The Walker

This film contains some strong language.

-WOMAN:

-No, not at that time of year.

-WOMAN 2:

-She's nice. To me, at least.

Well, don't let her fool you. A tiger.

-WOMAN 3:

-She wears bite marks the way other women wear jewellery.

The trophy bride.

-MAN: She got her comeuppance. ALL:

-Viagra!

ALL LAUGH

If all the pricks that have been stuck into her

were sticking out of her she'd be a porcupine.

-Ooh!

-Oh, Car, what an image.

I saw that. That was a cheat.

Now, wait. Are you calling me a cheat?

Oh, now, come on.

I didn't mean the word pejoratively.

This is Washington, after all.

And I happen to be your partner.

-Yeah, that too.

-Your turn.

Oh, she just said no and walked out.

-Well, how much did you offer her?

-400 a week.

400.

The rich have such a touching faith in the efficacy of small funds.

Tennessee Williams said that.

So did I. WOMEN LAUGH

That's a beautiful meld you got going there.

What have you got over there?

Oh, nothing really. My hand is as bad as it gets.

Here, do you want to take some of these?

-Is that illegal?

-Did you notice Candice Howard?

Purple is an acceptable colour, just not her colour.

Not in a dress, at least.

I told her it was a wonderful fabric

and she was fortunate to get so much of it.

WOMEN LAUGH

Some day her prince will come.

Not before she kisses a lot of frogs.

The city is asking, "What can they be talking about?

"Such different women, what do they have in common?"

-You, Car.

-Besides that.

Nothing.

They know damn well what we're talking about - them.

-They wish.

-Wednesday's canasta at the Hargrave.

ALL LAUGH

I don't understand these women today.

God forbid a man to give them anything.

-Have you played?

-Yes.

Well, no, I've not thrown down. Here.

Yes, you're absolutely right, Natalie.

I mean, it's not enough to be a wife and a mother,

you've got to stand in a soup kitchen and wear a suit.

That's the former first lady.

No politics, girls.

Surrounded by a sea of special interest, we float above.

Car Page's crowd.

-Do you want that jack?

-They make us sound like a coven.

LAUGHS Let them wonder how much we know.

-How much DO we know?

-ALL:

-Everything.

All the dirt dished in this great city,

all the human waste exuded by our friends and fellow human beings -

all of it sooner or later passes through these ears.

This here's shit central, darlings.

-Lovely.

-Come on, Car, finish that story.

-Which story?

-John Corring.

-SHE HUMS

-And fair Juliette?

-Yes.

Quiet dinner for six in the South, that's like tinder wood.

"John," Julie says to her husband,

"why is it you never fuck me anymore?"

-Whoa.

-LAUGHS

Her tone changes. "Because when you do, you're so good at it."

The room quiets. She turns to Jessie. "Isn't he good at it?"

Oh, God.

Jessie and her husband freeze.

Just as the guests smell danger, Corring says, "Precious lamb,

"I never fuck you because ever since you went to Jenny Craig

"you're such a little bitty thing

"I can't even find you under the covers."

Thrilled, Juliette answers, "You really think I did some good?"

-Oh, my God.

-LAUGHTER

I heard Corring throws from the other side.

-Really?

-Mmm.

-He's straight, believe me.

-You're pretty sure?

One thing I CAN tell is whether a man is a homosexual or not.

Oh, how?

I am the gay weather vane.

Little signals, you know - it might be his choice of words,

the way his tie is knotted or...

..how hard he gets when he hugs me.

WOMEN LAUGH

-It's your turn.

-Oh, my God. Stop.

WOMAN: I'll never understand you, Car.

You luxuriate in the company of these... SHE GROANS

Do you know the damage those women... well, no, their husbands have done

to the things we care about?

I will fuck a congressman to stop nuclear proliferation.

Please, Car.

Mr and Mrs Stanley Heal of the State Department

open up the Washington Post to see their precious baby daughter

chained to a nuclear train

with who was it - Peter Bayhoon?

Holding up a sign that says, "I will 'F'-asterisk a congressman."

I'd be careful. I remember you in Jordache jeans.

Oh, please. OK?

You still on for the opera benefit Saturday?

I thought Larry was back.

My husband hates high culture.

He wasn't born to it.

-Neither was I.

-Well, you transformed yourself.

Yeah. Mmm, yeah.

What about next week?

-Do you mean...?

-Mmm.

You've got to watch yourself. This is a brutal political climate.

Whatever ruth there ever was in this town, there's less now than ever.

You only get to live once. What's wrong with a little...pleasure?

Mmm. That, my dear, is a very difficult question to answer.

Promise me you'll always be my friend.

-Mmm.

-Mmm?

I promise.

ANSWERING MACHINE BEEPS

MAN: Hey, Car. It's Emek here once again.

Please call me back. I've been trying to reach you.

Please call me, OK? Bye-bye. MACHINE BEEPS

-WOMAN:

-Car, are you there? Pick up, darling, it's Abi.

Car, are you there? If you're there, pick up.

MACHINE BEEPS

# I didn't know

# Which way to turn

# I didn't know

# Which way to turn

# Can't control my feelings if I try

# Right from wrong

# From left to right... #

RINGING TONE

-WOMAN:

-Hello?

-Abi, my sunflower.

-Car.

-So, tell.

How was that dinner party?

I need a dirt fix. Was it just swell?

