"I wouldn't even mind if we made love once in a while." "It's like slow death, Asch." "I am nice to you, I am sympathetic to you, and you just sit there." "I want more, I want..." "Erica..." "I know what you want." "I want to know what you want." "You want to go on being depressed and buying those pointless expensive gadgets and living off me and indulging your self pity!" "Well, I don't like it." "I don't like it for me and I don't like it for you." "Apparently not." "I have other options." "They're becoming increasingly attractive." "Jacob, you need to get back on your feet and start running again." "And if kicking you out will make that happen..." "Erica..." "You got a point." "Yeah, she had a point." "I don't know who said it's better to lose in love, than not to love at all, but I was beginning to think he was wrong." "It was my year for losing things, my instincts, my job as a reporter, and now Erica." "A friend worked for a rich down-town artist." "She said he wanted to find something he 'd lost when he was poor." "She didn't say what it was and I didn't ask." "Nice." "Take a break, Ann." "Gerald McMurtry." "Jacob Asch." "How you doing?" "Good." "This is an interesting place you got here." "Yeah." "So, how well did you know Mona?" "Very well." "You're honest." "That's what I need right now." "Jacob, twelve years ago I had a wife and a young son, Brian." "I walked out on them, I haven't seen them since." "Why did you leave?" "Ambition, simple as that." "Well, not quite as simple as that." "When I married Laine, I thought she was self-sufficient and tough, she turned out to be weak, dependent and masochistic." "It went back a long way, her father raped and beat her..." "Terrible things." "Hey, Mona." "Eventually, he blew his brains out in the living room one Sunday." "Welcome back." "How are you?" "I can't explain it clearly, but this last year I've really wanted to find my son." "I don't know where I expected her to take him, but it wasn't Palm Springs." "Why Palm Springs?" "An old friend just bought a gallery there, my work's going to open it." "Last week he said he saw Laine and Brian driving down Palm Canyon." "He might be mistaken, but I doubt it." "Her mother used to live out there." "So why doubt it?" "She hated the place and her mother." "I mean hated." "But then, it's a woman's privilege to change her mind." "Well, you want the job?" "I think the Buddhists say a man should measure his wealth by what he can do an hour." "Well, I was a rich man." "Took me ten minutes to pack everything I owned including the expensive gadget." "And I was on my way." "Maybe I should've told McMurtry you can 't go back, but I didn't." "I didn't because, as much as he needed to locate his past," "I needed to locate my future." "And there was another reason." "To hell with the Buddhists, I needed the money." "Hello!" "Hello!" "Hello, anybody here?" "Hi, how are you?" "Oh, bring them round the back." "Bring what around the back?" "The pictures." "I'm Jacob Asch." "He's not taking this seriously!" "I told him I'd deal with the trucking, but he said no." "Now, he's taken so long I only have a day left to hang." "I'm here to find Brian and Laine." "You could make my job easier if you've seen them again." "Have you?" "No, and I wish I hadn't seen them in the first place." "This is typical of Gerry!" "He left them flat broke in some dump in Venice." "For 12 years, he doesn't have a conscience." "Now that I mention that I thought" "I saw them driving down Palm Canyon in a white Corniche, suddenly, he's concerned for the kid's welfare." "Maybe he's concerned about his cultural welfare, this is Palm Springs." "Nice talking to you, Mr Asch." "I went to the library and looked through some old phone books." "When I hit 1973, I found Laine's mother, Jane Bowen." "As a reporter, it used to amuse me how often a story took you to a trailer park." "It was like the place where dead information got washed up and thought it was safe." "Mrs Poulson?" "Yes?" "Hi, I'm Jacob Asch." "I'm an investigator for a legal firm trying to locate Jane Bowen or her daughter Laine." "How are you doing?" "Hi." "Mrs Bowen died." "I bought this place off Laine six years ago." "What name did she use on the documents?" "Bowen, Laine Bowen." "What's this about, anyway?" "She didn't have much to say, but she was anxious to say it." "Gossip." "Laine had been living here with a boyfriend who beat her up." "It figured, but it didn't do me any good." "Be careful." "Careful?" "Careful of what?" "I should've asked." "Only fools ignore the strange warnings of trailer park ladies." "I ignored her warning and checked the marriage and divorce records." "I got lucky." "Laine had divorced McMurtry in 1977 and on June 20th 1981, she married one Simon Fleischer