Never did eat your lunch, did ya?
I'd better get back to the office.
These extended lunch hours give my boss excess acid.
Why don't you call your boss and tell him to take the afternoon off.
It's Friday, anyway. Huh?
Yeah? What do I do with my free afternoon?
Walk you to the airport and...
Laze around here a while longer.
Checking out time is 3:00 p. M.
Hotels of this sort aren't interested in when you come in...
...but when your time's up...
I hate having to be with you in a place like this.
I have to go.
I can come down next week.
No.
Not even just to see you, have lunch? In public.
Oh, we can see each other. We can have dinner.
But respectably.
In my house, with my mother's picture on the mantel...
...my sister helping me to broil a steak for three.
I'd kinda like to meet your sister.
She, um...
She look anything like you?
- Sam. - No?
All right.
Marion, whenever possible I want to see you...
...and under any conditions...
...even, uh, respectability.
You make respectability sound so disrespectful.
No, I'm all for it.
Look, a couple years, I'll have my father's debts paid off at the store.
And I told you, alimony stops as soon as she gets married again.
Ohh. I haven't even been married once yet.
Yeah, but when you do, you'll swing.
So, let's get married.
You really wanna live in a hardware store in Fairvale, eat beans out of a can with me?
- Oh? - Yeah, that'd be a lot of laughs.
Tell you what... When I send my ex-wife her money...
...you can lick the stamps.
I'll lick the stamps.
Marion, you wanna cut this off...
...go out and find yourself someone who's, uh, available?
I'm thinkin' of it.
Don't you go break my heart, now.
Don't miss your plane.
Hey, wait. We can leave together, can't we?
I'm late, and you have to put your shoes on.
Is Mr. Lowery back from lunch yet?
He's lunching with the man who's buying the Harris St. Property.
- You know, the oil lease man? - Right, right, right.
So, that's why he's late.
You getting a headache?
Lt'll pass.
Headaches are like resolutions: You forget about 'em as soon as they stop hurting.
You got aspirins?
I have something. Not aspirins, but...
My mother's doctor gave these to me on the day of my wedding.
Teddy was furious when he found out I'd taken tranquilizers.
Any calls?
Oh, Teddy called me, and my mother called to see if Teddy called.
And, oh, your sister called to say she'd be going to Tucson to do some buying...
...and she'd be gone the whole weekend, and...
Whoo!
Hot as fresh milk.
You girls oughta get your boss to turn on the air-conditioning.
He can afford it today.
Marion, will you get those copies of the deed ready for Mr. Cassidy?
- Of course. - Tomorrow's the day.
What a sweet little girl.
- Not you, darlin'. My daughter. - Oh.
She's my baby, but tomorrow she stands up there and gets married away from me.
Here, I'd like you to have a look at my baby.
Eighteen years old...
...and never known an unhappy day in any one of those years.
Come on, Tom. The air conditioner's on in my office.
You know what I do with unhappiness?
I buy it off.
- You unhappy? - Oh, not inordinately, no.
Oh.
I'm buyin' this house as a wedding present for my baby.
Now, that's not buyin' happiness.
That's buyin' off unhappiness, see?
Yes, sir.
Four hundred thousand dollars, cash.
Not to worry, now.
I never carry more than I can afford to lose. Count 'em up.
- I declare! - I don't.
That's how I'm able to keep it.
Tom, uh, cash transactions of this size, uh... Most irregular.
Yeah, well, so what? It's my private money. Now it's yours.
Suppose we just put this in the safe...
...and then Monday morning when you're feeling good...
Speaking of feeling good, what happened to that bottle you said you had in your desk?
Mmm.
You know, sometimes I can keep my mouth shut.
Lowery, I'm dyin' of thirst-a-roonie here.
I don't even want it in the office over the weekend.
Put it the safe deposit box at the bank.
- We'll get him to give us a check on Monday instead. - Okay.
Oh! Ahh.
He was flirting with you.
Guess he must have noticed my wedding ring.
Uh-huh.
Lowery.
Come in.
- The copies. - Thank you.
If you don't mind, I'd like to go right on home after the bank.
- I-I'm feeling a slight headache. - You go ahead on home.
Me and your boss are gonna go out and get ourselves a little drinkin' done.
Of course. Do you feel ill?
Oh, it's just... just a little headache.
You need a weekend in Las Vegas. Playground of the world.
I'm gonna spend the weekend in bed. Thank you.
Only playground to beat Las Vegas.
Mmm.
Marion, what... what are you doin' up here?
Where in the world did you get all that money?
Yeah. It's more than I need to get out of debt.
So I said, "Sandy...
...you see anything there you haven't at least had a fifth of before?"
Sandy looks all up and down...
