Live, until they drop dead...
... from the beautiful
Carlou Theater...
... in the heart of sunny
Miami Beach, Florida...
... it's the Veterans Day
Polio Telethon!
And now, please
welcome your hosts...
... the beautiful, the talented,
Lanny Morris...
... and Vince Collins!
Do you realize
we have to present ourselves...
...in front of these lovely
people for the next three days?
Hello, lovely people
for the next three days.
- Look at you. You're a disgrace.
- What?
Look, your hair's a mess, your shoes
aren't shined, your shirt's not pressed.
- Look at your tie. It's not even straight.
- Look at yours. It doesn't even clip on.
Now...
...I'm upset.
You know what
happens when I get upset.
No, no, no. Please.
Please don't hurt me, Vince.
I've had a terrible day already.
All sorts of bad things have happened.
I don't wanna be hurt again.
- You've been hurt already, have you?
- Been hurt real bad.
And what happened,
pray tell?
- Want me to pray or want me to tell?
- I think you better pray.
- I saw this stranger
- I don't know whether you're...
...singing or speaking.
- Leave my pad
- One thing I do know...
- And I said, "Baby...
- ... what explanation do you have?"
- There's always a woman involved.
And she said:
- Next time?
- Next time
And I said, "There will be
No next time"
That's what you said last time,
Lanny, and the time before that.
You have to make sure there's no first
time, then there can't be a next time.
Or a last time.
- That was the last time for me
- Let's hope so, Lanny.
Lanny Morris,
ladies and gentlemen.
My manager sent me over
some of your work.
It's funny how you're
really in them a lot.
Whenever I read these
interviews where the writer says:
"This is how I felt the morning
I woke up to meet the pope"...
..."how I felt when the pope greeted
me, how he reminded me...
...so much of my friend Mike"...
...I always think,
"Who the fuck is Mike?"
So who are you?
I was a young journalist...
... with a few awards...
... a couple of cover stories...
... and a desperate need
to prove myself.
If you look through my work,
you'll see I try to present...
...a balanced view of my subjects.
I leave the conclusions
to the reader.
I'm not sure we like balance.
Or leaving
the conclusions to the reader.
I'm used to being publicized,
not analyzed.
It would be your words.
We'd publish it as a transcript
My questions, your answers.
If you say it, I can use it.
If you don't, I can't.
And they're gonna pay me
a million for this?
An excerpt will be published
in a magazine as a way...
...of amortizing the investment
they'll be making in the book.
They're looking for some...
...provocative stories
for the first issue.
Any thoughts on what these
provocative stories might be about?
The breakup.
Why Lanny and you split.
And the girl.
Maureen.
What happened
to Maureen O'Flaherty.
No one had ever been able
to pin Lanny Morris...
... or Vince Collins
to the girl's death.
All that was clear...
... was that Maureen was
found dead in their hotel suite.
It was unthinkable to me
that Lanny and Vince...
... could have had
anything to do with it.
They were my heroes.
"The reason I consider
myself to be a miracle girl...
...is because
I had the good fortune...
...to meet Lanny and Vince
when I was sick.
Their love of life
is what gave me hope...
...and it's hope
that gives us the power to live."
Thank you, Lanny.
Thank you, Vince.
Come on, let's hear it for her.
Denise handled publicity
for the polio foundation.
And it was her idea to plug
the girl's story on the telethon.
The day before, it was my idea to plug
Denise at the Miami Versailles Hotel.
Don't stop! Don't stop!
Don't stop!
You can tell a lot about a woman
by the way she acts...
... when you're having sex
and room service comes in.
Some girls will sit up
and light a cigarette...
... like there's nothing funny
in the world about her being naked.
"It's obvious we were
in the process of screwing...
... so why not let
a stranger into the room?"
Come on in.
Then there's the kind that will
pull the sheets up...
... and act like they're asleep.
Where would you like it, sir?
Sweetheart, wherever you'd like it.
Then, of course, there's
the ones who scrunch real flat...
... thinking that the bed
will look empty.
With Denise, it was kind of hard
to tell which way she'd go.
Can I have your autograph,
Mr. Morris?
Sure.
Should I make it out to Maureen?
I mean, your autograph on the bill.
Okay.
I mean, I'd love
to have your autograph.
And maybe a few minutes
of your time.
I'm a huge fan and...
...well, I was thinking about...
...writing an article on you
for my campus paper.
I'm the editor.
Any interview requests
go through me, honey.
You know, it's just a college paper.
Thank you.
No, thank you.
Thank you, Maureen.
I say goodbye to Maureen,
knowing I'd see her again...
... close the door and
then turn to look at Denise...
... thinking, "I know this girl from every
college town we have ever played. "
They're called career girls.
The absolute easiest lays...
... in this great nation of ours.
Since you're reading this,
you'd be interested to know...
... that my favorite catches
were the intellectuals.
They'd be the ones in the straight
black dresses, severe black hair.
Your basic neurotic,
eyeglasses, cool jazz, liberal...
..."I'll fuck any black guy as
part of my personal apology...
... for racism in America" type.
Anyhow, on this particular night,
we're in a club in New Jersey...
... it's the '50s, and I'm mingling
with the crowd.
Now, when I say "mingling,"
what I mean is...
... I was scouting
for who I would sleep with.
Didn't matter if the girls
came with dates.
That was Reuben's job.
Reuben is my valet.
I never figured out how he
helped them get rid of their dates...
... but they were always gone
by the second show.
Reuben could clean up
any situation.
Excuse me, miss.
May I say that I think...
...you have the most beautiful eyes
I have ever seen.
Notice I say, "I think you've got the
most beautiful eyes I've ever seen."
I haven't seen them yet.
I've been staring at your cans.
Now, Lanny.
- I can't believe he just said that.
- That is completely unacceptable.
Madam, I apologize.
I apologize, ladies and gentlemen...
...for my friend. You cannot
speak that way to a stranger.
Look, her husband's not offended.
- He's not?
- No, her husband's not offended.
Her husband's not here.
This lucky guy is her boyfriend.
And even he's not offended,
and do you know why?
Well, I can certainly hazard a guess.
What the hell is that? For chrissake,
Vince, this is America.
We don't say, "hazard a guess."
We say "yes" or we say "no."
Well, I say "no" to you, Morris.
Excuse me?
Could you repeat that?
I don't think
the entire audience heard you.
Go back to where
you came from, bastard!
I get hecklers all the time,
but this schmuck came off personal.
Where did he think I came from?
Bastard! Bastard!
He called me a bastard.
Now, it doesn't show
from the front, Lanny.
Now, please, would you kindly not
mount me? It's very disagreeable.
Vince plunges straight into
quoting lines I wrote...
... from a song
from our first motion picture.
I happen to be honored
to work with this jerk
Is that a compliment?
I never frown with this clown
Never, never, never.
I get a kick from this...
