"A man suffocated his baby daughter and put her in a bag outside Houston station." "Ordinarily, this would've been a death penalty case, but the killer made it to Mexico, and now faces life without parole." "So, what does that teach us?" "It teaches us that no law or ordinance is mightier than understanding." "Know the rule of law, and you can bend it." "Understand its workings, and you can turn first degree murder..." "Into second degree murder." "Second degree into manslaughter." "Hey, ho, Harper!" "Harper, buddy!" "Wait up, man!" "I got the baddest story for you, dude." "I was at the depot this weekend with the Chinaman, and I dropped liquid acid." "Oh, yeah?" "How did that pan out?" "Terrible." "Not good at all." "Trip lasted 18 hours, and then when I came to, my hair turned white." "Yeah." "It's white." "Here's the thing, though," "I don't remember being scared or anything." "Don't get me wrong, it was intense but it was fun." "So I go see the doctor, ask him what he thinks about it." "He says that it might not even be related to the acid at all, that it could be hormonal." "If my pituitary gland is fucked, starts kicking out loads of estrogen," "I can grow tits or turn gay or something." "I mean, what's worse, being straight guy with tits, or waking up and all of a sudden you crave dicks?" "Worse than that, you crave dicks and your hair starts turning Grey." "I'll look like a gay skunk." "Well, now, what's your problem?" "My mom's in a coma." "Oh, fuck." "Harper, dude, man." "I'm sorry, bro." "Of course she's in a coma." "What the fuck am I?" "Am I the worst fucking friend or the worst fucking friend?" "It's all right." "Just forget about it." " Bullshit!" "I can't." "It's unforgivable." "I've been so focused on my own shit, my hair turning different colors." "I should've made time." "No, it's all right, man." "You were busy." "Hey." "Harper, buddy, what is this?" "What are you doing to me here, you putting the guilts on me?" "Huh?" "Come on, man, you know I love your mom." "I just forgot, that's all." "Yeah, man." "I know." "I know." "See you later." "All right, buddy." "See you later." "Paging Dr. Holmer to neurology." "Paging Dr. Holmer to neurology." ""One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo's nest."" "Their quest for the American dream can become a nightmare." "And even though this man ran far and fast enough to get away..." "Going into a very heavily wooded area." "He's starting his new life in America as a fugitive." "Golden Colorado." "Can I get some..." "He starts getting physical." "Now, you see my cherry..." "She's got a dollar sign where most other girls got a heart." "And this John, he picks up on it." "He says, "you like money, don't you, you fucking whore?"" "She says, "I like money and cock, and from where I'm sitting, you don't got neither."" "She said that?" "So what did he do?" "Pulls a knife, cuts her right on her cheek." "Right there." "Motherfucker, it's gonna cost me a fortune." "So anyway, cherry starts going crazy, as you can imagine." "I can hear her screaming from the hallway." "Screaming like Fred Kruger's got his finger up her ass." "I come around to see what the fuck!" "Cherry's pulled a gun." "She's standing there." "She got a Beretta pointed at his head." "She's shaking." "I tried to talk her 'round, but, well..." "Bam, bam, bam." "Guess who had to clean up the fucking mess?" " Holy shit." " Mm-hm." "Who the fuck is this guy?" "Watch out." "Get the fuck outta here." "Didn't your mother tell you it's rude to listen in on other people's talk?" "Not recently." "What did you say?" "My mother's not doing so well, so she hasn't really been honing my social skills recently." "But what I think you're saying is that maybe she shouldn't have to." "You're running your mouth at me." "Johnny, come on, man." "He's drunk." "He's a grown-up." "He knows what he said." "Go home, buddy." "It's late, okay?" "We don't want any trouble tonight." "Oh, it's not late." "It's not even ten o'clock yet." "And whilst I appreciate your concern, tomorrow morning, when I wake up and look myself in the mirror," "I'd rather see a face full of bruises..." "Than a face full of shame." "And I'm prepared to go and buy all your friends over there a drink." "As an apology." "Beyond that, go fuck yourselves." "Let it go, Johnny." "You can buy me a drink." "I'll have a bottle of scotch, but we drink it together." "I'm not really in a social mood." "I'm not asking." "Either we drink together, or we go round and round right here." " Come on, Johnny." " Shut the fuck up, fat man!" " Are you laughing at me?" "He's laughing at you." " Follow me." " Where we going?" "What, you scared?" "Are you scared of me?" "If I was gonna kill you, I'd do it already." "Trust me, you'll like it." "You like chocolate sundaes?" " Yeah." "Where we going?" " You like girls?" " I'll take that." " These aren't for you, Johnny." "Yes, they are." "So, uh..." "What you wanna be?" "What, when I grow up?" "Yeah, what you wanna be when you grow up?" "A criminal lawyer." " Defense, I hope." " Yeah, defense." "What happens if you get someone off who's guilty and then they go out and play ball again?" "Just blame the prosecution for not building a solid case." "I mean, people