Miller's Crossing Page #24

THE WINDOW:

A forbidding black hole in the exterior wall. A second

tommy has joined the first to pour lead out into the

street.

66. CUT TO:

RECEPTION AREA:

Tracking in an a youngish secretary in a severe dress,

sitting behind a desk.

Faintly, from a distance, we can still hear gunfire.

Secretary

'Lo, Tom, where've you been hiding?

REVERSE:

On Tom.

Tom

Hither and yon. The mayor in?

Secretary

With Mr. Caspar.

Tom is already heading for the door.

Tom

That's who I'm looking for. Scare up some

hootch, will you honey?

Secretary

Surely. I'll announce you.

As he opens the door:

Tom

Don't bother, I'm well liked.

67. INT MAYOR'S OFFICE

A grand, high-ceilinged place. Mayor Levander sits behind

his desk sputtering, his face turning purple. Caspar,

sitting across from him, is also turning purple. Sitting

to one side are two identical thirty-year-old men, appar-

ently twins, mustachiced, silent, respectful, mournful,

their hands clasped over the hats in their laps, wearing

stiff new-looking suits with old-fashioned collars.

Mayor

I can't do it, Johnny! I'll look ridiculous!

Why, it simply isn't done! Assistants, maybe--

Caspar

For a mayor, you don't hear so hot! I said head!

Head of the assessor's office!

Mayor

But there's two of 'em!

Caspar

I can count! Co-heads!

Mayor

Johnny, needless to say, this office will do

anything in its power to assist you and your

cousins. We did it for Leo, of course, on

countless occasions--

Caspar

Damn right--had every potato eater from County

Cork an the public tit--

Mayor

But there's a way we do things, hallowed by usage

and consecrated by time! When we put people on

the pad, when Leo was running things, we--

Caspar is furious:

Caspar

Leo ain't running things! I ain't innarested in

ancient history! I'm running things now!

Mayor

Johnny, no one appreciates that more than I! I

can give them jobs! I can give them good jobs!

I can even give them jobs where thev won't have

to perform any work, where their lack of English

will be no impediment! But I cant--

Caspar

What is this, the high hat?!

The mayor mops his face with a handkerchief and looks

beseechingly at Tom.

Mayor

Tom, can you explain it to him? I can put them

in public works but I can't--

Tom

You can do whatever the hell Caspar tells you. I

don't remember all this double-talk when Leo gave

you an order.

The mayor looks flabbergasted.

Mayor

Tom! Jesus!

Tom

Stop whimpering and do as you're told.

Caspar

You can start by gettin' outta here.

Mayor

But Johnny, it's my office!

Caspar

Get outta here! Take it on the heel and toe,

before I whack you one!. . .

The mayor retreats and Casmar stares at the two men sitting

to the side.

. . . You too, beat it!

The two men look at each other, then back at Caspar.

First Man

. . . Partiamo?

Caspar

Yeah, go keep the mayor company. I'll take care

of ya's later.

The immigrants rise and leave the room. Caspar takes out a

handkerchief and wipes his brow.

. . . Runnin' things. It ain't all gravy.

The secretary enters the office with a bottle of whiskey, a

soda siphon and ice. She places it an the mayor's desk and

leaves.

We can still hear faint gunfire and an occasional booming

explosion that rattles the windows of the office.

Tom

What's the fireworks?

Caspar

Knockin' over one of Leo's clubs. Sonofabitch

just won't go belly-up. . . I'm sorry, kid. I

heard about your little ride this morning.

Tom is walking over to pour himself a drink.

Tom

Yeah, well sorry don't fix things. We could just

as easily've missed Bernie's corpse as stumbled

over it, and I'd be dead now.

Caspar

I know, I know. But it don't mean Bluepoint's up

to anything. So he heard some rumor Bernie ain't

dead, those stories pop up, people seen Dillinger

in eight states last week. So he hears a story,

and he don't like you much anyway, so he decides

to check it out--

Tom

Any stories about Bernie being alive, Bluepoint's

made up himself.

Caspar

Aw, you don't know that. It don't even make

sense--why would he?

Tom stares at Caspar for a beat.

Tom

. . . There could be a damn good reason. . .

Caspar squints at Tom.

. . . If you've got a fixed fight coming up. Do

you?

Caspar

. . . Maybe. Okay, yeah, sure. Tomorrow night,

the fix is in. What of it?

Tom

Bluepoint knows about it?

Caspar

Yeah. . .

He gazes off.

. . . Okay, I get it.

Tom

If Bluepoint's been selling you out on these

fights, and means to again, he'll have to be able

to point the finger at someone else--

Uncomfortably:

Caspar

Yeah, yeah, I get it.

Tom

--but with Bernie dead there ain't a hell of a

lot of people he can point to.

Caspar

Yeah. Bluepoint sells me out. Makes pretend

Bernie's still doin' it. Ats real pretty.

Bernie leaked the fix, and you take the fall for

supposedly not killing him. . . .

He leans back in the mayor's chair and gazes off, sucking

his lips in and out as he thinks. Finally:

. . . But I dunno, why would Bluepoint cross me

like that? Money, okay, everybody likes money.

But somehow it don't seem like him. And I know

the Bluepoint.

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