Windermere Hotel: Tony and Eve (Week 6 extras)

• Setting the Scene

  • The story unfolds at the Windermere Hotel at one o'clock in the morning.
  • Carl, the night porter, dims the lobby lights, setting a quiet, late-night atmosphere.
  • Tony Reseck, a paunchy, middle-aged man with delicate fingers, is annoyed by music from the radio room.
  • A red-haired girl is in the radio room, and Tony wants it quiet after 1 AM
  • The music is described as a "jam session" with a "hot, acid blare".

  Tony's Encounter with Eve Cressy

  • Tony finds Miss Cressy in the radio room, curled up on a davenport, listening to music, disregarding that it is meant to be his radio room.
  • She is wearing lounging pajamas embroidered with black lotus buds.
  • She expresses a dislike for jitterbug music and prefers "something with roses in it".
  • Suggesting Tony plays Mozart, she sarcastically asks him to entertain her with some Mozart.
  • She has been in her tower room for five days without going outside.
  • Tony tells her the story of a girl who jumped from a tower suite balcony.
  • Eve reveals she was once married to a "tall dark guy", that she put him "in a bad place".
  • They discuss her past as a performer at a raided nightclub, where the waltz was always played.
  • She says she never saw spring.
  • She insists that redheads "hang on and wither" as opposed to jumping.

  A Threatening Visit

  • The porter urgently summons Tony to the lobby to inform him of a visitor outside.
  • The visitor, Al, is described as a tall man in a dark overcoat, waiting by a big black car.
  • Al tells Tony to "get [Eve] out. Fast and right now," because she is "hooked with a wrong number" .
  • Al reveals that Eve was married to Johnny Rails.
  • Rails is associated with "the trouble boys" and owes them money from a past scheme where they took the house for $50 grand.
  • Rails "flapped his mouth in stir" and said that she would be waiting for him.

  Escalation and Investigation

  • Tony finds Eve gone from the radio room.
  • The elevator indicator shows the middle car is on the 14th floor.
  • The Mexican night operator confirms she went up to her room, and says "Good night, boss."
  • Tony observes her at the desk, the clerk acting suspiciously by fussing with the pebbled-glass screen.
  • Carl returns and tells Tony that the "tall dark guy" in Fourteen-B, gave him a drink and a dollar.
  • Tony learns from Carl that he glimpsed a "gat under his arm".
  • Tony confirms that Fourteen-B is not on the list, suggesting the man is not a registered guest.
  • The clerk claims the guest, James Watterson from San Diego, checked in while Tony was at supper, and asked specifically for a swing band
  • Tony threatens the clerk before heading up towards the tower suites

  Confrontation and Difficult Choices

  • Tony uses a master key to enter room 14B
  • He is confronted by Johnny Rails holding a gun.
  • Rails acknowledges Eve's presence and that she has been waiting for him.
  • Rails claims the "trouble boys" are after twenty-five grand, although he only has five.
  • Tony reveals his knowledge of Rails's situation.

• Rails confesses he never had the money and believes he was set up.

• Rails expresses concern that "they can be awful tough" and that they "never run out of gas."

• Tony persuades Rails to leave instead, emphasizing that Eve has been spotted and he is helping Rails escape.

• Rails admits the "guys with guns" are just mugs.

• Rails expresses the desire to see her before he blows but agrees to leave

Betrayal and Loss

• Tony alerts the garage to expect Watterson with a card.
• He extracts five dollars from the clerk as a "professional rate" for the room the man only used for an hour.
• Tony receives a phone call relaying a message from Al, reporting the capture of Rails.
• Tony learns that Rails was killed by having his "getaway" curbed.
• Then Al, who was also involved, got shot by Rails during the attempt, using a "rod" so "Al won't be phoning anybody anymore."
• Tony is visibly shaken upon receiving the news.

Resolution in Quiet Despair

• Eve is asleep in The radio room.
• He sits in the chair and quietly closes his eyes.
• The radio is on very low.