07x09 - Sing a Song of m*rder

[bunniefuu]

Darling, you can't expect
her voice to be perfect.

I mean, it's been a year.

And after all,
we do open Saturday night.

Oh, cut it out, Marla.

She's had a tough time.

Her voice'|| be fine
by Saturday.

Did I say something nasty?

Oh, dear, and I try so hard.

Sometimes would
you try putting yourself

in Barbara Sonderman's place?

I always do.

Sopranos! Oh...!

By

by

It's quittin' time.

How was |, Paul?

Good as you ever were, Barbara.

No, better.

Honey, quit punishing yourself.

It's all there.

You'll be great tomorrow
for the dress rehearsal.

How nice to have somebody who
really believes in you again.

How long have I been pounding
the keyboard for you?

Five years.
It's more like six.

Baby, we all get scared.

Talent, it's a mystery.

But you've got it.

Saturday night you'll
have 'em all cheering.

They'll need an extra
dressing room for the flowers.

I guarantee it.
Thanks, Paul.

Bye-bye.
Bye.

By

What is it, Barbara?

Andy!
What's wrong?

You okay, Miss Sonderman?

Uh, yes, fine, Grady.

I thought I heard a sh*t.

A sh*t?
Yeah, in the theater.

No, I just knocked over a lamp.

Yeah? Well, it sounded
like a g*n to me.

The bulb exploded.

We don't want anything
happening to you.

Nothing will happen
to me, Grady.

My contract doesn't allow it.

With a spirit like that,
Saturday's got to be

your lucky night.
Thank you.

Barbara... what
did happen out there?

I think somebody
tried to k*ll me.

Good morning, Peggy.

Good morning, Joe.

Oh, Brownie called.
Yeah? Any luck?

She said the opera's
been sold out for over a month,

but she managed
to scare up one ticket

for opening night Saturday.

Good old Brownie.

She said you wouldn't think so
when you got her bill.

Not this time--
it's worth it to see

Barbara Sonderman's first
performance in over a year.

There's only one thing, Joe.

You'll be seeing her
before that.

Meaning what?
She called you.

Barbara Sonderman?!

Carmen herself.
About what?

She didn't say;
she just said it was important.

And I take it
you accepted for me.

Joe, I know
how much you love opera...

and beautiful women.

You know, after
all these years, Peggy,

you're really
getting to know me.

You're due
in her dressing room at :.

She's having a rehearsal now.

Meanwhile, I, uh,
did a rundown on the lady.

Some gal--
a string of broken hearts

from Rome to London
and all points west.

So I've heard.

Joe...

Los Angeles is still open.

I'll try to be careful.

By

Okay, folks, now, tomorrow we're
gonna have two rehearsals--

: in the morning,
: tomorrow afternoon.

Please be on time
for both, will you?

Thank you very much.

Who is it?

Joe Mannix.

Oh, yes.

Come in, please.

Hello, Mr. Mannix.

Miss Sonderman.

I always thought
private detectives

wore felt hats
and pencil moustaches.

Well,
I could send out for them.

That won't be necessary.

Actually, Miss Sonderman,
I didn't expect to see you

until Saturday night.

You're coming to the opening?

Yes.

A private detective
who goes to opera?

Unless there happens to be
a hard rock concert at the Bowl.

Would it bother you
if I changed while we talk?

Not at all.

I hope you won't be
disappointed on Saturday.

I used to be
a very good Carmen...

before I stopped singing.

Why did you stop?

My voice started to go.

You have any idea what that
means to a singer, Mr. Mannix?

Some.

Death.

Like an early death.

Hm.

Miss Sonderman, uh...
you didn't call me here

because you've had
trouble with your voice.

No.

Yesterday,
after the run-through,

someone tried to k*ll me.

k*ll you?

I was alone on stage.

There was a sh*t.

It just missed me.

Did you call the police?

No.
Why not?

It's been a long year.

