The Girl Can't Help It Page #3

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The lady's a comedienne, eh?

She's under wraps, Lucas.

See you around.

- Come on, honey.

- Hey, Tom.

You sell her anywhere else,

and you're barred from here.

You couldn't meet her price, Lucas.

She's got it all.

##[Man Singing]

You want anything, miss?

No, thanks.

Just visiting.

[Applause]

##[Pop]

##[Trio Singing]

[Applause]

Well, if it isn't old Tom Miller,

the demon agent.

- Where you been hidin', boy?

- Around.

We were just leaving, Sam.

Come on, honey.

You gotta be up early

to work on the new arrangement.

Arrangement?

You sing too?

Ask my agent.

I intend to.

You couldn't meet her price, Sam.

##[Swing]

## [Singing]

- Now?

- Now.

Pardon me, miss?

I'm Joe Rogers.

I own this place.

Can I be of any service to you?

Please.

I'm going to the powder room.

[Gasps]

Oh, that was an ad-lib.

Sorry. Ask my agent.

Bye-bye.

[Applause]

##[Soft Jazz]

See how the strategy pans out?

The first time out, and already

four owners are drooling over you.

[Chuckling]

Oh, not now, Jerri.

The owner isn't at the desk.

This one's on me.

I never noticed before,

but, you know...

they put them too far

from the tables.

No more walking.

I promise you.

- [Chuckles]

- Good night, Jerri.

- Good night, Mr. Miller.

- See you tomorrow.

Mm-hmm.

Oh, Mr. Miller?

- Hmm?

- Why do you drink so much?

Just a habit, I suppose.

- A girl habit?

- Girl?

[Chuckling]

No. I haven't got a girl.

Mr. Miller?

If it was Julie London...

she wasn't very bright.

## [SoftJazz]

##[Woman Singing]

##[Fades Out]

He picked her up at her place, 9:25.

Cab to the Hi-Hat, Late Place,

Jungle Room, Tree Anon, Sunrise Club.

Cab back.

Left her at the front door, 2:40.

Pub crawlin', huh?

I don't get it, and I don't like it.

Call him up. Tell him to come out

to Long Island tomorrow.

Never mind him.

You'd better callJerri.

- Jerri? Why?

- Something's wrong.

Every place, first thing...

off to the powder room.

Poor kid.

What do you mean,

what does she do?

Listen, Roger, she sings.

That's what she does.

She's got a great pair of lungs.

Come up with a deal,

and we'll have a talk.

- [Knocking]

- Come in.

Mr. Miller, look!

You're in Earl Wilson and Louis Sobol.

Made it, huh?

[Chuckles]

"At the Tree Anon,

Tom Miller pubbed it with a new find.

Her name's a secret,

but the rest of her isn't."

I saw her yesterday.

She's somethin'.

She's a girl, Barry.

Just a girl.

If she's a girl,

then I don't know what my sister is.

[Horn Honking]

- You ready up there?

- I'm ready!

Oh, hi.

How are you, sonny?

"Sonny."

That's what makes

juvenile delinquents.

- Leave the papers here, Barry.

- Thank you. Listen, Mr. Miller.

Take me on for a client.

That would impress her. I can sing.

- Honest, Mr. Miller.

- Sorry, Barry.

I got my hands full.

There's gotta be an answer to that.

He has a place out here too?

The place used to be

the gambling casino.

He likes it there

because of the memories.

The old ancestral home, huh?

Oh, no.

Mr. Murdock wasn't born there.

But most of his best friends

were killed there.

You know, the police

used to raid it and everything.

Oh, don't worry.

Mr. Murdock put new carpets in all over.

Well! [Squeals]

How's this for a picnic?

- Picnic?

- It's a surprise. I'll get the lunch.

Won't Fats be surprised?

He's expecting us.

I picked you up an hour early.

We have lots of time.

You get the basket, I'll undress.

Undress?

Uh, Jerri, now, wait a minute.

There are blankets in here too.

- Blankets?

- To sit on.

[Giggles]

Come on. Bring the lunch.

If I have the strength.

So, my mother would say...

"Be nice to Mr. Murdock, Georgiana"...

and my father would say,

"Be nice to Mr. Murdock, Georgiana."

So I'm nice to Mr. Murdock.

Georgiana.

I like that.

Now I'm a Jerri.

You think a boy's name fits me?

- Hardly.

- I sure don't think it does.

You like how I fry fried chicken?

Delicious.

I thought you were gonna say

I should bottle it.

Yesterday, you wanted me

to bottle everything.

- Okay, bottle it.

- [Laughs]

When did you first meet Fat-

Mr. Murdock?

I was just a kid. You know, young,

but developed early.

Where did you meet him?

In Atlanta on visiting day.

- At the penitentiary?

- Mm-hmm.

I went there with my father.

You see, Mr. Murdock and my father

were former business associates.

I hope you don't mind.

It's just lemonade.

But I didn't use

any of that frozen stuff.

I squeezed fresh lemons

early this morning.

Early?

Before you had your base on?

You should've seen me.

I was a mess.

I don't believe it.

Then when did you and Murdock

get together again?

Well, he finally got out of jail.

Now I could come and visit

my father for a change.

By that time, I'd grown up.

One night, Mr. Murdock

looked at me funny, and it happened.

- I see.

- Oh, nothing like that.

What happened was that

Mr. Murdock looked at me funny...

and then he told me

he was falling in love with me.

So I told him he probably

just thought he was...

because I was the first girl

he'd made a pass at since he got out.

He said no,

that he really did love me...

and he was gonna

make me a somebody.

We'd better go now.

I'm sorry I talk so much.

It was very interesting, Georgiana.

A love story always is.

Love story?

I owe him.

Owe him?

For my father.

Like I told you...

they were business associates

in the old days.

And frankly, if it hadn't been

for Mr. Murdock...

my father may have gotten life

instead of just 10 years.

[Gunshots]

What was that?

Oh, it's just the exhaust

from a fishing boat.

Don't be so nervous, Mr. Miller.

[Squeals]

With what I'm thinking?

You sure haven't lost

the old pitching arm, boss.

Ain't they supposed to be here yet?

Oh, don't worry aboutJerri.

She's always on the dot.

She'd better be.

Legs Wheeler tipped off the cops.

It was a massacre.

Poor Pittsburgh Phil, he got it right here,

right next to Shotgun Shorty.

Then- Oh, yeah.

Baby Face Renaldi-This is where

he got blasted, right through the hatband.

Let's see, uh,

that makes 13, don't it?

I stopped counting

with Mugsy the Mugger.

Oh, Mugsy.

Nice little guy.

Looked like a sieve.

He got it right where you're sittin'.

Hey, you need a refill.

Come on.

Hey, you know somethin',

Tommy boy?

I could run guided tours

through this joint.

[Laughing]

It's kind of an educational,

kind of historical kind of place.

Of course,

it's not like one of them...

"George Washington slept here"

places.

But maybe even better, huh? The guys

that slept here really slept here, huh?

[Laughing]

Hey!

- Jerri.!

- Yes?

How many times I gotta tell ya?

No apron!

Well, I was just fixing

crepe suzettes, Mr. Murdock.

[Fats]

Well, stop fixin'. They're fattenin'.

Dumb broad.

All she thinks of is cookin'.

How can you make a star

with a waistline full of calories?

I'm not gonna make her a star, Fats.

You're not what?

I want out of the deal, Fats.

Get yourself another agent.

- I got myself an agent.

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