"Hello." " Hi, honey." "I'm home." " How are you?" "Me?" "Oh, I'm fine." "Just a normal day, cooking, cleaning... waiting for my husband to come home and give me a great, big... television set." " Ah." "How was your day?" " Oh, fine." "I had one case of depression, one case of crying jag... a migraine headache and a case of hysterical acting." "In other words, normal." "Except for the migraine headache." "That was mine." "The only thing that got me through was the thought that I would be able to spend..." "Monday night alone with you, dear." ""That's the end of the action-packed first quarter..." "Now the score is Bears 21,Vikings 21."" "Oh, great." "I only missed six touchdowns... or 14 field goals." " Bob, your mother called." " I'll call her tomorrow." " She called twice." " I'll call her twice tomorrow." " And Ben called about the card game." " I'll call him tomorrow." "And Joliet Prison called." "Joliet Prison?" "What are they calling me about?" " You get the number?" " It's right over there on the pad." "I wonder why they want to talk to me." ""Mr. Freeman."" "Did he sound mad?" "No." "He just said call and ask for that number." "Joliet Prison?" "Could you connect me with, 1596?" "Not the man, the extension." "Mr. Freeman?" "Yeah, this is Dr. Hartley." "Yes, I've heard about your rehabilitation program." "Well, I'm honored you'd ask me to help." "What night would that be?" "Monday night." "Gee, Monday night is the only night I get to spend alone with my wife." "21-21." "Yeah, well, could I think about it and call you back?" "Will you still be at this number?" "Could you speak up a little?" "I can't hear you over the sirens." "Some of the boys are taking a break?" "Making a break." "Yeah, I understand why you have to run." "Fine." "I'll talk to you later." "Bob, what'd he want?" "Oh, they want a psychologist to work with their parolees." " You think you're gonna do it?" " Well, I don't know, Emily." "Three nights of the week, I'm busy." "Tuesday and Thursday, I've got group." "Wednesday is free clinic, and, Monday night" "Oh, well." "Don't worry, honey." "It's a good cause." "You can give up your Monday nights with me." "Well, let's see how the Bears do." "Incredible!" "Well, you saw it." "There's certainly nothing I can add to that." "Bears 31 , Vikings 28." " Now, here's the kickoff." " Bob!" "Emily!" " My apartment's been robbed!" " That's all right." "You can watch the game here." " I'm not kidding." "I've been robbed." " You're kidding." " I'm not kidding." " You're kidding." "Oh Howard, you know how you are." "You have a tendency to misplace things." "How do you misplace a 3,000-pound water bed?" "Come on." "I'll show you." "He takes the snap." "The blitz is on." "It's a play-action pass out to the flat- complete." "It looks like it's gonna be out-of-bounds for short yardage." "Wait a minute!" "What a move!" "Touchdown!" "The place looks as bare as the day you moved in." " Barer." "When I moved in, I had drapes." " Oh." "They sure did a good job, didn't they?" "Yeah." "Look at this." "They took my name off the door." "All they left is my vacuum cleaner." "Well, now would be a good time to clean your rugs, Howard." "Wrong." "It's broken." "Howard, have you called the police?" "Call the police?" "Look at this." "They took my phone." "It must have happened when I was in Paris." "How did they know I was out of town anyway?" "Howard, they see a guy walking out of an apartment building carrying three suitcases... they know he's not going for a newspaper." "Bob, do you think that's how they really do it... just watch and wait in the shadows like that?" "It gives you the creeps to think that the underworld is out there... just lurking, waiting to pounce on you." " What about the bedroom?" "They hit that?" " Yeah." "Boy, I tell you, those guys are real pros." "All they left is a puddle where my water bed used to be." "They even took my plastic lawn furniture." "And my plastic lawn." "All that's left is the view." "You're fully insured, aren't you, Howard?" "No, I don't know who my insurance company is." "My policy was in my former desk." "I don't know what to do." "Where do you start?" "How do you decorate an apartment around a vacuum cleaner?" "Howard, now, don't worry." "You have insurance." "When you get the money, you'll get all-new furniture." "I'll help you pick it out, and it'll look nicer than it ever did." "Didn't you like my furniture before?" "Oh, honey, I meant it'll look newer than it did before." "I mean, Howard, I always thought you needed more plants there... and maybe a functional sofa here." "No, I think the sofa would be over here where the desk was." "I think you'd like a Parsons table over there." "What do you think, Bob?" "Well, it's kind of hard to redecorate air." "I think you ought to call the police... and tell them to be on the lookout for a leaky furniture truck." "That's a good idea." "I'll go down to the police station and file a report." "I've gotta stop by the