"All right, hold it!" "Oh, sorry, lieutenant." "All right, it's 2 a.m. in New Orleans," "The big easy." "And we're stirring up that gumbo!" "Hey, Remy!" "Hey, Teeneg, here you at?" "Where you been, don't you ever go home?" "Only when the music stops, Cher." "Hey, who's the dead meat?" "As long as you're here, let's see if you can make him." "Oh man, yeah;" "Hello, Freddy." "That's Freddy Angelo, wise-guy scumbag," "Works for Eddie Di Moti." "He handles Mexican imports for the family." "Mama!" "Can't find any bullet hits, spent shells," "Nothing like that;" "very little blood." "We figure they lit him up some place else, then brought his body here." "Here's his wallet." "They just lifted the prints." "Oh-huh!" "Oh, the drivers license is missing!" "I guess they took it for proof of their hit." "Standard wise-guy procedure, right, Remy?" "If you're gonna wrap 'em in a concrete overcoat and dump 'em in lake Pontchartrain." "But here's Freddy, dead as Kelsey's nuts, right in the middle of the Piazza D'Italia." "Now what does that tell us, huh?" "Somebody is sending a message." "To the esteemed president of the Italian-American Renaissance Association." "Vinnie "The Cannon" Di Moti." "There you go." "I want you to pick up Vinnie "The Cannon"" "tomorrow morning at his barbershop and bring him in for questioning." "Hi, Remy." "Cavenaugh, where you at?" "I'm doing it." "What is this, the Dodge and De Soto Follies?" "Who would know what you're thinking about?" "Captain, it was Andre's idea." "Is he the brains of the partnership now?" "Hey, what did they do now?" "Impounded a boat." "They spent half their shift at the damned police dock." "What am I going to do with them?" " Why don't we shoot 'em?" " Yeah!" "No, they're too much fun at Mardi Gras." "Who's that in my office?" "Assistant district attorney, Anne Osborne." "Hmmm, nice neck!" "We have written orders to cooperate." "Her be part of the special task force" "That's investigating police corruption." "Where did she get that idea, huh?" "She says she's here about the Angelo murder." "So I'm gonna get myself some real coffee, and you're going to give her whatever she needs." "She's in good hands, Cher." "Excuse me." "Excuse me." "Oh!" "Anne, hi." "I'm Remy McSwain." "Oh!" "Ouch!" "Your pencil." "Lieutenant..." "Ahhh, Remy." "Lieutenant, I've come to find out what progress you've made on the Angelo murder." "What's your hurry, he's not even stiff yet." "He is dead though, isn't he?" "Oh, last time I saw him, yeah." "You have no clues or leads?" "Not so far." "See, I've seen dozens of these wise-guy jobs." "We usually find out why the hit went down or who did it," "But we never have enough to take to court." "He wasn't at the barbershop, so we picked him up at his home." "Bring him in." "Oh, thank you so much for coming in, Mr. Di Moti." "This is Miss Anne Osborne of the district attorney's office." "My lawyer is going to get me out of here in five minutes." "I got nothing to say 'til then, nothing!" "Why, you're not under arrest, Mr. Di Moti." "Did McCabe give you that impression?" "McCabe, I want you to apologize to Mr. Di Moti here." "I'm sorry about the misunderstanding, Mr. Di Moti." "You're free to go any time you want, sir." "Again, we really do apologize." "Well..." "We just wanted to express our sympathy about Freddy." "About who?" "Freddy Angelo, the guy they found floating in the fountain last night behind your office." "Yeah, he used to work for me, terrible!" "Nobody's got any respect for monuments anymore." "Mr. Di Moti, isn't it true that Mr. Angelo worked for you for nearly 2O years, and was still in your employ at the time of his death?" "Can I go?" "You know, kid, your father would never drag me down here." "If he wanted to see me, he'd come to the house!" "He knew a little something about respect." "Get out of my way!" "I can't believe you were so obsequious with that man." "What does "obsequious" mean?" "It means you had a high-ranking member of the Mafia in your office and you kissed his ass." "Well, let me point out a few things to you." "First of all, nobody uses the word "Mafia" anymore." "Down here we call them "wise guys." You're not from here, are you?" "I only say this to save you any kind of embarrassment." "I'll bear that in mind, lieutenant." "Anything else?" "Hey, you like spicy food;" "why don't we have dinner?" "I know this little cajun place." "Relax, Romeo." "Tell me what you learned from two minutes of ass-kissing." "Actually I learned a lot from that little interview." "Do you read minds?" "No, I read people; and after seeing "The Cannon,"" "I can probably tell you why Freddy sprung a leak last night." "I suppose you know who the killer is, too." "Oh no, but I bet we find his body floating in the lake in a couple of weeks." "Then what will you do?" "Nothing." "I told you we never have enough to take to court." "Hell, I'd close the case right now except for one thing." "What's that?" "I'll tell you over dinner." "Hey, come on, we don't have to stand in line." " Hey!" " Hey, man!" "How embarrassing." "That's what's great about being a cop." "How you doing?" "Hey!" "All right, Willie!" "Come on, we're going to work up an appetite." "Hi, Remy." "I thought we were here to discuss business." "Business and pleasure, what's wrong with that?" "I can't do this." "Wait, didn't they dance where you come from?" "No, we barely spoke." "This is New Orleans, doll, the big easy." "Down here dancing's a way of life, come on." "Feel the music!" "Now you're getting it, that's right!" "You see my grandpapa on my mama's side, now he was a real cajun." "Born and died on the bayoutish." "I thought you came from a family of Irish cops." "No, that was on my daddy's side." "He was the first one to become a cop." "Followed by three brothers, one son and four nephews." "My cousin, Terry, joined the fire department." "He's the black sheep of the family." "You were the youngest detective in the history of the N.O.P.D. to ever make lieutenant." "I had an in in the department, sugar." "Careful who you say that to." "Oh yeah, that's right, you bust cops... for a living." "I'm not embarrassed to put bad cops behind bars." "Why don't you tell me something about your life." "It's not as colorful as yours." "Oh yeah?" "Do you want me to tell you