Too, too, too, too much?

Oh, God, I could hear my hair growing.

The Austrian ambassador!

Imagine wasting me seated next to him.

And the House Speaker?

-I mean, is he always that tedious or is it just around me?

-HE LAUGHS

He's like one of those circus midgets.

They grow an inch or two and they lose their job.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Oh, God.

-Are you in bed yet?

-No. No.

-Tuck yourself in.

Let me tell you a bedtime story.

Now, public transport for the help.

Yes, it's a little pricey, but what isn't these days?

Mm-hm. OK. Uh, I'll call you back.

-Sam, send this out quick as you can.

-Yes, sir.

Good. Car, I swear, you are my most punctual employee.

Well, I was brought up right.

Besides, it's only one day a week.

So, what's new on the grapevine?

Ambassador Singh still hasn't closed on that townhouse.

Problem getting the Foreign Affairs Ministry to approve the allocation -

all that red tape.

He's not too smart as it is.

The wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead.

LAUGHS

One thing I did hear, though - this is interesting -

the Detners, after the energy scandal, they overextended.

I can list ten buyers who'd jump at that property.

THEY CHATTER

Abi, you know what you are?

You are an absolutely perfect thing.

Mmm, darling. You keep it coming.

Car.

-I'm glad you could make it.

-We must support the arts.

-Where's Larry?

-Public policy conference.

-Lucky guy.

-He'd rather be anywhere than here.

-SIGHS

-She exaggerates.

We don't see enough of each other. Let's get together.

Why don't you call the office and set something up?

It will be my pleasure.

Your father was a great man.

He was so proud of you.

Yes, he was.

Hey, Al.

Fuck him.

He knows exactly how my father felt about me.

-He hates my guts.

-Mine too.

Why people marry whom they marry I'll never understand.

Darling, don't let me commence.

US Attorney.

Do you know Mungo Tenant?

Mmm...not really.

I was just being polite.

Will you excuse me one moment? There's someone I have to see.

I'll be right back.

Carter, Lynn, how you doing?

Peachy.

-Peachy?

-That's the word.

How are you?

I'm fine, Robbie.

How are things in the private sector?

Any more investment tips?

Car, you're not still sore about Ultimed.

Let's get together, maybe I can make it up to you.

I don't want to be scalded twice.

How about next week?

Give me a call.

I'll see you then.

If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my seat.

Sorry about that, Natalie. You know how it is.

SPEAKS ITALIAN

What?

It's from tonight's performance, The Marriage of Figaro.

"How the night favours my secret plans."

Don't be so smart.

LOUD MUSIC AND VOICES

-Hey, Emek.

-Hey, Car.

I tried to call you.

Not very hard, you didn't.

Don't be like that.

Well, how should I be?

-Quo vadis?

-What - now?

Yes, now.

We've had this discussion, didn't we?

Don't be such a kid.

Do you want to talk?

I got a date.

With who?

Bunbury.

Don't quote Oscar Wilde to me. Anybody but Wilde.

Say goodnight, Car.

We talk tomorrow.

-Hi.

-Hey. Sorry to keep you waiting.

You want another drink, or something?

That's OK.

He sees himself as quite the aesthete,

but when she's done with him he'll be eating red meat and women.

What about you?

You talk about everyone else, but you never talk about yourself.

I'm not that interesting.

I mean, you do have a private life.

I'll let you in on a little secret.

I've invented my own sex.

See how they hushed, absolutely hushed, when I leaned forward?

All those big ears wondering what old Car was saying.

You haven't always been old Car.

In fact, I remember a young Carter Page who once, I believe,

attempted to ask me out.

The '70s were a confusing decade.

A lot of things were blurred.

Still, it was an interesting notion.

You want to hear a personal story?

OK, I'll tell you a personal story.

Not about me, of course. About my grandfather, Carter Page I.

'Plantation' Page.

This is before he started dabbling in politics,

became governor 19 years old, Covesville, Virginia.

He had fallen in love with a photograph of a young woman -

Johanna Combs of Philadelphia.

For a year, they corresponded daily.

My grandfather looking at her picture as he wrote,

"I honestly hope that e'er another Christmas shall have come

"our longings will have been displaced by full fruition."

My grandfather always talked like

a man with a Bible half open in his head.

He boarded the National to Philadelphia.

That night they went to the opera, at intermission he got up,

returned home to Covesville, married my grandmother.

The two pen pals, Car and Johanna, never saw each other again.

When my grandfather and grandmother had their first child,

they named her Johanna.

And that's it?

-That's the story?

-That's all I ever heard.

I'd give my right arm to know the rest of it.

Well.

-LYNN:

-Don't say it.

I mean, is it so important? It's just sex.

And that stuff you're breathing is just oxygen.

Mmm. Must get pretty lonely up there on that pedestal.

I appreciate it, I really do.

Oh, yes.

-I'll bet you do.

-Stop.

He's...

-SHE SIGHS

-..he's dead.

What?

Oh, no.

He was...he was stabbed all over.

-Robbie is dead?

-With a knife.

I called him this morning. I was going to see him tonight.

Oh, God.

Ooh.

Are you going to call the police?

Yeah, we should. CLEARS THROAT

Car... Car...

It would destroy everything.

It would destroy Larry.

The media...

It would destroy me.

Car...

What did you touch?

Nothing.

The doorknob, the door was open.

