"THIS IS A TRUE STORY" "The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987." "At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed." "Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred." "I'm Jerry Lundegaard." " You're Jerry Lundegaard?" " Yah." "Shep said..." "Shep said you'd be here at 7:30." "What gives, man?" "Shep said 8:30." "We've been sitting here an hour." "He's peed three times already." "I'm sure sorry." "Shep told me 8:30." "It was a mix-up, I guess." " You got the car?" " Yah, you bet." "It's out in the lot there, brand-new Ciera." "Yeah, okay." "Well, sit down, then." "I'm Carl Showalter." "This is my associate, Gaear Grimsrud." "Yah, how ya doing?" "So we all set on this thing, then?" " Sure, we're set." "Why wouldn't we be?" " Yah, I'm sure you are." "Shep vouched for you." "I got every confidence in you fellas." "I guess that's it, then." " Here are the keys." " No, that's not it." " Huh?" " The new vehicle plus $40,000." "Yah, but the deal was the car first, then the $40,000, like as if it was the ransom." " I thought Shep told you." " Shep didn't tell us much." " Well, okay..." " Except that you'd be here at 7:30." " Well, that was a mix-up." " Yeah, you already said that." "Yah, but it's not a whole pay-in-advance deal." "See, I give you a brand-new vehicle in advance..." "I'm not gonna debate you." "Okay." "I'm not gonna sit here and debate." "I'll say this though, what Shep told us didn't make much sense." "Oh, no, it's real sound." "It's all worked out." "You want your own wife kidnapped?" "My point is, you pay the ransom, what, 80,000 bucks?" "I mean, you give us half the ransom, $40,000." "You keep half." "It's like robbing Peter to pay Paul." "Makes no sense." "Okay." "See, it's not me paying the ransom." "The thing is, my wife, she's wealthy." "Her dad, he's real well-off." "I'm in a bit of trouble." "What kind of trouble are you in?" "That's..." "I'm not gonna get into..." "See, I just need the money." "Now, her dad, he's real well-off." "Why not ask him for the money?" " Or your fucking wife." " Or your wife, Jerry." "Well it's all part of this..." "They don't know I need it, see." "So there." "And even if they did, I wouldn't get it." "So there's that on top." "See, these are personal matters." "Personal matters?" "Personal matters that needn't..." "Okay, Jerry." "You're tasking us to perform this mission but you won't..." "You won't..." "Fuck it, let's take a look at that Ciera." " Hon?" " Hi, hon." "Welcome back." " How was Fargo?" " Real good." "Dad's here." " How're ya doing, Wade?" " Yah, pretty good." " What ya watching there?" " Gophers." "Who they playing?" " Is he staying for supper, then?" " Yah, I think so." " Dad?" " What?" " Are you staying for supper?" " Yeah." " May I be excused?" " You done there?" " I'm going out." " Where are you going?" " Just McDonald's." " Back at 9:30." "He just ate." "He's going to McDonald's instead of finishing here." "He sees his friends there." "It's okay." "It's okay, McDonald's?" "What do you think they do there?" "They don't drink shakes." "It's okay, Dad." "Wade, have you had a chance to think about that deal I talked about?" "Those 40 acres on Wayzata." "You told me about it." "You said you'd think about it." "I know it's a lot of money." "It's a heck of a lot." "What'd you say you'll put there?" " A lot." "It's a limited..." " I know it's a lot." "I mean, a parking lot." " Well, $750,000 is a lot." " Yah, it's a chunk, but..." "I had a couple of lots, late '50s, lost a lot of money." "I thought you were gonna show to Stan Grossman." "He passes on this stuff before it gets to me." "Stan'll say no dice." "That's why you pay him." "I'm asking you." "This could work out real good for me, Jean and Scotty." "Jean and Scotty never have to worry." "Where is pancakes house?" " What?" " We stop at pancakes house." "Are you nuts?" "We had pancakes for breakfast." "Gotta go to a place where I can get a shot, a beer, steak maybe not more fucking pancakes." "Come on." "Oh, come on, man!" "Okay, here's an idea." "We can stop at Brainerd." "I know a place there we can get laid." " I'm fucking hungry now, you know." " Yeah, Jesus." "I'm saying, we can stop, get pancakes, and then we'll get laid." "We sat right here in this room and went over this." "Yah, but that TruCoat..." "I sat here and said I didn't want any TruCoat." "Yah, but that TruCoat, you don't get it, you get oxidation problems." "It'll cost you more than $500." "You're sitting there, talking in circles, like we didn't go over this." "But this TruCoat..." "We had a deal for $19,500." "You sat there and said you'd get me this car without the sealant for $19,500." "I'm not saying I didn't." "You called me and said you had it ready for delivery, come and get it." "And here you are, wasting my time and my wife's time." "I'm paying $19,500 for this vehicle." "All right, I'll talk to my boss." "See, they install that TruCoat at the factory." "There's nothing we can do." "I'll talk to my