why I'm not closing the Angelo case?" "That's supposed to be why I'm here." " It's you." " Oh please!" "No, no, it's you really." "I mean, how come an assistant district attorney in an official corruption strike force is suddenly so interested in a routine Mafia hit?" "Routine "wise-guy" hit, remember?" "Yeah, whatever." "What gives?" "We have the jurisdiction to investigate any crime." "You got some kind of police corruption angle on this case?" "No comment, lieutenant." " You got any evidence at all?" " No comment, again." "Hey, Remy, how's everything?" "You like that gumbo?" "Remy's great aunt Emeline, she teach me my gumbo." "But she uses more sassafras filet in her gumbo." "You watch your mouth, boy, or you don't get no dessert." "We got Cajun Coush-Coush, and we got Dobas Cake." "No, nothing for me, thanks." "I have to be up very early tomorrow." "Yeah, we just gonna take the check tonight, Paul." "What you talking about, Cher?" "I mean I want the check, Paul!" "Remy done lost his mind." "He knows his money is no good in here." "then just give me the check." "Paul, have you met Anne Osborne with the D.A.'s office?" "Oh, really?" "You looking for that check, Remy." "Right here it is, all the time." "You honestly don't see the harm in any of this?" "No, I don't see the harm;" "these are the perks!" "But the restaurant expects extra protection in return." "Big deal!" "And expect the officer to overlook any code violations." "If all the codes were enforced in this city, you wouldn't have a single restaurant that could stay open." "So now you're defending organized corruption?" "I'm not defending anything, this is New Orleans." "Folks have a certain way of doing things down here." "People like to show their appreciation." "Really, how does it work?" "Do you get free suits?" "Do you get a little envelope from Chef Paul every week?" "Are you wearing a wire in there or something?" "I'm serious." "How far does all this stuff go?" "Is everything for sale?" "What's it cost to beat a murder rap these days?" "Is that what you think about cops?" "You've got a real serious attitude problem." "Being around you for an evening hasn't improved it." "I've never seen a man break so many laws in such a short time." "It's very simple when you're out on the street." "There's "good guys" and there's "bad guys"." "I suppose you're the "good guys"?" "Damn right, and we're all that stands between you and them." "Why don't you just drop me off at the corner up there." "And don't think that I'm naive, lieutenant." "I know the way the system works, but things can change." "Oh yeah, are you going to change it?" "Don't you dare be amused at me." " Hey, is this your building?" " No, I live up the street." "I have to get some things." "Is that okay?" "I'll wait for you and drive you the rest of the way." "No thank you, I'd rather walk." "I'll walk with you." "No." "Thank you very much for a very illuminating evening." "Stop, my purse!" "Ohhh!" "Let's go, blood!" "Help, somebody help!" "Let me go, woman!" "Police!" "Don't screw up!" "Scumbag, get your face down on the pavement right now!" "You stay down there for a second." "Ah-ha, ah-ha." "You a cop?" "Yes, ma'am." "Thank god you were here;" "I just cashed my pay check." "Stay here and a patrolman will be by to take your statement." "You think I'm crazy or what?" "I'm not taking any chances, no police!" "All right." "A patrol car is going to come for you in a little while." "Now if you do anything to my car," "If you even get your fingerprints on the paint, they are going to beat the ever-living shit out of you." "Do you fully understand each and every one of these rights as I have explained them to you?" "Yes, sir." "It's a good thing I'm such a pushy guy, huh?" "Hey, Remy, listen to this." "Remember Mrs. Williams who stabbed her husband last week?" "We go see her, "Mrs. Williams, your husband just died,"" ""and you're busted for second-degree homicide."" "You know what she said?" ""That bastard, I stabbed him before and he never died."" "Homicide, McSwain." "Hello, lieutenant." "Hey, Anne, you must be psychic." "I was just thinking about you." "What's new on the Angelo case?" "Not a thing." "Why not, aren't you working on it?" "Hey, I got a poisoned nurse in the garden district and a strangled transvestite in the French Quarter." "I got a suspicious asphyxiation in town." "Freddy Angelo has to wait his turn." "I thought the Angelo case was supposed to be given priority." "When can I see a copy of your report?" "I'll tell you what, the Nevelle Brothers are playing at Tipitina's tonight." "I can give it to you then." "I was thinking that we ought to keep this relationship strictly professional." "Hey, why?" "I thought we passed a good time last night." "Didn't you like the music?" "The music was very nice." "Didn't you like the crawfish etouffee?" "The food was delicious, but look, let's just forget about last night." "There's too much possibility for conflict of interest." "Oh, really?" "Why, are you investigating me?" "Of course not, no." "Why don't I pick you up at 8:00, and don't be late?" "No, please just have somebody send a copy of the report to my office." "Thank you, lieutenant." "Hey, Annie!" "What are you doing here?" "Hey, what the hell you doing?" "I got a large pizza here." "Pepperoni with extra cheese." "Move your goddamned car!" "You can't get around me that easy." "Where's my report?" " Right here." " Where?" "Under the pizza." "You got to eat the pie to get to the report." "Go on, girlie, get in the car!" "You write a pretty good report." "Oh, great." "Does that mean we can go to Tipitina's now?" "No." "I'd like to ask you a few questions." "Now Angelo was shot at a downward angle." "The weapon was a Mack-1O pistol." "Are you thinking dope smugglers?" "Possibly, but a lot of younger wise-guys use Mack-1O pistols, too." "you found his car parked way out on Choopatalis Street." "Chopatoolis Street." "Chopatoolis." "But you couldn't find any evidence of a crime, correct?" "Yeah, but what it doesn't say in there is that Freddy Angelo's car was parked across the street from a wharf warehouse owned by Carmine Tandino, a very well-known hit man in the family of our mutual friend, Vinnie "The Cannon" Di Moti." "I'm going to check out that warehouse tomorrow." "Why