i'm sorry -- my secretary must have gone to lunch. you are -- ?
come in, mrs. lampert. you're quite late.
excuse me for a moment, mrs. lampert -- it's a stubborn little devil.
dry-cleaningwise, things are all fouled up. i had a good man -- an excellent man on the rue ponthieu, but h.q. asked us to use the plant here in the building -- to ease the gold outflow.
charles lampert's widow -- yes? last time i sent out a tie only the spot came back.
voil! as they say.
have some, please. i've got.  . liverwurst -- liverwurst -- chicken and -- liverwurst.
do you know what c.i.a. is, mrs. lampert?
central intelligence agency -- c.i.a.
only we call them agents.
someone has to do it, mrs. lampert --
i'm not an agent, mrs. lampert -- i'm an administrator -- a desk jockey -- trying to run a bureau of overworked men with under-allocated funds. congress seems to think that all a spy needs --
yes -- that all he needs is a code book and a cyanide pill and he's in business.
your husband was wanted by the u. s. government.
to be more specific, he was wanted by this agency.
yes. we knew him, of course, by his real name.
voss -- charles voss. all right, mrs. voss -- -- i'd like you to look at this photograph, please -- by the way, you saw this one, didn't you? scott, cathy, and ham, jr.
aren't they? now look at this one, mrs. voss, and --
yes -- and tell me if you recognize anyone. just a moment. have a good look.
mrs. lampert, i'm afraid you're in a great deal of danger.
you're charles voss's wife -- now that he's dead you're their only lead.
please, do what we ask, mrs. lampert -- it's your only chance.
oh, haven't i? the money -- mrs. lampert -- the money. the $250,000 charles voss received from the auction. those three men want it, too -- they want it very badly.
oh, mrs. lampert! i'd love to see you try and convince them of that! oh, dear.
ours.
and i'm afraid we want it back.
that's impossible. you're the only one who could have it.
i believe you.
oh, you've got the money all right -- you just don't know you've got it.
nevertheless, mrs lampert -- you've got it.
or a safe deposit key, a certified check, a baggage claim -- you look for it, mrs. lampert -- i'm quite sure you'll find it.
look for it, mrs. lampert -- look just as hard and as fast as you can. you may not have a great deal of time. those men know you have it just as surely as we do. you won't be safe until the money's in our hands. is that clear?
here's where you're to call me -- day or night. it's a direct line to both my office and my apartment. don't lose it, mrs. lampert -- and please don't tell anyone about coming to see me. it could prove fatal for them as well as yourself.
we've no proof, of course, but we rather think so, yes.
because they're still here.
like i said, mrs lampert -- i'm afraid you're in a great deal of danger. remember what happened to charles.
i don't know who this mr. dyle is, but it's just possible we were wrong about who killed your husband.
where are you now -- can you meet me? do you know les halles?
incredible, isn't it? zola called it 'le ventre de paris' -- the womb of paris, the belly.
were you followed?
agents.
who?
what does your mr. dyle look like, mrs. lampert?
describe him.
no.
that's not carson dyle.
there's only one dyle connected with this affair, mrs. lampert -- that's carson.
it's enough to make you a vegetarian, isn't it?
i didn't see any point. dyle's dead.
i suppose you're old enough to have heard of world war two?
in 1944, five members of the o.s.s. -- the military espionage unit -- were ordered behind the german lines for the purpose of delivering $250,000 in gold to the french underground. the five men --
caf.
mrs. lampert, i really hadn't planned on spending the entire night here.
yes. the five men. they were, of course, your husband, charles, the three men who showed up at his funeral yesterday, and carson dyle. but something went wrong and they were unable to locate their contact. it must have been at that point that they decided to steal the money.
by burying it, and then reporting that the germans had captured it. all they had to do was come back after the war, dig it up and split it five ways -- a quarter of a million dollars with no questions asked.
everything went smoothly enough until after the gold was buried -- then, before they could get out, they were ambushed by a german patrol. a machine gun separated scobie from his right hand -- and caught carson dyle full in the stomach.
what's wrong with that one?
have you any idea what these things cost over here?
scobie was able to travel, but carson dyle was clearly dying, so they --
carson was dying so they were forced to leave him. they finally got back to the base, made their report, and waited for the war to end. only charles couldn't wait quite as long as the others. he beat them back to the gold, took everything for himself and disappeared. it's taken gideon, tex and scobie all this time to catch up with him again.
we know what happened from the bits and pieces we were able to paste together -- but we still have no proof.
c.i.a., mrs. lampert. we're an extension of the wartime o.s.s. it was our money and we want it back.
i wouldn't advise that, mrs. lampert. you'd better consider what happened to your husband when he tried to leave. those men won't be very far away -- no matter where you go. in fact, i don't even see any point in your changing hotels. please help us, mrs. lampert. your government is counting on you.
that's the spirit.
we're anxious to know who this man is -- the one calling himself dyle.
no, mrs. lampert.
no, mrs. lampert. his death is registered with the war department in washington.
i don't know -- but i think you'd better find out, don't you?
you're in an ideal position -- he trusts you. besides, you said yourself, women make the best spies.
mrs. lampert? -- bartholomew. i've spoken to washington, mrs. lampert --
i told them what you said -- about this man being carson dyle's brother. i asked them what they knew about it and they told me -- you're not gonna like this, mrs. lampert -- they told me carson dyle has no brother.
none whatsoever. please, mrs. lampert -- be careful.
just a minute, mrs. lampert -- you'd better give that to me slowly. who's adam?
calm down, mrs. lampert -- please. does he have the money?
the envelope -- imagine that. mrs. lampert, listen to me -- you're not safe as long as you've got these stamps. go to the embassy right away -- wait, i'd better meet you halfway -- it's quicker. now, let's see -- do you know the center garden at the palais royal? -- yes, by the colonnade -- as soon as you can get there. hurry, mrs. lampert.