have a right to a good defense." "Rich people, you mean." "All people." "Two days a week I'm working for free." "What, so you're a crusader?" "Look, I don't wear a cape, but..." "I do find it very hard to walk away from injustice." "You be sure to give me your number when you graduate." "Yeah." "What about you?" "Do you have an area of expertise?" " You need something doing?" " No." " Of course not." "I just..." " What?" " You know..." " What?" "I just like to hear the other side." "No, no, no." "Your face." "You was thinking something." "Nah, I wasn't really." "Speak." "I don't know." "My..." "My step dad's a fucking asshole, and..." "And?" "And sometimes I think it'd be something if someone were to..." "Ruffle his feathers a little." "You catch my drift?" "No, I don't catch your drift." ""Ruffle his feathers"?" "What, is he a bird?" "No, I mean... you know." "Teach him a lesson." "Yeah." "What, science, math, what?" "Come on, man, you know what I'm saying." "I don't know what you're saying!" "Teach him a lesson, I mean..." "You know, some guys I know, that means kill him." "That what you mean?" "No, of course not." "I just..." "I mean beat him up a little maybe." "You gonna beat on somebody, you gotta have a cause." "No, no, no." "No more drinking." "Finish your story." "All right, so three months ago, my mom gets in a car crash." "She's driving, he's in the passenger seat." "They're both drunk." "The car comes off the road, they hit a tree, all right?" "And she's been in a coma ever since." "And you blame him for it?" "I blame him because he's visited her once in the hospital in three months." "And while she's in there fighting for her life, he's going off to Vegas and banging some..." "Some cocktail waitress named rosy hills." "Probably not much older than me." "Your old man's got a taste for teen pussy." "My mom got a terrible set of results tonight." "And if she gets more tomorrow, then..." "She's gonna have her machine..." "Anyway, he knows this." "But tomorrow he's gonna go on some so-called business trip to go see his whore in Vegas." "Now..." "If that's the way his mind's working, if that's what little regard he has for her, then who's to say..." "Who's to say he didn't have a hand in her death?" "Right." "Let me ask you something." "If you could stop time, cut yourself in half, and one side of you goes off, he kills this pussy hound." "The other side, he stays at home, don't know nothing about it." "When it's over, the two sides, they don't speak..." "Shit, they don't even know what the other one's done." "You live your life with clean hands." "Would you do it?" "Yes." "That sort of thing can be had, brother." "How much?" "I mean, you know, hypothetically speaking, how much would something like that cost?" "Hypo-pathetically speaking, 20 grand." "We drive to Vegas, clip this jock." "He ends up in the sand somewhere..." "Hey, boys." " What's going on?" " Fuck off, cherry." "No, she can stay." "It's fine." "No, she can't stay." "Go on." "Go." "Where were we?" "Hello?" "Is that Harper James?" "Yes." "Dr. Ulmer would like to speak with you." "Okay." "I'll just connect you." "You all set?" "Hm?" "Your old man?" "Shit." "No." "No, no, no." "God, no." "I was drunk last night." "Fuck that." "I forgot." "I should've called you." "Twenty grand, three of us drive to Vegas, you spot him, I shoot." "No." "No, that's not gonna happen." "Oh." "Yes, it is." "Look, I said a lot of stuff last night that I didn't mean." "You meant it." "You're just scared, that's all." "No, I was upset last night" "I was upset because of my mother." " And we're going to Vegas." " No, we're really not." "Shut your fucking mouth, all right?" "Your nerves are fucking with you, that's all this is." "Hey, Harper!" "Everything okay?" "Yeah, we're fine, Mr. Parfitt." "Thank you." "Okay, buddy." "Look, man." "I'm sorry, okay?" "But I made a mistake." "I..." "I apologize." "I don't want your fucking apologies." "What I want for you to do is put your money where your big fucking mouth is." "I'm sorry." "I can't." " We're going to Vegas." " I'm sorry." "Don't fucking walk away from me!" "All right, you know what?" "Let's do it, let's go." "Let's got to Vegas." "You made the right choice." "If you hadn't have come, you'd be sitting at home right now, thinking about what could've been instead what is." "I got a policy." "Don't regret the things you do, just the things you don't." "Ain't that right, cherry?" "You going somewhere?" "You know what today is, right?" "The hospital won't know anything till 11:00." " Yeah, did you go up there?" " I called them." "Yeah." "'Cause a visit's out of the question, right?" "Because I have business to attend to." "Yeah, business." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Hm." "Oh..." "I don't know." "You tell me." "The business that will keep this roof above your head, if, god forbid, something bad does happen to your mother." "Something bad already has happened to my mother." "She met you." "You just got in, right?" "Yeah, I just got in." "So what?" "So I'm guessing you're still drunk." "Yeah, I'm drunk." "Then maybe you should take a shower and cool off, before you say something you regret." "Hey, would you mind if I made a phone call?" "To who?" "I need to call the hospital about my mom." " So, go ahead." " I left my phone." "No, I should use a public phone." "If I use yours and something goes wrong, they'll be able to connect us." "Not this phone." "This phone's registered to some shitbag geriatric in Malibu." "I cover my tracks, man." "Told you that." "I cover other peoples, too." "Ain't that right, cherry?" "So come on, what are you waiting for?" "It's kind of private." "I ain't gonna listen." " It can wait." "" "Fuck." "You all right?" "Cherry?" "What?" "What is that supposed to mean?" "I'm good, Johnny." "She was facing straight ahead, so I couldn't see her eyes." "But she was young, not more than 24." "Man, she looked as if she'd just been thrown off the crumbiest freight train in the world." "Yet, in spite of this, I got the impression of beauty." "Not the beauty of a movie actress, mind you, or the beauty you dream about when you're with your wife, but a natural beauty." "A beauty that's almost homely because it's so real." "Then suddenly she turned to face me." "How far did you say we were going?" "Los Angeles." "Where you coming from?" "Oh, back there." " Needles?" " No." "Oh, sure, Phoenix." "You look just like a Phoenix girl." "Are the girls from Phoenix that bad?" "The girl must've been pretty tired because she fell asleep not 20 minutes after she stepped into the car." "She laid sprawled out with her head resting against the far door." "I didn't like that part of it much, but I didn't wake her up." "It wasn't that this girl still worried me." "I'd gotten over that funny feeling I had when she looked at me." "Which I put down as just my..." "The cab's booked for just after 11:00." "I love you more than anything in the whole world." "You are my world." "Harper thinks he's got something on me." "I don't know what he thinks he knows, but..." "You don't need to worry about him." "I'll take care of him." "You know, I imagine us together real soon." "And we're gonna be so happy." "And all this misery will be behind us." "So, where's your old man at?" "He's at the house." "He's still back there?" "Yeah, yeah." "His flight's not until later." "He was about to leave when you guys showed up." "Where's he staying at when he gets in?" "I got an address." "You know, a job like this," "I'm gonna need the money up front." "Yeah, that's no problem." "Oh!" "Well, fuck me, she's alive!" "It's nice to have you back with us." "Fuck off, Johnny." " What was that?" " You heard me." "Don't hit me." "Don't you fucking hit me!" "Fucking..." " Stop, stop, stop!" " You say something?" "Huh?" "You don't have to be physical." "Like that?" "What, are you her guardian angel, or do you wanna fuck her?" "No, of course not." " What, you think she's ugly?" " No." "She's your girl." "Yeah well, what if she wasn't my girl?" " Johnny!" " Would you fuck her then?" "No, come on, what if she wasn't my girl?" " Would you fuck her then?" " But she is your girl." "Yeah, but, motherfucker, what if she wasn't?" "Come on, it's a straight fucking question!" "I want a straight fucking answer!" "Everything has its price, you little shit!" "Would you fuck her, yes or no?" "Yes or no?" "Huh?" "If she wasn't your girl, then yes." "Yes, I think she's very pretty." "Yeah, then you're very lucky, because she's not my girl." "She's a fucking whore." "Anti-social fucking whore who needs to cheer her country ass up." "Recognize who her fucking friends are!" "Miss." "Where's the shithole in this shithole?" "Hey." "Are you okay?" "What are you doing?" " What do you mean?" " Why are you here?" "You know why I'm here." "I know what Johnny told me." " Yeah." " You're not the killing type." "Is there a killing type?" "Yeah, and it ain't you." "Listen, you want some advice?" "Get on that bus and go wherever it's going and have your boring, miserable life because I can guarantee it'll be a whole lot better than being in debt to Johnny." "I'm not gonna be in debt because I'm gonna pay him." "What do you think happens when Johnny's running low on cash?" ""Hey, Harper, hey, my car broke down" "I'm gonna need a little extra cash."" "Well, then I'll say no." "And he'll politely remind you one phone call from him you're going straight to jail." "Yeah, and so is he." "No, no, 'cause you see Johnny can call 20 maniacs in prison, all doing life without parole, who, for a case of cigarettes, will say they killed your step dad, and you paid them to do it." "He's an expert on shit like that." "So that's why you're with him, because he's blackmailing you?" "I heard him talking about your face." "He said you shot someone." "" "Yeah." "Fuck me good!" "Hello?" "Hey, man, what you doing?" "Masturbating." "Hey, man, I got the fear about this whole hormone thing, so I've been surfing the gay sites, see if I've turned." "They got some crazy shit on here, man." "Terrifying stuff." "Gay gangers, fucking orgies, muscle Marys." "They even got this genre called "the straight guys first time"." "I tried that." "Nothing." "Toys, twinks, studs, not a twinge." "And then I put the straight porn back on..." "Boom!" "I'm back, baby!" "I got more wood than a lumberjack." "How's your mom?" "The same." "Thanks for asking." "Listen, um..." "I need that favor." