"This way, mr." "Capone." "Hotel mezzani." " Keep the change - thanks." "Who are you?" "You're not my usual contact." "Your friend from the fbi won't be coming today, murray." "Don't worry, we won't kill you, murray." "The fbi has already got some of your records, but that's okay." "N o one'll believe a murderer." " I'm not a murderer." " You are now." " It must really be good." " I can't put it down." "Europe and the people without history." "An anthropological view that suggests europeans chronicled foreign peoples... and events through an alarmingly biased perspective." "Nigel, when was the last time you had a date?" "I don't know." "Relatively recently." "This year, i'm sure." "You see that girl sitting alone over there?" "She's been staring at you for a while now." "I hadn't really noticed." "I know." "You've got to be aware of what's out there, nigel." "Women have been sending signals since it all began." "When they're... playing sexual semaphore, you've got to know how to read the flags." "The flags?" "Now, this guy heading over here, he's got another problem." "H e's read... the signals all wrong." "Let's see what his opening line's going to be." "You sure are one heck of a good-iooking man." "I just never figured sydney fo x for a woman." "Oh." "I was told you find things, things of historical interest." "Sometimes." "Would a diamond-studded, forty-five calibre c olt model 1911, made specifically for al capone qualify?" "You're saying capone personally shot a man with this gun you mentioned?" "Yes." "But your grandfather was convicted of murder." "There were several witnesses who identified him as the trigger man." "They were bought." "H e died in prison." "Aaron, aside from the fact that you loved your grandfather... how can you be so certain he was innocent?" "Because he was." "Sometimes, you just know things about people." "You... you don't know how you know but you do - no matter who they are." "If i can't do something about it... my son is going to grow up under the same cloud that i did... that my father did." "He's beautiful." "The hotel roxbury is where my grandfather believed he hid the gun." "Capone was living there." "H e had the top three floors all to himself." "That ringy-dingy noise... it's called a phone and it wouldn't hurt you to answer it." "I'm busy here, claudia." "Right, and i'm not?" "Ancient history." "She is not going to be available for office hours for the next few days." "Got 'em." "Because, that's why." "There's twenty-two thousand, four hundred and fifteen references... to al capone." "Personal business, if you believe that one." "Any luck with the hotel records?" "H ardly." "They knew he stayed there, of course... but there's no record of which suites he used." "I am not being snotty." "Who was the owner of record?" "Walker c ompany, they were headquartered in st louis... went out of business after the war." "Claudia." "I just work here." "Around the time capone began staying there... it was sold to c rg limited." "It was a front probably." "Shortly afterwards, it looks like it was refurbished." "Sure." "Call me." "There is nothing in the hotel plans that even remotely indicates... the possibility of a vault." "What kind of refurbishment?" "It was only five years old." "The usual." "Carpets, drapes, swimming pool." "Swimming pool?" "What was wrong with the old one?" "As far as i can tell, nothing." "You know, i think i've heard of this capone guy." "Thank you." "Thanks." "Magnificent." "Magnificent." "And they are going to tear this down for an office building?" "Oh, yeah, i forgot to tell you, we're married." "What?" "I think i'm owed an opportunity to discuss this." "We were lucky to get one room." "The hotel's full." "Hi, reservations for mr and mrs sydney fox." "You could have at least used my name." "I am the husband." "Where's the pool?" "Oh, we don't have one." " thank you." " thank you." "If you don't have a preference, i'll take the left." " I'm not sure i..." " the bed, the side of the bed." " The left?" " The left for you or the left for me?" " I don't care." " Then i'll take the left." " Fine." " Fine." "N ow, if you could just... right." "I'm just going to go down to the gift shop and get something." "All right." "I'll change in meet you in the lobby." "We'll start exploring." "Fine." "H ere we go." "That's everything, all right?" "Three dollars." " Thank you." " Thank you." "I... i couldn't help noticing john le carre." "Yes." "I... i was just wondering if you recommend it." "Well, i don't know." "I haven't read it yet." "Of course." " You're english." " Yes." "Pool?" "Some swimming pool." " That is exactly what she said." " You've got to be joking." "I promise you." "A teacher, eighth grade world history?" "Well, world cultures is actually the politically correct term now." "It pays nothing, of course, but i love it." "Are you a history buff?" "My parents actually met at this hotel." "They always spoke about it with such affection, i was curious, you know, as to what kind of magic it held." "And then when i read that they were tearing it down, i just... it's not my thing at all." "I am not a spontaneous person... but i just drove down and checked in." "That's crazy, isn't it?" "I think it's very romantic." "I was lucky to get a room." "The hotel's completely sold out." " I know." " So what are you doing here?" "Research for a book about