The Stone Killer Page #2

Anything l hear about

the killing at the airport.

Only.

The foundation for good business

is insurance.

The foundation for good insurance

is premiums paid on time.

Now Armitage is dead, how about

the Wexton man who got himself arrested?

Lipper?

l've given the contract to the Wexton people.

The police have taken him to the hospital

for tests.

Los Angeles General Hospital.

Emergency call for Dr Gordon Gowe.

Los Angeles General Hospital.

Emergency call for Dr Gordon Gowe.

What's the matter, Lipper?

No matter what the machine says,

l'm not being cut.

Where'd you get that idea from?

They're doing it to guys

at Dannemora Prison in New York,

and at San Quentin.

l read about it.

They cut away half your brain.

Not here, Gus.

They put needles in your skull.

They say you can taste the burning

in your mouth.

ls that right?

-You can taste it.

-Damn.

We never did anything that bad in Vietnam.

l could tell you things

that would blow your mind.

But we never got that ugly.

You want to talk about Vietnam?

Some other time.

Ain't no sound like it, baby.

You want to help me change the plates?

This is Dicky Wells. When he was good,

no trombone player could touch him.

Hey, you want a broken arm?

Mr Lawrence says

he wants us ready by 10:00.

l sure hope Armitage's stand-in

knows what he's doing.

You said that 100 times.

Yeah, that's good for you to say.

See, you make your money easy.

You know, l sure would have loved

to work with that old guy.

l've heard he was the best.

He must have wasted

more than a dozen cats.

Armitage wasn't so smart.

-He was a heroin addict. Got busted.

-Yeah.

They're here.

ls the cruel one with them?

-Everything all right, Jumper?

-Yes, sir.

Pontiac Bonneville,

full tank, changed plates.

-The original?

-ln my bag.

That's good. Here's your money.

And a ticket to New Orleans.

Your flight leaves at 1 1 :30.

-My own car's still at the airport.

-We'll take care of that.

-You fly.

-Yes, sir.

We'll be in touch.

Alfred, like you to meet Graham.

Graham's been in Vietnam,

where he's had plenty of experience.

He knows it all, then.

Well, l hardly do anything, do l?

You do it all.

Alfred. Come on.

Let's show Graham his gun.

-He ready?

-Yes.

-Okay?

-Be my guest.

Wow.

Come on, Lipper. Don't make it a career.

Lipper?

The bread you get isn't worth the pain.

The gun, give.

You and me are gonna walk out of here

real normal-like.

A prisoner and a cop.

No hand signs, no nods,

and no acts of bravery.

-Sure.

-Sure. l know what you're thinking.

You're thinking, ''Would he kill a cop

for a piss-ass assault charge?''

Seems like a pretty high step

around 60 days, Lipper.

You just might be right.

But l'll put a bullet in you,

and you can be damn sure of that.

You must be crazy, Lipper.

Yeah, l've got a birthday party to go to.

The parking lot.

Here he is.

Run, Gus. Run.

Hello?

-What hit him?

-A complete state of death.

Well, let's have your tale of woe.

Dead man's name is Gus Lipper.

He had a gun...

Are you his interpreter or his mother?

Well, Lieutenant,

he pulled a gun on me inside the building.

He went berserk and smashed up a bar.

We gave him an electroencephalogram

to see if there was any neurological basis

for his violence.

There wasn't.

What was the matter with him?

He was one of the wounded,

an American victim. No noticeable scars.

Okay, Doctor. Make it easy for me.

Aggression and violence are part

of a learning process. They're habit-forming.

Now, Lipper was a type of addict.

We tend to count the victims

amongst the innocent,

but that's not always so, Lieutenant.

After we've shed our pity

for the basket cases and the burnt children,

we've nothing left

for the psychopaths we've created.

Vietnam doesn't make heroes.

lt makes a generation of Lippers.

Did he ever mention the name Wexton?

No, but there might be something

in his Army file.

-This your car?

-Yeah, well, l leased it.

Come with all those keys?

No, l work at a garage in New Orleans.

l'm just catching a flight home.

What's in those bags?

Couple of shirts, shaver, my stuff.

Why? Do you want to open it

and check it out?

-The other one.

-That's just some tools.

Open it.

Look, l'm going to miss my flight here.

l've got a driver's licence, papers.

What more do you need? Why the shake?

Bag.

Halt!

l mean, Torrey, there are other possibilities.

Just that.

Militant blacks again, sir?

The FBl thinks it might have relevance.

The FBl can piss in their collective ear.

They run around the rosie

chasing after fashionable targets

like communists, the SDS, Panthers.

l'm beginning to find you

a little hard to swallow, Torrey.

Hey, Captain, let's look at this thing.

We pick up a professional killer

with well-known Mafia connections,

a family soldier from New York.

Now, what the hell is he doing in this town?

Then he tells me there's a hit coming.

l get him to New York,

they're waiting for him.

They even knew

which flight he was coming in on.

Today, another killing. Similar. Classic.

You can't tell me that that's coincidence.

Play it your way.

But if you can't deliver

or if you go over the line one inch...

l'll be talking to Jumper.

l think he's right, John.

He doesn't have a damn thing, Les.

He's straight, he's got experience,

and he's the best damn detective

we've ever had.

He's vicious,

and your opinion is a minority view.

Upstairs, Jumper.

-Where we going?

-Upstairs.

Call you if l need you, Sergeant.

-Lionel Henry Jumper?

-No.

l just do impersonations.

We'll try one more time.

-Lionel Henry...

-Yes.

-You got your name on a murder sheet.

-Murder?

You're putting me on.

l wouldn't do a thing like that.

-Like what?

-Like what you said.

-Like murder.

-You're gonna wear it.

lf you got any talk to do, do it now.

What am l gonna talk about?

l got grabbed 'cause l had

some plates on me l bought off a guy.

Plates from a car involved in a murder,

and you don't ask?

Name couldn't be Wexton, could it?

l told you l didn't ask his name.

-You just went all white.

-You're out of your mind.

Not theft, not an accessory, murder one.

No. No. You can't.

l was at the airport when...

''When''?

You can't hit me.

l'll have you up on charges.

Who hit you?

l wouldn't do a thing like that.

You said ''when,'' Jumper.

You're crazy or something.

Sergeant.

Prisoner wishes to file a complaint

against me. Says l hit him.

Three times, you son of a b*tch.

-His face look marked?

-Not to me.

Take him downstairs.

Come on.

Hey, Sergeant,

-you see his sheet?

-l've got it outside.

-What's it say?

-Murder of Gustave Lipper.

Torrey, could l talk to you for a minute?

lf l make a statement and drop the charges...

You got nothing to trade, thief.

You're in too deep.

But if you want to help,

tell me about the car.

l took a car.

That's my... That's what l do.

They said it was for a heist.

What did they do?

Kill a night watchman or something?

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