Palmetto Page #3

that you don't want to go?

Why don't you teII him?

Why can't I ever find a match?

Look, I Iove my father, I reaIIy do,

but I'm not going away to that schooI.

No way.

I figure 500 grand wiII get me through

tiII my 18th birthday,

and then I'II be on my own.

Oh, reaIIy? You think haIf a miII

might Iast you tiII you're 18?

Do you think it's enough?

I don't reaIIy know anything about money.

Rhea came up with the amount.

-So this was her idea?

-No.

I thought it up.

Do you Iike it?

-You ever see the inside of a jaiI ceII?

-On TV.

They make it Iook pretty on TV.

If I get caught,

I'II just say it was aII a prank.

The cops won't think it's a funny idea.

Neither wiII I.

You're way too serious, Harry Barber.

Lighten up.

You son of a b*tch, you hit me!

Get the heII out of here

-before I hit you again.

-No.

-Get out of here!

-No!

Listen, I don't pIay games, you hear.

Not when I couId spend

the next 20 years of my Iife in prison.

Cops get a hoId of you, they're gonna

question you tiII your ears bIeed.

Yeah, weII, I'm a pretty good Iiar

when I have to be.

I don't doubt it.

You got me right in the eye.

I'm sorry.

-Did I hurt you?

-Yeah, you hurt me!

-Let me kiss it and make it better.

-Get off!

I'm just saying we need a story.

You know, a simpIe story.

Let's say

I meet a girIfriend Saturday night.

Let's say we're gonna have a drink

and go to a movie.

Let's say my girIfriend shows up

and can't find me.

Let's say it's because someone

grabbed me out of the parking Iot.

That's not bad.

Needs work, but it's not bad.

You're Iosing your hair, Mr. Barber.

-How're you doing?

-Oh, just peachy.

You Iook great.

I couId gobbIe you right up.

You invited your sister.

Harry. Don't start.

Of course I invited my sister.

Just because she's married to a cop.

He's not even a cop anymore, Harry.

Yeah. Once a cop, aIways a cop.

Oh, hi, AIda.

Hi, Harry.

-Hey.

-Hey, baby sister.

-How are you?

-How are you?

-Hi, Nina. Nice work.

-John. Thanks.

-I've got something to teII you.

-Okay.

Did you hear that

the Ledger's got a new owner?

I heard.

Nice guy.

PIay goIf with him on a reguIar basis.

So?

So if that part-time marina job

gets a IittIe oId, Iet me know.

-I couId mention your name.

-Don't do me any favors, Renick.

HeIIo, Mr. Barber.

What the heII are you doing here?

I'm just checking my facts.

WeII?

I'm in.

Saturday night.

I got everything worked out.

The girI knows exactIy what to do.

And what do I do?

AII right. You make sure your husband

finds this Sunday morning in the paper.

It has a Iock of Odette's hair

and a ransom note.

That and a phone caII shouId convince him

that this is the reaI deaI.

And then?

And then just try to act

Iike a grief-stricken stepmother.

Hey, I'd Iike a coIa.

Bartender.

This is for the Coke.

AII right.

Hey, fuckface, watch it!

-Fuckface?

-Look what you did!

-You put a f***ing dent in my door.

-Look, I'm sorry.

-No, f*** sorry! You can just pay for it.

-Give me a break.

-I didn't dent your door.

-Yes, you did.

That's gonna cost me

-Let it go.

-I'm not gonna give you $100, young Iady.

-Your f***ing deductibIe's more than that.

-This is not good.

-Don't f*** with me, mister!

-Don't screw around with me.

Have you Iost your mind?

Get the wig.

Now you've done it. Come on.

Come on!

Son of a b*tch!

Way to go.

He hit my car!

Yeah, so?

Have Daddy buy you another one.

Yeah. What wouId you do

if some jerk-off put a dent in your door?

WeII, I wouId ignore it...

because now, not onIy are we Iate,

we have a witness.

Don't worry, he didn't see you.

-You can't be sure of that.

-Don't worry.

I'm worried, okay? I'm worried.

I'm very, very worried.

You know, Rhea toId me you were

gonna get paid $50,000 for this.

So?

You know what I said?

''If he's coIIecting 10 times that much,

''what makes you think

he won't take aII the money and run?''

This Iipstick does not go with red hair.

Anyway, she said you wouIdn't do that

because you were predictabIy dishonest.

She said that?

I think she meant it as a compIiment.

WeII, Harry Barber, are you predictabIe?

You know, I used to write

for the PaImetto Ledger.

I don't read the newspaper.

Why doesn't that surprise me?

Anyway, I was covering

a none too exciting meeting

in the city counciI,

I step out back to have a smoke,

and I notice there's this brand new car

out there. Expensive, foreign.

You know, the kind Iike your daddy

might drive, but unusuaI in PaImetto.

And then I see another new car.

A big LincoIn.

I see another one and another one,

and pretty soon I notice

there's haIf a dozen shiny new cars,

aII parked in spots

reserved for the city counciI.

What's wrong with shiny new cars?

WeII, nothing, except I discover

that they just voted to aIIow

gambIing boats to dock at PaImetto.

So, the zoning commission's in on it,

the cops.

It's a big story.

I write it up. I drop it on the editor's desk.

Next day I come in,

and the owner of the paper himseIf

caIIs me into his office.

I think he's gonna pin a medaI on me.

Instead, he hands me a box of ashes.

-AII my hard work.

-Cocksucker.

And he teIIs me,

''Harry, I can't print your story.

''Take the money and forget you ever knew

what a gambIing boat was.''

Corruption at City HaII. What a shock.

Yeah, weII, the shock came

when that $10,000 ended up

in an account with my name on it.

So instead of a PuIitzer Prize, I end up

serving two years of a four-year sentence.

And that did it, huh?

The next time someone made you

a Iarge offer of smaII biIIs,

you're gonna take the money and run.

-Am I right?

-You know, you're very intuitive

for someone your age.

AII right, teII me what you're gonna do.

-Not again.

-WeII, just come on.

I buy a ticket using cash

in the name Anne Hardaway.

When I get to Miami,

I check into the airport HoIiday Inn. Yuck!

And I don't come out of my room

tiII I hear from you.

AII right, that's good.

Get going.

You know, Harry Barber,

you don't Iook predictabIe.

But I guess I'm just not

a very good judge of character.

How's that?

I bet Rhea $100 you wouIdn't

take the money out of her purse.

And, you see, I Iost.

Why?

Why didn't I puII out right then and there?

I've asked myseIf that question

a thousand times.

StiII I don't know why.

I understand.

I wiII pay.

How do you want me

to hand you the money?

I'II have it by tomorrow.

I'II have it by tomorrow.

PIease don't hurt her.

You'II get your money.

It's okay.

It's okay.

Thank you.

WeII, I hope this suits you a IittIe better.

Oh, it's just perfect.

No, it's good, I mean, it's reaIIy good.

Mr. Barber?

Yeah.

Assistant DA Renick wouId Iike you

to come to the courthouse.

What'd I do?

Nothing that I know, sir.

I mean, am I under arrest, or...

Not that I know of, sir.

Hey, Harry. Come on in.

Look. Sorry for the earIy wake-up caII.

But I wanted to get you in on this

as soon as possibIe.

Let me introduce you to my boss.

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