isn't that in your report, lieutenant?" "We're not supposed to draw conclusions, you know that." "If someone were to ask you, what conclusion would you draw?" "Well, Freddy imported heroin for a living." "Carmine Tandino's warehouse is on the river." "Sometimes heroin comes up the river." "You draw your own conclusions." "What?" "I'm impressed." "By what?" "Well, you've obviously given this a great deal of thought." "You're doing a really thorough job." "Oh, thank you very much." "What do you think, I do a very lousy job?" "No, I didn't mean that." "Why don't you like me, Anne?" "I do like you." "Well, why don't you trust me then?" "Huh?" "You think I'm a rotten, don't-give-a-shit, dishonest, no-good, dirty cop." "Is that what you think of me?" "No." "I do trust you." "I do." "Ouch!" "Sorry." "I'm not very good at this." "Shhh!" "I can't do this." "I'm too nervous." "I can't relax." "I'm very embarrassed." "Oh, no, don't be embarrassed." "Just relax, darling." "This is The Big Easy." "Folks have a certain way of doing things down here." "I've noticed." "Oh, stop that!" "Stop what?" "That." " What?" " That." "What, that, or that?" "Yours or mine?" "Mine." "Shit." "McSwain, this better be good!" "What, slow down a minute." "All right, I'll be right there." "Shit!" "What is it?" "A triple murder in Storyville." "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." "It's okay." "I never did have much luck with sex anyway." "Your luck is about to change." "Oh boy, ooo-la-la!" "How long does a murder take?" "A couple of hours at least." "Come back." "You sure?" "I'm sure." "We'll talk about the Angelo case." "Sure!" "Oh!" "Hey, Hollywood, why don't you call your mother on the phone." "She hadn't heard from you in over a week." "Hey, when the hell you going to make an honest woman of her?" "She ain't going to marry me until I retire." "Yeah, that'll be the day." "What, we got a carnival going on here or what?" "Hey, what the hell's going on?" "There's a couple of kids spreading a rumor that the killers were in an unmarked police car." "Great, that's all we need." "Don't be looking at us 'cause you all did it!" "All right to roll him over, lieutenant?" "Yeah, roll away." "Whooo!" "Jamaal Washington, huh?" "Hey, Jack, everything under control out there?" "Oh yeah, the riot's kind of turned into a party." "Oh man, I love this town." "You remember Miss Anne Osborne." "It's very nice to see you again." "Yeah, you too." "The D.A.'s office is interested since there's an allegation of police officer involvement." "You believe every rumor you hear?" "Do you have any evidence one way or the other?" "Right now we got two unknown white male suspects, not officers, suspects." "And one unsubstantiated rumor." "Anything on the victims yet?" "Yeah." "You don't want to see this guy." "He kind of lost his face." "We have to wait for a fingerprint I.D. on him." "The third victim I think is a Nobliet brother, also narcotics and runner for Daddy Mention." "Who's Daddy Mention?" "He handles the black side of narcotics." "Vinnie "The Cannon", you met him the other day, he's got the white action." "Anne." "Why don't you believe the killers were cops?" "If they were cops, they would have stayed here." "When we arrived we would have found plants: guns, knives, all kinds of evidence that they resisted arrest." "Something every cop knows how to do." "Doesn't surprise me." "You probably know how to bribe a jury too; don't you?" "Even though you probably never have, huh?" "Hey, Remy, look what I got." "It feels like about a kilo." "That's great work, Dodge, really great work." "Hey!" "Why don't we pass it around and all put our fingerprints on it?" "What's this?" "Heroin, Mexican brown." "Somebody's been using shotguns here, so..." "I figure Tandino." "Carmine Tandino, hit man for Vinnie "The Cannon."" "Shotguns are his signature." "Resulting in spaghetti sauce." "Captain, you want to take over here." "I think I should take Miss Osborne home." "Oh, thank you very much." "Watch your step." "Don't they make a lovely couple." "Hey, we'll go to my apartment." "It's closer, all right?" "Huh?" "After a while you get used to stuff like that." "You get hardened." "Everybody gets sick the first time." "Don't be embarrassed." "I'll be fine." "Let me know if you're going to throw up, I'll pull over." "I'm not going to throw up." "You think Carmine Tandino killed those men tonight, right?" "Even with your head in the toilet you still want to talk business?" "Yeah, I think Carmine Tandino killed those boys tonight." "Therefore, they must have murdered Freddy Angelo." "I'd say you're right again." "What does that do to your theory that the Angelo murder was a message for Vinnie "The Cannon" to retire?" "Now we know who sent it, Daddy Mention." "Now we're dealing with something more than one wise guy killing another wise guy." "Well, we sure are." "What's that supposed to mean, huh?" "Is Carmine Tandino the only person in the world who uses a shotgun to kill people?" "No, but he's one of the few who turns a profit at it." "You don't think the cops had anything to do with this?" "Cops don't do that sort of thing." "Not even the rad cops." "You're always accusing the cops of everything." "Okay, then how do you explain..." "Hey, hey, hey," "How do you feel now, huh?" "Does this stuff ever get to you?" "Who me?" "Bullets bounce off me." "You are never afraid?" "All the time." "Look out for the gator, baby." "Ahhhh!" "Oh shit, who are you?" "I'm Bobbie, Remy's brother." "You scared the hell out of me!" "Where did you come from?" "I spent the night here on the couch." "Oh my god, excuse me." "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you." "Hey, I just went down to get us some breakfast." "I'm sorry, I'm really late for a meeting." "I have to get to work." " Hey, I'll drive you down there." " It's okay, I'll take a cab." " Did you meet my brother?" " Kind of." "Hey, sugar, is something wrong?" "What's for breakfast?" "Your ass!" "Jesus Christ, Remy, you scared the shit out of me!" "Don't just walk into an interrogation room without knocking, man!" "Where are the Storyville witnesses?" "Hi." "I heard you dudes saw something last night in Storyville around the time those three guys got stovepiped." "They said you saw an unmarked