... friend of mine
Fine, but don't give
the mike to this kike.
- Well...
- Just relax.
It's not often we get topped by
a member of our audience, but...
...this gentleman has
done the impossible.
What is your name?
- It's Joe.
- Joe...
...we were just wondering
if you'd be a great sport...
...and help us out on stage.
What do you say, folks?
Go on.
Joe here is going to play
a crazy high school professor...
...who's about to give Lanny
and I our final high school exam.
So if you'll just excuse us while
we help Joe change into his...
...crazy-professor outfit.
Lanny, a little
costume-changing music...
...if you please.
Step this way.
I'll have a word with him...
...about the way
he spoke to your wife.
Completely unnecessary.
Just this way.
You call any Jew on this planet
anything you like.
But nobody calls my partner a kike.
Do you understand?
Boffing ladies and
bashing gentlemen.
I tell you, there was
nothing under the sun...
... Vince and I wouldn't do
for each other.
Are you finished?
Thank you, Mamie.
I'm sorry about that, Miss O'Connor.
We just needed to be sure
you didn't take any notes.
Lanny gave me very specific
instructions on that point.
I don't understand why
he'd want me to read this.
Why would he ever want
anyone to see this side of him?
When you contacted us about
meeting Lanny for your book...
...it wasn't simply about letting you
know he didn't want to speak with you.
I believe my client wanted you
to understand that he, in fact...
...was completing a book
of his own which would serve...
...not only as his autobiography...
...but also as the definitive account of
the joint careers of Morris and Collins.
You've had, at first hand,
a sample of Lanny's writing voice.
Yes, I have.
Such a book, Miss O'Connor...
...this raw, this honest...
...would make your own efforts look...
There's been some very nice...
...translations of the Bible
over the centuries...
...but they would run
a very poor second in popularity...
...to the discovery
of the actual Ten Commandments.
Single best part about teaching
grade two is the difference...
...between the bright ones and
the dumb ones isn't so obvious.
- What's so great about that?
- The results of my work...
...as a teacher
aren't so depressing.
Also, there's no homework
to correct in the evenings and...
...well, none of the kids
know how to use drugs.
Bonnie had come from New York
to visit me that summer.
We'd been best friends
since kindergarten.
At school we started the
Lanny and Vince Fan Club...
... raising almost $200
for that year's telethon.
All of you send in
a bit of your allowance.
Just a little bit.
A dime, a nickel, a penny.
Every bit helps.
The goal of the telethon that year...
... was $3.9 million, which was
a lot of dough at that time.
Thank you, Tom.
You're a prince among men.
Whoa, Lanny. There are
children watching!
Where does he get his energy?
To remind viewers of the goal...
... we agreed the telethon
could run 39 hours nonstop.
The show would begin at 9 p.m. On
Friday and finish at noon on Sunday.
We paced it so that
Vince and I were together...
... for the kickoff,
most of the day Saturday...
... then the big finale
on Sunday with us bleary-eyed...
... and weeping as America
got ready to go to church.
Lanny, Lanny. What are you doing?
I'm ordering a pizza. I'm starving.
No anchovies on mine, Lanny.
Hey, so who are you talking to?
I'm talking to little Suzie
from Whittier, California...
...and she is going to donate
three weeks of allowance.
- How about that, folks?
- Suzie from Whittier, thank you.
Three weeks of allowance.
That's a challenge for all you...
What you have to understand
is that Vince and me...
... were essentially a boy-girl act.
I was the tramp,
ready for any sort of action...
... and Vince was the gentleman...
... always trying to make me
behave myself.
I was pleasure, and he was control.
I was rock 'n' roll,
and he was class.
His presence gave America
permission to like me.
My deal with the publisher
gave me first-class travel...
... a luxury I'd never enjoyed.
Is there any chance of switching
to a window seat?
Sorry, we're completely booked
in first.
But these center seats
are really wonderful. See...
...if you push here...
Can I show you?
Sure.
The chair swivels
to the left and the right.
And this converts
to a full-sized dining table...
...during our
Pan Am platinum service...
...with damask linen
and silverware by Fornari...
...so you don't have to eat off a tray.
Again, that's only
for these center seats.
How does that sound?
At that time, when you
traveled first class...
... people would always ask you if you
met someone famous on the flight.
- Mr. Morris.
- Thank you.
You're welcome.
Though he would later accuse me
of engineering this, I didn't.
It just...
... happened.
Reuben. So they...
They record these songs...
...in a studio that I am paying for.
Songs that are recorded for me...
...that they are
contracted to provide.
- Are you with me here?
- Yes, it's just that...
No, it's just that nothing, Irv.
Please, let me finish. They record...
I read an interview where Lanny was
given credit for insisting his butler...
... travel in the same class and stay
at the same hotels as his boss.
The valet's attentiveness
was impressive.
Looks like you'll be having
dinner with Lanny Morris.
- Hello.
- Hi.
We should get a waiter to slide
a matchbook under the airplane.
There we go.
That should hold.
This is my friend Reuben.
- Hi.
- Hi.
And this is also my friend,
technically speaking...
...and business manager, Irv.
- Hi.
My name is Lanny.
And what's your name?
Bonnie. Bonnie Trout.
What do you do, Bonnie?
I teach.
And what do you teach?
- Second grade.
- Well, we have a lot in common.
You teach second grade,
I went to second grade.
- Irv, you went to second grade too?
- Many times.
Tell me, Miss Trout...
I don't mean to be impolite...
...but I was wondering...
...how a second-grade schoolteacher
affords to fly first class.
Well, I have a pass...
...that allows me free use
of the subway on weekends...
...and the hot lunches
at school are only 50 cents.
And I'm the mistress...
...of a wealthy married man...
...and when he and his wife
go on vacation, he treats me...
...to a first-class trip
in the opposite direction.
But look at me, talking only about
myself. What do you do for a living?
I'm a French impressionist
painter out of Tahiti, mainly.
I'm doing that to pay the bills.
My ambition is to be...
...a stockbroker in Paris.
- I don't get it.
- Paul Gauguin.
He gave up being
a successful stockbroker...
...to become a painter
in the South Seas.
You think the average
person knows that?
Well, we're not talking about
the average person, Irv.
In some ways...
... he had never stopped
being a hero to me.
That's why it was impossible
to think he might also be a killer.
Well, this has been great.
I'm gonna see you
inside your apartment.
- There's really no need.
- Don't be silly.
I'm not gonna try to come in.
Promise.
You've been away from your
apartment for how long now?
- Ages.
- You never know if somebody's...
...broken in while you were gone.
I'll just see you inside your door.
Believe me, I'm...
I'm not trying to seduce you.
I have to do the Today show
at 7 a.m.
They want me in Makeup at 6:15.
Bonnie had moved to New York
for the teaching job...
... a little over a year ago.
I had never visited her and had
no idea if this was the right place.
Which floor?
Why...