I've waited a long time.

I've got my voice back,

and I want my return
Saturday night

to be the best performance
of my career.

I'm not going
to have it postponed

or canceled for anything.

Not even if
your life's in danger?

The only life I have,
Mr. Mannix, is singing.

Do you have any idea
who sh*t at you?

None.

How about Karl Henning?

What have you been reading?

Back issues--
newspapers, magazines.

Publicity.

Waste of a lot of good trees.

Not all of it.

You graduated from high school

and you went to study

with an internationally
known voice coach.

You had your operatic debut
in Carmen at La Scala.

Great success.

"The best young soprano
in years."

Well, that's
what Newsworld said.

And then, uh,
along came Karl Henning.

What did Newsworld
say about Karl?

He had too much money;

you had too much
temperament-- boom!

Boom is right.

We kept exploding
in each other's face.

That was a long time ago, and
I haven't seen Karl in years.

And, you know,
if he sh*t at me...

it was an awfully
delayed reaction.

Hm.

Does anybody else
know about the sh**ting?

Andrew Jordan.

He should be waiting outside.

I advised her to go
to the police, Mr. Mannix.

I still think she should.

What Andy is, is, um...

well, I guess you could say
he's my honorary uncle.

I've known Barbara
since she was a child.

In Santa Marina;
that's a little town up north.

He's an investment banker.

But I'm his real investment...
aren't |, Andy?

She has a great gift,
Mr. Mannix.

I heard her sing the first time

the day she graduated
from Santa Marina High.

, and all legs.

Oh-ho-ho, all voice, my dear,

right from the start.

It was Andy who
persuaded my father

to send me to Rome to study.

She would have withered
in Santa Marina.

Poor Daddy, he...

he thought singing
was all right for a girl,

if she did it in the kitchen
while she cooked.

Your father was a policeman,
as I remember.

Cop.

Daddy always said
he was a small-town cop.

He never even heard me sing.

Andy was going to bring him
to Italy for my debut.

Now, Barbara...
What happened?

Well, a week before
Barbara sang at La Scala,

her father was k*lled.
How?

It was a hit-and-run car.

Oh, Barbara!

Ah,

Oh, excuse me.

Hello, Marla.

You were fabulous today.

Absolutely fabulous.

Joe Mannix,
my understudy, Marla Vaughan.

Hello.

How do you do?

You know, I heard
the wildest rumor last night.

Really?

Of course,
I didn't believe a word of it.

I mean, you know
people at parties.

I said, "Darling,
I know Barbara,

"and she'll open Saturday night,

even if she has
to sing on crutches.”

Are you with the media,
Mr. Mannix?

No.

You look like
you're with the media.

Doesn't he, Barbara?

Mr. Mannix is
a private detective.

Oh.

Well, then it's true, darling.

What is?

That you're being threatened.

Who told you
she was being threatened?

I can't remember exactly, and...

and besides, I was sort of
zeroed in on the host.

You remember him,
don't you, darling?

Karl Henning?

Somebody sh*t at Barbara?

At your party last night,
somebody told Marla Vaughan

that Barbara
was being threatened.

Marla... Oh, yes, Barbara's
understudy... in the red dress.

Or almost in it.
Mm.

She, uh, say
who told her about the thr*at?

She couldn't remember.

She was concentrating on you.

Mr. Mannix, I had
over guests at that party.

of them I know,
the rest are freeloaders.

Can I fix you a drink?

No, thanks.

But I can tell you one thing.

Barbara Sonderman's beautiful,
intelligent, a great talent.

We had quite a year together.

It was-- what's the word?--
unforgettable.

But little old Barbara
is also the kind of woman

who would walk
through a brick wall

if what she wanted happened
to be on the other side.

Mm-hmm.

What would you say
is on the other side?

Publicity.

You're saying the sh*t

at the theater
was a publicity stunt?

If there was a sh*t.

She didn't call the newspapers.

