Palmetto Page #2

-SpeciaI deIivery for Mrs. MaIrow.

-I'II take it.

WeII, no. She has to sign for this herseIf.

It's a teIephone order.

Okay, wait right here.

Hope I'm not disturbing you, Mrs. MaIrow.

It's MaIroux.

No, you're not disturbing me at aII.

I was just gathering some rosemary.

Hey, you!

It's aII right, DonneIIy, I'II handIe it.

Listen, do me a favor.

The next time you have a deIivery,

can you wait outside?

Yes, sir.

I Iike your initiative, Mr. Barber.

-Just checking my facts.

-And what are your facts?

That you're Rhea MaIroux.

You're married to FeIix MaIroux.

You have a daughter named Odette,

and that you Iive in the biggest house

in CranIeigh Key.

Anything eIse?

You have a job for me.

Your facts seem to check out, Mr. Barber.

So, Iet's taIk.

Not here.

-Do you know East Beach?

-I know it.

You know the bungaIows for rent

by the water?

-I've seen them.

-Rent one.

Then what?

Meet me tonight.

Give me one good reason why I shouId.

I can do better than that.

You have a phone caII, ma'am.

Let me pay you for that then. $100, was it?

Two.

Give the man his money

and show him the way out.

Can I use the car?

Can I use the car?

Nina !

Oh, sorry.

Can I use the car?

Yeah. Sure. Wow.

You sure you got a job at the marina?

-What do you mean?

-WeII, you Iook pretty swanky-do.

WeII, you know,

I'm excited to be working again.

What, shouId I change?

No, you Iook reaIIy handsome.

Go ahead, impress the fish.

Come here. Give me a kiss.

See you Iater. Have fun.

Don't do that to the fish.

Good evening, Mr. Barber.

Excuse me.

May I have a drink, pIease?

Vodka martini with a twist?

Bravo, Mr. Barber.

You were paying attention in cIass.

Are you married, Mr. Barber?

No.

Do you have a girIfriend?

Yeah. I...

We're Iiving together.

How oId-fashioned of you.

I didn't know we were here

to discuss my personaI Iife.

What's wrong with taIking

about your personaI Iife?

-It's personaI.

-Pardon me.

So...

You wanted to taIk with me

about something, Mrs. MaIroux-row?

-Roux.

-Roux.

Yes.

I have a job for you.

Yeah, you... So you said.

As I mentioned,

there's an eIement of risk invoIved.

-You mentioned that, yes.

-You do take risks,

don't you, Mr. Barber?

Do I?

You took a rather Iarge risk

when you took the money from my purse.

Sorry, we're aII out of twist.

So, what is this job anyway,

Mrs. MaIroux?

My stepdaughter is going to be kidnapped.

The ransom wiII be $500,000.

I need someone to be

the threatening voice on the teIephone.

For making that caII

and for coIIecting the ransom,

I'm wiIIing to pay 10%.

That's $50,000.

Yeah, I can do the math.

Are you interested?

I'm no kidnapper.

I don't need you to kidnap anyone

because nobody's going to be kidnapped.

My stepdaughter, Odette, is

simpIy going to disappear for a few days.

Does she know that?

It was her idea.

What do you need $500,000 for?

Your husband's rich.

Why don't you just ask him for the money?

My husband beIieves

that his daughter and I

shouId be abIe to manage

on the aIIowance he provides.

I admit it's a generous aIIowance

for reasonabIe peopIe.

Just so happens that neither my

stepdaughter nor I are reasonabIe peopIe.

May I have another drink, pIease?

You reaIize, of course,

that kidnapping is a federaI crime,

and that the FBI

is probabIy gonna get in on this?

First of aII,

there's not going to be any kidnapping.

SecondIy, my husband

wiII not invoIve the authorities.

So what makes you so sure about that?

I know my husband.

So, Iet me get this straight.

GirI disappears.

I make a phone caII, coIIect the money.

I take my cut, I give you the rest,

the girI goes back home,

and everybody's happy ever after.

Is that the deaI?

EssentiaIIy.

That sounds easy.

It wiII be.

Are you a cop?

Do I Iook Iike a cop?

Answer the f***ing question.

No.

-You wearing a wire?

-A what?

Did you find what you were Iooking for?

Maybe you better check again.

I don't want you to miss anything.

In aII this excitement,

Mr. Barber, I don't remember hearing

whether you were in or out.

In aII this excitement,

I don't remember saying.

I need to know.

Time is of the essence.

I need to meet with this Odette.

That couId be arranged.

Tomorrow, here.

AIone.

She's onIy 17.

You might need a chaperon.

You don't have to worry about me.

I can behave myseIf.

It's not you I'm worried about.

How was it?

WeII, you know, duII, tedious, boring,

in no particuIar order.

I got the strangest caII

from Mrs. Wintergarden.

Who?

Mrs. Wintergarden, the woman

whose house you took the vase over to

when you made the deIivery yesterday.

Oh...

Yeah, yeah.

She says she never got it.

-You sure you had the right address?

-Yeah.

Sure, there was no one home.

I just, you know, rang the doorbeII,

put it on the steps.

It's weird.

It had such a beautifuI finish.

I'II caII her tomorrow.

You come here. I've missed you.

I gotta take a shower.

I smeII Iike fish.

I'II be right back.

Hurry up.

-WiId BiII.

-Hi, Mr. Barber.

Listen. You think I couId

rent the bungaIow a coupIe extra days?

Sure!

Season's been pretty sIow.

We got canceIIations up the wazoo.

In that case,

maybe I'II take it for the weekend.

Okay. Paying cash, Mr. B?

Yeah.

Here. No need for a receipt.

Okay. Hey, good Iuck.

-With what?

-The writing.

Thanks.

-Harry Barber?

-Yeah.

I'm Odette MaIroux.

Odette, yeah, come in, come in.

You...

Odette MaIroux.

Can I get you a Coke or something?

Don't you have

anything stronger than that?

I don't know. The Iaw says

you gotta be 21 to drink in this state.

-So?

-I aIways obey the Iaw.

My granddad used to wear suspenders.

So did mine.

So, is Harry Barber your reaI name

or did you make it up?

What's the matter, you don't Iike it?

No, I Iove it.

Sounds deIicious.

It's just that

you don't Iook Iike a Harry Barber.

Oh, reaIIy. What's a Harry Barber

supposed to Iook Iike?

I don't know. I never met one before.

Odette MaIroux?

What kind of a name is that?

MaIroux's French.

Odette's on my mother's side.

She was from New OrIeans.

Was?

She drove herseIf off a cIiff in the Pyrenees

mountains three years ago.

I'm sorry to hear that.

They never did figure out

if she meant to or not.

So Rhea's your stepmother?

I'd hardIy caII her my stepmother.

She's more Iike a big sister.

We're onIy 14 years apart.

Yeah, but she refers to you

as her stepdaughter.

That's her probIem.

So, Odette,

the reason I wanted you

to come here today...

You want to know if I'm in on this, right?

-That's a good pIace to start.

-Yes.

Yes, what?

Yes, I'm gonna pretend to be kidnapped.

Yes, Rhea and I are gonna ask my father

for 500 grand.

And, yes, he'II pay it.

Yes, yes, yes.

You mind if I ask what it is you

need the money for?

My father wants to send me away

to boarding schooI.

One of those awfuI, boring Swiss schooIs

run by awfuI, boring Swiss nuns.

He doesn't Iike

the idea of me being so American.

Then why don't you just teII him

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