at 454, Fairmont Road, Palm Springs, which was also the city's flashest address." "She drove her Rolls Royce down Palm Canyon and I followed." "I assumed it was Laine and if it was, she 'd come a long way since the trailer park days." "But then again, appearances can be deceiving." "Sometimes when money buys off your material fears, it just reveals the next layer down, and the next, and the next." "I couldn't get a good shot and it was too risky to stand there with a camera." "Besides, if it was her up there, it was none of my business." "I could've talked to her already, but for some reason I didn't." "I guess it was like being a reporter again." "I wondered if Fleischer knew about her life with McMurtry and if she thought about those years as she drove around this artificial village in the desert." "Maybe not." "Maybe she was one of those women who change their memories to suit their men." "Hi." "I'm Jacob Asch." "How you doing?" "I'm fine, thank you." "Are you...?" "I'm a teacher here, I teach Ethics." "You don't look like a teacher." "What does a teacher look like?" "Are you flirting with me, Mr Asch?" "Absolutely." "Hi." "Hi." "Hi." "How you doing?" "I spent the whole day shopping, but I finally found them." "This is great!" "I'm taking him home today, Pam." "Oh, okay." "Bye." "See you." "Oh, this is Mr Asch, but you know that of course, he teaches you Ethics, right?" "Ethics?" "What are ethics?" "You're not doing your job very well." "You've got a point." "A pleasure, Mr Asch." "A pleasure, Mr Asch." "See you." "Have a good day?" "Oh, yeah, it was very exciting." "Did you learn anything?" "Laine, what are ethics?" "I found them." "You did?" "Yeah." "What's he like?" "I don't know." "Can he come to the opening tomorrow?" "I didn't ask." "Did you talk to him at all?" "Couple of words, yeah." "What about her?" "More than a couple of words." "So, it's still there, is it?" "Yeah." "Hey McMurtry, she looks younger than you, a lot younger." "In fact, she looks good." "Up yours." "I'd look younger too, if I had a string of suckers looking after me." "Tell her I want to see Brian tomorrow night." "Tell her I'm gonna buy him a car so he can come to LA weekends." "Hey, McMurtry, I told you I'd find them, I didn't say I'd get involved." "You're a pain in the ass, but I like you." "I love you too." "Thanks for this." "What?" "Stay, make sure they're don't leave." "See you at the opening." "Do you have a number for them?" "No." "I'll get one tomorrow, okay?" "Okay." "My Aunt Shirley used to say," ""If you want to be happy, mind your own business. "" "But I think it was Einstein who said, "Happiness is for pigs. "" "I had lied to McMurtry, I did have her phone number, but somehow, I just couldn 't give it to him." "I thought Laine deserved a chance to think before he came crashing back into her life." "And there was something else." "I wanted to see her again." "Excuse me, Mrs Fleischer?" "Yes." "You've got a call from the gate." "Who is it?" "A man named Jacob Asch, says he met you at the High School." "I know where I met him, what does he want?" "He works for Gerry McMurtry." "I'll take it out here, thank you." "Yes, ma'am." "Mr Asch?" "Can you meet me in an hour?" "Yeah." "Do you know where the windmills are outside town?" "Yes, I do." "I lied to you this afternoon." "I would never teach Ethics." "That's obvious." "What does he want?" "He wants to see Brian." "He waited 1 1 years too long, Brian's dead." "Then who were you with today?" "My stepson, Donnie." "How well do you know Gerald?" "Not that well." "The biggest mistake I made in my life was marrying that man." "You've no idea what he did, he made me suffer more than anyone deserves." "He made me suffer until he broke me." "I was 18 when we met and when he left me I was 21." "I had no money and no place to go." "But I have money now." "And I can pay you more than he can." "I'd like you to tell him you couldn't find me." "How did Brian die?" "It was a car accident." "Where?" "Outside Palm Desert." "I was working two jobs, trying to save to take him on vacation and I fell asleep at the wheel." "We have a problem." "I already told him I found you and Brian." "Whatever it takes, I'll provide." "I beg you, keep him away from me." "In all these years when I needed him, he never once tried to help." "Now I've finally achieved some happiness, he'll come back and destroy it." "What makes you think that?" "As you said, you don't know him." "No, I don't." "Well." "I was hired to do a job, Mrs Fleischer." "When you said what you were doing, I thought you were your own man." "I was mistaken." "Why did you really want to see me?" "Maybe you ought to think about that before you start screwing up my life." "Mona, I've made a terrible mistake." "How terrible?" "The