boss." "These guys here, these guys." "It's always the same." "It's always more." " You going to the Gophers on Sunday?" " You betcha." "Wouldn't have an extra ticket?" "You kidding?" "He never done this before, but seeing as it's special circumstances he says I can knock $100 off that TruCoat." "One hundred?" "You lied to me, Mr. Lundegaard." " You're a bald-faced liar." " Bucky, please." " Fucking liar." " Bucky, please." "Where's my goddamn checkbook?" "Let's get this over with." "From Hollywood:" "The Tonight Show." "I'm talking about your potential." "You're not a C student." "Yet you're getting C grades." "It's that disparity there that concerns your dad and me." "You know what a disparity is?" "Okay, well, that's why we don't want you going out for hockey." "Oh, man!" "Come on, what's the big deal?" " It's just an hour." " Hold on." " What's the big deal?" " Hello?" " Yeah, hi, hon." " Oh, hi, Dad." " Jerry around?" " Yah." "Hon?" "I'll catch him for you." " Hon!" "It's Dad." " Yah, okay." "Dad, there's no fucking way..." " Scotty!" " Hey, let's watch that language, there!" " How ya doing?" " What"s going on?" "Nothing, Wade." "How ya doing there?" "Stan Grossman looked at your proposal." "He says it"s sweet." " No kidding?" " Might be interested." "No kidding?" "I need the cash pretty quick in order to close the deal." "Come by at 2:30, we"ll talk about it." "If your numbers are right, Stan says it"s sweet." " Stan, you know, Grossman." " Yah." " 2:30." " Yah, okay." "Say, Shep, how ya doing there?" "Say, you know those two fellas you put me in touch with in Fargo?" "Put you in touch with Grimsrud." "Yah, well, he had a buddy there." "I don't vouch for him." "I vouch for Grimsrud." "Who's his buddy?" "Carl something." "Never heard of him." "That's okay." "He's a buddy of the guy ya vouched for, I'm not worried." "I was wondering, see, I gotta get in touch with them." "See, this deal I needed them for I may not need it anymore." "Something's happening." " Call him up." " See, I did that and I haven't been able to get him so I thought maybe you'd know an alternate number." " Nope." " Okay." "Well..." "Real good, then." "Can you crack a window open, man?" "You know, it's proven that secondhand smoke is a carcin..." "A cancer agent." "Look at that, Twin Cities." "That's the IDS building." "Tallest skyscraper in the Midwest." "After the Sears in Chicago or John Hancock building, whatever." "Ever been to Minneapolis?" "Nope." "Would it kill you to say something?" "I did." ""No." That's the first thing you've said in four hours." "That's a fountain of conversation, man." "That's a geyser." "I mean, whoa, daddy, stand back, man." "Shit." "I'm sitting here driving, doing all the driving, man whole way from Brainerd, driving." "Just trying to chat, keep our spirits up, fight the boredom of the road and you can't say one thing in the way of conversation?" "Fuck it, I don't have to talk either, man." "See how you like it." "Just total fucking silence." "Two can play at that game, smart guy." "We'll just see how you like it." "Total silence." "Mr. Lundegaard?" "This is Reilly Diefenbach from GMAC." " How are you?" " Good, how ya doing?" "Good, Mr. Lundegaard." "You"re hard to get on the phone." "It's darn busy here, but that's the way we like it." "Well, that"s for sure." "I just need, on these last financing documents you sent us  I can"t read the serial numbers." "Yah, but I already got the..." "The loans are in place." "I got..." "The $320,000." "You got the money last month." "Yah, so we're all set." "But the vehicles you"re borrowing on, I can"t read the serial numbers  on your application." "If you could..." "But the deal's done." "I got the money." "But we have an audit." "I have to know these vehicles you"re financing  that they really exist." "They exist all right." "L"m sure, but I can"t read the serial numbers." "If you could read..." "Yah, but..." "See, I don't have them in front of me." "Why don't I fax you a copy?" "No, fax is no good." "That"s what I have, and I can"t read it." "Yah, okay, I'll have my girl send you a copy, then." "If I can"t correlate this note with the vehicles, I gotta call back that money." "How much money was that?" "$320,000. I"ve gotta correlate that money with the cars it"s lent on." " No problem, I'll fax that over." " No!" "Fax is..." "I mean, send it over." "I'll shoot it over." " Okay, fine." " Okay, real good, then." "We"re back with Katie Carlson." "We want to remind our viewers  that this March, for the second year  Katie and I, along with Twin City Travel  will lead a two-week boat trip down the Nile." "It"s a terrific time, as you heard, and we want all of you to come with." "And that"s the truth." "For those of you who just joined us  Katie is going to show us how to make Holidazzle eggs at home." "I got to admit, I was a little bit surprised when I picked this up." " This is an empty egg." " That"s right, Dale." "How do you get the egg in here...?" "How do you, I mean, you don"t have an empty