I haven't seen much of one another in the past year. Look, Clay, why don't you go to the police? Tell them everything you've told me. Oh, look, would they believe me? My word against that of a big shot like Tony Grayson? Why not? Well, they'd want to know what I was doing there at the penthouse. Why I ran away. Would they believe me when I told them I'd never seen the woman before? That it was just a pickup over the phone? Well, what are you going to do then? Keep running from the police? I don't know, Charlie. Look, come on back to the apartment with me and we'll talk this out. We'll figure something. No, no, I don't think that would be a good idea. Going back to your place, I mean. Well, the police won't be looking for you there. Oh, it's Tony I'm thinking about. You should have figured I'll contact you and it might be over there right now waiting. Maybe you're right. Well, I'll go back alone and if I see him hanging around I'll call the police. Tell them exactly what you've told me. Yeah, but what proof do we have that he tried to kill me? That he killed Anita. Only my word for it, the word of a fugitive, isn't it? What's the matter? Get back quickly. What is it? Across the street. Police car just turned on the corner. Relax, they're just cruising. See, they're driving past. This isn't any good, Clay. You can't go on running from the police. I know you're under a strain but you're going about this all wrong. Oh, it's my neck. Let me figure this out. I'm sorry. So am I, Charlie. I didn't mean to jump all over you. Well, it's just I can't turn myself in not yet. Well, you can't spend the rest of the night in the park. What are you going to do? There's a hotel not far down the street. I'll check in there. Okay. I'm pretty sure you'll feel differently about all this in the morning. Maybe. Charlie, are you sure Tony never told you anything about this Anita Evans? Positive. But look, Clay, you'd better see if I'm getting a good night's rest. You look whipped. Here, here I am whipped, Charlie. Completely whipped. It's been a terrible strain, hasn't it, Clay? Yes. Why did you walk across the street with Charlie? You feel strangely calm. He's done that for you, hasn't he? Quiet, dependable, unexcitable Charlie Bigelow. He's helped steady you. You leave him in front of the drugstore, hurry around the corner toward the hotel. Then you remember something you wanted to ask him. You double back quickly. And as you reach the corner again, you stop in your tracks. Charlie's car is still parked at the curb. But he isn't at the wheel. And then you see him. Inside the drugstore, talking on the telephone. Good thing I came back. Who are you calling? Irene, my wife. Really? Of course. Come on in, Charlie. Who did you call? Take it easy. Tony, maybe you called Tony, huh? Why would I do that? I'm asking you. Did you call Tony? Tip him off what hotel I'd be in. Now look, you'd better calm down. Your nerves are showing. Yeah, maybe you know more about this than you care to tell. Maybe you double-crossed me, Charlie. You've had a rough night, Clay. So I'll make believe you didn't say that. Who did you call? I told you, my wife. I thought I might be able to get a lead on Anita Evans. From your wife? How does she fit in? She doesn't. But a year or so ago, when Tony was still seeing us occasionally, he used to talk a lot about a couple he played around with by the name of Wilson. Now, Tony might have introduced this Anita to them at one time or another. So I phoned Irene to see if she knew how to find the Wilson's. Dead she? No, except that she remembered Tony said they lived in C Cliff. I thought I might run over to see them and see if they could help us. I'll go with you. You'd better try to get some rest. Go on to the hotel. I'd rather go with you. You still don't trust me. Oh, sure. Sure, Charlie. I just like to go along, that's all. Remember, I'm the guy that lost his hotel key at the scene of the murder. Okay, if you want to come along, let's get moving. Do you find out anything from the Wilson's? Not much, but a little. They were pretty chummy with Tony and Anita for a time and then the friendship cooled. And you know what Wilson said when I told him that she'd been murdered? He wasn't surprised. Figured that someday some guy wouldn't hold still for her little game and get rough. Her game? Seems Anita had quite a few boyfriends, wealthy ones. Some of them married. She met a lot of them on the phone like she did you. Wilson figured she was a blackmailer. Did they say anything about Tony? No, as smart as he was, Tony was probably one of the more recent victims. So you're not out of