"Last on "Rich Man, Poor Man" " Book ll":" "I have been here all morning and have yet to see or hear one piece of evidence." "If you'd shut your mouth long enough to let me finish..." " Don't you tell me how to behave myself!" " I'm not telling you!" "Estep is!" " Wes has got his own problems." " Billy, I had something special with Wes." "And I just wanna find out if he felt the same way, too." " Please help me." " Wes is in Las Vegas." "Well, let's go." "Time to get the bad guys." "That's the last thing Tom said to me..." "before he died." "You didn't discharge her cos she could expose your bribery of prosecutors?" "Because she was vindictive over the fact you tired of her as your mistress?" "That is a lie!" "Sarah Hunt meant nothing to me at all." "Nothing." "She was a..." "a release, that's all." "For nine years?" "!" "Did Charles Estep direct you to open Swiss bank accounts for various Justice Department prosecutors?" "No, he never did." "I wish I could say that we were even now, Senator." "But you've just started to bleed." "They're waiting." "Well..." "As you all probably know, the subcommittee has voted to abandon the investigation of bribery in the Justice Department." "That means I am forced to disband my staff." "To say that I appreciate all you've done to help me prepare for these hearings would be... totally inadequate." "But the hours you put in and the loyalty you gave me, werert wasted." "Charles Estep will get everything he deserves, and it will be largely because of your efforts." "There is no way..." "I can repay you... except to say thank you... all of you, for working so hard... and caring... so much." "Come in." "I'll only take a minute." "I, uh, have plenty of time." "I'm sorry about the investigation." "Do you want me to stay on till the end of the week?" "Yeah." "Ken still needs a secretary." " How's Ramona been acting lately?" " I've been too busy to notice." "Why?" "Nothing." "All right." " Let's regroup." " Well, that was a short wake." "I'm not very good at funerals, especially my own." "For now we'll have to forget those Justice lawyers Estep bribed." " Without Franklin, we can't tie him to that." " Any idea why he changed his testimony?" " Estep got to him." " How?" "That is the first order of business." "Somebody leaked Franklirs name to Estep." "I wanna know who." "I'm putting my money on that distinguished senator from Oklahoma." "I don't think so." "Dillon was as surprised as the rest of us when Franklin sandbagged me." "It was someone else." "Someone who had access to that evidence." "I'll compile a list." "There werert that many who knew." "All right." "Where do we stand on Albert Dietrich?" "One giant computerised zero." "We have something there." "I just don't know what." "I ran his name through the FBI computer." "Zip." "Same with Interpol." "No fugitive warrants, he's not on any war crimes list." "For all intents and purposes, Albert Dietrich does not exist." "I know he entered this country the same time his daughter did." "And I'm positive that it was Dietrich who gave Estep that $6 million to start Tricorp." "Whether it was a payoff or blackmail, I don't know." "Yes?" "Ask her to come in." "Hi." " Kate Jordache, Ken Catani." " Hello." "I called your hotel." "They said you checked out." "Afraid I wasrt going to say goodbye?" "The thought crossed my mind, you being a lady given to impulses." " Where are you going?" " Colorado." " When do you leave?" " We're booked on the noon flight." " "We"?" " Yup." "We don't have much time." "You've still got to pack." " I'm not going anywhere." " You are." "You're going to Aspen." " That sounds like a terrific idea." " Kate, I have too much work to do." "It might be a good idea for you to get away." "Recharge the old batteries?" " What is this?" "A conspiracy?" " No time to argue, Senator." "May I submit that you get outta here so I can start on round two?" "I don't believe this!" "You know, I'm tired of seeing you walk through that door." "I did my bit for Mr Estep." "I don't want to ever see your ugly face again." "You won't - unless I happen to be in Detroit for some reason." "Detroit?" "We're merging Greenway into a larger record company." "It's based in Detroit." "You'll be president, at 200,000 a year." "Plus all the fringes - stock options, unlimited