"_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "Two guys..." "A Russian and some..." "Some kind of oriental." "Drove a late model Cadillac." "I didn't get the license." "Ahh." "You ready?" "Oh, you betcha." "Come on." "This is a true story." "A 150-year-old bank with $60 billion in assets collapses overnight." "Its stock price drops 93% in eight hours." "One day, it's solvent, the next, it's worthless." "Perception of reality becomes reality." "Another true story." "The First World War was started by a sandwich." "On June 28th, 1914," "Gavrilo Princip, one of seven conspirators, failed to blow up the Archduke of Austria with a hand grenade." "Demoralized, Gavrilo stopped for lunch at Schiller's delicatessen on Franz Joseph Street in Sarajevo." "But as he was eating, the Archduke's driver, lost, pulled up outside the restaurant and stopped." "Fate had delivered Gavrilo's target to him and he would not miss twice." "One last story, also true." "Here men from the Planet Earth first set foot upon the moon." "July 1969 A.D." "I guess you're about the only person around that doesn't have TV coverage of the scene." "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." "Cut!" "Wait." "What?" "It was a sound stage in New Mexico." "That's not..." "That never happened." ""Let each man say what he deems truth and let truth itself be commended unto God."" "Emmit, are you gonna..." "The point is, Stussy Lots Ltd." "Are in the process of securing" "$50 million in new loans." "Now, we're gonna use that money to buy 16 more lots, after paying some healthy bonuses to the partners, of course." "You're talking about doubling the size of the company in six months?" " Three months." " It's a lot of debt." "And just to line our pockets?" "Shouldn't we..." "I'm just sayin', a more cautious approach." "Why not?" "Because the shallow end of the pool is where the turds float." "Emmit?" "No one ever got anywhere staying home, Sy." "What does that mean?" "It means, we're either doing this, or we're not doing it." "Whether you step off the board with one foot or two, you still end up in the water." "Okay." "But what about the IRS?" "You said yourself, he's sitting in the conference room right now, going over the books." "Some books, not "the" books." "What the heck does that mean?" "Let's just say for testimonial purposes, it's better that you don't know." "Oh, you think the IRS won't..." "This is what they do." "Catch cheats." "Middle managers and movie stars, people who park their money in a Denver Wells Fargo under their mother-in-law's maiden name." "But I assure you, the IRS could not unravel an intricate web of shell companies and loan-outs with secret accounts in Monaco, Luxembourg, and the Cook Islands, if you gave them the account numbers." "What?" "I'm beginning to think that finance is more of a hobby with you." "Just how are we supposed to..." "It's already done." "I've even seeded in the odd 100K as an act of good faith." "Emmit, you wanna..." "Your problem, Mr. Feltz, is you think you started a parking lot company." "You started a bank." "This is a true story." "When I'm done with you, they'll be sponging you off the floor." "Yeah?" "You'll be in the poor house making soup out of your dirty socks." "Bigger the bank, the safer the banker." "So, the IRS?" "Leave the IRS to me." "Section 41C of the US tax code affords my client the right to licensed representation in the face of any IRS inquiry." "As counsel, I'm filing here with you an official protest to this baseless and cockeyed inquiry, and demand you withdraw immediately and file by mail the statutory-required 30-day notice listing the exact documents you require and personnel you wish to interview." "Until that time, we demand you vacate our offices." "Immediately." "Third fella." "Could be the head honcho." "No." "Why not?" "Baby, trust me." "I want payback, maybe even more than you." "But we gotta wait." "Babe, shouldn't we..." "I'm worried you've got internal injuries." "I'm fine." "I'm just saying, drop in to the emergency room, let 'em take a look." "You said yourself, the cops are looking for me." "And these fellas, the villains, probably watching the hospital." "I don't like it." "He's into something, your brother." "I got the sense from his lawyer, Feltz, that it may be involuntary." "Meaning, against his will." "So, you sayin'..." "What are you sayin'?" "Some shady dealings." "Guys like your brother, fat cats, making secret moves, looking for quick returns." "What do they care if a wad is legit or not?" "Didn't you say he was having money trouble a while back?" "In the crash, yeah." "Business like theirs, real estate, with the mortgage collapse." "He never said so, Emmit, but I think he was worried." "So, what does he do?" "He goes to the bank, tries to borrow." "But we know from the news, they're not lending." "A loan shark?" "On that level they call 'em something else." "Private equity." "But a shark in a suit is still a shark." "We got any more aspirin?" "Those