She's smarter than that.

She hires a detective instead.

But the story will leak.

Sorry, Mr. Henning,
but I don't buy that.

That's because you don't know
little old Barbara.

But you do, darling, don't you?

Intimately.

Isn't that how you know her?

I was just answering
a few questions for Mr. Mannix.

How nice.

Mr. Mannix, this is
Angela Talbot, my fiancée.

How do you do?
Hello.

And how long have you known
Barbara, Mr. Mannix?

I met Miss Sonderman
for the first time today.

Oh.

Try two days.

Maybe you'll know her
intimately, too.

Mr. Mannix is
a private investigator, dear.

Oh, is she breaking up
somebody's marriage?

Not exactly.

Somebody tried
to k*ll her last night.

Oh.

I take it they missed.

Yes.

Just my luck.

Oh, hey, I'm sorry.

I... I didn't mean that.

I don't want Barbara hurt.

It's just that I'm jealous.

She's famous, smart...

and what am I?

I'm stupidly rich.

And beautiful.

Mr. Mannix,

Angela and I are getting married
next month.

It's going
to be a good marriage,

and a happy one.

And that's what
Barbara can't stand--

Someone else's happiness.

So, you can tell her for me,

if she tries to break this up,
I will stop her.

I'll stop her dead.

Peggy, uh, Angela Talbot--
check her out--

Root, branch and bank account.

Right.

Oh, and, uh, Karl Henning, too.

Henning?

With two yachts and a jet,
I'd say he's rich.

Well, find out how rich.

I'll be back
in a couple of minutes.

You just got here.

Ever since I left
the Music Center,

somebody's been following me.

He's outside.

I'm going out the back way.

Keep looking straight ahead.

Hey, I'm clean.
What is this?

You've been tailing me
all day-- why?

I've been thinking about buying
a new car like yours.

You better talk straight,

or you won't be talking
at all for a while.

Who are you? Easy.

Anthony Spinner.

That's right, Mannix.

I'm one of the tribe.

Private eye like you,
bonded and all.

This is an Illinois license.

I like the California sunshine.

Who hired you to follow me?

Karl Henning.

Henning? Why?

He likes to know exactly

who's hanging around
with his girlfriend.

Angela Talbot?

I said girlfriend.

She's the bride.

Then who?

Barbara Sonderman.

Who was it, Joe?

Someone with bad news.

What kind of bad news?

According to our friend
out there,

my client's been
holding back on me.

Who is he?

His I.D. said
he was a private investigator.

But you think he's a phony.

Anthony Spinner, Illinois.

Check him out, Peggy.

Right.

What exactly did he say, Joe?

Well, that Barbara Sonderman
and Karl Henning

still have
that old flame burning,

only this time in... secret.

And you believe him?

I'm trying not to.

Why don't you ask the lady
her side of the story?

Yeah, call her, Peggy.

Tell her I want to see her.

It's important, huh?

Right.

Joe...

...you really
like her, don't you?

That's right, Peggy.

I don't care what he told you.

He's lying.

I'm not Karl Henning's girl.

I'm not his anything.

Spinner's a hired hand.

He's a private detective
like I am.

What's his percentage in lying?

Ask him.

Does Karl Henning hate you?

Karl's a gambler.

He doesn't hate.

He calculates.

He's got the idea
that you're trying

to break up his engagement
to Angela Talbot.

Are you?

Leave me alone.

I've answered enough questions.

You're paying me
to do a job.

I'm trying to do it.

Are you trying to break them up?

What for?

He's welcome to Angela...
and her money.

I've an idea he needs it.
Why?

'Cause he's drawn pretty thin.

Oh, they're not about
to repossess his yacht,

but Angela Talbot's family
represents a lot of ready cash.

And he's not going to let
anything rock his marriage.

Are you trying to say
it might have been Karl

who fired that sh*t at me...
to scare me off?

It's possible.

It's also ridiculous.