Is the door STILL open?

Let's get you home.

If anybody asks, just...

..tell them we went for a drive, talked about the old days,

I dropped you off.

STARTS ENGINE

Lynn...

is there something you're not telling me?

No.

No. Honest, Car.

There were no fights...not anything.

You must believe me.

I do.

It was all blood.

Thank you.

HE MUMBLES

CAT MIAOWS

There's been a murder.

Please send the police and the EMS.

943 25th Street North-West.

Carter Page III.

Yes, I'll be here.

CAMERA SHUTTER WHIRRS

So...

what did your friend do?

He was a lobbyist.

Who'll get Lancelot?

The cat.

They'll take it to a shelter.

No. I'd like to have him if possible.

How long did you know Mr Kononsberg?

20 years.

We were going to meet about some investments.

I got here and the door was open.

What do you think?

I don't know. Uh...a robbery perhaps.

Bit violent for that.

And who'd steal a computer tower?

He have a laptop as well?

I imagine so, yes.

You were close.

I didn't say we were close, I said I'd known him for 20 years.

PHONE RINGS

-Yes?

-CARTER: Senator Lockner.

-Carter, you've heard.

-Yes.

When it comes to crime, nothing in this city shocks me.

Lynn said that he was at the benefit Saturday.

Would you like to speak with her?

Please.

Car?

How are you holding up?

Fine.

-Can you talk?

-Not really.

I just called to say everything's under control.

It's an ongoing investigation, of course.

-Car...

-I know.

Don't worry.

LAUGHTER

-ABIGAIL:

-Darling, you kill me.

Well, it's true, the way it is with the stars of human sexuality.

I like this.

And I bet it's a hell of a lot less expensive

than Estrella or Mannheim & Fies.

Mrs Delorean, Mr Page. How nice to see you again.

I like this. Made in the US of A.

Oh, yeah, I've sworn off Europeans altogether.

It's only Americans for me.

I know what you mean, sir.

If you have any questions I'll be right over here.

-Oh.

-Oh, look.

This is the material that Louise de Vilmorin had on her famous chaise.

I hope it's made of stronger stuff.

-Louise's couldn't have lasted long given the wear she gave it.

-SHE CHUCKLES

Oh, my God, if there is a more handsome man, I want to meet him.

-Carter, you...

-LAUGHS

..you are outrageous.

-But you are gorgeous.

-Oh, thank you.

I didn't know Robbie Kononsberg very well. I didn't know you were close.

Yes, that was quite a shock.

Jack knew him. Of course, Jack knows everyone.

-He hates me.

-No, he doesn't. Nobody hates you.

One day everything is fine,

the next you're in an episode of Murder, She Wrote.

Who's the woman?

What?

Isn't there a woman in every murder mystery?

Are you going to get this fabric?

It'll make the carpet read without competing. I think it's a real find.

Car, you're absolutely right.

Write this up.

What would I do without you?

That we won't even contemplate.

We could deliver in Georgetown or, if you like,

we could send everything to your Middleburg residence.

Get around all that nasty sales tax.

Please.

God, he makes obsequiousness an art form.

Detective Dixon.

What a coincidence.

Oh, I was told you might be here.

Uh, Detective Dixon, Abigail Delorean.

How do you do?

I need to speak with Mr Page.

-Shall I wait?

-No, no, no, you go on.

I'll take a taxi.

Step into my office.

So, what - you're an interior decorator now?

Any progress in the investigation?

Why did you go to the apartment?

We've been over this. We had an appointment.

-And the door was open?

-Yes, that's what made me suspicious.

-Have you contacted your lawyer?

-Should I?

We'll need a DNA swab.

And Mungo Tenant wants to talk to you.

Why would the US Attorney's Office be involved?

He's made it his business.

MAN SPEAKS LATIN

"From the possible to the real."

That's the motto of Woodberry Forest,

the prep school Carter attended, Mr Withal.

I looked that up.

One of Woodberry's less illustrious alumni.

Myself, I went to Cumberland. It was good, but not...Woodberry.

No, Woodberry was for the sons of the well-connected.

-I didn't fit in.

-No, I don't imagine you did.

Mungo, Carter has answered all your questions. What's the point?

What was the relationship between the deceased and Senator Lockner's wife?

-Acquaintances.

-HE CLEARS THROAT

Uh, in fact, the last time I saw Robbie

I was with Lynn at the opera benefit.

That was the extent of their relationship?

To my knowledge. Have you asked Lynn?

What if we found evidence of Lynn's presence at Kononsberg's condo?

Wouldn't surprise me.

Robbie did a lot of entertaining.

You had a business relationship?

He advised me to purchase Ultimed stock.

I...made money for a while

and then I lost money.

-A lot.

-Considerable.

Because of Robbie.

I have only myself to blame.

If you're holding anything back about Kononsberg

or Lynn Lockner's relationship...

If you are going to press charges, do so,

otherwise we're leaving.

LAUGHS

Carter...

..every year your father would come to Cumberland

to speak at a civics or an American history class.

He was an inspiration.

A great American.

Like his father before him.

It was because of him I decided to enter public service.

When I heard him at the Watergate hearings

I was proud to say I was a Virginian.

What are you?

What have you contributed to your father's memory?

Is there a name for what you are?

I believe he's called a walker, sir.

He walks rich women from place to place.

Car, is there anything you're not telling me?

