Isn't there a sight next week?
Fifth Monday.
That's very odd. The sorties have gone home.
[Telephone ringing]
Man: Is he here yet?
MKA, is he here yet?
No, sir.
Mr. Jameson, what happened? What is so important?
[Banging]
Man: Miss Quinn?
[Banging]
Miss Quinn, you in there?
I need not remind you
we're all bound to the strictest confidentiality.
Under no circumstances are we to discuss the incident.
Any acts to the contrary
will result in the severest consequences.
Is that clear? Yes, of course.
The elevator's the single point of entry,
no underground tunnels,
three narrow ventilation ducts,
all of which lead nowhere.
The entire sub basement is encased in concrete,
marble and the outer casing is solid steel.
This has to be the most secure facility in all of Europe.
That's certainly what we believed.
Besides, there was nearly two tons of diamonds.
You would need an army of men and several vehicles.
Now, you all know Sir Clifton Sinclair,
from King's Row, our underwriters.
Well, we've talked it through and we have agreed
that our utmost priority must be the appearance of business as usual.
I mean... any police investigation
and subsequent publicity would be a disaster.
Just like that, all confidence gone.
So we handle the matter privately.
Sinclair.
As you all know, King's Row has been behind
London Diamond for the last 70 years.
And today is no exception.
With that in mind,
I'd like to introduce you to Sir Gavin Finch,
our Chief Insurance Investigator.
Mr. Finch.
Good morning, everyone.
Please, there is no need to panic.
We will find your diamonds.
No need to panic? The royal supply of diamonds
has vanished into thin air
and there's no need to panic?
I will see inside the vault now
and if the night staff could be called back, thank you.
What have you done?
It's all in hand, Miss Quinn.
In hand? In hand?
The contents of a thermos, you said.
When you're finished, meet me at the café
at the corner of Hatton Ground.
Mr. Hobbs.
Yes.
This way, please.
Not one of your better ideas, Miss Quinn.
I suggest we cut this short.
What have you done with the diamonds?
I want answers, and I want them now.
You're gonna get them all in good time.
Oh, I can't breathe!
I insist that you remain calm.
What did you say to Finch?
I told him I went on shift as normal.
I waxed the floors for a while.
I emptied the rubbish, a normal night.
I... I lied.
I want you to go back to work,
do exactly what we discussed,
keep to your routine, and we'll talk again.
Ok?
This is where I'll be tomorrow.
[Breathes heavily]
Miss Quinn?
Sir Milton's office is asking for you urgently.
Should you elect to purchase the goods
you must notify me by week's end.
It's my understanding that specifics
as to the inventory and to the purchase terms
are explicitly set forth in this letter.
And importantly, I'm not to be made privy
to any arrangement between my client and yourself.
You are simply to alert me to your intentions,
at which point I will provide instructions
regarding method of payment.
My client will then convey where you may take possession of the goods.
Mr. Boyle, are we to understand
the identity of your client is unknown to you?
That's correct.
As is the nature of this inventory?
Also correct.
[Door opens]
Excuse me, but there's a call
for Mr. Boyle from his office.
What in the name of God is all this?
"Now available a selection of uncut diamonds,
"market price, 100 million pounds sterling."
Is that it? Is that all it says?
"Payable within 48 hours."
We've been hijacked by madmen!
Shouldn't this man be detained?
I'm afraid Mr. Boyle has told us all he knows.
Pardon the interruption.
Is there anything further?
I will await your call.
Good day.
The South African Star.
[Buzzer]
Get Sinclair back. Now!
[Knock on door]
Ah, Miss Quinn, may I?
I'm working my way through personnel.
Yes, please.
Thank you.
Take a seat.
Would you care for a cigarette?
No, thank you.
Thank you.
Now... Miss Quinn...
you're American, but you were educated at Oxford.
You have been working here for 15 years,
and you are now a Senior Negotiator.
That's right.
Would you say you have done well for yourself?
Yes.
Not married? No.
And you are 38?
That's right, Mr. Finch.