- Four-D.
- Forty?
It only goes up to six.
Four-D...
Four-D, the fourth floor.
Which way?
- Guess.
- Why?
It's a test.
A test?
Okay.
This way.
So why didn't we take this elevator?
Doesn't work.
Well...
...good night.
No, I'm going to see you
into your apartment.
And then I'm gonna leave you
alone until tomorrow.
I never get which key goes in
which lock the first time.
Hey, looks like they fixed it.
You okay?
Maybe we should turn on a light.
Well...
I'm going to leave you now.
I have Reuben and Irv waiting
in the limousine downstairs...
...and I should get some sleep
for the Today show.
So...
It was lovely to meet you, Bonnie.
By the end of the telethon,
we had no voices.
Thirty-nine hours
of nonstop entertainment.
A telethon was a superhuman feat.
We weren't just heroes,
we were gods.
A couple of the boys were there
to make sure we got out alive...
... to make the flight to New York.
Everyone. Listen. Listen.
Gentlemen. Gentlemen, please.
Gentlemen, if I could just
have your attention.
Everyone, Mr. Collins
and Mr. Morris...
...will answer questions
at the press conference...
...at the Palace Del Sol.
Gentlemen, there will be
plenty of time...
...to answer your questions
at the Palace Del Sol.
Thank you, we will answer your
questions at the press conference.
Thank you for coming.
We had a full police escort, along
with bodyguards who were there...
... to protect us from any thoughts
we might have of going AWOI...
... prior to this press conference.
A pair of New Jersey's finest
walked on either side of us...
... as we entered
the lobby of the hotel.
It was an indication of how
legitimate the Mob had gone...
... that they could
bring in the local police...
... to guard the faade of their racket.
The local chief was a man
named Jack Scaglia.
And of course, the two
gentlemen on my right...
...who need no introduction,
have come here directly...
...from their record-breaking
polio telethon in Miami, Florida.
So the first thing I'd like to announce
is that Mr. Sanmarco...
I wish I could tell you...
... that Sally Sanmarco
was a slim, 6-foot-6 guy...
... who looked like a prince
and spoke with an English accent.
Then I wouldn't be
falling back on the stereotype.
The trouble was, Sally was
straight out of central casting.
A gangster
who looked and talked...
... just like you would expect
from the movies.
How did it feel to raise
all that money for polio?
It felt great. It felt really great.
From a publicity angle, and in
terms of giving him legitimacy...
... this was a huge coup for Sally.
Like I said, we were gods.
We'd only been in the New York area
for an hour or so, during which time...
... we were constantly watched
by police and reporters...
... which ended up being
a good thing for us.
We got you our best bridal suite.
Fucking nice, huh?
People talk about having fancy
apartments and hotel rooms...
...on the West Side of Manhattan.
What do they see?
Fucking New Jersey.
Here, you see New York City.
Unfortunately,
Vince and I were acquainted...
... with the dead girl in the bathroom
of our hotel suite in New Jersey.
Her last name was O'Flaherty.
Her first name was Maureen.
Karen, we decided to trade
apartments, not identities.
Why didn't you make up a name?
Bonnie, I was looking
at a five-hour flight.
I didn't wanna make up a life story
that wasn't attached to anything.
Well, I returned the offense.
I got to pretend I was you.
- What?
- You received a package.
Messenger service.
I signed your name.
- Who's it from?
- No address. Want me to open it?
- Sure.
- That's good. I already did.
It's a manuscript.
"Excerpt From the Memoirs of...
...Lanny Morris."
Hey, all your dreams are coming true.
He's writing you love letters already.
Bonnie, I need
to know what he's written.
- Well, I'll send it to you.
- Now. Before he calls me tomorrow.
- Please?
- All right.
All right.
Here we go.
"Let me explain to you why two
very famous guys just finishing...
...a nationally broadcast telethon
ended up in New Jersey."
For years, the Palace Del Sol was
one of the centers of Mob prosperity.
Needless to say, a major
headliner in the showroom...
... helped legitimize
the entire operation.
Give her a kiss. Yeah, beautiful.
One more, guys. That's it.
That's great. Thank you.
Vince and I needed help
in keeping us up all the time...
... and in the way of thinking
in the '50s...
... anything you didn't take
with a needle was okay.
It wasn't "serious" serious.
It was like running a red light.
Everyone used bennies. Vince added
them to his morning coffee like sugar.
Not that you could tell.
When we did finally
decide to flatten out...
... we'd take two or three Tuinals,
or three or four "Threeinals."
They were really good.
Between the moment you took them
and passing out...
... it felt really sexy.
Sure.
- Enjoyed the show.
- Thank you.
The walls of the Blue Grotto...
... were made of a mixture
of plaster and Styrofoam.
Flammable as all hell. But the boys
had learned it was cheaper...
... to give the inspector 200 bucks
and a ringside table to our show...
... than to spend thousands
of dollars on fireproofing.
Besides, it was always vital in
a business enterprise of this sort...
... to have the option to torch the place
at a moment's notice...
... should the need present itself.
One night, after our show,
we were taken to Sally's office.
We wondered
what we had done wrong...
... but what we had done
was done good.
Sally started going on about
how much he liked us...
... how he thought we were
a good fit with his crowd...
... meaning that we brought in
an audience of heavy drinkers...
... adulterers and gamblers.
So, what we want is for you boys
to come back here...
...three months from now
and open our new showroom for us.
A two-week,
exclusive limited engagement...
...that we want you to do for us
for six weeks.
God help you when a killer
takes a shining to you.
I looked at Vince and scratched my
nose, which meant our strongest "no."
That's a very great honor, Sally.
- You're damn fucking right it is.
- The thing is...
...we're just trying to cut down on
the nightclub work at the moment.
We turned down the Sands
so we could do a TV special...
...and the only reason we still work the
Versailles is out of friendship for you.
- What dates were you thinking of?
- We open November 15th.
Sally, any other day
we would be here in a flash...
...but, you know, that's the day
right after the next polio telethon.
I mean, we always take two weeks off
right after that to recover.
- Right, Vince?
- At least.
- I mean, we're tired.
- That's the way I want you.
After the fucking telethon,
we fly you up from Miami...
...hold a press conference,
all fucking exhausted...
...so people know
what heroes you are.
I'll keep a suite for you
with the best hookers I got.
Your own personal cathouse.
And I'll have them send you up...
...a shipment of lobsters
and stone crabs.
- You like lobsters?
- Love them.
And a case of these...
...special grapefruits...
...that I get special down there.
The most delicious thing
you ever tasted in your life.
Juicy, thin skin.
Months later, on the night
before the telethon in Miami...
... we got back to our room
and found that Sally...
... had been more than good
to his word.
Laid out around the room
were various crates...
... bearing the addresses
of their destination:
Our suite at the Palace Del Sol
hotel in New Jersey.
"You like lobsters?
