"I'll be right back with your order." "Good morning, Bill." "Let me guess." "Pancakes, side of bacon." "Who's dying?" "Come on, pick it up." "Phil, Big Papa, please?" "I need 15." "I love it when you call me Big Papa." "Hey, you're up early today." "Okay, you're good to go." "is this yours?" "Does that line ever work?" "What's the problem here?" "It's hot!" "Here you go." "Sorry." "Why not?" "My grandfather was a lawyer.Plus, I have a logical mind." "And you're only, like, what?" "$299,000 short of what you need for law school?" "Piece of cake.Piece of pie." "Piece of ass." "So what would you do?" "I don't know.Liar." "You know, I was thinkingl could go back to school fulltime." "And quit here?" "I won't allow it, Slim." "Careful, it's hot.Sorry, sir." "Ever try the Roc?" "What?" "It's the deodorant thing.lt's like salts or something." "You rub it on your pits.lt looks like some kind of hippie crystal." "Are you saying I sweat?" "No, you just...." "Do I smell?" "No." "God...." "Ladies?" "Okay." "Your turn." "I'm sweating too much." "You waiting for somebody?" "Something to drink?" "Just water, thanks." "I'll give you a minute to look at the menu." "That's okay. I was in here yesterday, Slim." "What's your real name?" "No." "I like it." "Don't you thinkit's kind of negative, though?" "No, I don't tell my name." "Okay." "Give me the soup, turkey burger,coleslaw, couple of extra slices of tomato." "I write books." "Do you read books?" "What are you reading now?" "You know Finnegans Wake by James Joyce?" "My friend told me it's the hardest booking the English language." "I mean, not the hardest,but the hardest one that you can actually read." "I thought to myself, if I can get through it,I could probably read the rest." "How long have you been reading it?" "Six years." "I'll be back with your soup." "He likes you.He's a dick." "He was in here yesterday, you know?" "I know." "Now he's back today, he brought a rose,he pulls you into conversation." "Okay, so he likes me." "So, do you like him?" "I don't know him." "What's that got to do with anything?" "He's a major piece of cake, piece of pie." "Trust me, okay?" "He's carrot cake." "And when a guy like that,who's actually cuter than you, likes you...." "He's cuter than me?" "Face it, no one will ever go for youbecause of your looks." "That sucks, because my personality bites." "Cup of soup." "You don't really write books, do you?" "No." "I haven't really been readingFinnegans Wake either." "I'm going into law enforcement." "Who's the rose for?" "Enjoy your grub." "Hey!" "You." "How much did you settle on?" "Excuse me?" "The bet." "How much is it?" "You and your friend, yesterday, was it $200?" "Was it $500?" "What was it?" "What?" "He bet his friend that he could get into your pantsby noon tomorrow." "is this your business?" "Are you the morals police?" "Take it easy, man. I was just having some fun." "What was it?" "$200 or $500?" "I want to know what I'm worth." "The bet was for $200." "But now that I know you way too high." "Don't come back here again ever." "I'm sorry to get in your business." "No." "Thanks." "I can't believe you actually said something." "I'd have felt bad about it if I'd have kept quiet." "Good luck." "Please tell me, Phil, as Mitch was rather vague is her father dead, too?" "Well, he is to her.He left when she was maybe two or three." "Then I'm happy to pay for the wedding.Yes, we're very happy." "You sure you love me?" "Forever and ever?" "You're safe with me, Slim." "You're safe, and it's okay to be happy.We deserve it." "Wait, so this was during or after college?" "During." "What's wrong with you?" "No, I mean, why did you and Slim break up?" "I'm terrible in bed." "Plus, she had to drop out,some money problems and so we kind of evolved into being friends." "What do you think?" "Can I take you home right now?" "If you've got a sense of humor." "My kids are out for tonight I live in Seattle.Women always want the possibility of longterm." "I didn't just propose." "I just thought that maybe we could have a brief,totally unsatisfying sexual encounter." "I'm your guy." "Excuse me, I'm sorry, I'm sorry but I've got to get up at 5:00 in the morningto buy green beans." "Now I know you don't need it,but it's tradition in my family to give money to the groom.That's sweet." "Thank you, Phil.And thank you for giving me away today." "You're the best substitute father a girl ever had." "No substitute. I'm the real thing." "Thank you." "He really loves you." "Yeah." "You gonna give me babies, Slim?" "Yeah." "How soon?" "How soon can we get out of here?" "Hi.Hello." "We've been driving around and my wife has fallen completely in lovewith your