I certainly hope that's not a crime.
Do you have any leads?
Ahem.
Now in your professional capacity, Miss Quinn,
who would you say were London Diamond's enemies?
It's potentially a long list.
We are a major global business.
Why do you think there could be more to this than money?
The diamond that Mr. Boyle has left, the...
Kimberly 4.
530 karats, the fourth largest cut diamond in the world.
If it were motivated by money,
it's unlikely it would still be in our possession.
Are you saying it's symbolic?
It's also known as the South African Star.
Thank you, Miss Quinn.
That'll be all for now.
Oh, uh...
that Mr. Hobbs,
you're on good terms with him?
I suppose so.
He's one of the night janitors.
Always seems quite jovial.
You were speaking to him today in the corridor.
Yes, I've been having problems with my radiator.
I asked him if he could come and look at it.
It's erratic.
Temperature-wise.
And did he manage to solve the problem?
I believe he was going to try and find some time this week.
Good. Thank you again, Miss Quinn.
Thank you, gentlemen, for the instruction.
I'll get back to you in 24 hours.
[Music drowning out dialogue]
Thank you.
Good morning.
Miss Quinn, good morning.
You seem bright and breezy this morning.
I'd like to be given authority to liaise
with Mr. Finch on the investigation.
Why?
With the time pressure we're under we all need
to be communicating as efficiently as we're able. And...
and?
Finch was hired by Sinclair.
Well, I don't see why not.
There's a whole explosion of nothing downstairs.
I see the King's Row lawyers are back.
Surely they're not prepared to pay the ransom on our behalf?
Not if Sinclair has anything to do with it.
He's already lobbied the other members of the syndicate
against settling the claims.
Saying the, uh, the deadlines are unreasonable.
But then of course he would, wouldn't he?
He's the majority shareholder.
His life would return to zero, where he started.
They're not bound by contract?
Miss Quinn, as I'm sure you're aware
where large personal fortunes are concerned,
contracts have a habit of developing loopholes.
And if that happened, then we're insolvent.
No diamonds. No sight. The world knows.
All hell breaks loose.
You'll speak to Mr. Finch?
Tell him that I'll be assisting.
It's our official company position.
Well, you seem terribly keen.
Well, my job is at stake.
All of ours are.
All right.
I'll speak to him right now.
This has just come through, Mr. Finch.
Miss Quinn.
Mr. Jameson may have spoken to you, uh,
I'm to assist you in any way I can with the investigation.
Yes, he told me.
I'm going down to the vault now.
Oh, these monitors.
The new security system.
Well, actually, not very secure.
Every 60 seconds each corridor
is left totally unobserved for one full minute.
Well, one minute, that's not very much time.
Time enough to pass undetected.
The lift is the single point of entry.
But the diamonds were not removed by way of the lift.
Each activation is recorded,
prompting an electronic time stamp.
As usual, there were three trips that night.
In each instance the lift returned at once to the main level.
So the lift was never stationary long enough
in the sub basement to load the contents of the vault.
That's right.
You may need these.
[Yelling and banging]
Excuse me.
Steel, three inches thick,
floor, ceiling, walls.
But to get the diamonds out
they must have penetrated it somewhere.
No forced entry.
They knew the combination.
So, all things considered, Mr. Finch,
what conclusions have you arrived at?
Isn't it obvious what conclusions I've arrived at, Miss Quinn?
A woman of your intelligence must surely have guessed.
2:00, I believe we're expected upstairs.
A stop gap to restore diamond inventories to an acceptable level.
Five million pounds.
That is what you've come up with, eh?
Financing the stones is impossible.
You control all the major trading centers across the planet.
When the first diamond turns up,
within hours you'll get the rest.
Sinclair, we are the sole supplier of diamonds to six continents.
Any hint we can no longer supply would be catastrophic.
Money is no substitute for diamonds.
Miss Quinn is here with Mr. Finch, sir.
Well, paying the ransom won't guarantee
your diamonds back and will make it more difficult
to apprehend those responsible.
