Imaginary Crimes Page #6

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after school?

Who are you, Dale Evans?

All right, sweetheart.

It's part of the surprise.

This is what they wear at the dude ranch.

What dude ranch?

The one in Reno.

I'll ride horses, you'll go to college...

...and Daddy won't have to go to jail.

What is she talking about?

I've given this...

...a lot of thought.

There are a lot of opportunities in Reno.

It's a place a guy like me

can really make a mark.

Opportunities?

I can't believe you're saying this.

You're running away?

Are you crazy?

Can't you see that the whole thing

is stacked against me?

With guys like Rucklehaus,

I don't stand a chance.

In a few months, he'll forget about it

and they won't even look for me.

We can all make a fresh start.

We don't need a fresh start.

I can't go to jail, Sonya.

Stop the car.

Stop the goddamn car, now!

We're not going with you!

Of course, you are going.

The Three Little Weilers stick together.

Three Little Weilers, Three Little Pigs!

Stop calling us that!

Stop the car, now!

Leave me alone! God!

Stop the car!

Where are you going?

Get off the road. Come off the road.

Come back to the car.

What about your promise?

You promised my mother

that I would graduate from Edgemont.

Doesn't that mean anything?

Of course, it does.

But, sweetheart...

...a diploma is a mere formality.

You take a test in Reno, they send

you some paperwork, you've graduated.

A mere formality.

A technicality.

What about Mr. Webster's bail money?

Was that a formality?

He was my friend.

He trusted me

and now you're ruining that, too.

He'll have the money back

at the end of the month, with interest.

You think I wasn't thinking about that?

You don't think about anyone or anything...

...but yourself and your deals.

What about us?

Don't you ever think about us?

What do you mean?

This has all been for you.

And your sister.

To give you what I didn't give your mother.

You conned my mother

and maybe you can con Greta...

...but I'm not listening

to any more of your lies!

Let me go!

Let me go!

I stood by you girls

and now I'm asking you to stick by me.

Maybe we would have been

better off without you.

That's how you feel?

Fine.

When I think of the opportunities

I passed up...

...because of you two...

...maybe I should have left you

a long time ago.

Is your father here?

No.

Do you know where he is?

Ray Weiler is a very busy man who needs

to be away on business frequently.

Honey, is your sister here?

What is it?

We have a warrant for the arrest

of Raymond Weiler.

I already told them...

Were you aware

he was to appear in court yesterday?

No.

Yes.

I'm Mrs. Cole from Social Services.

Miss Abigail Tate told our department

you have an unsupervised minor here.

I'm sorry. I must take your sister with me.

No, I'm 18. I can take care of her.

Sonya, you don't have legal guardianship.

Please don't make this any harder

than it already is.

Help Greta get packed and dressed.

I'm calling Mr. Drew.

It's okay.

It's okay, Greta.

Lucky I was already packed.

Yes, that was real lucky.

Come on, Greta.

Come on.

I don't want to go.

Listen, everything's going to be okay.

Greta, you've got to.

It's only temporary. Now, come on.

Sonya, stop!

Come on.

Stop it!

Stop.

- Please.

- Stop.

Here. Let go of her, Sonya.

Come on. I promise you,

you'll see her soon.

Here's how it goes.

You have a captive audience in Reno.

Lonely woman moves to town...

She's got six weeks to kill, just waiting

for her divorce to come through.

All she's got is time...

...and the ex-husband's money.

Maybe we help her catch

a case of uranium fever.

Bingo. Instant investment, right?

So, are you guys interested?

Yeah, sure.

Piece of cake for us, right?

Right, Ray?

We're in.

Your Honor?

I'm Ray Weiler.

We had a date to meet in court,

not in front of my home.

Yes, sir. I know.

If you think you'll get more sympathy

by coming here, you're very mistaken.

I am not asking anything for myself.

It's about my daughters.

They've been through enough.

Isn't it a little late

for all this fatherly concern?

You should've thought of that

before you took off.

You abandoned your children, Mr. Weiler.

I'm not much of a father.

And I've made more

than my share of mistakes.

Sonya never got to be much of a kid.

And Greta never knew her mother.

I didn't make it any easier on them.

The only thing they have now

is each other.

Please.

Don't take that away from them, too...

...because I screwed up.

Congratulations to the Edgemont

graduating class of 1962.

- Nice to meet you.

- It was a pleasure.

Nice to see you again.

I'm sorry about my father.

I never should have let you

put up that money.

I'll get a job and pay you back.

You don't have to apologize for your father.

That's between me and him.

He is one hell of a source for material,

isn't he?

I guess you could say that.

Just keep writing your stories

and I'll keep reading them.

Okay.

I believe you know where I live.

Can I go find Sonya?

It's so good to see you!

You came back.

I wouldn't have missed your graduation

for all the tea in China.

Nothing could stop me.

You look so grown up.

Just like your mother wanted.

I wish she were here with me to see you.

I wish she was, too.

I have something I want to give you.

For your stories.

You're looking at the best damn pen

money can buy. 14 carats.

If you melted that pen, the weight alone

could pay for a year of college.

When he was young,

he pursued a dream of silver in Mexico.

Later the lure was gold.

By the time Daddy got out of jail,

the Space Age was upon us...

...and he had moved onto an obsession

with rare earth metals.

By then, Greta and I were

used to being on our own.

Mr. Webster helped set me up at State.

I waited tables at night

and I wrote my stories on the weekends.

I shared an apartment with my sister,

whose school was just a block away.

She was like a daughter to me.

One November,

after many years had passed...

...our father went into the mountains

and he never came back.

A hunter found his body in the spring...

...still propped up against a tree.

I used to wonder if a con man

was capable of genuine love...

...and if that love was enough

to cancel out his crimes...

...real or imaginary.

Now I wonder if it's possible

that the wish to love...

...can be stronger than the need to hate.

We buried Ray Weiler

on the dark mountain...

...beneath the land he loved.

In time, he would harden

into mineral and ore...

...and become that thing...

...that he used to seek.

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