Where The Truth Lies Page #3

I'm a French impressionist

painter out of Tahiti, mainly.

I'm doing that to pay the bills.

My ambition is to be...

...a stockbroker in Paris.

- I don't get it.

- Paul Gauguin.

He gave up being

a successful stockbroker...

...to become a painter

in the South Seas.

You think the average

person knows that?

Well, we're not talking about

the average person, Irv.

In some ways...

... he had never stopped

being a hero to me.

That's why it was impossible

to think he might also be a killer.

Well, this has been great.

I'm gonna see you

inside your apartment.

- There's really no need.

- Don't be silly.

I'm not gonna try to come in.

Promise.

You've been away from your

apartment for how long now?

- Ages.

- You never know if somebody's...

...broken in while you were gone.

I'll just see you inside your door.

Believe me, I'm...

I'm not trying to seduce you.

I have to do the Today show

at 7 a.m.

They want me in Makeup at 6:15.

Bonnie had moved to New York

for the teaching job...

... a little over a year ago.

I had never visited her and had

no idea if this was the right place.

Which floor?

Why...

- Four-D.

- Forty?

It only goes up to six.

Four-D...

Four-D, the fourth floor.

Which way?

- Guess.

- Why?

It's a test.

A test?

Okay.

This way.

So why didn't we take this elevator?

Doesn't work.

Well...

...good night.

No, I'm going to see you

into your apartment.

And then I'm gonna leave you

alone until tomorrow.

I never get which key goes in

which lock the first time.

Hey, looks like they fixed it.

You okay?

Maybe we should turn on a light.

Well...

I'm going to leave you now.

I have Reuben and Irv waiting

in the limousine downstairs...

...and I should get some sleep

for the Today show.

So...

It was lovely to meet you, Bonnie.

By the end of the telethon,

we had no voices.

Thirty-nine hours

of nonstop entertainment.

A telethon was a superhuman feat.

We weren't just heroes,

we were gods.

A couple of the boys were there

to make sure we got out alive...

... to make the flight to New York.

Everyone. Listen. Listen.

Gentlemen. Gentlemen, please.

Gentlemen, if I could just

have your attention.

Everyone, Mr. Collins

and Mr. Morris...

...will answer questions

at the press conference...

...at the Palace Del Sol.

Gentlemen, there will be

plenty of time...

...to answer your questions

at the Palace Del Sol.

Thank you, we will answer your

questions at the press conference.

Thank you for coming.

We had a full police escort, along

with bodyguards who were there...

... to protect us from any thoughts

we might have of going AWOI...

... prior to this press conference.

A pair of New Jersey's finest

walked on either side of us...

... as we entered

the lobby of the hotel.

It was an indication of how

legitimate the Mob had gone...

... that they could

bring in the local police...

... to guard the faade of their racket.

The local chief was a man

named Jack Scaglia.

And of course, the two

gentlemen on my right...

...who need no introduction,

have come here directly...

...from their record-breaking

polio telethon in Miami, Florida.

So the first thing I'd like to announce

is that Mr. Sanmarco...

I wish I could tell you...

... that Sally Sanmarco

was a slim, 6-foot-6 guy...

... who looked like a prince

and spoke with an English accent.

Then I wouldn't be

falling back on the stereotype.

The trouble was, Sally was

straight out of central casting.

A gangster

who looked and talked...

... just like you would expect

from the movies.

How did it feel to raise

all that money for polio?

It felt great. It felt really great.

From a publicity angle, and in

terms of giving him legitimacy...

... this was a huge coup for Sally.

Like I said, we were gods.

We'd only been in the New York area

for an hour or so, during which time...

... we were constantly watched

by police and reporters...

... which ended up being

a good thing for us.

We got you our best bridal suite.

F***ing nice, huh?

People talk about having fancy

apartments and hotel rooms...

...on the West Side of Manhattan.

What do they see?

F***ing New Jersey.

Here, you see New York City.

Unfortunately,

Vince and I were acquainted...

... with the dead girl in the bathroom

of our hotel suite in New Jersey.

Her last name was O'Flaherty.

Her first name was Maureen.

Karen, we decided to trade

apartments, not identities.

Why didn't you make up a name?

Bonnie, I was looking

at a five-hour flight.

I didn't wanna make up a life story

that wasn't attached to anything.

Well, I returned the offense.

I got to pretend I was you.

- What?

- You received a package.

Messenger service.

I signed your name.

- Who's it from?

- No address. Want me to open it?

- Sure.

- That's good. I already did.

It's a manuscript.

"Excerpt From the Memoirs of...

...Lanny Morris."

Hey, all your dreams are coming true.

He's writing you love letters already.

Bonnie, I need

to know what he's written.

- Well, I'll send it to you.

- Now. Before he calls me tomorrow.

- Please?

- All right.

All right.

Here we go.

"Let me explain to you why two

very famous guys just finishing...

...a nationally broadcast telethon

ended up in New Jersey."

For years, the Palace Del Sol was

one of the centers of Mob prosperity.

Needless to say, a major

headliner in the showroom...

... helped legitimize

the entire operation.

Give her a kiss. Yeah, beautiful.

One more, guys. That's it.

That's great. Thank you.

Vince and I needed help

in keeping us up all the time...

... and in the way of thinking

in the '50s...

... anything you didn't take

with a needle was okay.

It wasn't "serious" serious.

It was like running a red light.

Everyone used bennies. Vince added

them to his morning coffee like sugar.

Not that you could tell.

When we did finally

decide to flatten out...

... we'd take two or three Tuinals,

or three or four "Threeinals."

They were really good.

Between the moment you took them

and passing out...

... it felt really sexy.

Sure.

- Enjoyed the show.

- Thank you.

The walls of the Blue Grotto...

... were made of a mixture

of plaster and Styrofoam.

Flammable as all hell. But the boys

had learned it was cheaper...

... to give the inspector 200 bucks

and a ringside table to our show...

... than to spend thousands

of dollars on fireproofing.

Besides, it was always vital in

a business enterprise of this sort...

... to have the option to torch the place

at a moment's notice...

... should the need present itself.

One night, after our show,

we were taken to Sally's office.

We wondered

what we had done wrong...

... but what we had done

was done good.

Sally started going on about

how much he liked us...

... how he thought we were

a good fit with his crowd...

... meaning that we brought in

an audience of heavy drinkers...

... adulterers and gamblers.

So, what we want is for you boys

to come back here...

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