"Shit." "No." "No, no." "No!" "No..." ""Dear Tools... by now," ""I guess you know I'm gone." ""I couldn't take it no more. "Not so much my foster Dad's drinking and losing his temper... "" "Gotta get a lawyer, Johnno." "It ain't gonna go away by you ignoring it." "Simon?" "Boy, you been mule-kicked in the head?" "Who the fuck you think it is?" "I thought... thought you was out... west," " on a bridge job." " Ah, the fuckin' bridge is built, Johnno." "I'm sitting right here." " Who... who you been talking to?" " What?" " Made you think I need a lawyer?" " Jess." "Jess?" "Yup. she waited on me at Puffy's earlier." "Said she'd moved into town with Nolan and hit you with divorce papers, and you won't go get a lawyer." "Aw, shit." "That's old news, Simon." "Well, not to me, it ain't." "I been drilling' steel out in Montana these three months, remember?" "Says she's gonna go back to school, be a teacher?" " Teacher?" " Yeah." "Know what the end of the world is, Johnno?" "When your heart stops beating', partner." "Anything else is just a setback." "How good you'd get to know Ira Hollenbach?" " How good what?" " When you worked for him?" "Hell, I only worked for him near a year, before he and Molly got killed." " Knew him to be a decent boss." " Yeah?" "Yeah, but look here." "Go and see my lawyer." "Daggard Pitt." "I don't want a divorce, Simon." "I want my family back." "Yeah, well, go and see him anyway." "He'll take good care of you." "Thought you'd get away..." "did ya, John?" "You know me?" "It's a small town, John." "Daggard Pitt." "Uh, Simon Breedlove said you'd be a good one for me to talk to 'bout this." "Come on in, John." "Let's see what you've got." "Well, these were served on you over 40 days ago." "The law doesn't allow but 20 to answer them." "They got under somethin'." "The problem, thankfully, isn't fatal." "I need your help." "Uh..." "I ain't interested in a divorce." " Me and Jess don't see eye-to-eye on that." " I'm so sorry." " She's got this idea about the boy." " Your son?" "Nolan." "After he was born," " she started to see things..." "... different. - "Different"?" "Yeah, all of a sudden, she wanted more." "Now, I've always provided." "She can't say I don't provide." "I..." "I ain't lazy." "Says here you've had trouble keeping a job ever since your father lost his farm?" "No, sir." "I've had plenty of jobs." "Plenty of jobs, just not for long." "I even took a job at that creamery, just to get her a few extra things, and when I lost that, she... uh..." "I can't stay cooped up inside all day." "I was raised to farm." "It's all I know." "How can I help you, John?" "She mentioned counseling', once." "I'll go now, if it'll bring her home." "You tell her lawyer that." "I was acquainted with your parents." "I represented the bank when they foreclosed on and sold their farm to Cecil Nobie." "I felt awful about it." "We all did." "The bank did what it could, to keep your father afloat, but the economy at that time, and him having overextended himself..." "Yes." "Then, of course... him taking sick." "John?" "The question you have to ask yourself is, will you be comfortable with me?" "Simon says you're cheaper than the rest of 'em in town." " That mean you ain't as good?" " Well..." "Compensation takes many forms, John." "Mm." "Main one says money." "I have no wife, no family, only my clients and their often-sticky and heartfelt situations." "I've known our friend, Simon, for example, through thick and thin." "How serious of scrapes you got him out of?" "Well, that's between him and me, John." "Just as anything you tell me as your lawyer will be between you and me." "You're not wondering about my criminal defense expertise as a result of more troubles you've had up in the conservancy, are you?" "Your, uh..." "Your poaching arrests..." "Is it three now?" "Have all made the paper." "I'm afraid another one'll cause you more serious problems than just a couple of weekends in jail." "There isn't something of that nature that might get in the way of your custody or visitation rights, is there?" "No, sir." "No, sir." "I don't want a divorce." "I want my family back." "You just delay matters long as you can." "Appreciate your time." "Thank you." "Hmm." "You look pretty." " Friend of yours?" " Just some guy looking for some other guy." " What other guy?" " Not a guy worth knowing, called "The Hen. " You'd ever seen him, you'd know the name fits." "You want to order?" "Yeah." "I'll take a cheeseburger plate." "Cup of coffee." " What kind of cheese?" " You know what