"No, not at that time of year." "She's nice." "To me at least." "Well, don't let her fool you." "A tiger." "She wears white perhaps the way other women wear jewelry." "The trophy bride." "You got her come up and..." "Viagra!" "If all the pricks that have been stuck into her were sticking out of her, she'd be a pokey pine." "Ugh, Carl." "What an image." "I saw that." "That was a cheat." "Now wait." "Are you calling me a cheat?" "I'm not." "Come on." "I didn't mean the word pejoratively." "This is Washington after all." "And I happen to be your partner." "Yeah." "That too." "Your turn." "She just said no and walked out." "Well how much did you offer?" "400 a week." "The rich have such a touching faith in the efficacy of small funds." "Tennessee Williams said that." "So did I." "That's a beautiful meld you got going there." "What have you got over there?" "Nothing." "Really." "My hand is so bare." "Hey, do you wanna take some of these?" "Is that a legal?" "Did you notice Candice Howard?" "Purple is an acceptable color." "Just not her color." "Not on a dress at least." "I told her it was a wonderful fabric and she was fortunate to get so much of it." "Some day her prince will come." "Not before she kisses a lot of frogs." "The city is asking, What can they be talking about?" "Such different women." "What do they have in common?" "You, Carl." "Besides that?" "Nothing." "They know damn well what we're talking about." "Them." " They wish." "Wednesday's canasta at the Hargrave." "I don't understand these women today." "God forbid a man to give them anything!" "Have you played?" "Yes." "I will." "No, I've not thrown down." "Here." "Yes, you're absolutely right, Natalie." "I mean is that enough to be a wife and a mother?" "You've got to stand in a soup kitchen and wear a suit." "That's the former First Lady." "No politics, girls." "Surrounded by a sea of special interest, we float above." "Carl Page has crowed." "You want that Jack?" "Well, they make it sound like a coven." "Let them wonder how much we know." "How much do we know?" "Everything." "All the dirt dished in this great city." "All the human waste exited by our friends and fellow human beings." "All of it, sooner or later, passes through these ears." "This is shit centre, darlings." "Lovely." "Come on, Carl." "Finish that story." "Which story?" "John Corring." "And Faye Juliette?" "Yes." "Quiet dinner for six in the South that's like Tenderwood." "'John?" "', Julia says to her husband." "Why is it you never fuck me anymore?" "Her tone changes." "Because when you do, you're so good at it." "The room quiets." "She turns to Jessie, 'Isn't he good at it?" "'" "Jessie and her husband freeze." "Just as the guests smell danger, Corring says..." "Precious lamb, I never fuck you because ever since you went to Jenny Craig..." "You're such a little bitty thing I can't find you under the covers." "Thrilled, Julia had answers, 'You really think I did some good?" "'" "Oh, my goodness." "I heard Corring throws from the other side." "Really?" "He's straight." "Believe me." "You're pretty sure?" "One thing I can tell is whether a man is homosexual or not." "Oh, how?" "I am the gay 'Wether Vain'." "Little signals you know." "It might be his choice of words..." "The way his tie's knotted." "Or..." "How hard he gets when he hugs me." "It's your turn." "Stop." "I'll never understand you, Carl." "You luxuriate in the company of these..." "Ugh!" "You know the damage those women..." "Well, no." "Their husbands have done to the things we care about?" "I will fuck a congressman to stop nuclear proliferation." "Please, Carl." "Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, he of the State Department, opened up to Washington Post." "To see their precious baby daughter chained to a nuclear train." "With who was it?" "Peter Bayhon." "Holding up a sign that says I will eff Esther as a congressman." "I'd be careful." "I remember you in Jordash jeans." "Oh, please." "Okay?" "You still on for the opera benefit Saturday?" "I thought Larry was back." "My husband hates high culture." "He wasn't born to it." "Neither was I." "You transformed yourself." "Yeah." "What about next week?" "Do you mean...?" "You gotta watch yourself." "This is a brutal political climate." "Whatever ruth there ever was in this town, there's less now than ever." "You only get to live once." "What's wrong with a little pleasure?" "That my dear is a very difficult question to answer." "Promise me you'll always be my friend." "I promise." "Hey, Carl." "It's Emek here once again." "Please call me back." "I've been trying to reach you." "Please call me." "Okay?" "Bye-bye." "Carl, are you there?" "Pick up darling." "It's Abby." "Carl?" "Are you there?" "If you're there pick up." "Hallo?" "Abby." "My Sunflower." "Carl." "So, tell..." "How was that dinner party?" "I need a dirt fix." "Was it just...?" "Well..." "Too much?" "Oh, God." "I can hear my hair growing." "The Austrian embassador." "Imagine wasting me seated next to him." "And the House Speaker." "I mean is he always that tedious or is it just around me?" "He's like one of those circus midgets." "They grow and answer two, they lose their job." "Are you in bed yet?" "No." "Tuck yourself in." "Let me tell you a bedtime story." "I went public transport for the help." "Yes." "It's a little pricy." "But what isn't these days?" "Okay." "I'll call you back." "Send this out as quick as you can." "Yes, Sir." " Good." "Carl, I swear, you are my most punctual employee." "Well, I was brought up right." "Besides, it's only one day a week." "So what's new on the grape vine?" "Embassador Sing still hasn't closed on that town house." "Problem getting foreign affairs minister to prove the allocation." "All that red tape." "He's not too smart as it is." "The wheel is turning but the hamster's dead." "One thing I do hear though." "This is interesting." "The debt notes