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Go for it." "All right, so I need to get some weed." "Wait, you wanna buy weed?" "Yeah, I wanna buy a lot of weed, but you can't ask me why." " Why?" " Paul." " Is it for your mom?" " What?" "No." "Medicinal?" "No, my mom's in a fucking coma!" "How is she supposed to smoke weed?" "You're right, dude." "That was dumb." "So, how much you need?" "I need enough that if you were caught with it there's no way it could be construed as personal use." "What's going on?" "I told you not to ask." "Come on, man, I broke up mid-whack for this." "Break your vow of silence." "Vincent's going to Vegas later, and he's going to run into some problems at the airport." "Yeah, I'm into that." "All right." "Cool, man." "All right." "Thanks." "Bye." "Hey, what can I get you?" "Two beers, a sparkling water for the lady and get the boy a milkshake." "And what flavor?" "Banana." "Have we met before?" "I don't think so." "You were in my class at fairpoint." "I'm Claire Wiseman, remember?" "Ah, yeah." "I remember." "How are you?" "I'm good." "Wow, it's so good to see you." "What have you been doing these days?" "Oh, this and that." "What happened to your face?" "I was in a car crash." "I'm sorry." "You're still as pretty as ever, though." "Thank you." "Why don't you tell your donut rubber friend" " what you do for a living?" " Come on, man." "She's a singer." "She's got a great voice." "Ain't that right?" "You know, come to think of it," "I remember you singing at school." "You were good." "Where do you sing at now?" " I sometimes sing at..." " Vegas." "Good for you!" "Is that where you're headed?" "Yes, we are." " Wow, I wish I could come with." " Well, you can't." "So why don't you jog that cream pie ass along, put our order in?" "I guess I will." "I'll catch you in a minute." "You thought I was gonna tell her you was a trick?" " I'm not a trick." " He don't care." "I do." "You're not a trick." "Don't you gotta go make that call?" "Yeah." "You wanna keep this going?" "It's getting tiring, you know?" "You keep staring in that rear view mirror, you're gonna crash." "The fuck is wrong with you?" "I swear to god, you've been body-snatched or something." "Alien." "What do you want from me?" "I warned you I was crazy, but you was all, "don't worry, baby," "I like crazy."" "Where's that girl?" "That girl was 16 years old." "Hi." "Can I get Dr. Ulmer, please?" "It's Harper James." " I'll just connect you." " Thank you." "Harper." "I was just about to call you." "How are things?" "I was hoping I can see you in person." "Just tell me." "The second set of results came back, and, I'm afraid to say, there's no brain function." "I really am very sorry." "You have to take comfort in the fact that you did everything you could for her." "You were by her side the whole time." "Some people never experience that kind of love." "As doctors, we realize pretty soon that we can't save everyone, but we have to try." "You couldn't have done much more for her." "We don't have to make any decisions right now, just..." "I think you should just come by the office and we could have a talk." "Harper?" "Are you there?" "Harper?" " Ma'am." " Hi." " Hey, Claire." " Hey, Mikey, what can I get you?" "Make it a cheese and mustard bagel, coffee, and give me some juice with that." "Okay." "You got it." "How's Pete?" "Oh, the same, you know." "He asked about you." " Said you'd been sick?" " Yeah." "I had that bug that was going around, everybody had." "You look better." "I'm gonna put your order in." "Yeah, thanks." "Hey, do you think that cop's all right?" "No, I think that that cop's an asshole, but we didn't do nothing wrong, so relax." "We gotta make a detour." "I gotta go see frank." "Why?" "We can't go to Nevada without seeing frank." "Yes, we can." "We pass through Nevada without seeing frank, frank finds out, there'll be drama." " We don't need no drama." " Who's this frank guy?" " He's a friend of ours." " Yeah, right." "Frank is..." "Put it this way, last time we was going to Nevada, cherry was sitting on a kilo of blow." "She had it tucked away, if you know what I mean." "Most of it was in my bra." "We were stopped what, five times?" "At least five times." "But each time they didn't have a cause for a search, so they just had to let us go." "But on the fifth time, they bring out this sniffer dog." "This..." "I thought we was fucked for sure, but that dog, he just walked on past." "I'm thinking, "damn, cherry must have that shit packed tight."" "Anyway, we get to frank's, and it turns out we ain't smuggling coke." "We're smuggling baking powder." "The whole k is Jack." "The spic dealer fucked us." "We ain't sure whether to laugh or cry." "If it was flake, we would've gotten 20 years." " Federal." " Wait, so you didn't check it before you bought it?" "It was frank's guy." "I didn't have to." "So, what happened?" "When?" "Wasn't this frank guy angry that you gave him fake drugs?" "Like I said, frank's a friend of mine." " Here's your check." " I didn't ask for no check." "Thank you." "All right." "What you're seeing here is video evidence, proof, that Vincent Reed, my mother's second husband, somehow managed to convince her to sign over control of the house, in the