See you in New Jersey."
"Thin skin, fucking most delicious
fucking thing...
...you ever had in your fucking life."
"What I thought was a box
of beach balls turned out to be...
...the thinnest-skinned,
dripping-wet grapefruits...
...Id ever tasted in my life.
The 6-foot crate was filled
with fruits of the sea...
...slowly shifting over a bed of ice."
Yeah, this is Lanny Morris.
Send up three steaks, all right?
Yeah. Make them rare this time.
- Yeah, rare.
- Like bloody.
Bloody. And a couple of bottles
of that champagne.
- Make that three.
- Three bottles of champagne.
And can you make sure
that Maureen delivers them?
Yeah, Maureen.
We called down for Maureen...
... the room-service girl
I'd met earlier...
... who wanted the interview
for her school paper.
She brought up three steaks,
one for her...
... as her last official delivery
of the day.
As much as I love lobster...
... seeing all that shellfish
nestled on ice in the crate...
... put me in the mood
for hooves, not claws.
The interview for Maureen's campus
paper went better than expected.
Vince and I popped some Tuinals...
... to insure that
we would sleep like babes...
... after we wore off the general
horniness that the pills first give you.
Vince bought insurance on his bet
by having a few babes on hand.
Well, not exactly on his hand.
That wasn't his preference.
"Not exactly on his hand.
That wasn't his preference."
"Not exactly on his hand"?
"That wasn't his preference"?
"The Tuinals, coupled with
a nice amount of booze...
...guaranteed us
the sleep of the dead.
Late the next morning,
Maureen was sent packing...
...and Vince and I prepared ourselves
for that night's broadcast."
Well, I guess this is one story my kids
won't have to give a book report on.
Thanks.
Must be weird to find out...
...that the object of all your
adolescent fantasies is a pig.
He's not like that.
Oh, so it's just the way
he describes himself.
She was right.
Which was the real Lanny?
I'd find out later that the story
of the hookers in the hotel suite...
... was a complete fabrication.
That night, Maureen was alone.
- Hello?
- So how did you like the show?
Lanny?
The Today show.
You did watch, didn't you?
- The show.
- You didn't watch.
Wow, that's scary.
You see, when you're a star...
...you live in terror,
wondering if it's all over yet.
You keep looking for the signs.
You're shooting a scene from a movie
on a New York street...
...and a crowd doesn't form.
You meet a girl on a plane
and tell her...
...that you're gonna be on the
Today show the next morning...
...and she doesn't
wake up early to watch.
It's very scary.
Hey, you know,
I mentioned you on the air.
- You did?
- Yes, I proposed to you on the air.
Your building is probably
surrounded with photographers...
- ... at this very moment.
- You're kidding.
Yes, I'm kidding.
So...
...what time would you like to meet?
Stanley, this is Bonnie.
Bonnie, Stanley.
Nice to meet you.
Is the food almost ready, Stan?
Yeah. I'll bring it right out,
Mr. Lanny.
I was very hungry, so I asked Stanley
to prepare us something special.
That sounds great.
Tell me, what kind of a meeting...
...does a schoolteacher have to go to
during the summer vacation?
I'm exploring the possibility
of another job.
- Something in publishing.
- How did it go?
Okay.
Have you ever thought
about writing a book?
- About what?
- Your life.
Sure. When I'm dead.
No, seriously.
It would have to be published
after I died...
...when I wouldn't care what
anybody thought about me.
So, what would you write about,
if you were going to tell the truth?
In my book?
Well, the truth is,
I've met four presidents.
They all seemed like
they were out of it.
Like they had no idea
what was going on.
Even J.F.K. Left me unimpressed.
I felt like I was with the boss' son.
You don't think you could say that?
Not if I was planning
on living in this country. No, no.
I don't think that Judy Garland
was such a great singer...
...after she turned 16.
That quiver, you know,
it was like she had no control over it.
I would get killed for saying that.
Or that Marilyn Monroe
was no better an actress...
...after she studied with
Lee Strasberg than before.
I'm saying what really happened.
Having to be a nice guy...
...is the toughest job in the world
when you're not.
This is a lamb in tea sauce.
This is twice-cooked pork
with shredded, pickled cabbage.
Kung Pao chicken.
And this is Kung Ping Loh Haa...
...lobster in tangerine peel
for you and your lovely lady friend.
You shouldn't have
done that, Stanley.
I don't eat lobster. I'm Jewish.
But you eat pork.
- Do you have a problem with that?
- No, I just thought...
No shrimp, no lobster.
They're disgusting. Take it away.
I will pay for the dish,
but take it away, please.
I'll change it.
I'm sorry, I...
I should have asked.
Maybe you love lobster.
I'm fine.
Have you ever had
Szechwan cuisine before?
It's from the northern part of China.
It must be strange for you.
If you complain to a waiter,
you're not just some jerk at table five...
...you're Lanny Morris.
I know that everyone
dreams about being famous...
...but it would be interesting
to know...
...what it's like
to relinquish all anonymity.
- Gets me a date.
- Does that bother you?
That people only wanna be with you
because of who you are?
- As opposed to?
- Well...
...the real you.
The real me.
The real me was brought up
as a nice middle-class kid...
...which is not the easiest thing...
...when you are extremely poor
and living in a slum.
The real me spent most of his time
getting the shit kicked out of him...
...and dreaming about
something better.
Like being here
with someone like you.
Fifteen years ago, he had,
for one brief moment...
... made me feel like
the most special person in the world.
"The miracle in my life
is not that I survived polio...
...and am standing here today.
No. The reason I consider myself
to be a miracle girl...
...is because I had
the good fortune...
...to meet Lanny and Vince
when I was sick."
It was a moment
seen by millions of people...
... but felt only by me.
That moment had changed my life.
I was about to find my own way
into Lanny's book...
... after he had found
such a powerful way into mine.
Checking out today?
Is there a message
for Bonnie Trout?
- From one of our guests?
- Yes, Lanny Morris.
I'm afraid not.
- Are you sure?
- Oh, yes, I'm sure.
Do you need a cab?
I still don't understand
why Vince Collins is willing...
...to be involved in such
an expos of himself.
Vince is a realist.
The days of his box-office
power are drawing to a close.
Given the amount of money
we're offering...
And it's because the investment
in Mr. Collins is so large...
...Ive compiled a list of questions
we'd like the miracle girl to ask.
I don't wanna look at your questions.
I have my own approach.
Ms. O'Connor, we're not paying
a million dollars for your approach...
...we're paying for what
Vince Collins has to say.
To me. What he has to say to me.
Greg, this is not as easy as it looks.
If you go to Vince Collins
and ask him a series of questions...
...you'll come back here
with a 300-page press book.
Well, as I've always understood
this company's policy...
...while the book is being written...
...the relationship between the author
and editor is sacrosanct.
This isn't your typical book deal.
We've really just leased
an oil well called Vince Collins...