expense account." "Mr Estep's way of saying thank you for killing your stepfather's investigation." "Considerably more than 30 pieces of silver, wouldn't you say, Abbott?" "Shut up!" "A little twinge of conscience?" "Start counting your winnings." "You'll be so busy you won't even notice it." "All right, you've delivered your message." "Now get out." "Mr Estep also has ambitious plans for Annie Adams." "Keep three weeks open on her schedule after the 12th." " Why?" " She'll be appearing at the Tricorp Hotel." " No, she won't." " Part of the big build-up." "Main room, lots of publicity." "Anyway, Mr Estep wants her in Las Vegas on the 12th." "Yeah?" "Well, you tell Mr Estep that I'm not jumping through his hoop any more." "Abbott..." "Just because you performed one service for Mr Estep, don't think he's finished with you." "You're part of his family now." "A valued member." "Pass." "I'm afraid he's the only one who decides when you've outlived your value." "Now that business is out of the way..." "permit me to get personal for a moment." "Remember when I said I owed you for that roundhouse you delivered?" "Since this is the day of new beginnings, it seems appropriate to pay off old debts." "Gentlemen?" "All in all, it's been a pleasure working with you, Abbott." "Don't worry." "I won't leave any marks." "Diane?" "I just closed my eyes for a minute." "What are you doing here?" "How'd you get in?" " I told your landlady I was your sister." " How did you find me?" "Oh, Wes, don't be mad." " I had to see you." " Why?" "Because I missed you." "I waited and waited to hear from you, and when I didn't..." "Maybe there's a reason you didn't." "I just wanted a chance to tell you how I feel about you." "Does your mother know where you are?" "Don't say things like that." "You make me sound like a child." "You're 16, Diane." "That hardly qualifies you for Medicare." "Well, I was old enough for you in Whitby." "Or do you want to forget about us going to bed together?" "Diane, I'm not here to see the shows." "I've got something to do." " I'll help you." " You can't help me." "All you can do is get in the way, and I don't have time to take care of you." "Wes, I love you." "I can't help it." "It's the way I feel." "That's not the way I feel, Diane." " Please don't say things like that." " It's the truth." "I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing." "There was a good movie on the plane." "How much money do you have?" " A couple of dollars, maybe five." " I've got enough for your bus fare." "I don't know if they show movies, but at least it'll get you home." " I'm not going home." " You're not staying here." "Oh, Wesley." "Just give us a chance." "And if you don't care about me after a while, I'll leave." "But I'll make you happy, I promise." " You're going home." " There's nothing there for me." "Whether you believe it or not, there's nothing for you here." "Ramona?" "Hi." " Miss Porter." " Is it OK if I park this here?" " I just came right from the, uh, airport." " Sure." "So, how do you enjoy working for the senator?" " I'll be leaving at the end of the week." " Oh." "Well, with the investigation cancelled, there's really not much need for me." "Right." " How's he taking it?" " Uh..." "Never mind." "It's OK." "I'll find out for myself." "Is it OK if I just go right on in?" "Miss Porter, Senator Jordache isn't here." "Oh?" "Is the Senate in session?" "No." " Committee meeting?" " Uh, not exactly." "This sounds top-secret." "CIA, huh?" " Colorado." " What?" "He's in Colorado." "He left this morning." "He tried to call you, but your office said you hadrt come in yet." "Oh, I didn't go into the office." "I came right here instead." "I guess he didn't think to try your apartment." "He left in a hurry." "It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing." "Yeah." "I bet I know the spur." " Excuse me?" " Where in Colorado?" " Aspen." " Bingo." "Thank you, Ramona." "I didn't mean to put you through Twenty Questions." "Bye." "Would you like to leave a message or something?" "No, no." "No message, thanks." "No, on second thought, tell the senator..." "I hope he breaks something he can't replace." "Are you all right?" "I must be getting old." "Where does the time go?" "Seems like just yesterday I was in college." "Friend and I were