Sandy looks all up and down the bar, and he says, "No. "
5-27, you comin' in 10-1?
5-31, try again in your new location.
21-13, are you available for check five duty?
Hold it right there.
- In quite a hurry. - Yes.
I- I didn't intend to sleep so long.
I almost had an accident last night from, from, uh, sleepiness...
...so I decided to pull over.
- You slept here all night? - Yes.
As I said, I couldn't keep my eyes open, so...
There are plenty of motels in this area. You should've...
I mean, just to be safe.
- I just pulled over. Have I broken any laws? - No, ma'am.
- Then I'm free to go? - Is anything wrong?
There's nothing wrong...
...except that I'm in a hurry and you're taking up my time.
Now, just a moment.
Turn your motor off, please.
May I see your license and registration?
- Why? - Please.
Have a nice day.
Hey, Larry! How soon do you want this?
Pick up line one.
It's about time.
O.B.'s working on that.
Be with you in a second!
5-28, was that Victor-Charlie-Bravo?
5-28, 10-4. Victor-Charlie-Bravo.
I'm in no mood for trouble.
What?
There's an old saying that the first customer of the day...
...is always the most trouble.
But I'm in no mood for it, so I'm gonna treat you so fair and square...
...you're not gonna have one human reason...
Can I trade in my car and take another?
You can do anything you have a mind to. Bein' a woman, you will.
- Is that yours? - Yes. Yes.
- There's nothing wrong with it. I'm just... - Sick of the sight of it.
Well, have a look around, see if there's anything that strikes your eye.
Meanwhile, I'll have my mechanic give yours the once-over.
I was just about to make some coffee. You want some...
No, I'm in a hurry. I just wanna make the change and start...
A person ought not to be in a hurry, but it's too nice a day to argue.
So, I'll just shoot your car in the garage.
O.B.!
Yeah, boss?
- What's up? - Can you take this one, give it the once-over?
Sure. No problem. I'll give it the standard.
Say, that's the one I'd have picked for you myself.
- How much? - Go ahead. Spin it around.
Oh, no, no, no. No, it looks fine.
How much will it be with my car?
- You don't want the usual day-and-a-half to think it over? - No.
- You are in a hurry. Somebody chasin' ya? - Well, of course not.
Please.
Well, that's the first time I ever saw the customer high-pressure the salesman.
But I figure, uh, roughly...
...your car plus...
...four thousand?
Four thousand. Four thousand.
Ah, you got time to argue price, though, huh?
All right. Four thousand dollars.
I take it, uh, you can prove that that car is yours.
- I mean, out of state license and all. - I have all the necessary papers.
- Is... Is there a ladies' room? - L-In the building.
Thank you.
Hey!
Forgot your bag.
Put 'em in the back, please.
Heck, Officer, that was the first time I ever saw the customer...
...high-pressure the salesman.
Is somebody chasin' her?
I'd better have a look at those papers, Charlie.
- She look like a bad one to you? - Acted like one.
Funny thing is, she paid me in cash.
Yes, Mr. Lowery?
Caroline, Marion still isn't in?
No, Mr. Lowery, but then she's always a bit late on Monday mornings.
Buzz me the minute she comes in.
Call her sister. If no one's answering at the house...
I called her sister where she works... Hard Core Vinyl Record Store.
She doesn't know where Marion is any more than we do.
Run out to the house.
She may be unable to answer the phone.
Her sister's going to do that. She's as worried as we are.
No, I haven't the faintest idea.
I last saw your sister when she left this office on Friday.
She said she didn't feel well, wanted to leave early and I said she could.
That was the last I saw... Wait a minute.
I did see her some time later, driving.
Uh, I think you'd better come over here to my office, quick.
Caroline, get Mr. Cassidy for me.
Quick.
Well, I ain't about to kiss off $400,000.
I'll get it back, and if any of it's missin'...
I'll replace it with her fine, soft flesh.
- I'll track her, never you doubt it. - Hold on, Cassidy.
A girl works for you for ten years, you trust her.
It must be some kind of a mystery. I can't...
Check with the bank, no? They never laid eyes on her.
You still trust her? Hot creepers, man.
She sat there while I dumped it out, hardly even looked at it...
...plannin', and even flirtin' with me.
You trust her.
Gee, I'm sorry. I- I didn't hear you in all this rain.
Go on in, please.
- It's a dirty night. - Do you have a vacancy?
Oh, we have 12, in fact.
Twelve cabins, twelve vacancies.
They moved away the highway.
- Oh, I thought I had gotten off the main road. - I knew you must've.
No one ever stops here anymore unless they've done that.
Oh.
Ah, but it's no use dwelling on our losses.
We just keep on lightin' the lights and following the formalities.