event of her death or incapacity." "This in spite, on the date that she allegedly signed, right here, she was in New York with me." "Look, I have our air tickets here." "And here's a photo of the two of us on the Brooklyn bridge." " Harper!" "Harper!" " Note the date." "Shit." "Harper, get over here now!" "Move your ass!" "What?" "You get over here." "What is this?" " It's a knife." " I know that, smartass!" "What's it doing in my hand luggage?" " I have no idea." " You put it there." " Why would I do that?" " I don't know why." "To make me look like shit at the airport, probably." "Oh, yeah." "That's right." "I forgot." "You're going on a business trip." "A business trip to go survey the Davis casino extension." "Except for the fact that the Davis casino" " isn't having an extension." " It's not an extension!" "We're developing apartment blocks!" "You're a liar." "You're a fucking liar!" "Everything that's coming out of your mouth is bullshit!" "All right, buddy." "Why don't you tell me what it is that you think you know?" "You forged my mother's signature on her will, yeah." "And you did a pretty good job of it, Vince, except for the fact that she was with me in New York on the date that she was supposed to have signed!" "And guess what?" "That's not gonna hold up in court, buddy." "I..." "I forged her signature so that you would get your money without having to go through five years of litigation," " if we get bad new today." " So you did forge it." "So what?" "Oh, but it was all for me, right, Vince?" "In a way, yeah." "Good." "Are you fucking the cocktail waitress for me, too?" "What are you talking about?" "I'm not stupid, Vince!" "I know about rosy hills." "Rosy hills?" "Yeah, yeah, you are right!" "I am fucking rosy hills while your mother lies dying in a coma!" "But that's not even all." " No?" " No." "I think you were driving the car when the accident happened!" "You wanted her to die!" "How fucking dare you?" "Get..." "What the fuck is the matter with you!" "Fuck!" "Harper." "Let me do the talking." "Wait, you're not gonna stop, are you?" "We didn't do nothing wrong, all right?" "Don't speak, you understand me?" "Don't say a fucking word." "Fucking shit." "57, go ahead." "Control, Sierra Madre calling in here." "Officer Andrews." "NV plates for a 1-2-3-1-9, California plates." "Something wrong, officer?" "My gut says "yeah"." "You ran out the restaurant." "You forgot this on the table." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "You know, I have no idea why she wrote that." "She is a waitress." "She might've thought it was part of the service." "Don't matter, though." "You've been Hawking me through your pig blinkers since I walked into that place." "The question is, why?" "Uniforms make me nervous." " Do they now?" " Yeah." "I fought in Afghanistan, got therapy." " You's a vet, huh?" " Mm-hm." "Huh." "Small world." "I served, too, 2002." " Operation anaconda." " Your boys did a fine job." "Why, thank you, sir." "What's the name of your mission?" "Oh, you know, we named it go fuck bin laden." "Go..." "Go fuck bin laden?" "Oh, man, I like that." "That's funny." "That's funny." "What's the real name of your mission?" "You know, I can't recall." "Uh-huh." "Would you please step out of the vehicle?" "Put your hands on the hood." "Come on, man." "Put your hands on the hood!" "A soldier's mission is scarred on his brain." "You disrespectful piece of shit." "You think you some kind of war hero?" "Open your legs!" "Open your legs!" "Okay." "Okay." "What we have here?" "What's this, coke, meth, oxy?" "I know how you hillbilly boys like that oxy." "No, no, no." "That's crushed Viagra." "I'll need a shitload of it later if I'm to fuck your wife." " You fuck!" "You wanna laugh now?" "You, get out of the car!" "Get out of the car right now!" "Get out of the vehicle!" "Get out of the vehicle now!" "Put your hands in the air!" "Come on, move, sister Mary!" "Get over here!" " Yes, sir." " Put your hands on the hood." "Yes, sir." " Do I gotta cuff you?" " No, sir." "Good." "'Cause I only got cable ties, and I do not need another police brutality charge." "Yes, sir." "Keep your eyes right here, you hear me?" "Keep your eyes right here and your hands on the hood!" " You hear that?" " Yes, sir." " Stop crying." " Yes, sir." "How are you doing, miss?" "Oh, I'm all right." "Yeah?" "Getting your friends arrested don't bother you none, huh?" "They ain't technically my friends, officer." "They hired me for the day." "You a hooker?" "I'm a dancer." "Prostitution's legal in Nevada, but this ain't Nevada." "I ain't fucked them yet, neither." "Yeah, can't blame you." "I need you come up out of this car, give me a little tour around." "That all right?" " Sure." " All right." "You can start by popping the trunk, that all right?" " Sure." " All right." "Keep your eyes on me!" "Yes, sir." " Jesus Christ." " Drop the gun!" "You're making a mistake, ma'am!" "Making a big mistake!" "You heard me, asshole, drop the fucking gun!" " Shoot the prick!" " No!" " Kill him!" " Do not kill him!" "No, no, listen to him!" "Don't kill me, ma'am!" "Please!" "Drop the fucking gun!" "Okay!" "Right there, lady, all right?" "Please!" "I got a wife and kid!" " I just wanna go home!" " The