gonna open a ski rental place and make a fortune." " What happened?" " A, uh, slight financial problem." "My father, the man Dickens used as a model for Scrooge, was actually going to lend us the money, $3,000 I think." "And?" "Uh, an emergency came up." "We had to use it for that." " What kind of emergency?" " I forget." "Hm!" "You are getting old." "Losing your memory in the middle of a story." "It wasrt a very funny story anyway." "I don't know what made me think of it." "All right, let's go." "Did it have something to do with Tom?" "Is that why you stopped?" " It's not important, Kate." " Hm." "Tom got into a scrap, and you lost your one chance of becoming a millionaire." "I made up for it." "Come on." "I'm in the mood to hit the slopes again." "I'm glad I didn't rent the chalet for any more than three days." "I'd hate your estate paying for something you wouldn't get much use out of." "I have never felt so sore and so good in my life." "Wait till tomorrow morning." "You were right." "I needed some time away from that snake pit." "The way that investigation just collapsed," "I didn't really know how hard it hit me until I was out on the slopes today." "You were wound up like a spring." "You would have snapped sooner or later." "Probably never even noticed it till they can'ted me off to the booby hatch, babbling madly about Charles Estep." " Let it rest for a while, Rudy." " I intend to." "Two glorious days of nothing but bitter cold, humiliating falls, and aching muscles." "Well, it's a nice way to keep your mind off of things." "I can see why you love it here." "Well, it was the right place at the right time." "You know... there's a part of me - granted a small part " "that's tempted to chuck it all..." "Washington, the Senate." "Even Mr Estep." "Just settle for a less hectic existence." "That's fatigue talking, helped maybe a little by the wine." "Probably." "But it still sounds tempting." "Rudy Jordache, ski bum." "Has a certain ring to it." "Thank you, for shanghaiing me." " Your daughter's gorgeous." " Yeah." "Janey likes you." "Today, uh... with you and Janey..." "Nice feeling." "Like a family." "Tom never spoke much about his childhood." "I guess that was because it wasrt very happy for him." "Or you." "It was a little better for me." "I was always the favourite." "Never could figure out why." "Maybe because I was the firstborn." " Didrt make for a lot of closeness." " Did you love one another as children?" "Not in the winter." "We slept in the same bed, he'd wind up with all the covers." "Just roll over and wrap himself up in them, I'd just lie there and freeze." "Rudy?" "Hm?" "I'm in no emotional mood for a romance." "I agree." "Especially with Tom's brother." " He is a fact of our lives." " He'd always be between us." "And I'm afraid that would be just..." "too heavy to handle." "Here's to our toast." "To friendship." "Lots of it." "Well, Mrs Jordache this old-timer is gonna find some rubbing alcohol and hit the sack." "Me too." "Good night." "See you in the morning." " Try this one." " Are you talking to me?" " Yes." "Why don't you try this machine?" " That's all right." "I've been priming it for the last 15 minutes." "It's a sure payoff." "I'll stick with this one." "I feel lucky tonight." "Ohh!" " You see?" " Congratulations." "Yours." "I said to myself right before I put in that last quarter, I said:" " "This is for the young lady."" " Do you always talk to yourself?" "Well, it's a... it's a habit I get into, on the road." " Are you a salesman?" " Um..." " I'm in ladies' shoes." " Oh." "That usually gets a pretty good laugh." "Uh-huh." "Hey." "Don't you want your winnings?" "Well..." "Why don't we..." "Why don't we put 'em to good use?" "Use 'em for dinner." "Well, that is, if you haven't eaten and you're hungry." "Why not?" "Harvey?" " Nightcap?" " A short one." " Brandy?" " Fine." " What's on the agenda for tomorrow?" " I don't know." "Anything we'd like to do." "A little tennis, maybe." "Lying around the pool." " Here you go." " Thank you." "We, uh... could even just lie around here and see what develops." "Hm?" "I thought I'd do some shopping tomorrow." "What's the name of the new place?" "Gregory's, that's it." "Yeah." "Tell me, Claire, how long are we gonna play this..." "this little game?" "I mean, we go