Uh, and, uh, your home address.
Town will do.
Los Angeles.
Cabin one.
It's closer, in case you want anything. Right next to the office.
Oh, I want sleep more than anything else. Except maybe food.
There's a big diner about ten miles up the road, just outside Fairvale.
- Am I that close to Fairvale? - Fifteen miles.
I'll get your bags for you.
Uh, it's stuffy in here.
Well, the mattress is soft, and there's hangers in the closet...
...and there's stationery with "Bates Motel" written on it...
...just in case you want to make your friends back home envious.
Ah. Mmm.
And, um...
...uh, the, uh...
Over there.
- The bathroom. - Mm-hmm.
If you want anything at all just tap on the wall, 'cause I'll be in the office.
- Thank you, Mr. Bates. - Norman Bates.
- You have something that most girls don't have. - I have?
There's not a name for it, but it's something that puts a person at ease.
Well, thank you again.
You're not really gonna go out again and drive up to that diner, are you?
- No. - Would you do me a favor, then?
Would you have dinner with me? I was just about to myself.
Nothing special. Just sandwiches and milk.
But I'd like it if you came up to the house.
I don't set a fancy table or anything, but, uh, the kitchen's awful homey.
- I'd like to. - All right.
Well, then you get settled in, take off your wet shoes...
...and I'll be back as soon as it's ready...
...with my trusty umbrella.
No, I tell you! No!
I won't have you bringing strange young girls in for supper.
By candlelight, I suppose...
...in the cheap, erotic fashion of young men with cheap, erotic minds!
Mother, please!
And then what?
After supper, music? Whispers?
Mother, she's just a stranger.
She's hungry, and it's raining out.
"Mother, she was just a stranger. "
As if men don't desire strangers. As if...
Well, I refuse to speak of disgusting things, because they disgust me!
Do you understand, boy?
Go on. Tell her she'll not be appeasing her ugly appetite with my food or my son.
Or do I have to tell her 'cause you don't have the guts?
Shut up! Shut up!
Shut up!
I've caused you some trouble.
No, uh, Mother... my mother...
Oh, what's the phrase?
She isn't quite herself today.
Well, you shouldn't have bothered.
I- I really don't have that much of an appetite.
Uh, I'm sorry.
I wish I could apologize for other people.
Don't worry about it.
Well, as long as you've fixed us supper...
...we might as well eat it, huh?
It might be nicer and warmer...
...in the office.
It's stopped raining.
Eating in an office is just... too officious.
I have the parlor back here.
All right.
Sit down.
Thank you.
You're very kind.
Oh, it's all for you.
Go ahead. I'm not hungry.
You eat like a bird.
You would know, of course.
Not really.
I hear that the expression "eats like a bird" is really a falsity...
...because birds really eat a tremendous lot.
I don't really know anything about birds.
My hobby is stuffing things.
You know... Taxidermy.
Yeah. Yeah, I-I-I guess I'd rather stuff birds...
...well, because I hate the look of beasts when they're stuffed.
You know?
Foxes and chimps?
Some people even stuff dogs and cats. I couldn't do that.
No, I-I-I think only birds look well stuffed...
...because, um, they're kind of passive to begin with.
That's a strange hobby. Curious.
It's uncommon too.
I imagine so.
It's not as expensive as you'd think. Cheap, really.
Uh, needles, thread, sawdust.
The chemicals are the only thing that cost anything.
A man should have a hobby.
Oh, it's more than a hobby.
A hobby's supposed to pass your time, not fill it.
Is your time so empty?
No. I run the office.
Tend the cabins, grounds.
Do little errands for my mother...
...the ones she allows I might be capable of doing.
Don't you go out w- with friends?
Uh, a boy's best friend is his mother.
You haven't had an empty moment in your entire life, have you?
Only my share.
Where are you goin'?
I didn't mean to pry.
I'm looking for a private island.
What are you running away from?
Why... Why do you ask that?
No.
People never run away from anything.
Rain didn't last long, did it?
You know what I think?
I think we're all in our private traps, clamped in 'em.
We can never get out.
Oh, we scratch and claw, but only at the air...
...only at each other.
And for all of it, we never budge an inch.
Sometimes we deliberately step into those traps.
I was born into mine.
But I don't mind it anymore.
Well, you should. You should mind.
I do.
I just... I say that I don't.
Y- You know, if anyone ever spoke to me...
...the way I heard... the way she talked to you, I...
Sometimes when she talks to me like that...
I feel like I could curse her out and leave her forever.
Or at least defy her.
Well, but I know I can't.
She's ill.
She sounded strong.
Uh, no. I mean, ill.
She had to raise me all by herself after my father died.
I was only five. Must've been quite a strain for her.
