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[door knock]
(Margaret Talley) Whoa!
(George Spoetzl) Hello!
Mr. Spoetzl?
Sha-poit-sell. George Spoetzl.
You must be Margaret Tally.
Whoa! So we found you.
You found me. Come in.
Sorry I can't offer you much in the way of refreshment.
The defective soda machine out there only sells Dr Pepper,
and it's hot.
We kind of like Dr. Pepper hot.
We used to drink Dr Pepper hot when we were little.
Momma would heat Dr Pepper in a sauce pan and serve it to us hot
in a cup like tea.
Before the days of microwave you know.
If you like hot Dr Pepper, there's some in the machine around the corner
next to the ice machine, that doesn't work either.
Not now, maybe later. The reason we really drove all this way is because of
the Barret Edy books you said you had.
That's what you said when you called, and like I said on the phone,
I'm going to Atlanta to the book dealers show that's tomorrow. I've got to spend the night
somewhere, so we might as well meet up and swap these books.
So you brought all the Barret Edy books with you?
I wish you could have
somehow shipped them.
Well, like I said, the Barret Edy books, they're not part of my normal inventory.
Not part of your inventory? But the Barret Edy books are for sale aren't they?
Everything's for sale young lady. The Barret Edy books, they're just a
special situation. They couldn't be shipped by normal methods.
Well!
This is a very special day for us.
A special day for us?
We've read all the Barret Edy books over and over again.
We just love Trent Garret.
He's such a cleaver detective and so debonair.
Trent Garret?
You know. Trent Garret. The detective in all the Barret Edy books.
I've never read Barret Edy's books. It's not my type of novel.
Mr. Spoetzl!
Sha-poit-sell.
Mr. Sha-poit-sell.
Trent Garret is just the most gifted investigative genius of all time.
And he's such a wonderful gentleman.
He could certainly change your opinion about detective stories.
I don't think anything could change my opinion about *** mysteries.
Barret Edy isn't only just a mystery writer.
If you'd taken the time to educate yourself,
you'd know that without Trent Garret's daring undercover work behind
the Nazi lines,
we'd all be speaking German right now.
You know it's fiction. Right?
Oh! Today! We'll finally find out how Trent Garret gets away from those
icky Russian mobsters.
Miss Tabby...
It's Tally! Miss Tally!
Miss Tally, I hope I have what you want. I think I've got every scrap
of paper that Edy had when he died. And I have three uncirculated limited editions
and two unpublished manuscripts.
Two of Barret Edy's unpublished manuscripts?
Oh, this is so exciting!
Oh! Oh! Oh! By the way, Mr. Spoetzl, may we use your bathroom?
We may, but you may be more comfortable in there by yourself.
[organ music]
What is this?
Is this the box of books you brought to trade with me?
Well!
And what's this?
Cat!
There's cat in these books.
Well, perhaps a cat hair or two.
I told you.
No cats!
Absolutely no cats!
I'm allergic to cats.
And these books. They aren't worth anything.
Be... because of a cat hair or two?
Because!
They aren't worth anything.
They're just some cheap dime-store paperbacks.
You said you wanted nineteen-seventies ***.
These are romance novels.
From the seventies.
And, as far as we're concerned, they're all ***.
I don't want that trash. I hope you brought some cash.
Well! We've only got about eight dollars and some change.
Well, Miss Tabby, if you want this Barret Edy stuff, you're going to
have to come up with a lot more money than that.
[harp music]
A fate worse than death!
A fate worse than death?
What fate? Whose fate?
Our fate, Mr. Spoetzl.
You may do whatever you wish with me, but
we must rescue the Barret Edy work
whatever the cost.
So, you're offering to...
barter with...
Our body!
I suppose that could work for me.
That could be a deal I think.
So!
You're going to take us now?
Yeah! I could do that.
This Barret Edy trash isn't worth anything anyway.
Trash!
Barret Edy's work is not trash.
Barret Edy was a loser.
His books were junk and he was a pure pervert.
A pervert?
Yeah!
Really, he was a real sure enough pervert.
Barret Edy a pervert?
That's impossible! Completely impossible!
Barret Edy died in prison of syphilis and worms.
He was convicted of child molestation.
We refuse!
We absolutely refuse to hear such talk.
It's true!
That sure enough Barret Edy was pure evil.
You! You!
You're the evil one.
[brain crush]