kind, babe." "Coleslaw?" " No." "I'll get a tossed salad." " You don't eat tossed salad." "Well, I thought I'd give it another shot." "Doctor says it's good for me." "Make it a large tossed salad." "I hired a lawyer, like you wanted." "I told him to tell your guy" " I'm ready to go to one them counselors." " Well." "I think you ought to." "I mean together." "Oh, John." "I thought it was your idea." " That was before we separated." " We didn't separate." "You moved out." "With our son." "A day after I lost my job." " I know the timing was bad, but..." " I got some things at home for the two of you." " I'll bring them by later." "How'd that be?" " What things?" "Food things and money." "Can't you give 'em to me now?" "I've got a class until 8:00." " I'll come by after, then." " I'd really rather you wouldn't tonight..." " Why not?" "You got a date?" " I can't talk right now." "You can't talk 'bout it now, you can't talk about it later." " When can you talk about it?" " I'm sorry." " The hell you say." "Christ almighty." " I'll come by and see Nolan then." " He's gonna be there, right?" " It's not a good time." "I need to see him." "And you." "I got somethin' important to tell you about our future." " John, I..." " Lookit what you done my pants!" " What about your goddamn pants?" " They look pissed in." " Well..." " We got some kind of problem?" "What'd I tell you about comin' in and raisin' shit?" "Don't trouble yourself, Puffy." "We're good over here." "Ain't we good over here?" "You get your pants cleaned." "We got 'er straightened out, right, we got it straightened out." " Drop the goddamned bag." " Is this... is this 1201 Belmont?" "I ain't shitting you, man." "Okay." "I think I got the wrong house." "Yeah." "Most-fuckin' - likely." "No." "He don't." " That's John." " John?" "The husband." "I'm Jess's friend, Carla." "From Puffy's?" "I'm babysitting'." "Babysitting?" " Shit." "Where's Jess?" " I didn't ask." "Are you watchin' pornos on the fuckin' TV?" " Yeah, well, we got a constitutional right." " You got a fuckin' gun on me." "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "I put it away." "And you're fucking in front of my kid!" "Well, he was sleepin'." "Till you woke him, John." "You best be gone, or dressed, when I get back." "I don't want to see your sorry ass naked in my wife and kid's house." "Hey." "Hey..." "Hey!" "It's daddy!" "Can you say "Dada"?" "Oh, shit." "It's okay." "It's okay." "It's okay." " Better let me have him, John." " What's the matter with him?" "Oh, he just ain't used to seeing you is all." "What do you mean, ain't used to seeing me?" " Aw, I know, baby." "I know." " What's the matter with him?" "What'd you people do to him?" "He's just a little scared is all." "Yes, you are, baby." "Is that right?" "Hey." "I'm gonna tell Jess what I found here." "Best believe me that." "How's that?" "Say "bye-bye, Daddy. "" "You know, the look on your face makes me think you do remember me." "I'm wondering why you can't fuck in your own place is all." "Shit, you know how it is, John." "My dick's a basset hound." "I'm just the poor son of a bitch holding its chain." "I can't figure out why you're still here neither." "Well..." "Nobody lives here's asked me to leave." "Yeah, well, most guys who make assholes of themselves don't wait to be." "Well, hell, John, that was nothin'." "I mean, you should've come a few minutes earlier, got the same show the pizza man did." "Should I put this in the fridge?" "It feels like maybe it needs it." "You mad at me for some reason, John?" "I don't like guns being pulled on me." "If a fucking lunatic madman breaks into a place, what would you do?" "Huh?" "I don't like 'em around my kid, neither." "Oh, come on, now." "A lifelong hunter like you, John?" "I don't believe that." "See, the truth is, John, is I'm like you." "I am, you see, a person who makes good use of what he kills shouldn't have to worry what time a year it is" " or whose fuckin' land he's on." " Right?" " Does Jess know you're here?" " Why don't you ask her?" " I might." " You do that, John." "You do that." "And when you give Jess her little bag of goodies, you ask her if she knows old Obie, that's short for "Obadiah," Cornish." "That's like "The Hen. "" "Well, no shit, John." "You know, we might actually be acquainted." " Yeah?" "How's that?" " Well, seeing's how as, a number of years back," "Old Obie Cornish spent many a day busting his ass for peanuts, up and around that old mountain you're on." "Yup." "Back in town now, after a lot of years, only to