after the energy scandal..." "They are overextended." "I can list ten buyers who jump at that property." "Abby." "You know what you are?" "You are the absolutely perfect date." "Keep it coming." "Carl?" "I'm glad you could make it." "We must support the arts." "Where's Larry?" "Public policy conference." "Lucky guy." "He'd rather be anywhere than here." "She exaggerates." "We don't see enough of each other." "Let's get together." "Why don't you call the office and set something up?" "Be my pleasure." "Your father was a great man." "He was so proud of you." "Yes, he was." "Hey." "Al." "Fuck him." "He knows exactly how my father felt about me." "He hates my guts." "Mine too." "Why people marry whom they marry, I'll never understand." "Darling, don't let me commence." "U.S. Attorney" "Do you know Mungo Tenant?" "Not really." "I was just being polite." "Will you excuse me for a moment?" "There's someone I have to see." "I'll be right back." "Carter?" "Lynn?" "How are you doing?" "Peachy." "Peachy?" "That's the word." "How are you?" "I'm fine, Robbie." "How are things in the private sector?" "Any more investment tips?" "Carl?" "You're not still sorry about AltiMed?" "Let's get together." "Maybe I can make it up to you." "I don't wanna be scolding twice." "How about next week?" "Here we go." "I'll see you then." "Will you excuse me?" "I have to get back to my seat." "Come la notte i furti miei seconda." "What?" "It's from tonight's performance." "The Marriage of Figaro." "How the night favors my secret plans." "You're so smart." "Hey, Emek." "Hey, Carl." "I tried to call you." "Not very hard, you didn't." "Don't be like that." "How should I be?" "So what is it?" "*" "What?" "Now?" "Yes, now." "We've had this discussion, didn't we?" "Don't be such a kid." "Do you wanna talk?" "I got a date." "With who?" "Fun Barry." "Don't quote Oscar Wilde to me." "Anybody, but Wilde." "Say good night, Carl." "We talk tomorrow." "I'm very sorry to keep you waiting." "Do you want another drink or something?" "That's okay." "He sees himself as quietly a state." "But when she's done with him, he'll eat red meat and women." "What about you?" "You talk about everyone else." "But you never talk about yourself." "I'm not that interesting." "I mean you do have a private life." "I let you in on a little secret." "I've invented my own sex." "See how they hushed?" "Absolutely hushed when I leaned forward?" "All those big ears wondering what old Carl was saying." "You haven't always been old, Carl." "In fact, I remember a young Carter Page who once..." "I believe..." "Attempted to ask me out." "The seventies were a confusing decade." "A lot of things were blurred." "Still that was an interesting notion." "You wanna hear a personal story?" "Okay, I tell you a personal story." "Not about me, of course." "About my grandfather, Carter Page I. - plantation Page" "This is before he started devilling in politics, became governor." "19 years old." "Coldville, Virginia." "He had fallen in love with a photograph of a young woman, Johanna Comb of Philadelphia." "For a year they corresponded daily." "My grandfather looking at her picture as he wrote..." "I honestly hope..." "The day another Christmas shall have come..." "Our longings will have been displaced by full fruition." "My grandfather always talked like a man with a Bible half-open in his head." "He boarded the National to Philadelphia." "That night they went to the Opera." "And in a mission he got up..." "Returned home to Coldville, married my grandmother." "The two pen pals, Carl and Johanna, never saw each other again." "When my grandfather and grandmother had their first child, they named her Johanna." "And that's it?" "That's the story?" "That's all I ever heard." "I'd give my right arm to know the rest of it." "Don't say it." "I mean is it so important?" "It's just sex." "And that stuff you're breathing, it's just oxygen." "You must get pretty lonely up there on that pedestal." "I appreciate it." "I really do." "Oh, yes." "I bet you do." "Stop." "He's..." "He's dead." "What?" "Oh, no." "He is all..." "He is stabbed over." "Robbie is dead?" "With a knife." "I called him this morning." "I was gonna see him tonight." "You're gonna call the police?" "Yeah." "We should." "Carl?" "It would destroy everything." "It would destroy Larry." "The media." "It would destroy me." "Carl?" "What did you touch?" "Nothing." "The doorknob and the door was open." "Is the door still open?" "Let's get you home." "If anybody asks just..." "Tell them we went for a drive, talked about the old days." "I dropped you off." "Lynn?" "Is there something you're not telling me?" "No." "No." "Honest, Carl." "There were no fights." "No." "Not anything." "You must believe me." "I do." "He was all blood." "Thank you." "There's been a murder." "Please send the police and the EMS." "943, 25th Street, North West." "Carter Page III." "Yes." "I'll be here." "Check out the vases in the cabinet." "Okay?" "So." "What did your friend do?" "He was a lobbyist." "Who will get Lancelot?" "The cat." "They'll take it to a shelter." "No." "I'd like to have him if possible." "How long did you know Mr. Kononsberg?" "20 years." "We were gonna meet about some investments." "I got here and the door was open." "What do you think?" "I don't know." "Robbery, perhaps." "A bit violent for that." "And..." "Who'd steal...?" "A computer tower?" "He have a laptop as well?" "I think so, yes." "You were close?" "I didn't say we were close." "I said I'd known him for twenty years." "Yes." "Senator Lockner?" "Carter." "You heard?" "Yes." "When it comes to crime, nothing in this city shocks me." "Lynn said that he was at the benefit Saturday." "Would you like to speak with her?" "Please." "Carl?" "How are you holding up?" "Fine." "Can you talk?" " Not really." "I just called to say everything's under control." "It's an ongoing investigation, of