It's not like she had to go to work or anything like that.
H- He left her a little money.
Anyway, um...
...a few years ago Mother met this man.
He talked her into building this motel.
He could've talked her into anything.
And when he died too, it was just...
...just too great of a shock for her.
And the way that he died...
I- I guess it's nothing you should be talking about when you're eating.
But, anyway, uh...
...it was just too great of a loss for her...
...and, you know, she had nothin' left.
Except you.
Yeah.
A son's a poor substitute for a lover.
Why don't you go away?
- To a private island, like you? - No. No.
Not like me. Just...
I couldn't do that.
Who'd take care of her?
She'd be all alone up there.
The fire'd go out.
It'd be cold and damp...
...like a grave.
If you love someone, you can't do that to 'em.
Even if you hate 'em.
Understand, I...
I don't hate her.
I hate what she's become.
I hate the illness.
Well, wouldn't it be better...
...i- if y... if you...
...if you put her someplace or...
Do you mean an institution?
A madhouse?
People always call a madhouse "someplace," don't they?
Put her in... Someplace.
I'm sor... I didn't mean to sound uncaring. L...
What do you know about caring? Have you ever seen the inside of one of those places?
The laughing and the tears and the cruel eyes studying you?
My mother, in there?
She's harmless.
She's as harmless as one of these stuffed birds.
I am sorry, I...
I on... I only felt I...
- You felt what? - It seemed that she was... She's hurting you.
L... I meant well.
People always mean well.
They cluck their thick tongues and they shake their heads...
...and they suggest, oh, so very delicately.
Of course, I've suggested it myself.
I hate to think about it. She needs me.
It's not as if she were a maniac or a raving thing.
She just...
...goes a little mad sometimes.
We all go a little mad sometimes.
Haven't you?
Yes.
Sometimes only one time can be enough.
Thank you.
Oh, um... Thank you, Norman?
Norman.
You're not goin' back to your room already.
Oh, I'm very tired...
...and I have a very long drive tomorrow, all the way back to Phoenix.
Really.
I stepped into a private trap back there...
...and I'd like to go and try to pull myself out of it before it's too late for me too.
Well, you sure you don't wanna stay just a little while longer...
...just for talk?
Well, I'd like to, but...
All right. I'll see you in the morning.
I'll bring you some breakfast. What time?
Very early. Dawn.
All right, Miss, um, uh...
Crane.
That's it.
Good night.
Mother?
Oh, God! Blood! Blood!
Blood, blood, blood, blood...
...blood, blood, blood, blood.
They tell you what the ingredients are...
...and how it's guaranteed to exterminate any insect in the world...
...but they do not tell you whether or not it's painless.
I believe, insect or man, death should always be painless.
Wow.
- Sam. - Sam, there's a lady here for you.
- Yes, miss? - I'm Marion's sister.
- Oh. Lila. - Is Marion here?
- Of course not. Is something wrong? - She left home on Friday.
I was in Tucson over the weekend, and I haven't heard from her, not even a phone call.
Look, if you two are in this together, I don't care. It's none of my business.
But I wanna talk to Marion, and I want her to tell me it's none of my business.
- And then I'll go! - Uh, Bob!
- Run out and get yourself lunch. - That's okay. I brought it with me.
Run out and eat it.
Now what... what thing could we be in on together?
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you.
Is Marion in trouble? Or, what is it?
Let's all talk about Marion, shall we?
Who are you, friend?
My name's Arbogast, friend. I'm a private investigator.
- Where is she, Miss Crane? - I don't know you.
I know you don't. If you did, I wouldn't be able to follow you.
W- What's your interest in this?
Four hundred thousand dollars.
- Four hundred thousand dollars? - That's right.
One of you better tell me what's going on here and tell me fast.
- I can... I can take just so much of this. - Just take it easy, friend.
Your girlfriend stole $400,000.
What are you talking about? What is this?
She was supposed to bank it on Friday for her boss.
She didn't. No one has seen her since.
Oh, someone's seen her.
Someone always sees a girl with $400,000.
Sam, they don't wanna prosecute. They just want the money back. So if she's here, tell us.
She's not. She isn't. She ain't here.
Miss Crane, can I ask you a question?
Did you come all the way up here on a hunch and nothing more?
Not even a hunch. Just hope.
You know, with a little checking, I could get to believe you.
I don't care if you believe me or not.
All I wanna do is find Marion before she gets into this too deeply.
Yeah. Did you check in Phoenix? In the hospitals?
- Maybe she had an accident or a holdup. - No.
She was seen leaving town in her car, by her employer, I might add.
Well, I can't believe it. Can you?
Well, you know...
...we're always quickest to doubt people who have a record for being honest.