find that not much has changed, except I understand that you and yours had a string of bad luck." "Money must be pretty tight for you these days, huh, John?" "I don't recognize you from a clump of cow shit." "Ain't you gonna leave the bag, John?" "Huh?" "Do you know me?" "I don't think so." "Then what are you looking at?" "A face I ain't seen before." "I know this place ain't upscale enough to have a rent-a-cop, so..." "You must be a concerned citizen." "Right?" "Well, I just know people who live on it, is all." "I wonder if we know the same ones." "Where do the ones you know live at?" " They ain't home." " No?" " Yup." " Well, then maybe not." "Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh." "Pretty bad, huh?" " Yeah." "Right there." " Hold still." "Ah!" "Hey." "Hey!" "Well, I appreciate your time, John." "Git!" "Hyah!" "You got any work, John?" "Yeah." "Plenty." "Just not much of the paying kind." "Grady's off to college come fall." "Got hisself some smarts from his mother, I guess." "Yep." "I'm proud as can be of that boy, but he ain't never took to farming any more than that one has." "Can't hardly blame 'em." "World's pretty exciting out there these days." "And for sure there ain't no money in dairying." "I ain't never had use for a full-time man before, but once Grady goes, it ain't right that his mother should take up his slack." "So..." "So if you could see your way clear to working for me on your old home," "I'm offering you a job, come fall." "Good job." "Long-term." "You run this farm better than my daddy ever did." "That's the truth of it." "Him losing it is no fault of yours, and I thank you for your offer, only I just, uh..." "You got an interest in that piece of junk" " before it goes to the dump?" " I might." "I might." "Well..." "Now, ain't that a persistent son of a bitch?" "That's twice in 24 hours it's gone by toward Hollenbach's." "Maybe after six years, somebody's finally looking to buy that place." " Got to be from out the area, though." " Wouldn't ya say, John?" "Nobody local's gonna buy that place, knowing its history." "Be like walkin' on Ira and Molly's graves." "You believe in ghosts, John?" " As much as I don't." " Yeah, sure." "Me too." "Yeah, as nice a piece of land as it sits on," "I wouldn't live in that house for all the gold in the world." "Hey, you remember a foster kid, worked for Ira a couple summers before they was killed?" " Cornish." " Yeah." " Obadiah Cornish." " Yeah, that's him." " Called himself "The Hen. "" " Yeah." " Pecker..." " Yeah." " Yeah." "'Cause I used to buy a lot of stone back in them days, from Ira and, uh, that looney-tune kid, and your buddy, Simon Breedlove, would help me load it." " Simon and him worked for Ira at the same time?" " Yup." "Didn't Cornish get fired for stabbing a goat or something?" "No, it was his heifer, he stabbed a heifer in the heart." "He got shit-canned for it." "Hey, now I know that one" " is like a big brother to you..." " Simon?" "Yeah, and he can work the tits off a mule when he's sober, but he goes on one of his drinking jags, that's a different man altogether." " Yeah, but he can take all comers." " Yeah." "You wanna hose off before you go?" "Nah." "I'll wash up at mine." "Well, I hope the somebody you got in mind for that is gonna... gonna get some good use out of it." " Ah, it'll need a little work first." " Well, then the right man salvaged it." "You'll get back to me, right, John?" "About the job?" "You bet." " Yeah." " I want you to stay away from the house, John." "You can't just go around breaking through doors and leaving rancid meat in people's cars." "John?" "Yeah?" " What have you been up to?" " What?" "Did you..." "John, for God's sakes, where did you get that money?" "It's for you and Nolan." "There's over $4,000 there." "I didn't trouble counting' it." "What's going on, John?" "Are you all right?" "Hey, you remember that farm?" "Used to talk about buying that farm." " You remember that?" " You used to talk about it." "I..." "I don't want to live on no farm." "Sure you do." "No." "I don't want to live on a farm." "I love you, baby." "Stop that, John." "What's going on with you, anyway?" "Who was that skeezy piece of shit fucking Nolan's babysitter?" "About had me callin'..." "John?" "John?" "Okay..." "You're okay." "I'm right here!" "I'm right here!" " Yeah?" " Dog got in the way." " Who is this?" " You know, right?" " What?" " How things get in the way?" " What things?" " If what you took ain't back by tomorrow mornin', ain't gonna be no dog that shows up