♪ I've got a west side baby ♪
♪ She lives way across town ♪
♪ I've got a west side baby ♪
♪ She lives way across town ♪
♪ And when I'm with my baby ♪
♪ I don't want a soul around ♪
♪ Now, she's kind of tall and lanky ♪
♪ She's always dressin' swell' ♪
♪ She sets my soul on fire ♪
♪ When she rings my front door bell ♪
♪ Yes, I've got a west side baby ♪
♪ She lives way across town ♪
♪ And when I'm with my baby ♪
♪ I don't want a soul around ♪
♪ Now, Monday morning early ♪
♪ Someone banged upon my door ♪
♪ I knew it wasn't my baby ♪
♪ 'Cause she's never knocked before ♪
♪ So I laid in bed and wondered ♪
♪ Who could the caller be ♪
♪ I thought it was the insurance man ♪
♪ 'Cause he's been heckling for me ♪
♪ Crazy about my west side baby ♪
♪ She lives way across town ♪
♪ And when I'm with my baby ♪
♪ I don't want a soul around ♪
♪ Now, she's kind of tall and lanky ♪
♪ >♪ She's always dressin' swell' ♪
It was summer, 1948, and I needed money.
After going door-to-door all daylong,
I was back again at Joppy's Bar, tryin' to figure out...
where I was gonna go lookin' for work the next day.
The newspapers was goin' on and on about the city elections,
like they was really gonna change somebody's life.
Well, my life had already changed when I lost my job three weeks before.
For example, one of the white guys pulls a double shift,
says he's too tired to work overtime, you don't fire them.
That's all you have to say?
No, no, that's not all. I-I need...
I need to pay my mortgage, and eat.
I need a house to live in. I need to put clothes on my back, Mr. Giacomo.
- I need the job. - I'm sorry, fella. I gotta get back to work.
My name's not “fella.”
Huh?
My name's not “fella.” My name is Ezekiel Rawlins.
Catch you later, Joppy.
Hey, watch the marble! Damn it! What'd I tell you?
Joppy, how much you think they're payin' out there at Douglas Aircraft?
I don't know. Don't it say on the...
Talk to him. Yes, sir. You can talk to him.
All right. Easy, come on over here.
I've got somebody I want you to meet.
Come on. This here's a friend of mine.
Yeah, Easy, this is Mr. Albright.
- You can call me Dewitt, Easy. - How you doin'?
- I'm all right. - Take a seat, Easy.
Mr. Albright and me go way back to before the war.
Matter of fact, when I was still in the fight game.
Mm-hmm. Ever seen this guy fight?
- No. - No?
Well, shoot. Every time Joppy Shag stepped into the ring,
you knew you was gonna see some real knock-down-drag-out fisticuffs.
- Where you from, Easy? - Houston.
Mmm, Houston. That's Joppy's hometown.
So, I hear you need a job.
Oh, yeah, uh, Easy's always tryin' to do better.
He's one of the few colored men around here who owns his own house.
He's payin' the mortgage every month, just like y'all folks.
Property owner, huh? These big companies don't give a damn, do they, Easy?
I got out of that racket a long time ago.
Look, if you do need a job, you drop by this address... 7:00 tonight.
What kind of work you do?
I do favors. I do favors for friends.
Drop DY-
Who was that, Joppy?
Just somebody I know. Businessman.
- Businessman, huh? - Yeah, he is.
Ain't nothin' to worry about.
Now, when somebody tell me ain't nothin' to worry about,
I usually look down to see if my fly is open.
But all the way home all I could think about was a chance to make some money.
I first came out to Los Angeles...
when I got home from the war in Europe...
with $300 in my pocket and the G.I. Bill.
- Like me, a lot of colored folk from Texas and Louisiana... - Hi, Easy.
Had moved out to California to get them good jobs...
- ...in the shipyards and in the aircraft companies. - Hey, Willy!
Now, me myself, I was a machinist.
And the first thing I did when I saved enough money was to buy me a house.
Man, I loved comin' home to my house.
I don't know. I guess maybe I just loved ownin' somethin'.
How ya doin'?
- Ezekiel, I'm gonna knock down some of them trees in the back. - No, leave my trees alone.
- I aint' gonna take but five... - Get on!
I was feelin' pretty desperate that evenin'.
In a week I'd be two months behind on my mortgage,
and, no, sir, I wasn't about to lose my house.
But a chill runnin' up the back of my neck was talkin' to me,
tellin' me I was about to make a bad decision.
Yeah, Albright made me nervous.
He reminded me of a fella I knew back in Texas named Mouse.
Drive to the train yard, Easy. Let's dump this damn thing...
- What did you do, Mouse? - Just drive this son of a bitch.
What did you do?
So...
want the job?
It depends“.on what kind of job it is.
I don't wanna get mixed up in nothin'.
Hmm. Walk out the door in the morning, Easy,
you're mixed up in somethin'.
Only thing that matters is if you're mixed up to the top or not.
I'm just lookin' for somebody. For a friend.
Daphne Monet.
Fiancée of Todd Carter. She been gone two weeks.
It upset the poor man so much, he stopped runnin' for mayor.
I never laid eyes on her.
That's a shame.
See, Daphne has a predilection for the company of Negroes.
She likes jazz and pigs' feet and dark meat.
Know what I mean?
Predilection, yeah.
Yeah.
I'd go lookin' for her myself, but...
I'm not of the right persuasion, so to speak.
- What do you want from me? - What do you mean?
What do you want me to do?
Get a location on her.
Mr. Carter wants to make up with her.
Hundred dollars. I pay in advance.
Hundred dollars.
And all I got to do is tell you where she's at?
- That's right. - And that's all?
That's all.
- You frequent an illegal club on 89th and Central. - Yeah, John's.
Somebody saw Daphne there a few nights ago.
You could start tonight.
Hmm.
Whoa, that's enough. Thank you.
See you later, man. All right. Yeah.
♪ I dreamed of heaven Saw my baby there ♪
♪ She had pearly white teeth and coal-black wavy hair ♪
Oh, I see him!
♪ Hay, hoy, hop ♪
♪ Hoy, hoy, skip ♪
♪ Now jump ♪
Hey, hey, man.
I Hoy, hoy, hop -'
♪ Hoy, hoy, skip ♪
♪ Now jump ♪
What's your name?
I told you. This is a grocery store, period.