course." "Carl." "I know." "Don't worry." "Darling, you kill me." "And it's true." "The rat is with the stars of human sexuality." "I like this." "I bet it's a hell of a lot less expensive than..." "Than a stroller a man Highman fees." "Mrs. Delorean, Mr. Page." "How nice to see you again." "I like this." "Made in the U.S. of A." "Oh, yeah." "I've sworn off Europeans all together." "It's only Americans for me." "I know what you mean, Sir." "If you have any questions, I'll be right over here." "Oh, look." "This is the material that Louise de Vilmorin had on her favorite shares." "I hope it's made of stronger stuff." "Louise's couldn't have lasted long, given the wear she gave it." "Oh, my God." "There is a more handsome man." "I wanna meet him." "Carl, you are outrageous." "But you are gorgeous." "Thank you." "I didn't know Robbie Kononsberg very well." "I didn't know you were close." "Yes." "That was quite a shock." "Jack knew him." "Of course Jack knows everyone." "He hates me." "No, he doesn't." "Nobody hates you." "One day everything is fine." "The next sure an episode of murder she wrote." "Who's the woman?" "What?" "Isn't there a woman in every murder mystery?" "Are you gonna get this fabric?" "It will make the carpet rig without competing." "I think it's a real find." "Carl, you're absolutely right." "Write this up." "What would I do without you?" "That we won't even contemplate." "We could deliver in Georgetown." "Or if you like, we could send everything to your Middleburg residence." "To get around all that nasty sales tax?" "Please." "God." "He makes obsequiousness an art form." "Detective Dixon." "What a coincidence." "Oh, I was told you might be here." "Detective Dixon." "Abigail Delorean." "How do you do?" "I need to speak with Mr. Page." "Shall I wait?" "No." "No." "You go on." "I'll take a taxi." "Step into my office." "So what?" "You're an interior decorator now?" "Any progress in the investigation?" "Why did you go to the apartment?" "We've been over this." "We had an appointment." "And the door was open?" "Yes." "That's what made me suspicious." "Have you contacted your lawyer?" "Should I?" "We'll need a DNA swab." "And Mungo Tenant wants to talk to you." "Why would the U.S. Attorney's Office be involved?" "He's made it his business." "A passer, a d'essayer." "From the possible to the real." "That is the motto of Woodberry Forest, the prep school Carter attended, Mr. Withal." "I looked that up." "I'm one of Woodberry's less illustrious alumni." "Myself, I went to Cumberland." "It was good." "But not Woodberry." "Woodberry was for the sons of the well-connected." "I didn't fit in." "No, I don't imagine you didn't." "Mungo, Carter has answered all your questions." "What's the point?" "What was the relationship between the deceased and Senator Lockner's wife?" "Were acquaintances." "In fact the last time I saw Robbie I was with Lynn at the opera benefit." "That was the extent of their relationship?" "To my knowledge." "Have you asked Lynn?" "What if we found evidence of Lynn's presence at Kononsberg's condo?" "Wouldn't surprise me." "Robbie did a lot of entertaining." "You had a business relationship?" "He advised me to purchase AltiMed stock." "I made money for a while." "And then I lost money." "A lot." "Considerable." "Because of Robbie." "I have only myself to blame." "If you're holding anything back about Kononsberg or Lynn Lockner's relationship..." "If you are going to press charges, do so." "Otherwise we're leaving." "Carter." "Every year your father would come to Cumberland to speak at a civics or an American history class." "He was an inspiration." "A great American." "Like his father before him." "It was because of him, I decided to enter public service." "When I heard him at the Watergate hearings I was proud to say I was a Virginian." "What are you?" "What have you contributed to your father's memory?" "Is there a name for what you are?" "I believe..." "He's called the walker, Sir." "He walks rich women from place to place." "Carl, is there any you're not telling me?" "Tell me now." "I can't be responsible later." "And don't fuck with offense." "After 9-11 they took the leash off." "They do whatever they want." "Do you want something?" "No." "It'll all work out." "Don't be naive." "I'm not naive." "I'm superficial." "Mungo Tenant knows the right questions." "Somebody's leaking information about Lynn's connection to Robbie." "How did you get involved in this?" "You'll listen to real music." "This is real music." "Lynn finds a body, all hell breaks loose." "I find a body?" "Awkward." "But I didn't think it was such a big deal." "But now it is." "This is a mean crowd, this administration." "I ain't never seen anything like it." "It's a cultural revenge." "They want to revenge you?" "Why?" "For your father?" "No." "That's just coincidence." "Lynn almost got pulled in." "Instead it's me." "Robbie's death has been exploited for political reasons." "Oh, can I...?" "Can I mention this to my editor?" "Can you put down that crack pipe?" "Just kidding." "Just don't know how much longer I can stand to shoot photo ops." "Scarlet." "Look this way." "Is this an...?" "Is it a new suit?" "This whole thing." "Do you like it?" "Looks a little bit like a..." "Medieval suit of armor." "Thank you." "Welcome." "I've got to figure out who tipped Tenant." "D.C. and Salt Lake." "These are the last two cities where homosexuality is a ground for extortion." "Lots of hypocrites." "Good American family men." "You can squeeze them." "That's crazy." "You do that for me?" "Yeah." "Why?" "L.O.V.E." "Love." "It's normal." "My first spelling lesson." "No, thanks." "Oh, I think I'll sit this one out." "Chrissie, it's your turn." "Ma'am?" "I'm thinking about going on a diet." "It's been proven." "Thinking about it doesn't work." "To dear departed friends." "Here." "All right, girls." "Theories?" "I have one word