fellas are lucky you held me back." "No one puts a finger on my woman" " and gets away with it." " Easy, baby." "You'll get your chance." "But first, we gotta know the play." "Yeah." "Right this way." "Mr. Stussy, these ladies are here to see you." "Oh, yeah?" "Gloria Burgle." "Hi." "Winnie Lopez." " Would you like to sit down?" " Yeah, thanks." "What's this about?" "I'm, uh, chief of Eden Valley." " Out near Paynesville." " Right." "And, uh, Officer Lopez is from here in St. Cloud." "I was in the other night talking to your Mr. Feltz about a traffic skirmish involving a company car." "Well, I'm..." "Sure." "I mean," "Sy's the man to help you there." "I don't know how I could, uh..." "Moshi-moshi." "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhearin', uh..." "This sounds like my area of expertise, if you like to talk in my office?" "That's..." "I got it." "Don't trouble yourself." "There's no trouble." "I know how busy you are." "So, what are we talking about here?" "I didn't get your name?" "True." "This is Mister, uh..." "I'm an associate of Mr. Stussy's is all you need to know for now." "Associate in what capacity?" "Ladies shoes." "We'll come back to that." "Mr. Stussy, have you seen your brother recently?" " My..." " Raymond." "No, I know his name." "I just..." "I thought this was about a traffic accident." "In a way." "Well, it either is, or it isn't, isn't it?" "Turns out the traffic accident I was in for previous" " is connected to a homicide." " We think." "A homicide?" "Yes, sir, that's my case." "Uh, victim ran a grocery store in Eden Valley about 30 miles south of here, Ennis Stussy." "I read that in The Tribune, the old fella." "What'd he die with, again?" "His mouth and nose were glued shut." "Christmas." "Also, the house was ransacked in search of what, we're not yet sure." "But, as of yesterday, we pinned the crime on an ex-convict named Maurice LeFay." "This is from hard evidence, fingerprints and the like." "Turns out your brother was his parole officer." " Ray?" " Yes, sir." "And that got us wondering, especially since Mr. Stussy, Raymond, his car got rammed into by another vehicle registered to your company and..." "Allegedly, words exchanged between Ray and a yet-to-be-identified member of your team." " My team?" " Yes, sir." "And we thought it curious the house being targeted and searched as it was that he shared the same last name as you and your brother." "The same first initial." "Lived in towns with similar names." "What are they..." "Is there some kind of feud between you and Ray?" "A feud?" "No." "'Cause we had your brother into the station, asked him the same question, and he said..." "Well, I mean..." "Okay, we had our differences over the years." "Who hasn't?" "Brothers and all, but nothing like a feud." "May I?" "What exactly is the connection, in your mind, between Emmit's alleged brother and the victim?" "His alleged?" "Are you suggesting somehow Ray Stussy isn't..." "It's your story, Detective." "I'm merely looking for clarification." "Chief, not detective." "My apologies." "My point is, all this sounds like mere surmise." "Two brothers, a traffic skirmish, a dead man in another county." "Mere what?" "All named Stussy." "You see, in 1932 there were, what, 24 Hitlers in a German phone book." "Now, are you suggesting that they were all responsible for the Final Solution?" "Twenty-four, exactly?" "Sir, was there some kind of disagreement over money between you and your brother?" "Or if not money, something he wanted back?" " Reason we ask is..." " Mmm-mmm." "You're saying..." "My brother was trying to rob me?" "All right." "Look." "I'd like to thank you for bringing all this to our attention." "And to assure you that if anything fruitful comes to mind, any details that you might find illuminating, then we'll make sure to bring them to your attention, all right?" "Are we leaving?" "Yes, you are." "Come on." "If you think of anything." "Thanks." "Thank you." "So, Eden Valley, is it a nice town?" "We got a Tastee Freez and a Dairy Queen." "Will wonders never cease?" "Come on." "Seems like your brother's got a backbone after all." "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "There is a police station in Eden Valley with no computers." "I'd like to take a look at a case file." "One or two?" "Just Yuri." "I think keep a low profile." "Now, the victim's name is..." "Stussy." "Same as our benefactor." " Quiet or loud?" " Quiet." "I'm trying to contain something, not expand it." "Stay the course for me?" "Put an ear to this Goldfarb meeting tonight?" "They're on for 6:00." "Now..." "I want you to find the brother, this Ray character, and his bitch." "Execute?" "Got anything back there?" "Nope, it's all locked up back here." "Come back tomorrow." "Hon?" "Heat's on." "We better blow." "Okay, come on." "Ray, slow up." "Sorry, babe." "We should get off the street." "I know a motel where they take cash." "Good boy." " All right?" " Yeah." " Okay?" " Uh-huh." "I think I'm gonna need you to