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The Building (2009)
[Static crackles, voices overlapping, laughter]
Hello? Is anyone still here? Oh, hey. Listen, I know you're thinking, how could anyone be three hours late when their flat is just downstairs? But I ran into that... Shh! What the hell is that? It's a baby monitor. It lets you hear the baby when you're in another room. Of all the ridiculous, over-protective American things. That's for you. [Woman in Polish accent]: How are you? [Woman #2 in Polish accent]: I'm not sick. Is that what's-her-face, the super's wife? What's the matter? [Woman]: What is wrong? [Woman #2]: Do you really want to hear? The rash on my shoulders is back, my gums are sore, and my right knee is giving me so much pain, I could hardly walk up the stairs. Oh, you're not happy. Happy? Happy is for Americans. Happy is for fat-assed losers who sit in front of the TV all day. Irina, please. This is very important match. Polska against Italy. [Irina]: I tell you, Maria, I can't take it much longer. I swear I'm going to do something crazy. If I had the money, I'd... If you had the money, you would leave your husband. Irina, if I had the money, you don't think I'd leave my husband? It's different for me. You know I'd do anything to get out of this... Arrangement. [Maria]: Irina... Irina, no. Come to mass with me on Sunday. Talk to father Paul. If I had a way out... If I could give you a way, would you take it? Irina, please. We are not schoolgirls anymore. You have to stop talking like this. That is a... Fantastic machine, that. Hey, what are you doing? It's wrong. It's fun, we both know it, but it's wrong. [Clicks monitor off] For Christ's sake, you're a reporter. This should be right up your ally. I edit the food section of "California Magazine." I don't eavesdrop on my neighbors. Well, you used to be a real reporter. Hey. I, on the other hand, am a sad, lonely old cow. I admit it. I'm desperate for a little excitement, and so are you. Come on, give us a listen, hmm? You know you want to. Okay. Come on now. What's the matter? Bollocks! Just when we were getting to the juicy stuff. It was probably just some fluke. Oh! Listen. [Static crackles over monitor] [A different woman]: So you'll start taking Daisy out twice a day? [Man]: I think it's for the best. She's a spaniel... They need lots of exercise, Mrs. Pendleton. If he finds out, he's going to kill us. I can handle him. You haven't seen him angry. Look, I spoke to my cousin... Don't worry. I want you. Where? Standing. In an alley. In the rain? Mm-hmm. Baby, I'd rip your bra off. Lars, you drive me crazy. [Static crackles] Come on. What? [Telephone rings] Hello? No thanks. No, I'm really not interested. I thought it was Bobby. Oh, right. When is he coming back? Next week. So he says. Look, Jules, he's just working every gig that he can so he can take time off when the baby arrives. I know. You've only got one more month left of bed rest, that's all. Hey, I have been upgraded to house arrest. The point is, that, in four weeks, everything's going to be so brilliant. You're going to have this little baby. Yeah. Have a seat, all right? I am going to go get some papers to grade, and then you and I are going to watch that Dr. Phil DVD I bought you. Great. The one about relationships. Be right back. Oh,... Do you know what I was just thinking? Someone in this building might have been listening to my conversations for months, maybe even years? God, they would know every last, excruciatingly intimate detail of my life. And yet no suicides have been reported. You're very grumpy, darling. I'll be back in a few. It's okay. No listen, I insist. Clearly, you've been alone too much lately. Lily, I'm fine. Jules, you are in need of human interaction. I'm here to provide it for you. Besides, I feel really bad I missed your shower. Okay, be right back. Don't clean. I mean it. [Static on baby monitor] [Irina]: He gets drunk and then he can't get it up. He starts crying like a little bitch. He's such a... [Speaking Polish] [Conversation stops] [Man]: Yo, listen up. That mother... Disrespected me. Now, either he apologizes to me or I put his ass to sleep, you feel me? I know you're pissed, but... But what? Well, maybe you two should meet face to face. That way... No, no, no. I ain't meeting no harp from North Beach! All right? If he comes anywhere near my ass, he's dead. You hear me? Mother..., he's dead! Monk? How is this possible? Did you hear that, Lily? Lily, wake up! You're not going to believe this. Huh, what? What are you gabbing about? Monk, he was just on the monitor. It sounded like he might kill somebody. What, do you mean Monk, the handsome guy that lives on the top floor? Isn't he friends with Bobby? I know, but I am telling you, everything was mother... this and mother... that. He was saying how he wanted to kill some guy. ..., Jules. Listen, haven't you ever been so angry that you said you could just kill someone? It wasn't like that. He was serious. Jules, I want you to listen to me. What? Oh, is that the right time? Yeah. Oh, god, I'm late for a meeting. I've got to go. Sorry, love. .... Purse, purse, purse. Just... don't listen anymore, all right? All right. I'm going to get you. There we go. [Tap dripping] [Car doors slam] [Elevator dings] [Woman]: You had to pick a fight with the contractor, didn't you? You can never just... [Man]: Just shut up, okay? If you had any... idea how to manage things. How to manage things? They walked off the job! That's really great managing. This whole stupid penthouse was your idea. Right, the penthouse was for me, so you had to do everything you can to sabotage it. If you had any idea... [Whispers] If you had any idea... Get off your ass and find yourself a contractor. Christina. I think you dropped this. [Door opens and closes] Hey, Monk. Well, nice to see you. .... You startled me. I was just checking on your window. You complained it kept slipping open? My window is fine. I'm sure you called Thaddius. I didn't call him. What were you doing in here? I already told you... This is my home. Do you understand that? You're violating my space by coming in here. I think you are very