chicken  somewhere that lays empty eggs?" "No, I guarantee this was an honest-to-goodness grade..." " Unguent." " What?" "I need unguent." " How are ya, Stan?" " How ya doing, Wade?" "Good to see you again, Jerry." "If these numbers are right, this looks sweet." "Those numbers are right, believe me." " This is doable." " Congratulations, Jer." "Yah, thanks Stan." "It's a pretty..." "What kind of finder's fee were you looking for?" "The financials are thorough, so the thing we don't know is your fee." "My fee?" "Wade, what the heck are you talking about?" " Stan and I are okay." " Yah?" " We're good to load in." " Yah." "But we never talked about your fee for bringing it to us." "No, I was bringing you this deal to loan me the money to put in." "It's my deal here, see." " We thought you brought us a deal." " Yah, right." "You're saying..." "What are you saying?" "You're saying, we put in the money, you collect when it pays off." "No, no!" "I'd pay you back the principal and interest." " Heck, I'd go one over prime?" " We're not a bank, Jerry." "If I wanted a bank interest on $750,000 I'd go to Midwest Federal, talk to Bill Diehl." " He's at Norstar." " He's at..." "No, no, but see, I don't need a finder's fee." "I need..." "Finder's fee's what, 10 percent?" "That's not gonna do it for me." "I need the principal." "Jerry, we're not gonna just give you $750,000." "What the heck were you thinking?" "If I'm only getting bank interest, I want security." "Heck, FDIC." "I don't see nothing like that here." "Yeah, but I..." "Okay, I guarantee you your money back." "I'm not talking about your damn word, Jerry." " What the heck...?" " We're not a bank." "I don't want to cut you out of the loop this here's a good deal." "I assume, if you're not interested, you won't mind if we move on it." "Independently." "Damn it!" "Hon?" "Got the groceries." "Yah, Wade it's Jerry." "L..." "Wade, it's Jerry." "I don't know what to do." "It's Jean." "I don't know what to do." "It's my wife." "I don't know what to do." "It's Jean." "Yah, Wade, I..." "It's Jerry, I..." "Wade, it's Jerry." "We gotta talk." "It's something hor..." "Jeez, it's terrible." "Yah, Wade Gustafson, please." "Shut the fuck up, or I'll throw you back into the trunk, you know." "That's more than I've heard you say all week." "Ah, shit!" "Oh, the tags." "All right, it's just the tags." "I never put my tags on the car." "Don't worry, I'll take care of this." "Keep it still back there, lady or else we're gonna have to, you know, shoot you." "Hey, I'll take care of this." "How can I help you, officer?" "This a new car, then, sir?" "It certainly is, officer." "Still got that smell." "You're required to display tags, either in the plate area or taped to the back window." " Certainly." " Can I see your registration?" " Certainly." "Yeah, I was gonna tape up the tag." "You know, to be in full compliance but it must have slipped my mind." "Maybe the best thing would be to take care of it here." "What's this, sir?" "My license and registration." "I want to be in compliance." "I was thinking, we could take care of it right here in Brainerd." "Put that back in your pocket, please." "And step out of the car, please, sir." "Shut the fuck up!" "Whoa." "Whoa, daddy." "You'll take care of it." "You are smooth-smooth, you know." "Oh, daddy." "Just clear him off the road." "Yeah." "Oh, jeez." "Hi, it's Marge." "Oh, my." "Where?" "Yeah." "Oh, jeez." "Okay, there in a jiff." "Real good, then." "Oh, heck." "You can sleep." "It's early yet." " Gotta go?" " Yeah." "I'll fix you some eggs." "It's okay, hon." "I gotta run." "You gotta eat a breakfast, Marge." "I'll fix you some eggs." "Hon, you can sleep." "You gotta eat a breakfast." "I'll fix you some eggs." "Ah, Norm." "Thanks, hon." "Time to shove off." " Love ya, Margie." " Love ya, hon." " Hon?" " Yah?" "Prowler needs a jump." "Hi, Lou." "What you got there?" "Margie." "Thought you might need a little warm-up." "Thanks a bunch." "What's the deal, now?" "Gary says triple homicide?" "Yah, looks pretty bad." "Two of them are over here." "Where is everybody?" "Well, it's cold, Margie." "Watch your step, Margie." "Ah, jeez." "Ah, jeez!" "Here's the second one." "It's in the head and the hand there." " I guess that's a defensive wound." " Oh, yah?" "Where's the state trooper?" "Back there a good piece." "In the ditch next to his Prowler." "Okay." "So we got a trooper pulls someone over we got a shooting, these folks drive by there's a high-speed pursuit, ends here and then this execution-type deal." " Yah." "I'd be very surprised if our suspect was from Brainerd." "Yah." "And I'll tell you what, from his footprint, he looks like a big fella." "You see something down there, chief?" "No, I just think I'm gonna barf!" "Jeez." " You okay, Margie?" " Yah, I'm fine." "It's just morning sickness." "Well, that passed." " Yah?" " Yah, now I'm hungry again." "You had breakfast yet, Margie?" " Oh, yah." "Norm made some eggs." " Yah?" "Well what now, do you think?" " Let's go take