this jam yet, Clay, but we've made a move in the right direction. What's the matter? Where are we going? I think we have enough to tell the police, don't you? We don't have definite proof that Tony was being blackmailed, but we have a good line on Anita. The police can take it from there. That's their job. Okay. Okay, Charlie. I'll turn myself in, but I've got to go back home first and see Marsha. Tell her exactly how everything happened. Fauna, your wife, you can explain, she'll understand. Understand. I don't know. How can I explain why I went to the penthouse? A pickup over the phone. Look, I didn't mean any harm, honest, but that's all it was, Charlie, a cheap little pickup. Sure, sure. I'll explain it to her. Sure. I've got to do it in person by morning. Why? Because when the police find that hotel key, they'll trace it to me and nothing flat. I want to tell Marsha before she reads about it in the papers that the police are looking for me and that they suspect I killed a blonde who lived in a swanky penthouse. But the police have to be told about this now. When I get back from Carterville, I'll turn myself in. In the meantime, suppose Tony decides to run out. We'd be letting a murderer get away. Well, they'll find it if they don't pin it on me first. All right, now I'm only thinking of Marsha. What all this is going to do to her. Wait a minute. I could go to the police. Tell them. No, no. That you involved too much in this already, Charlie. I wouldn't have to be involved. I could phone them instead at an anonymous tip. The important thing is to let them know about Tony. Yeah. I guess you could do that. If you just leave it to me, I'll handle it. Look, it's getting late and you'll have to do some fast traveling to get back to Carterville before the morning papers come out. I'll tell you what, you can have my car. Well, there's a train out at midnight. No, no. If the police have found that hotel key, they'll be watching the bus and railroad stations too. All right, better take the car. All right. All right, Charlie. And thanks. And be careful when you get home, Clay. They probably will be watching your house too. Yeah. Yeah, but I'll make it even if they are. Once I've seen Marsha, I'm turning myself in anyway. Don't worry too much, Clay. I'm sure Marsha will understand. I hope so. I've been pretty much of a fool, haven't I, Charlie? Even if Marsha does understand, I'm afraid things will never be the same again between us. Dread having to face your wife, Marsha, don't you, Clay? Having to tell her of the terrible trouble you're in. And it's all because of a simple phone call you made. Yes, that's how it started. And it could have ended soon afterward when you ran from the murdered woman's penthouse. You could have been completely in the clear if it hadn't been for the hotel keys. The key you're certain the police found helped them to identify you as the man seen running from the scene of the crime. If it hadn't been for that key, no one would have ever known that you'd been there. It's shortly after eight in the morning when you arrive at your house in Carterville. Find that Marsha's not there. And you realize she's probably visiting with one of the neighbors. You walk into the bedroom, stretch out on the bed. You're completely exhausted, aren't you, Clay? Before you know it, you fall asleep. Clay! Huh? Huh? Oh. Oh, Marsha. Oh, what a wonderful surprise, darling, finding you home. Didn't you see Mr. Hoskins? Hoskins? Oh, no, he was out of town. Won't be back on Monday. And you drove all the way back to Carterville so we'd have the weekend together. Oh, you're an angel. Oh, by the way, whose car is that in the driveway? Oh, Charlie Bigelow's. He let me borrow it. You remember Charlie? Oh, of course. Darling, don't you have another good friend up in the city, a Tony Grayson? Tony? Oh, yes, but not a very good friend, really. Oh, well, I'm glad. Something here in the morning papers about him. Seems the police wanted to question him about a murder. They caught him at the airport trying to get away. He was wounded when he ignored a command to halt. Men confessed to the murder of a woman named Anita, something or other. Confessed? Yes. Let me see that. It's there on the front page. You can read about it while I fix the breakfast. Oh, by the way, young man, I can't say I approve of the way you take care of that. The top coat I got you last Christmas. Look, the pocket's almost torn off. Oh, well, I'm sorry about that, Marsha. Well, never mind. I can mend it. Well, what's this? A hotel key in the torn lining of your coat. The key? Room 307, Hotel Carlton. The Whistler.