Hammett Page #4

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who's a little shifty,

but he's basically okay.

His name's bradford...

tom bradford.

If i'm not back by the time

you go to work tomorrow...

call him and tell him to come

looking for me at fong's.

- That's all? Just fong's?

- Yeah, he'll know what you mean.

That's good.

What about the little

fortune cookie upstairs?

- Better stay away from her.

- Why? Is she trouble?

[Chuckles]

She's a disaster.

[Bell ringing]

[Man]

Hey!

[Chattering]

- [Chattering]

- Three flowers, two crack, one down.

Craps, roulette, blackjack?

I wanna see fong.

I'll be at the blackjack table.

[Dealer]

Play here. Everybody wins.

Okay. Change, sir.

Anyone else?

Place your bets.

Dealer has ace showing.

Insurance, anyone?

Dealer has 21.

You. Come with me.

Mr. Hammett, i am honored.

- Your renown precedes you.

- Yeah?

- I've heard a few things about you too.

- Indeed.

Perhaps you can get right

to the point of your visit.

I was wondering if a friend of mine's

been around. Jimmy ryan.

Ryan? Jimmy ryan?

I heard the two of you

have a mutual friend...

a nifty little girl

named crystal.

Perhaps we are a bit too public here.

Please come this way.

[Dealer] place your bets,

everybody. Everybody wins here.

Everybody wins.

Place your bets.

Very nice.

Simple but elegant.

I like your paintings.

Your friend jimmy

has been here.

Indeed, he is still here...

enjoying my hospitality while i

consider a proposition he's made me.

What kind of proposition?

Crystal, did you say?

An interesting piece of work,

mr. Hammett.

My first encounter

with the detective genre.

Is this pure invention...

or do you draw your material

from life?

Real life, fong.

Be glad to show you

some of my poems sometime.

But if you don't mind,

i'd like to have this back.

Now, now, mr. Hammett. Common sense

would dictate you listen quietly.

Perhaps your work has made

the habit of fantasy too strong in you.

You will find that i'm not so easily

dealt with as your paper villains.

In that case,

i think i'll be leaving.

Thanks for the tea.

[Groans]

Evidently, you don't understand

how important it is...

i talk to this lady,

so please don't be silly.

Just tell me where she is.

Sure.

[Grunting]

[Groaning]

Do you really insist

on this foolishness?

Go to hell.

[Yells]

Physical heroism is not

the writer's metier, my friend.

Remember about crystal quickly and

save yourself a great deal of vexation.

[Footsteps departing]

[Typewriter keys clicking]

[Man whooping]

- [Gunshot]

- You gonna be able

to cut it, laddiebuck?

[Moaning]

Oh, god.

Why couldn't it be giant spiders

and pink elephants?

[Hammett] what the hell

is this supposed to be?

Well, what does it look like?

It's a mexican crib joint!

- Christ, you picked it out!

- [Horse whinnying]

[Hammett]

I did?

I told you

he wouldn't remember.

[Ryan] this is it, kid. This is

where they make the big payoff...

- general calaveras and his bunch.

- [Groaning]

Twenty crates

of springfield aught-threes...

for 85,000

mexican silver dollars.

Now do you remember?

[Crystal]

We'll have to work it without him.

And you were supposed

to be my backup.

Jesus. Some backup.

[Groans]

[electronic laughing]

[Laughter echoes]

[Giggling]

Who are you?

[Typewriter keys clicking]

[Girl giggling]

Jesus.

Where are we?

[Chattering]

[Coughing]

[Girl laughing]

Where are you taking me,

you cute little dickens?

[Women speaking in chinese]

[Yelling]

[Chinese]

Come on.

[Women chattering, laughing]

- [Chinese]

- No, thank you.

[Both arguing]

[Hammett]

Get lost!

- Ryan, what are you doing in there?

- Get the lid off, kid!

[Girl giggling]

- Is it locked?

- Why the hell should it be locked?

I can't reach it!

- Give me your hand.

- [Both grunting]

- [Rats squealing]

- [Groaning]

Geez. What happened?

The deal went a little sour,

that's all.

- I'll say.

- Just a little sour!

- [Men shouting]

- Let's get out of here!

[Coughing]

- Damn!

- [Man yelling]

- [Grunting, yelling]

- [Moaning]

[Chinese]

[Chinese]

[Chinese]

Saddle up!

[Hammett]

Look out below!

- [Coughing]

- All right, you two. Let's go.

Too bad your girlfriend

called us.

I could've taken you outta here

in a box. Come on. Get in.

[Wheezing, coughing]

- So you're the famous jimmy ryan, huh?

- Yeah, i'm ryan.

Well, you and me, bucko,

you and me...

we're going to have

a little talk.

Get in.

[Coughing continues]

[Truck engine starting]

You know what's happened to you, ryan?

You're fallin' apart!

Your nerve's shot!

Your brain's pickled!

And you know the mistake i made?

I felt sorry for ya!

Nobody has to feel sorry

for jimmy. Nobody!

Start with that dumb phone call

about the dictionary and go from there.

What are you working, ryan,

some cute shakedown

and a little extortion maybe?

You don't know

what that phone call was?

You, the great detective story writer?

Why, that was a clue,

you simple son of a b*tch!

They went after you,

and i went about my business.

All right, hammett.

One more time.

Why have you been asking all over town

about crystal ling?

I haven't been asking

all over town!

You asked me. You asked tom.

You asked fong!

You even tried to bribe me and tom,

as god is my witness.

Didn't he try

to bribe us, tom?

If god is your witness, lieutenant,

he certainly tried to bribe us.

What do you do when you

go home at night, tom, throw up?

- I drink, samuel. I drink

a whole lot. Then i throw up.

- [Hammett chuckles]

Ryan says you're his go-between...

his tin mittens!

- Ryan's lying! [yells]

- [Screaming]

[Yelling continues]

Come on! Come on.

[Breathing heavily]

Where were you at 3:13

this morning, hammett?

I told you

i was at fong's!

- Why?

- Because that's when

it happened, that's why.

I don't know what the hell

you're talking about!

All right. Take him down,

show him and then throw him out!

Come on, samuel.

[Door closing]

Crystal ling.

She got it

at exactly 3:
13 a.m.

It was at the end of the line

of a number 19 trolley run.

The motorman and the conductor

just looked at their watches

and heard her scream.

- How many times?

- Did she scream?

- Just once.

- What happened to her face?

She got it bashed in,

didn't she?

They found a baseball bat

next to her body.

She was struck on the head

nine times, maybe ten.

- Sexually assaulted?

- We haven't run the tests yet.

But if i had to guess,

i'd say probably.

[Tom] we ain't

quite through yet, samuel.

[Tom laughing]

Hmm.

[Chuckles]

I think i got the idea.

That's enough.

- That's enough, damn it!

- Where'd you get it?

It's been making the rounds of the stags

for the last three months.

- Who made it?

- Hmm. That's what we thought

you'd be telling us.

Me? You've got the wrong guy.

- You should be talkin'...

- you've been nosing around

about her, samuel.

- You got us curious.

- What'd you do with ryan?

- We let him walk.

- You did? Swell.

I think i'll do the same.

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