kid I saw, it wasn't his." "His kid died 1 1 years ago." "You're right, Asch, that's a terrible mistake." "Tell him to call me when he comes in." "Let me do it." "Mona, tell him to call me." "Asch, I know the guy." "Okay, but it's my problem." "Tell him to call me, Mona." "You're right, Mr Subtle." "You've got a point." "Thanks, Mona." "Mr Subtle." "Looking back on it, I wish I'd gone straight home." "But I didn't have a home, so I went to the police station." "I thought the least I could do for McMurtry was get the details." "401 856." "You got the wrong form." "Fran, give me a release form for an accident report." "This is garbage." "Got a pen?" "A red pen?" "Unbelievable." "It's regulations, you understand." "Okay, sign here, put your address." "File this." "You got it." "Brian McMurtry had died on January 4th, 1974." "Cause of death was skull fracture and cerebral haemorrhage." "There were other details, it mentioned old scars, his exact weight, and that was it." "No prom night, no first kiss, no love affairs." "Thinking about it, you could almost be grateful for the pain you went through." "Welcome to Gerald McMurtry's show." "It's a wonderful show." "Do you serve tequila?" "I'm afraid not, sorry." "Asch, come on over here, I want you to meet somebody!" "Excuse me." "My favourite dick!" "This is Pam here and Robert my friend who owns the gallery." "And this guy over here is..." "Tommy Walsh." "Yeah." "Hi, nice to meet you." "I need to speak to you a second." "You haven't told him?" "What?" "It can wait." "I made a mistake." "That kid I saw wasn't Brian." "So where's Brian?" "It was a car accident." "Who was driving?" "Laine." "Here's the report." "I don't know what to say." "He hit me, Mona." "Yes, he did." "Are you okay?" "Yes." "It's okay." "He's used to it." "Really, it's no problem." "You mustn't be upset." "He does this all the time." "Have some champagne and forget about it!" "Forget about it." "Yeah." "Maybe with some help from my friend tequila I might forget about it." "But when I woke up, that mescal worm would be chewing through my brain and yelling, "Hey gringo, remember last night?" "Well here 's the check and all your memories too. "" "No, I never could forget my failures with any ease." "Hi." "Hi." "Pam, right?" "Right." "Pam, I think you're really cute, but I don't want any trouble, okay?" "So, good night." "I'm just bored, that's all!" "That's life." "Asch?" "Asch?" "What do you want?" "McMurtry's still out there." "How do you know?" "How do you think?" "We share the same hotel room." "Now I understand." "I didn't tell him because he wouldn't have come to the opening." "Or he would've been there drunk." "It's my job to achieve the first and avoid the latter." "Don't get cranky, Mona." "It's called earning a living." "Okay, I get the message." "I got a call from the cops." "He went to the Fleischer house." "There was a commotion, he is no longer welcome in Palm Springs." "Sleep with your clothes on these days?" "Yeah, it's traditional in this line of work." "You always were too hard on yourself." "Mona..." "Mona..." "What?" "Mona." "It won't work." "Look, that was then and this is now, okay?" "Okay." "Okay." "Besides, I thought you were McMurtry's girl." "Nobody's that man's girl." "What's there to be with?" "He doesn't need anything." "Seems to me he needs a friend about now." "That's where you come in." "Great." "Mona, give me a break." "Okay?" "Sober him up and bring him back." "Night, Asch." "Hey, Donnie." "You remember me, right?" "Yeah, get your fucking hands off me." "Okay." "I heard about last night, I'm sorry." "I was just doing my job." "Maybe you should find another job." "You got a point, my man." "Look, I've gone and lost the guy who's paying me and if I don't find him, I don't get paid." "Is this the first time you've done this?" "Yeah." "You see, I'm a reporter, but I fucked up and this is what I got." "Donnie, come on, I'm late!" "Listen, Donnie, have you seen McMurtry?" "Yeah, that guy came around last night and I heard him and Laine talking." "Then Dad came down to see who it was and it got nasty." "Donnie, hurry up!" "Did he say where he was going?" "With Dad half choking him?" "No." "What were they talking about?" "Brian." "He was blaming her for it, you know." "I could've forgave him everything else, but that was cold." "It was his son." "Yeah, I know, he was some father." "Thought my dad was an asshole." "It's okay, man." "So, you take it easy." "Yeah, you too." "You too." "Goodbye, Mr Asch!" "Bye, Mr Asch!" "Don't move." "Were you employed by Gerald McMurtry?" "Yes." "Were you employed as a private detective?" "I guess so." "Yes or no answers, please." "Yes." "Was the last time you saw Donnie Fleischer yesterday at 3 o'clock?" "Yes." "Have you ever used