Altimed." "Kononsberg plumped for them all over town, both sides of the aisle." "Everybody took donations." "Even Larry." "No." "He's investigating." "The whole thing collapses." "Biggest scandal since Teapot Dome." "And nobody cares." "It's a lack of moral values." "No." "It's a wrack." "A wrack turns everything." "No water, please." "Wasn't Robbie supposed to testify in front of Larry's committee?" "I don't think so." "I think he was just a messenger." "Thug villain." " Yeah." "Chercher la femme." "Abby thinks there was a woman involved." "Isn't there always?" "It could be just a robbery." "No." "Well, how about you, Carl?" "It's uncharacteristic of you to be so reticent about a subject so sensational." "Well, a friend is murdered and I'm told not to comment because perhaps..." "Perhaps I am a suspect." "Well, who thinks that?" "Mungo Tenant." "How could anyone suspect you?" "They go with what they have." "And I'm what they have." "Tenant's an absolute botcher." "He's ambitious." "He wants to be a star." "I heard that Robbie was in trouble." "Define." "Overextended, as in..." "His financial means couldn't accommodate his lifestyle." "Where did you hear this?" "Where do you ever hear such things?" "Robbie would never let himself get into such a situation." "Not where he'd die of the money." "It's always about money." "People say it's sex." "But it's money." "That's very simplistic of you, Natalie." "Speaking of money..." "Did you know that Josh Milford wrote a campaign song for the presidential race, Al Smith vs. Herbert Hoover, 1928." "You've seen good days with Hoover." "Better days are on the way." "Money will fall from blue skies." "Prosperity's here to stay." "Oh, darling." "So say goodbye to Herbert." "And say hello to Al." "Say goodbye to Herbert." "And say hello to Al." "Hello, Al." "A year later the market crashed." "I remember." "But you were just a young slip of a girl then, not the beautiful woman you are now." "Cut the shit." "Oh, cut the cards." "Thank you, Sir." "Ma'am." "Tenant called you?" "Yeah." "What did you say?" "Last time I saw Robbie was at the National with you." "There is an informant." "Somebody is telling Tenant that you were having an affair with Robbie." "What did you tell Larry?" "Same thing I told Tenant." "We were acquaintances." "End of story." "What would he do if you were connected to the murder?" "He'd resign." "How did I get in this?" "Is that what you're thinking about?" "Never." "I was thinking about you." "Tenant is a baby sleaze who wants to be a big sleaze." "Nail a star, become a star." "It's how these justice boys think." "A liberal star." "Two liberal stars." "Even better." "I don't just play cards, you know." "Sorry." "How come you're always so polite?" "It was my mother's answer to chaos." "Now it's mine." "We had a fight." "Robbie and me." "An argument." "Somebody could have heard something." "He had a lot of anger in him." "He said people have been treating him like shit too long." "He wasn't gonna take it." "Why didn't you tell me this before?" "I didn't think it was important." "I'm telling you now." "And you saw him again after this?" "I have been such a fool." "You do care for me, don't you?" "Yes." "I always have." "There's something I've always wanted to ask you." "What?" "How do you survive all those long political dinners?" "Oh, I think about redecorating the room." "That, dear, is the most practical thing you've ever said." "Kononsberg was near busted on AltiMed." "Then two weeks later he opened two offshore accounts." "So he had money." "Two hundred thousand dollars were deposited in these accounts." "Well, if you could have found this out then the U.S. Attorney could have also." "I would imagine so." "Carl." "You asked me to look into this, and I did." "Now I wanna ask you a favor." "Of course." "Don't drag me any deeper into this." "Okay?" "I guess if it isn't offensive, it isn't art." "Look." "These are Robbie Kononsberg's phone calls for the past six months." "How did you get these?" "Well, I know people, too." "You know?" "There is this guy who used to work for the District Attorney's office." "You got these from him?" "No." "That was someone else." "But the D.A. guy..." "He said..." "The night after the murder Tenant's at his dinner, and he gets a phone call." "All right?" "He's up and he's gone." "He doesn't say a word." "And next Monday he comes up with this theory about Kononsberg and Lynn." "Who'd he talked to?" "I'm working on it." "But look..." "One number starts popping up the last two months." "Actually it's two numbers." "One is for Jack Delorean's office and the other one is for a cell phone." "Abby's husband." "The old lion." "You know what they say about him?" "He never ran for office 'cause he'd have to give up too much power." "Oh, God." "Hey, the...?" "The other thing?" "Have you thought about it?" "Is this really the right time to discuss this?" "I think it's a perfect time." "I have your full attention." "You want me to help you get a gallery show." "I understand." "I have discretely inquired." "Yeah, discretely." "That's exactly the word I would like to talk to you about." "Be realistic." "Look at this stuff." "Not exactly subtle." "It's..." "Agitprop." "It's incendiary." "I guess that means you haven't." "I just don't wanna feel used." "If you don't wanna feel used..." "Why are you in a relationship?" "This embassy used to be a society graveyard." "Supporting us in Iraq is the only smart thing Colombia ever did." "Natalie." "Oh, Jack." "Lovely." "Thank you." "Carl." "Hi, Jack." "Yeah." "Nice to meet you." "Look at her." "Who?" "People think marrying for money is easy." "Not true." "I'm living proof." "Marrying for money is the hardest fucking job there is." "You don't get the money." "You just get to look at it." "She's just discovering that." "Have you heard from Lynn?" "No." "I haven't been able to reach