a look at that trooper." "There's different footprints here, Lou." " Yah?" " This guy's smaller than his buddy." "Oh, yah?" "For Pete's sake." "How's it look, Marge?" "Well, he's got his gun on his hip there and he looks like a nice enough guy." " It's a real shame." " Yah." " Did you monkey with his car, there?" " No way." "Somebody shut his lights." "I guess the little guy waited for his buddy." "It would've been cold out here." "Heck, yah." "You think is Dave open yet?" "Dave?" "You don't think he's mixed up in...?" "Oh, no, no." "I just want to get Norm some night crawlers." "Did you look in his citation book?" "Yah, last vehicle he wrote in was a tan Ciera at 2:18 a.m." "Under plate number, he put DLR." "I figure they stopped him or shot him before he filled out the tag number." "So I got the state looking for a Ciera with a tag starting DLR." "They don't got no match yet." "I'm not sure that I agree with you 100% on your police work there, Lou." " Yah?" " Yah." "I think that vehicle there probably had dealer plates." "DLR?" "Jeez." "Say, Lou hear the one about the guy who couldn't afford personalized plates so he went and changed his name to J3L 2404?" "Yah, that's a good one." "Look, all I know is, you got a problem, you call a professional." "No." "They said, "No cops." They were darn clear on that, Wade." "They said, "Call your cops, and we'll shoo..."" "Of course they'll say that." "Protection?" "They've got Jean." "I give them a million dollars, where's my guarantee they'll let her go?" "A million dollars is a lot of damn money." " They got my daughter." " Think this through, Wade." "You give them what they want, why won't they let her go?" "You got to listen to me on this one, Wade." "Heck, you don't know." "You're just whistling Dixie here." "I'm saying, the cops, they can advise us on this." " I'm saying, call a professional." " No." "No cops." "That's final." "This is my deal here, Wade." "Jean is my wife, here." "I gotta tell you, Wade, I'm leaning to Jerry's viewpoint here." "We gotta protect Jean." "We're not holding any cards." "They got them all, so they call the shots." " You're darn tootin'." " Damn it." "I'm telling ya." "Well, why don't we?" "I'm thinking we should offer them half a million." "Now, come on, here!" "No way, Wade." "No way." " We're not horse-trading here, Wade." " Yah." " We gotta bite the bullet on this." " Yah." "So, what's the next step here, Jerry?" "They'll call with instructions for a drop." "I'm to have the money tomorrow." "Damn it!" " How was everything today?" " Yah, real good, now." "How you doing?" "Okay, now, we'll get the money." "Don't worry about it, Jerry." "Do you want anyone at home with you till they call?" "No, they don't want..." "They're supposed to deal with me." "They're real clear." "They said no one listening in." "They'll be watching, you know?" "Maybe it's all bull, but like you said, they're calling the shots." "Okay." "Now, is Scotty gonna be all right?" "Yah, jeez." "Scotty." "Yah." "I'll go talk to him." "How you doing there, Scotty?" "Dad, what are they doing?" "What are they doing with Mom?" "It's okay, Scotty." "They're not gonna hurt her any." "These men, they just want money." "Well, what if something goes wrong, Dad?" "No, nothing's going wrong here." "Granddad and I, we're making sure this gets handled right." "I really think we should call the cops." "No, no." "No one can know about this thing." "We gotta play ball with these guys." "Ask Stan, he'll tell you the same." " Yeah, but, Dad..." " We'll get Mom back for you but we gotta play ball." "That's the deal here." "So if Lorraine calls, or Sylvia, you just say Mom's down in Florida with Pearl and Marty." "That's the best we can do here." " Lunchtime." " These are for you, Marge." " Janie, two of those Skin-So-Softs." " Sure thing." " Hi, hon." " I brought you some lunch, Margie." " What are those, night crawlers?" " Yah." " Thanks, hon." " You bet." "Thanks for lunch." "Oh, yah." "Looks pretty good." "What have we got here?" "Arby's?" "How's the painting going?" "Pretty good." "Found out the Hautmans are entering a painting." " Hon, you're better than them." " They're real good." "They're good, but you're better." "You think so?" "You got Arby's all over me." " Norm, how's the painting going?" " Not too bad, you know." "How we doing on that vehicle?" "No motels registered any tan Ciera last night but the night before, two men checked into the Blue Ox registering a Ciera and leaving the tag space blank." " Jeez, that's a good lead." " Yah." "Blue Ox, that truckers' joint out there on l-35?" "Yah." "Owner was on the desk then." "Said these two had company." " Oh, yah?" " Yah." "Yeah, we both did." "She went to college too." "I went to Normandale." " Yah, that's where we met." " I dropped out." " Yah, she dropped." " Yah." "Where are you girls from?" " Chaska." " Le Sueur." "But I went to high school in White Bear Lake." "Go Bears." "Okay, I want you to tell me what these fellas look like." "The little