Tell me now, I can't be responsible later.

And don't fuck with the Feds.

After 9/11 they took the leash off.

They do whatever they want.

-Do you want something?

-No.

It'll all work out.

-Don't be naive.

-I'm not naive.

I'm superficial.

CARTER: Mungo Tenant knows the right questions.

Somebody's leaking information about Lynn's connection to Robbie.

And how did you get involved in this?

RAP MUSIC PLAYS ON COMPUTER

You ever listen to real music? STOPS MUSIC

-This is real music.

-STARTS MUSIC

STOPS MUSIC

If Lynn finds the body, all hell breaks loose.

I find the body, awkward, but I didn't think it was such a big deal.

So, what - now it is?

This is a mean crowd, this administration.

I ain't never seen anything like it.

It's a culture of revenge.

They want to revenge you, what - for your father?

No, that's just coincidence.

Lynn almost got pulled in, instead it's me.

Robbie's death is being exploited for political reasons.

Oh, can I, er...can I mention this to my editor?

Can you put down that crack pipe?

-LAUGHS

-Just kidding.

I just don't know how much longer I can stand to shoot photo ops.

"Scarlett, Scarlett, look this way."

Uh...is this, um...

..is this a new suit?

This old thing? You like it?

It looks a little bit like a... medieval suit of armour.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

I've got to figure out who tipped Tenant.

Hey, DC and Salt Lake...

it's the last two cities

where homosexuality is a ground for extortion.

Huh?

Lots of hypocrites.

Good American family man...

..you can squeeze him.

That's crazy.

You'd do that for me?

Yeah.

Why?

L-O-V-E. Love.

It's normal.

My first spelling lesson.

-Would you like some more?

-NATALIE:

-No, thanks.

Oh, I think I'll sit this one out. Chrissie, it's your turn.

Ooh.

-Ma'am.

-I'm thinking about going on a diet.

It's been proven thinking about it doesn't work.

LAUGHS

To dear departed friends.

Hear, hear.

All right, girls...theories.

Well, one word - Ultimed.

Kononsberg plumped for them all over town - both sides of the aisle.

Everybody took donations.

-Mm-hm.

-Even Larry.

Now he's investigating.

Gong! The whole thing collapses.

Biggest scandal since Teapot Dome.

-And nobody cares.

-It's a lack of moral values.

-No, it's Iraq.

-No.

-Iraq blurs everything.

-No war talk, please.

Wasn't Robbie supposed to testify in front of Larry's committee?

I don't think so. I think he was just a messenger.

-Bagman.

-Yeah, cherchez la femme.

Abi thinks there was a woman involved.

-Isn't there always?

-It could be just a robbery.

-No.

-Well, how about you, Car?

It's uncharacteristic of you to, er...be so reticent

about a subject so sensational.

Well, a friend is murdered and I'm told not to comment

because perhaps, perhaps, I am a suspect.

Well, who thinks that?

-Mungo Tenant.

-How could anyone suspect you?

They go with what they have, and I'm what they have.

Tenant's an absolute badger.

He's ambitious - he wants to be a star.

I heard that Robbie was in trouble.

Define.

Overextended, as in...

his financial means couldn't accommodate his lifestyle.

Where'd you hear that?

Where do you ever hear such things?

Robbie would never let himself get into such a situation,

not where he'd die over money.

It's always about money.

People say it's sex, but it's money.

That's very simplistic of you, Natalie.

SHE LAUGHS MIRTHLESSLY Speaking of...money.

Did you know that Josh Milleford wrote a campaign song

for the presidential race Al Smith versus Herbert Hoover, 1928?

# You've seen good days With Hoover

# Better days are on the way... # LAUGHS

# ..Money will fall from blue skies

-# Prosperity's here to stay... #

-Oh, darling.

# ..So say goodbye to Herbert

# And say hello to Al

# Say goodbye to Herbert

# And say hello to Al. #

-Hello, Al.

-ALL LAUGH

A year later the market crashed.

-I remember.

-ALL LAUGH

But you were just a young slip of a girl then,

not the beautiful woman you are now.

-Oh, doll.

-Cut the shit.

Oh, cut the cards.

Thank you, sir. Ma'am.

ENGINE STARTS

ENGINE STOPS

Tenant called you.

-Yeah.

-What did you say?

Last time I saw Robbie was at the National with you.

There's an informant.

Somebody is telling Tenant that you were having an affair with Robbie.

What did you tell Larry?

Same thing I told Tenant - we were acquaintances, end of story.

What would he do if you were connected to the murder?

He'd resign.

I could end this.

Is that what you're thinking about?

No, I...I was thinking about you.

Tenant is a baby sleaze who wants to be a big sleaze.

Nail a star, become a star.

It's how these justice boys think.

-A liberal star.

-TWO liberal stars - even better.

I don't just play cards, you know.

Sorry.

How come you're always so polite?

It was my mother's answer to chaos,

now it's mine.

We had a fight - Robbie and me - an argument.

Somebody could have heard something.

He had a lot of anger in him.

He said people had been treating him like shit too long,

he wasn't going to take it.

Why didn't you tell me this before?

I didn't think it was important. I'm telling you now.

And you saw him again after this?

I have been such a fool.

You do care for me, don't you?

Yes.

I always have.

There's something I've always wanted to ask you.

What?

How do you survive all those long political dinners?

