Chinatown Page #11

SECRETARY:

(testily)

Yes. Yes, they were partners.

She gets up, annoyed, and goes into Yelburton's inner office.

Gittes goes back to the photographs. He hears a SCRATCHING

SOUND, apparently coming from just outside the outer door.

He moves quickly to it, hesitates -- swiftly opens the door.

workmen are behind it, scraping away Mulwray's name on the

outer door -- looking up at Gittes in some surprise.

The Secretary returns, sees the workman on the floor.

SECRETARY:

(to Gittes)

Mr. Yelburton will see you now.

Gittes nods graciously, heads on into Yelburton's office.

INT. DWP - YELBURTON & GITTES

There is a subtle but perceptible difference in Yelburton's

attitude. He's now head of the department.

YELBURTON:

Mr. Gittes, sorry to keep you waiting -these

staff meetings, they just go

on and on -

GITTES:

Yeah -- must be especially tough to

take over under these circumstances.

57.

YELBURTON:

Oh yes. Hollis was the best department

head the city's ever had. My goodness,

what happened to your nose?

GITTES:

(smiles)

I cut myself shaving.

YELBURTON:

You ought to be more careful.

That must really smart.

GITTES:

Only when I breathe.

YELBURTON:

(laughing)

Only when you breathe... don't tell

me you're still working for Mrs.

Mulwray?

GITTES:

I never was.

YELBURTON:

(stops smiling)

I don't understand.

GITTES:

Neither do I, actually. But you hired

me -- or you hired that chippie to

hire me.

YELBURTON:

Mr. Gittes, you're not making a bit

of sense.

GITTES:

Well, look at it this way, Mr.

Yelburton. Mulwray didn't want to

build a dam -- and he had a reputation

that was hard to get around, so. you

decided to ruin it. Then he found

out that you were dumping water every

night -- then he -- was drowned.

YELBURTON:

Mr. Gittes! That's an outrageous

accusation. I don't know what you're

talking about.

58.

GITTES:

Well, Whitey Mehrholtz over at the

Times will. Dumping thousands of

gallons of water down the toilet in

the middle of a drought -- that's

news.

Gittes heads toward the door.

YELBURTON:

Wait -- please sit down, Mr. Gittes.

We're... well, we're not anxious for

this to get around, but we have been

diverting a little water to irrigate

avocado and walnut groves in the

northwest valley. As you know, the

farmers there have no legal right to

our water, and since the drought

we've had to cut them off -- the

city comes first, naturally. But,

well, we've been trying to help some

of them out, keep them from going

under. Naturally when you divert

water -- you get a little runoff.

GITTES:

Yeah, a little runoff. Where are

those orchards?

YELBURTON:

I said, the northwest valley.

GITTES:

That's like saying they're in Arizona.

YELBURTON:

Mr. Gittes, my field men are out and

I can't give you an exact location...

Gittes nods.

GITTES:

You're a married man, am I right?

YELBURTON:

Yes...

GITTES:

Hard working, have a wife and kids...

YELBURTON:

Yes...

59.

GITTES:

I don't want to nail you -- I Just

want to know who put you up to it.

I'll give you a few days to think it

over -

(hands him a card)

-- call me. I can help. Who knows?

Maybe we can lay the whole thing off

on a few big shots -- and you can

stay head of the department for the

next twenty years.

Gittes smiles -- leaves an unsmiling Yelburton.

INT. GITTES OFFICE

Gittes enters, drops his hat on Sophie's desk. Sophie tries

to tell him something but Gittes goes on into his office.

Evelyn Mulwray is sitting, smoking. She looks up when he

enters.

EVELYN:

What's your usual salary?

Gittes moves to his desk, barely breaking stride at the sight

of her.

GITTES:

Thirty-five bucks daily for me, twenty

for each of my operators -plus

expenses, plus my fee if I show

results.

He's sitting now. Evelyn is very pale now, obviously very

shaken.

EVELYN:

Whoever's behind my husband's death,

why have they gone to all this

trouble?

GITTES:

-- Money. How they plan to make it

by emptying the reservoirs -that

I don't know.

EVELYN:

I'll pay your salary plus five

thousand dollars if you find out

what happened to Hollis and who is

involved.

Gittes buzzes Sophie.

60.

GITTES:

Sophie, draw up one of our standard

forms for Mrs. Mulwray.

(he leans back; to

Evelyn)

Tell me, did you get married before

or after Mulwray and your father

sold the water department?

Evelyn nearly jumps at the question.

GITTES:

(continuing)

Your father is Julian Cross, isn't

he?

EVELYN:

Yes, of course -- it was quite a

while after. I was just out of grade

school when they did that.

GITTES:

-- so you married your father's

business partner?

Evelyn nods. She lights another cigarette.

GITTES:

(continuing; staring

at her, points to

the ashtray)

You've got one going, Mrs. Mulwray.

EVELYN:

-- Oh.

She quickly stubs one out.

GITTES:

Is there something upsetting about

my asking about your father?

EVELYN:

No!... yes, a little. You see Hollis

and my fa -- my father had a falling

out...

GITTES:

Over the water department -- or over

you?

EVELYN:

(quickly)

Not over me. Why would they have a

falling out over me?

61.

GITTES:

(noting her nervousness)

-- Then it was over the water

department.

EVELYN:

Not exactly. Well, I mean, yes.

Yes and no. Hollis felt the public

should own the water but I don't

think -- my father felt that way.

Actually, it was over the Van der

Lip. The dam that broke.

GITTES:

-- Oh, yeah?

EVELYN:

Yes. He never forgave him for it.

GITTES:

Never forgave him for what?

EVELYN:

For talking him into building it, he

never forgave my father... They

haven't spoken to this day.

GITTES:

(starts a little)

You sure shout that?

EVELYN:

Of course I'm sure.

GITTES:

What about you -- do you and your

father get along?

Sophie comes in with the form, cutting off Evelyn's reply.

Gittes places two copies on a coffee table in front of Evelyn.

GITTES:

Sign here... The other copy's for

you.

She signs it. When she looks back up, Gittes is staring

intently at her.

EVELYN:

What are you thinking?

62.

GITTES:

(picking up one of

copies, folding it,

putting it in his

pocket)

Before this -- I turned on the faucet,

it came out hot and cold, I didn't

think there was a thing to it.

INT. SEAPLANE

The engines make the small cabin vibrate. Gittes threads his

way down the tiny aisle of the eight passenger cabin, which

is full of middle-aged men in old clothes and their fishing

gear. Gittes is poked by a pole -- has to move along.

One of the old men says something to him.

GITTES:

(above the engines)

What?

OLD MAN:

You'll have to sit with the pilot.

Gittes moves forward into the cockpit, the PILOT looks up -nods

for Gittes to sit down, first moving a half- eaten cheese

sandwich out of Gittes' seat.

EXT. HARBOR- SEAPLANE

Rate this script:3.5 / 10 votes