house." "Yes, it's great, isn't it?" "We want to buy it." "She wants it for our family." "Well, it's...." "We're not selling.Sure you are." "That's the price." "Don't worry, it's well over market." "You're out of your mind.l know, that's just it." "So before you say no again think how miserable one determined,crazy person can make you." "Miserable today, tomorrow,pretty much every day, until the day you sell." "Your kids are grown,you'll be happier in a smaller place." "Parker, how are you?" "How's the jump shot?" "Mitch!" "Not now, sweetie.lt's Slim." "Give me a second." "Yeah?" "What?" "Hey, Parker!" "Parker, give me a ride to the hospital." "Look after the client." "She looks just like my baby pictures." "Don't you?" "Who was that?" "I don't know." "Who cares?" "Some construction thing." "Bring her here." "Let me see." "That's my baby, that's my baby." "What do you got there?" "Okay." "Let's put it out here." "What's that one?" "Hey." "Hey." "Should I join you?" "No. I'm about to get out." "I'm just showering to wake myself up.l got to go back to work." "Sorry.Yeah." "Me, too." "Hi, darling." "Where are you?" "You just paged my husband, right?" "Oh, my God." "Mitch?" "Who are you?" "What's your name?" "I'm so sorry, I" "No, it's too late to deny it now." "Your name?" "I have to go." "Don't hang up." "Don't be a coward." "Just tell me your name." "That's the least you could do, don't you think?" "I'm Darcelle." "I'm very sorry." "Hey." "She paged you." "Who?" "Number 33." "Darcelle." "I guess you're late." "She's French?" "She's not important.No?" "You're important.Yeah." "And Gracie." "I must be braindead." "I must be the biggest moron on the planetbecause I thought we were happy." "Were we happy?" "And I used to think we were so lucky." "And I thought in bed we were still...." "Slim, please.No." "You said I was safe with you.You are." "You are. I promise." "I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." "Everything is going to be okay." "I can smell her.What?" "Her perfume." "Darcelle, or whoever.We just had a drink." "Stop it!" "You're caught!" "I caught you!" "And you won't talk your way out of this." "How many, Mitch?" "How many are there?" "How many have there been?" "What does it matter?" "It's not that our sex life hasn't been good.lt's been great, Slim." "But I'm a man." "Men and women have different needs and that's okay." "Darcelle's...." "She's willing to take care of that,and maybe that's better for everybody." "It's better for you!" "You have a pretty good deal, don't you?" "You go out, you fool around!" "I sit here, take care of your house and kid." "Well, no more, Mitch!" "That's it!" "The party is over!" "Calm down.l won't do this anymore." "I won't sit here and take it, and take it, and take it." "Sorry!" "I love you, yes." "But I am not a doormat!" "I'm your wife. I'm your wife." "And you cannot do this to me!" "You cannot do this to me anymore." "What?" "I can't hit you?" "No, you can't." "You want to fight?" "I'm a man, honey, it's no contest." "You have to understand, and I thought you did." "I make the money here,so I set the rules, right?" "It's my rules." "You're with me?" "It's your rules." "Yeah." "And what if I don't like the rules?" "If you don't like them?" "Come on, sweetie,life isn't just stuff we like, is it?" "We have to take the good with the bad." "That's what marriage is." "So, for you, maybe today is a bad day.Tomorrow may be great." "Tomorrow will be great." "Yeah." "Today is the price you pay for having such a good life." "I'm going to go out." "This will be better, don't you think?" "I don't have to sneak aroundand pretend I'm going to work. I can say:" ""l'm going to Darcelle's.l'll be back in a few hours."" "Just so you don't do anything lateryou might regret." "Okay?" "Who are you calling?" "Your mother." "What will you tell her?" "I was supposed to bring Gracie by tomorrow,so I better cancel." "You know, love is a scary thing." "How powerful it is, what it does to you." "That is what happened here." "See, if I ever think of...." "l just...." "I can't...." "l refuse to live without you." "I think you understand what I'm saying." "Hey, you're late." "Where have you been?" "You are late.l was worried you weren't coming at all." "No Gracie?" "We will have a regular girls' luncheon and we will gossip about absolutely everybody." "My poor baby." "My God." "Honey, I am so sorry." "What did you do?" "What did you say to him?" "Men are like land mines." "Some you trigger the first week,others it's years in." "The problem is you want a manman." "Meaning his veins run thick with testosterone,which is good." "But then he can turn aroundwithout any warning and