- Hattie May. - Hey, how ya doin', baby sweet?
Colored brother, I need you to...
Mister, you can't be in here harassin' folks. I'm not harassing him.
- What's goin' on? - I just paid these cops off and they're rousting my customers.
- I hear music. - That's what he get for messin' with that white woman.
- Come on, brother. - Don't pay him no attention, Easy.
- I rung for Junior to take care of that. - I come from Detroit.
- Ain't got nobody but Deucy tonight. - It's on me. Tell 'em I'm your cousin.
- Had Holiday on Thursday. You missed it. - Oh, yeah?
- Uh, uh, uh! - Hey, hey, hey!
Junior! Wait for the cops to leave. Take Easy on upstairs.
And if he's still here, throw his ass out.
- You better be gone. - I'll be here. I'll be waitin' for you.
Yeah, you just wait. You just keep waitin'.
Mr. McGee, there is no upstairs.
- Got another one of them cigarettes? - Sure.
Zapatas. You're the only Negro in America smoke Mexican cigarettes.
Last time I heard these fellas was back in Houston.
That night Mouse had to pull me off your ass.
- That's the way you remember it, huh? - That's the way it was.
When you gonna admit that you helped Mouse kill old man Navrochet?
You don't... Man, come on, get off that.
You know I didn't have nothin' to do with that.
Where are all the white women at?
- I don't pay them no mind. - I bet you don't.
Just like you didn't help Mouse kill his stepfather.
Hey, did you help him kill his stepbrother too?
♪ Hey, hey, hey There's good rockin' tonight ♪
♪ Hoy, hoy, hoy There's good rockin' tonight ♪
♪ Mmm There's good rockin' tonight ♪
Alphonso James!
Hey, Easy.
Give me a setup and a Coke back.
You seen a girl name, uh, Dahlia, Delilah, somethin' like that?
White girl. Supposed to be somethin' to see?
No. But if I do see her, I'm gonna keep her to myself.
♪ Well, everybody ♪
Keep the change.
Degan Odell.
- Easy. - How you doin' tonight?
Well, it's goin' all right. It sure is goin'.
- Easy Rawlins, is that you? - Hey, boy.
- Boy, you ain't jumped out no windows yet? - Not yet, Dupree.
You know Coretta here, don't you?
- How you doin', Coretta? - I'm all right, Easy.
- This is Odell. - Hey, how you doin'?
- Odell! - Oh, my goodness.
Can we sit down with y'all, Easy?
Yeah, sure, sit down.
Man, we miss you down there at the plant.
And look here, Benny would've gave you your job back, right?
All you had to do was go down there and say you was sorry.
Yeah, I'm sorry, all right. Give me a pint of that bourbon.
Any man without his paycheck is sure enough sorry.
Oh, look here, man. I got it. Your money ain't no good.
- No, this one's mine. - You the one ain't got no job.
- And you the one ain't got no money. - Ah, baby.
Any of y'all seen a white girl by the name of Dahlia...
or Delilah, somethin' like that?
First name start with a “D”?
No.
Coretta got a job at the phone company.
- That right? - Yeah.
Well, congratulations. They ain't hirin' no mans down there, is they?
You all right, Odell?
He used to play till the cock crowed.
That old cock, it don't crow nearly so much now.
Ahh. I better get on home.
You'd be sorry if you go.
I be sorry if I stay too.
Good night, Coretta.
Daphne sleep by now, so...
you can't get none of that tonight.
Go around here tellin' everybody “Dahlia.”
Her name is Daphne.
Do you know her?
Where you want me to put him at, baby?
- This ain't my house! - What?
This ain't even my house.
- Just throw him in there on the bed. - Shut up, Negro.
Where my keys?
Careful of the door.
Throwed him out of his place 'cause he couldn't pay the rent.
I shouldn't even let him sleep here tonight.
Damn, that Negro's heavy.
I know. I know.
I need a cigarette.
That all you need?
Girl, that sun catch me tiptoein' out your door,
ain't no tellin' what your neighbors might say.
All right, Easy. All right.
Dupree done fell asleep on me,
and you just gonna walk out on me like I was dog food, huh?
What? Girl, what you talkin' about?
Now, come on.
Coretta, your man is in the next room.
Why don't you tell me about your friend Daphne?
Why do you keep askin' about her? Hmm?
Colored women ain't good enough for you no more, huh, Easy?
No, that ain't it.
Look, I mean-
Shoot.
Well, what if he was to hear somethin'?
He asleep.
Ohh! Baby, that's it! Oh, yes!
Oh, baby! Oh, baby, that's it!
Ohh! Ohh! You're hittin' my spot!
- Yeah, baby! Ohh! - You're hittin' my spot!
Easy, Easy, Easy.
I can't give up that much lovin', daddy. Not the way things is.
- What things? - Come on now. Dupree right in the next room.
Forget about Dupree, baby. You done got me goin', Coretta.
It ain't right, Easy. Here I am doin' this right in the next room.
All you doin' is nosin' after my friend Daphne.
Daph... Oh, oh, oh. Oh, yeah. No, baby. That's just a job.
- What job? - Some man want me to find her.
- What man? - I don't know what man, baby.
I just, you know... I don't want nobody but you“.baby.
Yeah.
Mmm. Ohhh!
Daphne's my friend. I can't do it.
- Huh-uh. - Shit.
Just a little bit more, okay? Just a little bit.
Just a little bit, baby.
Ohhh, just a little bit.
Oh, that's it, that's it, that's it.
- Oh, you're hittin' my spot. - Yeah, baby.
Oh, you're hittin' my spot.
- Ohh! Oh, that's it. That's it, daddy. - Yeah, that's it.
Then I went on hittin' her spot until just before sunup.
I realized later on that Coretta had found out as much about what I was up to...
...as I had found out about Daphne Monet.
As it turned out, Todd Carter wasn't the only man in Daphne's life.
She was also shackin' up with some small-time colored gangster named Frank Green,
and Coretta had the nerve to charge me $ 70 for that information.
See, everybody was in business in Los Angeles.
I spent that morning waiting for Albright to call...
and trying to feel good about being able to pay a few bills.
And I mean just a few.
Shoot, a loaf of bread was damn near 75 cents.
It was easy money. Too easy.
- Bye, Easy. - Hey, where you goin', Sophie?
Back to Texas. Too fast for me out here.