surplus store and get a sleeping bag." "Howard, don't do that." "You can sleep on our sof a." "There are, a few other sof as I'd like to try first." "Well, look, I'll see you, okay?" "Howard, is there anything we can do for you?" "Would you keep an eye on the place for me?" "You know, Bob, I don't care what the mayor says." " I think there's a lot of crime in Chicago." " Right." ""So much for the game's highlights of the first half." "Now let's go back down to the field... where we join the Clokey High School Marching Band... and their salute to kitchen utensils."" "You know, when something like this happens... it makes you feel so vulnerable." "I don't think our chain lock is enough." "In New York, they have chains and triple locks and iron bars." " Maybe we ought to move to New York." " We ought to get a new lock." "I'll buy a new lock, but I really think the one we have is good enough." "Howard." "Gee, I'm sorry, Emily." "You usually don't keep your door chained." " Why bother?" " What did the police say, Howard?" "Well, I didn't talk to them." "Bob, I need you to drive me down to the police station." "What for?" "My car was stolen." "Emily, when I get back, remind me to call Joliet Prison." "I didn't know they caught them that fast." "No, this is something else, Howard." "Emily, keep track of the highlights for when I get back." "Sure, Bob." "The pass is in the air." "It's a long bomb." "McKinsey's free in the corner of the end zone." "He leaps high in the air" "Um, Carol, Miles Lascoe isn't here yet?" "Well, no, Bob." "Bob, I'll tell you when he gets here." "I've never withheld a patient from you." "Bob, are you nervous about something?" "I guess I'm a little nervous." "It's the first time I ever worked with a parolee." "If I knew what he looked like, I could recognize him." "You want me to call the post office and get a description?" "Carol, I don't need people running around making jailbird jokes." "Hey, Bob, is the crook here yet?" "Miles Lascoe is not a crook." "What's he in jail for, littering?" "I don't know." "He's bringing his file." "They'll probably go easy on you." "It's your first time." "You're just a beginner." "They'll probably send you someone like a little accountant turned embezzler." "Maybe a forger." "They must think a lot of you, Bob." "They sent you a hit man." "Uh-Uh" "I'll just- To the ladies' room." "Just" " Hi." " Hi." "Are you the doctor?" "Yes." "How do you do?" "I'm glad you're here... and I'm sure I'll be able to help you." "You didn't, You didn't bring your file." "All this wouldn't have happened if my kid brother hadn't hit me in the nose when I was a kid." "Why don't we come in the office?" "Hey, Doc, do you think maybe you could make it turn up a little?" "Like that, huh?" "There must be some mistake." "I think you want Dr. Newman, the plastic surgeon." " You mean you don't do nose jobs?" " No." "No." "He's, down the hall." "Room 725." "Oh." "Thank you." "I'm Dr. Hartley." "Oh." "Miles Lascoe." "I'm your crook." " Have a seat." " Do you mind if I just stand?" "I've been sitting for three years." "Whatever makes you comfortable." " Hey, that's a terrific painting." " Oh, are you interested in paintings?" " Yes, I am." "Original?" " No!" "You're sure you don't want to have a seat, Mr. Lascoe?" ""Mr. Lascoe." Boy, that sounds great." "I like being called "Mr."" "Yeah, I don't suppose they, they treat you with a lot of formalities in prison." "No." "Most of the guys had a tendency to skip the amenities." "Has anyone ever explained to you about therapy- what it can do for you?" "I talked to a shrink a few times in prison." "Oh, really?" "Maybe he's an associate of mine." "What was his name?" "Dr. Torch." "I don't think I know him." "That's just his nickname." "He was up on three counts of arson." "I'm sure our sessions will be a lot different than Dr. Torch's." "Oh, see, now, they weren't quite sessions." "They were more like card games." "Well, whatever." "Gee, that's a really nice mug sh- picture of you." "Yeah." "The wave was my idea." "I see you were sent up on an 18.2." " Yeah, that's right." " What's the sentence for an 18.2?" "Five years to life." "I didn't realize an 18.2 was that serious." "Oh, yeah." "Armed robbery is quite serious, Dr. Hartley." " Armed robbery?" " Yeah." "Especially if you do it more than once." "You did it more than once?" " Oh, yeah." "I robbed the same bank twice." " A bank?" "See, I didn't mean to rob it the second time." "That just happened." "After I got out of the Cook County jail..." "I went back to the bank to apologize to the people." "As soon as I walked in, they all threw up their hands... and I just started stuffing money." "But fortunately, I had an empty suitcase with me." "Well, that might be a good spot for us to get into... what makes you become a hold" "Um, heis" "Do what you do." " Oh, you mean why I take things?" " Yeah." "Because I want them." "Well, you just" " You can't just take things because you want