hit you." "I'm not this person." "I'm not a person whose husband beats her up." "I know." "What do I do?" "You got to go to the cops." "He's the father of my child, okay?" "I will not put him in jail!" "Hold on. I'm sorry." "I'm sorry, okay?" "Sit down." "Relax for a second." "I'm just saying that either you endure this and you live it out like you'rein some goddamn country western song or you take the kid,you take Gracie and you get out." "Mrs. Hiller, how are you?" "Your husband got her." "I must've forgotten." "Gracie was totally psyched.l told him he should do it more often." "Mitch!" "Toots!" "Gracie!" "Is that my little croissant?" "No, it's your loaf of bread." "Oh, hi." "How is it going?" "Where are you?" "Zoo." "Why didn't you tell meI called you at home, left messages." "Hey, Daddy." "Come here.It's your mom, honey." "Mom, the elephants are peeing." "She's a little excited." "Hey, Dad, here." "Come here." "Look at the giraffe." "So, when are you guys going to be home?" "I don't know." "I'll take her for a pony ride,maybe get a cotton candy." "You want a cotton candy, honey?" "I'll see you later.'Bye, Mommy." "Made me nervouswhen I couldn't reach you today." "I thought you were going to cancelwith my mother." "And you have to go crying to the old gangat the greasy spoon." "Whatever happened to privacy?" "I guess it's dead, along with chivalry and fidelity." "Tell me." "Do you have any idea how bad things can get?" "Educate me." "Slim, I'm a determined man.l was determined to have you, and I did." "This house, my company...." "l am and always will be a personwho gets what he wants." "And I still want you." "You can either accept that or you can fight it.Which way do you want to go?" "I want to be happy." "Good." "Can I help you?" "Yeah." "I have a friend whose husband beats her up." "She should come in here and file a complaint." "If she has physical evidence of abuseon her person we'll go out and arrest him." "If he has money, he can bail himself out.That's true." "Then he's free till it goes to trial.lf it goes to trial." "It's up to the city's attorney's officewhether to prosecute." "Okay, so she comes in here, she has him arrested and pisses him off then there's no guaranteethat he won't come after her once he's out." "She could get a protection order." "What's that?" "A little piece of paperthat says he can't come around?" "And when he comes around,what does she do, throw it at him?" "She calls us." "And what about the kid?" "is the.... ls the paper good for the kid, too?" "There's a child involved?" "That's a matter for the family courts." "But unless she can provethat he's a danger to the child she can't legally bar him access." "Miss!" "Miss!" "Maybe she didn't hear the signal.No, she heard it." "No." "I think maybe Teddy is right." "Maybe she could still be sleeping." "She's not sleeping, okay, Phil?" "She's coming any second." "Okay, do it again." "Put her down." "We should go in." "It'd be crazy if we woke him up." "Plus, she's going to flick the lightsif anything is wrong." "Right?" "Yeah." "Another step and you're dead." "Oh, my God!" "You don't understand.You've broken into our house." "She's alive." "The lights are out. i can't see who you are.l could kill you free and clear." "Sir, please." "Where's Gracie?" "She's here." "We are happy to leave, Mitch,with Slim and Miss Gracie." "And make no mistake. lf you keep them here,we will go straight to the police who will surely arrest youwith a great deal of pleasure." "I don't want to say this in front of the group but you are just a rug head." "If you go to the cops,it will be her word against mine." "And they will find drugs in her bureauor her car, or whatever." "Trust me on that. I'll have custody of Gracieby the end of the week." "No." "Help me. I got to get her out of here." "Enough with her." "Get out." "Wake up, baby." "Wake up." "Look at your papa." "We're going for a little ride." "Look at your papa." "Help them up." "Get the bag." "Look at your papa.l'll see you soon." "'Bye, sweetie." "And she's tied up because once a mean guy got her, tied her up...." "Could be a broken rib." "You could play with her ears." "Flicks her ears out." "At least it's not my face this time." "Where are we going?" "Hospital.No." "I'm fine.You are not." "Where to, Phil?" "Hospital." "I don't want to take her to the erin the middle of the night." "She needs someplace safe where she can sleep." "We could go to my house." "No." "He knows where you live." "He knows where we all live." "Yeah." "One queensize bed is all right?" "Yeah, it's just me and my daughter." "I'm sorry." "This card has been refused.Would you like to try another?" "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hiller.The funds in your account seem to be frozen." "I love motels.Me, too." "Hotels, too.Yeah, more potato." "I'm going to bounce on the bed.Okay, toots." "Be careful." "Hello.Hey, there." "Not too high.What?" "I'm talking to Gracie." "We're watching some TV,getting ready to hit the sack." "Look, Mom." "What about what we talked about?" "No." "No shelters." "She hasn't been tainted by anything so far and I want to keep it that way.Okay. I understand." "Can we talk about this tomorrow?" "Piece of cake." "Piece of pie. 