out, we, uh..." "we talk about the show we saw, the food we ate, the people we met, and everything seems fine." "Then we get back here and suddenly we become a pair of perfect strangers who happen to share the same bed to sleep on." " I'm not interested in a soul-searching..." " What about our marriage?" "You still have a passing interest in that?" "I'm not sure." "All right!" "All right, I..." "I had an affair with my secretary." "You make it sound like a one-night stand." "It lasted nine years." "I can't do anything about that, Claire, as much as I would like to." "But I love you too much to..." "to just watch it disintegrate." "That's why we came here to Las Vegas, isn't it?" "To sort things out, to... to make a fresh start?" "Work with me, sweetheart." "Please." "I don't know how to work with someone I've never really known." "You've said all the right things, you do all the right things, but..." "I can't stop myself from wondering, is it because you love me, or is it because you're afraid I'll tell Senator Jordache exactly what he wants to know?" "No." "You wouldn't do that." "Senator." "Come in." "Good evening." "Drink?" "Since this is a victory celebration of sorts, I suppose that might be fitting." " Scotch, isn't it?" " Yeah, fine." "Presidential Suite." "Although I guess I'm the highest-ranking official to grace these premises." "I'm afraid not." "Well, you do have a wide circle of friends, don't you, Charles?" "Hey, did you see Jordache's face when his star witness called him a liar?" "I'd like to have a picture of that for my trophy room." "I'd hang it next to the moose I bagged up in Canada." "Only you know what?" "The moose was tougher to bring down." "Jordache was a clay pigeon." "Thanks." "Here's to the distinguished junior senator from the state of New York, and may he never find out what hit him." "I'm afraid he's just stunned." "Now's the time to put him away for good." "The investigatiors dead." "I delivered the eulogy this morning." "I want him buried right alongside it." "Well, that's a pretty tall order." "No, you've got John Franklirs testimony." "A United States senator tried to coerce a private citizen into giving false testimony before a senate committee." "If that isn't a matter for the Judiciary Committee, what is?" "Let's just back up a minute, OK?" "We both know that Franklin lied on the stand." "You did bribe those Justice Department lawyers." "Well, Franklin will say whatever we want him to say." "Yeah." " Start pushing for a hearing on Jordache." " I don't know, Charles." "He'll fight like a bobcat in heat." "Thanks to him, my image ain't the cleanest on the Hill." "Another thing, Charles." "It seems the deeper into your business I get, the more mud I have to wash off." "Senator, I am at present holding" "$500,000 won'th of stock options in your sister's name." "The day that Jordache goes down for the count, I'll sign them over." "Well, Charles..." " $500,000 will buy an awful lot of soap." " Yes, it will." "What's wr...?" " What are you doing here?" " I thought it was you, and I opened my eyes and he was..." "standing there watching me." "I didn't mean to frighten the lady." "I was just making my rounds." "I didn't know anybody was in here." "It was... it was just a mix-up." "There's nothing to worry about." "Are you two gonna stand and watch me shake, or can I have some privacy?" " Of course." " Mrs Estep, I'm..." "I'm..." "Charles, make him go." "Gentlemen, please." "L-I'm sorry." "It's, uh..." "It's all right." "It won't happen again." "I'm sorry." " Well, I'd better get back to my rounds..." " I'm not finished with you yet." " We'll talk further on that matter." " Yes, of course." " Good night." " Good night, Charles." "What the hell were you doing in my wife's bedroom?" " It was like I said." "I..." " You were assigned to the counting room." "You were specifically told to stay off this floor." "So what were you doing up here?" "I heard you checked in, and I just came up..." " To sniff around?" "To find out about me?" " No, sir." "No way." "I just, uh..." "I just wanted to meet you in person, and..." "I wanted to thank you for the way you helped me." "Really." "Mr Falconetti, I'm much too bright to believe that." "And you're much too bright to think that I would." "Thanks." "What do your friends call