That is your problem, not mine.
Now, Mr. Finch.
I believe Mr. Finch has got something
to tell us which may alter all our perspectives.
I am now in no doubt that the crime was perpetrated
by either one or a number of London Diamond employees.
I believe also that the perpetrator obtained
the codes to the vault from Sir Milton's residence,
most likely on the evening of last Saturday during a party.
A team has been sent over to the house to dust for prints.
Mr. Finch, you said that you deemed
the motive for the robbery to be political.
Were it a crime for profit,
a single handful of diamonds would do.
Now, Mr. Finch, in your opinion,
who are the most likely political factions?
The Soviets and the South African rebels would top the list.
And are there any members of personnel
in London Diamond who might be associated
with, uh, these political factions?
Well, there was one name that came to the surface.
Ahem.
Oliver Ashtoncroft, age 20, arrested at Oxford
whilst attending a Marxist Leninist rally.
But this is ridiculous.
That was nearly two decades ago.
Just because I don't advocate everything
that goes on at this company
does not make me a communist or a thief.
That is enough!
You really have sunk to the dregs this time, eh?
Well, I'm sorry, but unless we can remove
even the slightest hint of fraud,
King's Row will not even consider full settlement.
Sinclair, as the syndicate's largest underwriter,
you stand to lose a great deal of your ill gotten fortune.
Or do I overstate?
Ill gotten? Well, now that is rich,
coming from a de facto dictator of an entire slave nation.
For 30 years we have paid you
inordinate sums of money for your security.
We have done so in the hope that one day
we may receive something in return.
Well, that day has come, Sinclair, and what, eh?
Nothing.
I will crush you, Sinclair.
I will take everything you have.
And then I will piss on your fucking grave.
How'd you do it, Mr. Hobbs? How'd you get them out?
Do you know what the hardest substance in the world is?
And who's really behind this?
The diamond.
You rub it with a cloth, it lets off a charge.
You put it in water, it comes up dry.
Its only enemy is another diamond.
You do know you've rendered the stones worthless?
All of them. They can't be sold.
London Diamond's the only buyer on earth.
Precisely!
And to that end we have demanded a ransom.
We? No, there is no "we."
They won't pay.
They couldn't if they wanted.
There's no money.
And that investigator finch, he saw us talking.
He will find out.
I have absolutely no doubt.
Have you ever thought about your plans, like?
No, I mean, when you get your share,
what you gonna do with your life.
I mean, are you gonna be a giver or a taker?
Why, you stupid, old man!
Wake up! Don't you understand?
That the only life for us is one behind bars.
Ok, look.
I can negotiate our way out of this.
I'll go to Ashtoncroft.
Offer him the diamonds in exchange
for our freedom and our silence.
He'll... he'll accept the deal.
His terror of publicity will see to it.
All you have to do is tell me where the diamonds are.
I'm... I'm sorry, Miss Quinn.
I... I'd like to help, but I do not intend to negotiate.
Well, then I have no option but to turn myself in.
Oh, really?
Is that what you're gonna do, eh?
After all these years clawing your way up,
laughing at men's jokes,
subservient, neglecting your opportunities,
giving up on love,
no time for the simple, the decent.
Doing all the dirty work,
you're really going to throw all that away just to spite me?
I require the money in full.
And yes, they can pay it.
It is precisely what they are insured for.
As you wish.
Then I shall find the diamonds myself.
Oh, is that a fact? Oh, it certainly is.
I shall find the diamonds.
Make no mistake about it.
Is this a bad time?
No, no, not at all.
It's just a formality, you understand?
And we have requested the same from all employees
who were present a Sir Milton's party.
A set of fingerprints?
Of course.
May I?
There's really nothing to worry about.
It's simply to rule you out conclusively from our investigations.
Sorry, it's quite warm in here.
Isn't it?
Now, if you'll allow me.
Are you really considering Ollie to be your prime suspect?
What? Mmm.
Wouldn't you say he had the greatest facility to obtain the codes?
But does he have the courage?