'Bye." "Come on, toots." "Ready for bed." "What's "tainted"?" "is that like "painted"?" "Gin, I said tomorrow, okay?" "Not exactly the Biltmore, is it?" "It's the information age, sweetheart.You leave a trail everywhere." "Especially when your best friendrents your room with her credit card." "I had to do that since someone frozeall my accounts, right?" "We need to talk.No, we don't." "Please." "If we do this the hard way,you know who will suffer." "I'm not talking aboutyou, honey.I mean Gracie." "You don't want her touched or affectedby something bad or undesirable." "What?"Tainted," right?" "That's what tainted means." "Who's banging on the door?" "I don't know." "Why?" "What's going on?" "Mom, I'm scared.lt will be okay, baby." "Slim!" "Hold the bus!" "Hold the bus!" "Go, go, go!" "Open the door." "Open it." "Los AngelesSeattle?" "That fare is $409 round trip.How would you like to pay for that?" "Cash." "I always thought you'd come back here with me,but not eight years later." "Well, if I had known how pretty it was...." "This place really sparkles!" "You know what they call it?" "The Emerald City." "Isn't that where Dorothy is?" "No, sweetie,that's where Dorothy goes in her dream." "Where is she when she wakes up?" "Back in Kansas." "All right, game time." "Duck your heads.Pigeon poop." "Why did you come to me?" "I tried to think of the last time that I felt safe." "Then I saw your face." "And, I wanted a place that MlTCH wouldn't think of." "And someone who was stupid enough to do it.Yeah." "Anybody here like hot fudge sundaes?" "Yeah." "I do. I do." "Yeah." "fbi." "Can we talk?" "Go ahead." "Would you mind opening up?" "I'm investigating a kidnapping." "I'd like to look around." "You got a warrant?" "You letting us in or not?" "Hold on a second." "Can I see the warrant?" "Watch the front." "Who are you looking for?" "Mister, unless you leave right now,I'm calling the police." "Jeez, that's a scary thought." "I married a cop.l don't need their bullshit right now." "That's enough." "Do you hear me?" "It's time to go." "Now!" "You're not fbi, okay. I know who hired you." "Do you know what it's liketo have a knife hit your carotid?" "No." "Do you know what it's like to diebecause you're really stupid?" "No, I really don't." "John boy." "This is not listed on the program." "They're not here." "Let's ride." "Can't I justNo!" "Not today." "Your phone." "'Night, John boy." "Are you okay?" "I'm fine. I needed a shave anyway." "I'm sorry." "I shouldn't be here.Sure you should." "No." "I can't keep putting people I love in danger.What danger?" "They killed my sofa." "Hello.Joe. This is Mitch Hiller." "It's him." "Hello." "How are you?" "I assume Slim's called you?" "Yeah." "Of course." "Could you give her a message?" "Ifshe calls back again, I mean?" "I don't know." "I'm on her side, not yours." "Herside." "What did you expect, Mitch?" "Really?" "Come on, Joe." "You're a smart guy." "Let me say two words to you, okay?" "Lug nuts." "You don't want to worry they are looseevery time you pull on the freeway." "How about the windows in your apartment?" "Are they still locked?" "Person could go crazythinking about stuff like that." "You think those thugs are coming back?" "It doesn't make any difference." "Sure it does." "You don't have to go.They're not coming back tonight." "You know that it is not safe for youif I stay here." "You can come back any time.Tomorrow, the next day." "Maybe I'll take you up on that one day." "Where will you go?" "What will you do?" "Jupiter, girl out there says she's your daughter.She insists on seeing you." "She can't possibly be my daughter.l haven't had sex since 1995." "Not in this country, at least." "Not her." "Me." "I'm your daughter." "What year were you born?" "You are my father, Jupiter." "I wrote you, like, 20 times.But even when Mom died you didn't answer." "I didn't have enough money to bury her.Don't blame me. I didn't kill her." "No." "You had help." "That's a stupid thing to say." "What do you want?" "Money?" "I wanted Gracie to meet her grandpa." "Hi." "And, yes, we need money to survive." "Look, sweetheart from 