you?" "They call me Anthony." " Want a drink, Anthony?" " Uh..." "Yes, sir." "If it's all right, sir." "Thank you." "What can I get you?" "Uh, bourbon would be fine." " Straight or with ice?" " Just bourbon." "Anthony, if we're going to have any kind of working relationship with each other, we're gonna have to learn to be completely honest with one another." "Hm?" "Yes, sir." " Thank you." " Sit down." "Make yourself comfortable." "I can understand your curiosity about all this." "After all, why did I help you to leave Hoboken after that unfortunate incident with, uh..." "What was that mars name again?" "Oh, listen, sir, the Hoboken police had that all fouled up." " I wasrt involved in that..." " No." "Anthony." "The name of the man you killed." "Dwyer?" "Roy Dwyer?" "That's the name." " Mr Estep, that was in self-defence..." " That's beside the point." "Now, go on, sit down." "Relax." "Drink your drink." "Go on." "You see, Anthony, I went to a great deal of expense, and considerable personal risk, in helping you." "Because I..." "I think you could make a valuable member of my team." "I'd like that, sir." "And the first thing that people who work for me learn... is to follow orders." "I'm sorry about what happened in the bedroom..." "No harm done." "Besides, it gave us a chance to talk, understand one another." "I believe that we have a mutual, uh, interest." "You mean, uh..." "Jordache." "Yes." "Senator Jordache." "Well, you know, he framed me for five years..." " You killed his brother." " I didn't have anything to..." " I think that's commendable." " Look, the one..." " Excuse me, what did you say, sir?" " I said I think that's commendable." "If he's anything like the senator, he probably deserved it." "Why did you bring me to Las Vegas?" "To keep the senator from hounding you back into prison." "He's a very dangerous man." "I've been telling people that for years, and nobody listens." "I'm listening, Anthony." "But then, I don't need any convincing." "I already know it." "What is it... what is it you wanted me to do?" "Be patient." " For how long, sir?" " Until I'm finished with him." "And then what, Mr Estep?" "He's all yours." "To you, sir." " Hello?" " Rudy?" "Yes." "Ken?" " I thought you'd be on the slopes by now." " No, not yet." " I think you'd better turn in your lift ticket." " Why?" "Senator Dillors on the rampage, demanding that the Judiciary Committee investigate you for tampering with Franklirs testimony." " What?" "!" " He says, and I quote:" ""I am concerned and fearful that Senator Jordache has used the Senate to launch a personal vendetta against Charles Estep."" ""In the interests of justice, I want Senator Jordache to have every opportunity to clear his name and preserve the reputation of this esteemed body."" "I'll catch the first plane out." "Have a car meet me at Dulles." "Rudy, I'm sorry I had to start your day off with something like this." "Yeah." "Well, at least I'm wide awake." "Goodbye." "Round two started sooner than I anticipated." "First plane out?" "Yeah." "Well..." "There's one good thing." "It doesn't leave much time for second thoughts." "Do you have some?" "Don't you?" "A few." "A thousand." "Do you feel as awkward as I do?" "A bit." "Maybe it's the cold morning light... without the warmth of the fire and the wine to make it seem just..." "Seem what?" "Natural." "Right." "Are you saying we were both too drunk to know what we were doing?" "I wish I could." "But I'm afraid I was, uh, cold stone sober." "That makes two of us." "You wanna forget last night?" "Do you?" "We seem to be asking a lot of questions, then answering them with more questions." " It's safer that way." " Is that what you wanna be?" "Safe?" "I just did it again." "No." "I don't wanna be safe." "But I don't wanna be sorry, either." "Kate..." " Last night, uh..." " Yeah?" "...I found myself wondering..." "Wondering if I was comparing you with Tom?" "Huh?" "Well..." "I did the same kind of wondering." "I did." "About me and Maggie." "We sound like a couple of high-school kids in the back of a '47 Dodge." "Maybe it's good that you're going back to Washington." "I think we need some time to think about... just how important last night really was." "Whatever answer we come up with..." "I am not sorry about last night." "Me neither."