police car." "What are you talking about ?" "We was home watching TV." "We didn't see nothing." "Andre, take their statements;" "then let them go home." "You be nice to Andre." "That's "we didn't see nothing."" ""We was home watching TV." Is that right, gents?" "Get me out of here;" "I hate this job!" "Property's a dirty job, Dewey." "You're next in line." "Remy, remember the guy who lost his face last night?" "Look what the morgue guys found in his pocket." "Ah, Freddy Angelo's drivers license." "Beautiful, I knew those guys killed Freddy." "All right." "And what time did he leave?" "You're sure?" "Bop-bop-a-do-bop-bop." "Carmine Tandino has an airtight alibi." "He was at Moscos with his wife and half his family until four a.m." "I've got 12 witnesses who corroborate his story." "You know who owns Moscos;" "Carmine Tandino's nephew." "It's a very popular spot for alibis." "I'm going to talk to Carmine myself." "Remy, I got Anne Osborne on line." "Do you want me to tell her you're not here?" "No, I'll take it myself." " I can tell her you're not here." " No, really, I'll take it." "Miss Osborne, I haven't got the forensics or the ballistics report back yet, so..." "I didn't call about that." "Look, Remy, I'm very sorry about this morning;" "About the way I just ran out like that." "Me too." "I'm sort of confused." "Oh no, don't be confused, no." "Things like last night don't happen to me." "Me either." "Oh, please." "No, I mean it, I really do." "I know too much about your reputation to believe you." "God!" "You want to get out of my office, huh?" "Anne Osborne." "Look, I'm going to take you to lunch." "You look into my eyes and tell me whether you believe me or not." "No, I can't." "Oh, great, then I'm going to make us a reservation for Antoine's for one o'clock." "What did she want?" "Who, Anne?" ""Anne" he calls her." "She's got everybody around here scared shitless, and he calls her "Anne" for Christ's sakes!" "I think that woman is using the Angelo murder as an excuse to come sniffing around our widows..." "Shhh!" "Widows and orphans fund." "Why don't you relax, son." "Remy's got the lady wrapped around his finger." "Which reminds me, what's the beef?" "I got a call from the Sho-bar on Bourbon Street." "There's a new owner in there." "He's having some trouble, and he wants to talk to you." "I got laryngitis." "He's got this thing about rank." "He don't talk to no sergeant or flat foot." "Hey, hey, don't you look at me, Lou." "I got to go talk to Carmine Tandino." "Oh, come on, for the widows and orphans." "It will take you five minutes." "It's on your way." "All right, dude, but you owe me one, huh?" "Oh!" "Watch out, loose ball." "Ohhh!" "Oh, you!" "That's 2OO bucks." "I'm looking for George Joel." "You got him." "I think your mother is calling you down there." "I heard you wanted to talk to somebody." "I wanted to see the captain." "Hey, wait a minute, please." "Come back;" "I didn't mean to offend you." "I got a different cop in here every night shaking me down." "I can't stay in business like that." "You got cops in here bothering you?" "Why don't you just send them to me?" "Don't get me wrong;" "I'll pay, one guy, once a month, not have cops jumping all over me." "Settle down, all right;" "I'll take care of it." "I'll give you a number you can call anytime, okay." "I knew you were the right guy to talk to." "What's this?" "It's my way of saying thanks." "You wearing a wire?" "Help, help!" "Hold it, freeze!" "Get down!" "Internal Affairs, hold it!" "What's he chewing?" "Spit it out!" "Chew all you want, asshole." "We've got everything on video tape." "Miss Osborne, a telephone call." "Jesus, can't I leave the office for an hour?" "What?" "I'm sorry, what?" "Step up." "Hold it, hold it." "I got to talk with this man." "Cut him loose here." "What's the special treatment?" "Come on, man!" "Yeah, he's a cop." "What the hell happened?" "They set a trap, and I got caught." "The thing that Dodge was talking about?" "That was supposed to be me." "I can handle it." "I got Lamar Parmentel to defend you." "Lamar?" "I know, he's beat your brains a thousand times, but he knows what he's doing." "The guys have agreed the widows and orphans fund is paying his fees." "You want to keep your voice down, Jack, man." "Thanks." "Make room and be quiet." "Remy." "We take care of our own, remember that." "I'm going to take care of it." "I'll give you a number you can call anytime." "We got the bribery conviction locked up." "I don't know, it skirts the edge of entrapment." "If we get the wrong judge, he'll throw the case out." "Maybe he'll want to make a deal." "I don't think we should offer a deal now." "We should get a conviction, then we can offer a deal." "Anne, I want you to ask for very high bail." "Let him sweat a little." "Help, help!" "All rise." "These are the custodies?" "Be seated." "Okay, what have we got?" "Tibido." "There are two Tibidos, your honor." "Unrelated cases." "All right, sit down, we'll get back to both of you." "You; you look familiar." "Well, I'm certainly sorry to see you before me, lieutenant." "Extortion, bribery." "Do you have counsel?" "I'm his counsel, your honor." "We waive rights and plead not guilty." "We petition the court for the earliest possible date for a preliminary hearing." "Now, the 22nd is the earliest date I've got." "Your honor, everyday my client is suspended from the force does great damage to his reputation," "As well as to the on-going investigations he's conducting." "All right." "We can get you in day after tomorrow before Judge Garrison," "If that's all right with the state?" "We're ready, your honor." "Your honor, giving due weight to the seriousness of the charges against a public official, the state asks for bail in the amount of $5O,OOO." "Your honor, the defendant has been a police officer for 11 years and has very strong ties to the community." "Bail is set at $5OO." "All right, Tibido, Andrew." "That girl is after your ass." "Why don't you let me try to make a deal." "What kind of a deal?" "Plead you guilty to unlawful acceptance of a gratuity." "Is that a misdemeanor?" "A felony, you'll get maybe three months jail time." "One felony conviction and I'm off the job." "What kind of a life is that?" "I'm a cop, it's all I know how to