don't give me Ted!

CAROL
Let's go.  You know, I tell you, I'm gonna break this thing wide open.

LARRY
Well, how?  What do you want to do?

CAROL
I'm... You know, I'm... God, if only Ted were here with us now.  You know what I'm saying?

LARRY
Oh, don't give me Ted!  What -- Let's -- Let's-- Wh... Let's get out of here.

CAROL
No, wait.  I got an idea.

LARRY
What?

CAROL
I know what we should do.  We should get a gift, right?

LARRY
What?

                           Carol gets out of the car.

CAROL
We'll surprise her.  We'll sneak into the hotel.  Come on.

LARRY
Now?  How?

CAROL
Yeah, no.  Come on.

                             Larry gets out of the car.

INT.  Hotel Waldron lobby - Day

CAROL
Uh, excuse me.  Hi.

HOTEL CLERK
Hi.

CAROL
Uhm, we were just wondering.  Uh, did you see a woman come in?  She was, uh, she was a little woman, about five foot three?  She had on a gray sweater?

CLERK
Older woman?

LARRY
And came in with a -- with a canvas bag, and an umbrella.

CAROL
Slightly older.  Not --

CLERK
Mrs. Caine?

LARRY
Mrs. Caine?

CAROL
Mrs. Caine.  Oh, yes.  Uh-huh.  That's her.

LARRY
Mrs. Caine.  Uh-huh.

CAROL
Yes.

                              Larry takes the parcel from Carol's hand.

LARRY
We - We had a present for her.  We're friends.  We-- We wanted to surprise her, because it's her birthday, so -- so...

                             He gives the parcel back to Carol.

CLERK
Oh.  

CAROL
Yes, that's right.  What room?

CLERK
Uh, six-eleven.

CAROL
Six-eleven.  Really, thanks a lot.

CLERK
Okay.  Sure.

                             As Carol walks toward the elevator, Larry pauses and takes money out of his pocket.

LARRY
Yeah, we-- we may need some information, while we're here, so -- so, we just want you to know...  I'll take very good care of you, if you play ball with us.

                             He gives the bill to the clerk, who seems a bit surprised.  She looks at the bill.

LARRY
What are you making a face for?  He's the father of our country.

CAROL
(voice over)
Will you come on?

                        Larry walks toward Carol, who is waiting for the elevator.

LARRY
I'm coming, I'm coming.

CAROL
Come on.  What're you doing?

INT.  Upstairs hallway

Elevator door opening; Carol and Larry come out.  They go to the room number the clerk gave them.  They knock, and when no one answers, they try the doorknob, & it opens.

Inside the room, they hesitantly, carefully, quietly look for Mrs. House, and say her name.

Larry looks inside a closet, and then Carol gives a startled scream and cries out, "Larry!"

She's between the two beds; she has found something on the floor.

It's Mrs. House, and she's dead.

Larry and Carol go back and forth with an even higher level of intensity than usual.

       LARRY:  "Dead?  T-t-try-try giving her the present."


As they run out of the room, he observes, "This woman is forever dying..."

They run out into the hallway, skip the elevator, and run down the stairs.

EXT.  Street - Day

Two plainclothes police officers and one uniformed policeman are listening to Larry and Carol tell their story.  Since they both talk at once, the police are having a hard time understanding them.

Another policeman comes out of the Hotel Waldron; a plainclothes officer stops the Liptons' talking; the policeman who just came out says, "There's nobody up there."

_________________________________

{Manhattan Murder Mystery}

-30-