...and granted Ms. O'Connor
the right to tap.
I think we have a responsibility to...
...monitor the drilling.
- Hello.
- Mrs. O'Flaherty?
Yes.
My name's O'Connor.
I'm the one writing the book.
The book will be
centered around Vince Collins.
I'll be asking him a lot of questions.
I wanted to know if there were any
you'd like to have answered yourself.
Maureen and I planted this tree
on her fifth birthday.
Father did most of the digging,
of course.
She'd be 38.
I'm 59 myself.
If she were alive now...
...we'd be talking about things,
back and forth...
...like two women.
Like you and I are doing.
And Maureen's father?
Frank died six years ago.
He took his own life.
One night, just before he died...
...he dug up the earth
around this tree...
...he took the urn
with Maureen's ashes in it...
...and spread them around its roots.
So this is my daughter.
This is what I have of her.
- Are you Catholic?
- My... My mother was.
Then you will understand
my dilemma.
Our faith offers an afterlife.
A daughter needs her mother.
So I have to live out this life
as far from sin as I can manage.
I'll never see my husband again.
He's consigned himself to hell.
But what if Maureen
killed herself too?
She's in hell, with my husband.
The life I'm trying to lead
will bring me to heaven's grace...
...only to hear
their screams of torment.
Chief Scaglia,
you were in the hotel room...
... when they found
Maureen's body in the tub.
So was Sally, so was Lanny,
so was Vince.
And there was also
a PR lady there from the hotel.
How do you think she died?
She died in an auto accident
two weeks later. It was terrible.
No, Maureen.
- How did Maureen die?
- She drowned.
- Why?
- What do you mean, why?
You and I take baths all the time.
We don't drown in them.
You and I do not mix
sleeping pills with booze.
- She committed suicide?
- Overdose is the official story.
What's the official story on the fact
that the staff of the hotel in Miami...
... all seemed to know she delivered
room service to the boys' suite...
...three days before
and was never seen alive again?
What happened to her?
How did she end up
in a hotel room in New Jersey?
Sally never had any problem
moving girls around. Okay?
He had two hotels.
- So Sally arranged it?
- No, I don't think so.
You see, she was brought up there
as a reward for the boys...
...and I think she started
to party just a little too early.
She was a student.
This was a summer job.
Listen to me...
...the Palace Del Sol was very
important to Sally, okay?
He launched his new wing...
...with a push
from Lanny and Vince...
...and this stupid girl
shows up dead.
She's not gonna come back.
We do the best thing for all of us.
We speed up the investigation
and we cremate her. Okay?
End of story.
- Here you are.
- Here's your lobster.
- Enjoy.
- Looks great.
"Sally said, 'I'll have them send you
up your own shipment of lobsters.
You like lobster?"'
We said we did
because we really did.
You shouldn't have done that,
Stanley. I don't eat lobster.
Were there any signs of violence
on her body?
No, no. There were some
small scratches on the torso.
Why did my daughter die?
Did she kill herself?
What had they done to her
that would make her do that?
What had they done?
Once upon a time...
... when terrible things
happened to people...
... they were left as a mystery.
Even the tabloids kept a distance.
Some things were allowed
to be left just the way they were.
Any trouble with the directions
I gave you?
- Only the parts where I had to turn.
- Sorry.
It's the price of seclusion.
You haven't switched over
to cassette?
- Actually, it's my dad's.
- And what does he do?
He was a journalist too.
He did a big story on you once.
Followed a little girl who had polio.
You took her under your wing...
...and now she's interviewing you.
He must be proud that his daughter's
making such a name for herself.
I'd like to think so.
- He died last year.
- Sorry to hear that.
- Would you like some coffee?
- Sure.
Are you alone here?
Yes. The thought of having live-in help
is a little poisonous to me.
Why's that?
Well, I'd have to talk to them...
...ask them how
their family was doing...
...hear about this and that,
introduce them to the guests...
...and tell them
how their family was doing.
All so that I would
seem to be a nice guy...
...which is an awful lot of work...
...considering what I cherish
most in life these days...
...is not to have to be Vince Collins.
No Reuben in your life?
How do you know about Reuben?
He was in a lot of the material
I've been looking at.
No, I never had a Reuben.
Lanny always paid him directly.
He was Lanny's man.
Right.
You know, what I like is to...
...read...
...think.
It's to have the freedom...
...to get up and leave
without telling anyone about it...
...any time of day.
Or even having to say goodbye.
To be backstage, surrounded
by acrobats, actors, magicians...
...it was intoxicating.
You know, I was only 12 years old.
That's a...
That's a pretty impressionable age.
- To hear all these stories of touring...
- My father always told me...
... that nothing had meaning
unless it could be put on the record.
Yet things had changed.
As Vince had pointed out
at our first meeting...
... it had become fashionable
to put yourself into the story.
The question became
how far you were prepared to go.
- Excuse me. That's not mine.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
Aren't you Miss Trout?
We've met,
on the plane to New York.
- Reuben.
- Excuse me, sir.
Can I leave you
for just a second, please?
I'm so deeply sorry, Miss Trout,
the way you were treated.
- He could have left a note.
- Of course.
Miss Trout, I would like you
to understand something.
I have a great loyalty to Mr. Morris.
He's treated me very well.
I'm very grateful.
He has done wonderful things
for many people...
...and I have been privileged
to work for him.
But I do have certain principles...
...especially about how women
are to be treated and respected.
Mr. Morris can be very attentive,
but once he has a woman...
Oh, God, I think
it's almost a sickness.
When he left you that morning...
...you may have felt bad,
but believe me, Miss Trout...
...to have him out of your life...
...is the best thing that
could have happened to you.
At that point, you may have felt
your life was wounded.
It wasn't.
It was saved.
Vince, I was very clear about this
from the beginning.
I'm not out to play games with you.
This is why you're being paid
a huge amount of money.
This isn't entirely about money,
you know.
A million dollars is more than
the gross of your last film.
I was somehow
under the impression that my life...
...might have been of more than
passing interest.
But if my fleeting encounter with
a girl named Maureen O'Flaherty...
...is all you really want to talk about,
then that's what we'll do.
I have to make an appearance
at the clinic tomorrow.
We can come back
and talk after that.
It's Wonderland.
I imagine you might remember that.
He was right.
I did remember Wonderland.
- You ready?
- Ready.
When I was a girl, the entire hospital
was devoted to children with polio.
Since that time,
it had become a clinic for kids...
... with a variety of different
physical handicaps.
Once a year, the children
would put on a pageant...
... playing different characters
from Alice in Wonderland.
Vince, in his continuing support
of the hospital...
... had hired a band and a singer.
Who is that?
I don't know.
She's good, whoever she is.
Karen, do you mind if we start
this conversation tomorrow?
I'm just...
I'm not feeling all that well.
- Vince...
- In fact, it won't make...
...any difference over there.