marihuana?" "No." "Was your mother's maiden name Rosen?" "Berg, Rosenberg, yes." "Are you involved in any way in the kidnapping of Donnie Fleischer?" "No." "A call at 3 am, Donnie's voice, probably a recording, said for Fleischer to have $500,000 ready tonight." "What's McMurtry got to do with that?" "Just a theory." "Plus the Draper girl says Donnie went to see a man named Gerry." "Plus where is McMurtry?" "Plus that's the idea Fleischer likes." "I don't buy it." "I'm not selling it." "Great." "I couldn't believe McMurtry would do something like this, but if he had," "I was partly to blame." "I couldn't believe things could get any worse, but they could." "The Fleischers would see to that, and I'd be there helping them." "Hi." "Mr Fleischer wants to see you." "Your car or mine?" "l' ll drive." "The Fleischers are by the pool, sir." "Through the living room, please." "So this was what it was like to be rich in the desert." "Strange to think of Donnie living here." "Did he do his homework watching the five TV screens or did he invite four friends who all liked different programmes?" "Rich kids." "I'd met a few and Donnie didn't seem like any of them." "Thank you for coming." "I didn't know I had a choice." "How much was McMurtry paying you?" "200 a day plus expenses." "Ethics should mean more than that." "You got a point." "I'll pay you 500 a day." "For what?" "You spent time with the man, I'm told you have a rapport with him." "You can tell us which way he'll jump when things happen." "You think McMurtry's got him?" "Yes I do." "Why?" "It all adds up." "You didn't see him when he came by." "The shrink says maybe it's his way of getting back at Laine for Brian." "If it's revenge, why the ransom?" "He grabbed him impulsively, and then got scared!" "He can't get to his money and needs it to escape!" "What's the difference?" "The important thing is to negotiate successfully!" "Mr Asch, I have spent my whole life building an empire that grosses over 80 million dollars a year." "I never realised how little it meant to me." "I'll do what I can, but I don't want your money." "When I pay a man, I know he's my man." "Excuse me, Mr Fleischer, I don't want to be your man." "This is Norton of the fbi, Asch has agreed to help us." "McDonald wanted a few words." "What is it?" "I wanted to ask you to keep the local force informed, Mr Fleischer." "I know you've been under..." "Keep you informed?" "When I informed you my kid was missing, you told me he was probably out joyriding." "An hour later..." "You're off the case, Ron." "We got over 100 fbi men in town." "Enough to put surveillance on every phone booth from here to Indio." "We can do without your yokels." "That's very impressive, but..." "Norton is in charge." "Work it out with him." "See over there?" "That's where Patton was on manoeuvres training for North Africa." "When I was a kid, you could've shot a cannon from here to Indio and never hit a thing, now look at this place." "It's all country clubs and millionaire golfers." "The thing is, when you got this kind of money concentrated in one place, the main purpose of the police department is to be polite." "You got a hell of a scrapbook." "So, what's the word on this girl Pam?" "Pam Draper?" "Yeah." "What a piece of tail." "Yeah." "She's a good kid." "She's a little crazy, but not in a nasty way" "Like some of these rich brats." "Her old man runs a shoe store." "It's funny because, no matter how scruffy she looks, she's always got great shoes." "She and Donnie are friends." "She was with him early evening and then with her new boyfriend, some older guy." "Yeah?" "Did she mention she saw me one night?" "Maybe you're the new boyfriend." "Give me a break." "What else?" "Nothing worth having." "She knows a lot about a lot of things is my guess, but little Pammy ain't talking right now." "Unless she's afraid to talk to me because I'm a cop." "Kids this age think we got no sense of proportion." "Shit, even my own kids don't talk to me." "It's a wonder." "Hey, hey, Pam!" "What are you doing?" "Come on!" "You can catch me!" "Why did you run away from me?" "Because you ran away from me." "Hey, that was different." "I didn't know who you worked for." "Well, you do now." "Yeah." "Okay, everybody thinks he snatched Donnie." "What do you think?" "What do you think?" "I don't know." "That's why I'm here." "I told McDonald everything I know." "No, you didn't." "I did." "You didn't tell him you saw me." "Why should I?" "Why did you come to see me?" "You don't know?" "Let's talk about Donnie." "What kind of boy is he?" "Well, he's better off than some rich kids and worse off than others." "What does that mean?" "He's lonely because his father could not give two shits about him and..." "Back up." "What do you mean?" "Come