19681972, I had five kids." "Maybe more." "Half the people in that room could be my kid.lt's a running joke around here." "How will you feel when you wake up one dayand find out your daughter is dead?" "And you didn't do anything to help?" "You're good." "The kid's a sweet touch, too." "But you're not the first to think of this gigsince that Fortune article." "So I'll give you the same thingl gave the other three." "$6." "Enough to buy a sandwich.But for you, I'll make it $12." "Make sure you buy the kid a sandwich, too." "I believe this originally belonged to you." "Pawn it, since you're so hard up.l'm sure it's worth more than $12." "Mommy, don't cry." "Please don't cry." "Mommy!" "This way." "I'm sorry." "This is the best we can do." "It's okay." "We're fine." "Thanks." "Who are all these people?" "They're kind of friends of friends of Phil." "What is it?" "It's food, okay?" "Hi, I lost my birth certificate." "This is for you." "Phil sent it." "Are you surprised?" "Sure, we take care of you." "All right?" "Dear Slim:" "Yesterday three men threatened to kill meif I helped you in any way." "Fortunately foryou, this aroused my interest." "But she may also be...." "I'm sending this to an old address,the diner where you worked." "If this reaches you and you need more leave word at my office." "Jupiter." "What do we think?" "We like it here?" "Why?" "Are we moving again?" "No." "We just" "Good." "Because I'm sick and tired to death of moving." "Me, too." "So here's the deal." "You can call me Mom or you can call me Erin,but you cannot call me Slim." "I never call you Slim." "I know, but just in casesomebody asks you someday I don't think you are that slim." "Thanks a lot." "Do I get a new name, too?" "I guess. lf you want one." "Excuse me!" "Yes?" "Hi." "Betty?" "Yes?" "I'm Erin Shleeter. I called you.Yes, I remember." "This is my daughter." "Look at you." "You are so...." "What's your name?" "Queen Elizabeth." "Welcome, Queen Elizabeth.You'll have a good time here." "May I call you "Queen" for short?" "I like talking to Grandma, but every Sunday do we have to drive for 55 hours just to reach some phone booth?" "Can I call Daddy this time?" "No." "Please?" "Please?" "Don't beg." "You look like a dog." "You know he has friendsin the police department and you're depriving him of his rightsas a father, nonsense like that." "It's leading up to a big custody hearing." "What are you saying?" "Talk to him." "Calm him down.Call him before he does something stupid." "It might help if he talked to Gracie for hersake, too.It's not healthy to be without a father." "We better keep this short. I'll call you next week." "Wait." "I want to speak to Gracie" "Hi, Daddy." "We're having a great vacation." "Where?" "We've been everywhere." "Chicago and" "No questions, okay?" "Or it ends now." "Listen, bitch." "She's my daughter, too.Don't tell me how I can talk to her." "Put me back on the phone with Gracie.Give her the damn phone." "Tell Daddy that you love him and say goodbye." "Gracie, you there, honey?" "Sweetheart, talk to me." "'Bye, Daddy." "Honey, I'm sorry, baby.Daddy didn't mean to use bad words." "I'm really, really sad.GracieI" "I'm sorry, kid. it was my mistake." "Mommy's just a big dummy." "What do you think?" "Her voice?" "Yeah, she sounds the same." "Good. 'Cause if she's changed her appearance" "Thanks, John." "I remember her. I told you.The diner." "The scam." "I don't remember why you broke the rulesand decided to marry the bitch." "She's not a bitch." "Sorry." "She is a waitress." "What does that mean?" "Means she's stupid." "Call your mother." "Now to call you.She's not stupid." "She thinks if the calls are shortthey can't be traced." "I still want to know.With all the girls that we pulled that on, why her?" "Maybe it's love." "Yeah." "I know what that means.lf you were smart, you'd forget her." "I can't simply forget her." "She kidnapped my kid." "How many times do I have to go there?" "It's not kidnapping." "Kidnapping is when someonewho isn't the mother takes the kid." "When the mother takes the kid,it's called parenting." "How soon can you get there?" "I don't know.You know, I could lose my job for this." "Robbie you could lose your job for all the jobsyou're doing besides doing your job." "You know what I mean?" "You got to be reasonable." "I know some guys in Detroit.Like your guys in Seattle?" "I don't think so. I know what they're like." "They've never met her, never heard her voice." "She'll spot them and runbefore they even see her." "It's you, Robbie." "It's you or it's you." "What do you think?" "is it okay?" "It's okay, right?" "No, it's not. lt's horrible." "It's not horrible, Mom." "Yeah, but