keys for the handcuffs." "Take the keys and go, all right?" "Just take the keys." "Right there." "All right?" "Look, I got a wife and kids at home." "I just want to go home." "Okay?" " Give me that fucking radio!" "Here, you can have these." "I just don't want any trouble." " Just put the gun away." " Get in the trunk." "No, I'm not getting in that trunk." "Get in the fucking trunk." "Get in the fucking trunk!" " Get in the trunk!" " Okay!" "Okay." "Pull it together, Harper." "Come on." "Keep it together." "Keep yourself together." "You're not the kind of guy who folds." "This is not the time to panic." "He killed her." "He killed your mother." "Hey, Harper!" "Everything okay?" "Uh, yeah!" "Nice day for a swim." "Yeah." "Listen, I can clear those leaves for you, if you like." "You've enough to worry about." "No." "No..." "I like the distraction." "Okay." "Fuck." "You have one unheard message." "Hey, Harper, it's Paul." "I got that little something for you." "I'm on my way around." "No, no, no, no." "Fuck!" "Hey, Paul." "Hey, it's Harper." "Listen, hey, whatever you do, you absolutely cannot come over here right now." "There's just been a..." "Just don't come." "Just don't come over." "Fuck." "Fuck." " Hey, Paul..." " What's up, buddy?" "Wait, you can't go in there." "Why?" "You just can't." "Come here." "What's going on?" "Uh..." " My step dad's in there." " Oh, shit." "Okay." "Do you still want the weed?" "Uh... yeah, yeah." "I'll take it." "Okay, well there was a slight problem with the weed." "Do you remember the mine shafts we visited when we were kids?" "Do you remember Reece got lost for three days?" "They got this tree of love music festival there now." "Imagine if one of them stoners gets lost in them tunnels, dude." "They're not gonna find that fool's body for a hundred years." "But anyway, that's why I couldn't get any weed." "It's all right." "It's all right." "I'll take whatever you have." "Harper." "I've been on a wild goose chase all morning, man." "At least hear me out." "Do you wanna grab a coffee or something?" "I... you know what?" "I can't, man." "I just really gotta go see my mom in a minute." "Shit, man." "I'm sorry." "Look, I couldn't get the weed, but do you remember that stuff that turned my hair white?" "Boom." "Liquid acid." "Schedule one drug." "They find that on him, man, they're gonna throw his ass away." "However, if you're feeling compassionate, or just fancy some fun of the twisted variety, put some of that in his eye drops." "He'll wind up in an institution." "All right." "Thanks." " You okay, man?" " I'm fine." "Fine." "Hey, buddy." "Dude, you know I love you, man, and your mom." "When you go visit her at the hospital, give her a big hug for me, okay?" "Hey, come here, buddy." "Come here." " It's gonna be okay, I promise." " Yeah." " I'm gonna call you later, okay?" "All right." "Thanks, man." "We're gonna have to kill him and dump his body somewhere." "Kill a fucking cop!" "Are you crazy?" "What do you wanna do, just let him go?" " Well, we're not gonna kill him!" "Oh, Jesus Christ." "Fuck." "All right." "All right." "I have something to admit." "No, you have nothing to admit." "Just trust Johnny." "He knows what he's doing." "Admit?" "What the fuck are you talking about?" " Nothing." " Say what you was gonna say." "All right." "I'm scared, okay?" "I admit that I'm scared." "Feeling scared is normal, but don't be feeling bad for no cop." "You seen how he was acting up." "Some people deserve what they get." "Well, there's gotta be another way." " You don't have to kill him." " Oh, I ain't gonna kill him." " You are." " What?" "I gotta know which side you're on." "Now, I know that may seem tough, but as you get older, you realize that life isn't about the choice you make." "It's the one you're given." "You can't live in the past." "Ain't that right, cherry?" "I said, "ain't that right, cherry?"" "Yeah." "That is right, Johnny." "Yeah, that's right." "So the choice I'm giving you is, kill the cop, then go to the bank and get my money, or go to the bank, get my money, and then, well, I think you got it." "So, what's it gonna be?" "20,000 in this envelope, five in that one." "Anything else, sir?" "Have you lived here in Barstow your whole life?" " Yes, I have." " Yeah?" "Do you like it here?" " Not really." " Why is that?" "Boring as hell." "What was you talking about when we was in the diner?" "When?" "What do you mean, "when"?" "When you was in the diner and I was in the head." "Nothing." "Your lips were moving." "Nothing was coming out." "He asked if I was all right." "Why?" "'Cause you hit me." "What did you tell him?" "I told him I was fine." " What else?" " Nothing else." "I was gone a while." "You must have said something." "Nope." "They only had five available." "I'm giving you the rest tonight in Vegas and I'll give you more to buy the cop." "Cop ain't for sale." "You said everything has its price." "How much?" "If the cop lives, I'll give you ten grand." "I'm guessing you got a plan that don't involve me spending a lifetime in prison." "Yeah, I got a plan." "Yeah?" "You wanna tell me that plan?" "Yeah, there's a mine shaft near here." "Take me there, I'll show you." "All right." "First we gotta go see