on, wake up!" "They're like the rest of us, they just have higher walls to hide behind." "His dad is so rich he could dump a million bucks and not notice." "He's so stingy that Donnie doesn't even have a scooter." "You know?" "And Laine..." "She just uses him." "Donnie's this total play thing." "And he knows it, that's why he..." "He tells lies." "It's pathetic really." "But you like him anyway." "Yeah." "When he's being himself, he's great." "You know where he is, don't you, Pam?" "Fuck you, okay?" "You're going with me?" "Okay, fine." "Give me those." "What do you know, Pam?" "You don't give a shit, do you?" "What do you know?" "I know nothing, okay?" "I just won't be fake like those Fleischers." "I am worried about Donnie, but tearing my hair out about it isn't going to do him any good." "You could try brushing it." "You love it and you know it." "Give me those." "Bye." "A pretty girl who knows how to lie." "That's what I call a heartbreaker." "I thanked God she was too young for me." "I went back to the house to wait for the ransom call." "Any luck with the Draper girl?" "Laine was reading "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter", each page took a long time, but she was keeping her cool." "Maybe she got used to tension at an early age." "For the rest of us, it was not so easy." "I wandered aimlessly, waiting for the night and trying not to think of the bad things that could happen." "George cooked waffles for the Feds." "I wished I had something to do." "At least have a man in the trunk, anything could happen." "I go alone, I' ll do exactly as I was told." "I won't risk his life so one of your men can become a hero." "It's okay, it's only a plate." "I'm sorry, I thought if I looked round the room" "I could get to know him better." "It's all right." "Mind if I keep looking?" "No." "Do I get a second chance?" "Everybody gets a second chance." "Even ex-convicts?" "Yeah, even them." "My husband was very impressed." "Going to jail on a matter of principle is quite out of his experience." "He'll get over that." "Principles had nothing to do with it." "Why don't you tell me about it?" "Why?" "Because I'm interested in you." "I was doing a story on illegal stock market activity." "If I revealed my source, he'd kill me." "The guy who owned the paper, a man I liked and trusted, was involved in the scandal." "I didn't know at the time, but I'd have found out." "You were set up?" "Yeah." "How?" "He said to me, "Jacob, the paper will stand behind you."" "When it came to trial, I was alone." "He knew I couldn't tell the judge where I got my information." "By the time I got out of jail, it'd be old news." "What was the charge?" "Contempt." "All my friends stood back and watched and kept their jobs, which isn't such a bad thing." "It's not a business I feel at ease with any more." "That's why I'm sitting here in the desert, sweating." "Take the money to the Indian fairgrounds." "Bring anyone with you and I'll kill Donnie." "You've got 10 minutes." "This is it, let's roll." "Simon, Simon, wait!" "Take Asch with you!" "Simon, let somebody come with you..." "We're wasting time!" "All right, you know the drill, keep your distances." "Mr Asch goes with you." "Come on." "Go, go!" "There he is." "Stay with him." "There he is, right there." "See him?" "I got him." "Okay." "Mr Fleischer, checking communication." "Say something, please." "Can you hear me, Norton?" "Okay, now check the mike in the visor." "Can you hear me?" "Thank you, Mr Fleischer." "Mr Fleischer, slow down." "You've still got 7 minutes, we don't want an accident." "Norton here, we're on Palm Canyon, got him in sight." "He's going to turn here." "We're with him." "Slow down." "Slow down." "Keep us informed, Mr Fleischer, we can't follow too close." "It's too remote out here." "We'll be seen." "You're on your own." "We have to stop here, Mr Fleischer." "I'm on the reservation." "I'm going through a gateway." "There's nobody around, no lights, nothing." "There's nobody here." "Do you see anything?" "This isn't it." "No one would choose it as a drop site in a million years!" "We'll keep you informed." "Maintain your road blocks." "He's got a mobile phone." "Go back to Palm Canyon, take a left on Country Club then right onto the golf course." "On the other side is a fence, throw the money over." "You got five minutes." "Fuck!" "What is it?" "I'm stuck!" "Go!" "20, 21 go on Palm Canyon towards Country Club," "I'll give you specifics in a minute." "What's going on out there?" "Come get me out of here, please!" "Hurry!" "Please, God, please!" "Get a hold of yourself, we still got four minutes, but you got to get a hold on yourself." "Mr Fleischer, stop." "Please calm down." "You've got to pull yourself together." "Hey, where's he