emotional right now. Irina, you need to get out. There's really no need... Actually, there is. Everyone knows you go into all of our apartments while we're at work. I help my husband with his job. Little things have been missing from my place for months. You know, I have half a mind to call the police. I wouldn't do that if I were you. Oh, really? We all have secrets, eh? Things we don't want anyone else to know. I don't know what you're talking about. Get out. [Lock clicking] Unbelievable. My god. Oh, you didn't. No, no, no, no. Damn it! Thaddius? What? Tell your wife to stay out of my apartment. Your freaking wife, she was in my apartment today. I found her. She had some... story about my window needing to be repaired. Irina must have confused your apartment with somebody else that needed repair. It was misunderstanding, that's all. Misunderstanding? Yes. No. My ring, the ring my boyfriend gave me is missing. You know what? Never mind. I'm calling the police. Miss Julia, please. What? If you call cops... I lose my job. I find ring, okay? I find it. Fine, you find it. But if I find Irina in my apartment one more time, I will report her... To the police and to the landlord. Oh, and by the way, it's my sink that needs to be repaired. This bitch, man, I'm telling you. She didn't ...Know her place. [Woman]: What do you mean, she didn't know her place? Just have to man up is all, you know what I'm saying? [Woman]: No, I don't know what you're saying. You're seriously scaring me with this... [Monk]:... had to do what I had to, all right? She said she was sorry, but I knew she wasn't sorry, man. I could see in her eyes, she wasn't ...Sorry at all. Her eyes were hard as nails. Oh, baby. What you did you do? [Static crackling] [Lily]: Jules. I'm sorry I'm late. Did you ever know that one of Irina's friends has disappeared? Do you know that Maria? Well, she was last seen yesterday morning in our lobby. I mean, she's such a stupid tart. She's probably just with some man... You're not going to believe this... What? I really think that Monk killed someone. Jules, for goodness sake, we talked about this already. I know, I know, but he was on the phone just now. He was talking about how the guy's bitch was disrespecting him, and that he did what he had to do. Then this morning, on the elevator, he was looking really mean and he ran into me and he didn't even say he was sorry. Oh, my. Jules, obviously, this is the pregnancy. I mean, not enough blood is getting to your brain. I think you need some food. Did you listen to a word I just said? No, not really. Okay, last night, at 2:00, I saw two guys carrying a rolled-up rug out of the building, but I've been thinking maybe it was a body. It might have been Irina's friend. The timing is right. I thought I saw a foot sticking out of the rug, and then I definitely saw a shoe fall out on to the ground, then they both saw me. One of them wanted to come after me. I am positive about that. Okay, but they didn't, right? How do you know this isn't a dream? Like, why would Monk want to kill Irina's friend, really? Why would people move a huge rug, full of shoes, in the middle of the night? Jules, we live in San Francisco. People here are mad. But I just... [Christina]: He blames me for everything. I mean, if it rains, it's my fault. I think he's having me followed. [Lars]: You worry too much. Next Friday. We're still on for next Friday, right? Yeah, at the Sky House, just like we planned. Oh, my god. I mean, what if I'm right? What if somebody is following me? Well, then we won't do it. We'll wait. No. No, Lars. I can't wait! I don't want to wait. I don't either. Just hearing your voice, it makes me [...]. Lars... I can't believe that we did it in the back of your truck. [Monitor screeching] Hey, what are you doing? They're just getting to the good bits. She won't just go away. It's Irina again. Did I tell you I think she stole my ring? Well, that's no surprise, really, and I'd love to hear about it. Could you just put it back on that thing? [Irina]: Paul! You can't do this to me. It won't work. I just need to hear is a little more on Monk. Oh, god. Then what are you going to do? You going to call the police? "Oh, hello, officer? Listen, while I was illegally eavesdropping on my neighbor, he talked about wanting to kill someone, and then, last night, I saw these people with a rug, and I don't know who they were, but can you ever come and arrest someone, please?" When I covered Metro, I dated a homicide inspector. He could ask to be assigned to the case. All right. Okay, listen. Love... there's no case. Okay? What are you doing? God, I was wrong to encourage you. I know how hard it's been for you to be cooped up here alone, but I thought it would help, but really... But what? But it's made you a bit mental, don't you think? It has not! Jules, look, I can't blame you. I would go stark raving mad being locked up in this bloody apartment by myself, honestly. I'm an investigative reporter. I used to be an investigative reporter. I know... I know what I heard. Jules, please... Just listen for a minute. Fine. Look... I'm listening. [Static crackling] Put the good one on at least. [Monk]: It's on her. It's him. I told her, I told the bitch, do not disrespect me. The streets is listening. The streets is always listening. You cannot... with me and live! So what did you do with the gun? It's sleeping with the fishes, all right. Don't worry about the gun. No one is ever going to find it. Besides, the only thing that matters is that bitch ain't going to be around to mess with me no more. She's gone and she ain't never coming back. I told you. Holy. Do you still have the number of that detective? Yeah, hand me the phone. Ouch. Hello, baby. You awake too? Well, let's just stay awake together then. Okay. [Rumbling] [Woman screaming] Oh, my god. What the hell? Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Um... Okay. [Dialing telephone] Hello? Yes, there's a woman on the street... I think she's dead. She fell off the roof. Send someone as soon as you can. Um... 2250 harbor street. Hey, it's Lily. You know what to do. Lily, wake up! Something terrible has just happened. Come down here as soon as you get this message. Let's try this again. So, after you threatened to call the police, what did Mrs. Boruc say? I don't think she took me seriously. She knew I was just blowing off steam. Did you hear what I just said? I know there was someone else. A shadowy figure you can't identify. [Knocking] [Door creaking open] Ari, thank god you're here. Did you get my email? Yeah, what the hell is going on? Holy... You said you were pregnant, you didn't tell me you were this pregnant. It looks good. Are you okay? Yeah. Why don't you sit down? You want to tell us what happened? Irina was pushed. Why do you say that? I have this baby monitor. It picks up other people's phone calls from the apartment building. There's this one guy, Monk, who's been having these conversations that make it sound like he killed someone. Did he ever talk about Irina Boruc? No, but he kept mentioning this harp from North Beach who was disrespecting him and... A harp from North Beach? That sounds like a bad Raymond Chandler line. I'm just telling you what I heard. In the other phone calls, it was all about some bitch who wouldn't be bothering him anymore, and how he threw away the gun. One of your neighbors, Mrs. Spinelli, said she heard you arguing with Irina yesterday. I caught her snooping around my apartment. I was upset. What exactly is the nature of your relationship with Irina Boruc? Ari, what the hell? There is a man in this building that is talking about killing someone. This is the guy, Monk, who was going to cap somebody? Yes. Look, he was saying how the street was always listening... And how he wasn't going to be disrespected anymore, and how his gun was sleeping with the fishes. MacIntyre? Get us a cup of coffee. Jules, you've got to cool it with this crazy story. You're just making it worse for yourself. What are you talking about? "Sleeping with the fishes?" I mean, give me a break. You don't really think I had something to do with Irina's death? No, I don't, but right now this does not look good for you. You had a fight with this woman and now she's dead. Ari, I can barely make it to the elevator without getting winded. Yes, I can see that, but right now I have no eye witnesses and no one with a grudge against her, except for you. She didn't just snoop around my apartment. She went into other people's places. I'm sure if you dug around, you could find someone with a motive. Look, I believe you're innocent. Thank you. Which is why I'm going to need some hair and fiber samples from you. You're not serious? Oh, I am serious. It'll help clear you of suspicion. Fine. If I give you the sample, will you listen, I mean, really listen to my story about Monk? Okay. I mean it. I said, okay. Thank you. Well, she's gone now so we don't have to worry anymore. She was a person. She was a horrible person. [Lars]: I've never seen this side of you before. [Christina]: I'm not the one who came up with this idea, okay? I mean... You should be happy. [Knocking] Coming. [Monk]: Julia, are you in there? I just wanted to apologize to you for the other morning. Apologize for what? The other day in the elevator, I was rude to you. I just wanted to say I was sorry. Hi. Hi. I, uh... This is embarrassing. I was auditioning for the role of this gangster, and I wanted to "be" the guy for a few days. What? Yeah, I know, I'm an ass, but the money... Oh, it's amazing. You scared the hell out of me. I'm sorry. I didn't know you acted? I didn't, but I started dating this actress and she thought I had a lot potential. Next thing you know, I'm going out on all these auditions. It's weird, you know, all these years of struggling as a musician and now I'm landing all these acting gigs. It's crazy. So, did you get the part? Yeah. Can you believe it? But I got to give Terry a lot of the credit. She's in L.A. shooting a pilot, and she spent hours and hours on the phone with me, going over the dialogue, coaching me on how to say everything. That's great. Anyway, enough about me. How are you doing, you okay? Could be better. I heard about Irina. It's terrible. Yeah, I think everybody's pretty shaken up. Yeah, no doubt. I know Bobby's out on tour, so if there's anything I can do to help out, please don't hesitate to give me a buzz, okay? Okay. [Police radio chatter]: 105 North Avenue, 52... Holy... [Door closes, keys clatter on counter] You should have called me. I did call you. Well... well, then you should have called me again. Half the San Francisco police department was here last night. How did you sleep through all that? Well, I might have had a few vodka tonics to celebrate getting through mid-terms. You're a teacher. Exactly. Do you know how boring it is grading all those essays? At least half of them are complete rubbish. Okay, Lils, I've been thinking. Remember how we heard Christina and her boyfriend talking about meeting at the Sky House? Christ, yeah. It's been living on in my erotic imagination ever since. What if they were going there for another reason? What if they were planning to lure her husband there to kill him? What happened to Monk? Hello there. Hello. Listen, I know this is kind of a weird time to ask, but how do I book your boyfriend's band? We're having a company party and I heard him play at Yoshi's. He's pretty good. Thanks. I'll have him give you a call. Good. The one good thing you could always say about Irina, is she had a lot of energy, you know? She was very vital. Then... I hope you're taking care of yourself. What do you mean? Well, you're a journalist, right? You like to investigate things? The last article I wrote was about arugula. Still... What happened here, it's none of your concern. It's not my concern that one of our neighbors was murdered? Let the police handle it. Do you think you could just back up just a little? Sorry, sorry. I'm just getting carried away. I'm a dad. I just want you to put your welfare and the welfare of your child first. Well, thank you for your concern. I'm going to see if Lily needs any help in the kitchen. Great. Excuse me. Hi. I'm Julia. I don't think we've met before. [Speaks slowly] My name is Vincent. Monk is my brother. Do you mind if I sit down? You're visiting from Santa