Now look, Barbara,
somebody pulled that trigger.

There has to be a reason.

I'm tired, I've had a long day,

and I've got an early rehearsal.

Sure.

Joe?

I'm sorry.

I don't get angry
at people I don't care about.

I like you.

Very much.

From the second you walked
into my dressing room

without a felt hat
and a pencil moustache.

Maybe I was a little rough
on you, Barbara, but...

somebody wants you dead,
and I've got to find out why.

Okay?

Okay.

Now, uh,

during this year,
did anything happen,

when you stopped singing,
that could explain the sh*t?

Nothing I know of.

I hid.

I pulled the shades down
and sat... alone.

I tried to put my life
together again.

How?

Writing about it.

My own autobiography, sort of.

One or two publishers
have asked to see it.

Mm-hmm.

Would there be anything in it
somebody wouldn't want known?

You mean juicy?

Mm-hmm.

No.

Just my own personal history.

Santa Marina, my father,

La Scala, Rome.

Could I see it?

If you can read my handwriting.

It's in my desk.

Who is it?

Andy.

Oh, Andy!

Just stopped by
on my way to the airport.

Good evening, Mr. Mannix.

Jordan.

You're not leaving town.

What about the opening Saturday?

Oh, I'll be back in time.

Wouldn't miss it for the world.

I've got some business
to take care of.

Um, any progress?

Loose ends.

Well, I still think
Barbara should go to the police.

Now can't you convince her
of that?

She never listens
to any advice I give her.

Only financial, Andy.

He may be right, Barbara.

This guy's a real pro.

Wore used hiking boots,
oversized.

No way
of tracing the footprints.

Yeah, it figures.

You want me
to leave a man behind,

just to make sure nothing
happens to Miss Sonderman?

No, thanks.
I've, uh, got a better idea.

Joe, I think I ought
to call the maestro

or Grady or somebody to take--

No, Barbara,
you cannot call the maestro

or the company manager.

Now, if nobody knows where
you are for the time being,

you'll be safe, hm?

Anything else, Joe?

Mm...

Yes, Peggy, yeah.

You can go home.

He's stubborn and opinionated,
Miss Sonderman.

But listen to him.

He's right an awful lot
of the time.

I will.

Good night.

Thanks, Peggy.
Good night, Peggy.

You know, I guess
it's just beginning

to sink in for the first time.

Somebody really does
want me k*lled.

I don't think so.

Well, Joe, a firebomb was thrown
at me tonight.

Not at you.

But I was sh*t at, wasn't I?

But you weren't hit.

Luck.

No, it wasn't luck.

I'm beginning to think that that
firebomb was meant for the desk,

not you.

They don't want you dead,

just frightened.

But why?

Barbara...

was the manuscript
in your desk

the only copy you had?

Yes.

But I told you,
it was mostly about myself.

Barbara...

you can't write a book
about a life like yours

and not involve other people.

You're not an island,
you're populated.

Somebody didn't want
that book published.

Why?

Let's start back a little.

Now, you, uh... you said
your father was a cop.

And he was k*lled
by a hit-and-run driver

about a week
before you opened at La Scala.

Yes.

I loved him, Joe.

He didn't know anything
about opera, or art,

and La Scala might have been
a place they made pizza but...

everything he had, he gave me.

And that included,
beside his love,

every penny he had.

Mm. To study in Italy?

Mm-hmm.

$,.

Everything he had
in his pension fund.

How long was your father on the
police force in Santa Marina?

Mm, eight years.

I think we'd better go up there.

To Santa Marina?

Mm-hmm.

The arrow keeps pointing
in that direction.

North.

I sent for the files,
Miss Sonderman.

I really didn't have to.

I remember
the circumstances clearly.

You see, I handled
the details personally.

It's a tragedy, you know.

Your dad was really well-liked.

Chief, you were the one
that notified Miss Sonderman...

and arranged about the money?