The requisite spine of ambition?
It's hard to imagine anyone capable of so audacious a crime.
Audacious or just ambitious?
Ambition is something you understand, Miss Quinn.
No longer married, Mr. Finch?
No, I'm not.
She tire of all your investigating?
Yes, she did.
I'm sorry.
Here.
Thank you.
Oh, and just one last thing, Miss Quinn.
I need your assistance downstairs.
Could you? It's just a matter of a few minutes.
Certainly.
Now, I want you to tell me in your opinion, Miss Quinn,
if this man is lying.
Mr. Hobbs, I believe you know Miss Quinn.
Uh, third floor, second office from the lift, yes.
She's been kind enough to act as my second set of ears.
Uh, are we still discussing Tuesday night, sir?
I would like to revisit the period
in the sub basement from 3-6:00 a.m.
Three hours.
The bulk of which is unaccounted for.
The nature of my job, sir, is somewhat solitary.
Now, you stated earlier
these hours were spent waxing and polishing floors.
Yeah, mostly. Yeah.
That's a great deal of time
devoted to polishing floors.
Oh, marble is very particular, sir.
It requires a certain type of polish and a lot of time to set.
At what time did you tend to the vault corridor?
At the very end.
Between 5 and 6:00 A.M.?
Yes.
Why then?
Why wait until the end?
Oh, it's... it's a cherished task.
It's akin to tending the palace throne, I imagine.
I always save the best till last.
Hmm.
Any hobbies, Mr. Hobbs,
leisure time activities?
Yes, I... I read a good book now and then.
Anything in particular?
Graham Greene, uh, H.G. Wells,
sometimes Emily Dickinson.
Nothing more radical?
No Soviet literature in your collection, Mr. Hobbs?
Oh, I... I tried War and Peace,
but I couldn't finish it.
You frequent Greyhound races.
You like to watch dogs run around in circles?
And I also wash my smalls on Thursdays,
if you're interested.
Now, I see your wife died some years back of cancer.
Her name was...
Margaret.
That's right.
It must have been excruciating for you.
Sitting by, watching her wither away.
Taken in the very prime of life.
Mr. Finch, you sound like a man who's lost something.
Perhaps if you were to tell me what it was,
I could help you locate it.
Mr. Finch? Yes?
We have something that may be of interest.
Excuse me.
Mr. Finch: Come on.
That'll be all for now, Mr. Hobbs.
I will see you later, Miss Quinn.
In Ashtoncroft's study I used a handkerchief,
but in the heat of the moment
I may have left a fingerprint.
I know why you did this.
I know it's not about the money.
Nothing important ever is.
I understand you have political convictions,
but you have to know King's Row is trying every tactic not to pay.
And I have a feeling they're going to succeed.
Our only way out of this is to negotiate.
They'll never find the diamonds then.
You'll get nothing.
Absolutely nothing, just a lifetime in jail.
Is this cause of yours worth it?
I mean, would the cause do the same for you?
This time tomorrow morning this will all be over.
What's that old phrase about two wrongs a right do not make?
That's nonsense.
Sometimes to make something right
you have to do something just as wrong.
Oh, get... oh, yes, my cause.
It's worth a 100 lifetimes in jail for me, Miss Quinn.
Some day you will understand.
Maybe it will inspire you to look beyond these marble walls.
There's a remarkable world out there.
Oh, and if it's any consolation,
I never really intended to involve you.
[Thunder]
Get the forensic department to verify it.
Yes, sir.
How about the dog track? Anything?
Yes, um...
this one here.
I'm pretty certain that's him, sir, the janitor.
Christ, Hobbs!
How did you do it?
I'm telling you. We have no more time.
Taking on Ashtoncroft when his back is to the wall
will lead to a blood bath.
Someone's going to be ruined.
And what about finch?
He says he has some leads.
I don't think we can rely on him.
We don't have any choice.
Make sure that he comes up with something, and quickly.
What the hell do you think I have been doing?
Contact the syndicate members.
All of them.