- Bye, Mr. Rawlins! - All right, then.
Hey, get on away from them people's house! Get away from that tree!
Get on away from that tree now!
Go on. Get away from that tree.
Ricky! Come on, wash your hands. It's time for supper.
Ricky!
- Hello? - Easy, how you doin', buddy?
- Who is this? - I hope you have good news for me.
Oh, Mr. Albright, is that you?
- Sure is, Easy. What's shakin'? - I got what you want.
Why don't you hold onto that, Easy. I only do business in person.
Tell you what, real quick. You come on out here to Malibu.
Meet me at the Fisherman's Pier hamburger stand in an hour. Okay?
Malibu? Look, Mr. Albright...
Mr. Albright?
Hi.
It's pretty out here, huh?
Yeah, it's all right.
I'm from Des Moines, Iowa. Where are you from?
Texas.
Do they have an ocean in Texas?
- Hey, Barbara! - Gulf. A gulf in Texas.
Barbara, where are you?
- I think your friends are lookin' for you. - Who cares?
My sister brought me here because my parents made her.
- Where is that girl? - All she wants to do is make out with Herman and smoke cigarettes.
Hey, there! What are you doin' out here?
- Hey, what's goin' on? - Leave us alone, Herman. We're just talking.
- We don't need you talkin' to her, okay? - I said leave us alone.
- We're just talkin' about the ocean. - What's wrong?
This nigger's tryin' to pick up on Barbara.
I don't want trouble. Just tryin' to be polite.
No, you're not. You're talkin' about the ocean.
- Hey, there! - What do you want?
- What's goin' on? - What do you want?
What do I want? I wanna see your brains.
- Shit! - Run, man, run!
Sorry, sir. I didn't mean it.
- You sorry enough? - Yes, sir, I am.
Yeah? Then prove it.
Come on, prove it. Show him.
- Get on your knees. Suck his peter! - Please. I'm sorry.
- I think he's got the point. He's got the point! - You heard me. Go on.
Do it! I'll kill you. I'll blow your brains out.
Okay, okay, okay. Don't shoot me, please.
Now go on. Go on.
All right.
God.
Son of a gun. You're gonna do it?
Sick bastard!
Ohh! Oh, God, my eye!
Get the hell outta here.
You call the cops, I'll kill ya!
Hurry up, man! Come on!
I don't think they'd dare call the cops,
but we better get the hell outta here in case they do.
- What do ya got, Easy? - Ain't no harm gonna come to that girl 'cause of me?
Mr. Carter wants to buy her a gold ring and live happily ever after.
- What do ya got? - Woman told me she was with a man named Frank Green.
Hang on. Where?
- The Skyler Apartments. Skyler and 83rd. - Skyler and 83rd.
Frank Green. What do you know about this guy?
He's a gangster, hijacker. Liquor and cigarettes. Pretty good with a knife.
- Ever seen him in action? - No, I just heard about him.
Easy.
Here's another hundred. I'll be calling you again.
Okay.
- Mr. Rawlins, I'm Detective Miller. - Mason.
- What? - Turn around and put your hands on the car.
- Come with us. - Where? Why are you arrestin' me?
- You'll see. - I got a right to know why you're arrestin' me.
You got a right to fall down, break your face. You got a right to come with me.
That guy over there?
- You got him, huh? - Yeah, we got him comin' home.
Ezekiel Rawlins.
We can take those cuffs off if you want to cooperate.
- Yes, sir. I'm cooperating. - Turn around.
Sit over there. Sit down.
Now, earlier this morning about 5:00 a.m.
- What do you mean? - He means this morning.
I was... I was out drinkin'.
I carried a friend into his house.
I don't know. I could've been on my way home. I ain't look at no clock.
- You were drinkin'. Illegal club called John's. - What is goin' on?
You may as well answer. You got bigger troubles than us bustin' some bar.
I don't know what you're talkin' about.
We're talkin' about taking your black ass out...
and puttin' a bullet in your head.
Sit down.
- Now, what time did you leave Coretta James' house? - Around 5:30, I guess.
- You go back later in the day? - No, sir, I did not.
You and Dupree Brouchard, did you have words over Miss James?
- Words? - Did you two argue over Coretta James?
- Did you argue over Coretta? - No, we didn't. He was asleep.
Yeah, she went to sleep too, but she's not gonna wake up.
- What? - Where did you go when you left Miss James?
Wait, wait, wait. What you talkin' about?
- Where did you go? - I was... I had a hangover.
- You had a hangover? - Yeah, I went home.
Oh, he had a hangover. That explains everything.
Back off! Back off! Back off!
- Here, here. - No, no! Get outta here!
- Let me at him. - Go on, get out! Get outta here!
- Come on, you son of a bitch! - Jack, get out, goddamn...
- All right. All right. - Calm down. Calm down.
- You son of a bitch. - Jesus!
They left me alone in that musty little room another three hours,
till some guy in a suit about two sizes too big for him came in and said I could go.
- Hey, buddy. - The game of cops and niggers kept up outside the station,
but I hardly even noticed.
I had seen dead bodies before,
...cold, hard, still as concrete,
...their eyes wide open, starin' up at nothin'.
But not Coretta.
I could still feel her heartbeat.
Hey, Ezekiel Rawlins.
Hold on, Ezekiel. Somebody in the back would like to talk to you.
I ain't got time right now.
Get in. We'll take you.
My boss wants to talk to you about Coretta James.
Listen, if he wanted to hurt you, it would've happened already.
Come on.
Get in.
You want to go up front and sit with Norman?
Okay, give me a kiss.
That's my adopted son, Jesus.
I can see the police roughed you up a bit.
That's a practice of theirs that has to change, Mr. Rawlins.
- That has to change. - Thank you.
She was beaten... and died of a heavy blow to the back of the head.
I suppose you already know that.
No, I didn't, Mr. Terell.
Oh, you know who I am?
I read the newspapers. You're runnin' for mayor against Todd Carter.
I am the next mayor, Mr. Rawlins.
And, luckily for you, a friend of the Negro.
Coretta worked for a while for me.
She answered phones at my campaign office on 103rd and Western.
So when I heard that the police had a suspect,
I got out of bed immediately, personally, because of my concern.
Was there anyone with you, Mr. Rawlins?
Anyone besides Mr. Dupree Brouchard?
No, sir.
A young lady named Daphne Monet, perhaps?
Nobody.