her." "Oh." "Perhaps that's best." "Here I am." "Seating can make or break a party." "It's probably not a good time to get involved in Lynn's problems." "Which problems?" "Oh, Carl." "Let me give you a piece of Washington wisdom." "Never stand between your friend and a firing squad." "And there you are." "And between us..." "The sub-head of the Task Force on Terrorism." "Man couldn't find the ground if he fell on it." "Natalie, I need to ask you a little favor." "What might that be?" "Do you know why...?" "Robbie Kononsberg and Jack Delorean were in close contact for the last month and a half?" "Carl." "I believe you've mistaken me for a private investigator." "Natalie Van Miter, P.I." "You follow basketball?" "Yeah, some." "Were you a Michael Jordan fan?" "But I liked the team better before they changed the name." "Let's go over there." "There's a room." "We can talk." "Who did you work for?" "You know, some asshole in the State Department." "You live by your eyes, don't you?" "Stop and you won't be in trouble." "Who are you gonna tell?" "Already fret?" "What do you want?" "Stop playing the detective or you'll be working with a white cane." "And tell your friend that, too." "Tell him to do the right thing." "Got it, sand nigger?" "Do you know Mark Hoban?" "Of Grandel, Klein  Hoban?" "He's Lockner's lawyer." "He came to see me." "Our firms have a fee sharing arrangement." "Hoban's firm has offered to cover any legal expenses you incur." "Why would they do that?" "I didn't ask." "Loyalty need not be dictated by financial concerns." "Those were Hoban's words." "Do you remember Susan McDougal?" "Two years in jail because she wouldn't ride out Clinton." "Sounds like another era." "It was." "Excuse me for one second." "Yes?" "What happened?" "Where are you?" "Who is it?" "Carter Page." "Friend of Emek's." "Step forward." "Put it in the camera." "Radley's from the gym." "He's a physical therapist, you know." "Thank you." "How is he?" " I'm fine." "Oh, he needs a couple of stitches." "And should have an X-ray." "Just to be safe." "You can stay here?" "No I'm fine to go home." "You got to stop this." "Putting yourself in danger." "Or else what?" "You're not going to help me get a gallery show?" "This is not a joke." "Listen." "He said to tell you to stop." "And do the right thing." "Would you recognize him?" "Yeah, I would recognize him." "Who were you talking to?" "Sorry." "What were you trying to find out?" "Robbie's connection to Delorean." "Now this guy was supposed to be an unhappy employee." "Right?" "And he would tell me things that would make my ears ring." "That pal was right." "So what Lynn say about the phone calls?" "Huh?" "Did you ask her?" "I didn't have the chance." "What do you mean you didn't have the chance?" "What has she done for you, huh?" "Why are you trying to protect her?" "It's not that simple." "That's all right officer." "It's his apartment." "What's going on?" "We have a Court Issued Warrant." "Am I under arrest?" "Not if you come in voluntarily." "Nice apartment." "Don't touch that." "It's Detective, Mr. Page." "Do you recognize these?" "No." "Is this Kononsberg's handwriting?" "Kononsberg has no money..." "Then suddenly he has money." "Then he's dead." "Doesn't that seem like a legitimate avenue for a murder investigation?" "More relevant than, say, Lynn Lockner's relationship to the victim?" "You'll have to ask Attorney Tenant about that." "I thought this was your investigation." "It is." "Things aren't always what they seem." "You have the right to remain silent." "Anything you say can and will be used...." "Mungo you've kept my client waiting all night." "I'm not sure you understand the seriousness of your situation." "Possession of stolen property." "Who told you it was stolen?" "Same person who told you where to find it?" "You're saying he gave you his watch?" "I have no idea how it came to be in my apartment." "There's no crime here." "I believe you're lying about the circumstances under witch the body was found." "I wanna know why you're lying." "Why we've found a Zip disk from Kononsberg's computer in your apartment?" "My computer doesn't even have a Zip drive." "Zips are twentieth-century..." "We know Lynn Lockner visited Kononsberg." "So bring her in." "She's not available." "She's left town." "Where did she go?" "Palm Beach." "Her mother's sick." "Don't you think that is convenient?" "For you?" "Yes." "If you brought her in, a minority leader's wife, it might backfire." "Assuming you are thinking of high office." "Carter Page." "Carter Page, the turd." "Mr. Withal." "You should make it clear to your client, he is on extremely thin ice." "I believe he is aware of that." "Ethan and I spoke earlier." "Out of respect for your father I'm gonna recommend that you be released on your own recognizance." "That'll give you time to give the matter some thought." "In my experience..." "It's perjury that catches people out who think they're above the law." "Not so much the deed itself." "But the lying about it." "If you decide to cooperate..." "There're certain things that can be overlooked." "You contact Ethan." "Since you invoked my father's memory, there's something I'd like to say on his behalf." "If alive, he would regret ever inspiring a person such as yourself to enter public service." "Carl." "Shut up." "Essentially he is giving you a three-day pass." "There was nothing on that disk." "Does Mungo just hate me, or is it all homosexuals?" "Or is he determined to bring down Lockner?" "Or is it just plain old-fashioned ambition?" "Perhaps it's a convergence of all four." "What do you know about Lynn?" "I tried to reach her." "And?" "Unavailable." "They've started a whispering campaign." "The bright-eyed little errand boys from Justice." "Lynn and Robbie having an affair." "Lynn having something to do with his death." "And Lockner knowing about it." "The press isn't gonna buy