-SHE LAUGHS

-Oh, I think about redecorating the room.

That, dear, is the most practical thing you've ever said.

MAN: Kononsberg was near busted in Ultimed,

then, two weeks later, he opened two offshore accounts.

No, he had money.

A few hundred thousand dollars were deposited in these accounts.

Well, if you could have found this out,

then the US Attorney could have also.

I would imagine so.

Car...

..you asked me to look into this and I did.

-Now I want to ask you a favour.

-Of course.

Don't drag me any deeper into this, OK?

Ooh. Well, I guess if it isn't offensive, it isn't art.

Look.

These are Robbie Kononsberg's phone calls for the past six months.

-How'd you get these?

-Well, I know people too, you know.

There is this guy who used to work for the DA's office.

-You got these from him?

-Nah.

No, no, no, that was someone else.

But the DA guy, he said the night after the murder

Tenant's at this dinner, he gets a phone call, all right?

He's up and he's gone, he doesn't say a word.

The next Monday he comes up with this theory about Kononsberg and Lynn.

-Who'd he talk to?

-I'm working on it.

But, look, one number starts popping up the last two months.

Actually, it's two numbers - one is for Jack Delorean's office

and the other one is for his cell phone.

-Abi's husband.

-The old lion.

You know what they say about him -

he never ran for office cos he'd have to give up too much power.

Oh, God!

Hey, the...the other thing, er...

..have you thought about it?

Is this really the right time to discuss this?

I think it's a perfect time. I have your full attention.

You want me to help you get a gallery show, I understand.

-I have discreetly inquired.

-Yeah, discreetly.

That's exactly the word I would like to talk to you about.

Be realistic. Look at this stuff.

It's not exactly subtle. It's agitprop, it's incendiary.

I guess that means you haven't.

I just don't want to feel used.

If you don't want to feel used...

..why are you in a relationship?

Oh.

This embassy used to be a society graveyard.

Supporting us in Iraq is the only smart thing Colombia ever did.

HE CHUCKLES

-Natalie.

-Why, Jack.

Oh. Lovely. Thank you. SHE LAUGHS

-Car.

-Hi, Jack.

Yeah, nice to meet you.

Oh, look at her.

Who?

People think marrying for money is easy.

Not true. I'm living proof.

Marrying for money is the hardest fucking job there is.

You don't get the money, you just get to look at it.

She's just discovering that.

Have you heard from Lynn?

No.

I haven't been able to reach her.

Well, perhaps that's best.

Oh!

Here I am!

Seating can make or break a party.

It's probably not a good time to get involved in Lynn's problems.

Which problems?

Oh, Car.

Let me give you a piece of Washington wisdom.

Never stand between your friend and a firing squad.

And there you are.

And between us...

..the sub head of the task force on terrorism.

The man couldn't find the ground if he fell on it.

Natalie, I need to ask you a little favour.

Oh? What might that be?

Do you know why Robbie Kononsberg and Jack Delorean

were in close contact the last month and a half?

Car... I believe you've mistaken me for a private investigator.

Natalie Van Miter, PI.

LOUD MUSIC

-MAN:

-On your own tonight?

Do you follow basketball?

Yeah. So?

What - are you a Michael Jordan fan?

Mmm. But I liked the team better before they changed the name.

Let's go over here. There's a room.

We can talk.

So, who did you work for?

You know, some asshole in the State Department.

-You live by your eyes, don't ya?

-Stop and you won't be in trouble.

Who are you going to tell - Barney Frank?

What do you want?

Stop playing a detective or you'll be working with a white cane.

Tell your friend that too. Tell him to do the right thing.

-You got it, sand nigger?

-Yeah.

Do you know Mark Hobern?

Of Grenville, Klein and Hobern.

He's Lockner's lawyer.

He came to see me. Our firms have a fee-sharing arrangement.

Hobern's firm has offered to cover any legal expenses you incur.

Why would they do that?

I didn't ask.

"Loyalty need not be dictated by financial concerns."

Those were Hobern's words.

Do you remember Susan McDougal? PHONE RINGS

Two years in jail because she wouldn't rat out Clinton.

-Seems like another era.

-It was.

Oh, excuse me for one second.

Yes?

What happened?

Where are you?

-INTERCOM BUZZES MAN:

-Who is it?

Carter Page, a friend of Emek's.

Step forward. Look into the camera.

BUZZ

Bradley's from the gym. He's a physical therapist, you know.

Thank you.

-How is he?

-I'm fine.

He needs a couple of stitches

and should have an X-ray, just to be safe.

-He can stay here?

-No, I'm fine to go home.

You've got to stop this.

Putting yourself in danger.

EMEK LAUGHS

Or else what?

Huh? You're not going to help me get a gallery show?

This is not a joke.

HE GROANS Listen, he said to tell you to stop.

"Do the right thing."

Would you recognise him?

Yeah, I would recognise him.

Who were you talking to?

INHALES SHARPLY

Sorry.

What were you trying to find out?

Robbie's connection to Delorean.

Now, this guy was supposed to be an unhappy employee, right?

And he would tell me things that would make my ears ring.

LAUGHS

That part was right.

So, what did Lynn say about the phone calls?

Huh?

Did you ask her?

I didn't have the chance.

What do you mean you didn't have the chance?

What has she done for you, huh?

Why are you trying to protect her?!

It's not that simple.

That's all right, Officer. It's his apartment.

