"I am sorry, sir." "We are closed for the day." "It's a private affair in honour of our fifth anniversary." "If you care to make a reservation any time tomorrow," "I'd be happy to take your name." "Jason." "Jason Kampacalas." "Say, the mortgage on that wine country of yours up north." "Oh, come on, Mark, there's no way." "I could never do that." "The old man would never let me do that." "Look, let me have a new note on this place, huh?" "Sorry, Dimitri." "Charity's not my bag." " Sir" " What is it?" "What do you want?" "There is a gentleman over there." "He says he is Jason Kampacalas." "Don't go away." "Hey, come on, you son of a gun." "Let me look at you." "Oh, it's good to see you." "Good to see you, Jason." "I didn't know you were coming." "You've had the date for 12 years." "Hey, come on, Jase, are you that bitter?" "No." "He looks great." "As tough as ever." "It really came true." "Yeah, pretty much." "Hey, look, kid, the old man didn't know you were swinging by, so maybe you better come back later to see him, huh?" "I mean, this is an important party, you know." "It's kind of a "to oil the water" party." " You know what I mean?" " No." "I'm sorry, kid." "Of course not." "You couldn't know." "What I mean is, everything looks great, but a little shaky." "We need some bread to keep the wine flowing." "You're in trouble?" "Yeah." "But, hey, don't mention this to Pop at all." "But we are in trouble." "We're gonna be in big trouble, especially if this guy gets away." "Listen." "Here's the keys to my car." "It's a white Jag." "It's out in the parking lot." "The address is on the registration." "Go up to my place, make yourself at home." "I'll see you later." " We'll get caught up." "Okay?" " Dimitri." "Does Papa know about me?" "Did you tell him?" "Kid, come on." "I can't lose this guy." "Where you going?" " We still got things to talk about." " Forget it." " There's nothing more to talk about." " One more glass of wine?" "Come on." "Come on." "Hey, get away from there." " Hey, look, it's my brother's car." " Yeah, sure." "Some people to see you about the guy we brought in this afternoon, Kampacalas." "The old man's his father and the young one's one of the guys he busted up." "You remember that." "And the other one's a very high-priced mouthpiece." " Mr. Sloane." " How do you do, lieutenant?" "This is Mr. Kampacalas." "Cadmus Kampacalas." "I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding." "And I think this young fella can clear it up best." "This is Paul Croft, one of the attendants at Mr. Kampacalas' restaurant." " I remember." " Go ahead, Paul." "Well, yeah." "It was like he just said, a misunderstanding." "Like, I thought he was stealing my boss's car but he wasn't." " He was just acting in self-defence." " Hold it a minute." "Sloane, what's going on?" "What is going on is a disgrace, lieutenant, and I apologise for it." "But this is a family matter." "You see, lieutenant, Mr. Kampacalas' son Jason was just released from San Quentin today after serving 12 years." "What was the sentence for?" "He killed two innocent children." "It was a manslaughter charge." "Hit and run." "Two counts served consecutively." "Hold the booking slip." "Have him brought up." " Mike" " Extension 1241." "Okay, Bob, thanks a lot." "Good night." "Olsen's gone home, but the report's on his desk." "Now, Mike, I know what you're thinking, but is Olsen gonna buy it?" "I don't know." "Maybe you have to be a Slav like me to understand." "Or a Greek." "But if the old man says it's a family matter, the old man will handle it." "Hello, Papa." "I told this man that if he sets you free, I will deal with you." "I want you both to know how." "Well, lieutenant?" "I'll talk to the desk sergeant." "You're free to go." "Thank you, lieutenant." "Well, let's call it a night." "That's fine by me." "I just hope Olsen doesn't call it a mistake." " You know what?" " What?" "If it was my first, I'd worry." "Well, wouldn't you?" "Thanks." "Twenty-two million people in the state of California say the debt's been paid." "Why can't you, huh?" "How do you pay a debt like that, huh?" "How do you crush that from your memory, huh?" "I think every day of