that." "At certain point it doesn't matter to them." "Whispering campaign itself becomes the story." "I need to see Lockner." "What makes you think he'll see you?" "Just contact him discreetly." "See how he responds." "It's wrong direction to take this." "What do you suggest?" "Love yourself, Carl." "You may think you've got friends in this situation, but you don't." "Decide what's in your best interest." "Then act upon it." "Carl." "I know." "I'm just picking up some of my things." "How do you what I'm gonna say?" "Oh, you were gonna..." "Tell me that because of market uncertainties your accountant suggested scaling back." "And I should take..." "What...?" "A leave?" "Well, yeah." "Something like that." "I don't blame you, John." "There won't be a better moment." "Hello." "Sunflower." "Carl?" "Is that you?" "No." "It's a ravishing young teenager pretending to be me." "How are you Abigail." "How are you?" "Isn't it terrible?" " What?" "What they're trying to do to Lynn." "What who's trying to do to Lynn?" "You know who." "The whisperers." "The cave dwellers." "They're trying to ruin her reputation." "These are cruel times." "In former days men caught lying would have their testicles tied." "Today they get a TV show." "Did you just make that up or were you saving it?" "I was saving in." "For you." "Let's have a lunch." "We need a laugh." "Jack is meeting with the vice-president." "His relatives are here." "It's keeping me busy." " I understand." "I'll see you at the Hargrave then." "Okay." "Okay." "Bye-bye, dear." "Hear that, Lancelot?" "It's the sound of doors closing all over town." "Carter?" "Hop in." "Senator Lockner." "Larry!" "Thanks for the offer, the legal expenses." "What are you talking about?" "How is Lynn?" "She's fine." "She went to visit her mother." "Her mother's health is failing." "How much do you know?" "About Lynn?" "Robbie Kononsberg's death?" "I just know what Lynn told me." "She and Robbie were good friends." "Nothing more." "But..." "Kononsberg was a lobbyist for AltiMed." "Your committee is investigating AltiMed." "We were investigating." "Now we're just pretending to investigate." "It's not my committee anymore." "You would have liked to talk to him." "Yes, but I won't mind talking to the vice-president either." "The V.P.?" "Why?" "Just the same line." "Lynn is afraid you'll resign if she's somehow implicated in all this." "I'm sure you must have heard the rumors." "No." "That's not gonna happen." "I'm not gonna step down." "How do the rich get the poor to give them more money?" "They scare them." "Under no circumstances am I stepping down." "But Lynn..." "Lynn has an exaggerated notion of her importance in the larger scheme of things." "Why are we meeting?" "I'm trying to decide what to do." "On the one hand I'm disloyal." "On the other...." "Dishonest." "It's never easy." "Look at the big picture." "Hey, listen to this." "Mungo Tenant." "William and Mary School of Law." "Class of '86." "First intern then partner in Colin Macken  Klein." "A firm originally founded by Jack Delorean." "And senior partner, the vice-president." "What are you doing?" "What?" "Are you still playing private investigator?" "Only a little bit just in cyberspace." "Just stop." "I'm trying to help you." "I don't want your help." "Don't you see what's going on?" "They got you on a railroad." "And they're going to railroad you." "And you just..." "You just let it happen to you." "You don't confront them." "You're gonna end up in jail." "I can take care of myself." "No, you can't." "Anytime anything unpleasant happens, you just smile and tell a joke to your friends." "You know what?" "You should be more like your father." "He stood up." "He wasn't afraid of scandals." "He wasn't even afraid to take on the president." "You're a paparazzi." "You make your money off a scandal." "You have no idea what a scandal really means." "How it destroys people." "And then what comes after." "We move to New York." "Buy a brownstone." "Adopt a brown baby." "Walk arm in arm around the village for the tourists to point at." "Why fucking not?" "It's ridiculous." "It's normal." "We're ridiculous." "Okay." "Okay." "You know I've..." "I've stayed here only for you." "I don't know why." "I should have left six months ago." "I don't wanna lose you." "God, I always thought ringing one's hands was a figure of speech." "I thought you could change." "But you can't." "Carter Page III." "You'll never be like your father." "They say I bend over." "You should have seen my father." "That was a man who bent over." "Carter Page II." "The legendary Carl Page." "The Watergate hearings' great moment." "Every day someone comes up and says..." "Your father was a great man." "And I smile and say, Oh, yes he was." "He left Congress twenty times wealthier than when he entered." "What does that tell you?" "He was a crook." "A fraud." "He was deeply shame to me." "But he's dead now." "Don't judge the dead." "Why not?" "They judge us each and every day." "Well, I was going to invite her today." "But I understand she's gone on vacation." "Well, well, well." "I was wondering if you'd got the guts to show up." "It's Wednesday, isn't it?" "And you're ready to play?" "Yes." "Looks like it's just the two of us." "Canasta is not ideally a two-handed game." "Carl." "I love your nerve." "How about a drink then?" "Why not?" "You look wonderful, Nat." "I thank you." "Henry, I'll have a Seabreeze." "A vodka and tonic, please." "Certainly, ma'am." "We'll drink to the good memories." "Oh, don't talk to me about memory." "Memory is a very unreliable organ." "Trust me, Carl." "It's right up there with the penis." "There's something I've been meaning to ask you." "I thought of it last night and I can't get it out of my head." "Which actor portrayed the most U.S. presidents in movies?" "Oh, you." "Henry Fonda?" "No." "Actual presidents." "He played Lincoln, but in 