The office is closed.
They've been working late.
Then they've been working
much too hard.
First thing tomorrow. First thing.
I hope your editors were reasonable.
Reasonable? No, they weren't.
We can go as late as you like.
That's good.
It might take us
into the evening.
I had a feeling
that might be the case.
So I've ordered a hot and cold
smorgasbord to be brought in.
We can work through dinner.
- We'll be having company?
- Yes.
I have...
...a surprise for you.
Actually, this is a fairly big deal
for me as well.
I've asked Lanny to join us today.
Lanny?
Well, this is something.
Neuman and Newberry will certainly
be getting their money's worth.
I thought that if I was
going to discuss something...
...that had such an impact
on our lives...
...it would be fair for Lanny
to hear what I had to say.
Given that we've
never talked about it.
I'm sure I'll have lots to ask him.
When is he coming?
He should be here any minute now.
This is very exciting.
Shit.
- Yes?
- Bonnie, I have to talk fast.
I need you to do exactly as I tell you
and I can't tell you why, okay?
Sure.
Excuse me, that might actually
be him now.
Yes, hello?
Yes, thank you.
That was my office.
There's a woman...
A friend, a relative of yours?
She said she called
on a number you gave her.
She's gonna call back.
- Yes?
- Hi, kiddo.
Listen, your brother Clifford
has just been rushed to the hospital.
He was doing construction
when a thing...
- A steel girder?
- That's it.
You better come to the city
and make your peace with him.
You're booked on the next
flight to San Francisco.
I'm waiting here for you
in front of the terminal.
They reserved me a seat
on the next flight to San Francisco.
- I'll drive you there.
- No, no.
Sharon is waiting at the airport for me.
You can't stand Lanny up.
Please give him
my deepest apologies.
- Hey.
- Please, I can explain.
You've broken the law,
Bonnie-fucking-Trout.
You've assumed
another person's identity...
...to get information
from a business competitor.
Obviously I lied about who I was.
I'm sorry.
It was a huge untruth.
It wasn't planned.
I was just freaked out about
suddenly being on the plane with...
With you...
How did you get the seat
behind me on the plane?
- It was pure coincidence.
- Bullshit!
It's true.
How could you..? How could you have
just left me at the hotel like that?
You were asleep.
Reuben woke me to say
I had to be a substitute performer...
...at a charity concert at the Hollywood
Bowl. I had to get the first flight out.
You could have left a note
or called.
- I did leave you a note.
- Where?
I don't know why we're even talking
about this. I don't like you.
All right? I wish we had never met.
Hello, Vince.
What the fuck's going on?
Vince, a few days after we first met...
...I found myself next to Lanny
on a flight to New York.
It was a complete coincidence.
- He asked my name...
- And she lied.
I had just finished reading the first
chapter of Lanny's own biography.
His lawyers had let me see it in the
hope of discouraging our own project.
As a reflex, since I knew he
would view me as the enemy...
...I gave him the name of a friend...
...whose apartment I was
staying at in Manhattan.
I thought I just had to get through
the awkwardness of the flight itself...
...but the trouble is...
- You slept with him.
- Vince...
- You slept with my ex-partner.
Technically.
Doesn't sound like things were
particularly technical.
Now, you listen to me, sweetheart.
Vince doesn't always do
what's best for Vince.
That's why he needed me
here today.
The story of this girl is the
most painful thing in his life.
What happened to her, Lanny?
Well, you're not gonna find out.
Not now.
Not after what you've done to him.
Vince.
Oh, shit.
Vince...
...I made a terrible mistake
in New York.
I apologize to you
more than I know how to say.
I'm so sorry.
Vince, the realization
of your life story...
...shouldn't be threatened
because of my failings.
Please let me continue
to work with you again.
I'll help you tell your story right.
Come back tonight.
Let me think about it.
- How do you like the wine?
- It's magnificent. What is it?
People make a big deal of 1959...
...but I don't think there'll be
a year as special as 1961.
It was a great year for French wines.
Will you join me?
What are they?
They're like very mild-mannered
Quaaludes.
Must've done a few of those
in your time, right?
Are you sure they're okay
with alcohol?
Oh, they're even better with alcohol.
Believe me, I'd know.
Come on in, honey. The water's fine.
All my life, I've had this idea
that I could always be in control.
Ever since I was sick,
I had this sense...
... that I could make my body
do anything I wanted.
If I could will my polio away...
... I'd certainly be able to will away
the effect of any drug.
Do you mind if I close the drapes?
The sun's in my eyes.
It's moonlight.
Go ahead.
I remember you.
You're Alice.
In Wonderland.
Oh, I don't know.
I'm really stoned
out of my head already.
Is it good?
Jesus, Vince. It's like monster grass.
Do you get this stuff all the time?
All the time.
You're Alice.
You're so beautiful.
She's ours.
Isn't that so, Alice?
I'm yours.
I like you.
I had always been fascinated by how
some women could cross the line...
... between who they were and who
they would let themselves become.
Maureen...
... Alice...
... and now...
... me.
Morning.
That was not a Quaalude you
gave me. I've had Quaaludes.
I said it was like a Quaalude.
And you didn't take one yourself.
You palmed the pill.
Somebody had to drive.
Don't worry, you won't get pregnant.
Not from Alice,
and certainly not from me.
I never took off my pants,
as you may or may not remember.
There are laws against
drugging people.
Oh, please. You took it voluntarily.
Nobody slipped it into your drink.
And you chased it with one of the most
expensive wines in the world.
You're just in a dither because you've
discovered you can swing both ways.
You see...
...I needed to get something on you.
Of course, your behavior with Lanny
might have been even better than this.
But I'd already set the wheels
in motion.
And as I was dying to see
you and Alice get it on...
Well, these are just a sample.
Why would she agree to do this?
Doesn't she want a career?
Well, it's your career
I'm worried about.
You're a journalist
playing loose with the rules.
She's just a vulnerable young singer
you seduced.
A promising... Oh, good heavens.
Promising artist
that I happen to manage.
You met her through me...
...and had your way with her.
What do you want from me?
You're going to continue
writing the book.
I'm going to continue telling you
juicy stories, funny stories...
...heart-tugging stories.
And you're not going to ask me
a single question...
...about what happened
to the girl in New Jersey.
You're going to go to your publisher,
say you tried every angle...
...but you could find nothing odd
or suspicious in what I told you.
I'll even try to spice it up a little,
talk about how...
...the night before the telethon,
I wanted to sleep like a babe...
...so to cover my bets,
I kept a few babes on hand.
Well, not exactly on my hand...
...and that's not my preference,
as you might have gathered by now.
So you get your bestseller,
I get my million.
Everyone goes home happy.
You've dreaded talking about
Maureen O'Flaherty since we met.
If it's something you're so
desperate to avoid...
...why would you ever agree
to do this book?
I need the money.