Maria, right? Is that a baby in your tummy? Yeah. Can I touch it? Sure. Give me your hand. Just put it nice and gentle, right on top. Did you feel that? That was the baby kicking. Is he hurting you? No, no. Well, maybe just a little. Band-Aids always make me feel better. Oh, yeah? See, it's birds. I like birds. You like birds? I keep my birds up on the roof... And Monk helped me build the cages for them. That's nice. Yeah. Do you want to see them? Sure. Maybe some time. Where does it hurt? Oh. Um, right here. He kicks you in the arm? He has really long legs. You going to share one of your band-aids? Thank you, Vincent. Does it feel better now? It does. There you are. I was worried about you, little bro. She had an ouchie, but then I fixed it. Are you okay? Yeah, I'm fine. He wasn't bothering you, was he? No, he was great. We were just getting to know each other, weren't we? Good. Hey, what do you say we go back outside, huh? Thirsty? Yeah? Lily, when you're done there, do you mind getting him a drink for me? Of course. Thank you very much. Do you like ginger ale? Rick. It's fine. I'm just checking messages. It's a wake. If you wouldn't make such a big deal of it, nobody else would care. Would you please keep your voice down? You know, I know it's hard for you to understand this, but I have a job, okay? I actually get up every morning and I go to work. Something you would know nothing about. Stop it. And don't think I don't know why you wanted to come here tonight? Hey, man, we were just talking. Yeah, it's funny how you two always end up "just talking." It's amazing really, actually, how Christina can always find the fresh meat at a party. What's the matter, Monk? What's the matter? [Monk]: It's okay. Everything's fine. You look sad. I'm not sad. I'm okay, all right. Hey, listen, man, I got a girlfriend. Oh, honey, did you hear that? He's got a girlfriend. Maybe you want to stop throwing yourself at him every... chance you get. Screw you,. Yeah. Good, you'll eat for a week. Mercy. [Banging from above] Holy... What are those... [Lars]: Chrissie, what is it? Are you okay? [Christina]: At the wake, he was... Oh, my god, I hate him. Did he hit you? No, after the wake, I didn't want the kids to see... You... whore! You made a total fool of yourself down there! Get the hell away from me! Come on, let's get your coat on, okay? It's okay. Go on, kids. I'll see you in a little while. You want to know something? Nobody likes you. Your own kids don't even like you. Shut up! Oh, you can dish it out, right, but you as hell can't take it. Just shut up, you stupid whore! I'm a whore because I know how to talk to people? Shoving your [...] In some guy's face? That's not talking, that's hooking! When you tell me this..., it makes me want to kill him. Then why don't you? Friday. Okay. Friday it is. [Knocking loudly] Who is it? It's Rick. Coming. Here's the number. Excuse me? The number for the events coordinator at my office. Have your boyfriend give her a call. Thank you. Look, I know at the party it seemed like I overreacted. There's two sides to every story. But I guess as a reporter you probably already know that. Really? What's your side? I'll be happy to pay for whatever I broke. Just slip the bill in my mailbox. Jules. Rick. You should be careful with Christina. Careful? You humiliated her. Everyone has their limits. You can only push someone so far. Don't I know it. What? Huh. [Static from monitor crackles] [Knocking] Just a minute. Vincent. [Jules]: Do you want some coffee? Some tea? Orange juice? [Ari]: No thanks. You would not believe the stuff that has been going on here. You mean, in addition to the woman who vanished from your lobby and the other woman who was shot on the roof? Oh, yes, and let's not forget the guy who's now sleeping with the fishes? Okay, you were right about Monk. He was practicing for a part, but Christina, this woman who lives above me, I think she wants to kill her husband. So? What do you mean "so"? Jules, people talk about killing their husbands all the time. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. This was different. Her and her boyfriend were talking about killing him this Friday. Did they use the word "murder" in their conversation? No, but I'm sure that's what's going to happen. She's, like, this perfect yoga mom, but, I'm telling you, underneath it... Ari, what? I'm listening. I think that Irina and her friend found out about their plan and tried to blackmail them. That's why they were killed. By the yoga mom? Or her boyfriend. Are you sure you don't want coffee? No thanks. You used to own a handgun. A little beretta sub-compact. Yeah, I got one after I covered the merendez case. It's registered, legal. Do you still have it? No, someone stole it two years ago. They took everything valuable. You didn't list the gun missing on your police report. Why is that? You've been checking up on me. Ballistics just came back. The gun that was used to kill Irina was a beretta with some kind of silencer. A beretta sub-compact is the most common handgun in the country. You know that. You were alone. You were upset. You have raging hormones. You go to meet her on the roof. You get into an argument. One thing leads to another... You think that, in my condition, I climbed up on to the roof, in the middle of the night, got into a fight with Irina and shot her to death? Ari, do you honestly think I am capable of killing another human being? No. Then what's with the questions? No one knows you owned a handgun. Except for me. What do you want? That guy Monk. We don't think he had anything to do with this, but his brother definitely has a screw loose. Oh, my god. He beats up a girl in Santa Maria, a week later, she goes missing. They bring him in for questioning, but they never got enough to charge this kid. I'm sure it was the diabolical cunning he used to mislead the police that got him off. I always hated your sarcasm. And I always hated the way you took the easy way out. Jules, you want to save your own skin? You find out all the dirt you can on this kid. I don't want to know how you do it. Just do it. Do you mind? Bobby! Hi. ..., you scared me. That was the idea. Surprise. Why