'Fail-Safe' he was a fictional president." "I don't know." "Charlton Heston?" "Close." "But only two." "No." "It was Rip Torn." "He played Grant, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon." "L.B.J. and Nixon amazing." "Your drinks, Mr. Page." " Thank you, Henry." "Don't let them get you down." "I have had some illusions shattered." "We all have." "I thought we weren't an aggressive nation." "And I thought there was a separation between church and state." "Hell, I even thought that the people elected the president." "You know, Carl." "You've always intrigued me." "You think you're a black sheep." "You're not a black sheep at all." "Do you remember the question you asked me about Robbie and Jack Delorean?" "Yeah." "I apologize." "I was out of line." "Your friend, Robbie, was up to something." "Always follow the money." "Sometimes it's oil." "Sometimes it's pharmaceuticals." "I think it's time you and Lynn had a talk about that." "I tried to reach her." "She left town." "I've tried her mother's to no avail." "Do you have a pencil and paper?" "A pen?" "Even better." "You can be so naive." "Now you can meet her here." "Don't be so goddamn polite." "Now..." "What were we talking about?" "Rip Torn." "No." "We were talking about your wanting to be a black sheep." "In the end..." "All you have is your breeding." "It's all that separates them from us." "Breeding?" "My great grandfather got rich of slavery." "And when the Yankees took that away, my grandfather made his money raising tobacco." "I don't have any breeding." "If your great grandfather were alive today..." "He'd fit right in." "Who is it?" "FedEx package." "I'm not expecting any FedEx." "Lynn, it's Carl." "Open up." "FedEx?" "That was lame." "Jesus." "What's going on?" "How did you find me?" "I did some checking." "Oh, your friend from the newspaper." "Maybe I should move." "Who are you afraid of?" "May I sit?" "Forgive me." "Would you like some water?" " Please." "I left Larry." "Does he know where you are?" "No." "Palm Beach." "My mother has always been helpful." "Out with it." "I've been getting a lot of advice lately." "Let me give you some advice." "Tell me what the fuck is going on." "Are you threatening me?" "Yes." "Now." "What was the deal with Robbie?" "You don't know what it's like." "Think you do?" "You act as if it's awesome." "I hate it." "I'm not special." "I just want what other women want." "Is that so terrible?" "A husband." "A marriage." "A family." "To be loved." "There is no such thing in this environment." "They talk about it." "Oh, they talk." "But there isn't." "They don't need women." "They fuck each other." "And Robbie was different." "I was gonna leave Larry." "I had made up my mind." "Robbie was making all the arrangements and..." "Abby said he was broke." "That was not true." "He had money coming in." "Now let's go real slow." "He was gonna testify before Larry's committee on AltiMed." "But he backed out." "Why?" "He said why give away something valuable for free." "I said he was crazy, he was playing with fire, but..." "I was crazy, too." "We both were." "I'd go back to when you found him." "What did you see when you came into the apartment?" "What did Robbie know?" "He was expecting someone to get the payment?" "What did he have that was so valuable?" "A computer disk?" "What was Robbie thinking?" "What was he doing with Jack Delorean?" "He was dead when I came in." "The crouch came after the first stabbing." "It was an afterthought." "He took something." "What do you mean?" "The killer took something off Robbie." "It was a photo of him and me." "It wasn't explicit." "But it was..." "Affectionate." "That's sad, isn't it?" "That's how I got pulled into this." "Oh, Robbie." "Robbie, you fool." "I loved him." "What am I gonna do?" "Hallo?" " Abby." "Carl, is that you?" "I missed you at the Hargrave today." "It was like Christmas without a tree." "There was something I had to do." "Robbie's murder..." "I was just going over it in my head and I think I know what he was up to." "He was blackmailing the vice-president." "That's crazy." "Think about it." "Robbie being tight for money." "His involvement with the V.P. in AltiMed." "His resentment." "On the phone he said something about making a sales." "He said things were finally coming around his way." "He couldn't be that stupid." "I think he was." "Carter?" "What?" "Elvis is dead." "Yeah." "It is a bit farfetched." "Did the fabric arrive yet?" "Yesterday." "How does it look?" "We'll get together." "I'll call you next week." "Choose the day." "Good night then." "I gotta run." "Good night, Sunflower." "Well, Lancelot." "Let's see what comes of that." "What's it called?" "The kiss." "Appropriate." "I'm going back to my place to get some clothes." "I'll be back." "I should come along?" "I thought you had that movie opening?" "Premiere." "And it's a good story." "You know the..." "The daughter of a liberal black congressman falling in love with the son of a right-wing senator." "And they run off and their parents join forces to find them." "It all ends up in Disney World where, after much hilarity, ..." "They all understand the meaning of tolerance." "That sounds terrific." "I'll see you later." " Take care." "Hey." "Hey." "Miss Page." "I just want to talk." "Hey." "It was only a warning." "Hey, motherfucker." "Come on." "Let's go." "Do you have a phone?" " Yeah." "Call 911." "Come on." "Let's go." "Wait." "There's been an accident." "He's badly injured." "Let's go." "Let's go." "Sicked it is." "Come on." "Is that his ID?" "It took some humongous testes." "Kononsberg, I mean." "He blackmailed the vice-president." "Desperate men do desperate things." "Stupid men do stupid things." "Yeah." "That's it." "Right there." "Over here?" " Turn to left." "Here." "What are you doing here, Carl?" "Abigail, my Sunflower." "I need to see Jack." "Is he expecting you?" "No." "What's