Of course not. I mean, why would-
Why would you tell someone whom you've only just met?
I mean-
You can trust me, Mr. Rawlins.
There was nobody else there.
I believe you. Uh, can we drop you off at your-
No. I mean- I can get out here.
Are you sure? This must be quite out of your way.
No, it's okay. It's okay.
May I offer you cab fare?
- No, thank you. - Are you sure?
- It's okay. - Norman.
Oh, you're hittin' my spot.
Daphne sleep by now, so-
Go around here tellin' everybody “Dahlia.”
Colored women ain't good enough for you no more, huh, Easy?
All you doin' is sniffin' after my friend Daphne.
Colored women ain't good enough for you no more, huh, Easy?
Man!
- Uh-huh. - Hello. Is this Mr. Rawlins?
Yeah, who's this?
This is Daphne Monet.
You're looking for me.
Who told you that?
You know who told me. Coretta.
She was found murdered this morning.
I don't know what I should do.
Would you care to talk to me, or is this something I should call the police about?
No, no. Ain't no reason to call the police.
Then why don't you explain yourself to me?
I'm at the Ambassador Hotel.
This part of the hotel is white only,
so go to the side entrance in half an hour...
and Louis the bellboy will sneak you up.
Hello, Mr. Rawlins.
Hello, Miss Monet.
I don't know if I should think of you...
as a friend of Coretta's or as a private dick.
Well, I ain't no detective.
No, I was just hired by a fella that, uh, works for Todd Carter.
You know, I had to pay Coretta not to tell you where I was.
Oh, she got you too.
Yeah. Yeah, she definitely gave me the wrong address.
Where did she say I was?
Said you was out in Watts, over to the Skyler Arms Apartments with a fella named Frank Green.
Mm-hmm. What else did she tell you about me?
What else is there to tell?
Nothing. I make no apology for my feelings for Frank.
He's very dear to me, and that's that. Bourbon?
Please. Straight up.
So how well did you know Coretta?
She was a very close friend.
So maybe you know why she got killed?
Why would I know that?
You said she was a very close friend. She knew about Frank.
Maybe somebody wanted to keep that secret.
- Mr. Rawlins, if you're thinking... - You can call me Easy.
Easy, if you're thinking that Frank had anything to do with Coretta's death,
then obviously you don't know very much about him.
Frank doesn't go around beating people up.
He prefers to use a knife as his weapon.
And what do you prefer to use as your weapon?
Why don't you search me and find out?
Mind if I have another drink?
Help yourself.
- Listen, Mr. Rawlins... - Easy.
Easy, the real reason I called you is because...
I'd like you to drive me to Todd's house.
Beg your pardon?
Well, you've found me, and now I want you to take me to Todd Carter's.
Why didn't you call Carter, have him send for you?
Well, I have to go someplace else on the way.
Someplace that I don't want Todd to know about.
There's a man named Richard McGee,
and he lives up in Laurel Canyon.
And he delivered a letter of mine to the wrong place, and I need to get it back.
At 4:00 in the morning? Must be a pretty important letter.
Yes, it is.
But I need to go there before I go to Todd's.
I'll pay You-
What time you talk to Coretta this morning?
I don't know. 7:30, 8:00, I guess.
Uh, listen, Easy, I don't-
I don't really want to talk about Coretta just now.
Did you go up to her house?
No.
She called me.
She was in a good mood.
She always, uh...
Look, I didn't mean to upset you, Daphne. I'm-
You understand. I-
As far as I know, you was the last one to talk to her.
And I don't mean to upset you,
but as far as I know, you were the last one with her before she got killed.
Now where does that leave us?
All right.
Why don't you go and change out of that housecoat?
I'll carry you along.
Are you nervous?
Nervous? Here I was in the middle of the night...
in a white neighborhood with a White Woman in my oar.
No, I wasn't nervous. I was stupid.
You make a left up here.
Gettin' Daphne back to Todd Carter didn't seem so easy.
Who was this guy Richard McGee?
Just park behind that car.
I'll see ya later, Pop.
Sidney! Sidney! That's all I've been hearing!
Everybody's doin' things for Sidney! Where are ya?
I'm in here, with Sidney. In the living room, dear.
I've gotta get rid of that guy.
Oh, hello, dear.
Sit down, Reilly. Make yourself at home.
Thanks, Moynihan.
Oh, my, you look awful tired, dear.
Yeah, Reilly. Pick out a comfortable chair and plop.
I already picked one out, but you're sittin' in it.
Oh, Reilly, guess what Sid and I have been playing?
Mmm! Ohh!
Oh, my God!
♪ All alone ♪
- Hey, who's that at the door? - It's him.
- Oh, yeah? - You fought in Europe?
- Easy. - What you doin' in my house, man?
What happened to your head, hmm?
What the hell are y'all doin' in my house?
Y'all ain't got no right to break into my house.
Where you been this time of mornin', Easy?
I went to see a girl. Why? You don't get none, Albright?
I didn't come here to play, nigger.
Okay?
That's my money you got in your pocket.
We've been by that address you gave me on Frank Green.
He's already moved from there, a year ago.
What do you want me to do? You don't like the way I'm doin' my job?
I'll give your money...
Believe in God, Easy, huh? I'm curious to see if things any different for a religious man.
Let me show you what I do to people that say they seen things they ain't seen.
- I seen her. - Where?
- She... - Come on.
She called me. She had me to carry her up to the Hollywood hills.
- Where is she now? - She... She took off.
Bullshit. Where is she now?
She took off. There's a dead man up there.
While I was lookin' at it, she took off.
Come on in.
Sit down.
Okay.
What she do, take his car?
- Huh? - McGee.
- Yeah. - If you can write, write down where you picked her up at.
Write it down.
This bologna gets stuck in my... my molar.
I get that with popcorn.
Get me some whiskey, Easy.
Liquor's in the cabinet. You get it your damn self.
He's got balls. You gotta give him that.
Shoot him. No, I'm just kidding.
Oh. Easy, you're a brave man.
I need a brave man working for me.
You're doin' a nice job too, but... Get me a whiskey bottle.
You gotta find Frank Green, so he can lead us to her.
No, thank you.
Too many people gettin' killed around me already.
Thanks.
Easy, you're connectable to two murders.
You're gonna do whatever I tell you to do.
You find him. I will be checkin' in.
That's some cheap shit. Let's go. Come on.
