St. Ives Page #3

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Hotel Lido. Hotel Lido.

You son of a b*tch, you're no cop!

What did they do,

put the precinct in the hotel?

I'm running a business here!

- What will it be, pal?

- Give him some of that, Hesh.

The roast beef is very good today.

Relax, I'm paying.

Couple of knocks...

...some of the vegetables.

You look tired, Finley.

I think you need

some vitamins and minerals.

We almost forgot the beans.

Give him some beans. You like beans?

Sure, everybody likes beans. Come on,

Hesh, don't be a piker, more beans.

What else you got? Pie.

Give him a big slice of pie.

Apple. Apple pie.

There we go.

Now for something to drink. Tommy?

Nourishment's very important. We gotta

be careful what we put in the old furnace.

- Ain't you hungry?

- No, I had a big lunch.

But you go on. Dig in.

Something I wanted to talk to you about.

No, no, go on and eat.

- Just listen. I'll talk.

- All right.

Food like that should be eaten hot.

What's on your mind?

Your health.

Go on, eat, please.

I think it's very possible the guy that

killed Jack Boykins might try to kill you.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

You and Boykins stole some journals

from a guy in West L.A., right?

Drink this. Something's stuck.

- Are you nuts or something?

- I couldn't care less.

You and Boykins stole those journals.

You realized how valuable they were...

...and got rid of him to have

the whole payoff yourself.

Or maybe after you and Boykins stole

the journals, somebody else killed him.

Who told you this? Well, he's a liar.

I mean, Jackie Boykins

was a friend of mine.

Where did you hear this?

It wasn't me that did it.

Jimmy Peskoe.

He's an old-time safe guy. He did the job.

He and Boykins?

Alone.

He didn't know what to do with the stuff.

He sold it to Boykins.

Where does he live?

Ask Hesh. They're big buddies.

- Oh, yeah, happy birthday.

- It's not my birthday.

It's not? What the hell

did I buy you dinner for?

Hesh, where does Jimmy Peskoe live?

What do you want him for?

I have to give you my life story

for a straight answer?

Hotel Teris.

Hey, Ray, how about that game last night?

A 48-yarder with three seconds left.

They should've been

that lucky last Sunday. Hey.

What about the guy Procane?

You know Mitchell Danton?

When I mentioned the name Procane...

..."Pass," he says.

Thanks.

- You hear anything else, let me know.

- Okay.

Jimmy Peskoe.

Never heard of him.

What room is he in?

Eight-nineteen.

Thanks.

Hey, Wally, who's the john?

Captain Kangaroo. Who cares?

Well, fancy meeting you here.

- How'd you get in here?

- The door was open.

- You just walked in?

- Yeah.

- Then you pushed him out the window?

- No. Talk to the hotel clerk...

...or the girl in the lobby.

- Oh, yeah.

There was a girl there.

She smiled at you.

- Why did you come here?

- Business.

- Anything to do with Boykins?

- Yeah.

Every time we find a stiff,

you're around. Why is that?

I guess I'm just lucky.

Don't be such a wise guy.

What was the connection

between Boykins and Peskoe?

He stole something from my client, sold it

to Boykins, who offered to sell it back.

You show up at the Laundromat

with the dough.

Boykins is dead,

and the merchandise is gone.

Now you know everything I do.

Hey, nobody said you could go nowhere.

The lieutenant wants to see

you downstairs. Sit down here.

How'd you know that Peskoe was involved?

I asked around.

Then you came over and helped

him out the window?

- Because he had what you wanted.

- lf Peskoe killed Boykins...

...which I doubt,

he would've had the merchandise.

If I pushed him out the window,

then I'd have it. Where is it?

I got out of the elevator

and I walked over to the desk...

...and I'm rapping with Wally here...

...and the guy takes his dive.

I don't see it.

I live on six. He lived on eight.

And the guy who got on

the elevator when you stepped off?

What about him?

How long after he got on did the body hit?

Couldn't have been more

than a couple of seconds.

- How can you be...?

- Why...?

How can you be so sure?

It only takes that long to get

from the elevator to the desk.

- Thanks, miss.

- You can ask Wally...

- You're off the hook, St. Ives.

- What?

Yeah, his story checked.

That whore downstairs.

Yeah, well, I don't care

what the whore said.

I think you done it.

Jesus Christ,

leave the man alone, will you?

And stop calling people whores.

Cops!

Jesus!

Screw.

First, $ 100,000

and a stiff in a Laundromat.

Now a guy squashed on the sidewalk.

What the hell are you doing?

Gathering material for a book.

Some book.

- How many chapters you got?

- Six.

- Let me read them sometime.

- Be happy to have you read them.

Thanks, Charlie.

Good night, lieutenant.

Mr. St. Ives.

Laundromat. The man in the drier.

- Oh, Officer...?

- Frann.

- Well, just hello.

- Oh, nice to see you.

- Hey, how did you know I was here?

- I called Coles, and Hesh told me.

Show me clear from Sixth and Whitmore.

- Did you see who pushed him?

- No.

- Did it have anything to do with the ledgers?

- Yeah, I think so.

Your attention, please.

Now arriving on track seven,

Pacific Streamliner, city of San Diego.

Passengers will depart

through gate three.

Now arriving on track two,

Super Chief for Chicago and Salt Lake City.

- Here, I'll save you a whole dime.

- No, thanks. I'm waiting for this one.

Hey, fella, a stall's a stall.

See, I got this mental problem.

I can't go unless it's the first one.

You've got a real bad problem there,

don't you, sonny?

I tried to hurry.

I heard what you said about

going only in this first stall.

I'm like that at home, except I can't

go on the first floor. I go upstairs.

- We both have a problem.

- Yeah.

Your attention, please.

Now boarding on track four...

... the Pacific Limited

for Portland and Seattle.

Departure will be in 20 minutes.

Your attention, please.

Now boarding on track four...

... the Pacific Limited

for Portland and Seattle.

Departure will be in 20 minutes.

The journals.

So this time the connection

was completed, Mr. St. Ives?

There they are. All five,

He's read them.

Your life in crime,

Mr. Procane, is fascinating.

"Exhilarating" is a better word.

Isn't it dangerous writing it down

like that, as well as expensive?

Abner has worked for years in

combinatorics and functional analysis.

He's totally dependant on writing.

He must keep a record.

It's compulsive.

Well, Mr. Procane.

There are four pages of your

compulsion missing from those journals.

Relax, Abner. Relax.

Come, please sit down.

Sit down, sit down. Sit down.

Close your eyes. Close your eyes.

Think of something beautiful.

Never say things so bluntly.

You might cause someone his heart attack.

Here, there's a tension right there.

Right there.

No, no, no. Please, no.

They are missing.

The devil.

- The very devil!

- It's all right.

But we still have to pay

Mr. St. Ives his fee.

I'm afraid 10,000 won't be enough.

I'll want something else.

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