going on?" "Is Jack in his office?" "He does not like to be disturbed, Carter." "You know that." "Well, I'm gonna speak with him, Abby." "This is my friend Emek." "He needs something to drink." "Coffee?" "Diet Coke?" " Regular, thank you." "Abby will take you in the kitchen and get you a Coke." "While you're in there make sure she doesn't make any phone calls." "Doesn't make any phone calls?" "I am gonna talk to him now." "This won't take long." "Jack does not like to be disturbed, Carter." "Don't worry about it." "He will be fine, just take a minute." "Come on." "What the hell is it now?" "I'll call you right back." "I need to talk to you." "Call and make an appointment." "Now will you please get out of my house?" "His name's Edgar Comensky." "Ex-Marine Corps." "Ex-FBI." "His last known employment was head of AltiMed security." "He also worked for you." "No need to track him down." "This photo was taken about a minute later." "It's criminal act to leave the scenes of a crime." "Call the cops." "You what I think?" "I think Comensky was two-timing you." "Worked for you." "Found out about Lynn and Robbie." "Sold it to Mungo." "Pretty good guess." "Sit." "What do you want?" "You wanna get Tenant off your back?" "That would be good." "That man is an asshole." "Where did he get that name 'Mungo'?" "I believe it's British." "I'll do what I can." "Lynn Lockner's as well." "Have you talked to her husband, Larry?" "Did he tell you that..?" "'This is a war.'" "He likes to talk like that." "Well, this little war is over." "He lost." "You lost." "I wasn't a combatant." "Sometimes we don't have a choice." "Listen, Carl." "It's not personal." "I like you." "I liked your father." "But you're on the wrong side of history." "People don't want your radical ideas, your agenda, your lifestyle." "People want a story." "A good American story." "And maybe a murder story." "One that you wrote." "Me?" "Of course not." "People think I have some kind of secret power." "I don't." "I'm not even elected." "I'm just an old man." "Has lot of old friends." "I'm an old man that always puts my country first." "And Robbie's death." "The cemeteries are full of dead guys." "He was a criminal." "He was involved in a criminal act." "And he met criminal consequences." "As for the opportunists..." "Like Attorney Tenant." "Who try to exploit the situation for political purposes..." "They were on the wrong side, too." "And they will get their due." "It's time to move on." "Lynn, to get back to her life." "You did the right thing, Carl." "So how I was forgotten?" "Nothing to remember." "Whoever knows what really happens?" "I know." "Well..." "Bully for you!" "Are we finished?" "Good." "How did you get past Abby?" "How did she ever let you in here?" "She is more interested in her television program." "Antiques Roadshow." "Figures." "Good-bye, Carl." "Bye." "So do you still feel comfortable staying at my place tonight?" "Maybe we should look for another place." "Ah, shit." "We're speeding?" " No." "Put your seatbelt on." " It's broken." "All right." "Just relax." "Emek Yoglu?" "Please step outside the vehicle." "Both of you." "Turn around." "Get your feet apart." "Hands on top of the vehicle." "Place your hands up behind your backs." "You're under arrest for leaving the scene of an accident." "Said Delorean took care of it, huh?" "I doubt he knows." "Just shut up." "Any additional charges?" "That's what we'll find out." "Here." "Emek, put that on." "Mungo is putting on a bit of a show." "It's called the 'Perp Lock'." "It's a little like a society opening." "Cameras, reporters..." "But a different jewelry." "In all the years I've known you Ethan, I never knew you had a sense of humor." "Here's what." "Come and test it." "How are you?" "Good." "Considering..." "There is a refreshing lack of choice and a completely new social set." "I've spoken to your attorney." "We're gonna keep you till the morning then you and Mr. Yoglu will be released." "And the search for Robbie's killer?" "That would be Mr. Cominsky, the fellow hit by the SUV." "He left some blood at the scene." "We have a DNA match." "And Mungo Tenant?" "Attorney Tenant has taken a leave of absence." "I don't think he'll be returning." "Sorry about the publicity and everything." "A mistake was made." "But it's all worked out." "Yeah." "Do you remember what I was telling you about that offer for the gallery show in New York?" "It came through." "Notoriety has its upside I guess." "They'll explode the headlines." "You can't avoid that." "Listen." "I want you to come to the opening." "Okay?" "Let me think about it." "See you in New York." "Not for long." " I wish I had been there." "He said it was on a consignment." "Oh, he wasn't asking you to pay retail?" "No, I said ..." "Don't start pulling on that string or the whole fabric of our world will unravel." "Knock-knock." "Carl?" "We're trying to play." "Don't worry I'm not staying." "I just have something to return to Lynn." "You're welcome to stay." "Yes, please stay." "We're so happy to see you." "Lynn." "Excuse me." "Congratulations." "For what?" "I hear the happy couple, Lynn and Larry Lockner are back together." "There is a function tonight, in fact." "We'll be there together and make nice..." "Consort with the enemy." "You have something for me?" "I didn't want you to worry about ..." "Where this might be." "Thank you." "Why did you stand by me?" "You thought I killed Robbie, didn't you?" "Of course not." "Not even a little?" "Maybe a little." "But after everything you went through." "You stood by me." "Why?" "I spent my life without any real idea why I behaved as I did." "I thought Robbie's murder was a mystery." "That's not a mystery." "One's own life." "That's a mystery." "A grown man acting on the fears of a child." "Trying to impress a father dead ten years." "Now that's a mystery." "Strange how things work out." "Bye, Lynn."