dead next." "I'm gonna find you and I'm gonna slit your throat." "You hear me?" "Do you hear me?" "Here he is!" "C'mon, y'all." "You taking visitors, Johnno?" " The hell are you doin' here?" " Oh, yeah." " Hey!" " Hey, man." " How're you doin'?" "That's enough applejack for me." " Shit." " You remember big Colette?" "No, she ain't familiar." "No." "Colette Gans." "Married to Ralph Gans." "You know, he got that scrap metal yard in Cortland we hauled a couple demo wrecks up to four or five years ago." "You know him." "Oh, come on." "She got a starter on her..." "Yeah, why do you think we call her big Colette?" "Soon as you look down there, you think you're lookin' at half a man." "Gotta be careful." " That's her cousin, Mincy." " Mincy?" "Yeah." "She got a lion tattoo on the back of her hind parts." "Hind parts!" "You be doin' me a favor, you make that son of a bitch roar for her." " Huh?" " Aw, shit, I don't know." "I don't know." "Think on that, bro." "One cousin's all I can handle tonight." " I don't know." " Come on, John." "Old co-worker of yours pulled a gun on me" " last night." " Old co-worker of mine?" "Yeah, at Jess's, after I walked in on him balling the babysitter." "Obadiah Cornish?" "Calls himself "The Hen. "" "What the hell?" "Last I heard, that motherfucker was doin' time up in Greensville." "Well, he ain't now." "He got a hard bark on him." "He was one them the police talked to that night old Ira and Molly got sliced up." "Where's that old three-colored hound of yours?" "He's usually all slobbering' up on me, time I get here." "He was shot dead a few hours before you got here." "Shot?" "By who?" "Somebody I didn't see." "Well, somebody must've had a reason, John?" "No." "I'd guess not." "Well, shit." "Must've been a reason." "We're gettin' awful lonely over here, boys!" "Does he got himself a date?" "Simon..." "Oh, fuck." "See what's happening?" "Simon said." "Oh!" "Geez!" "Well, I'll lead the way." "Ah!" "Oh!" "Simon said you might take some convincing." "He tell you I got a wife?" "He said she left you and that you needed to get your mind off it." "Yeah?" "Hah." "Feels to me like you already have." "Shoot!" "Where's my watch?" "The rain'll ruin it!" "Help me find it, please!" " I had it since I was five!" " This it?" "Yes!" "Woo!" "Simon?" "Yeah?" "Wrong number, Johnno." "I had me this breather one time, so I breathed right back to him." "I started huffing' and puffin', like I was about gonna blow my nut." "Mister pud-puller gets so scared, he hangs upon me!" "Cops'll trace that shit, if you ask 'em." "I wouldn't ask 'em." "I wish you two hens would quit your clucking." "Like two ball-peen hammers with feathers bangin' in my head." "You still hunting with them deer slugs, Johnno?" "Yep." " Ain't this fun?" " Would you go on somewhere?" "You ask me nice." " Mincy!" " Mm?" "Come on." "Come on." "Go on outside and get in the caddy." "Rude mean old guy." "Bye." "I'll tell you what, Johnno." "A woman is about the awfullest trick of nature on God's green Earth, you'd better believe it." "I'll seeya." "Steady, boy." "Steady." "You scared us to death!" "I'm sorry." "I took you for somebody else." "Who'd put a fright like that into you?" "Steady, boy." "Steady." "Shh, shh, shh." " Jesus, John Moon!" " Must've dozed off." "In the rain?" "With Mr. 12-gauge?" " I thought I might see a pheasant." " Or a deer?" "I'd never tell on you for it." "You gonna take that job he offered you?" "Oh, I ain't had much time to think on it." "You ought to." "Not everybody gets a chance to do what they love and get paid for it." "Shovelin' shit and milking cows?" "Uh-huh." "And I'm daughter to one, just like you." "Daddy had to work in a factory, he'd die." "Yes, Ma'am." "In my summer school economics course, we're studying on profit-sharing." "You know what that is?" "No, I don't, but I bet you're gonna tell me though, ain't ya?" "Uh, it... well, it's when employees get to own a piece of the companies they work at." "Was me, I'd suggest something like that to daddy." "I..." "I'd tell him I'd take that job, if part of my pay could go toward buying a piece of his farm." "You want me to buy back a piece of my own farm?" "John Moon." "If you keep looking back, you ain't never gonna get ahead." "Maybe you ought to worry about losing your inheritance." "I won't need one, I'm gonna be a millionaire by the time I'm 30." "I got a thousand ideas how to do it, like making you my daddy's partner." " You got it all figured out, don't ya?" " I have faith in you." "You're only gonna make my