going?" "Stop!" "What the hell are you doing?" "Shut up, we've only got 3 minutes." "God damn bozo." "Can you see Country Club?" "Attention all units." "We've traced the call, from another mobile phone could be anywhere." "This is Brown." "Roger, we read you." "Country Club..." "Good." "I got it." "I'm making a left on Country Club." "You got two minutes." "Keep going." "Seal off the area around Country Club near Palm Canyon." "Roger, that's perfect." "Highway patrol, maintain your present roadblocks." "Shit!" "You scared me!" "Oh, man." "Well?" "The bag broke." "Are you serious?" "No, I'm kidding, Norton." "Shit." "Chief." "What we gonna do about these guys in the buggies?" "We sit and watch." "You think they might be part of it?" "I doubt it, just lousy luck." "Kids do this kind of thing in the desert." "What happened to Fleischer?" "I sent him back, he wasn't feeling good." "Who the hell is?" "Who bought that bag?" "I don't know, Chief." "Better send someone to get the money." "It's over." "Why didn't you follow instructions?" "We had to stay." "The people in the buggies could've found the money." "I have more money!" "I only had one son!" "He's dead." "Don't say that." "He's dead." "Don't say that, Simon." "It's your fault." "You have brought me nothing but bad luck." "You drag your past around like a mad dog." "You killed him!" "You..." "Laine." "Laine." "Simon's right." "It is my fault." "I killed Brian and now they've taken Donnie from me." "I've failed everyone, it's my fault." "It is my fault." "Laine..." "Laine, stop." "I'm sorry." "Don't be sorry." "It's not your fault, Laine." "Brian died in an accident." "It's nobody's fault." "I better go." "Laine..." "Things will only get better, I promise." "Goodbye, Asch." "Yeah." "I think we found his body." "Back off, Phil." "That's him, yeah." "That's him." "That's him." "How long?" "Maybe 48 hours." "Cause?" "He has a bullet hole behind his ear." "Looks like a 22." "Plus he's been beaten and stabbed..." "Simon, wait for me!" "I can't let you go in there." "Don't..." "Paramedics over here!" "Come down here, put your hand under his back, hold his nose shut." "Breathe into his mouth real slow, real slow." "Breathe into his mouth, four deep breaths." "Go for it!" "Come on!" "Make way, here." "Are you okay?" "Yes." "Asch, get over here!" "What's up?" "We think we've found McMurtry." "Looks like suicide." "What a day." "Yeah." "Donnie and now McMurtry." "This would be McMurtry because this would be the kind of place he'd choose." "Get up close to the sky, feel the wind, remember." "It's him." "How long?" "Three, maybe four hours." "The grip on the gun's loose, isn't there usually a death spasm when somebody shoots themselves in the head?" "Not necessarily." "Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't." "Nobody knows why for sure." "Maybe this will explain it." "The guy's a junky." "McMurtry hired me to do a job and I failed him, badly." "Donnie had said, "Maybe you should find another job. "" "But by then it was already too late." "I didn't know either of them well, but it felt like I still owed them something." "I decided to stay in Palm Springs a little longer." "Fleischer's heart attack put him on the critical list." "The police were satisfied with the obvious conclusion:" "McMurtry kidnapped Donnie, lost his nerve at the drop, killed him then took his own life." "The investigation was closed." "It was suggested his pictures showed a violent attitude to children, but the more I looked at them, the more convinced I became of the opposite." "The kid was not the object of McMurtry's sadism, but of his concern." "Sure, the facts went with the police story, but I had something more powerful than facts," "I had my instincts back." "McMurtry wasn't capable of killing anyone, least of all Donnie." "I was certain of it." "Hello, Asch." "They' re worth a lot more now, aren't they?" "Yeah, as a matter of fact." "We' re on our way to New York." "That's my girl, always thinking." "You know something you're not telling me?" "He killed the kid, he shot himself." "Is there any reason why I should suffer too?" "Not a one." "What about you?" "What about me, what?" "You think he did it too?" "Of course he did, it's absolutely his style." "I made a mistake." "Some people are just as sick as they seem." "I did everything I possibly could." "You're a saint, Mona, a saint." "Who is it?" "It's Laine." "I can't stay in that house alone." "Sometimes you make love, and it completes the picture." "Sometimes you make love and find yourself outside a cheap motel room, drinking tequila and feeling uneasy." "You drink more tequila and ask yourself a lot of dumb questions." "Then you go to sleep, and in the morning, the woman is gone." "Anything I can get for