frank." "These guys find out there's a cop in the trunk, they're gonna kill us all." "You make one fucking noise, pig," "I'm gonna blast your fucking head off." "Is he in?" "Yeah." "What kind of mood?" "He's never in a good mood." "Well, I got you all wrong, didn't I?" "No." "You got me just right." "Hi, cherry." "Hi, frank." "I had a dream about you last night." " Really." " Yeah." "It's so strange that you're here." "Hey..." "You mind if I give you my number?" "My card?" " Sure." " Yeah." "Is that all right?" "Wait... wait a second." "Pen." "Call me, huh?" " Thank you." " You're welcome." "Mm." "Ladies." "Hey, hey!" "Hey, come here." "Be awake the next time I come in." "Frank." "What's going on?" "Cherry's sitting, waiting in the car outside." "You don't bring her in to say hi?" "She's tired." " Tired?" " Yeah." "We're all fucking tired." " Who's the boy?" " A friend." "What kind of friend?" "Kind that picks up the tab." "Now that's five grand." "I'll have the rest for you by tomorrow." "Why not today?" "I got something going on down in Vegas." " You want a drink?" " Sure." "What did I say to you the last time you were here?" "You said don't come back empty-handed!" "Wrong!" "Lift your chin." "Stay still." " Frank, please!" " Lift your chin up!" "Didn't break." "It doesn't count because it didn't break." " Frank, I'm gonna have your..." " Shut up!" "You say one more word," "Ralph here'll put you in a box, you understand?" "Fuck!" "My shoulder." "My shoulder." "I can't throw so hard anymore." "It's your lucky day, huh?" "The last time you were here..." "I said," "I would've preferred you have come with nothing than another excuse." "And what do you bring me?" "I bought a kilogram of baking powder from you..." "And you're still breathing." "Why is that?" "Why?" "Why?" "Come on, come on." "Speak!" "I know you've been good to me..." ""been good to me." Me-me-me." "You're a cretin, you know that?" "You know what a cretin is?" "A cretin's someone who's brainless, childish, lacks intelligence, speaks nonsense that only other cretins can understand." "You're busting your ass with these repayments, why?" "Because you have feelings for this girl." "This girl that you treat like a fucking whore." "And me!" "Me!" "I have feelings for her, too!" "But it seems I'm the only man in the whole fucking world who can't nail that piece of ass!" "So..." "I'm gonna make you the same offer I made you last time." "The girl stays here with me and the debt is cleared." "You can even take your five grand with you." "Cherry stays here, and you can visit." "I can't do that." "Get your ass up." "There's one thing..." "That my success is based on..." "And that's my word." "That's all I have." "Tomorrow..." "When the sun rises over those hills, if I don't see 50 grand sitting across my desk," "I'm gonna come, I'm gonna find cherry, and I'm gonna sell her to some bearded, kneepad-wearing motherfucker who will put her in a tent somewhere and use her as some kind of hillbilly fuck mat!" "Do I make myself absolutely clear?" " Yeah!" "Now get the fuck out of here." " Ralph?" " Yes, boss." "Keep an eye on that degenerate." "Call our people in Vegas." "I don't want that cretin running loose." "Hey, we're not in right now, but leave a message and we'll call you right back." "This message is for Vincent." "Your cab's on its way." "Hello?" "Is that Harper James?" "Yes." "Dr. Ulmer would like to speak with you." "Okay." "I'll just connect you." "You're all set?" "Hm?" "Your old man." "Shit." "No." "No, no, no." "God, no." "I was..." " I was drunk last night." " Fuck that." "No, I was upset last night." "Upset because of my mother." " We're going to Vegas." " No, we're really not." "Shut your fucking mouth, all right?" "Your nerves are fucking with you," " that's all this is." " Hey, Harper." "Everything okay?" "Yeah, we're fine, Mr. Parfitt." "Thank you." "Okay, buddy." "I'm sorry, but I made a mistake, okay?" "I apologize." "I don't want your fucking apologies." "What I want for you is to put your money where big fucking mouth is." "I'm sorry." "Fucking walk away from me!" "Do you remember the mine shafts that we visited when we were kids?" "Remember Reece got lost for three days?" "They got this music festival there now." "Imagine if one of them stoners gets lost in them tunnels, dude." "They're not gonna find that fool's body for a hundred years all right, you know what?" "Let's do it, let's go." "Let's go to Vegas." "But let's take my dad's car." "Why?" "Why not?" "Get out of the way, you fucking vegans!" "Jesus fucking Christ!" "What are you twirling, a fucking stick?" "Okay, this is where the Anderson shaft, is right here." "Pull over there by the mine shaft." "What's the plan?" "Pass me a bottle of water." "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "You ain't gonna just let this guy go." "He's probably dead from dehydration." "And if he's not, this is liquid acid, all right?" "He's gonna be in the grip of some serious hallucinations for the next 48 hours." "He won't know fact from fiction for a week, let alone be a reliable witness in court." "All right." "But if you can't tame this piggy, I will." "Sir?" "Hello?" "I think he's dead." "Sir." "Sir!" "Sir!" "Wait!" "Wait!" "I'm