-What's going on?

-We have a court-issued warrant.

-Am I under arrest?

-Not if you come in voluntarily.

Nice apartment.

Don't touch that.

It's 'Detective', Mr Page.

Do you recognise these?

No.

Is this Kononsberg's handwriting?

Kononsberg has no money...

..then suddenly he has money, then he's dead.

Doesn't that seem like a legitimate avenue for a murder investigation?

More relevant than, say,

Lynn Lockner's relationship to the victim?

You'll have to ask Attorney Tenant about that.

I thought this was your investigation.

It is.

Things aren't always what they seem.

You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be used...

Mungo, you've kept my client waiting all night.

I'm not sure you understand the seriousness of your situation.

-Possession of stolen property...

-Who told you it was stolen?

The same person who told you where to find it?

You're saying he gave you his watch?

I have no idea how it came to be in my apartment.

-There's no crime here.

-TAPPING ON WINDOW

I believe you're lying about the circumstances

under which the body was found.

TAPPING ON WINDOW

I want to know why you're lying, why we found a zip disk

from Kononsberg's computer in your apartment.

My computer doesn't even have a zip drive.

Zips are 20th-century.

We know Lynn Lockner visited Kononsberg.

So bring her in.

She's not available. She left town.

-Where'd she go?

-Palm Beach.

Her mother's sick. Don't you think that's convenient?

For you, yes.

If you brought her in, a minority leader's wife,

it might backfire.

I assume you are thinking of higher office.

GRUNTS AND LAUGHS

Carter Page.

Carter Page the 'turd'.

Mr Withal, you should make it clear to your client

he is on extremely thin ice.

I believe he is aware of that.

Ethan and I spoke earlier.

Out of respect for your father,

I'm going to recommend that you be released on your own recognisance.

That will give you time to give the matter some thought.

In my experience,

it's perjury that catches people out who think they're above the law.

Not so much the deed itself but the lying about it.

If you decide to cooperate

there's certain things that can be overlooked.

You contact Ethan.

And since you invoked my father's memory,

there's something I'd like to say on his behalf.

If alive, he would regret ever inspiring a person

such as yourself to enter public service.

Car...shut up.

Essentially, he's given you a three-day pass.

There was nothing on that disk.

Does Mungo just hate me, is it all homosexuals,

or is he determined to bring down Lockner,

or is it just plain old-fashioned ambition?

Perhaps it's a convergence of all four.

Did you know about Lynn?

I tried to reach her.

-And?

-Unavailable.

They've started a whispering campaign,

the bright-eyed, little errand boys from Justice.

Lynn and Robbie having an affair

or Lynn having something to do with his death,

and Lockner knowing about it.

The press isn't going to buy that.

At a certain point it doesn't matter,

the whispering campaign itself becomes the story.

-I need to see Lockner.

-What makes you think he'll see you?

Just contact him discreetly, see how he responds.

It's the wrong direction to take this.

What do you suggest?

Look to yourself, Car.

You may think you got friends in this situation, but you don't.

Decide what's in your best interest and then act upon it.

-Car...

-I know.

I'm just picking up some of my things.

How do you know what I'm going to say?

Oh, you were going to tell me that because of market uncertainties

your accountant suggested scaling back

and that I should take, what, leave?

Well, yeah, something like that.

I don't blame you, John.

I won't be but a moment.

-ABIGAIL:

-Hello?

-Sunflower.

Car, is that you?

No, it's a ravishing young teenager pretending to be me.

How are you, Abigail?

How are you? Isn't it terrible?

-What?

-What they're trying to do to Lynn.

What who's trying to do to Lynn?

You know who - the whisperers, the cave-dwellers.

They're trying to ruin her reputation.

These are cruel times.

In former days, men caught lying would have their testicles tied.

Today, they get a TV show.

ABIGAIL LAUGHS

Did you just make that up or were you saving it?

I was saving it for you.

Let's have lunch. We need a laugh.

-SHE SIGHS

-Jack is meeting with the Vice-President.

His relatives are here. It's keeping me busy.

I understand. I'll see you at the Hargrave, then.

-OK.

-OK. Bye-bye, then.

CALL DISCONNECTS

Hear that, Lancelot?

That's the sound of doors closing all over town.

PURRS

Carter, hop in.

-Senator Lockner.

-Larry.

Thanks for the offer - the legal expenses.

What are you talking about?

-How's Lynn?

-She's fine.

She went to visit her mother. Her mother's health is failing.

How much do you know?

About Lynn, Robbie Kononsberg's death.

I just know what Lynn told me.

She and Robbie were good friends, nothing more.

But Kononsberg was a lobbyist for Ultimed.

-Your committee is investigating...

-Were.

We WERE investigating. Now we're just pretending to investigate.

It's not my committee anymore.

But you would have liked to talk to him.

Yes, but I wouldn't mind talking to the Vice-President either.

The VP? Why?

Just to see him lie.

Lynn is afraid you'll resign

if she's somehow implicated in all this.

I'm sure you must have heard the rumours.

No, that's not going to happen, I'm not going to step down.

How do the rich get the poor to give them more money? They scare them.

Under no circumstances am I stepping down.

But Lynn...

Lynn has an exaggerated notion

of her importance in the larger scheme of things.

Why are we meeting?

I'm trying to decide what to do.

On the one hand, I'm disloyal, on the other, dishonest.