Since Albright liked surprise parties,
I had a friend of my own I wanted to invite.
I placed a call to Etta Mae Alexander in Houston.
Told her to get a message to her husband... Mouse.
Cast your vote for Matthew Terell.
Vote for Matthew Terell!
Cast your vote on June 11th for Matthew Terell!
Hey. Easy.
That girl called me last night, Joppy.
- What girl is that? - The one your friend Albright is lookin' for.
Uh-huh. That's pretty lucky.
No, it wasn't no luck at all, Joppy. It was you.
You and Coretta was the onliest ones that had my phone number...
and knew I was lookin' for the girl.
And Coretta was too busy scammin' Daphne, so it couldn't have been her.
Maybe she looked it up in the phone book.
I ain't in the phone book. You supposed to be my friend!
Why in the hell didn't you tell the man your damn self?
What the hell you mean lookin' all ugly like you think you gonna do somethin'?
I think I'm gonna do somethin'.
Hey. Hey! Stop that shit! You-
Boy! That's my marble! My uncle left me that after he died!
- Goddamn it, he's about to get it back too! - All right! Let's talk!
- What you got me into? - She asked me to help her,
'cause I told her Albright was lookin' for her,
so I figured I could help you make a few dollars.
She wanted to know somethin' about you, so I told her, gave her your number.
- Where's she at, Joppy? - I don't know!
- Don't lie to me! - I am not lying to you!
- What's she runnin' from then? - She didn't tell me!
Easy. Look at me! I am your friend.
Now... I didn't mean to get you in no trouble.
I just... I mean... Look, you... you seen her.
I mean, she is somethin' else, man!
You know what I'm sayin'.
Oh, Joppy...
What?
Like Albright said, when you're mixed up in somethin',
you better be mixed up to the top.
So that's where I was goin',
all the way to the top.
Everybody was peein' on my head and tellin' me it was rain.
Guess they figured I was some new kind of fool, and maybe I was,
'cause I was ready to start fightin' back.
And I believed that I could live through this bad dream I was havin'...
about pretty girls and gangsters...
and standin' face-to-face with the richest man in town.
- May I help you? - Uh, yes, ma'am. I'm looking for Mr. Carter.
I'm sorry, Mr. Carter's a very busy man.
Too busy to hear something about that little chippy of his that dumped him?
Excuse me. Mr.-
- Rawlins. - Why don't you come with me, sir?
Not very smart talking about Mr. Carter's business to a secretary.
I don't wanna hear it. Too much goin' on for me to give a damn about what you think is smart.
Wait here, Mr. Rawlins.
Mr. Carter will see you.
- Mr., uh, Rawlins. - Mr. Carter.
- You've heard from Daphne. - Yeah, last night.
- Uh, is she still in town? - She was last night.
And... what did she say?
- Wh-What was she wearing? - Uh... blue dress, high heels.
Mmm. That's her. I'm sorry. Would you like to come in?
- Mr. Carter... - Have a seat.
Thank you. I just want some answers.
- Would you like a brandy? - Thank you.
- I wanna know what I got myself into. - Beg your pardon?
Well, I wanna know the real reason Mr. Albright hired me.
- Mr. Albright. - Yeah, the man you hired to find Daphne.
I think there's been a mistake here.
I, uh...
Who are you talking about?
Wait a minute... You... You didn't hire somebody to find your girlfriend?
Of course not.
As a matter of fact, I thought she was hundreds of miles away from here.
- You say someone's looking for her. - Yeah.
Someone's looking for her.
Look, Mr. Carter, nothing personal, but wh-what's goin' on between y'all?
Nothing.
We were going to get married and we had a fight,
and it is none of your concern, Mr., uh, Rawlins.
So someone's after her. Mr. Albright.
- And he says I'm his employer. - You ever heard of a fellow named Richard McGee?
Who?
Look... I... Why would somebody be after her?
Mr. Rawlins, do you think you can find her again?
It's important. For her sake.
I'm willing to pay you.
Why'd she leave in the first place?
It's really none of your concern, but I am willing to pay you to find her.
Okay.
- One thousand dollars. - A thousand dollars.
Yeah. Yeah. I'll take two hundred right now.
I think you're trying to take advantage of me. Let me inform you of something.
The incumbent mayor, the chief of police... close personal friends of mine.
They eat at my house regularly, and my father's house.
That's good, Mr. Carter. Then they can help us find her.
No, they can't.
I'll have Baxter write you out a check.
- Mr. Carter, why you stop runnin' for mayor? - I'll have Baxter write a check.
All right, why is Matthew Terell lookin' for Daphne too?
Baxter will write you a check.
I'll take cash.
Here, take it all. Just take it all.
I'll be in touch, Mr. Carter.
So Albright had lied to me.
Instead of workin' for Carter, he was workin' for Matthew Terell,
the man runnin' for mayor against Caner.
And, for whatever reason, they was all throwin' money my way to find the girl in the blue dress.
Anyway, I knew that her boyfriend, Frank Green,
hijacked trucks haulin' liquor...
and sold it at half the price to places down on Central Avenue.
So I decided to kick up some dust night in Frank is backyard.
- Good evening, Smoky. - Good evening. Please.
- Your seat. - Thanks.
- Now, Mr. Rawlins. What were you saying? - Frank Green.
- Who? - I'm lookin' for Frank Green.
- I don't know Frank Green. - Aw, come on. Why you treatin' me like this?
- I don't know any Frank Green! - You don't know Frank.
You know me, though, don't you?
Hey, I'm talkin' to my man. He told me to talk to you. Frank Green.
- Who is that? - What do you mean, who is that?
He told me to talk to you! Now, come on.
- I don't wanna talk about that... - Well, gimme a beer.
Can I get a beer? Can I get a beer?
- Give him a beer. - Thank you.
- Here you go. - Wait, Frank Green told me that you have pints.
- Who's Frank Green? I have no idea who... - You know who Frank Green is.
- Al! Talk to this man. - Aw, come on. Y'all know who Frank Green is.
- I don't know what you're talkin' about. - You don't know Frank Green.
Well, let's get him on the phone. Frank told me-
- Hey, Ezekiel. - Don't need my trees cut.
They... Ezekiel.
Ezekiel! Ezekiel!
- Ezekiel! - What?
There's a man!
Ow! Ow!
Damn! Frank, wait a minute! Wait!