I think she's here, Miss Crane.
Where there's a boyfriend...
Well, she's not back there with the nuts and bolts, but she's here in this town.
Somewhere. I'll find her.
- You haven't seen her? - No.
- Good evening. - Good evening.
- I almost drove right past. - Yeah, I'm always forgetting to turn the sign on.
But we do have a vacancy. Twelve, in fact.
Twelve cabins, twelve vacancies. Some candy?
No, thanks.
Last two days, I've been to so many motels, my eyes are bleary with the neon.
But you know, this is the first one...
...that looks like it's hiding from the world.
I didn't really forget to turn the sign on.
It just doesn't seem like much use anymore.
You know, that used to be the main highway right over there.
- Wanna come in and register? - No. No, no, no. Sit down.
Don't wanna trouble you. Just wanna ask you some questions.
No trouble at all. Today's linen day.
I change the beds here once a week, whether they've been used or not.
I just hate the smell of dampness, you know?
Such a... I don't know... kind of a creepy smell.
Come on.
- You out to buy a motel? - Uh, no.
The reason I ask is because you said you'd seen so many in the past couple days.
I thought maybe you... What was it you wanted to ask me?
Looking for a missing person.
- My name's Arbogast. I'm a private investigator. - Mm-hmm.
I'm trying to trace a girl that's been missing for, oh, about a week now.
- Mm-hmm. - From Phoenix. It's a private matter.
Family wants to forgive her. She's not in any trouble.
I didn't think the police went looking for people who aren't in any trouble.
- I'm not the police. - Oh, yeah. Private investigator.
Uh, we have reason to believe she came along this way.
Might've stopped in the area. Did, uh, she stop here?
No one's stopped here for a couple weeks.
- Mind looking at the picture before committing yourself? - Commit myself?
- You sure sound like a policeman. - Look at the picture, please.
- Mm-mm. - You're sure.
Yeah.
Well, it's possible she used an alias.
Marion Crane is her real name, but she could've registered under a different one.
I don't even bother registering people anymore. One by one, you sort of drop formalities.
I shouldn't even be changing the sheets, but old habits die hard.
Oh, which reminds me.
- What's that? - The lights. The sign.
We had a couple last week, said if it hadn't been on, they would've driven right past.
- It looked like a deserted... - Now, you see, that's my point.
You said, nobody had been here for a couple of weeks.
Now there's this couple came by, and...
- Yeah. Yeah. - They didn't know you were open.
Well, as you say, old habits die hard.
It's possible this girl registered under a different name.
- Could I look at your book? - Mm-hmm.
- Thanks. - Here you go.
I got the, uh... got the date here somewhere.
See? There's no one there.
I got a sample of her handwriting.
Oh, yeah, here we are. "Marie Samuels. " That's an interesting alias.
- Is that her? - Yeah, I think so.
Marie... Marion. Samuels. Her boyfriend's name is Sam.
Was she in disguise, by any chance? You wanna look at the picture again?
Look, Mr. Arbogast, I'm not lying to you. It's just that...
No, I know that. I know you wouldn't lie.
It's just i-i-it's hard to keep track of time around here.
Oh, I know, I know.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, it was raining that night, and her hair was all wet.
And I'll tell ya, that's not a very good picture of her either.
No, I guess not.
- At all. - I guess not. Tell me all about her.
Well, she arrived rather late one night and went to sleep...
...and left early in the morning.
- How early? - Very early.
- Which morning was this? - The next day, so, Sunday.
- Mm-hmm. Did, uh, anyone meet her here? - Uh-uh.
- Did she arrive with anyone? - Nope.
- Did she make any phone calls or, uh... - Mm-mm.
- Locally? - Uh-uh.
- You spend the night with her? - No.
Well, then, how do you know she didn't make any phone calls?
Well, we, um...
Well, she-she was very tired, and...
I- I... I'm starting to remember it now.
I'm making a mental picture of it in my mind.
Do you know how you do that? How you make a mental picturization of something?
That's right. Take your time.
She was, uh... Yeah, she was sitting back there.
Mm-mm. She was standing back there, and she had a sandwich in her hand...
...and she said that she had a long drive ahead of her...
...so she went to bed, uh, straight to bed.
- Back where? - Back from where she came from.
You said before, she was sitting or standing "back there"?
Yes. In my parlor back there.
She said she was very hungry, so I made her a sandwich...
...and, uh, she, uh, said she was tired and went straight to sleep.
Oh, I see.
How'd she pay you? A check, cash?
- Cash. - Oh, cash, huh? Hmm.
- After she left, she didn't come back? - Why would she?
Yeah.
Well, I guess that's about it, Mr. Arbogast.
So, uh, I got some work to do, if you don't mind.