guy looks funny." " In what way?" " I don't know, just funny-Iooking." "Can you be any more specific?" "I couldn't really say." "He wasn't circumcised." " Was he funny-Iooking apart from that?" " Yah." "So you were having sex with the little fella, then?" " Anything else you can say about him?" " No." "Like I say, he was funny-Iooking." "More than most people." "The other fella?" "He was a little older." "He looked like the Marlboro Man." " Oh, yah?" " Yah." "But maybe I'm saying that because he smoked a lot of Marlboros." "Like a subconscious type of thing." "Oh, yah." "That can happen." "They said they were going to the Twin Cities." " Oh, yah?" " Yah." " Yah, is that useful to ya?" " You betcha, yah." "Yah!" "Come on!" "Goddamn it!" "Jesus Christ!" "Come on, you fucking shit-box!" "Been here for days." "Goddamn it, nothing to do." "Fucking TV doesn't even..." "Damn it!" "Come on, plug me in, man." "Give me a fucking signal." "Goddamn it!" "Come on!" "Fuck!" "Come on!" "Plug me into the ozone, baby, come on!" "Fuck!" "Fuck!" "The bark beetle carries the worm to its nest  where it will feed its young for up to six months." "In the spring, the larvae hatch, and the cycle begins again." "Well I'm turning in, Norm." "Oh, yah?" "Here it is, throwing off the larval envelope." "Hello?" " Is this Marge?" " Yah?" "Margie Olmstead?" "Yah, who's this?" "This is Mike Yanagita!" "You know, Mike Yanagita, remember me?" " Mike Yanagita?" " Yah!" "Well, yah, of course I remember you." "How are ya doing?" "What time is it?" "Oh, jeez, it"s a quarter to 11." "I hope I didn"t wake you." "No." "That's okay." "L"m down in the Twin Cities  and I was watching on TV about these shootings up in Brainerd and I saw you on the news." " Yah." "I thought, "Is that Margie Olmstead?" "I can"t believe it!"" "Yah, that's me." " Well, how the heck are ya?" " Okay, you know, okay." " Yah?" " Yah." " How are you doing?" " Oh, pretty good." "Well, heck, it's been such a long time, Mike." "It's great to hear from ya." "Yah, you got your..." "This is loaded, here." "This has your independent..." "Your front-wheel drive, rack-and-pinion steering anti-Iock brakes, alarm, radar." "And I can give it to you with a heck of a sealant." " This TruCoat will keep the salt off..." " I don't need no sealant, though." "Yah, you don't need that." "Were you thinking of financing here?" "You ought to be aware of this GMAC plan they have." "It's super." " Got a call for ya, Jerry." " Yah, okay." "Jerry Lundegaard." " Jerry, you got the phone to yourself?" " Well, yah." "Know who this is?" "Well, yah, I got an idea." "How's that Ciera working out for ya?" " Circumstances have changed, Jerry." " Well, what do you mean?" "Things have changed." "Circumstances beyond the acts of God." " Force majeure." " What the...?" "How's Jean?" " Who"s Jean?" " My wife!" "She"s all right, but there"s three people in Brainerd who aren"t." "What are you talking about?" "Let's finish this deal." "Blood has been shed, Jerry." " What the heck do you mean?" " Three people in Brainerd." " Oh, jeez." " That"s right, and we need more money." "What?" "What do you fellas got yourself mixed up in?" " We need more money." " This was a no-rough-stuff deal!" "Don"t ever interrupt me!" "Shut the fuck up!" " Well, I'm sorry, but I..." " l"m not gonna debate you, Jerry." " We now want the entire $80,000." " For chrissake, here." "Blood has been shed." "We"ve incurred risks." "L"m coming tomorrow." "Have the money ready." "We had a deal here." "A deal's a deal." "Ask those three poor souls up in Brainerd if a deal"s a deal." " Ask them!" " The heck do you mean?" ""The heck do you mean?" See you tomorrow." " Yah?" " Jerome Lundegaard?" "This is Reilly Diefenbach from GMAC." "L"ve not received the vehicle I.D. S you promised." "Yah, I..." "Those are in the mail." "That very well may be." "I must inform you, however  that absent the receipt of those numbers by tomorrow  I"ll refer this to our legal department." "My patience is at an end." " Good day, sir." " Yah." "Hi, Norm." "How ya doing, Margie?" "How's the fricassee?" " Pretty darn good." "You want some?" " Oh, no." "I got..." "Hey, Norm, I thought you was going ice fishing?" "Yah, after lunch." " What ya got there?" " The numbers you asked for." "Calls from the lobby pay phone at the Blue Ox." "Two to Minneapolis that night." "First one's a trucking company." "Second's a private residence." "A Shep Proudfoot." " A what?" " Shep Proudfoot." "That's a name." "Okay." "Yah, I think I'll take a drive down there, then." "Oh, yah?" "Twin Cities?" "Oh, yah?" "Damn it." "I want to be a part of this thing." "No, Wade." "They were real clear." "They'll call with instructions, and it's to be delivered by me alone." "It's my money." "I'll deliver it." "What do they care?" "Wade's got a point." "I'll handle the call, Jerry." "No, no." "See, they only deal with me." "You feel this nervousness on the phone, there." "They're very..." "These guys are dangerous." "All the more reason." "I