Hold it! Let's talk!
Let's talk, Frank.
Frank, wait a minute! I got $500 for you, Frank! Rich white man wants to-
Aaah!
Aaah.
Hey.
Want me to shoot this son of a bitch, Easy?
- Mouse! - Huh? Want me to shoot him?
No. No.
It's all right.
What the hell is happenin', man?
- Goddamn, I'm gonna blow your nose off! - No, wait! Don't shoot him!
Where's Daphne Monet, Frank?
All right, maybe you don't know, where she is, but, hey, we can help each other find her, man.
- Nigger, you heard him. - Mouse, no!
- Rawlins residence. - Sit down.
No, he's busy right now. You're gonna have to call back.
Look.
A rich man is willin' to pay $1,000 just to talk to this girl.
A thousand dollars! That's a hell of a lot of money, man!
- Frank. - Wait, wait a minute. Let me try.
Now, look here, Frank. It's-It's Frank, right?
- Yeah. - Frank.
- What the hell are you... - Let go of me, man! Let go!
Frank! Damn it!
Don't you ever grab me when I got a gun in my hand!
Shit.
You got blood on my coat, Easy. It's a damn expensive coat!
Where's your bathroom at? In there?
Whew! We gotta find that girl so we can get that money, huh?
Hell, no! We don't have to go find nobody.
I changed my mind. I don't need your kind of help, Mouse.
Boy, look at you.
Man out a damn smile in your neck. You gonna tell me you don't need my kind of help?
This is the same shit you pulled when you killed old man Navrochet.
You ain't even been in my house five minutes, and you done shot somebody already!
- Come on, Easy! Cut me in on this thing, man. - Nah.
Easy, I'm tryin' to do right.
I'm... I mean, you know, now.
Man, I can help you. You gonna need somebody at your back.
I swear I'm gonna let you run the show.
Let me run the show! I ain't gonna do nothin' you don't tell me to do!
You gonna let me run the show?
- You gonna do everything I say? - Everything you say.
- That's the wrong hand, Mouse. - Oh.
- Boy, how you been? - Easy.
- Who was that on the phone? - Oh, uh, I don't know, man.
Sounded like some white girl.
Ezekiel. Came to ask you a few more questions.
- So why don't you invite us in? - I'll come out.
What happened to your neck? Did I do that?
I don't remember doin' that.
What do you know about a man named Richard McGee?
A dead white man in a cabin over in Laurel Canyon.
He just happens to have a note in his pocket with “Coretta James” written on it.
You feel a little more talkative?
'Cause I'll bet you six bits to a bottle of piss we're lookin' at a double here.
All we gotta do is place you in the dead man's house.
I wasn't in no dead man's house.
We could go down to the station, send a team over here.
Believe me, they'll find somethin' that will place you at that dead man's house.
Evidence has a funny way of showin' up, you know?
Nah, y'all ain't got nothin', 'cause I ain't done nothin', and you know I ain't.
You know a lot more than you're lettin' on. Tell us, or you're goin' down...
for the murder of Richard McGee and Coretta James.
- There's nothin' to tell you. I don't know nothin'. - Sure you do.
- Let's go. - All right, look. Just give me a little more time.
- Forget it. - Maybe till tomorrow morning. Maybe I can dig somethin' up.
What d'you think, Jack? We could do that. Take the cuffs off.
You got till tomorrow morning.
Have a nice evening, Ezekiel.
I played along, just like the cops wanted me to.
It was all a game to them.
But in the mornin' they'd be playin' for keeps, 'cause a white man was dead now.
And guilty or not, somebody was gonna have to pay for this one.
Hey, man. Is Dupree's sister's house off of Compton Boulevard or Compton Avenue?
- I can't find it. - Don't worry about it. We're goin' somewhere else first.
Oh, did that girl call?
Easy, we gonna go see that girl?
No.
Hey. Ezekiel?
- I been watchin' your house and seein' all them people... - I ain't got time.
- Just leave my trees alone! Okay? - You got too many trees, man.
- I'm gonna knock a couple down... - Leave my trees alone!
You can tell me what you think when you get back. All right?
- Who's that? - Easy.
- What you want? - Let me in, Junior. It's private.
I ain't got no time. I'm tryin' to get some sleep.
You better go on open this door, Junior. Act like you got some sense.
- Mouse. - Go on, fool. Get out the way. We ain't got all day.
Have a seat.
- Y'all want a beer? - Yeah, sure. Thank you.
- What you smokin' there, Junior? Zapatas? - Uh-huh.
- This one's yours too, isn't it? - I dunno.
- So why you kill Richard McGee? - Huh? What you talkin' about?
Ain't no time to play, Junior. I know you the one killed him.
- You crazy, man! - Sit down, Junior.
- Tell me what happened, Junior. - I don't know what you're talkin' about!
The police will, when they find out the fingerprints in that man's house belong to you.
What fingerprints? What house?
Hattie had you to pull that man outta John's bar the night I was there,
and he was layin' dead with the same suit on and a bullet hole in his head!
- I ain't killed nobody. - Quit lyin', you big old, sweaty, thickheaded,
- corn bread-eatin'... - Thickheaded your damn self!
Sit down, Junior.
Go on, sit down now.
Now, you better tell me. Maybe I'll forget what I know.
Otherwise, I'm gonna tell Mouse to shoot you,
'cause I don't like your ass and he don't like you either.
- I don't even know who you're talkin' about. - You just had to rob him!
- I didn't touch nothin' in that man's house! - Goddamn, Junior.
Mm-hmm. Sit down.
Hattie had me take him out to his car.
The man was so drunk he give me $10 to drive him home.
- I know you took that. - Hell, yeah.
Then he was askin' me about that white girl you was askin' about.
I told him I seen her with Coretta. What the hell I care if he knows?
- So you goin' tell him, but you won't tell me. - I don't like your ass, Easy.
- And he give me $50. - Just to tell him that you saw her with Coretta?
No. To deliver a letter. I give it to Coretta to give to her the next mornin'.
You better be tellin' the truth.
Come on, let's go, Raymond.
- I'm tellin' the truth. I ain't killed nobody. - All right, Easy.
That man was alive when I left. I... I didn't kill nobody.
The letter that was so important to Daphne...
had worked its way over to the other side of town...
to Dupree's sister's house in Compton... I hoped.
