:39:00
I merely wanted to take you
on the wing, so to speak.
:39:02
An old psychological trick.
It helps us get closer to the real man.
:39:06
Where did you pick up Malloy?
:39:09
My dear Mr. Marlowe...
:39:11
I notice in you an unpleasant tendency
toward abrupt transitions.
:39:15
A characteristic of your generation.
:39:17
In this case, I must ask you
to follow some sort of logical progression.
:39:20
Now, about the police...
:39:23
Maybe they got something on you
or they're trying to get it.
:39:26
I didn't expect you to tell me which.
I was just baiting you.
:39:29
It's an old psychological trick, grandpa.
:39:33
What's your racket?
:39:36
I am in a very sensitive profession.
:39:39
I am a quack.
:39:42
Which is to say, I'm ahead of my time
in the field of psychic treatment.
:39:45
Naturally, certain elements
would like to show me in a bad light.
:39:48
It's entirely possible
they have discussed me with the police.
:39:52
That is it.
:39:54
Sorry if I've upset your theories about me,
which must be more elaborate, but...
:39:58
My theory's pretty simple.
It goes like this:
:40:02
Marriott was a blackmailer of women.
He was good.
:40:05
Women liked him around. His interest
in clothes and jewelry came easy.
:40:10
But he wasn't the whole works. Somebody
told him which women to cultivate...
:40:14
so he could load them with ice,
go out dancing...
:40:16
then slip to the phone
and tell the boys where to operate.
:40:21
And that is your picture
of Marriott and me?
:40:26
I am slightly disgusted
and very disappointed.
:40:33
Don't look now,
but Gussie the gun collector is back.
:40:36
I am very disappointed in you.
:40:39
Your thinking is untidy,
like most so-called thinking today.
:40:43
You depress me.
:40:45
Suppose your theory were correct...
:40:48
I would have Mrs. Grayle's jade now,
wouldn't I?
:40:50
- Unless something went wrong.
- What could have gone wrong?
:40:53
Marriott could have lost his nerve
and rung in a private dick.
:40:57
Take a private dick who'd risk his neck
for $100.