hotels, historic hotels." " Are you here alone?" " No, i'm here with someone." " Oh." " Oh, no, nothing like that... she's just my wife." "Well, i mean, she's not my wife at all, actually." "We just said that at check-in so we could sleep together." "Well, we're not actually sleeping together." "I mean... well, we are sleeping together." "She's on the left... look, this is coming out all wrong." "You see, the problem is that the hotel is completely..." " sold out." " Sold out." " I should go." " Right." "Well... right." " If you have any free time..." " i'd like that, yes." "Your friend's late." "Still freshening up, no doubt." "Very particular about her appearance." "Ex cuse me, i seem to have misplaced my key." "Twelve-sixteen." "H ow about those cubs, huh?" "H ello?" "Aaron." "Sure, in the lobby?" "Okay." "Aaron just called." "H e found some things he wants to show us." "I met the most remarkable woman." "Got to get in there, n igel, got to take a shower." " i read the signs perfectly, sydney." " need it now, nige." "I really think you're going to hit it off with her, sydney." "Aren't you curious where i've been?" " What are you doing?" " Only have forty-five minutes." " And?" " I'm in a hurry." "I'm in the shower." "To be honest with you, n igel, i don't see the problem." " You can't just barge in here." " It's a big shower." " It's not that big." " I don't take up that much room." "I don't care how much room you take up." "It's not... it's not... it's not fair." "I was here first." "The carthaginians believed that communal bathing between... the sex es was a soothing extension of friendship, quite platonic." "Well, officer zale's career didn't suffer for arresting your grandfather." " What do you think?" " Not much here." "The gun your grandfather was carrying, there were no prints on it?" " They were wiped clean." " What about ballistics?" "There were so many eyewitnesses, they didn't even bother checking." "The cops were bought, too." "Well, don't forget we are talking about 1930 here." "You could get away without running ballistics if you had... a whole bunch of eyewitnesses, and a d.a. In your pocket." "Capone's gun could be checked for ballistics, though." "See you later." "I think were being followed." "Pick up the pace a little." "When i say... run." "Now!" " Nigel." " Laurie." "This one is full!" "Sydney, hi." "Some people just don't get it." "Something wrong?" "What?" "I had to get rid of them." "Did you have to be so flashy?" "It was reflex." "I don't understand, sydney." "I took your advice, i read the signals... i met a nice woman." "N ot only have you shown no interest... but you barely made eye contact with her." "I had a few other things on my mind at the time." "Okay, sure, i guess i am a little envious." "It's what you do after you read the signals that matters the most, n igel." "I'm not the expert i pretend to be." "You're a natural." "I've never got that part down." "So you want to get a divorce and go home?" " N o, i don't believe in divorce." " Then i guess we've got a gun to find." "My god." "N o wonder they closed the pool." " Capone's escape route." " That's what i thought." "I think he wanted people to think it was his escape route." "Why would capone have a generator in an escape route?" "H ear that?" "H ere, help me." "What are we looking for?" "Anything that moves." "Like this... what's this?" "A room of some kind." "There." "Al capone's bunker." "The man himself." "Going underground didn't exactly mean going without, did it?" "H e must have stayed here for weeks at a time." "While the police searched for him everywhere ex cept the place... he escaped from." "And right under their noses." "Balinese man of war cabinet, thirteenth century, i'd guess." "Village chieftains would keep their weapons here." "Ah." "Machine guns." "Machine guns?" "The thompson sub-machine gun, model 28 ac... also known as the tommy gun." "Fully automatic... capable of three hundred shots per minute designed to take... a forty-five calibre bullet." "It's a brilliant concept, revolutionary design." "You're scaring me, n igel." "I wonder what the chances are of it still firing?" "America cheered capone and booed h erbert h oover." "Officer zale's sure gets around." "This must be the office." "Laurie." "I am not a spontaneous person." "It's just that after your, you know... chop-chop, i just had to get back in that elevator." "And then i saw the plaque and the old hand crank and i pushed it and... and this isn't about a book, is it?" "Umm... we're historians trying to help someone whose grandfather... was framed by al capone." "And this was his bunker." "This is where he hid from all the gangsters who... were trying to blow his brains out... and the cops who wanted to put him in the slammer for life." "Got to find the gun." "I actually worked on an archaeological dig in the yucatan." "I mean, it was only a summer thing... but i am familiar with site ex cavation protocol." "All right, then, let's start digging." " nigel says you teach history." " Only eighth grade." "Only eighth grade?" "Are you kidding me?" " That was the year i discovered life." " What do you mean?" "My father was a civil engineer." "H e built dams and bridges all over the world." "My cradle was a cradle of civilisations." "Think i appreciated that?" " N o." " N o." "Anyway, he got a job for a year in san francisco." "It's