do." "Remy, Remy, they've got a video tape." "Did you ever see a jury watch a video tape?" "It's like watching Mike Wallace on "6O minutes."" "Lamar," "I can't go to jail." "Can I help you?" "Yeah, I called about... a nickel magnet." "Yeah, I got it right here." "You're not wearing a quartz watch, are you?" "What?" "It's a powerful magnet." "If you're wearing a quartz watch it will ruin it." "I ain't got no time for no watch." "Good, 183." "Yeah, I know." "Hey, brother." "Hey, what's the matter?" "Don't you recognize your own brother, brother?" "Jesus, Remy!" "You know Mardi Gras ain't till February." "What are you doing in that get up?" "Oh, a little undercover work." "I thought you were suspended." "Who told you that?" "Mama." "She said you were framed." "Look, this is hard as hell for me to explain to you." "You don't have to explain anything to me." "Look, I want to be honest with you." "In this particular case," "It was a setup." "But, I've been on the take in little-bitty ways since practically the first day on the job." "I know that." "Oh, yeah?" "Who told you?" "What do you think, I'm stupid?" "Nobody had to tell me." "I know you give mama the money for my tuition." "It sure don't come out of your salary." "I'm just glad I can finally thank you." "I didn't want you to know about that." "I remember once, I must have been about six or seven," "I was looking in daddy's pocket for a candy bar, and I found seven to eight $1O dollar bills." "You knew about daddy?" "Yeah, I knew about daddy and all the relatives." "I just..." "I figured it was understood." "I didn't understand it." "What?" "I didn't have any idea daddy was on the take" " until I was on the job myself." " Are you serious?" "You were eight years old when daddy died." "I should have asked you." "It's not too late;" "want to ask me anything else?" "Sex?" "Drugs?" "Have you been having sex?" "Don't you want to introduce your mama to your lawyer, son?" "Mama, this is Lamar Parmentel." "Ah, the renowned queen of the McSwain Clan." "How delightful to finally meet you in the flesh." "I know all about you, Lamar." "You're the man that got the governor acquitted." "I know you're going to to do a fine job defending my Remy." "Yeah, mama, yeah." "Of course, you know about his outstanding record and the citations they gave him?" "Did he ever tell you about saving the drowning boy?" "The baby was in the water." "Hey, where you at?" "Who is that?" "That's the prosecuting attorney, mama." "Yeah, ain't she cute?" "Oh, yeah." "Oye, oye, oye, criminal district court, section 8, city of New Orleans, is now in session." "The Honorable Jim Garrison presiding." "What occurred next?" "I saw George Joel hand the defendant the white envelope." "I saw it very clearly." "And what did the defendant do?" "He accepted the envelope." "And from the balcony you weren't able to hear the conversation between this George Joel and the defendant, isn't that the case?" "Yes, sir." "You testified there were eight $5O bills in the envelope?" "That's correct." "Can you produce this money in court?" "Sir, the defendant dropped the money in the center of the crowded bar." "It was clear the people in the bar took it, but we just couldn't search everybody that was there." "Thank you." "Mr. Joel, did the defendant promise that these uniformed officers would stop harassing you?" "Yeah, if I'd pay him, he would." "What would happen if you did not make this payment?" "If I don't pay, the police close me down." "Oh!" "Have you ever been arrested?" "The prosecution stipulates the witness is currently under indictment." "I'm sure I don't have to remind the court that clergymen and bankers are seldom witnesses at criminal trials." "Is it not true that you would say anything the prosecution wanted to avoid being sent to prison?" " Yeah." " Objection!" " I mean no." " Sustained." "Lieutenant, you said you went to the tavern to see an informer?" "Yes, ma'am." "Now if you were engaged in your duties as a police officer, why did you run away from the Internal Affairs officer?" "He did not identify himself as a police officer." "I thought he was a mugger." "Were you armed?" "Yes, ma'am." "And you ran away from a mugger?" "I was calling for assistance, which is proper police procedure." "Was it also proper police procedure to chew and swallow the envelope that Mr. Joel gave to you?" "What envelope?" "Lieutenant, earlier today officer Crinky swore under oath that he saw you accept an envelope from Mr. Joel." "Were you here for that testimony?" "Yes, ma'am." "Are you calling your fellow officer a liar, lieutenant?" "No, I just don't know what envelope you're talking about." "The envelope Mr. Joel gave you containing eight $5O bills." "Objection, your honor." "Counsel is drawing conclusions." "Sustained." "The $5O bills you threw in the air, the envelope you ate!" "Objection!" "Sustained." "I have no further questions." "The witness may step down." "Your honor, tomorrow the prosecution will present a video tape that will not only corroborate every state's witness, but will refute every statement the defendant has made." "And show that in addition to the crime charged, the defendant has per jured himself before this court." "This court is adjourned until 1O o'clock tomorrow morning." "It's 3:00 in the morning." "Yes, but this is McCabe;" "sorry to bother you." "But somebody just blew up Carmine Tandino's warehouse," " With him in it." " No kidding!" "There's another body too, nobody knows him." " Maybe you can make him." " I'll be right down." "I don't think you better come down here." "Deputy Soup is talking to the TV guys." "Film at 11:00, huh?" "Meet us at the morgue in an hour." "Hey, it's a free country, isn't it?" "I'll meet you at the scene in 15 minutes." "Anne Osborne." "Carmine Tandino was just killed at his warehouse down on the Third Street wharf." "I thought you would want to know." "Hey, Remy." "Pssst, come here, come here." "Oh, Remy, I told you not to come." "I'm not here; where are the bods?" "This way." "It looks like the killer set a fire to destroy the bodies." "The fire explodes a drum of paint thinner, and the explosion blows out the fire." "How did you identify Tandino?" "Oh, yeah, he had a glass eye, way to go!" "Ain't that a beautiful shooter." "This is the guy we can't