don't want you..." "With all due respect, I don't want you mucking this up." "What do you mean?" "If they want my money, deal with me, or I'll go to a professional." " There's a million dollars here." " No..." "Look, Jerry, you're not selling me a damn car!" "It's my show here." "That's that." "It's the way we'd prefer to handle it, Jerry." " Hi." "How ya doing?" " Real good." "How are you today?" "I'm doing really super, there." "Thanks." "I'm Mrs. Gunderson." "I have a reservation." "Yep, ya sure do, Mrs. Gunderson." "Is there a phone down here, you think?" "Detective Sibert?" "Yah, this is Marge Gunderson from Brainerd." "We spoke?" "Yah, well, actually I'm in town here." "I had to do a few things in the Twin Cities, thought I'd check in about that USFI search on Shep Proudfoot." "Oh, yah?" "Well, maybe I'll visit with him if I have the..." "No, I can find that." "Thanks a bunch." "Oh, say." "Would you know a good place for lunch in the downtown area?" "The Radisson." "Oh, yah?" "Is it reasonable?" " Hi." "How ya doing?" " I decided not to park here." "What do you mean?" "You decided not to park here?" "I just came in and decided not to park here." " But, well, I'm sorry, sir..." " I decided not to..." "I decided not to take the trip, so..." "Well, I'm sorry, sir." "We still gotta charge you $4." "I just pulled in here." "I just fucking pulled in here." "Well, but see, there's a minimum charge of $4." "Long-term parking charges by the day." "I guess you think you're like an authority figure?" "With that stupid fucking uniform, huh, buddy?" "King Clip-on Tie." "Big fucking man, huh?" "These are the limits of your life." "Ruler of your little fucking gate." "Here's your $4, you pathetic piece of shit." " Where's Shep?" " Talking to a cop." " Cop?" " Said she was a cop!" "Do you remember getting a call Wednesday night?" "Nope." "You do reside there at 1425 Freemont Terrace?" "Yep." " Anyone else residing there?" " No." "Well, Mr. Proudfoot, this call came in past 3 in the morning." "It's hard to believe you don't remember anyone calling." "I know you've had some problems struggling with the narcotics, some other entanglements currently on parole." " So?" " Well, associating with criminals if you're the one they talked to, that is a violation of your parole." "It would end you up back in Stillwater." "You've got some priors, but nothing in the nature of a homicide." "You don't want to be an accessory to something like that." "So you think you remember who those folks were who called ya?" " Mr. Lundegaard?" " Huh?" "Yeah." "Could I take a minute here?" "What...?" "What is it all about?" "Mind if I sit?" "I'm carrying quite a load here." " You're the owner, Mr. Lundegaard?" " No, executive sales manager." " You can help me." "I'm Marge Gun..." " My father-in-law's the owner." "I'm a police officer from up Brainerd, investigating some malfeasance." "Have you had any vehicles stolen off the lot in the past couple weeks?" "Specifically, a tan-colored Ciera?" "Mr. Lundegaard?" "Brainerd?" "Yah, yah." "Home of Paul Bunyan, Babe the blue ox." "Babe the blue ox." "Yah, you know, we got that big statue." "So you haven't had any vehicles go missing, then?" "No, no, ma'am." "Okey-dokey, thanks a bunch." "I'll let you get back to work." " Service." " Give me Shep." " He"s not here." " What do you mean?" "He stepped out." " Where did he go?" " Want Artie?" "No, I don't need a mechanic." "I need a..." "Oh, jeez." "I gotta talk to a friend of his." "So..." "Have him..." " What?" " Oh, jeez." "Mike?" "Marge?" "Jeez!" " Oh, you look great!" " So do you." "Easy there, easy there." "Easy there." " You do too." "I'm expecting." " I see that." "That's great." " What can I get ya?" " Oh, just a diet Coke, please." " This is a nice place." " Yah." "You know, it's a Radisson, so it's pretty good." "So..." " You're living in Edina, then?" " Yah." "A couple years now." "It's actually Eden Prairie, that school district." "So, Chief Gunderson, then." "So you went and married Norm son-of-a-Gunderson?" " Yah, a long time ago." " Great, great." "So, what brings you down?" "Are you here on that homicide if you're allowed to discuss that?" "Yah, but there's not a heck of a lot to discuss." "Okay." "What about you, Mike?" "Are you married?" " You got kids?" " Yah!" "Well I was married." "I was married..." "Mind if I sit here?" "I was married to Linda Cooksey." "No, why don't you sit over there, I prefer that." "Okay." " Sorry, I didn't..." " No, so I don't have to turn my neck." "Sure, sure." "I understand." "I didn't mean to..." "No, no." "That's fine." "Sorry, sorry." "So I was married to Linda Cooksey." "Remember, she was a year behind us?" "Yeah, I think I remember her." "Oh, yah." "So it didn't work out?" "I've been working for Honeywell for a few years." "They're a good outfit." "Yah, if you're an engineer, you could do a lot worse." "But it's nothing like your achievement." "It sounds like you're doing super." "It's not that..." "It's not that things didn't work