The Damned Don't Cry Page #5

He'll be 14 next October.

In April, he won the ribbon

for Cadet of the Month.

I frightened you, didn't I?

A little.

I'm waiting for a friend.

He's in a meeting with Mr. Castleman.

I'm Mrs. Castleman.

How do you do? I'm Ethel Whitehead.

Missis?

Miss.

A pretty girl like you? Miss?

He's very handsome, isn't he?

Yes, he is.

A son can be such a comfort.

- When was it painted?

- Last April, when he won the ribbon.

I hope we haven't kept you

waiting too long, Miss Whitehead.

- Not at all.

- Good.

I've asked Grady to stay over.

I'm afraid I must send you home in my car.

Do you mind?

I'm not afraid of anything, Mr. Castleman.

Unless it's a bad driver.

Don't worry. My chauffeur will be careful.

He knows he's carrying valuable cargo.

Good night.

What happened in the library?

They offered me a job.

Secretary of the treasury.

Grady and the others,

they're just outposts in an empire.

They have everything in the world,

except a good bookkeeping system.

And they want you to give it to them?

Castleman's going to open up

a suite of offices, my name on the door.

- I'm to run the whole show.

- Marty, that's wonderful.

But it's more than just

a bookkeeping office.

It's a front.

A front for the biggest wire service

in the country.

I knew it. I knew you'd come through.

You haven't heard a word I've said.

It's to be a wire service,

for bookmaking, betting.

Wires to every racetrack

and sports arena in the country.

- All right, so what?

- It's illegal. It's against the law.

As long as there's a wire service,

and I know about it...

I'm an accessory before the fact.

They throw you

in the penitentiary for that.

What did you tell Castleman?

Nothing. He didn't give me a chance.

Just told me what I was to do

and that was it.

- What are you gonna do?

- I'm gonna get out. Fast.

Are you crazy? You can't do that now.

I won't let you.

You want me to be like them? A criminal?

You bet I want you to be like them. Smart.

Nothing's going to happen to you.

Castleman won't let it.

You don't understand.

This is a syndicate of organized crime.

Not just betting, gambling,

but narcotics, prostitution.

Every kind of vice and corruption

you can think of.

I don't want to think about it,

and you don't have to.

You're gonna be an accountant,

just like you've always been.

There is such a thing as self-respect.

Don't talk to me about self-respect.

That's what you tell yourself you got

when you got nothing else.

What self-respect is there, living on aspirin

tablets and chicken salad sandwiches?

Look, Marty...

the only thing that counts

is that stuff you take to the bank.

That filthy buck that everybody sneers at

but slugs to get.

I know how you feel. You're a nice guy.

But the world isn't for nice guys.

You gotta kick and punch

and belt your way up.

'Cause nobody's gonna give you a lift.

You've gotta do it yourself.

'Cause nobody cares about us

except ourselves.

It can't be right. It can't ever be right.

I'm not saying it is.

But if you don't do it, what happens?

I go back to Fit-Rite Frocks

and wait for the out-of-town buyers.

Is that what you want?

You know it isn't.

Then there's no other way. Not for us.

If I could be sure it was for us...

Marty, everything I've ever done

was for us.

Miss Whitehead to see Mr. Castleman.

Mr. Castleman says

he doesn't know any Miss Whitehead.

Tell him he has a bad memory.

I was at his house last night.

You don't trust anybody, do you?

Grady told me

Blackford didn't go anywhere without you.

But he didn't tell me

you went anywhere without Blackford.

Grady doesn't know as much as he thinks.

I had a talk with Martin last night.

The office idea is okay.

He's agreed to come in.

Was there any question about it?

Sure. A big question.

Martin has an important position

with a very old and reliable firm.

He'd be giving up quite a lot

to come in with you.

Really?

"Martin Blackford, 34 years old.

"Started work with Tuttle and Wagner

at $40 a week.

"After 12 years, raised himself $20.

"Lives with his mother in a cheap suburb,

drives a broken-down jalopy...

"and until hired by Grady never owned

more than two suits of clothes at a time."

Well, there are other things. The terms.

And there's a little matter of protection.

Protection? From whom?

Why, from whoever

you need protection from.

Or is running a bookie joint legal

these days?

My dear Miss Whitehead,

operating a wire service...

does involve a certain amount

of cooperation from the authorities...

and an even greater amount

from the public.

But I never initiate a project

until I'm assured of that cooperation.

As for the terms, I think Mr. Blackford

can safely leave those to me.

I didn't mean

you were gonna give him a fast shuffle.

It's just that he hasn't had much

experience at this kind of thing.

You seem a little new at it yourself.

Here. Sit down.

What did you really

come to see me about?

- Well...

- Excuse me.

What kind of perfume are you using?

Temptation.

I suppose it is, in some quarters.

Now, you were about to say?

I was about to say it was a pleasure

being associated with a gentleman.

But I was wrong on both counts.

What do I have to do to get out of here?

You have to get permission from me.

You enjoy making a person

look like two cents, don't you?

Well, get this straight. I don't like

being made to look like two cents.

Especially by somebody who was

small change himself not so long ago.

What do you mean by that?

I mean Joe Caveny who changed his name

to George Castleman.

You and your Etruscan flowerpots.

You and your sensitive nose.

Since when did Joe Caveny

know anything about perfume?

Since you were a loud-mouthed hoodlum

hijacking beer trucks in Jersey?

Running rum from Cuba?

Plugging guys for $10?

I can find out things, too.

You didn't waste any time, did you?

I don't have any time to waste.

I made the mistake last night.

I should have invited you into the library.

I admire a woman with brains.

But a woman with brains and spirit

excites me.

A woman like that

reminds me of Joe Caveny.

What is it you want?

I want what Joe Caveny wanted,

and what George Castleman has.

I think you're quite capable

of getting it, too.

There must be a place

in my organization for someone like you.

I already have a place in your organization.

I had a somewhat

more prominent place in mind.

Although there's a lot you'd have to learn.

I could learn it.

For example, lesson number one:

It's an Etruscan vase, not a flowerpot.

To be able to own one is one thing.

To appreciate it, another.

Lesson number two:

Cheap perfume is cheap perfume,

no matter who tells you...

Caveny or Castleman.

Lesson number three:

A well-dressed woman

never wears anything...

that deflects a man's attention

from her face.

Now that I see it...

it's a very handsome face.

Just what kind of a place

in your organization did you have in mind?

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