you?" "Coffee, black." "Sexy..." "How's Laine?" "Seems okay." "It's all right." "What's this?" "It's a copy of an arrest report from 1973." "Section 273A of the California Penal Code." "Felony child abuse." "Guess who?" "Laine?" "I thought I recognised her, but I didn't interview her, I interviewed Brian." "Shit." "A steam iron?" "To teach him not to touch hot things." "Then there's the broken wrist." "We never got the straight story." "What happened?" "Are you joking?" "Same thing usually happens in battered children cases." "Laine claimed it was all an accident, he was playing in the cupboard." "She never hit him in her life and the iron fell off the ironing board by mistake, etc." "Then the kid starts crying." "He wants to go home, he wants his mommy and nothing he said was true." "We got no case and it's over." "You think McMurtry found out about this?" "I don't think." "Palm Springs is satisfied with the outcome as it stands and I never gave you that." "You understand?" "How did Brian die?" "It was a car accident." "Who was driving?" "Laine." "I'd like you to tell him that you couldn't find me." "And this guy over here is..." "Tommy Walsh." "Why did you come and see me last night?" "What do you think?" "She knows about a lot of things, but little Pammy ain't talking." "You know where he is, don 't you?" "Fuck you!" "Where were you that night?" "Which night?" "Don't play games!" "I saw what was going on in there." "The night Donnie disappeared." "I was with him, Tommy." "I heard that version." "Now tell me the truth." "Please, tell me the truth." "Talk to me, girl." "He knew Donnie, didn't he?" "How did they meet?" "Through Laine?" "Yeah." "Tommy and Laine were..." "They were lovers." "Ever since Brian was alive." "I wish she'd stayed with him and kept him out of my hair." "What happened?" "Come on, Pam, talk to me, what happened?" "Donnie got me... pregnant." "Yeah." "And?" "And..." "I had an abortion." "There was nobody to talk to." "My parents are Catholic." "Tommy was our friend." "We could talk to him about anything." "He helped us with the operation." "But then..." "Then he started wanting things from us." "What?" "Donnie had to deliver things and pick up these packages." "And I..." "You saw, right?" "Please don't tell my parents." "What about Laine?" "Have you ever seen them together?" "No." "You should see the way she looks at him." "You weren't with him that night, were you?" "No." "I lied!" "It's okay." "Hey, hey, stop." "It's okay." "Can you drive?" "Look at me." "Say, "Asch, I can drive"." "Asch, I can drive." "Are you all right now?" "Yeah." "Don't answer the door for anyone." "Not even for you?" "Act your age, Pam." "I'm over 18." "Good for you, let's keep you over 18." "Pam, do you think Laine loves Walsh?" "What's love?" "I'll get back to you." "Jacob, what is it?" "Tell me..." "What are you...?" "I know just about everything!" "I know about you and Tommy Walsh, I know you still see him." "I know McMurtry did not kidnap Donnie because I know Walsh's alibi is a goddamn lie!" "What are you talking about?" "Pam told me everything!" "I know he was blackmailing her and Donnie about an abortion he helped them get." "He was blackmailing you about Brian." "What I don't know, Laine, is how much you know." "What the hell's going on?" "Whoa!" "Are you all right, ma'am?" "It's all right, George." "Are you sure?" "I'm sure." "It's all right." "I'll talk to you later." "Yes, ma'am." "He was blackmailing Pam and Donnie?" "What for?" "Neither of them had any money." "Donnie ran errands and Pam went to bed with him." "She's lying!" "Going to bed with some slut doesn't make him a kidnapper or murderer." "You've got to understand..." "He killed Donnie!" "I'm convinced of it." "It would've been easy, the boy worked for him." "Why do you keep dismissing Gerry?" "Tommy was at the gallery." "He was there when I gave McMurtry the news, he was with Pam." "I'm sure he told him what you did to Brian and McMurtry set himself up." "What?" "What did I do to Brian?" "Laine, please!" "I know about the child abuse charge." "McDonald told me." "Listen..." "Walsh probably captured him after he came here." "He waited a day, got Donnie." "If it'd worked out, he'd probably have buried McMurtry in the desert, he'd have waited a while and left with the money." "Damn near perfect crime." "Maybe he would've taken Pam with him." "Or better yet, hey..." "Maybe he would've taken you." "Do you have any evidence?" "No, I don't have any fucking evidence!" "Goddamn it!" "Fucking hell!" "But I can get some." "Goddamn, I can get some if you'll help me." "Yeah." "Are you all right?" "Laine?" "You're in trouble." "What did you do?" "What are you talking about?" "The ex-reporter I told you about, he's been around asking questions." "Strange