didn't you call? My cell phone service sucks. Pay phone? I don't even really know how to work a pay phone anymore. It just seems like every time I put coins in, it spits them back out. Almost laughing at me. Calling cards? I'm a stand-up bass player. All that 21st century stuff, I just can't handle it. I missed you. Do you? Because every time we talk on the phone, you're always so pissed off. Let's see, pregnant, alone, boyfriend who can't work a pay phone. It's been rough. Maybe I can make it up to you. Really? Yeah. How? I'm just going to start right here. [Telephones ringing] I don't know. [Lars]: There's no turning back now. You don't know him. You don't know his temper. I mean, he could... Everything is in place. [Monitor static crackles] [Christina]: I don't know whether I can go through with this. We've spent so much time planning this. Nothing can go wrong. Something can always go wrong. Oh, my god. Today at 1:00. Who were you talking to? Oh, no one. Just the morning news. Morning. You know, you shouldn't listen to that negative stuff. It might have an effect on the baby. Are you serious? Yeah. I mean, aren't you supposed to be listening to Mozart and whale music and things like that? Stuff to stimulate the baby's brain. Again, are you serious? Yes, I just thought that while you're pregnant, you're supposed to focus on positive things. Well, I can tell you right now that if I sat around this apartment all day listening to whale songs, I'd go out on the street and shoot people. Yeah, that's a good point. You know what? I need to make a phone call to my ob-gyn. Everything okay? Oh, yeah, fine. I'll just be right back. Okay. [Jules]: Is Rick Pendleton available? It's his neighbor, Julia Wilde. Julia Wilde. He's not in his office right now. Can I take a message? Could you call him on his cell phone? It's very important that I speak to him. I'm afraid that's impossible. He's going to be in meetings all afternoon. Are you sure about that? He's not leaving the building? As far as I know, he will be in the office all afternoon. Okay, this is going to sound crazy, but it's quite possibly a matter of life and death that I talk to him. Isn't there any way that I can reach him? I've already told you. Call him, or text him. Just make sure that he doesn't go to a place called the Sky House this afternoon. His wife is planning to... [Dial tone as call disconnects] Crazy. Hello? Damn it! Everything okay? Yeah. I just got disconnected. I'll be done in a minute. Okay. Okay. [Ari]: Hello. Ari, look, I know you don't believe me about Christina, but I really think that she and her boyfriend are trying to kill her husband today. She's clean, okay? I actually bit, I checked her record, and there's nothing, nada. Well, listen to me. They're going to meet at the Sky House at 1:00. The Sky House? Do they keep their collection of flying monkeys there? Look, I don't know. It's just the place that they meet, okay? Jules, listen to me. Make yourself a cup of herbal tea, pop a prenatal vitamin, call 1-800-I-Need-a-Shrink, okay? You know what? If Rick Pendleton gets murdered today, it's going to be your fault! I can explain. So, you've been eavesdropping on our neighbors? I think Christina may have killed Irina, and now she's definitely planning to kill her husband. Christina, the woman from upstairs with two kids who always looks like she's going to aerobics class? Yeah, Christina and her boyfriend are planning to do something to her husband today at 1:00. And you believe this? Yes. Okay, so we pack the car, we go to my mom's place in Orinda until this whole thing blows over. Did you just hear what I said? They're going to murder her husband! We can't just stand by and do nothing. Okay, so when we're in the car, driving to my mom's place in Orinda, you can call the cops from your cell phone. I did call them. They won't do anything. Then it's not our problem. You want me to just stand by while they kill him? No. Sweetheart, it's not our responsibility, okay? Plus, this guy... Every time I see him in the hallway, he needles me about being a starving musician. He's the last guy I want to stick my neck out for. Fine. You don't want to do anything, I will. Okay. Whoa, whoa. What are you going to do? You don't even know where their weekend house is. No, but I'll find it. That's what I do. Okay, so you find it. How are you going to get there? Okay, I'll drive you there, but there are going to be some rules. Rules? Yeah, rules. We're not going in, and the second we sense anything remotely suspicious, we call the cops. Then we go back to my mom's place. Fine. Come on. Oh, man. I searched the building records for Napa, Sonoma and Lake Tahoe. There's nothing listed under either of their names. Yeah, the pendletons have plowed a ton of cash into building that penthouse they're building up on the roof. I mean, it just doesn't really seem like... Wait a minute, what did you just say? The penthouse on the roof that they're building. I mean, that and a weekend house? It's a lot of money. Oh, my god, I can't believe I didn't put this together. I know where the Sky House is. [Jules]: Hello? Jules, I really don't think this is a good idea. Just trust me, okay? [Crashing] Oh! What was that? Nothing. Just stay close to me, okay? Oh, my god, Christina. She's dead. If he finds out, he's going to kill us. [Man]: Ah! Oh, my god. Bobby! Whoa, whoa. Is he alive? He's still breathing. I'm going to call 911. [Man, softly]: Ow... ow... Whoa, whoa. Jules, stay close. It's Vincent. It hurts. It hurts. Vincent. Vincent. Vincent. The gun, and then he hurt himself, with the blood. It's too loud. Vincent, what happened? Gun went bang, and then he fell, and then he squirreled it, and it hurt my ears. I know it did, honey. Vincent, do you know where the gun is? It's gone, it's gone. [Sirens approaching] Too loud. I know, Vincent. [Sirens wailing] There have been two murders in that building and in both cases, Jules, you've been one short step away. I was there because you weren't. I warned you that this was going to happen. That's a nice ring. Is that the ring you accused Irina of stealing? Okay, I was wrong about that. Well, you've been wrong about pretty