inheritance bigger." "Your daddy know what they're learnin' you in school?" "No." "I appreciate you not discussing it with him when you go to him with my ownership proposal." "You will think about it, won't you?" "Be careful back in them woods." "It's slippery underfoot." "Don't you worry about me." "I'm an experienced horsewoman." "John?" "Whatcha doin'?" "Oh..." "Well, I was bird-huntin'." "In the trailer?" "I just got back." "Well, I just came by to pick up some things." " What things?" " My clothes are still in my closet." "Well, I can't keep wearing the same thing all the time." "Why not?" "I think you look great." "Can I come in?" "Relax." "I'll get them for you so you ain't got to see how the place has gone to hell since you left." "I'll bet." "Good to see ya." "Cecil Nobie offered me a full-time job the other day." "Soon as Grady goes off to school." "Yeah?" "Well, you'll be too proud to take it, won't you?" "Is that what you think?" "Mm-hmm." "I was fixin' to see" "If he'll agree to let me buy a few a his heifers to start my own herd with." " Yeah?" " Yeah." "It's called "Profit-sharing. " That right?" "What do you think about that?" "Well, I think" "Cecil'd be getting a hell of a bargain for whatever it costs him." "I gotta go." ""Yer wife, yer kid." ""Hand over the money, or... bang!" "bang!" "Why don't ya call the law?"" "Argh!" "Come on, Jess, come on, baby." "Come on, baby." "Jess!" "Where's my family at?" "I don't know nothing about it." "You don't know nothing about what?" "I don't know nothin' about nothin'..." "Especially not about where Jess and Nolan's at." "Well, sister, you'd better get smarter in a hurry." "Get off, John!" "She don't talk to me no more, thanks to you." "Where's he at?" " Who?" " You know your boyfriend kills cows and dogs for fun?" "What are you smilin' at?" "You keep smiling," " and I'll snap your fuckin' wrist." " That psycho is not my boyfriend." "I hear from him when he feels like, is all." "You know where I can find him, though, don't you?" "John, I know he don't like surprises, and if he's wantin' to see somebody," " he'll find them." " Why don't you just give the man an answer, Carla?" " I ain't got the one he's wanting." " Maybe you ought to try a little harder." "I'm obliged to you for the support, fat man." " You're a real prince." " You know, there was a real pretty young thing in here just yesterday, lookin' for a job." "She had two things that you don't... a pleasant demeanor, and tits the size of cantaloupes." "Told her to leave her number." "I'll bet she's just holding her breath." " Where's he at?" " He's movin' around nights." "Try "The Bonanza. "" "That wasn't so hard, was it?" "You best not come around for a few days, John." "If he broke something', you're payin' for it." "Hey-hey-hey!" "Not hurrying away from a bad Puffy's lunch special are ya, John?" "What say you detour with me away from whatever you're rushing from, or to, back to my office," " to sign those papers I told you I'd draw up?" " Not now." "Wait." "You're not agreeing to anything, remember?" " We're just protecting your rights." " Later, Pitt." "Not too much later I hope." "Shall we say this afternoon?" "Maybe, uh..." "Maybe there's another matter you'd like to discuss?" " Other than the divorce, I mean." " What?" "What matter?" "I hope I'm not stepping over the line, John." "It's just I..." "I know you've been under a lot of stress lately, and..." "Well, I hear things." "I'd hate to see your whole life get ruined for a mistake or two." "And it's not just your life, John." "What'd you say?" "There's a boy to think about." "Nolan." "He ain't in this." "Well, of course, he's in it, John." "He's your son." "Most problems, John, aren't as bad as they seem." "Thing is, you got to deal with 'em before people get backed into corners." "You got somethin' to say, spit it out." "There're so many overlapping interests in a small town, John." "It's a small-town lawyer's cross to bear..." "Then, too, there's..." "there's the law." "My only problem is getting my family back." "If you can't help me with that, I ain't got time to talk to you." "Hey, hey, mister, can you give me a ride back to town?" "You believe them titties is real?" "Well, they ain't." "It's a man, got plastic tits, pussy made from the skin off his own leg." "Doctor cut off his dick and had them things sewn on." " Can I help ya?" " A guy named Cornish staying here?" " Can't say." " You can't say, huh?" " No." " Long arms and legs?" "Gangly, tattooed son of a bitch." "You seen him?" "Oh, maybe