it's not good, is it?" "Mom, you tasted it." "You know what I think?" "No, what's that?" "I think you miss Daddy." "Daddy yells at me, toots." "Well, you miss somebody." "There he is." "Joe!" "Joe!" "Joe!" "Joe!" "Joe!" "Joe, over here!" "Hey!" "How are you?" "You're lucky l like you.This is the most preposterous trip I've ever taken." "Change your plane." "Rent a car." "Let's do it." "You guys hungry as I am?" "Seems like she's doing great.Yeah." "How about you?" "You okay?" "Cut off from everybody,can't talk to your friends...." "Gracie is safe." "So Mitch is...." "When is this custody thing?" "Couple of months." "Anyway, they favor the mother, so...." "Yeah, they do." "But he has a lot of money, and a lot of lawyers." "That's kind of what I mean.l mean, you can't run forever, Slim." "Why not?" "I'm good at it." "You are." "But, then again,you're good at everything." "Wait, I'm confused.Are you criticizing me or flirting with me?" "Let me get back to you on that." "Hi, Gracie. ls that your ball?" "Yes." "You want to see a trick?" "Yeah." "I don't hear the basketball." "Do you?" "She was just...." "Gracie!" "Gracie!" "Gracie!" "I mean, Queen!" "Mommy!" "Mommy!" "Watch my new trick!" "Didn't I tell you to stay close?" "Come on." "Do you remember the house rules?" "Who can forget, with Gracie here?" "Joe." "What would have happened if weDon't." "It's wrong to think like that." "Why?" "Because of Gracie." "She's truly a great kid." "Any path that doesn't include herdoesn't make any sense." "Ginny told me about that weekend." "Of your wedding?" "Did she tell you how terrible I was?" "Joe, that might work with other people,but you forget. I've had you." "I didn't forget." "And I'm telling you from experience you're not that bad." "Do you have to go tomorrow?" "Yeah." "Why?" "Why can't you quit your joband come here and play the horses,and become independently wealthy?" "Please, kiss me, Slim." "I know we're not supposed to,and it's against house rules." "But for me to come all this wayand feel the way I do" "You're a great person, Slim." "You're a great person." "Just like your daughter." "Can I get a chocolate kiss?" "Who wants to put two eggs in.l want to put the eggs." "Careful." "I want you back." "No." "It could be just like it was.No!" "That's pretty stupid." "You know why?" "Because if I can't have you, nobody will." "Like that jerk who was here with you.He'll be fishing for his guts." "You know what else?" "For murder, they need a body." "Otherwise, they'll think you ran away again." "Only this time, you'll never come back." "Mommy!" "Daddy, no!" "Stop, Daddy!" "Stop it!" "Mommy!" "Stop, Daddy!" "Stop!" "Go on, honey." "Get in your seat.Get in the back." "Strap yourself in." "Put that on." "Mommy, what's happening?" "Put it on." "Put these on, too." "You." "Car seat, honey." "Then slow so I can.l can't slow down right now." "Bitch!" "Pull over." "Pull the car over!" "Mommy, stop it!" "Hold on tight." "Pull over." "Shit!" "Come on." "Mommy!" "Hold on, Gracie, okay." "Mommy!" "Come on!" "It will be over soon." "We're almost there!" "Just hold on, okay?" "You'll be all right, okay?" "All right." "Okay, toots." "Let's talk." "You want me to tell you what happened?" "Fair enough." "First thing Erin is over." "I liked Erin." "And you are not the Queen of England anymore." "Okay?" "I'm hungry." "is everything okay here?" "Yeah, thanks." "Hey there, little cutie." "What's your name?" "I don't know." "Hey, Millie, 14 needs menus." "Come on." "You'll be okay?" "You're going to sit here,be Mommy's good girl?" "Okay?" "All right." "Don't talk to any strangers.Be right back." "is Mr. Toller with someone?" "No, but" "Good. I'm not a crazy person. I swear." "Wait a minute." "You can'tDon't call security." "Hi, Mr. Toller." "My name is Erin...." "I mean, my name is Slim." "I got your name from Millie.Down at the diner, right down the block." "The thing is...." "My husband keeps trying to kill me.You know?" "See?" "I need someone to talk to who is smart." "And I have money, you know." "I have money. $500." "And you can have it." "You can have it all if you just listen to what...." "Two minutes." "Please." "Thanks." "Small person." "Can you watch her?" "Thank you." "Pardon my French, dear, but I hope you got some pleasure from itbecause you've really screwed yourself." "You had two chances to go to the police,file a complaint put his violence on record." "You ignored them both." "Which tells him to keep on cominguntil he kills you." "As for Gracie,you're going to the custody hearing?" "Yes, sir." "If you didn't, the judge would rule against you,and you'd become a fugitive." "Once you're there, your husband