It's never easy.

Look at the big picture.

DOOR UNLOCKS AND OPENS

Hey, listen to this.

"Mungo Tenant, William & Mary School of Law, Class of '86.

"First intern, then partner in Colin, McKiln and Klein,

"a firm originally founded by Jack Delorean and senior partner

"the Vice-President."

-What are you doing?

-What?

Are you still playing private investigator?

Only a little, but just in cyberspace.

Just stop.

I'm trying to help you.

I don't want your help.

Don't you see what's going on?

They got you on a railroad...

..and they're going to railroad you, and you just...

..you just let it happen to you, you don't confront them.

You're going to end up in jail.

I can take care of myself.

No, you can't.

Any time anything unpleasant happens you just...you just smile

and tell a joke to your friends.

You know what?

You should be more like your father.

He stood up.

He wasn't afraid of scandals.

He wasn't even afraid to take on the president.

You're a paparazzi.

You make your money off of scandal.

You have no idea what a scandal really means,

how it destroys people.

And then what comes after?

We move to New York, buy a brownstone,

adopt a brown baby, walk arm in arm around the village

for the tourists to point at?

-Why fucking not?

-It's ridiculous.

-It's normal.

-WE'RE ridiculous.

(OK.)

OK.

You know, I've...

..I've stayed here only for you.

I don't know why. I should have left six months ago.

I don't want to lose you.

God, I always thought "wringing one's hands" was a figure of speech.

I thought you could change, but you can't.

Carter Page III.

You'll never be like your father.

They said I bend over.

You should have seen my father.

Well, there was a man who bent over.

Carter Page II, the legendary Car Page.

The Watergate hearings, his great moment.

Every day someone comes up and says, "Your father was a great man."

And I smile and say, "Oh, yes, he was."

He left Congress 20 times wealthier than when he entered.

What does that tell ya?

He was a crook and a fraud.

He was deeply ashamed of me.

But he's dead now.

Don't judge the dead.

Why not?

They judge us.

Each and every day.

Well, well, well.

I was wondering if you'd have the guts to show up.

It's Wednesday, isn't it?

And you're ready to play?

Yes.

Looks like it's just the two of us.

Canasta is not ideally a 2-handed game.

Car...I love your nerve.

How about a drink, then?

Why not?

-You look wonderful, Nat.

-Why, thank you.

-Henry, I'll have a sea breeze.

-A vodka and tonic, please.

Certainly, ma'am.

We'll drink to the good memories.

Oh, don't talk to me about memory.

Memory is a very unreliable organ.

Trust me, Car. It's right up there with the penis.

HE LAUGHS

Oh, there's something I've been meaning to ask you.

I thought of it last night and I can't get it out of my head.

Which actor portrayed the most US presidents in movies?

Oh, you.

Um...Henry Fonda?

No, actual presidents.

He played Lincoln, but in Fail Safe he was a fictional president.

Oh. I don't know.

-Charlton Heston.

-Close, but only two.

-No. It was Rip Torn.

-Oh.

He played Grant, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.

LBJ and Nixon - amazing.

-Your drinks, Mr Page.

-Thank you, Henry.

Don't let them get you down.

Ha!

Well...I have had some illusions shattered.

We all have.

I thought we weren't an aggressor nation.

I thought there was a separation between Church and state.

Hell, I even thought that the people elected the president.

SHE LAUGHS

You know, Car, you've always intrigued me.

You think you're a black sheep.

You're not a black sheep at all.

Do you remember the question you asked me

about Robbie and Jack Delorean?

Yeah. I apologise, I was out of line.

Your friend Robbie was up to something.

"Always follow the money."

Sometimes it's oil, sometimes it's pharmaceuticals.

I think it's time you and Lynn had a talk about that.

Well, I tried to reach her, she left town.

I tried her mother's, to no avail.

Uh, do you have a pencil and paper?

Oh.

Or a pen - even better.

You can be so naive.

Now, you can reach her here.

And don't be so...goddamn polite.

Now, um...what were we talking about?

Rip Torn.

No, we were talking about your wanting to be a black sheep.

In the end, all you have is your breeding.

It's all that separates them from us.

-Breeding.

-Mmm.

My great-grandfather got rich off slavery,

and when the Yankees took that away

my grandfather made his money raising tobacco.

I don't have any breeding.

If your great-grandfather were alive today, he'd fit right in.

THEY LAUGH

# I didn't know which way to turn

# I didn't know which way to turn

# Can't control my feelings if I try... #

-Who is it?

-FedEx package.

I'm not expecting any FedEx.

Lynn, it's Car. Open up.

FedEx. That was lame.

Jesus. What's going on?

How did you find me?

I did some checking.

Oh, your friend from the newspaper.

Maybe I should move.

Who are you afraid of?

May I sit?

Forgive me. Would you like some water?

Please.

I left Larry.

-Does he know where you are?

-No.

Palm Beach?

My mother has always been helpful.

Out with it.

I've been getting a lot of advice lately.

Let me give you some advice. Tell me what the fuck is going on.

Are you threatening me?

Yes.

Now, what was the deal with Robbie?

You don't know what it's like.

You think you do.

You act as if it's all some...

I hate it.

I'm not special. I just want what other women want.

Is that so terrible?

A husband, a marriage, a family, to be loved.

There is no such thing in this environment.

They talk about it - oh, they talk - but there isn't.