trying to help you." "Here, drink this!" "Drink this!" "It's water!" "It's water!" "Wait!" "Hey, go that way." "Towards the festival!" "Let's go to Vegas." "Welcome to the casino, sir." "Is there any baggage in the trunk?" "No." "Nothing." "We ain't staying long." "No problem." "Two rooms." "Big ones." "And put us down at the comp rate." "I'm gonna need a credit card." " Can I get a name?" " Peters." "Barney Peters." "Okay, Mr. Peters, you're good to go." "Thank you." "Thanks." "You go get my money, then we find your old man." "And I got the keys, in case you think about going anywhere." "What are you doing?" "I'm gonna go to the room." "Stay there." "I might need that ass." "I'm gonna rent a car..." "And I'm gonna drive away." "And I'm gonna keep on driving." "And if you wanna come, be outside the casino at 10:00." "Can I get light and a bourbon?" "I'm guessing you're a winner." "In what regard?" "In regard to that stack of chips." "You think I gamble to win?" "Then why?" "Why do you think a boxer fights when he's got more money than he can ever spend?" "'Cause he's stupid." "He does it to feel alive." "He'd rather risk it all than be dead here or here." "To be really alive..." "You gotta gamble more than you can afford to lose." "You just gotta know how much..." "Or what that thing is." "Can I get a prepaid phone?" "Hello, police?" "This is the valet at the Collinen." "I was just taking a mustang down to the garage and I accidentally popped the trunk, and well..." "There's something you gotta see in here." "All right." "Thanks." "Would you like extra insurance?" "Uh, no, thanks." "Here you are." "Any vehicle from lot d." "Just show this at the gate." "Thank you." " Going someplace?" " No." "Hi, sweetie." "Come on in." "Can I get an ID on a blue mustang?" "Drive." "What happened?" "Fucking asshole." "He brought a guy to my room." "Cops burst in, arrested him for murder." "How did you get out?" "They thought I was a hooker." "Listen to me." "He's gonna kill her!" "He's gonna kill..." "He's gonna kill cherry!" "What are you talking about?" "Frank Malone!" "If I don't get frank the money..." "Get inside!" "He's gonna kill cherry." "Please!" "Please!" "You're allowed one phone call." "You want my advice?" "Forget the girl and call a lawyer." "I'll go see if they got a room." "I never killed the guy who cut my face." "I mean, I shot him." "Me and Johnny, we dope guys." "I ain't proud of it, but we bring guys back to the room, guy falls asleep, Johnny comes in, we rob him." "Except this time, the guy don't sleep and Johnny don't show." "This asshole." "He hit's me." "He's on top of me." "I'm fighting him, screaming, crying..." "And Johnny don't show." "This guy smashes a bottle and says it's either gonna be his cock or the bottle inside of me." "I try to run, he cuts my face, and I hear the sound of a gun, and I'd shot him." "Then Johnny shows up." "That asshole would've lived, but Johnny didn't drive him to no hospital." "He took him to a storm drain." "What about you?" "Why'd you kill him?" "Cherry..." "Frank's coming to get you." "I didn't wanna scare you." "I just..." "Let's go." "Ralph." "Go get my cherry." "Why didn't you just call a lawyer?" "What, instead of running to Mexico like every other idiot?" "I panicked." "But there's still time." "You got money." "Hire a big-shot lawyer." "The only way a lawyer's gonna keep me out of jail is to get me to plead insanity, then send me to a looney bin." "I'll be like Mcmurphy from one flew over the cuckoo's nest." "Yeah." "Nurse Ratched will give me a lobotomy." "All right, Mr. doom and gloom." "Well, I've seen that movie." "The chief gets away." "So it's kind of a happy ending, at least for one of them." " You wanna get a soda?" " Sure." "That's $5.48, please." "What are you doing?" "I want you to take the money." "I don't want the money." "I wanna go to Mexico with you." "You can't." "Why?" "Because I'm gonna get caught." "What's the reason for your visit to Mexico, sir?" "Vacation." "May I see your ID?" "Yeah." "Where are you heading for your vacation?" "Uh, Baja." "Got an address?" "I'm staying at the four seasons." "It's my mom's wedding anniversary." "Go ahead." "Are you all right?" "Do I look all right?" "Give me your hand." "Where are we?" "Somewhere in Mexico." "Why'd you come back?" "What happened?" "Hey, sweetie." "I got the hospital staff to bring this recording over to you." "I'm sorry I haven't been there for a long while." "I just..." "Just can't bear to see you lying there." "I'm not good with emotion, you know that." "The cab's booked for just after 11:00." "I love you more than anything in the whole world." "You are my world." "Harper thinks he's got something on me." "I don't know what he thinks he knows, but you don't need to worry about it." "I'll take care of him." "You know, I imagine us together..." "Real soon." "And we're gonna be so happy." "And all this misery will be behind us." "Johnny used to say that bad luck followed me like a pervert followed a school bus." "But Johnny could be wrong, just like anyone." "He did say one thing, though, that seemed to ring true..." "That when a man's got murder on his mind..." "He should dig two graves." "One for the victim." "And one for himself."