Vince, anything you say
in my presence is mine to use.
Everything you said last night
and everything you've just told me.
And since I'm also allowed to include
contextual background...
...I can write about
how you set me up...
...how you tried to blackmail me.
I'll even include those Polaroids.
It's your word against mine. We have
a contract. Everything's in my words.
We've agreed to your answers,
but there's nothing to stop me...
...from putting any information I want
into a question I ask.
Information that I'd like to be
public knowledge...
...or that the police
might wanna look into.
Would you like me to fire one of my
loaded questions, on the record?
Sure.
Vince...
...in your suite
at the Versailles Hotel in Miami...
...was it your or Lanny's idea...
...to put Maureen's body into the case
containing shellfish and ice...
...and have it shipped
to New Jersey?
No answer, Mr. Collins?
So noted.
Oh, and incidentally,
by not answering...
...you're in violation of your contract.
What a shame.
I understood you needed that money.
Oh, no. Oh, God.
Oh, God.
Oh, God. Oh, God!
Was that how
you murdered Maureen?
Ask Lanny.
He's the one who knows.
It wasn't that hard for him
to get the suite he wanted.
The Versailles was still one of the
fanciest of the hotels along the beach.
But by then, its era had passed.
Thank you, sir.
All the furniture was new.
It had been 15 years...
... but the floor plan...
... was still the same.
In that spot...
... that was where the truth
had come out.
That was why she had to die.
Are you Japanese or Chinese?
Vietnamese.
The kitchen tell me
you famous person.
Why you famous?
They didn't tell you my name?
No.
What is it?
Lanny Morris.
It's a Jewish name...
...but I'm a nebbish.
You ordered three bottle
of champagne.
You want me to open one now?
Or wait until friend come?
Open all three.
Are you really famous, Mr. Morris?
In my day.
Before your time, I suppose.
I come from the north of Vietnam.
In my town, there is no television.
She explained that American movies
had been banned where she grew up.
She got better tips pretending
she was Madame Butterfly...
... than by telling people
where she was really from.
What did you do, Mr. Morris?
I made Vince Collins' life...
...very difficult.
She didn't understand, but her policy
was not to linger in the rooms...
... of solitary gentlemen.
He signed the room-service check
under Lanny's name.
Thank you.
There was no ice or water
left in the buckets...
... when his body was discovered
the next morning.
He had dumped the ice into
the bathtub and died in it.
He must have felt
there was some poetry in it.
His plan was to drink
enough champagne...
... with enough sleeping pills...
... so that ending things would
become an acceptable idea.
He could manage that.
He knew for certain
he couldn't manage anything else.
Hi.
I thought you were
gonna be out all afternoon.
I'm sorry.
It's okay.
This was under the door.
What is it?
Chapter three.
John, as my lawyer, I want you
to know that this next chapter...
... is to be read
after Vince and my death...
... and is only to be used under
the most extreme of circumstances.
We knew we wanted to make
an early night of it...
... with the telethon starting the next
day, so Vince suggested we dine in...
... so Maureen could do
the interview for her campus paper.
This is a gift for us
from the audience...
...from the people,
the people that are out there.
Sooner or later you gotta say,
"We wanna give something back."
I think that's really important.
Not many people would take
the time out to do that. Thank you.
She actually hid her tape recorder
in the room-service cart...
... because she didn't want
the hotel to find out.
We finished the interview
and then asked her to stay.
To help us get into the mood,
I did a Tuinal...
... then she did one...
... and Vince, he did two,
because he was always doing two.
We got into the second of the
three bottles of Mot we'd ordered.
We thought it would be better to keep
the action to neutral territory.
God...
... she was beautiful.
I chain-locked the front door
to the living room...
... to make sure that housekeeping,
eager to turn down our beds...
... didn't walk in on an employee
having a mnage trois...
... with the hotel's headliners.
Then I went to chain-lock
the door to Vince's room.
I took a quick shower,
I put on my robe...
... and brought a robe for Maureen,
in case she felt a little bashful.
So much for bashful.
I threw the robe on the bed
and moved into the room...
... half-worried that they would
finish without me.
I've always preferred
the missionary position.
I have to see their faces,
look into their eyes.
Unless they're acting, and I'd like
to think I can tell the difference...
... there comes that moment...
... when, if you're looking...
... if you're really looking...
... you'll see exactly who she is.
This was different.
It was like
she saw exactly who I was.
Watch it there, compadre.
It's a little hard to tell who's who,
under the circumstances.
I'm the one that's more than
a little hard, you dumb fucking limey.
Well, I'm... I'm the one with a foreskin.
Don't you forget that.
Watch it. You got the end zone
there, Vince.
- Come on, come on. Fuck.
- You're gonna like it.
It's like from another planet
when you come.
- Get the fuck off me.
- I'd never hurt you.
- I'd never hurt you.
- Get the fuck off me!
- No, trust me. It's like double the sex...
- Get the fuck off me!
We don't fuck, Vince!
We're buddies, we're pals,
we're partners, we're a duo.
We love each other,
but we don't fuck!
We're fucking stars!
- We can travel together.
- Okay.
We can hang out together, we can live
together, but we can't be queers!
It's not funny!
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
About?
About your nose.
It's not broken, is it?
It's how I am.
Guess the question is,
who's gonna pay me?
This surprised me.
The girl was not a hooker.
My wallet was on top of my robe.
I took out some money.
I don't remember how much.
I don't think so.
That's more than you would
make in a month of tips.
I'm not looking for a tip.
What the hell are you saying?
Honey, I'm in my last year
of college.
This is a summer job.
I wanna write.
I wanna be a journalist.
So I could either
use this information...
...or I could use a lot of money.
I promise you
this will only cost you once.
I'm so tired, I don't even think
I'm going home.
I think it's the Tuinals.
Hey, Lanny, don't take it personally.
You were a great lover.
You have got the cutest little butt.
I guess Vince thinks so too.
Night, Lanny.
I would never see her alive again.
I put a "Do Not Disturb" sign
on my door...
... fastened the chain lock,
in case the maid didn't read.
I left a wake-up call for 8...
... and went to sleep
knowing that a telethon...
... was the least of the ordeals I was
going to have to face in the morning.
The Tuinals had really
conked me out...
... and I slept through
my wake-up call that morning.
The operator had called Reuben
down the hall...
... to see if he could wake me...
... but he couldn't get in because
we had chain-locked all the doors.
Reuben!
I yelled for Reuben to wake up Vince
while I worked on Maureen...
... trying to make myself believe
that she was still sleeping.
Fuck.
No, no. Fuck.
The autopsy revealed the drugs
and alcohol in her body...
... but I knew
it wasn't enough to kill her.
All three doors to the suite...
... were chain-locked from the inside
when I found her.
I hadn't touched her.
That's how I know that my former
partner and friend, Vince Collins...
... murdered Maureen O'Flaherty.