the father of the poor children that you killed, and I cry inside." "I think of the two little babies lying on the street after you hit them with your car." "And I think how they could have lived if you had only stopped to help them a little bit." "I think of all of that and I cry inside." "And I cry because your birth, your birth brought their death." "And I cry because I love you and I don't want to." "I don't want to." "You've brought me only misery." "Dimitri, he made this happen." "He made the dream happen." "He worked, he struggled, he succeeded." "And all this you see here, he made it." "Dimitri." "Papa, go on inside." "It's too hot out now." "No, I have work to do." "If you don't let me work, hold it in my hand, you take it from me." "Come on." "Later, Papa, when it's cooler." "All right." "You know best, my son." "I leave you with your brother." "Perhaps you can give him what I can't." "You never told him." "Jason, I couldn't." "You promised and you never told him." "Why didn't you tell him?" "He still thinks that I drove that car." "He thinks of me and he still sees those dead kids lying there." "He thinks of you and he thanks you for his dream." "Why didn't you tell him?" "I tried." "I tried to tell him." "At first I was too busy putting all this together." "I, I, I put this together." "The restaurant, the vineyard, the land." "And after time went by, I just couldn't." "What, have him lose both of us?" " I couldn't let both of us be gone." " Well, do tell him." "You tell him now." "Today." "Tonight." "But you tell him." "Or else they just might have a reason to put me back." "And you weren't gonna worry, huh?" "Don't pour too much." " I have to carry them." " Yeah." " It's black for you." "What about Olsen?" " Light." " Sugar too, right?" " No sugar." "Are you sure?" "I think he takes sugar." "Pour the cream." "Just pour the cream." "Yes, sir." "It's open." "Shut the door." "I read the report, Mike, and coffee won't cut it." " Now, how could you two" " Hold it a minute, Rudy." "Steve had nothing to do with it." "I called the shot." "No sugar." "Find some sugar." "Sugar?" "Since when?" "What I've got to say to you, you don't want him to hear." "All right, now, Rudy, before you get wound up..." "Before?" "Do you know how many heads you went over?" "Now, not just mine" "All right." "Put my head on a plate and hand it to me but don't make me book this kid again." "You call a 30-year-old con a kid?" "Yeah." "He went in when he was 18." "Everything he knows about the real world stopped then." "Yeah, I say that makes him a kid." "And you know what else I say?" "I say that all our talk about rehabilitation is a lot of bunk." "If we don't give them a fair shot and help them when they get out." "Like that shot he gave you, huh?" " I should have known better." " So you made a moral choice." "You got a hide like an alligator and a heart like marshmallow." "Okay, okay." "Are you with me on it?" "You, maybe." "But this guy?" "Only on a very short leash." " You wanna hold him?" " What do you mean?" "I mean that I want him in your office every Monday morning at 10:00." " I want you" " Now, wait a minute." "Wait." "He's not on parole." "He served his time." "And besides, I haven't got time to play parole officer" "That's it, Mike." "You made a moral choice and I'm making you morally responsible." "You take over, you help him find a job, and you see that he stays straight." "And you make sure that he knows that you're looking over his shoulder night and day, ready to ship him back to the clink the first time that he pulls anything like this stunt again." "Otherwise, we yank him back now and file this with the DA's office." "Coffee now?" "I didn't know how much, so I put in three lumps." "Perfect." "Thanks." "So how do we stand?" "What happened?" "I'd say about even." "What happened?" "Jason." "Jason." "Jason." "Jason." "You're the first woman I've held in my arms in 12 years and you're falling apart on me." "I'm sorry." "I guess I'm just a crybaby sister." "Well, nobody ever had a better one." "I couldn't have made it without you, Thalia." "Hey, come here." "I've got a surprise for you." "Come here." "Hey, where are