And Junior was innocent like I Knew all along,
but I couldn't see no harm in lettin' the big water-head sucker sweat a little bit.
- Hey. - Hey, now.
- Tried to call you. - Yeah, cops just let me out today.
Sister's gone to work, and I ain't feelin' much like talkin'.
- Raymond! - Yeah, big man.
- Hey. - All right, now.
- Them pigs' tails I smell up in there? - Oh, yeah.
- Lula Mae made some before she went to work. - Y'all gonna have to excuse me.
Come on.
- Dupree? - Yeah?
Look, uh...
I'm sorry.
Thank you, Easy.
Why somebody want to kill her like that, man? It don't make sense to me.
Did Coretta...
say anything to you about a letter she was keepin'?
Letter? What kind of letter?
From that white girl.
Nah. But I know it was on account of her that Coretta got killed.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Everything between Daphne and Coretta was always such a damn secret.
That old girl,
she didn't think nothin' about two-timin' on Frank.
- You want some more tails, Raymond? - Oh, yeah. Thanks, Dupree.
You know she messin' around with that guy runnin' for mayor, don't you?
- Todd Carter? - Yeah, Carter. That's his name.
She probably introduced Coretta to one of them guys she knew.
He probably came over to the house, saw that Coretta wasn't that type of woman.
Cops says she fought 'im. Can you imagine that?
My baby fought 'im.
Fought him 'cause she wouldn't have nobody but me.
God. I can't sleep.
Huh-uh. I still keep seein' her face that mornin' before I went to work.
Junior had just came by the house, and sh-she come runnin' out, carryin' her Bible.
She say, uh... “Keep this for me, baby.”
- The Bible? - Yeah.
And the police won't even let me go near the house.
- That's the only thing I got left that belonged to her. - The Bible.
I know it was a sign, 'cause she's so religious.
Oh, God.
It's all right, big man.
- I'm sorry. - No, no, that's all right.
Get you a drink, now. Go on, now, drink this.
- All right. All right. - That's enough, Raymond.
Go on. Drink that.
Let us all say amen.
Amen. Say it one more time.
I was scared now...
and sick from what I saw-
pictures of a much younger Matthew Terell and children.
Innocent, helpless, naked children.
Mouse.
I got it. Come on, let's go.
Is you crazy or is you drunk?
- Come on. - Am I drunk?
You saw me draw that gun. Ain't no man can outdraw me.
- Mouse, put the gun down. - I'm drunk.
I'm drunk, you right. Gon' put that gun right there.
We gon' see who's drunk.
Now, watch it. Watch it! Goddamn it.
Right there now. Oh, yeah.
This fool gonna call me out, he ain't even got no gun.
- I'll kill that motherfucker. - No, uh... let him go.
- Hmm? - Let him live,
and he'll be scared of you every time you walk into a room.
Shit, he better be scared, goddamn it, I'll kill him.
- He will. If... If he ain't, I'll... - You better tell him.
I... I will. Trust me.
I'll tell him.
- Right there, goddamn it. - No. Keep an eye on him.
- Where you goin'? - That's right.
The pictures was eatin' at my pocket like a cigarette burn.
Albright had killed for those pictures, to get 'em back for Matthew Terell.
He had killed Richard McGee, who had sold the pictures to Daphne.
Time was runnin' out.
But I had some unfinished business with the girl.
She had called that afternoon, and all I needed was for her to call again.
Hello. Hello!
Hello.
I'm sorry. I broke into your house, and-
Please don't be angry with me.
Now, why should I be angry at you?
M-May I have a c-cigarette?
You know, Coretta's boyfriend Dupree got out of jail today.
And you need me to help you find him.
I already got the pictures, Daphne.
You know, I paid $7,000 for those pictures. They belong to me.
Matthew Terell might have somethin' to say about that.
All right, then, I'll pay you for them. I'll give you $1,000.
- You gave Richard McGee seven. - Then I'll give you seven.
Damn, what does Terell have on you, girl?
- Nothin'. You want the money or not? - No.
No. I got two murders hangin' over my head.
Unless I give the oops a killer by tomorrow mornin', I'm goin' to jail.
- Now, who killed Coretta? - I don't know.
- It was 'cause of them pictures she was killed, wasn't it? - I don't know.
Your boyfriend Frank Green killed her to bring you them pictures, didn't he?
- Of course not. - Well, you can tell it to the police,
'cause I ain't takin' the rap.
Easy, put the phone down! Put the phone down!
- Put the phone down. Easy! - So it was Frank, wasn't it?
- He had nothin' to do with it! - Yeah, sure he did!
There was more between y'all than back-door romance!
He probably pimped you out to Carter in the first place! We goin' to the police!
- No! No! - Come on! Yeah, why don't you scream, huh?
So I can tell the police about your boyfriend Frank Green!
- Frank is my brother! - What?
Our mother is Creole. We have different fathers.
Mine is white.
And that's what Terell has on me.
And so far, I've been able to keep Frank out of this.
- Who killed Coretta? - It was an accident.
- Who killed her? - She threatened to sell the pictures to Terell.
Who killed her? Goddamn it!
I just asked Joppy to go over and put a scare into her.
Joppy?
I didn't mean to hurt anybody!
I didn't mean to hurt anybody.
But Todd and his family, you know, they had to pull out of the election because of me.
They really wanted us to get married. It was just because of the election that we-
I'll be a son of a bitch. Get her, Shariff.
Ow!
No!
Come on, get up.
- Where are the pictures? - I don't know what you're talking about.
Yeah? Take her to the car.
Get up!
Come on! Who we gonna give up to cover this shit, huh?
I woke up Mouse and told him to drive Dupree's car...
to 34th and Central,
'cause it had come to me in less time than it takes to think.
They were takin' Daphne someplace more deserted...
than Albright's office up in Hollywood.
Someplace where there would be no witnesses.
And I was bein' left alive to take the fall.
Mouse, give me one of them guns you got.
- What? - Give me one of them guns. Start up my car, keep it hot.
I'm comin' out fast.
I saw that cow!
Come on, let's go. Let's go!
- All right, all right. - Blow your face off. Let's go.
- Hey, man! - Shut up!
- What the hell you doin'? - Shut up.
What is this, Easy?
Just drive, Mouse.
Joppy, Albright's got the girl, and he's gon' kill her.
- Tell me where it is, and you better get it right. - Easy, I don't...
Get it right, Joppy. Get it right!