To tell you the truth, I do mind.
If it don't jell, it ain't Jell-O, and this just ain't jelling.
It's not coming together somehow. Something's missing.
I don't know what else you could expect me to know. People just come and go.
That's right. She's not still here, is she?
- No. - Mm.
If I wanted to check the cabins, all 12 of 'em, would I need a warrant for that?
If you don't believe me, you can help me change the beds, if you like.
Uh, no. No, thanks.
Change your mind?
You know, I must have one of those faces you just can't help believing.
- Is anyone at home? - No.
Oh, there's someone sitting up in the window.
- No, there isn't. - Oh, sure, go ahead, take a look.
Oh, that-that's my mother. She's an in... invalid.
An inval... An invalid. It's practically like living alone.
Oh, I see.
If this girl, Marion Crane, were here, you wouldn't be hiding her, would ya?
- No. - Not even if she paid you a lot of money?
- No. - Well, let's just say...
...for the sake of argument, that she wanted you to gallantly protect her.
You'd know you were being used. You wouldn't be made a fool of, would ya?
I'm not a fool. I'm not capable of being made a fool, not even by a woman.
It's not a slur on your manhood. I'm sorry.
Let's put it this way. She might've made a fool of me, but she didn't fool my mother.
Well, then, your mother met her? Could I talk to your mother?
- As I just told you, she-she's confined. - Yeah.
But just for a few minutes. L... That's all.
There might be some hint that you overlooked.
Sick old women are usually pretty sharp.
Mr. Arbogast, I- I explained to you now...
Just for a moment. I wouldn't disturb her.
I've talked to you all I want to.
- Yes, but just for one moment. - I think it'd be much better if you left now.
Okay. You know, you'd save me a lot of legwork if you'd just let me talk to her about...
- Do I need a warrant for that too? - Sure.
All right. Thanks anyway.
Oh! Hello, Loomis? It's Arbogast. Is Lila there?
Can I talk to her, please?
Hello, Lila. Lila, listen. Marion was up here.
Yep. She spent last Saturday night at the Bates Motel.
It's out here on the old highway.
I even know what cabin she was in. Cabin number one.
Well, the young fella that runs the place said...
...she just spent the night, left the next day, and that was it.
No. No, not exactly.
Well, I did question him. Believe me.
I think I got all there was to get.
I'll have to pick up the pieces from here.
Well, I tell ya, I don't feel entirely satisfied.
See, this boy has a sick old mother.
I think she saw Marion and talked to her.
No. No. Unfortunately, he wouldn't let me see her.
Well, I was. I think I'll go back to the motel first.
No, you stay there with Loomis. I'll be back in an hour.
All right.
Bates?
Sometimes, Saturday night has a lonely sound. Ever notice that, Lila?
Sam, please. He said an hour or less.
Yep. Been three.
Are we just gonna sit here and wait?
He'll be back. Sit still.
Hang on.
How far is it to the old highway?
You wanna go out there, don't ya? Bust in on Arbogast and the old lady.
- Maybe scare her a little bit. - Yeah.
- Wouldn't be wise. - Patience doesn't run in my family. I'm going out there.
- Arbogast said... - An hour or less.
All right. I'll call out there.
Well, I'm goin'.
You'll never find it.
- Lila. - What?
- I'll go. You stay here. - Why can't I go with you?
I don't know. One of us has to be here in case he's on the way.
What am I supposed to do? Just sit here and wait?
Yeah.
Have another beer.
Mr. Arbogast?
Arbogast!
- Did he come back here? - Sam.
No Arbogast. No Bates. Only the old lady at home.
Sick old lady unable to answer the door, or unwilling.
Where could he have gone?
Maybe he had a lead. Maybe he went right on ahead and...
- Without calling me? - In a hurry.
Sam, he called when he had nothing, nothing but a dissatisfied feeling.
Don't you think he would've called if he had anything at all?
Yeah, I think he would have.
- Let's go see Al Chambers. - Who's he?
He's our deputy sheriff around here.
Let me get my Walkman.
Now, your sister's been missing how long?
She left Phoenix a week ago yesterday, without a trace.
How'd you and this detective come to trace her to Fairvale?
Uh, they thought that she'd be coming to me.
- Left Phoenix under her own steam? - Yeah.
Then she's not missing so much as she's run away.
- Yeah, that's right. - From what?
She stole some money.
- A lot? - Four hundred thousand dollars.
And the police haven't been able to...
Everyone concerned thought that if they could get her to give the money back...
...they could avoid involving her with the police.
Explains the private detective. He traced her to the Bates place.
What exactly did he say when he called?
He said that Marion stayed there for one night, and then she left.
With the $400,000?