you taking--?" "Is that your car?" " Yeah, you like it?" " You're travelling in style." "Be careful." "Watch your step." "There's all kinds of glass here." "Easy now, easy." "Okay, okay, there." "Well?" "Thanos." "Jason." "You know" "I actually counted the days, 4,382." "But I never knew how long it was till this minute." "I mean, this high." "Both front teeth out." "I knew you'd come here." "I told Thanos so." "Yeah." "Not really the way I remember it." "Do you think we can get in?" "Come on, Thale, there's nothing in there but old dust and peeled-off paint and paper, that's all." " No, there were happy times there." " No, he's right." "Real happy times start now." "Come on." "Let's go down to Dolenski's." "I'll buy us all breakfast." " Dolenski's?" " The diner down the hill." " What's it called now?" " I don't know." "Oh, we'll pretend it's still Dolenski's." "They got the best breakfast in town." " You sit in front, okay?" " It's a deal." "You want me to drive?" " Oh, I make you nervous?" " No, no." "Not now that I know where we're going." "I looked up his record too." "His old address was in Potrero." "Hey, aren't we in Potrero?" "And you weren't gonna worry." "There it is, 2131." "They don't build them like that anymore." "They won't let them." "Say, I grew up in the same neighbourhood, buddy boy." "You think I'm gonna let you forget that after what you got us into now?" "No, I meant what I said." "You don't have to take a part of this one if you don't want to." "Oh, come on, are you gonna talk or drive?" "Say, it's chow time." "I know a place down the block." " What do you say we take it in?" " Terrific." "Good." "Thanks." "Not as good as Dolenski's." "Papa used to bring us here Sundays after Mass." " Remember that?" " Not really." "Yeah, well, it was some feast." "You used to spill your milk glass nine times out of ten." " Right, Thalia?" " Right." "Yeah, always insisted on holding it one-handed." "Stubborn." "Listen, I gotta get down to the Taverna." "Are you working?" "Painting the bathrooms." " What?" " Painting the bathrooms." "Papa said the bathrooms need to be painted." "Dimitri said, "Hire a painter." Papa said, "Thanos will do it."" " Well, you don't want to?" " Oh, come on, man." "What do I really learn painting the bathrooms?" "Responsibility." "I don't believe it." "He really sounds like him, doesn't he?" " "Responsibility."" " Don't make fun." " I just mean" " I know what you mean." "You mean he's an old-fashioned man with a lot of old-fashioned ideas." "Well, he cares for you with those old-fashioned ideas." "Perhaps, more than anybody else will ever care for you." "What about you, Jason?" "Do you still care about him after the way he's treated you?" "He's our Papa." "His blood runs in our veins." "Makes us one, a family." "Okay, well, maybe we'll talk about this sometime later, okay?" "Like, after you've been around him for a while?" " Ciao." " Wait a minute, we'll drive you." " That's okay." "I'll thumb it." " Hey, let us." "Man, you really are like him, you know that?" "Listen, Jason, I stopped spilling my milk a long time ago." "What's the matter with him?" "Maybe it's too much Dimitri and not enough Jason." "Good morning." "Well..." "I've heard a lot of rumours where I've been." "Now I see they're all true." "I'll tell you something else that's true." "You can get out from under if you want to get out from under." "You mean, you really came in here for the food?" "Since a guy named Dolenski left this place, the food's gone downhill." "I came to talk to you." "My sister, Thalia Kampacalas, Lieutenant Stone." " It's a pleasure." " And Inspector...?" " It's Keller." "How are you?" " Hi." "Sit down." "Actually, I'm kind of glad you came." "I've been trying to figure out a way to say thank you." "I forgot yesterday." "Well, you had a lot on your mind." " What's on yours?" " Your future." "Most people seem more worried about my past." "Yeah, but he's not most people." "I don't think he's worried about you at all anymore." "Nothing for me, thanks." "All I'm asking for is a 90-day note." "Oh, come on, man." "I can't pay that kind of interest." "I'll be in debt the rest of my life." "Look, the