will,as you say, portray you as a drug addict." "For all I know, you are one.You break in here uninvited." "I'd say your attacker has a very good chanceof gaining sole custody." "If you don't mind, put this away.No, no." "Take it." "is that it?" "You won't help me?" "That's what I'm telling you." "It's too late." "There isn't anybody who can help you." "In good conscience, I should say the custody hearing is probably a trick." "It's not about itself. lt's a way to find you." "A way to get you in a particular place and timeso his men can follow you and he can come to wherever you are and kill you." "Okay." "Now I got to make you a promise, Grace." "Ever since you were born...." "One day I started thinkingof all the awful things that could happen." "People who you'd love would die or leave you, or betray you and break your heart." "Or a guy would hurt you in some way." "And I thought to myself, if I could protect you from that, even once." "If I could just absorb any of that myself." "Here goes." "Okay, you guys, keep up with me.This is really busy here." "Would you hold her hand, please?" "This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever done." "Oh, yeah?" "How about Horace?" "Okay, the second most." "Rent a car, drive to Reno, then fly to San Jose." "Are you out of your mind?" "You noticed?" "Oh, my!" "What happened?" "I thought I'm supposed to drive to Reno." "I had to make sure you weren't followed." "Okay." "Hey, Graceland." "How are you?" "Hey, Gracie!" "Over here!" "Here are the tickets.Okay." "Some cash and credit cards. lt's on me." "Just don't call home." "Or Phil's.Okay." "Think of it as a paid vacation you never had." "Hey, toots." "You want to give Mommy a hug?" "Come here." "Say goodbye to me." "Okay?" "I'm going to miss you. lt's just for a little while." "A little kiss?" "Can I have a little smile before you go?" "Okay." "Sweetie, why don't you sit up front, okay?" "Take care of her." "Oh, honey." "I don't want you to worry, okay?" "Eric will have her dribbling behind her backthe next time you see her." "Thanks. I'm number 1 on the auto dialer." "Call me, or I'll call you." "All calls, 15 seconds or less." "Cake?" "Pie." "Try to have fun." "Hey, how long?" "The custody hearing is in the next month, so...." "That's my deadline.Deadline for what?" "Relax." "Close your eyes." "I'm not here." "He's not here." "Time!" "Relax." "Breathe." "Close your eyes." "Close your eyes." "That's it." "Go!" "Relax." "Keep your balance." "You ready?" "Yes." "You sure?" "Can you lose?" "No." "Can he hurtyou?" "No." "Even though he's bigger?" "He's a lot bigger." "Even though he's stronger?" "He's a lotstronger." "Get some rest tonight.Tomorrow we're gonna work on the ball." "Look at me!" "If he hits you...." "No way." "Say it." "It takes twice as much energyto swing and miss as to swing and hit." "You think you're done for.He's got you by the throat." "Left arm up." "Good." "Rotate around." "Drop that arm.Reach up, grab my hand." "There." "Good." "So how do you win?" "How?" "I attack." "And what do you do afteryou attack?" "Nothing." "Why nothing?" "Because I neverstop attacking." "Good!" "Do it!" "Use your legs." "Keep that chin down!" "That's it!" "Go!" "Go!" "One last thing." "The hardest lesson." "We can't control the universe." "Suddenly the maid enters." "You're distracted for an instant and he hits you." "That's not possible." "To win, we must prepare,even for the impossible." "We bend the universe to our will,but it will only go so far." "So you're saying...." "Yes." "You're down." "Lying there." "Seemingly beaten." "But hear me." "Hold on to my voice." "He's standing over you." "He thinks he's won." "And as sure as he's a coward,he will try to kick you." "Yes." "But because you know what he'll do you're smiling inside." "How's that guy I set you up with?" "He's good." "He teach you how to think?" "I hope so." "Did you find Mitch?" "He sold the house.Bought a place out near the marina." "I need a woman who looks like me.5'5", 115 pounds." "An offduty cop or something.She should have her hair cut short, too." "She should wear jeans and sneakers.Here's his address." "I got her a room at the Washington Square Inn." "What's she for?" "I need Mitch to think I'm here, in San Francisco." "Have her meet me, 5:45,top floor of the Vesuvio's." "Today?" "Well, that's awful short notice.l don't know I thought Jupiter was almighty,powerful, king of the gods." "Yeah." "One more thing." "At some point,not right now because it would be phony I need you to acknowledge I'm your kid." "You sure this will work?" "You bet your life." "Thanks. I will." "And where is Gracie?" "Well, she gets back the day after