They don't need women, they fuck each other.

And Robbie was different.

SHE SNIFFLES

I was going to leave Larry, I'd made up my mind.

Robbie was making all the arrangements.

Abi said he was broke. That was not true.

He had money coming in.

Now, let's go real slow.

He was going to testify before Larry's committee on Ultimed.

-But he backed out.

-Why?

He said, "Why give away something valuable for free?"

I said he was crazy, he was playing with fire, but...

SHE SIGHS ..I was crazy too - we both were.

Now go back to when you found him.

What did you see when you came into the apartment?

What did Robbie know?

He was expecting someone to get a payment?

'What did he have that was so valuable?

'A computer disk?'

What was Robbie thinking?

What was he doing with Jack Delorean?

'He was dead when I came in.'

'Well, the crotch came after the first stabbing.

'It was an afterthought.'

'He took something.'

'What do you mean?'

'The killer took something off Robbie. It was a photo of him and me.

'It wasn't explicit, but it was...

'..affectionate.'

That's it, isn't it?

That's how I got pulled into this.

Oh, Robbie.

Robbie, you fool.

LYNN SOBS

I loved him.

What am I going to do?

-ABIGAIL:

-Hello?

-CARTER: Abi.

-Car, is that you?

-Missed you at the Hargrave today.

It was like Christmas without a tree.

There was something I had to do.

Robbie's murder.

I was just going over it in my head and I think I know what he was up to.

He was blackmailing the Vice-President.

That's crazy.

Think about it.

Robbie being tight for money, his involvement with the VP in Ultimed,

his resentment.

On the phone he said something about making a sale.

Said things were finally coming around his way.

He couldn't be that stupid.

Mmm. I think he was.

-Carter.

-What?

Elvis is dead.

Yeah, it is a bit far-fetched.

Did the fabric arrive yet?

-Yesterday.

-How does it look?

We'll get together. I'll call you next week.

It's a date.

'Night, then. I've got to run.

'Night, sunflower.

Well, Lancelot, let's see what comes of that.

What's it called?

The Kiss.

Appropriate.

Well, I'm going back to my place, get some clothes.

-I'll be back.

-I should come along.

-Don't you have that movie opening?

-Premiere.

-Uh-huh.

-And it's a good story.

You know, the daughter of a liberal black congressman

falls in love with the son of a right-wing senator,

and they run off and their parents join forces to find 'em.

It all ends up in Disney World, where, after much hilarity,

they all understand the meaning of tolerance.

That sounds terrific.

-I'll see you later.

-Take care.

Hey!

Hey!

Mr Page.

I just want to talk.

Hey, it was only a warning.

MEN SHOUT

-EMEK:

-Hey, motherfucker!

Come on!

-He came out of nowhere.

-Let's go.

-I couldn't stop.

-Do you have a phone?

-Yeah.

-Call 911.

Come on. Come on, let's go.

Wait.

There's been an accident.

-He's badly injured.

-Let's go.

-Let's go.

-Sick to death.

Come on.

Is that his ID?

It took some humungous testes.

Kononsberg I mean.

To blackmail the Vice-President.

Desperate men do desperate things.

Stupid men do stupid things.

That's, er...that's it right there.

-Right here?

-Turn left here.

CARTER KNOCKS ON DOOR

-What are you doing here, Carter?

-Abigail, my sunflower.

I need to see Jack.

-Is he expecting you?

-Mmm, no.

What's going on?

Is Jack in his office?

He does not like to be disturbed, Carter. You know that.

Well, I'm going to speak with him, Abi. This is my friend Emek.

He needs something to drink. Coffee, Diet Coke?

Regular, thank you.

Abi will take you into the kitchen, get you a Coke.

While you're in there, make sure she doesn't make any phone calls.

-Doesn't make any phone...

-Shh, shh, shh.

I AM going to talk to him now. This won't take long.

Jack does not like to be disturbed, Carter.

Don't worry about it, we'll be fine. It will just take a minute. Come on.

KNOCKS ON DOOR < What the hell is it now?

I'll call you right back.

I need to talk to you.

Call and make an appointment.

Now, will you please get out of my house?

His name's Edgar Kaminsky, ex-Marine Corps, ex-FBI.

His last known employment was head of Ultimed security.

He also worked for you.

There's no need to track him down,

this photo was taken about a minute later.

It's a criminal act to leave the scene of a crime.

Call the cops.

You know what I think? I think Kaminsky was two-timing you.

Worked for you, found out about Lynn and Robbie, sold it to Mungo.

Pretty good guess.

Sit.

What do you want?

Do you want to get Tenant off your back?

Mmm, that would be good.

The man's an asshole.

Where'd he get that name, 'Mungo'?

I believe it's British.

I'll do what I can.

Lynn Lockner's as well.

Have you talked to her husband, Larry?

Did he tell you that "This is a war"?

He likes to talk like that.

Well, this little war is over.

He lost.

YOU lost.

I wasn't a combatant.

Sometimes we don't have a choice.

Listen, Car, it's not personal.

I like you, I liked your father.

But you're on the wrong side of history.

People don't want your radical ideas, your agenda, your lifestyle.

People want...a story.

A good American story.

Yeah, maybe a murder story.

One that you wrote.

Me?

Of course not.

People think I have some kind of secret power.

I don't.

I'm not even elected.

I'm just an old man