Pickup on South Street Page #3

- You got any happy money on you?

"Happy money"?

Yeah. Money that's gonna

make me feel happy. What else?

How happy?

$50.

Hey.

Take your time looking.

Want a beer?

I want my wallet.

- What wallet?

- The one you lifted from my bag today.

Oh, now,

do I look like a pickpocket?

You sure do.

Wipe your face off.

How much did Moe get out of ya?

Huh?

I figure you shelled out

about 50 bucks to find me...

if I know Moe.

Huh?

Moe's all right. She's gotta eat.

Crummy tie.

- Look, did you throw it away?

- Hmm?

Mr. McCoy, I gotta find that wallet.

- Why?

- It's no good to you or to anybody else.

No?

What's the matter,

I bust somethin'?

- I think I'm sick.

- Sit down. Let's see.

Find out the trouble.

Oh!

That's where it hurts.

Let's fix it up.

You just relax.

All right now, muffin.

Let's have a small dose of straight talk.

There was some film in it.

You mean you ransacked my joint

just to find some film?

You got me in an awful mess

when you took it.

What kind of a mess?

You workin' for some blackmailer?

Oh, no. Nothing like that, Mr. McCoy.

They're pictures of my brother Mickey.

He's a war hero in Korea,

and my mother's waiting to see them.

Uh-huh. Why didn't you

go to the cops, honey?

Well, I got in a little trouble with them...

and... it'd kill my mother if she -

- You know what I mean?

- Yeah, sure.

Feel better?

Does, uh, beer always do this to you?

What kind of trouble did you get into

with the cops, muffin?

- Oh, a girl makes mistakes.

- Mm-hmm.

- I was only asking 'cause, uh -

- 'Cause what?

Yeah.

You look for oil,

sometimes you hit a gusher.

Am I talking too much?

Why talk?

How much is your brother worth?

What do you want? Blood?

I just want to make your old lady happy.

That's all.

Then you do have it.

We'll just see, muffin.

There might be another little old lady

looking for pictures of her boy.

I gotta make sure it's your brother Mickey.

- I'll tell my mother.

- You do that.

That's the girl.

I'll check with you later.

Hello, Tiger. You're waking up

half the waterfront with those clodhoppers.

- You're not losing any time.

- Neither are you.

- Did you make a deal?

- Go on, drum up a charge.

Throw me in.

You've done it before.

Locking you up isn't gonna help.

You're sittin' on a hot rock, ain't ya?

I'd like to see you jump.

I promised to drop the pickpocket charge

if you played ball.

All right, so it's bush league to you.

Now I'm gonna give you big-league stuff.

I'd rather chop my leg off than say what I came

to say, but I gotta push personal feelings aside.

I'm going to the commissioner himself,

and I'm gonna ask him to whitewash you.

Me. Personally.

I'm gonna beg him to give you a clean slate.

No more three-time loser for you, Skip.

A nice, fat bill of health

for that strip of film.

That's what I'm gonna ask him to do.

You're gonna ask him?

Who you kidding?

You guys sat yourselves down

at a long table, tried to figure out an angle.

Your idea, huh?

You mean the commissioner's idea

and all the big wheels in the department.

All right, Skip. I won't push it.

But just remember,

if it's the last thing I do...

no matter what happens about this

Commie setup, I'm gonna see that ya get it.

Hey, Tiger,

save the taxpayers some money.

Don't plant a wire in here,

'cause I'll tear it out.

Good-bye.

- Did you find him? Has he got it?

- Yeah, but he knows what's on it.

Oh, what I had to go through

to run that guy down.

Professional stool pigeon

clipped me for 50 bucks.

She calls herself Moe,

operates at 174 Bowery.

Sells ties as a front.

What do you mean

he knows what's on it?

The way he hung onto it.

He's been around.

Did he say what's on the film?

He's shaking you down.

That tells the story.

- Did you - Did you mention my name?

- No.

- Does he know where I live?

- What are you getting excited about?

You should be celebrating.

I found him for you, didn't I?

And he's got what you want.

So I'll give you his address,

and you go over and make a deal.

No.

No, I - I can't take a chance.

Well, I like that. You can't take a chance,

but you send me over there.

- It's different with you, Candy.

- In what way?

Well, he - he might have been

hired for the job.

- You think he knew what he was stealing?

- Could be.

Well, then, why didn't he contact you?

It makes no sense to me.

He might be playing both ends

against the middle. Don't you see?

No, I don't see.

But then, maybe there's something

about that film that you haven't told me.

- What do you mean by that?

- You tell me.

There's nothing very complicated

about it, Candy. It's -

It's just that if he knew I was after the film,

he'd increase the price. That's all.

I told you I was in a cutthroat business.

These manufacturers would do anything

to eliminate each other.

That's the reason I've gotta keep out of it.

And that's the reason

you've gotta go back to him.

Well, I'm not going back to that guy.

- He clipped me on the jaw.

- Look, this is all part of your last delivery.

You started this job.

Now finish it.

Here.

Here's 500.

Offer him 50.

If he holds out for more,

give him another 50.

Whatever's left is yours.

You can buy a lot of dresses with $400.

You've gotta come back with it, Candy.

I'll wait for you in the office.

Hey. I'm down here.

The stairs are behind the hammock.

- Where's your old lady?

- She couldn't come.

Oh, that's too bad.

You got the cabbage?

Uh-huh.

I just can't figure you out.

Don't try. Let your old lady do all the figurin'.

How much she give you?

How come a nice guy like you goes around

picking handbags on the subway?

Muffin, the last time I worked the subway,

I was in short pants.

The last time was this morning...

unless you got

a couple of extra licks in between.

Oh, don't be that way.

How many times you been caught

with your hand where it doesn't belong?

Well, I tell ya, baby...

whenever I'm caught,

it's always an accident.

Like, uh, maybe I don't

feel so good, you know.

Or maybe I'm not concentratin'.

I've been tapped

a couple, three times.

- Three times?

- Yeah, that's part of the business.

Red side of the ledger.

Want a smoke?

Sure. I once knew a -

I mean, I once heard

of a fella who was in -

who was in jail three times.

The next time they arrested him,

they locked him up for good.

That's the way it goes.

There's a law about three-time losers.

- Fourth conviction means life.

- You mean...

if they'd caught you this morning,

picking my purse...

you could be sent up for life?

Nothin' happens

when I'm concentratin'.

You're a dope, taking chances like that.

How much money do you think

people carry around?

- How's the chin?

- Fine.

Good.

- You got fingers like an artist.

- Mm-hmm.

- Soft and smooth.

- In my business, I gotta keep 'em that way.

And when they stay empty, they get nervous.

Come on, come on.

How'd you get to be a pickpocket?

How did I get to be a pickpocket?

How'd you get to be what you are?

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