got him an alias." "Guess he don't want to be found." "Don't wanna be found, huh?" "What room's he in?" "Room seven." "I'll call, tell him you're on your way." "I'll go on down there myself." "And I weren't never here, neither." "You's one of them fitch boys, ain't you?" "I ain't no fitch boy." " Yeah?" " Open up." "Room service." "Shit." "Aw, hey, man." "What you been up to?" "I went to Hawaii." "What do you fuckin' think?" "Waiting for you to turn up with the money." "I been on the case, man." "I been on it." " Yeah?" "You been on it?" " Fucking-a, man." "Shit's had me on the run." "Two days, I've been keeping my guys sweet." "If you don't turn up with the money, we gotta ding ourselves for the fuckin' drugs." "You understand that?" "You get that?" "You gotta trust me." "Alright?" "I am this fuckin' close to gettin' that money back." "If you can't trust your cellmate, who can you trust?" "Goddamn straight." "Assholes on the outside got no fucking idea." "It's when you get on the outside, you realize you spend your time with thieves and murderers, and fuckin' liars." "Yeah." "That's right." "It's like we're all in one of them big clubs you get in a college." "What... what do you call that?" "Fraternities, you moron." "Yeah, that... that..." "that's what it is." "Where's the fuckin' money at?" "Listen, man, this fuckin' woodchuck that lives up by the quarry has g..." "Don't talk." "What's his name?" "John Moon." "I just ain't sure where he's hid it, man, but-but listen," "I've got someone real close to his wife and kid" " working with me to find out." "There's no..." " You sure he's got it?" "You seen it?" "No, but I know he's got it, man." " Alright." "Where's germ at?" " I don't know, man." "Maybe she went to her mom's or something." "Bullshit!" "She would never run away from me." "Where is she?" "I don't know." "Maybe she got scared or something, man." "I don't..." "You're fuckin' lyin'!" "Don't fuckin' lie to me!" "Where's my girl?" " Where?" " She's dead, man." "I found her in that container, man." " God's truth." " She's... she's dead?" "I didn't want to tell you." "I didn't want to blow the fuckin' deal, man!" "I didn't do it!" "Your terrorizing tactics have put me in a very delicate situation." "I thought we'd agreed I'd handle John Moon." "Hello?" "I'm wonderin' if John Moon's a donut-eater?" "Is this what you want?" " That was my last crull..." " I'll kick your ass." "Where is she?" " John...!" " Where's my son?" "John, I know you're angry." "Just let me talk t..." " Where's my wife?" "Where is she?" " Jess came to see me yesterday!" "Next thing you say better be 'bout where she's at." "I'll snap your fuckin' neck!" "I told her, as your attorney, I wasn't allowed to talk to you," " but she insisted!" " You pick up that phone" " and you call who's got my family." " Your family?" "John, John, I..." "I..." "I think you're confused." "Jess asked me to talk to you." "She's up on oxbow road." "I'm not supposed to say." "She's scared, John." "She said she'd tried to understand you, but she couldn't make any sense of what you were saying about this money, or where you got it, that you were acting as if it just fell out of the sky into your lap." "She doesn't know what terrible things you've done or-or-or what repercussions it might have on you, or her," " or-or especially Nolan." " You threatening' me?" " Mm..." "Don't play games with me." "I already know you're workin' for 'em." " John, I don't know..." " Cut the shit!" "How'd they come by this money?" "How'd they come by it?" "I didn't ask, for the same reason I won't ask you what it is or how you come by it." "If, let's say, it's ill-gotten gains, then I'd be legally obligated to turn it over to the law." "That, I think, is something all parties would like to avoid, yes?" " Call Waylon." " Waylon?" " Waylon, yeah." "Call him." " Oh, Jesus!" " One who's working with Cornish." " I think we ought to talk to Obadiah." "We ain't gonna be able to talk to Obadiah." "He's dead." "Now you call this Waylon, and you tell him you got the money he's owed." "Where's he at?" "J..." "John, I..." "I..." "I..." "don't know who you..." "I don't know no Waylon!" "What're you doin' here, Johnno?" "Son of a bitch, Johnno." "You got a gun on me." "Yeah, how 'bout that?" "I think I'll just go back to sleep." "Tried to wake up, but no way." "Look at these, Simon." "Why's your name on this?" "Found that in Obie's hotel room." "Don't think I don't know you was goin' through my shit the other night." "What're you talking about, John?" "I