Yeah, his pension fund.

What was left
after the funeral expenses.

I figured you'd
want it done right.

Oh, yes, of course.

You were very kind, thank you.

It cost only a little more than
$, but still it was nice.

I sent you the rest.

Everything left
in the pension fund.

That's after
the $, was withdrawn.

What $,?

Well, the money my father took
out of the pension fund,

two months before he d*ed.

There must be some mistake,
Miss Sonderman.

There was
little less than $,

in your dad's pension account.

That's all the money he had?

As far as I know.

Joe, you knew, didn't you?

We came up here
because of that $,.

It was just too much
for a policeman to accumulate

in a pension fund
in eight years.

You mean... honestly.

There's no way
that money could have

come out of that
pension fund, Barbara.

Now if it didn't,

if it was blackmail
or a payoff,

it would explain maybe
why you've been pressured,

maybe even why
your father was k*lled.

You didn't know my father.

He wouldn't have touched
that kind of money.

Maybe not to buy a set
of golf clubs or a big car.

But, uh, for you...
he just might have.

Me?!

Yeah, he had a kid,

a kid with a rare gift.

Somebody must have said:
"Nils, that daughter of yours,

"she's got a golden voice
and a big future

if you can get her
to Europe to study.”

Futures are expensive.

He didn't have the money
to bankroll it.

So he did something
he'd never done

in all his years as a cop.

He took.

They waved money in front
of him and, uh...

he took.

What did he have to sell?

Well, I don't know, Barbara.

But whatever it was,

I think it could be
the reason he was k*lled.

We pay, don't we?

Sooner or later,
the man comes along...

he collects.

It happened
right here, stretch of road,

eight, nine miles
outside of town.

What was Sonderman
doing out there?

Looking for a runaway boy.

Jeffrey Blake.

Nils, I guess, figured the kid
was hitchhiking.

Evidently he stopped
the car for some reason,

got out,
started across the road.

From here to here.

Then what happened?

I figure the
hit-and-run came from here,

speeding around the curve,
hit Nils at this point.

What about the boy?

Turned out he was already
on his way back home.

One of those bad breaks.

Yeah.

Could I see the file
on the case, Sergeant?

Sure.

It's right over here.

You know, we conducted
an investigation.

There wasn't anything.

A hit-and-run, that's all
that turned up.

And a dead cop.

Huh.

"Local Police Officer
Hit-and-Run Victim".

I did a piece myself
on all those cars coming

lickety-split off that road
Henning built out there.

Karl Henning?

Right.

Where did the road go?

Out into the marsh.

Henning had
a geologist's report that

under the marsh there was oil.

Was there?

No.

But it took a pile of money
to put that road in.

Word got around Henning was
running pretty tight on cash

before he quit drilling,
and he was having trouble

getting financing for it.

But it didn't last.

Money came in from somewhere.

But the talk was,

the money had a smell to it.

Hmm.

Uh... what kind of smell?

Underworld.

Henning isn't
a man to be particular.

A year later he found oil
in the channel,

got his leases cleared,
and he was back in business.

Now the town's cheering him on.

Everybody's figuring
to be rich, fat,

and happy as a clam
on a windy day.

Then it was mainly
Henning's cars

using the road
where Nils Sonderman was k*lled?

That's right.

Yeah.

Sonderman was looking
for a runaway boy that day--

Jeffrey Blake.

Do you know if Blake
is still living here in town?

Jeff? Why, sure.

He's working
for Henning Enterprises.

Been three, four years now.

Hm.

Well, thank you, Mrs. Kramer.

No-- Ms.

Got to keep with it.

Of course.

Can I help you, Mister?

Yes. I was told
I could find Jeff Blake

here at this loading area.

Is he around?

Sure thing.

I'd like to talk to him.

Not on company time.

Chuck... it's all right.

I'll vouch for Mr. Mannix.

Sure thing, Miss Talbot.