There's a-a-a cabin. Th-Th-That's all I know. There's a cabin.
- Where is it? - It's in Malibu, on Route Nine.
- Make a right turn at the alley. - Oh, yeah.
You sure this where Albright's gonna be, right?
- I guess so. - Don't be guessin', Joppy.
Look. He done this kind of thing out there before, so I guess so.
What's got into you? I thought y'all supposed to be friends.
- He killed Dupree's girlfriend Coretta. - You lyin'.
No.
- Son of a bitch! - I done nothin' like that!
No! No! Wait a minute!
Hold on! We need him, Mouse!
The girl got $7,000!
What?
The girl offered to pay me $7,000 for them pictures.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my goodness. Oh, my God!
How much further is it?
You're comin' up on it.
Raymond, there's some rope in the trunk. Tie him up.
Yeah, all right.
Now, man, come on.
The girl is lyin' if she told you I killed that woman.
- Who says she told me? - I...
I mean...
Easy, I was goin' to shoot him now, okay?
No, don't shoot him.
Don't shoot him.
Please!
Help me! Help me!
Help me.
Please!
Help me.
- Please. - Shut up!
Now, you're gonna tell me where the pictures are, okay?
I don't wanna hurt you, but you are gonna tell me. Where are the pictures?
I don't have them. Easy has them.
I thought you said he had nothin' to do with it.
I was lying.
- What? - I was lying.
Are you a liar?
Huh? Huh? I know you're a liar.
You lie about bein' a nigger?
Huh?
Tell me the truth.
What part of you is nigger? Your leg a nigger?
Your arm a nigger? Maybe your face is a nigger.
What part of you is nigger? Huh?
- You know what I'm gonna do? - I don't know. Please.
I'm gonna burn it out of you.
No! No! No! No!
Hey, Easy, is that you?
Hey, Easy!
Easy!
He gone, man.
Gone.
You all right?
Y...
- Yeah. - Can you walk? All right, come on. Let's go.
Where's Joppy, Mouse?
Huh?
Where's Joppy?
Uh, he right there.
What happened?
I ain't had no time to be tyin' him up, Easy.
What?
- Look, you just said don't shoot him, right? - That's right.
Well, I didn't. I just... I... I choked him.
- What? - Well, how am I gonna help you out...
if I'm back here foolin' around with him, now?
Easy, look, if you ain't wantin' him killed, why'd you leave him with me?
Come on, we got to go, Easy.
Easy, come on. Let's go now.
All right, sweetheart.
Listen, Easy. Think you gonna have trouble with that dude Frank.
I can just run by, kill him and take that evenin' train.
- No, Mouse. - You sure? All right, then.
- Hey. - All right. Oh, look here.
I cut you in for half, 'cause I know you was too big a fool...
to take your share from that white girl yourself.
All right. Hey, man. Look.
If you need somebody to run them streets with you again, just give me a call.
'Cause you know how to put some money in a nigger's pocket. Bye.
No, what upset them the most is that I didn't tell them.
And then Terell threatened to go public about my mother,
and that just added insult to injury.
But when Todd sees the pictures there'll be nothin' to stand in the way of us gettin' married.
- You sure about that? - Of course. Terell doesn't want to go to jail.
I'm not talkin' about Terell.
Todd and I are very much in love, and in the end...
his family just wants him to be happy.
Daphne had gotten the money out of a locker at the YWCA.
It was money she had gotten from Carter's family.
$30,000...
...to leave town.
She was still convinced, though, that her Negro blood didn't matter...
now that Terell couldn't use it to keep the man she wanted to marry out of the mayor's race.
She was in love and couldn't see for dreamin'...
any better than the rest of us, I guess.
'Cause even though we had fought a war to keep the world free,
the color line in America worked both ways,
and even a rich white man like Todd Caner...
was afraid to cross it.
- Don't walk away. Don't... - Damn you.
Wait.
Please!
Here's the $800 that I owe you.
And thank you for protecting her.
You have some pictures.
That puts you back in the race.
I'm gonna need you to do something for me too.
I know. You'll have no trouble with the police.
That's a promise.
Thank you.
Mr. Rawlins.
Just so you know,
I do love her.
You want me to walk you inside?
I dropped her off at her brother's apartment,
a fourplex on Dinker Street.
She had told me her story on the way home like a sinner who wanted to confess.
Her name was Ruby Hanks from Lake Charles, Louisiana,
and I suppose all she really wanted was a place to fit in.
A few days later my conscience got the best of me,
and I went by her place to bring back my half of her money.
I was kind of excited about seein' her again.
But when I got there, she and her brother had picked up and gone.
Hey, Easy. Find a job yet?
I ain't studyin' no job, Odell.
Ain't studyin' no job? How you gonna live?
I got a little money saved up. Gonna invest in some real estate.
Maybe go into business for myself.
- What kind of business? - Little private investigatin'.
- You get in trouble doin' that. - Yeah, well, like a man told me once,
step out your door in the morning, you're already in trouble.
Just a matter of whether you're mixed up at the top of that trouble.
Yeah. I guess you're right.
If you got a friend that you know does bad things, I mean real bad things,
can you still keep him as a friend even though you know what he's like?
You think that's wrong?
All you got is your friends.
I will. Bye!
Hey! Hey! Hey! What are you doin'?
You better get outta my yard. You get on out!
Hey! Get on away from there! You know that fool knocked down two of my trees?
Get on away from there!
You better get on!
- You all right? - Easy, is he crazy?
Always up and down on our street!
If he comes back, you let me know, ma'am.
You take care.
- Hey, Lou. - Hey, man, get outta the street!
Watch it.
Look at the camera now.
- Kathleen, give me some. - Okay.
I thought about what Odell had said about friends,
and it made sense to me.
Odell goes to church every Sunday, so he would know.
Later on, he challenged me to a game of dominoes.
Now, what'd he go and do that for?
We got to talkin' about Texas and fooled around...
and drunk almost' a quart' of whiskey.
And I forgot all about Daphne Monet, Dewitt Albright, Carter and them.
And I sat with my friend...
on my porch...
at my house,
and we laughed a long time.
♪ I dreamed of heaven Saw my baby there ♪
♪ She had pearly white teeth and coal-black wavy hair ♪
♪ Hoy, hoy, hop ♪
♪ Hoy, hoy, skip ♪
♪ Now jump ♪♪