questions." "Like what?" "I can't talk now, but if you've done something wrong, take care of it." "So where is he now?" "I have to go." "I'm at the hospital and Simon's waking up." "Wait a minute, Laine..." "The truth never brought anyone back from the dead and I knew what I was doing was stupid, but I had to take this all the way." "I owed it to Donnie," "I owed it to McMurtry and most of all, I owed it to myself." "I'd remembered something a friend in Homicide once told me." "Killers long for an excuse to go back to where they killed." "It's as if they know it's where their own destruction begins and they have to check it out just one more time." "Oh, man." "What?" "What?" "What the fuck was that?" "It's what kept your friend McMurtry quiet." "How?" "How?" "How...?" "I'm 36 years old, Jacob." "When I was younger, I fell in love all the time, it was easy." "Love." "I didn't know what love was till I met Laine." "We're all walking on such thin ice." "I didn't know it, but when I met her" "I fell though." "So the plan was, she would marry someone like Fleischer." "This place is infested with them." "Then she'd get a divorce and money." "She lost her nerve." "She was never that close to Fleischer." "It was the kid." "Because she killed Brian, Donnie seemed like a chance to atone." "How did she kill Brian?" "She... beat him to death." "The accident was just my invention to get her out of the hole." "I was always getting her out of a hole." "She kept me comfortable, and I tried some of my own rackets, but..." "I was lonely, Jacob." "I was so lonely until now." "Now we reinvent ourselves, Jacob." "Fleischer will die, we'll sell the house and we'll go anywhere we want to go." "Wait, wait, wait..." "Oh, Laine, don't..." "Laine!" "Laine!" "Laine, wait!" "Laine!" "No, wait!" "No, wait, Laine!" "Laine!" "Welcome back." "She didn't shoot me." "No, not this time." "She shoot him?" "The only person that shot you, as much as we can figure out, is the late Tommy Walsh, full of smack." "What's the buzz like?" "Interesting." "How'd she get there?" "She called Walsh from her car and followed you both." "How did I get here?" "Laine brought you." "She sent all these." "How is Laine?" "Rich and famous." "Fleischer kissed this world goodbye and the press has gone crazy for her." "Head up just a bit." "Hello." "Are you all right?" "Did you get the flowers I sent you?" "Yeah, I saw the flowers, Laine." "Could you leave us alone a moment?" "Certainly, Mrs Fleischer." "The orchids came all the way from Switzerland." "Have you ever been to Switzerland, Jacob?" "Not recently." "I love switzerland." "I love the air in the mountains, it's so pure and fresh, it almost hurts when you breathe." "I was there once, with my husband." "Yeah, I heard about Mr Fleischer." "I'm sorry." "Thank you." "What happened?" "The truth kill him?" "What truth?" "Tommy told me about Brian, Laine." "What about Brian?" "That you killed him." "And you believed him?" "I think so." "I didn't kill him." "Then who did?" "Things." "Pressure." "It was an accident." "When Gerry left..." "You don't have to explain to me." "Then how much do I owe you?" "Laine, you don't owe me a thing." "You don't owe anybody anything." "Tommy was the only one who could've proved a thing and where is Tommy?" "It's over, Laine." "Only it's not, is it?" "Never." "Anyway, I came by to say thank you." "For what?" "For saving my life, a hell of a thing to do." "Don't you understand?" "None of this means anything to me without you." "Together, we could reinvent ourselves." "We could sell this place." "We could travel." "We could go anywhere you wanted to go." "Laine, we could never do anything together." "You promised me that things would only get better." "I was mistaken." "Goodbye, Mr Asch." "Good luck." "You're gonna need it, Laine." "Tommy was right." "We are walking on very thin ice." "I came to the desert looking for the child this woman killed and now three more people were dead." "If she was to blame for her son 's death, to what extent was I to blame for the others?" "We like to think we 're in control, that our judgement guides us, but sometimes it's just bad luck that sends you crashing through the ice." "When that happens, maybe it's best not to ask too many questions." "Just wish good luck to the survivors, and keep your hope intact." "Hi." "Hi." "I got your message." "I was working at the store." "I wanted to see you again before I left." "Are you okay?" "Yeah." "I'm better than okay." "I didn't think I could take it much longer though, you know?" "I know." "Well..." "I'm going home." "What about our date?" "Our date?" "Pam, you know what you asked me the other night, you said, "What's love?" Well, I don't know, but you got to keep on looking." "Okay?" "Okay." "See you."