out..." "Linda had leukemia, you know." "She passed away." "No." " It was tough." " Here you go." "It was long." "She fought real hard, Marge." "Well, what can you say?" " Better times, huh?" " Better times." "And then I saw you on the TV, and I remembered, you know." "I always liked you." " I always liked you..." " I always liked you so much!" " Should we get together another time?" " No!" "I'm sorry, you know..." "I shouldn't have done this." "I shouldn't have done this." " I thought we'd have a terrific time." " It's okay, Mike." "You were such a super lady!" "I've been so lonely." "It's okay, Mike." "Here's a song I dedicate to all the ladies out here tonight." "It goes like this." "So are you from around here?" "Just in town on business." "Just in and out." "Just a little of the old "in and out."" "What do you do?" "Uh, I..." "Have you been to the celebrity room before with other clients?" "I don't think so." "It's nice." "Depends on the artist." "José Feliciano, you got no complaints." "Waiter!" "Is he deaf?" "So how long have you worked for the escort service?" "I don't know." "A few months." "Find that work interesting?" "What are ya talking about?" "All right." "Come on." "I'm hearing bells." "All right." "Well, where are you?" "Shep, what are you doing?" "I'm banging that girl!" "Fucking asshole!" "Get the fuck out of here!" "Put me back in Stillwater, you little fucking shithead!" "Get the fuck out of here!" "Yo!" "Cut that shit out, man!" "I'm trying to get some sleep here!" " Come on, brother." " Fuck you!" "Fuck you!" "Animals!" "Animals!" "Stay away from me, man!" "Smoke a fucking peace pipe!" "Don't you dare fucking hit me!" "Fucking little weasel!" "Fuck you!" "You fucking motherfucking son of a bitch!" "Fucking cock!" "Jesus Christ!" "Fucking shit-bag motherfucker!" " Yah?" " I'm through fucking around, Jerry." " You got the money?" " Yah, I got the money, but..." "Don"t fuck me, Jerry!" "Go to the Radisson parking ramp, top level, in 30 minutes and we"ll wrap this up." " But..." "Be there in 30 minutes, or I shoot you your wife and all your children in the back of the head!" "Got it?" " Okay, you stay away from Scotty." " Got it?" "Okay, real good, then." "Dad." " It's okay, Scotty." " Where are you going?" "I'll be back in a minute." "If Stan calls you just tell him I went to Ember's." "Okay." "Here's your damn money." "Where's my daughter?" "You goddamn punk!" "Who the fuck are you?" "Who the fuck are you?" "I got your damn money." "Now where's my daughter?" "I'm through fucking around." "Drop that fucking briefcase!" "Where's my daughter?" "Fuck you, man!" "Where's Jerry?" "I gave simple fucking instructions!" "Where's my damn daughter?" " No Jean, no money!" " Drop that fucking money!" "No Jean, no money!" "Is this a fucking joke, here?" "Happy now, asshole?" "What's with you people?" "You fucking imbeciles!" "You fucking shot me!" "May I have your ticket, please?" "Open the fucking gate!" "Oh, jeez." " Dad?" " Yeah?" " Stan Grossman called." " Okay." " Twice." " Okay." " Is everything okay?" " Yeah." "Are you calling Stan?" "Well, I'm..." "I'm going to bed now." " How ya doing?" " Mr. Mohra?" " Yah." " Officer Olson." "Yah, right-o." "So I'm tending bar last Tuesday, and this little guy's drinking and he says, "Where's the action?" "I'm going crazy at the lake."" "I say, "What kind of action?" He says, "Women." "What do I look like?"" "And I said, "I don't arrange that kind of thing."" "And he says, "But I'm going crazy."" " And I said, "This ain't the place."" " Uh-huh." "He says, "I get it." "You think I'm a jerk for asking."" "Only he don't use the word "jerk." So he calls me a jerk and says the last guy who thought he was a jerk is dead now." "He says, "What do you think?"" "I said, "That don't sound too good for him, then."" "You got that right." "He says, "Yeah, that guy's dead, not from old age."" "Then he says, "Jeez, I'm going crazy out at the lake."" "White Bear Lake?" "The bar's closer to Moose Lake, so I made that assumption." " Sure." " Anyway, he's drinking at the bar so I don't think much of it." "But then Mrs. Mohra heard about the homicides and thought I should call it in, so I called it in." "End of story." "What did this guy look like?" "He's a little guy, kind of funny-Iooking." " In what way?" " Oh, just in a general kind of way." "Okay." "Thanks, Mr. Mohra." "You're right, it's probably nothing." " But thanks for calling her in." " Sure." "Looks like she's gonna turn cold tomorrow." "Oh, yeah." "We got a front coming in." "Yeah, you got that right." "Jesus Christ." "Valerie, I'm leaving this morning back up to Brainerd." " L"m sorry I won"t see ya." "You think he's all right?" "I saw him last night." " What did he say?" " It's nothing specific he said." "It just seemed like it hit him really hard, his wife dying." " His wife?" " Linda." " Who?" " Linda Cooksey." "No, they weren"t..." "He was bothering her for a year." "Pestering her, wouldn"t leave her alone." "He didn't?" " They