- [first lines]
- Mike Hammer: [narrating] I'm not the kind of a guy who blows his stack without a reason, but I had a one, a good one, one of the best reasons in the world and one of the oldest - a dame.
- Mike Hammer: Give me the key to her room, Charlie.
- Charlie: Say, do you think this is something for the police?
- Mike Hammer: Charlie, give me the key to her room.
- Charlie: Well, okay. You know the last dame who turned up missing took a brody off the Queensborough Bridge. They found her in the East River - dead.
- Mike Hammer: Yeah, well, that'll do it every time, Charlie... that'll do it.
- [a man hurls a brick at Mike but misses, breaking a large mirror]
- Mike Hammer: That's seven years bad luck, mister, beginning now!
- [Mike slugs the intruder, then beats him almost senseless]
- Mike Hammer: This game is fun! What do you call it? All right, let's just sit this one out. Now suppose you tell me what all this knuckle-crackin' is all about?
- Mike Hammer: I'm trying to locate Susan Barlow.
- Shelton Dean: May I ask why?
- Mike Hammer: Do you know where I can find her?
- Shelton Dean: I'm not going to answer any questions unless I know the reason for them. Now why do want to know Mrs. Barlow's whereabouts?
- Mike Hammer: Because I don't think she has any whereabouts - at least as far as I know or her husband knows.
- Shelton Dean: I've had just about enough of you, Mr. Hammer, and I'm not going to fall into your clumsy trap!
- Mike Hammer: Um, trap, Mr. Dean?
- Shelton Dean: You're trying to make it seem that if I don't arrange for you and Haskell to meet that it will look as if I'm trying to hide something.
- Mike Hammer: Yes, well, that's true. That's how it will look to the bunco squad.