Thank you.

Mm- hmm. Isn't Santa Marina
a little bit

out of your territory,
Mr. Mannix?

Well, when I'm working on a
case, I cover a lot of ground.

Is Mr. Henning around?

No, he's in Sacramento
for the day.

I'm Jeff Blake.

Oh, Jeff, this is Mr. Mannix.

He's a private investigator.

He's representing
a friend of ours.

So answer
all his questions, hm?

Sure, Miss Talbot.

sh**t, Mannix.

Jeff, some years ago,
you ran away from home

and a local policeman
named Nils Sonderman

went looking for you,

got himself k*lled
by a hit-and-run car.

Yeah, that was
a real bummer for Sonderman.

I mean, a thing like that
happening after he found me.

After he found you?

Well, yeah.

Can you, uh, show me where?

Sure.

You're sure this is
where Sonderman picked you up?

Pretty sure.

Yeah.

Look, it was a long time ago.

Things change.

This road's been abandoned

since they built
that highway down there.

But, uh... yeah...

Nils found me right about here,

trying to thumb
a hitch to Sacramento.

Why Sacramento?

My old man works up there.

I didn't get to see him
all that summer,

and I got this idea in my head--

Hike to Sacramento,
spend the summer with him.

Pretty dumb, huh?

What was I supposed to do,
sit around his office all day?

Anyway, Nils got to me.

Man, he sure fanned
my tail for me, too!

For taking off?

More for scaring
the daylights out of my mom.

I haven't run away since.

Did, uh, Nils drive you home?

He was about to.

He'd just about convinced me
to go back with him.

I started to get in the car,

when another car came
along that road.

Right there.

Nils started acting
kind of strange.

Because of the car?

Because of the two guys
in it, I think.

Nils knew them.
Did you?

Uh-uh.

Could you describe
what either one

of the two men
in the car looked like?

Look, Mr. Mannix,
I was just thinking

about what was waiting
for me at home.

Well, what happened then?

Well...

I remember the car
pulled alongside,

and the two guys looked at Nils,

and he said to me,
"Go on, Jeff, b*at it home.

I got some business
to take care of.”

Then he kind of give me
a shove to get started.

So I took off.

You're sure you can't remember

what either one
of the two men looked like?

They just didn't register.

I guess I haven't been
too much help to you, huh?

Ah, you been just fine, Jeff.

Let's go.

Hang on,
I think we're in trouble.

By

Well, you seem to be
in one piece, Mr. Mannix.

You're going to have a sore gut

and a variety
of black and blue marks

for a week or so,
but that's about the damage.

How is the boy Jeff Blake
coming along?

He was banged up pretty badly,
but he'll walk out of here, too.

Joe, what are you doing
out of bed?

Standing.

Shouldn't he be resting, Doctor?

Not here.

We need the room.

Peggy, I'm fine.

Fine?

Get practically k*lled,
and he's fine.

He was lucky this time.

And I came chasing
all the way up here

to sit in on the reading
of his will.

Well, you can just chase
yourself right back to L.A.

and keep an eye on the store.

I'll see that you get
to the airport, Mrs. Fair.

Thank you, Doctor.

And my cab down here comes
out of my expense account?

Fine, as long as you get out
of here so I can get dressed.

Take care, Joe.

Joe, are you all right?

Fine, I'm just fine,
never better.

Andy called me
to tell me what happened.

I was so worried.

I heard about it
when I got off the plane.

Joe... was it an accident?

About as much of an accident as
the one that k*lled your father.

Mr. Jordan, as one of the
leading investment bankers

here in Santa Marina,
I imagine you followed

Karl Henning's business career
pretty closely.

Yes, I have.

Thank you.

Some years ago, when Henning's
oil wells came up dry,

there were some rumors
that he was being refinanced

by underworld money.

Joe!

He kept it well hidden, Barbara.

There's no way
you could have known.

Is that true?

Why do you ask?