vineyard is out, Mark, I told you that." "I can't touch it as long as my old man's alive." "That's a rotten joke, Mark." " Jason." " Hello, big brother." "That offer still open?" "Yeah, sure." "Come on in, kid." "Well." "There really are two ends to the stick, aren't there?" "Jase?" "I didn't tell him yet." "I know." "See, he was still pretty upset last night, you know, and I've been going crazy trying to find the money we need somehow." "It's all right." "Hey, Jason." "I'll tell him, I swear." "You won't ever tell him." "You can't." "Funny thing is, I can't either." "Maybe that doesn't matter anymore." "What matters is it really did work." "I went down to the old neighbourhood, the old house." "It's two different worlds." "You did good, Dimitri." "It was luck mostly." "Meeting the right people at the right place, at the right time." "That's what I mean." "We were all counting on you." "And you booted home a winner." "If you'd gone in and I'd stayed out," "I wouldn't have met all the people you met." "I wouldn't have been where you were when you were." "Knowing that, seeing that Papa's dream really did come true," "Thalia in clothes Mama could never have," "Thanos in college, you with all those connections," "that makes it worthwhile." "All I want from you now is enough to get myself started on something." "What, are you talking about money?" "Not much." "Say, maybe 5 grand." " For what?" " For what?" "For 12 years." "Something like 400 per." "Is that asking too much?" "No, no, of course not, kid." "It's just that you'll have to wait." "Why?" "Well, I haven't got any." "Come on, I could've hocked that much out of here in half an hour." "Hey, come on, this is all fun, it's all show." "I lease it furnished, right down to the hardware." "But the restaurant, the vineyards." "Everything." "Everything's hocked but the land." "Papa wouldn't let me touch that." "I tried to tell you the other night, kid." "I'm hanging on by the skin of my teeth." "But how?" "Why?" "Everybody else always said I was a genius." "I never said that." "I get along with people, that's all I ever knew about me." "I trusted some of the wrong ones." " Gambling?" " No, nothing illegal." "The market." "I went in with some guys on a high flier and we" "We crashed." "They've been calling me for my loan, and I'm all tapped out." "What were you thinking about?" "Look, I did what I thought was best." "You don't roll dice with the family." "I did what I thought was best." "You did what you thought was easiest!" "Like when you ran out after you hit those kids!" "Let me tell you something, Jason." "I still" " I still hear those screams." "And I still see those kids." "And you don't have to live with that." "I do." "I'm sorry." "See you." "Jason." "Hey, you helped me once." "Will you help me now?" "How can I?" "Give me a name." "A name?" "Yeah, you met people in prison." "Somebody who knows somebody who could start a fire." "You're crazy." "No, wait a minute." "See, the restaurant's insured." "Wait a minute." "It could bail us out." "Come on, kid." "I don't know any other way." "Well, maybe there isn't any other way." "Maybe it can't be easy this time." "Goodbye, Dimitri." "I won't be bothering you anymore." "Jason." " Lieutenant." " Ms. Kampacalas, we'd like to talk to your father." " Lieutenant Stone." " Mr. Kampacalas." " We need to talk to you about the fire." " We seem to meet in the hours of my greatest grief." "I'm sorry for that." "I'm sorry about that too." "I hope you don't mind a few questions." "Well, you have your work to do." "It's honest work." "This is my eldest son, Dimitri." " How do you do?" "Inspector Keller." " Lieutenant." " Hello." " How are you?" "What are the police doing investigating a fire?" "Because of a dead man." "And I understand he was a very close friend of yours, sir." "Yes." "Yes." "Nearly 50 years." "From the islands here." "I'm sorry." "And I'm sorry about some of the questions I have to ask you, sir, but you see, the fire investigators feel that it might be a case of arson." "And if that's true, then your friend's death isn't accidental." " It's murder." " Murder?" "Arson?" "What makes anyone think that?" "It was mainly