make." "He must have been hiding here when they killed Tandino." "Oh god!" "Hey, I know him, that's Tandino's older brother." "I didn't know he had a brother." "Yeah, the poor guy's retarded." "The family kept him at home." "He did a little work sweeping up the warehouse." "Oh man, now they're killing retards." "Then why ain't you dead?" "This is where they work up-- watch your step!" "...the Mardi Gras stuff and all that." "Some of these..." "Hold it." "You okay?" "Who does this remind you of?" "That's for the World's Fair." "They got about 1O or 12 pieces of the thing." "Let me show you this one cause when I was a kid we used..." "Wait, hey!" "Miss Osborne, are you sure that you want to see this?" "What the hell is this man doing here?" "What the hell is this man doing here?" "Better yet, what are you doing here?" "Yeah, what are you doing here?" "I got an anonymous call." "Anne." "They ripped the heart right out of his chest." "Why would they do a thing like that?" " Voodoo." " Daddy Mention." "The heroin dealer?" "And voodoo priest." "That's Daddy Mention's thing." "Yeah, the heart of your enemy makes you strong." "So, what you're saying is that Daddy Mention killed Carmine Tandino?" "Supporting your theory that Tandino murdered Daddy Mention's men the other night." "What we got here is a cute little drug war." "Doesn't satisfy you, Miss Osborne?" "Not particularly, no." "I'll see you in court tomorrow, McSwain." "That's a woman for you, Jack, never satisfied." "Order in the court." "All remain seated." "What's her problem?" "It seems her key piece of evidence was erased when a powerful magnet was placed beside it in the police property room." "Really?" "What, the video tape?" "Unusable?" "New Orleans is a marvelous environment for coincidence." "Your honor, because the key piece of evidence has been suspiciously tampered with, the state is compelled to drop its charges against Lieutenant McSwain." "The defendant is ordered released and bond is vacated." "Court is adjourned." "All right!" "Great job!" "Lamar, Lamar." "Wonderful!" "I told you I'd get him off." "Miss Osborne." "Yes." "Would you come with me, please." "What, where?" "I really can't tell you right now." "Is this supposed to be a joke?" "No, it's no joke, my friend." "Well, am I under arrest?" "What are the charges?" "Well, you were jaywalking over there, and when you ran across the bridge, that's trespassing." "And that I'm going to call resisting arrest." "You don't happen to be a relative of Remy McSwain's by any chance?" "Look, Cher, listen to your uncle Solse, put your pretty face in the car." "I thought so." "Whooo!" "Do these cajuns know how to throw a party or what?" "Yeah." "Listen all, I want to be serious with you for a minute." "Most of you all know that a policeman's life is made up of short pay, long hours, mortal danger and very little thanks from the public which we serve." "Every once in a while, we win one." "Every once in a while justice triumphs!" "Remy, come here!" "I want you to raise your cup or your glass, raise your nose if you have to." "I give you the police department of the city of New Orleans." "And the fire department." "Yeah!" "Okay, the fire department too." "Hey, get some of this food over here." "We done burned 1O chickens, I don't know what all." "Come on, let's party." "Now you're adding kidnapping and false arrest to your list of crimes?" "You're not under arrest." "Did Uncle Solse give you that impression?" "Uncle Solse, apologize." "I'm sorry for that little misunderstanding." "I suppose now you're going to tell me I'm free to go." "You're free to go any time you want." "Where is the telephone?" "Up on the porch, I'll show you." "I'll get it myself." "Oh, that pretty girl's got a mad on." "Hey, look at this." "Where is she coming from?" "She got some nerve!" "Hey, Anne, I thought you were great in court today." "I want to be a lawyer too." "I lost!" " What the hell is she doing here?" " A pushy broad, I told you." "Hey, look at this." "Yeah, she don't look bad in shorts, no." "When can you be here?" "Fine." "You were saying some pretty hard things about my boy in that courtroom today." "Yes, I did." "He's a good boy." "He could be a lot better, Mrs. McSwain." "Are you gonna help him with that?" "You got your work cut out for you." "What did he do, drag you out of the bathtub, or what?" "No, I was running." "Running?" "Dance with me, come on dance with me." "No." "I cut a hell of a rug, you know." " Come on." " Take your hand off me." "Come on, dance with the boy." "Dance with him." "Aren't you gonna look at me?" "Are you satisfied?" "Are you still mad at me, huh?" "You don't get it, do you?" "You're a cop, you're supposed to uphold the law." "But instead you bend it and twist it and sell it." "I saw you take that bribe and resist arrest and per jure yourself under oath." "Don't forget I ran a red light too." "You still think it's funny, don't you." "Why don't you face it, Remy, you're not one of the good guys anymore." " Remy, good to see you back." " Hey, dudes." "I want you to do me a favor." "Sure, Remy, anything you need." "Take me off the widows and orphans fund." "Jesus Christ, Remy, what do you mean?" "I don't mean nothing, just take me off." "The widows and orphans will do just fine without me." "Hey, don't even think about it." "Remy, look at this." "What's this?" "Retirement papers, you finally did it." "As of December 31, you're the ranking officer of the homicide bureau." " The fight is yours, baby." " I don't believe you." "Your mother didn't believe it either." "Are you finally gonna marry the girl?" "New Year's day." "I'd be honored if you'd be my best man." "You bet I would, you little huggy bear, you." "Bye, daddy." "What's so funny?" "Come here." "Dodge, De Soto, McCabe, Foster, in my office." "Welcome back, Remy." "Foster has an interesting angle on the Freddy Angelo murder." "Second division pulled two floaters out of the canal last night." "They turned out to be mexican deep sea fisherman." "Suffering from an acute case of lead poisoning." "They worked out of Vera Cruz with long records of smuggling." "What's this got to do with Freddy Angelo?" "It turns out mexican customs had a wire tap on both of these guys." "And guess who their last phone was from?" "Freddy