never?" " No." "They never married." "Mike"s had psychiatric problems." "Oh, my." "He"s been struggling." "He"s living with his parents now." "Oh, jeez." "Linda"s fine." "You should call her." "Jeez, well..." "Jeez." "That's a surprise." "Hello!" "Mr. Lundegaard, sorry to bother you." "Can I come in?" "Yeah, no." "I'm kind of busy here." "I'll keep it real short, then." "I'm on my way out of town, but I was wondering..." "Mind if I sit?" "I'm carrying a bit of a load." " No." " It's about the vehicle." " I was wondering..." " Like I said no vehicles are missing." " Okay." "Are you sure?" "Because, I mean, how do you know?" "The crime's perpetrators were driving a car with dealer plates." "And they called here." "It would be quite a coincidence if they weren't, you know, connected." " Yah, I see." " So how do you?" " Have you done any inventory recently?" " Car's not from our lot, ma'am." "How do you know that for sure?" "I would know." "I'm the executive sales manager." " I understand, but..." " We run a pretty tight ship." "Yeah, but how do they establish that, sir?" "Are the cars counted daily or what kind of a routine?" "Ma'am, I answered your question." " I'm sorry, sir?" " Ma'am, I answered your question." "I answered the darn..." "I'm cooperating here." "And there's no, uh..." "Sir, you have no call to get snippy with me." "I'm just doing my job here." "I'm not..." "I'm not arguing here." "I'm cooperating." "We're doing all we can." "Sir, could I talk to Mr. Gustafson?" "Mr. Lundegaard." "Well, heck!" "If you want to play games here..." "I'm working with ya on this thing!" "Okay!" " I'll do a damn lot count!" " Right now?" "Yeah, right now." "You're darn tootin'." "It's so damned important to ya!" " I'm sorry, sir." " Ah, what the Christ!" "Oh, for Pete's sake." "For Pete's sake, he's fleeing the interview!" "How do I get an outside line here?" "Yah, Detective Sibert, please." "I told you it was over, very clearly." "You made yourself perfectly clear." "But something"s come up." "What?" "Something kind of small, but it might be a big problem." "L"m pregnant." "Huh?" "L"m pregnant." "L"ve had a test, I"ve got the certificates  and there"s no doubt I"m gonna have your baby." "You should see the other guy." "What the fuck happened to her?" " She started shrieking, you know." " Jesus." "Well, I got the money." "All of it." "All 80 grand." "That's 40 for you, 40 for me." "That's it, then." "You could have my truck." "I'm taking the Ciera." "We split that." "How the fuck do you split a car, you dummy?" "With a fucking chain saw?" "One of us pays the other for half." "Hold on." "No fucking way!" "Did you fucking notice this?" "I got fucking shot!" "I got fucking shot in the face!" "I went and got the money!" "I got shot picking it up!" "I've been up for 36 fucking hours!" "I'm taking that fucking car!" "That fucker's mine!" "You fucking asshole!" "I've been listening to your shit all week!" "Are we square?" "Are we square?" "Yeah, you fucking mute." "And if you see Shep Proudfoot, tell him I'm gonna nail his ass!" "His wife." "He says she was kidnapped last Wednesday." " The day of our homicides." " Yah." "And this guy was who?" "Lundegaard"s father- in-law"s accountant." " Gustafson's accountant?" " Yah." " We still haven't found Gustafson?" " Still looking." "Sorry, didn't copy, Lou." " Still missing." "We"re looking." " Copy." " And Lundegaard too?" " Yah." " Where are ya, Margie?" " I'm almost back." " I'm taking a drive around Moose Lake." " Oh, Jerry"s loudmouth." "Yah." "So the whole state has it, Gustafson and Lundegaard?" "Yah, it"s over the wire." "It"s everywhere." "They"ll find them." " We got a lead on..." " There's the car!" " Whose car?" " My car!" "My car!" "Tan Ciera!" "Okay, careful, Margie." "L"ll send a couple cars." "Police!" "Hey, hands up!" "Police!" "Police!" "So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there?" "And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper." "And those three people in Brainerd." "And for what?" "For a little bit of money." "There's more to life than a little money, you know." "Don't you know that?" "And here you are and it's a beautiful day." "Well..." "I just don't understand it." "Outside of Bismarck, North Dakota" "Mr. Anderson?" "Who?" "Mr. Anderson, is this your burgundy '98 out here?" "Just a sec." " Could you open the door, please?" " Yah, yah, just a sec." "Just a sec." "They announced it." "They announced it?" "Yah." "So?" "Three-cent stamp." "Your mallard?" "Yah." "Oh, that's terrific." "It's just the three-cent." "It's terrific." "Hautmans' blue-winged teal got the 29-cent." "People don't much use the three-cent." "Oh, for Pete's sake, of course they do." "Whenever they raise the postage, people need the little stamps." "Yah?" "When they're stuck with a bunch of the old ones." "Yah." "I guess." "It's terrific." "I'm so proud of you, Norm." "Heck, Norm, you know, we're doing pretty good." "I love you, Margie." "I love you, Norm." "Two more months." "Two more months."