much everything now, haven't you? Unless you've been playing us. Why would I do that? Ari says you're a pretty good shot. I haven't fired a gun in years. I know who committed this murder. It wasn't me and it wasn't Vincent. It was Rick Pendleton. Rick Pendleton has an alibi. He was in a meeting with five other people. This kid, Vincent, was there at the scene. Jules, he literally had blood on his hands. Did it ever occur to you that Rick Pendleton might have hired somebody to commit the murder? That maybe Vincent saw something? Or is it just easier to lock up a simpleton? What is it with you and this Vincent kid? You want to mama him? Because let me tell you this, he ain't no mama's boy. This is Anna Blunt, the girl he beat up. Why don't you take a look? You take a real good look. What? Not so cute now? Why did he kill them? Why would he kill Christina and Lars? He don't need no reason. He's a whack-job. He just went off. Well, then why didn't he run away after he killed them? I mean, I know he's slow, but even Vincent would know to get the hell out of there. He flips out over some minor thing, he kills them, he panics. Wow, that's a really convincing argument. You know, you two have been doing some fine investigative work here. You know, Jules, when you've been on this job long enough, you find out some people don't need to have a motive, they don't have to have a reason. I know what Vincent did to that girl was terrible, but I also know that deep down there is a sweetness to him. He might go temporarily crazy if something hurt a bird, but there's no way he would try to kill two people in cold blood. Jules, based on everything we can find... Physical evidence, security cameras, time of the shootings... There were only three people who could have done this... You, Bobby or Vincent. Now, if Vincent didn't do this, who did? [Voices on monitor] [Laughing on monitor] [Man]: Okay. I admit. I checked her out. There was nothing there. Can you believe what's going on in this building? That's two more people that have been found. I'm thinking of moving out. Lars? How are you doing? I'm inspector Grossman and this is my partner, inspector MacIntyre. We'd like to ask you a few questions about what happened today. Mrs. Pendleton and I were up on the roof. She was showing me the apartment they were building... And this man showed up, he had a gun... And he took all of Christina's jewelry, her watch, her... Can you give us a description? Do you know what the person looked like? It's hard to say. He was wearing a hat pulled low. [Mr. Pendleton]: Get out of my way. I want to know who killed my wife. Mr. Pendleton. Mr. Pendleton. I'm going to have to ask you to step outside. You ask this... head, you ask this lowlife, who killed my wife! Was it that retarded kid? Mr. Pendleton, we're not going to ask you again. You need to leave the room. If it was that retarded kid, just tell me, okay? I know they found him there. I'll take care of him myself. Get your hands off. I'm really sorry about that. You mentioned the assailant was wearing a hat? He was wearing a hat pulled low. It made it hard to see his face. It was that kid that Mr. Pendleton was yelling about. You're sure it was that kid, Vincent? Absolutely sure? Absolutely. Thanks. I'll get in and out of there as quick as I can. Just a quick rehearsal, one set, I'll come home, okay? Promise? [Lily]: Jules? Hey. Hey. I'm here to babysit the patient. Hey. Hey. How are you? Good. So, tie her to the couch if you need to. I will. Be good. What am I, four? Okay, I should be back around 2:00... And in the morning, we're going to go jump in the car and head off to my mom's. Good. All right, go! All right. Break a leg. How are you? I'm all right. Did you miss me? Yeah. Oh! Have you seen my advert? What? Sexy Irish novelist seeks handsome, educated... Novelist? I've written the first three chapters. I just haven't found a publisher yet. This is from bloody January, Jules. My girlfriend, Stephanie, has an article in there about the pros and cons of breastfeeding. I just haven't gotten to it yet. Lord. I'm going downstairs to get the current one. You will be stunned and amazed by my ad. It's devastating. Is that a good thing? Hello, it's me. Back in a mo'. All right. What? [Telephone ringing] Hello, you've reached Ari Grossman. Sorry I'm not here to take your call. Leave a message. Thanks for calling. There's no powder residue on Vincent's hands from firing a gun, but he had blood all over himself. So we've got a killer who's premeditated enough to wear gloves, then hide them somewhere where we can't find them, then he suddenly goes all stupid and gets blood all over his clothes and face? Hey, the kid's got asberger's or autism, whatever. Smart in some areas, dumb as... in others? How long before we get that blood work back? I don't know, another 48 hours? Lab's backed up. Ari, come on. You know it's going to be a match. We can't find the gun, we can't find the gloves, we can't find the jewelry. Maybe he threw it over the side of the roof? And no one found them? Not one single thing? What can I tell you? Did you ever do that check on Pendleton? Don't have a criminal record. Been investigated by the SEC, did some shady business deals, never been charged with anything. What's his financial situation? Living on borrowed coin like the rest of us. Does his wife have a life insurance policy or something? Sure. Ain't going to matter. Pendleton's has an alibi, and we got eye witnesses that will testify, say the kid did it. He didn't I.D. that kid until that moron, Pendleton, planted that idea in his head. Where the hell did you get that from? You don't know that. Why didn't the kid run? Why didn't Vincent just take off? Ari, come on. You're not listening to Lois Lane? Here. What the hell is that? The chief wants you to sign off on the crime scene list ASAP. Is this everything? Yeah, why? What? There's something missing. There's always something missing. Grab your coat. Got it. Gorgeous. Mm! [Jules]: Ari, I think Lars and Rick killed Christina. I'm going to the roof to check something out. Call me. Thaddius! You scared the hell out of me. I am good with locks. Part of my job, right? I'm