Angelo." "That's right." "We know Freddy Angelo was in Vera Cruz three days before he was killed." "Narcotics said that Freddy never dealt with anything less than 2O or 3O kilos." "That can explain a gang war." "One kilo of heroin always seemed kind of small time for all these people to get killed over." "But 2O or 3O, that makes a lot more sense." "Where's the rest of it, huh?" "Did anybody talk to Daddy Mention?" "What is he gonna tell us?" ""Come on in, fellas," "it's in the back under the sink."" "Come on." "Hello in there." "Hey, don't!" "It's not what he says, it's what you hear, Einstein." "Daddy Mention's the number one suspect in a string of murders, and you don't even talk to the guy." "We all know it's a gang war." "Daddy Mention is trying to move in on Vinnie's action." "That sounds neat, but I don't buy it no more." "Why not, it works for me." "Anne Osborne." "What the hell does she know about it?" "I don't know what she knows about it, but she knows something, which is a lot more than you guys." "You haven't done shit since I've been gone." "They're doing our job for us." "One creep kills another creep, that's one less to worry about." "Why not let them wipe each other out?" "Because we're the police." "We've got guns and we're supposed to be the good guys." "I'm going to talk to Daddy Mention myself." "All those dinners with Osborne and you still don't know what she knows." "Remy, you're losing your touch." "You should become a defense lawyer, my dear." "You meet more colorful people." "You're going to love Daddy Mention." "He's a doctor of roots, fruits and snoots." "You don't have any scruples at all, do you, Lamar." "Is there anybody that you wouldn't represent?" "Darling, every man is entitled to the best defense money can buy." "Oh, there you are." "I thought I lost you." "Why does Daddy Mention want to see me?" "Actually, it was my idea." "I thought you might be interested in what he had to say about the rash of killings we've had of late." "I know you've been looking into one or two of them." "Daddy's expecting us." "Daddy, this is the young woman I was talking about." "Well, well, well." "Anne Osborne, Daddy Mention." "How do you do, Mr. Daddy ...Mention." " Excuse my left-hand." " Are they all yours?" "21 children and 14 grandchildren." "I got lost in one of those bible verses that says, "be fruitful and multiply."" "I didn't read any further." "You kids run out," "Daddy's gonna talk some business." "You're a very lovely lady." "Thank you very much." "But let's get down to business, shall we." "Mr. Parmentel tells me you're looking into the murder of them Italian boys." "Carmine Tandino and Freddy Angelo, as well as Jamaal Washington and Michael and Darnel Nobliet." "All of them allegedly worked for you." "That's what I want to talk to you about." "The police are putting out this story that there is a gang war going on." " Do you believe that?" " What do you believe?" "My people didn't kill no Freddy Angelo or what's his name Tandino and cut his heart out." " Then who did?" " I don't know." "But I know they're killing my people too." "Why didn't you go to the police with this?" "Daddy's had some unfortunate experiences talking with the police." "There's a policeman to see you, Daddy." "Give me a minute." "Thanks." "Lamar." "I didn't know you represented this sleazebag." "I only represent sleazebags, my boy." "What the hell are you doing here?" "I came by to talk to "Chubby."" "I don't know that he wants to talk to you." "I didn't know the two of you were like that." "There are a lot of things about me that you don't know." "Stay here!" "Out here!" "Daddy's been shot!" "No, no!" "Ahh!" "What's the big secret, Anne?" "And don't you bullshit me, now." "What evidence do you got on the Freddy Angelo murder, huh?" "So you're beginning to think cops were involved?" " Yeah." " Why?" "That was an unmarked police car." "It's a piece of shit four-door." "Besides, only cops drive like that." "What do you know?" "We have an eyewitness who saw two men in an unmarked police car dump Freddy Angelo's body into the Piazza D'Italia." "Why did they think it was an unmarked police car?" "They saw a blue light and a radio in the front seat." "Why did you withhold this information from the police?" "The police are the suspects." "Hey, get back." "Out of the street." "There isn't no gang war..." "Is there?" "So what are you gonna do about it?" "I don't know." "The police department is my family." "These people are killers, Remy." "What do you want me to do, go undercover in my own precinct house?" "No, I have a better idea." "Come on." "Anne, this is my cousin Frank," "Uncle Earnest." "you remember Uncle Solse, cousin Pete." "Guys, thanks for helping out." "Uncle Solse," "I want you to check everybody coming in or out, no matter who they are." "You got it, Remy." " Remy, what's going on?" " Ask her." "Are you the desk sergeant on duty?" "Do I look like the king of Mardi Gras?" "Then this is for you." "What the hell." "Hey, captain." "There's some broad here with a search warrant." "Do you believe this shit?" "Anybody who does not cooperate fully and cheerfully with this investigation will wish his mother and father never met." " Was your car damaged?" " It was in the lot for two days." "What was the nature of the damage?" "If you told me about this, we could have sent out invitations." " Is that car 17?" " Right." " What district?" " Seven." "Sorry, boys, I've got orders to pat everybody down." "Take out your weapons." "This lawyer is leading Remy around by his nose." " Try his dick." " Higher, Solse." "Don't you touch me, you dirty old man." "Everything." "Andre's afraid of the dark." "Dark my ass, it's a jungle out there." "If that don't work, I piss on them." "There it is, right there." "No, those are junkers over there." "That baby hasn't been out of here in three months." " Not a bad shot." " Thanks." "I want this car dusted for fingerprints." "You'll find mine all over the hood." "Are you gonna come over and clean up by my house?" "You're gonna pay for this, bitch." " Eat or work?" " Work." " My place or yours?" " Yours." "That way I can leave any time I want." "Did you find something?" "You look a little strange." "No, just fried oysters at 1:00 o'clock in the morning." "Why don't we just