the burn pattern." "The fire was so even, everything went up at once." "You mean someone deliberately burned it down?" "Well, an accidental fire usually starts in one place and spreads." "This one" " This one started in at least six different places." "Couldn't there be several reasons for that?" "Yeah, we checked them out." "Electrical malfunctions, mechanical failures" "And you're accusing me of burning down my own rest--?" " Killing my oldest friend?" " No, sir, we're not accusing you at all, sir." "Nor anyone yet." "As you said, we have our work." "And that work is getting to the truth." " Where's Jason?" "Is he around?" " Jason does not share my roof." "I thought you said you would deal with him." "The choice was his, not mine." "So you're still not on the best of terms?" "That choice was his, too, 12 years ago when he left those children to die." "Can you tell me where I might find him?" "You think Jason did it?" "Ruling out pyromaniacs, arson is caused by one of two reasons:" "Either insurance money or revenge." "Jason wouldn't do it." "He just wouldn't." "She's right." "No matter what happened, I'd never believe it of him." "No matter what happened?" " Just a figure of speech." " Dimitri." "Don't lie to these men." "Papa, please." "We can talk about it later, huh?" "We will talk about it now." "Well, he came to my place yesterday." "He said he wanted money." "Wanted his share of the business." "What he felt was coming to him." "To him?" "Papa, please, I don't wanna" "Go on." "Did you give him the money?" "No, I couldn't." "If you've been investigating our records you'd see we've been a little tight lately." "I told him that." "But he got very angry, very upset." " Stormed out." " Jason." "Always Jason." "No, Papa." "No, you're wrong." "You're all wrong." "Jason wouldn't do that." "Jason's name is not to be mentioned in this house again." " No, Papa" " Jason is dead!" "Jason." " Hey." " Get in." "It's getting to be a habit, you picking me up." "Get in the car." " What is it?" " You don't know about it, do you?" "Know about what?" "The restaurant burned down last night." "The police think you did it, and so does Papa." "Was it because of something Dimitri said?" "He said you went to him yesterday for some money and then when you left, you were angry." "You stayed there last night, in that awful house." "I'll tell them you were with me last night, okay?" "I mean, I'll do whatever you want me to do." "I want you to go home, Thalia." "What are you gonna do?" "Something I should have done 12 years ago." "There." "Go home, Thalia." " Stay home." " Jason." "Kampacalas!" "Stop!" "I'll go back to the car in case he doubles back." "Keep after him." "Kampacalas!" "Oh, God." "Did your brother have a gun?" "I don't know." "He's still running." "I lost him." "Fired a warning shot but he's gone." "Put out an APB." "What does that mean?" "It means I made a big mistake trusting your brother." "I won't ever trust him again." "Wait." "You followed me, didn't you?" "Yeah, we had a pretty good idea of where you were going, though." "You think a lot more of him than the rest of the family, don't you?" " They don't know him like I do." " I guess not." "You were the only one who saw him after your mother died." "How did you know that?" "It wasn't difficult." "We got the reports from San Quentin." "You saw him once a week without fail." "Tell me something." "Why only you and nobody else?" "I never believed he did it." "Just like I don't believe he started that fire." "That's not Jason." "You don't think he's capable of one moment of fear or panic?" "A moment, yes." "But then he'd have turned around and gone back." "But he said he did it." "I know." "You don't think Jason will double back here, do you?" "No." "He said he had something to do." "What?" "I don't know." "He said it was something he should have done 12 years ago." "How old were you the night of the accident?" "Twelve." " Do you remember much about it?" " I'll never forget it." "Was he frightened?" "No." "But I thought you said he ran home and hid." "No." "I mean, he didn't run." "He" "He walked in and he told my Papa he had something to tell him." "Then he told him