them." " Why not?" " It's not right." "I mean, everybody wants things." "I mean, I want things." "But you just can't steal them because you want them." "Well, like, what do you want?" "Well, eventually, I'd like a nice home in the country." "Whoa, that'd be tough to pull off." "What else do you want?" "Season tickets to the Bears game, but you have to inherit those." "No." "I can get you season's tickets to the Bears games." "I know quite a few guys that aren't using theirs." "No, that's all right." "You like to watch the game on television, don't you?" "I like to watch it as long as it doesn't interfere... with Saturdays, Sundays or Monday nights." "Then you know what you need?" "You need a videotape machine... so you can tape the game when you're not watching it... and watch it some night when it doesn't matter like, um, Tuesday night." "Well, see, Tuesday is group." "Um, Friday" "Shouldn't we be talking about you?" "Yeah, I guess so." "Yeah." "Well, before we start, would you like a cup of coffee?" "Oh, sure." "That'd be great, as long as it's not in a tin cup." "Carol, I'm with Mr. Lascoe." "Could you bring us in two cups of coffee?" "No, Carol, I'm fine." "That's not a code." "Yeah, We'd like two cups of coffee." "You know something?" "I really like you." "As a matter of fact, I trust you." "Well, Thank you." "I like you too, Mr. Lascoe." "Well, let me give you a little advice." "Never go to Detroit." "I wasn't planning on it, but why not?" "Beause you look exactly like this hood called Blinky Hicks." "And the minute- The minute you step off that plane- you're a dead man." " Thanks for the tip." " Sure." "Bob, how important is this game?" "Welcome to Tiger Stadium, fans, where the Chicago Bears... meet the Detroit Lions in a Central Division game... that means virtually nothing in the standings." "Don't listen to him, Emily." "Every game's important." "You know, Bob, I don't know anything about football... but when a man comes on and says a game means absolutely nothing... why do they even bother to play?" "It's a matter of pride." "If the game doesn't mean anything... then why are the stands full of people?" "They love football in Detroit." "Bob, look at that man in the stands in the red jacket." "He looks just like you." "Oh, no!" "Blinky, don't eat the hot dog!" "Bob, what are you talking about?" "Oh, nothing." "It's just something Miles Lascoe mentioned." " Oh, yeah." "How's he doing?" " Fine." "Fine." "We're both learning a lot." "He's learning a little about civilian life... and I'm learning a lot about prison life." "You know, you realize, It's tough being cooped up in stir... with a bull in the tower with his piece trained on you all the time." "Bob, why are you talking like that?" "I don't know." "He doesn't talk like that." "Well, it's Monday night." "I just settled down to watch the football game." " That has to be Howard." " Good." "I'll have somebody to talk to." " How are you, Dr. Hartley?" " Oh, Hi, Miles." "Come on in." "Emily, this is, Miles Lascoe, the- the patient I was telling you about." " Oh, the, new pa" " Hello." "How do you do?" " I'm not interrupting, am I?" "No, no." "We're just- watching the football game." "Oh, there's no need to watch it tonight." "Here." "Record it." "Enjoy it." "What is it?" "That's the videotape machine you said you wanted." "I got a really good deal on it- way below cost." "You shouldn't have done that." "I mean, You really shouldn't have done that." "No, wait a minute." "That's my way of saying thanks." "You've been great to me." "You don't let me pay for my sessions, so I figured I'd get you something you wanted." "Mrs. Hartley, I would've gotten you something, too, if I'd known what you wanted." " Oh, Thank you." " What do you want?" "Nothing." "Listen, I can afford it." "I've been working at a gas station now for over a day." "Bob, Emily?" "Oh, I'm sorry." "I didn't know you had company." "Miles, this is Howard Borden, our neighbor." "Hi." "How are you?" "I didn't want to tell you, I got the check from the insurance company for the furniture." " And it covered everything." " That's wonderful, Howard." "Hey, what happened?" "Somebody hit your apartment?" "Yeah." "They cleaned me out." "They took everything but my broken vacuum cleaner." "That must be the Hutchinson brothers." "They won't take anything that's broken." " Took my car too." " Oh." "Then it couldn't be the Hutchinson brothers, because they aren't into cars." "Kenny the Worm." "Wow." "How do you know all this?" "Are you a cop?" "Well, not exactly." "Um" "Well, as a matter of fact, I just got out of Joliet." "I served three years for armed robbery." "Miles is a parolee and, I've been working with him." "That's nice." " I mean, he is seeing me as a patient." " Fine." " Listen, about your apartment" " I moved." "No, no, no." "You wanna see if I can get your stuff back for you?" "No, no." "The insurance company will cover everything." "At least let me send the Worm up to