St. Ives

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Hey. Come on, get away from that car.

Come on, come on! Beat it.

Creeps.

- Hey, Eddie!

- What do you want, Mr. Green?

What do I want? I'll tell you what I want.

I want you to get a broom...

...and bash anybody

who gets near my chariot, all right?

- Those punks again?

- Give me the passkey.

I gotta rouse Sleeping Beauty upstairs.

Remember, they get near it, bash them.

Those no-good little bastards.

Ray! Ray! Come on. Come on,

get your ass out of that sack.

Come on, come on, up and at them.

Hey, the day's half over.

Let's go, let's go.

Raymond, time is money. Hey, hey.

Why don't you answer the box?

I left a half a dozen messages yesterday.

You think I got nothing better to do

than ring you all day?

Raymond, we've got business to talk over.

- We got a summons from your wife.

- Ex.

- Ex-wife.

- One thousand dollars a month.

One, zero, zero, zero.

On top of that bad news,

there's more bad news.

The first chapters of your novel have been

returned by another publisher.

- That's only the fourth one.

- It's the sixth, but who's counting.

The point is, there's no advance.

If you finish, we'll be able to sell it.

But that's not gonna happen today, right?

Hey, come on, you mothers,

get away from that car.

- Up yours!

- Son of a b*tch.

All right, now for the good news.

- You got an offer of employment.

- Not interested.

- You better be, buster.

- Abner Procane, male, white, 65 years old.

Extremely wealthy, eccentric,

lives on an estate in Holmby Hills.

He's had something stolen.

The thieves offered

to return it for a potful of money.

You function strictly as a go-between.

- For which I'll get paid?

- Ten thousand, cold cash.

And if we can finagle it a little bit,

possibly even tax-free.

- Do I have to murder anybody?

- As your lawyer, I would advise against it.

Look.

Please, your appointment's at 2:00.

Be prompt for a change, huh?

I don't know why I feel

this affection for you.

I mean, you sleep late, you don't pay me.

I don't understand it.

St. Ives here.

What are the odds

on the Rams-Dallas game?

Okay, 500.

Yeah, Rams.

- and the Cowboys call time.

A play came in from the sidelines.

Staubach didn't like it, so he'll go

talk it over with Tom Landry.

With the timeout, 8: 14 remaining

before intermission...

... with the score: Dallas 7, Rams nothing.

Ray St. Ives for Abner Procane.

Timeout, 8:
10 left in the second quarter.

Dallas 14, the Rams nothing.

Mr. St. Ives.

Please make yourself comfortable.

Mr. Procane will be with you directly.

Oh, Mr. St. Ives? Do come in, come in.

That film, The Big Parade,

is one of my favorite favorites.

Better days then, Mr. St. Ives.

- You are Mr. St. Ives?

- Yes.

- Mr. Procane?

- Abner Procane. Can I get you a drink?

- Yes, please.

- What will you have?

A whiskey and soda, please.

Has Mr. Green informed you

of my problem?

I wanted to hear about it from you.

Five brown leather-bound ledgers,

...were removed from a safe

in an upstairs office. A very tidy job.

- When did they contact you?

- Friday.

- But he didn't speak with me.

- Who talked to him?

I did.

The thief, or the man I spoke to,

will call again this afternoon...

...with specific instructions

as to the exchange.

He insisted you be here when he called

and that you act as a go-between.

- I think that's the expression he used.

- This is Janet Whistler.

- What else did he say?

- He demanded $ 100,000.

Old money, mixed serial numbers.

How do you know I'm not

in business with the thief?

Apart from the fact that you

gamble excessively...

...your reputation is flawless.

Yes?

He's here.

St. Ives.

This is St. Ives.

Yes. Yes.

Yes, I got it.

Sounds okay. At a Laundromat, 2 a.m.,

come alone. It's the usual.

- Where's the money?

- It's here.

Do you want me to come with you?

That's not necessary.

I'm being well-paid for the risk.

You'll be sure to call us

immediately afterwards?

Better than that.

I'll be right here at your door.

Is that your Jaguar?

- Yeah, what about it?

- The lights are on.

Sweet Jesus Christ!

Hold it right there!

Now, don't move.

All right, spread yourself

against the wall!

- I'm Detective Deal. He's Oller.

- Officer Frann, sir.

- What's going on here, officer?

- There's a stiff in the drier.

This guy was standing beside it

when I walked in.

Well, you better call the meat wagon.

You, up against the wall.

- Jesus.

- You know him, Ollie?

No. I think his neck's broke.

Here. See what's in the bag.

- What's your name?

- Ray St. Ives.

- Where do you live?

- Hotel Lido, on Wilcox.

Look at that. A whole pisspot

full of money here.

- How much is in there?

- I don't know. I ain't counted it.

- Well, count it.

- There's 100,000.

What do you do?

- Retired.

- Oh, yeah?

- Did you twist that guy's neck?

- No.

Is that your money?

Well, let's just say

I'm keeping it for somebody.

On my way home, I was driving past

this all-night Laundromat.

We don't have one where I live, so I

thought I'd drop in and have a look around.

I just walked in

when the motorcycle cop showed up.

You always carry a hundred grand

on evening drives?

A friend of mine, a little old lady,

asked me to hang on to it.

You know, the banks are closed.

She lives alone.

No record, huh? Okay, thanks.

You're entitled to call your lawyer

if you want.

Why do I need a lawyer?

You're asking questions, I'm answering.

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