everything that had happened." "And how he was sorry." "Then my father hit him." "Do you know where your older brother was?" " Dimitri?" " Yes." "No." "He was out, though." " How do you know?" " I remember when he came in." "It was about an hour after Jason had come in." "I never thought Dimitri could care about something so much." "He was upset?" "He broke down when he heard what Jason had done." "Jason had to calm him down." "And Mother had to call a doctor." "Ms. Kampacalas, what car was Jason driving that night?" "The family car?" "No, it was Dimitri's." "He had just gotten it." "It was brand-new." "From graduating out of college." "Well, why was he driving Dimitri's car?" "Was it an errand, a date, what?" "I don't know." "I don't think anybody ever asked." "Of course not." "It was a family matter." "Nothing on the APB." "Mike, I think he's gone." "Whoever made out this report about the accident put down everything old man Cadmus said and used it against the kid." "Look, I know what you're thinking." "But does it really make sense that if Jason Kampacalas wasn't driving the car, he'd say he was and sacrifice 12 years of his life in prison?" "I mean, come on." "For what?" "For family." "Look." "Jason Kampacalas was convicted 12 years ago." "The same year Dimitri Kampacalas graduated from Berkeley with a degree in business." "Two years after that, he opens a little Greek lunch counter with his old man." "Three years after that, he opens Taverna." "And just three years ago, he buys a vineyard, something his old man always wanted, starts a small winery." "He has a good head." "And an education." "And contacts." "Now, wait a minute." "You're saying that Jason went into prison so that Dimitri could stay outside?" "The chips were on him." "The same as they were on my brother Alex." "He was gonna make us all rich when he came back after the war." "But he never came back." "So my old man died, and I" " I just" "I just" "Well, I'm just scabbing with you." "Hello." "Yeah." "Well, you just sit tight." "We'll be right over." "Thalia Kampacalas." "Her younger brother just called." "Jason's headed for the vineyards after Dimitri." " Jason." " Where's Papa?" "He's inside." " And Dimitri?" " Look, what do you wanna do?" " Where is Dimitri?" " Please, Jason, don't." "We can talk about this." "You go inside and you stay with Papa." "No." "No, please don't go, Jason." "Jason!" "Jason." "Jason." "Come on, I'll go to the police, I'll tell them everything, Jason." "Come on, kid." "I don't wanna hurt you." "Jason." "Papa, please, don't." "No." "No." "Wait!" "Hold it, Jason." "Hold it!" "He tried to kill me!" " Why?" "Why?" " Did you see that?" "Because serving time for you once was enough." "I don't know what he told you, but it's a lie." "You think he spent 12 years in prison for me?" "That's crazy." "Is it?" "What do you say, Mr. Kampacalas, huh?" "Come on, say it." "Jason was always the strongest." "You were always, always the strongest." "And you were the weakest." "Yes, from the day you were born," "I had to work with you, and help you," " and be with you all the time." " Don't." "I was so proud." "I thought you were better than I thought you would be." " I was so proud of you" " Don't, Papa." "because you were the kind of son I always wanted." "Don't beat him, Papa." " Don't hit him, Papa." " No." "Love him." "Love him." "I love" " I love him." "Thanos, come on." "One more, Papa." "Come on, Jason." "Come on, time to go." "Looks like you're really getting into it." "A little." "Like father, like son, huh?" "He's a good worker." "He buds perfectly." "I wish I could take credit for teaching him." " Sure you can." " How?" "When we were little." "You used to talk about how you'd plant the good stock" " when you had your own vineyard." " Yes." "Yes, yes." "How we'd bud in" " the Johannesburg Riesling." " Yes, that's right." "I listened." "Come on, Sunday's visiting hours are 2 to 4." "Dimitri's waiting for us." " I'll get the car." " Wait a minute." "We'll drive you." "Oh, thank you." "What about regulations?" " What?" "Passengers in the car?" " Yeah." "Aren't you afraid Olsen will nail us?" "If that was my first mistake, I'd worry."