Harper Page #8

You wanna check down there?

- That's Sampson, isn't it?

- Yeah.

Well, you did all you could, Lew.

No, if you did all you could and you did

it right, it wouldn't have to end this way.

- Give me your car key.

- Where are you going?

- After Betty Fraley.

- But what about Sampson?

Well, he cops will want

him just the way he is.

Come on. Move it! Move it!

How do you know which way she went?

I know the ransom money's in a

frozen food locker south of here.

Well, then, why are we

going the opposite direction?

She'll want to get as far

as she can from that money

'cause I got the key to the locker.

Well, if we catch her on this

road, it'll be sheer luck.

I haven't changed spark plugs

in my crate for 30,000 miles.

I'll catch her.

13-A2.

It was pretty bad.

Found him this afternoon, Mrs. Sampson.

Albert was there. He identified him.

Well, I'm sorry, Mrs. Sampson,

but your husband is dead.

Oh, that's terrible. Terrible!

Ralph!

Yeah, well, listen, you better tell

Miranda I'll be there as soon as I can.

But Ralph didn't have an enemy in the world.

He was such a good man.

Gentle, kind,

wouldn't hurt a fly.

Hang this up, will you?

Miranda!

Miranda!

Mommy has something to tell you.

All units in the vicinity of 57th

and Vermont, an officer needs help.

All units in the vicinity of 57

and Vermont, an officer needs help.

Where to now?

- 311, handle a call, Code 3.

- The money.

Where now?

The grieving widow.

Sheriff Spanner seemed very confident

they'd pick up the fourth man, right?

What? I'm sorry. I wasn't listening.

The fourth man. The one

who hit you and got Sampson.

Spanner says there's a waiter at The Piano.

He hasn't showed up for a

couple of days. An albino.

He's the fourth man, the albino.

Spanner says he won't be hard to find.

What fourth man?

You're the fourth man, fink.

You think I kidnapped Sampson?

No, but you killed him.

What do you think was killing

me when I got down to that wreck?

Wasn't any fourth man, Albert.

She took off in that car by

herself. She hotwired the ignition.

No strain to her. She was taught

by her brother, the car thief.

Oh, well, who cares? Who cares?

This is what nailed you. Really nailed you.

You think a member of a

kidnap gang would deck me,

and then with $500,000 at stake,

he wouldn't search me for the key?

And Betty wouldn't tell him?

No, you killed him, Albert,

that's it. Two and two is four.

But what I don't know is why.

As a lawyer, I have to caution you

that your proof is pretty insubstantial.

Well, proving it's not my job.

- I'll be perfectly safe in a court of law.

- This ain't a court of law.

Just a couple of buddies

out for an evening spin

discussing the events of the day.

Only don't lie to me, Albert. I

mean, lying is for other people.

Okay?

Come on.

I don't know why, actually.

Not in any concrete way.

I hadn't intended to. Nothing premeditated.

But when I found him

and was faced with the

prospect of setting him free,

it just suddenly seemed

for the best that he die.

When it came to cruelty, he

could be incredibly versatile.

With anybody.

His wife, daughter, stranger in the street.

When he found out how I felt about

Miranda, he pushed us together.

But he never would have let me

marry her. Never in this world.

Just laughs for the client,

that's all I was supplying.

And then today, when she

put her arms around me

and I felt the texture of her skin...

Perhaps I killed him

for a kiss, I don't know.

But I do know that his passing will

not be the cause for universal mourning.

You gonna turn me in?

- Got no other choice, buddy boy.

- You don't have to.

Got a better friend than me?

I haven't got many friends,

Albert, but none better than you.

He was scum, Lew. I swear it.

Well, you know, when we first met,

you were gonna push your way

all the way up to be governor

of this great and powerful

state of California.

That was a pretty nasty and

terminal thing you did to Sampson.

Do governor-type people do that today?

Jeez, makes you stop and wonder.

And you were going to push your way up

to being the greatest defender of justice

that the great and powerful

state of California ever had.

How does it feel to be popping your

flash bulbs in dirty little motel rooms,

spying on the cheaters?

Yeah, well...

Things just don't turn out

the way we plan them, do they?

You were hired by a b*tch to find scum.

Yeah, and every time I hope

it's gonna be Prince Charming

sending me out to scout out Cinderella.

Oh, yeah.

Boy, I had a total of about eight

pretty disgusting months last year.

But then I had five or six good weeks.

Let me tell you something.

I mean, it's something

that you won't understand

and Susan sure as hell won't,

but those five or six

weeks, I really felt alive.

So all I can do, Albert,

is just do the dirty job

all the way down the line.

Well, I understand why

you have to turn me in.

Do you understand why I can't let you?

Oh, yeah. You still got the gun?

Well, then, you better use

it before I hit that door.

Well, the way I feel now, if

I never make it to that door,

it won't be the worst thing

that ever happened to me.

So long, Albert.

Oh, hell.

Oh, hell.

English

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