Convene a meeting tonight.
And tell them what?
Tell them...
tell them... [breathes heavily]
Tell them if they do not come here
with their wallets open to pay me everything
they owe me, I will dedicate my remaining years
on this earth to ruining every last one of them.
Tell them that.
Word for word.
[Thunder]
[Telephone rings]
Woman: London Evening News.
Put me through to the news desk, please.
I was looking for you.
I need some air.
Will you have a drink with me?
[Jazz music playing]
You know you're quite someone, Miss Quinn.
A true maverick.
Why was it again no one married you?
My mother said, "beating the boys won't make you popular or happy."
It turns out she was right.
We're the same, you and I, outsiders, loners.
We could almost be brilliant.
But what would we achieve with all the hours we put in?
Absolutely nothing.
Man: Anything else, sir?
[Knock on door] Come in.
Sir, the press are outside.
The press?
What do they want?
I'm not sure, sir.
I'll speak to them.
[All yelling at once]
Ladies and gentlemen, please.
Mr. Milton Ashtoncroft is not available at the moment.
[All yelling at once]
So, Miss Quinn...
are you going to tell me how you did it?
Remove 100 million pounds of diamonds past cameras,
walls of steel and security guards and sealed doorways?
For the life of me I can't unravel it.
I wish I could help you, but I'm really not that clever.
Maybe you struck a deal with the Russians.
Who knows?
You could look after their new cartel
once Lon Di hits the scrap heap.
Do I appear so diabolical?
We've seen a photo of you at the racetrack with Mr. Hobbs.
You must be mistaken. I never gamble.
We also found some fingerprints at the Ashtoncroft Mansion.
By midnight we shall have conclusive results.
Oh, and, um...
did you know my fee is five percent of recovered goods?
I understand what you're doing, Mr. Finch.
You're testing me,
measuring my reactions, my stimulus responses.
But the truth is you haven't arrested me
because you have no evidence.
Because I've committed no crime.
Perhaps I haven't arrested you because I'm waiting for you
to reveal who's really behind all this.
Sir, there's been an incident.
News of the robbery has leaked to the press.
Mr. Ashtoncroft has had a heart attack.
Is... is he all right?
I'm afraid not, madame.
The board are reconvening back at the office.
I hope you have no intentions of leaving town, Miss Quinn.
[Sobbing]
Shit.
Ohh.
[Grunting]
Aren't you a picture?
Clever girl, eh?
Filthy, but clever.
Ashtoncroft's dead,
or was that all a part of your plan, Mr. Hobbs?
I'm going back and telling them everything.
I'm afraid I can't let you go, Miss Quinn.
You see, the deadline for the ransom's in about an hour
and I'm guarding the entrance to Aladdin's Cave
in case someone's smart enough to figure it out.
Look at you.
You're quite an asset to the company.
Aren't you, Miss Quinn?
They're not going to pay and you're insane to think they would!
Oh, they will. I'm sure of that.
Ever think what you're going to do when all of this is over?
Ugh! Ugh!
You know, you remind me so much of my wife.
Once she got her teeth into something.
Did I ever tell you how she died?
Cancer.
But first, they said that not only was her cancer operable,
but it had been caught early and she had an excellent chance.
But you see, we paid what little money
we had into a private hospital policy.
But then the insurance company told her
that she had to wait her turn for a stay in hospital.
So we pleaded our case all the way
up to the Chairman of the company.
But he said it wasn't an emergency.
So, you know...
but by the time she was admitted to the hospital,
well, it... it was... she was too far gone then.
It's Sinclair.
Yeah.
At that time Clifton Sinclair was the biggest seller
of private hospital policies to the British underprivileged.
And he used that money to establish himself...
as London Diamond's largest insurance underwriter.
Individual participants in King's Row syndicates
are liable to the full extent of their private wealth.
[Door slams] What is the meaning of this?
What the hell are you doing here?
We've been discussing the situation.
What situation?
The impossible situation that you got us all into.
What are you talking about?