was there, Simon." "Okay." "Set down, Johnno." "I'm gonna get you a drink." "You're gonna get me a drink?" "Maybe a couple girls, too." "You serve me up?" " I wasn't gonna let 'em hurt you, Johnno." " Talk to me, Simon." "Did you shoot Mike?" "I don't shoot dogs, now." "Go on!" "Get outta here!" "Go on, get outta here." "Get!" "Fuckin'..." "You serve up my wife and kid, too?" "Let's just talk about this, Johnno." "Yeah." "Let's talk about it." "Let's talk about it." " Let's talk about it." " Alright." "Gettin' my shit through to you right now?" "You tell me." "Talk to me, Simon." "You'd be doin' me a favor, Johnno." "You know what a big ol' pile of cash would do to a poor man, don't ya, Johnno?" "You been drinking?" "Like a rich man." "There you go." "I was up at "The Bonanza" two days ago with big Colette, hiding out from her old man, when he moved all my livestock in here." "The son of a bitch." "And damned if I don't run into that Hen shit-for-brains." "Still got his convict tan and surprised as hell to see me." "He give me some old cockamamie bullshit song-and-dance about he was gonna look me up soon's as he got his hands on that stash, and swearing' up and down that somebody snatched it from where he dug it up after it were buried," "and got a good mind is was you, Johnno." "Thought of that cash got to be like a cancer in my gut." "I known you 20 years." "This ain't you." "Ira and Molly was supposed to be gone that night." "At a fireman's dance or some shit." "I ran into Obadiah at "The Pink Lily" over in Raburn." "Now, that had to be 'bout three, four years after Ira shit-canned him, and he claimed he'd been holding on to Ira's safe combination all that long while, and all we had to do was just walk right in and open it." "I figure, there's a safe in it at all, all that's gonna be in there's the two weeks' wages Ira shorted me." "I tell you, God's honest truth," "Johnno, the drunker I get, the more reasonable the most un-fuckin' - reasonable things seem to me." "We walk in through the front door, whistling', except that Hen can't crack it with the number he got writ down." "So he says "Fuck it,"" "he is gonna run upstairs and grab some of Molly's jewels, make the trip worthwhile, and I ain't real happy about him ransacking the place, so I stays right downstairs, go over to the fridge there and grabs me a beer," "sat down and watched some TV." "15 minutes don't pass and here come Obadiah down, covered in blood, talkin' 'bout how Ira'd straightened him out on them numbers, and I runned upstairs, and Molly's dead, thank God but Ira's still breathing," "bleeding' like Jesus stuck on the cross, and staring at me with a look that'll follow me into the ground." "I finished him off..." "Just like I would a wounded deer." "Ira treated you decent." "Molly too." "Old Ira weren't bullshittin' all them years about being a rich man neither... but that much you know, huh, Johnno?" "Hen said it best we split up, him taking the cash back through the conservancy, and me winding down through the hollow, to where my car was at." "I reckon he'd planned all along to stash whatever we took till he got out." "Now he's out." "Don't take that little pencil-dick Cornish just for bluster, Johnno." "Well, he's dead now." "Got his throat slit." "Should not've done that, Johnno." "Even if he did have it comin' his way." "I didn't do it." "Your friend did." "I don't got no friends, Johnno." "Except you." "Well, you got a queer way of showing' it." "I wasn't gonna let him hurt you, Johnno." "Wasn't gonna let 'im hurt you." "It's just the money they want." "What'd you take that money for, Johnno?" "What'd you take that money for, Johnno?" "What'd you take that money for, Johnno?" "You stupid bastard." "What'd you take that money for..." "No." "One bullet'll take your head clean off, Johnno." "Let it go." "Relax, man." " Hey." " John Moon." " What you doin' here, darling?" " I brought you some homemade bread..." " Oh!" " ... and fixings for a few meals." " I'm going to make you the first one myself." " Are ya?" "I'm lucky." "What you got there?" "Italian hoagies, my speciality." "Oh, your speciality, huh?" "Mama's worried, me too, John," " you're up here fading away to nothing." " Aw, me, I'm all right." "You don't exactly look all right." "You don't smell that way either." "Yeah, well, I was chopping wood up the hill." "I bushwacked down to get some clean plugs for my truck." "Go jump in the shower, John Moon, while I fix you a nice lunch." "Go on!" "Make me just one." "Then i want you to