He didn't say anything about the money. It's not important what he said on the phone.
He was supposed to come back after he talked to the mother, and he didn't.
- That's what I want you to do something about. - Like what?
I- I'm sorry if I seem overanxious.
It's just that something is wrong out there, and I have to know what.
Well, I think there's something wrong too, but not the same thing.
I think what's wrong is your private detective.
I think he got a hot lead as to where your sister was going...
...probably from Norman Bates...
...and called to keep you still while he took off after your sister and the money.
No, he said he was dissatisfied and was going back there.
Why don't you call Norman and just let him say what happened?
Florrie, the sheriff wants you to connect him with the Bates Motel.
Norman? Sheriff Chambers.
I've been just fine, thanks. Listen, we got worries here.
Did you have a fellow stop out there tonight?
No, this one wouldn't be a customer anyway.
- It's a private detective, name of... - Arbogast.
Arbogast.
And after he left?
No, that's okay, Norman.
Well, this detective was there.
Norman told him about the girl, the detective thanked him, went away.
He didn't come back? Didn't see the mother?
Your detective told you that he couldn't come back right away...
...because he wanted to question Norman Bates' mother?
- Is that right? - Yeah.
Norman Bates' mother has been dead and buried...
...in Green Lawn Cemetery for the past ten years.
I helped Norman pick out the dress she was buried in. Periwinkle blue.
It ain't only local history, Sam.
It's the only case of murder and suicide on the Fairvale ledgers.
Mrs. Bates poisoned this guy she was involved with...
- when she found out he was married. - Oh.
Then she took a helping of the same stuff herself.
Strychnine. An ugly way to die.
Norman found them dead together. In bed.
You mean, that old woman I saw sittin' in the window is not Norman Bates' mother?
Now just a minute, Sam. Are you sure you saw an old woman?
Yeah. In the house behind the motel.
I called and pounded, but she just ignored me.
Well, if the woman up there is Mrs. Bates...
...who's that woman buried out in Green Lawn Cemetery?
Mother, I, uh, have to take you downstairs.
I am sorry, boy...
...but you do manage to look ludicrous when you give me orders.
- Please, Mother. - No, I will not hide in the fruit cellar.
Think I'm fruity, huh? I'm staying right here.
This is my room, and no one will drag me out of it...
...least of all my big, bold son.
They'll come now, Mother.
He came after the girl. Now someone will come after him.
Mother, please, it's just for a few days.
Just for a few days so they don't find you.
"Just for a few days. "
In that dank fruit cellar?
No! You hid me there once, boy, and you won't do it again.
Get out! Norman, what do you think you're going to do?
Don't you touch me. Don't!
Put me down, and I'll walk on my own.
Guess we better decide what we're gonna say and do when we walk in there.
We're gonna register as man and wife...
...and then we're gonna get shown to a cabin...
...and we're gonna search every inch of that place inside and out.
Nope. I wonder where Norman Bates does his hermiting?
Someone's in the window. I just saw something move.
- Well. - We were just coming up to ring for you.
Suppose you want a room.
Yeah, we were gonna try to make it all the way to San Francisco...
...but we don't like the look of that sky.
Looks like a bad day coming up.
Okay.
Take you to cabin ten.
- Uh, better sign in first. - No, it isn't necessary.
No, my boss paid for this trip...
...and it's 90% business...
...so he wants practically notarized receipts.
I think we better sign in and get a receipt.
Mm-hmm.
Thank you.
- All right. - All right.
I'll get your bags.
Uh, haven't any.
I'll show you to your room then.
First time I ever seen that happen.
You check into any place in this country without a bag, you got to pay in advance.
- Thirty-six dollars and fifty cents. - All righty.
All righty.
That receipt?
I'll go on ahead.
There's your receipt. I'll show you the cabin.
Nah, that's okay. Don't bother yourself. We'll find it.
We gotta go in there and search that cabin, Sam...
...no matter what we're afraid of finding, or how much it may hurt.
I know.
You think if something happened, it happened here?
I don't know. If you had a useless business like this motel...
...what would it take to get out, get a new business someplace else?
Four hundred thousand dollars?
Well, how can we prove that?
There's got to be some proof that exists right now...
...something that proves he got that money away from Marion somehow.
What makes you sound so certain?
Arbogast. He liked me, Sam.
Felt sorry for me. He was starting to feel the same way about you.
I could tell the last time I talked to him on the phone.
He wouldn't have gone anywhere without telling us unless he was stopped.
And he was stopped, so he must've found out something.
All right. We'll start with cabin one.
Bates?
No shower curtain.
Sam, look.
- What is it? - Figuring that didn't get washed down.
Look, some figure's been added to or subtracted from 400,000.