Your local newspaper editor
seems to think

there was some heat
in all that smoke.

Well, she's not a source I'd
go to for accurate information.

However, Henning did approach
several people I knew

to arrange a loan.

Bankers here in Santa Marina?

Yes.

Did they stake him?

No.
Why not?

Well, it appeared Mr. Henning's
operating capital had come

from an investment trust
in the Midwest.

There were allegations--
unproven, of course--

The trust was
an underworld front.

What happened?

They turned
Henning's application down.

What did Henning have
to say about that?

Oh, he denied having anything
to do with the investment trust.

Joe, what does all this have
to do with my father?

I think he found out
that Henning's money came

from that particular trust.

It was hot money.

They fed it
into legitimate businesses.

They invested with speculators
like Henning.

I think your father was about
to blow the whistle on him,

so they paid him off
to keep quiet.

And he took the money
for my sake,

to... to give me a career.

I'm afraid so, Barbara.

Maybe that's why
they k*lled him.

Wasn't the kind of motive
they could trust.

What do we do now?

Well, Jeff Blake said
he saw two men in the car

when he was with Nils.

He didn't recognize
either one of them but, uh...

I'm beginning to have an idea
who one of them might have been.

Karl Henning.

By

Stay here.

By

Stay here.

He may need help.

By

Hold it, Spinner.

Now lose the g*n.

Stop!

Right there!

Oh, thank you, Barbara.

I never meant to k*ll him.

Oh, Andy, don't blame yourself.

The police understood,
it was self-defense.

He would have used that crowbar.

That's why I pulled the trigger.

Sorry, Jordan.

I've been thinking about it.

It just doesn't wash.

What are you talking about?

You.

I think you k*lled Spinner

before he could point
a finger at you.

Joe!

You think I k*lled him
deliberately?

I just couldn't buy
Karl Henning being the m*rder*r.

He wouldn't have tried
to k*ll Jeff Blake.

That's where the thinking went
all wrong.

But Jeff saw the men
my father talked to.

He was a witness.

Isn't that why they tried
to k*ll him yesterday?

Yeah... but they weren't
afraid of him

until I showed up
and started asking questions.

But Jeff worked for Henning.

He would have known
if it was Henning in the car.

How about you, Jordan?

Do you think
he might have recognized you?

Andy?!

At least one of the K*llers had
to be from Santa Marina,

had to be the contact man
who bribed your father.

Are you saying
I gave Nils that $,?

That's exactly what I'm saying.

There were two men in that car.

Spinner had
to be the second man.

By the way, Jordan, uh...

uh, what does Spinner do

when he's not posing
as a private eye?

Syndicate soldier?

Because that bank in Chicago
is a Syndicate front.

My guess is that
you're representing that bank.

First, my father...

...and then you tried--

I never tried
to hurt you, Barbara.

What else have I ever had?

I thought I was helping
Nils give you what you wanted--

A marvelous life.

Can't you see it was for you?

Did you k*ll him for me, too?

They didn't trust Nils.

You don't know
what they're like.

I tried to convince them.

That's why they sent
Spinner here.

And then...

I thought...

with Nils gone...

I'd be all you had.

Can't you see?

All this because of what they
thought might be in my book?

They were afraid that your book
might start someone thinking.

Why didn't they just k*ll me?

How long have you been
in love with her, Jordan?

Forever.

Thank you.

Beautiful.

Joe, I...

New York, London, Rome, Paris...

We're just on different
time schedules.

You couldn't settle for standing
in the wings, could you...

waiting for the curtain to fall?

It's not exactly my style.

It's what I have to do.

It's what my father gave
his life for.

I know.

Three minutes to overture,
Miss Sonderman.

Good-bye, Barbara.

Places, please.

Two minutes to overture.

Come on, kids.

Hurry up.

Better hurry to your seat,
Mr. Mannix,

you'll Miss Miss Sonderman.

I already do.