tomorrow." "And then we're gonna fly to LA." "Tell me something, please.Why is this call different?" "Well, you know, we were in the country then." "Now we're in the city, meeting with my lawyers." "So, you know, there's lots of cell phones here." "So, there's no way they can trace this." "Make sure you call me the minute you get back." "I can't wait to see my girls, okay?" "Hey, give me the ball, man!" "Coffee?" "No, I got to get home." "Change for work." "I'll call you." "You want my number?" "Sure." "Thanks, for everything.You, too." "I really appreciate it." "Really." "Lucy." "Hey, baby." "No, I had to work late." "Tonight's no good. I have a flightto San Francisco early tomorrow morning." "If it was pleasure, you'd be going, too." "No, I have to go up and pick up my daughter." "Yeah, the custody hearing is down here." "But it looks as if Gracieis being taken to San Francisco and my wife it seems as if she has completely vanished.Right off the face of the earth." "I doubt they'll ever find her this time." "I want her to meet you, too.We'll call you as soon as we get back." "Love you. 'Bye." "Hi." "What's up?" "I'm in." "Thanks forletting me come talk about Gracie." "I'm glad you're willing to admityour temper." "And let's not mince words.The physical abuse you subjected me to." "Perhaps with your new attitude,we can really work something out." "Peryourlastletter, I'll see you the evening of...." "Hey." "You okay?" "Say it again." "Say what?" "You know, what you told me." "You have a divine, animal right to protectyour own lifeand the life ofyour offspring." "Are you still there?" "Yeah." "Stay on the line. I want to see if this works." "It's me." "Yeah." "And this morning?" "You always did forget to turn off the coffee." "I found it, Mitch." "It's a machine. lt knocks out cell phones." "Found that gun, too." "Scared?" "Of what?" "Now is when you decide, Mitch." "Whether you're a coward or not.lf you are, you can run." "Go ahead, run." "You will shoot me with my own gun?" "I threw them away." "Then someone else is here with you." "No." "You're alone." "Why not?" "This is what you wanted, right?" "What you were going to San Francisco for?" "The chance to get me alone?" "Yeah." "But what are you doing?" "You want to fight me?" "Man to man?" "Woman, Mitch." "Yeah, that's what I mean." "Man against woman." "You sure that's fair?" "Fair to whom?" "No, I'm sorry. I can't do this.Can't do what?" "This. it's ridiculous." "You could hit me before, though, couldn't you?" "When I was defenseless." "That's not going to" "As I was saying, that's not going to do anything." "Then what will do it?" "Are you such a coward that you can only hit mewhen I'm not expecting it?" "Come on." "I don't understand, Slim.How does this work for you?" "I mean, this is carefully thought out." "But say you do succeed." "You beat me upor whatever." "You won't murder me." "So all you've done is further piss me off." "Selfdefense is not murder." "You don't have the guts." "Come on." "It's not selfdefensewhen you break in here and attack me." "Attack you?" "All I did was slap you around a little bit." "You really think you're going to kill meand get away with it?" "I told you." "Selfdefense." "As arranged in our letters,I'm here to talk about Gracie." "There are no letters." "Sure there are.ln the drawer where your pistol was." "You just put your prints all over them." "You attacked me, I fought back." "If something should happen...." "l don't care how long it takes.l only have to hit you once." "Just one good hit and it's over." "He bleeds." "You can count on one thing, baby." "Even if I don't kill you,you'll never see Gracie again." "You never will." "I'm confused, Mitch." "Aren't you a man?" "Can't you hit me again, even once?" "What do you think now?" "All your training, all your practice...." "It's over, baby." "It's over." "Hi.l can't do it, Gin." "What do you mean?" "What happened?" "I can't do it." "He'll come afteryou and after Gracie." "I know all that, but I can't do it." "I'm not a killer, Gin." "I'm not him. I can't do this." "Hello?" "Slim, are you there?" "Should I call the cops?" "Slim, answer meI SlimI" "Hold on to my voice." "He thinks he's won." "And as sure as he's a coward,he will try to kick you." "Some woman called." "Ginny?" "He's still in there?" "Armed?" "Dangerous?" "Looks like you're one of the lucky ones." "Gracie!" "Mommy!" "My baby!" "Where are we going now, Mommy?" "Anywhere you want to go." "Emerald City." "I was thinking the same thing." "I have something to show you, Mommy.You do?" "Show me." "Something for you." "Oh, my goodness." "Look at all this." "Where did you get all this stuff?" "From Hawaii."