Proves Marion was here. It's too wild a coincidence.
Wait a minute. Bates never denied she was here.
Uh...
Doesn't it prove he found out about the money?
- Should we ask him where he's hidden it? - No.
But that old woman, whoever she is, she told Arbogast something.
I want her to tell us the same thing.
- Hey, you can't go up there. - Why not?
- Bates. - Well, let's find him.
One of us can keep him occupied, and the other one can get to the old woman.
You won't be able to hold him still, if he doesn't wanna be held.
I don't like you going up in that house alone.
I can handle a sick old woman.
All right. I'll find Bates and keep him occupied.
- Looking for me? - Uh, yeah, matter of fact.
Uh, wife's taking a nap, and, uh...
I can never keep quiet enough for her...
...so I thought maybe I'd look you up and talk.
Good. Satisfied with your cabin?
Oh, it's fine.
Mrs. Bates?
You're alone here, aren't you?
It would drive me crazy.
That'd be a rather extreme reaction, don't you think?
That's just an expression. What I meant was, uh, I'd do just about anything to get away.
Wouldn't you?
No.
Mrs. Bates?
I'm not saying you shouldn't be contented here. I'm just doubtin' that you are.
I think if you saw a chance to get out from under here, you'd unload this place.
"This place"?
This place happens to be my only world.
See, I grew up in that house up there and had a very happy childhood.
My mother and me... were more than happy.
You seem frightened. Am I saying something frightening?
I don't know what you're saying.
I'm talkin' about your mother, about your motel.
- How you gonna do it? - Do what?
Buy a new one, in a new town...
...where you won't have to hide your mother.
Why don't you just get in your car and drive away from here.
Where you gonna get that kind of money? Or, do you already have it somewhere?
- Shut up! Shut up. - Huh?
A lot of it. Four hundred thousand dollars.
I bet your mother knows where it is and what you did to get it.
Where's that girl that you came here with?
I'll bet she'll tell us.
Mrs. Bates?
So, Norman.
If anybody can get any answers, it'll be the psychiatrist.
Even I couldn't get to Norman, and he knows me.
You warm enough, miss?
Did he talk to you?
No.
I got the whole story, but not from Norman.
I got it from his mother.
Norman Bates no longer exists.
He only half-existed to begin with.
Now, the other half has taken over.
Probably for all time.
- Did he kill my sister? - Yes.
I'm sorry. The private investigator too.
If you drag the swamp in the vicinity of the motel...
To understand it as I understood it, hearing it from the "mother"...
...that is, the mother-half of Norman's mind...
...you have to go back ten years...
...to the time when Norman murdered his mother and her lover.
He was already dangerously disturbed.
Had been ever since his father died.
His mother was a clinging, demanding woman...
...and for years they lived as if there was no one else in the world.
Then she found a man, and it seemed to Norman that she threw him over for this man.
That pushed him over the thin line, and he killed them both.
So, he had to erase the crime, at least in his mind.
He stole her corpse, and a weighted coffin was buried.
He hid the body in the fruit cellar and treated it...
...to keep it as well as it would keep.
And that still wasn't enough. She was there, but she was a corpse.
So, he began to think and speak for her.
At times, he could be both personalities...
...carry on conversations.
At other times, the mother-half took over completely.
He was never all Norman, but he was often only "Mother. "
When he met your sister...
...he was touched by her and aroused by her.
He wanted her. This set off his jealous mother.
And "Mother" killed the girl.
Whenever reality came too close...
...when danger or desire threatened that illusion...
...he'd dress up... even to a cheap wig he'd bought...
...and he'd walk about the house, sit in her chair...
...speak in her voice.
He tried to be his mother.
And now he is.
- And the $400,000? Who got that? - The swamp.
These were crimes of passion, not profit.
He feels a little chill. Can I bring him this blanket?
- Sure. - All right.
Thank you.
It's sad when a mother has to speak the words that condemn her own son...
...but I couldn't allow them to believe that I would commit murder.
They'll put him away now...
...as I should have years ago.
He was always bad.
And in the end, he intended to tell them that I killed those girls and that man.
As if I could do anything except just sit and stare...
...like one of his stuffed birds.
Well, they know I can't even move a finger, and I won't.
I'll just sit here and be quiet...
...just in case they do suspect me.
They're probably watching me. Well, let them.
Let them see what kind of a person I am.
I'm not even gonna swat that fly.
- I hope they are watching. - They're probably watching me.
- They'll see. - Well, I'll let 'em.
They'll see, and they'll know.
And they'll say, "Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly. "
Yeah, you're gonna get stuck on somethin'.
Keep pullin'.
- Don't go in there. - Guys, it's done!
It's all clear here. Comin' through!
All right, comin' through.