good at job, even if no one notice. You're great at your job. We all talk about it. Oh, yes, you appreciate me. You tell me how happy you are with my work. Well, we mean to tell you. We just... Bull... You have bull... You listen to my calls, you know all about me. [Static on monitor crackles] That's right, I know about spy machine. I was in here fixing sink and I heard it. Okay, I can explain. It was an accident. You spy! Like state used to. You spy! Okay Thaddius, I know it was wrong... But I was trying to find out who killed Irina. I was trying to help you. To help me? That is... joke. Look, I know nothing is going to bring her back, but I just thought it might give you some small measure of comfort if the police could find out who killed her. When I grew up in Poland, there was no privacy. State knew everything. I come to U.S... There is supposed to be privacy. I'm sorry, Thaddius. Maybe if we had kids, it would have been different. Irina would have been happy. Thaddius... Can I make you some coffee? Could we do that? Okay. [Monitor static crackles] Why don't you just have a seat on the couch? No! I don't sit on couch like little boy! I make sure there is no more spying. No more snooping! Thaddius, what are you doing? No more. No more snooping. No more! Thaddius. Please. Please, please, please. [Door slams] Ah! Oh, no, no, no. Come on. Ah! [Objects clattering to floor and smashing] [Telephone rings] .... Jules, sorry. Listen, I'll be right up. Mum? What are you doing ringing at this hour? Lars. I need to ask you, what kind of hat was the attacker wearing? What? You mentioned the assailant, Vincent, was wearing a hat. What kind of hat was it? It was, um... A blue sports hat. [Ari]: A blue sports hat? Yeah, like, for baseball. That's funny, because we didn't find any hat at the scene. You want to tell me why that is? I want my lawyer. That's a good idea, because you're going to need your lawyer. Ari, what the...? Call the station, set up a 24-hour police guard on the room. No one gets in or gets out except for the medical staff. Where the hell are you going? [Ari]: Hello, th you've reached Ari Grossman. Sorry I'm not here to take your call. Leave a message. Thanks for calling. [Knocking] [Knocking] Mr. Rick, I come as soon as I hear the news. Thaddius, thank you. Listen, I'm so sorry about what I said at the party the other night. It's okay. The world dark sometimes. Can I get you a drink? Yes, that would be very nice. Thank you. Thank you. Your children, how are they doing? I haven't... I don't what I'm going to say to my children. That will not be easy. That part hard. Yes, very hard. They're staying with their aunt. Maybe I can get her to tell them. I don't know. It had to be done. You had to take care of that bitch. What did you say? Your wife, she was... another man. I don't think I like what you're implying, all right? I think you should leave. There is something you need to know about. Something that concerns you, I think. [Tense music plays] That pregnant woman, the journalist, she has a machine... Machine that can listen to phone calls. What are you talking about? I was in her apartment fixing the sink and I hear it. I hear it picking up phone calls from this building, from neighbors. So? I am not snoop. I don't go looking for other people's business, but sometimes when I'm fixing, I see things. I can keep these things to myself. What are you... I am also a man. It is not so easy to hurt me. All right, what are you implying? I think you shoot Irina off of roof. I think she was blackmailing you and you killed her. Okay, you've obviously had way too much to drink. You need to leave. Now. Mr. Rick, you did me favor. That woman made every day ...Nightmare. I am glad she is gone. So I do you favor... I destroy machine. We are even. Listen to me. Listen. I did not kill Irina and I did not kill my wife. I have nothing to fear from Julia Wilde. That's good, because otherwise, you would be in lot of... trouble. Hey, I'm back. Listen, okay, are you ready to be... Jules? Jules! ... Jules! Jules, are you all right? Oh! ...you scared me half to death. Is everything all right? I heard you calling. I don't know. I was here to watch Jules, then I went downstairs a minute and she's fricking vanished. God, I hope she's not giving birth in the stairwell. I saw her getting into a cab about 10 minutes ago. My guess is she's on her way to the hospital. God, I don't know whether to kiss you or kill you for scaring me like that. Well, maybe you should just go to the hospital. I'm sure your friend needs you. Right, of course she does. ... Stupid lock. Thaddius needs to come and fix this lock. Oh! All right, love, thanks a lot. Yeah, bye-bye. Okay. Come on, Jules. [Cellphone rings] Okay, Rick. Okay. I called the police. They're coming here, okay? Just leave. Just leave. No, Rick! Please, don't do this to me. Please! Please, don't shoot me. Come on, let's go! Rick, Rick. [Gasps in pain] Don't try any... It was a contraction. Yeah, right. Come on. Here, take these keys. What? You're driving. Are you kidding me? Get going. Come on. You don't have to do this. I won't tell anyone. Get in there. Get in. Okay, okay. Okay, let's go. Come on. Drive. Now! Okay. So, I was just wondering, when you were eavesdropping on me, what exactly did you hear? I didn't hear you. I heard Christina. Well, he blames me for everything. I mean, if it rains, it's my fault. I think he's having me followed. You worry too much. So, how did you and Lars connect? Why don't you just shut up and drive, okay? This isn't 20 questions. Okay, I'm sorry. I just... I know Lars is the leader, but I was just trying to figure out... Who told you that? No one. No one. You're just a banker, and, you know, this is a complicated crime. You couldn't have come up with this all on your own, right? You don't think bankers have any imagination? This was my operation from start to finish. Lars was just a hired muscle. My idiot wife hired him as a dog walker. Saw his ad in the "straight," that's where I got the plan. I never thought of you as a "straight" reader. Listen, I've got needs, okay? Christina wasn't satisfying them. That was probably the worst part about