In case you didn't know,
we own 75 percent of the London Evening News.
I believe you spoke with them earlier.
Yes. Going to the press means
you don't have to come up with a quick settlement.
The scandalous news, your time is bought, that was the plan, wasn't it?
Mr. Ashtoncroft has, however, agreed to dismiss all charges
pending an immediate settlement of the claim
which I have just authorized.
You have what?
King's Row signifies one thing.
Reliability. Now just...
our business was built on it.
Our reputation demands it.
You will never ever get the money back!
It's for a ransom, for Christ's sake!
Are you telling me you waited 15 years for the absolute right moment?
All this to punish one man?
Patience, they say, is a virtue.
He took from me...
the one thing in this world that I truly loved.
Mr. Hobbs, you have so much valor.
No.
Didn't we?
[Gunshot]
How did you solve it?
My clumsiness and your background.
Come on, come on.
Here it is, sir.
Thank you.
This is the telex from the bank confirming that the deposit
has been made corresponding to the exact amount
as requested by your client.
Everything looks to be in order.
[Grunting]
Ugh!
Look at the inventory list
what does it say?
Would you call security, please?
I don't understand.
Blank!
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
I believe it means the diamonds are not being returned.
Good day.
The South African Star, so it wasn't a message?
Shh, shh. More complicated.
Would you mind?
I'll, uh, leave you to it.
Man: My client will then convey where you may take possession of the goods.
Excuse me, but there's a call for Mr. Boyle from his office.
Yes?
Has there been a delivery?
May I give you some advice, Miss Quinn?
Well, you are the one holding the gun.
Life is for living.
It's there for the taking.
Grant yourself no regrets.
Go on, put it down.
You don't have it in you.
[Click]
It was never loaded.
It doesn't matter now.
All done.
[Water drowning out dialogue]
Man: How many more?
Second man: Steady.
[Water drowning out dialogue]
Steady with that.
Mr. Hopkins.
Finch: Miss Quinn.
Mr. Finch.
Congratulations.
The idea came when you were dropping
your earring in the sink, is it right?
Sorry I lost you your finder's fee.
We didn't find prints on Sir Milton's safe.
We found them on the opera glasses in his office.
They weren't conclusive.
Mr. Finch.
Whatever it is you have to say, Miss Quinn,
now is not the right time to say it.
Maybe there will never be a right time.
As strange as it may sound...
I can't bare the thought of you spending
the rest of your life behind bars.
Naturally you'll have to agree to assist the investigation...
with your all-round experience, you are...
perfectly situated to do so.
Good-bye, Miss Quinn.
It has been widely reported
that a large scale theft has taken place on these premises.
As you can see, that is not the case.
Quinn: Ollie took over the company
and became everything his father had ever hoped.
I was more fortunate.
We look forward to a long...
and prosperous...
and...
confidential relationship.
Quinn: After an extensive investigation,
it was determined that Mr. Hobbs had somehow acted alone.
They never found him.
A month later I was passed over again
and tendered my resignation the following day.
Cassie Jane: Well, forgive me for being sensational,
but I really need to know.
What happened with the money?
Mr. Hobbs?
Well, Mr. Hobbs, though we never spoke again,
but I did receive a letter from a bank
in Switzerland informing me a deposit
had been made to a numbered account on my behalf.
The sum of 100 million pounds.
Everything.
And that's where my real story begins.
Your article it's called "Women Who Led."
That's right, isn't it?
I hope you're inspired.
I hope you can inspire others.
You can contact me.
My details are on the back.
Quinn: "I never intended this to happen,
"but the burden of Hobbs' money sent me in a different direction.
"I discovered the world
"and through it, I discovered myself.
"You'd be surprised how long it takes to give away 100 million pounds.
"It's taken me 40 years.
"And just today...
"today I gave away the last penny.
"I'm free at last.
"Except...
"except for that jewel that you held in your hand,
"that I've been saving for a rainy day.
"Or perhaps...
"or perhaps it's the last little piece
"of vanity that I have left."
[Jazz music playing]