call it a night, huh." "Who are you calling?" "A cab." "Why don't you just stay here." "I'll sleep on the couch." "Thanks any way." "Oh, now." "Wait a minute." "You're gonna be over here first thing in the morning." "Hey, I won't try no "cha-cha," I promise." "The bed is yours, huh." "No thank you, but I'd rather go home." "Oh, Annie." "Are you gonna be pissed off at me for the rest of your life?" "Maybe." "Hey, can I get you anything?" "No thanks, I'll be asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow." "If I can't have you... can I have my gator?" "Freeze!" "What is this, "let's scare Bobby week?"" "You're gonna give me a heart attack before I'm 21." "Shhh, Anne is sleeping in the bedroom, be quiet." "And you're sleeping on the couch?" "Yeah, what about it." "Where am I supposed to sleep?" "I thought you college boys like sleeping on the floor." "Yeah, well, we don't." " Good morning." " Morning." "Hey Remy, is the coffee ready yet?" "We're all out of coffee." "Why don't you go get some coffee." " But it's pouring." " Take my raincoat." " I don't have any money." " Here's some money for you." "I want you to take a cab to the farthest place you can find and have a nice large breakfast." "I want you to take in a movie and I want you to give me a phone call." "Annie." "Oh." "We have to get back to work." "Absolutely." "Cha-cha, cha-cha." "What was that?" "Get away from the window!" "Do you see anything?" "Dial "911."" "Tell them shots fired at this address," "I'll meet them out on the street." "I'm a cop." "Bobby!" "He's dead." "Please." "Oh, my god." "Bobby!" "Hold that tight!" "Where are they?" "Call the hospital and tell them we're on our way!" "Move over!" "Oh, god." "Jack, they tried to kill my baby." "Is he gonna be all right?" "I've got to talk to you, Jack." "What is it?" "Nothing, mama, just police business." "Come on." "I was going over the logs last night." "Some of them have been tampered with." "Vehicle logs, patrol logs, arrest logs." "All different departments." "What's that tell you?" "Only someone in command has access to the files." "So that's either me or you." "Was it you?" "Who is it, Jack?" "You got a wire on?" "No wire." "Just you and me." "Family." "You've got a friend in Mexican Customs, don't you?" "You got that right." "What happened, once you found out about Freddy Angelo's heroin deal, you decided to rip him off and go into business for yourself?" "It was a good idea." "We got a lot of scum off the street with very little cost to the taxpayers." "Somebody shot my brother, Jack!" "They thought it was me, he was wearing my coat." "Jesus, you think I had something to do with that?" "You're like my own flesh and blood." "I don't know what happened." "Somebody panicked." "Who panicked?" "You've been behind this thing all the way from the beginning." "Freddy Angelo and the Mexicans." "Yeah, and Carmine Tandino and the boys in Storyville." " And Daddy Mention." " Garbage." "Where's the heroin, Jack?" "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." "There must be more than five million dollars worth." "It's a very big pie." "And you're entitled to a fair slice." "So why don't you take it and walk away." "You taught me a lot when I first came on the job." "What was okay, and what wasn't okay." "Is dealing heroin, okay, Jack?" "Is murder okay?" "I just wanted to go out a winner." "Thirty years." "Your daddy never cared anything about that." "All he wanted to do was chase the girls." "And he caught the best one." "I want to spend rest of my life with her." "You touch my mother again I'll kill you!" "You can't talk to me that way." "He's gonna be all right!" "Jack." "So Kellom has an alibi for every one of the killings." "Then somebody is pulling that trigger for him." "Don't you have any idea who it is?" "I've run out of ideas, Annie." "Charity Hospital, give me intensive care." "Mrs. McSwain, please." "Remy, I still can't believe it." "I can't believe it either." "He admitted it right to my face." "He was all the time so good to us, you know." "Take care of Bobby." "I'll call you later." "Bye, mama." "There's something you should know." "I had that magnet placed in the property room next to the video tape." "A guy owed me a favor." "And you promoted him." "You knew that too, huh." "Before I got promoted, I used to be a bag man for Kellom." "Just nickel and dime stuff." "You figure it's the system." "That it's not going to make a difference if you take a few hundred here and there." "You figure you deserve a good life." "For a decent living for doing a dirty job." "You tell yourself you can be just as good a cop." "I know." "But you can't." "Wait a minute." "Maybe we should look at this another way." "How did those two Mexican smugglers end up in the industrial canal?" "Came down from Lake Pontchartrain, I guess." "How did they get there?" "A fishing boat, probably." "Where's the boat?" "How are we supposed to know where to find the boat?" "Dodge and De Soto impounded a boat the night that Freddy Angelo was killed." "They're the killers, those two clowns." "Hey, captain." "You're crying all over our future." "We don't have any future, boys." "Maybe you don't." "We've got a plane to catch." "We've got to get rid of this shit." "Captain, just put the stuff down and get out of here." "We're dumping it." "We don't have to listen to you any more!" "I'm not gonna tell you again!" "Oh, shit." "Just stay here." "Ohhh!" "Oh, Jack." "Hey, Remy, where are you at?" "Throw the gun up on the deck." "Climb up on out of there." "We had a perfectly good situation here" "And you had to screw it up on us." "You turned on us, Remy." "I didn't turn on you." "What are you talking about?" "We're all family, aren't we?" " Can't we work something out?" " That's that old Remy." "What do you say, what's it gonna be?" "Move out on the dock." "I've got to hand it to you guys, the way you handled that situation." "I mean it was genius." "Real genius." "What do you take us for?" "Assholes." " You see them?" " I can't see a goddamn thing." "They've got to come up for air sometime." "The bitch is over here." "Come on." "What's that?" "He's on the other boat." "We got 'em now." "Next stop, Tahiti." "Andre!" "Remy?" " Are you all right?" " Uh-huh." "Jesus Christ, it's gonna blow!" "Run!"