round me up some more aspirin, babe." "Maybe a cold compress." "Thought I could tough it out, but I guess I'm a wimp." "Baby, please." "That beating that you took..." "I swear to God, if those guys were here, I..." "Cash only, remember." "For the aspirin." "They can track the cards, the cops." "I know." "I just gotta..." "I, uh, used my last 20 for the room." "So..." "What about the sack from the bank?" "There's still a few thousand in that, right?" "Ray." "Tell me you brought the getaway money." "It's just that we..." "It happened so fast." "Ray, we need that money." "I know." "I mean, if it were just the underworld types, but with the law enforcement on our ass, we're..." " I know, I'm going." " You want me to go?" "No, I'm fine." "Ray." "I got it." "You win." "I'm done." "Whatever you want, just tell me." "I co-signed the mortgage, you think I don't have a key?" "Came for my money." "The Dalmatian at the bank." "You poured her in the trash, the dog." "I got it for Grace when she was seven." "Laverne." "She didn't live that long." "Car got her, but we'd grown attached." "I was looking for my stamp." "You know, I was thinking about her on the way over." "I can't think of a single person doesn't like me." "Except you." "That's what they say to your face." "No." "Ray, I'm a fair man." "I treat people honestly." " Help 'em when they're down." " Them you help." "When did I not help you, kid?" "Everything you asked." "Co-signing the mortgage, repairs for the car." "I'm not less than you." "Some child that needs..." "Ray, come on." "We've done this already." "Been doing it for 20 years." "Enough." "It's finished, okay?" "Words said in anger, crimes committed..." "We've both done things." "It's a certain madness, I think." "Brotherhood." "Buttons you push in me, that I push in you." "Grudges..." "But I don't want that anymore." "So..." "I'm giving you the stamp." "Well, you're not giving it to me." "No." "I am." "You can't give me what was mine from the start." "Okay." "No, that's..." "Take it." "It's yours." "I said take it." "I don't want it." "Take the damn stamp." "Stop!" "Take it!" "Don't." "Don't." "Jesus." "Emmit." "Emmit." "Ray." "Raymond?" "Mr. Stussy." "Do you know what Lenin said about Beethoven's Piano Sonata Number 23?" "Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov." "Not the bloody walrus." "He said, "I know nothing that is greater than the Appassionata," "but I cannot listen too often." "It affects one's nerves, and makes one want to say kind, stupid things, and stroke the heads of those who, living in such a foul hell, can create such beauty." "Better to beat the person unmercifully over the head."" "Where are you, Mr. Stussy?" "There's been an accident." "Things of consequence rarely happen by accident." "Can you come?" "Give me the address and I'll leave immediately." "I'm at Ray's." "Did anyone see you?" "I'm so rarely seen, maybe I don't even exist." "What's he doing here?" "You called for help." "This is what help looks like." "I wanted to find his pulse, but I was afraid." "Afraid you'd leave fingerprints?" "Where else might we find your fingerprints?" "Uh, I came in that door." "So, the knob, inside and out." "That frame, the glass." "Bury the body, missing person?" "No." "Collect the frame and the stamp, and leave the glass." "Is there someplace you're supposed to be right now?" "Is there someplace you're supposed to be right now?" "Uh, what time is it?" "A meeting, a dinner." "Which is it, a meeting or a dinner?" "Uh, dinner." "With whom?" " Sy." " Which restaurant?" "Uh, it's in my phone." "Never mind, never mind." "Listen, this is important." "If the restaurant has a back door, go to the bathroom and wash your face and hands in very cold water, then go to the table." "That way, if any witnesses see you, they won't be able to time your arrival." "Do you understand?" "Yeah, but..." "Emmit." "Look at me." " Are you listening?" " Yeah." "Your brother was killed by his ex-convict girlfriend." "He'd been abusing her, you see?" "Beating her in places you don't show." "And tonight she'd had enough, so she cut his throat." "And watched him bleed." "Now, the police will contact you tonight to inform you of his death." "Be upset, not too upset." "Volunteer nothing, you haven't seen him for days, you haven't spoken to him." "I called him on his cell." " When?" " Yesterday." "Right." "Well, there'll be a record of that." "Did you speak for long?" "Just a few minutes." "All right." "Well, it's just a quick call, just to catch up, innit?" "Be vague." "I didn't mean to..." "No one ever does." "Walk him to his car, out in the back." "Make sure you're not seen." "Nothing like a feud." "Will wonders never cease?" "Go figure." "It's a pretty common name." " There's jealousy there." " Ladies shoes." "Screw it." "St. Cloud Metro, this is Eden Valley One." "Go ahead, Eden Valley." "Yeah, I'm trying to get a message to Officer Lopez." "Tell her I'm heading back to the PO's domicile." "Have her meet me there." "Will do."