get on home, you hear me?" "Hey, Abbie." "Darlin'?" "I'll do it." "I'll do it." "Takes a little work... finding room for it, with all that's in there." "I'll do it." "John, are you okay?" "Yeah." "I'm just..." "I'm tired." "Real tired." "It's the wind, John, against the shutters." "Yeah." "Yeah, I know." "We gonna eat?" "Let's get you fed." "Was on the news this morning, about a murder in town yesterday, up at the oaks." "Police aren't saying who, only that it's a fella with a long record and roots in the area." "They see anybody in particular?" "Mm, a woman who was staying in the room two down from the dead guy, and a man a maid saw with her not long before the body was discovered." "What is troubling you, Diablo?" "Jealous, must be." "I sure hope you used protection with whoever she was kept you out so late." "Weren't nobody but me kept me out." "Handsome..." "gentle, but strong, with a good sense of humor?" "All you need to be a woman's perfect catch," "John Moon, is a secure job." "You leave a radio on inside?" "Yeah." "Guess I must've." "I'll go turn it off." "You go on home." " What?" "Why?" " Your folks'll be wondering." "My folks aren't home, no one is." "Plus, I'm not done eating." " you go on home like I told you to." " I'm not going anywhere, John Moon." "Please don't hurt her." "Just let her go." "I'll give you the..." "I'll give you the money." "Throw your gun down here." "Now!" "Throw it down!" "Pull your knife out." "Now go get that rope and tie her up." "Get the rope!" "Let's go!" "Tie her hands up." "Tie her fuckin' hands up, will ya?" "Fuckin' tie, I said." "Tie tight." "It was an accident." " I took her for a deer." " A deer?" "Right." "Now get her feet." "Tie her feet up." " Where is she?" " I buried her, up in the woods." "I can take you there right now." "No way." "Corpses give me the creeps." "If I could do anything to take it back, I would." "Did you fuck her?" "I found a letter on her." "Said she loved you." "Said you was gonna take her to Hawaii." "You read my Ingrid's mail?" "Jesus." "You take me for a fuckin' idiot?" "Alright." "Alright." "Where's my money?" "It's up the hill, up yonder." "I could take you there right now." "Just leave her be, and you and I'll go up there togeth..." "No, no, that ain't how it's gonna play out." "See, you're gonna go fetch my money," " and I'm gonna stay here with..." "what's her name?" " Abbie." "Yeah." "Abbie." "And I'm gonna get real well acquainted," " just like you did with my Ingrid." " Just leave her be, and you and I'll go up there right now." " Where's your truck?" " Let's you and me..." " Where's your truck?" "It's up there. it's up..." "it's halfway up." " Got a weapon in it?" " I ain't got no guns." "You took all my guns, man." " You swear it?" " I swear." " You swear on your life?" " I swear on my life." " Well..." "Now, you see, I want to trust you, John, but you killed my girlfriend." "I'm gonna find that hard." "You understand that?" "Now I need me some insurance." "Yeah." " John, put your hand out." " You don't need to, trust me." "Put your hand on the table now." "Ass-backwards, you cow-dumb son of a bitch." "Your gun hand." "Think I'm fuckin' stupid?" " You don't have to do this." " I was talkin' about..." "Open your mouth!" "Put your fuckin' hand on the table now!" "Sick of the sound of you." "Now, bite down, real tight." "See, now I trust you, John." "Now go get my money." "Aw, Jesus." "Alright, go inside, get yourself a band-aid or something." "Go on." "Your boyfriend ain't made of much." "It's gonna be alright." "You're a pretty little thing." "You might wanna hurry on back and get yourself a piece." "John!" "John!" "Give me a holler, John!" "Where you at?" "Check in with me." "I'm at the truck!" "You got the money?" "I gotta dig it out first!" "Take a few minutes." "I'm comin' as fast I can!" "Don't die on me out there." "Hurry up, John!" "Abbie!" "Abbie?" "Abbie!" "Easy, darlin'." "He ain't gonna hurt you no more." "I promise." "You all right?" "It's over." "You all right?" "Up you go." "Up you go." "Whoa." "Easy." "Go call the sheriff." "John, you need to go to the hospital." "I'm fine. go on, now." " You have to have that looked at." " Alright." "I'm all fine." "I got something I gotta go do first." "Go on, now." "Everything's gonna be alright." "Everything's gonna be fine." "I'm okay." "I'm okay." "Son of a bitch weren't even..." "Weren't gonna take you to Hawaii." "That's who you died for." "Gotta dig it deep enough so nobody digs you back up." "That's from your daddy." "Yeah!"