the first time i went to public school." "My history teacher was mrs rosa." "She was amazing." "I know it sounds strange, but... somehow she made the life i was already living come to life for me." "The best for last, al capone's bed." " H e had money, he had power." " H e had syphilis." "There's something wrong with this headboard." "It's too big for the bed." "It's all out of scale." "Any luck?" "Oh... what's this?" "Capone's secret safe." "N ow." "Where is the key?" "I know this might be long shot, but i've noticed with my students... even though they've changed from the way i was like... they haven't changed in the basic ways, you know?" "They still want a boyfriend, they still want to listen to music that their parents hate... they still want to suck face... they still hide things the same way... gum, secret notes, keys to their diaries." "The bottoms of drawers." " It was a good theory." " Yeah." "There's one more, actually." "Wait a minute." "Geraldo didn't find anything." "The gun." "Looks like aaron was right." "It really does exist." "Oh, it's spectacular." "Browning c olt, model 1911 a-1, finest automatic pistol ever made." "Army brat... my dad was an artillery officer." "Then i'm sure he would appreciate you following orders." "You're under arrest." "This is all a mix up." "That business in the elevator." "We had no idea." " These people are historians." " That's right." "I'd say we're looking at trespassing, break-and-entering..." " and grand larceny." " N o, no, they're working on a case." "Laurie, save your breath, they're not going to arrest us." "You mean these police are... dirty i believe, is the adjective you're searching for." " come on." " I'd say the odds are about fifty-fifty." "Back in the bedroom." "N othing's going to get through that door." "They can't get in, we can't get out." "Let's get out of here." "Carbon mono xide?" "Capone would never have painted himself into a corner." "There's got to be a way out, a real escape tunnel." "I'm sorry." "It's not your fault." "I followed you here, remember?" "There's a good chance they may never find us." "When the hotel comes down, we'll be buried forever." "I think there's something kind of romantic about being in... a tomb together forever." " I..." " i know you." "You're not really a spontaneous person." "N one of these books look like they've ever been cracked." "Probably just here to impress someone." "And maybe to hide something." "Look for one that seems more worn than the others, even just a little... like this one." "The edges of the spine are duller than the ones next to it." "A hand repeatedly pulling it out would do that." "Great expectations." "Show the hotel manager the bunker, then call police." "Right." "H ere, it was in the bunker." "Check out the guy on capone's left." "That's the cop that arrested murray shiner." "Lawrence zale, went on to become one of the most distinguished... chiefs of police in chicago history." " H e was working for capone." " Yes." "Let's go and see how the chief is spending his retirment." "You needn't bother." "H e's dead." "You are hard to get rid of." "U nlike murray shiner?" "Murray was an honest accountant with a conscience." "What was his problem?" "H e died in the line of duty." "Someone was breaking into the house." "I called him, he was shot, by you, with this gun." "Your passion for poor aaron's bizarre story finally led you to cross the line." "But before he died, he managed to kill both of us." "Yes, of course." "I... i'm not sure i... we're been framed, n igel, like murray shiner." "I've got to hand it to you, chief." "You always manage to have all your bases covered." "All of us have our mistakes we regret." "I can't let one of mine destroy my place in history." " Why didn't he shoot you?" " I'm not worried about that." "N o, i guess you wouldn't be." "Grandson, is it?" "Law enforcement has always been a tradition in the zale family." "So is murder." "Just to keep you abreast of the facts, chief... the woman that was with us is out talking to the good guys right now." "Yes, i thought she might." "I'm so sorry." "They must have overheard me." "Don't sweat it." "Men and their guns..." "what a bore." "If only we could turn the tables on them for once." "She's beautiful, chief." "What are you going to do with her?" "Keep her or destroy her?" "That gun is seventy years old." "So was the thompson, as your grandson knows." "Still, you've got to figure the numbers twice - the chances of it still working, and the chances of it having a shell in the chamber." " I can pay you well, you know." " I know." "U nfortunately, i'm priceless." "Checking out." "Mr and mrs fo x." "Of course." "Do you need any help with your bags?" "N o, my husband will take care of that." "Was everything all right for the two of you?" "C ouldn't be more perfect." "We found exactly what we were hoping we would." "Sydney, thank you so much." "You were everything i'd hoped you'd be." "I was happy to do it, aaron, especially for the baby." "I... often have guest speakers come to my class." " Is that right?" " That's right." "Ancient history." "Claudia, it's sydney." "Hold on." "Got it, yeah." "What's up?" "Anything i should know about?" "Let's see." "Max came out with this really cool, new shade." "It's kind of in the plum family." "About school, claudia." "No." "You know, i still cannot place this capone guy."