her. She was just so... conventional. My first thought was to fire him, but I didn't want that around my kids. Then I thought about the possibilities. So I arranged a meeting. Does my wife know? No, she's... I would never... I'm not having an affair with your wife. Why not? Excuse me? She's an attractive woman. Yeah, of course, but she's married. I don't mess with married ladies. Even if you're very well paid? No, I wouldn't... Every week you sleep with my wife, I'll give you a thousand dollars. I don't understand. A thousand a week until the day my wife leaves me. And then? And then there will be a very generous pay out. Deal. [Rick]: The more I got to know about him, the better it got. Been in trouble with the law since he was 16. Did time in juvie for drug dealing, petty theft. Always looking for an angle. Perfect. Put a foot on the accelerator. There's some swamp up in Bolinas that's just waiting for you. Swamp? What kind of bad cop movie did you get this from? Shut up. Okay, Rick, listen to me, please. Rick, come on, I'm about to have a baby. That didn't stop me before, it's not going to stop me now. Okay, but you hired Lars to kill Christina, right? Think about it, okay. Why? Because you didn't want to do this. You're not a killer. Yeah, I didn't want to kill Christina. I didn't want to kill anybody. If she just wasn't so... stubborn. I got a phone call from the bank today telling me that you took more money out of the account. Are you kidding me? Are you... kidding me? Wake up! It's my money. It's not your money. It's our money, sweetie. No, it's not. [Rick]: Christina was from one of the wealthiest families in orange county. We had a pre-nup. ...drunk. You're a... drunk. If I left, I got nothing, if she left, I got half. So, the plan was for Lars to start having an affair with her. In the meantime, I'd get harder and harder to live with and she'd leave me. Turns out old Christina was a lot more traditional than I thought. Every single time I come in, you give me a... negative comment. Seems she didn't mind sleeping with a dog walker, but she wasn't going to marry one. I didn't know what to do. Then Christina came up with a plan. She was going to have Lars kill me. So stupid. Okay, key's in the bathroom. Third drawer down. Okay. Okay. Lars, I'm shaking. Christina's plan was for us to meet up on the roof to talk about the penthouse we were building and then Lars, dressed as a thief, would burst in and Rob us. I love you. I love you. This is it. Things are going to be okay. In the ensuing scuffle, of course, I would get shot. I only had to make one little change. [Gunshot] [Gunshot, Lars screams] So, how did Irina play into all this? She followed me to the bar. She thought Lars and I were lovers. We played along for a while to buy some time. She sent that friend of hers, that fat Polish cow, to collect the money. Here's your money. She wanted to up her rate. This isn't enough. What? We had words. I was drinking. I didn't mean to kill her. Christina was zonked out on valiums. I called Lars and he came over and helped me with the body. [Jules]: I saw you that night. I knew I saw something that was really terrible, but I just didn't follow my instincts. [Rick]: So there was someone. [Jules]: Why didn't you come after me? [Rick]: I don't see anybody. Let's get out of here. Whoever it was probably didn't see anything. You would expect Irina would have backed off after her friend disappeared. She just thought she had more leverage over us. So Lars took care of her. [Irina screaming] Didn't you think Lars, you know, would be after you someday? Someday is someday. I had to get out of being married to Christina and I couldn't do it on a budget. Take the next right. Get on to Lombard. What the hell? What the hell are you doing? [Car horn sounding] [Over police radio]: Driver on 121. You all right, Jules? I will be. I think I'm having my baby. Okay. If that's the case, we'd better get you to the hospital, okay? Okay. Yeah. Just lean on me. Here we go. [Jules]: You know, I did have a bad feeling about Rick ever since I talked to him at the wake, but he's a yuppie banker. You don't think he's going to kill his wife, even if he is an... See, you should never ignore your intuition. There was this whole thing on Oprah the other day about how women suppress their intuition, which is really much more than that. Subconsciously, you're piecing together loads of information without realizing it. You were the one who told me to stop obsessing about the monitor. You were sounding totally bonkers at the time. True. So, tell me, what was it that sent you up to the roof that night? [Jules]: After you left, I was reading the "straight," and I came across Lars' ad, and it threw me, because whatever else you might say about Christina, she is not the type to hire a hustler from the back of an alternative newspaper. Then it suddenly hit me, what if Rick had hired Lars to seduce her? Okay, well, that sounds fabulously kinky, but I don't think I follow you. I didn't at first either, but then it occurred to me, what if Lars and Rick were working together? What if they were a team? And if that were true... Rick had an alibi... Lars had to be the killer, which meant he had hidden the gun somewhere up on the roof. God, that Rick. He was so open about despising her. You think he would have hidden it more. He knew he'd have an alibi. Maybe he thought that if he kept it public, it would have worked to his advantage. Well, listen, I'm off. My date's today. Oh, yeah, from the "straight" ad. Uh-huh. He's a brilliant, uncompromising painter, but he works as a bike messenger to pay the bills. Oh, right, and you're a brilliant, uncompromising... Deeply sensual... Novelist, who works as a teacher. Uh-huh. Exactly. Want to say goodbye to Auntie Lils? Yeah, bye, gorgeous. Kisses. She's so cute. Have a lovely day. Let me know how it turns out. I will. Hey. Hey. See you later, Cookie Monster. Look who it is, it's Daddy. Hey. How are you? Hi, Daddy. How's the most beautiful baby in the entire world? Well, she's as beautiful as she was when you saw her this morning. Hey, you get over here. |
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