apologize." "No, no.just..." "tell the Worm everything's fine." "You're really lucky to have a neighbor like that." "I never had that kind of luck." "Miles, about this machine." "I know what you're thinking, but don't worry about it." "Well, I wasn't thinking it was stolen or anything." "That's good, because it wasn't." "I bought it." "That's what I was thinking." " You didn't think I stole it, did you?" " Me?" "No." " Well, I gotta go pump some gas." " Oh." "Yeah." "Another day, another dollar." " Good night, Miles." " Good night." " Very nice meeting you." " Bye-bye." "Bob, I wanna talk to you." " About what?" " About that tape machine." "You can use it too." "Bob, I think it's stolen." "Emily, the man swore on his honor that it wasn't stolen." "Oh, fine." "Now you take the word of a bank robber." "Emily, Miles Lascoe may rob banks." "He may hang around with criminals." "But one thing- he's honest." "That doesn't sound right, does it?" "Good morning, Carol." "Oh, Bob." "Bob, I'm really sorry I'm late." "I'm so sorry, but, this time, I have a really good reason." "Honest." " What happened?" " I was getting into my car... and this band of marauding gypsies" "They leapt upon me and ate my car keys." " Right." "You wanna buzz me when Mr. Lascoe comes in?" " Yeah." "Miles, you're here a little early." "My office is locked." "How'd you get in?" "Oh, no problem." "Dr. Hartley, I'd like you to meet my parole officer" " Mr. Coolidge." " Oh, nice to meet you." " My pleasure." "What happened?" "Dr. Hartley, I'll make it as simple as I can." "We don't have much time." "Last night, I kind of robbed another bank." " Oh, no." " Yeah." "After meeting that friend of yours... the guy whose apartment got hit..." "I got to thinking about Kenny the Worm and the Hutchinson brothers... so I called them up to see if they were the ones who pulled off the job." "And then Kenny said, "Well, let's take a ride and talk about it." And" "We wound up in front of a bank, and I was behind the wheel." "I'm kind of disappointed, Miles." "I really felt we were making progress, you know?" "I felt we were coming to terms... with the difference between right and wrong." "Oh, we were, Dr. Hartley." "And that's exactly what I told Kenny the Worm." "We were sitting in front of the bank before they went in." "And I said to Kenny- I said, "Kenny, I think this is wrong."" "You know what he said to me?" "He said, "So what?" "Keep the engine running."" "So now you have to go back to the slammer." "I've gotta go back to prison, if that's what you mean." "I don't know what it is." "I guess I'm a lot like Fred Astaire." "I don't follow you there." "Well, Fred's gotta dance, and I've gotta steal." "Yeah, but, Miles, you don't have to steal." "But I can't dance." "Dr. Hartley, I feel like I let you down... and you must feel like you've been wasting your time." " Do you mind if I gesture for a moment?" " My pleasure." "Dr. Hartley, I mean this." "Believe me." "I really mean this." "I think you have done me a world of good." "Beause, you see, this time, at least I feel likeI knew I was doing wrong." "And maybe, next time, I won't do it at all." "Thank you." "Well, I hope not, Miles." "There are a lot of guys like me that need your help... and I don't think that you should, give up on us." "Well, I won't." "As a matter of fact..." "I'd like to drop out and see you if, that's all right." "It'll be our pleasure." "Listen, um, before we go- Before we go..." "I would like to give you a little gift." "Miles, no more gifts." "As a matter of fact, that's why I brought the videotape machine in." "It's because I wanted to return it to you." "No." "No, it's okay." "It's the bill of sale... for the, um, the videotape machine." "I knew you felt uncomfortable about having it... so I thought you should have this." "Thank you very much, Miles." "Sure." "Well, I guess we've gotta catch a green bus." "Bob, Jerry" " Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Lascoe." "I didn't know you were here." "Oh, hi, Carol." "We were just leaving." "Oh, dear." "Does this mean that you won't be available for your next appointment?" " When is it?" " Next week." "No." "Temperatures here in Chicago" "Bob, why are you taping the weather report?" "I can play it back tomorrow and see if they were right." "Boy, I bet Miles would just love to know how much you're enjoying this toy." "Oh, he does." "Every time I go see him, I tell him about it- him and the other yard birds in the big house." "Bob, would you do me a favor?" "The next time you go to the joint, pack a heater." "Bob?" "Emily?" "You're not gonna believe this, but guess what?" "I just got home, and my apartment's been furnished." "I know, Howard." "I helped you pick it out." "No, no, no." "I mean I got the old stuff back." " Where's the new stuff?" " Next to the old stuff." "I got double furniture." "Come on." "I'll show you." "Who do you think did it?" "Couldn't have been the Hutchinson brothers." "Must be Kenny the Worm."