You must have guessed by now
that Vince and I had found a way...
... to relocate Maureen's body
to New Jersey.
This is the one criminal act
the both of us committed...
... but we were in a panic and
needed to create an ironclad alibi.
The crates were delivered
to our room.
The publicist had opened the crates
for a photo op.
But the official story became...
... that she found Maureen's
overdosed body in the tub.
A police officer called Scaglia
was there to witness the whole thing.
Live, until they drop dead...
During the telethon...
... I kept telling myself that I could
forgive Vince for two reasons.
First of all, I don't think he could
have known what he was doing.
He was completely out of it,
even more than usual.
The second is that he was terrified...
... that this incident would become
public knowledge.
In those days, the slightest hint
that he could swing both ways...
... would destroy his
show-business career in an instant.
As it was, it was only to destroy us.
We completed the telethon...
... but we both knew
we were finished.
The marriage...
... was over.
There was a moment
in the middle of the telethon...
... where I actually broke down.
I just couldn't control myself.
I remember I mumbled something...
... to a little girl who was recounting
her experiences with the disease.
I don't remember what I said...
... but I do remember
feeling worthless.
Everyone thought that my tears
were for her.
It made for a great picture
in the papers the next day.
Mr. Morris will see you now.
I expected to see you
at Vince's funeral.
Kind of heartless of you not to
show up, don't you think, Karen?
Considering you're probably
the one that...
...drove him to it.
I won't answer that.
So don't.
So get the fuck out of my office.
Lanny, I have interview material with
Vince up until the moment he met you.
It would be great if this...
...warm, funny side of Vince
could reach the public.
And what the fuck do you know
about Vince's warm and funny side?
What about the warm and funny fact
that he killed himself?
- Why would he do that?
- I don't know.
That's the answer I'm giving you...
...and anyone else that asks.
- "I don't know."
- But you do know, don't you, Lanny?
Whatever I know, sweetheart...
...Im writing in my book.
Except you're never
going to finish your book.
You don't have to.
The person who needed
your book is dead.
You always wrote the material
for your shows.
Every single word was rehearsed.
The book was a manual,
a set of notes...
...so Vince would get
every detail of the official story.
"A couple of extra babes for him
to sleep with that night.
A few of them on hand.
Well, not exactly on his hand.
That wasn't his preference."
- So, what's your point?
- He quoted that very line to me.
Quoted it from your manuscript as if
he were saying it for the first time.
You wrote it because you loved him.
And feared for him.
And feared for yourself.
And then you wrote this:
Where the fuck did you get that?
- Delivered to my room.
- Bullshit. You stole it.
Maureen O'Flaherty was killed
in the Versailles Hotel, in your room...
...the night before the telethon.
The night before we met.
Get out of my office.
Miss Trout?
We walked through the deserted
backlot of the studio...
... and I confessed
that I wasn't Bonnie Trout.
That I was writing a book
about Vince Collins.
And that I was trying
to uncover the secret...
... behind what happened
to Maureen O'Flaherty.
I told him what I found out.
He prayed that he would
be forgiven...
... for having been there
as the murder was concealed.
Miss O'Connor...
...I have a tape recording of
the night Miss O'Flaherty was killed.
She had brought a machine.
- For the interview.
- Yes.
I found it as I was
getting rid of her things.
She kept it on?
Could you use this tape
for your book?
Of course.
Miss O'Connor...
...is it something?
Oh, my.
Is it something I could sell?
Reuben, I can't speak
on behalf of my publishers...
...but I'm sure that we can
settle on a price.
Oh, thank you, Miss O'Connor.
I'll even spice it up a little,
talk about how...
... the night before the telethon,
I wanted to sleep like a babe.
So to cover my bets,
I kept a few babes on hand.
Well, not exactly on my hand.
That's not my preference,
as you may have gathered by now.
I need the money.
Did you have a figure in mind?
Would you think a million dollars
would be too much?
Vince was being paid
a million dollars for his life.
This is one night.
The most important night.
You could have left me a note
or called me.
- I did leave you a note.
- Where?
Lanny left this for me
at my apartment.
It's his version
of what happened that night.
On its own,
it's absolutely useless to me.
I could have typed it myself.
But if it matched
what's recorded on your tape...
...it would make it priceless.
Which is why you sent it to me.
You just said
Mr. Morris left it at your apartment.
He was surprised I had it.
Like he was surprised I hadn't found
the note he left for me at the hotel.
The note you must've disposed of
as you were tidying the room.
I told you how he deals with women.
I was afraid.
Really afraid of what
he might do to you.
Maybe you were afraid of what I'd...
I'd do to him. And to you.
Why would I be afraid of
a schoolteacher called Bonnie Trout?
Because you knew I was
Karen O'Connor.
When I woke up,
you folded my clothes...
...and placed my pocketbook
on the bed.
The pocketbook that had my name
and the letter from my publisher.
I was writing about the one thing
you wanted to have total control over:
Collins and Morris.
You made me abandon any thought
of trying to contact Lanny.
You made me feel like I was
less than nothing to him...
...because you were playing
your own complex game.
And what exactly was this complex
game I was playing, Miss O'Connor?
You were in the room.
That night.
Lanny had a robe.
He dropped it on the bed.
After Maureen asked for money...
...the wallet was on top.
It had been folded.
Well, I always, always arranged
Mr. Morris' things.
After he went to bed.
You were there before.
How would I get out?
All three doors were chain-locked.
Through Vince's room.
Then, the next morning...
... you must have chain-locked the
door before you went to wake him up.
Fuck!
Lanny let me read the first chapter.
Vince sent me the second.
And you stole this.
To whet my appetite.
I wanna write.
I wanna be a journalist.
So I could either
use this information...
... or I could use a lot of money.
Is that why you killed her?
To protect them?
For 15 years...
... he tormented Vince and Lanny.
He could never blackmail Vince
while Sally Sanmarco was alive...
... so he waited until Sally died
to activate his retirement plan:
A million dollars from Vince.
A million dollars for the same tape
he offered to me.
He would never get his money,
and I would never see him again.
He had taken her life...
... and with it her mother's heart...
... and her father's mind.
And now...
... all that remained
of Maureen O'Flaherty...
... was a tree
in her mother's garden.
Your daughter learned something
about Vince Collins...
...that he didn't want anyone to know.
Because of that...
...she was killed.
If it's of any small comfort,
she probably didn't suffer.
I want people
to know about this man.
I want them to know
why he killed her.
There is someone in all this...
...who is totally innocent
of any involvement...
...in the events of that night...
...but whose life will be made infinitely
worse if I tell the truth at this time.
I wanna protect this person
from any further pain.
I promise you...
I promise you I will write down
the truth that I've learned...
...but I have to let matters lie
until this person has died...
...and the truth
can no longer touch them.
I saw no indication on her face...
... that she knew
I was talking about her.
You're a very special girl.
Forgive me.