Episode 6: In Your Heart You Know He's Right
Motel exterior. A car is parked in the lot with Goldwater campaign stickers on it. Wilhelm knocks on a room door. Muffled voices from within.
Wilhelm: Open up, this is the police! A scream rings out. Wilhelm puts his shoulder to the door and breaks it down. Sitting on the edge of the bed is a young (not too young!) girl, partially clothed. A noise comes from the bathroom, the girl looks towards the door and Wilhelm races over. A man is trying to climb out of the window, and Wilhelm pulls him back inside and roughly pushes him back into the bedroom, throwing him onto the bed, face down. There is a “Goldwater in ’64” hat on the bed and a pile of posters from the Goldwater campaign (“In your heart, you know he’s right” slogan). Wilhelm crouches down and addresses the girl
Wilhelm: Are you alright, Miss?
The girl slowly nods her head. Wilhelm walks over to the bed and rolls the face-down man onto his back.
Wilhelm: Now, let’s see who we have here…well, hello Councilman! I see you’re working hard on the Goldwater campaign these days. Care to explain to me who the young lady is?
Councilman: Look, it’s not what you think….
Wilhelm: Isn’t it?
Councilman: She was brought here by a guy. Said it was ok. Said she was up for it.
Wilhelm: (grabbing the Councilman) What guy? Give me a name.
Councilman: Charlie Schmid, but most people know him as Smitty. He’s well known as the man who can hook you up with whatever you need…girls, dope, He’s got connections with the people who really make things happen in this town.
Wilhelm: Where do I find him?
Councilman: He’s usually at one of the clubs on Speedway, always with some girls and that friend of his, Richie.
Montage sequence (music over): Shots of Smitty giving girls pills, dancing, flirting, leaving with girls on his arm, Neon signs, Wilhelm (with Backup?) at clubs, flashing his badge, showing picture of Alleen Rowe and Smitty, grabbing gangsters, ‘sex club’ stuff, kicking down doors, arresting mobsters. Finish this sequence with Smitty entering a mob hangout with girls on his arm and Richie Bruns in tow. Seated at a booth in the bar are a few mobsters, drinking. They see Smitty enter and one of them beckons him over.
Smitty: (unhooking the girls from his arms) Richie, why don’t you get these two dolls a drink? I’ll be with you in a minute.
The girls walk off with Richie and Smitty walks over to the booth. One of the mobsters stands and motions Smitty to take a seat. Smitty sits and the mobster does the same, sandwiching Smitty between him and a second man.
Articulate Mobster: Ahhh, Mr Schmid! Just the Gentelman we were conversing about.
Smitty: Hey fellas. You see those two I just brought in?
Mobster 2: Very nice, Smitty, very nice. You always find us the cutest dolls.
Articulate Mobster: Indeed, you are truly scoring top marks in that department. Unfortunately your overall score has taken a bit of a downturn as of late, I am afraid to say.
Smitty: What are you talking about? What’s happened?
Articulate Mobster: We have recently been subjected to numerous invasive visits by the local law officers of this town, specifically a Detective Robert Wilhelm. He has been disrupting our various enterprises, asking a lot of questions about a missing girl, and also about you, Mr. Schmid.
Smitty: About me?
Articulate Mobster: About you. Very specifically, about where he might locate you, and I can only assume his motivation is not borne from a love and concern for your well being.
Smitty: Yeah, I guess not. Who’s the girl he’s been asking after? Is she one of the ones I brought you?
Articulate Mobster: I am relieved to say that the young lady Detective Wilhelm is so diligently hunting for is not one of ‘ours’. I believe her name is Alleen Rowe. I checked all our ledgers and her name did not appear anywhere.
Smitty: You keep ledgers of all the girls?
Articulate Mobster: Indeed we do, Mr. Schmid. In running a business such as ours it is imperative to know exactly who is on our payroll, and also who their family members are, in case of any ’emergencies’. You are in our ledgers, Mr. Schmid. And right next to your name is that of your Mother, and the address of the Nursing Home she runs.
Smitty: Ma doesn’t have anything to do with this!
Articulate Mobster: Look, Smitty. I like you, I really do. You’re a good kid and you do good work for us here. I do not care why the police are so interested in you, all I care about is the fact that you’re attracting far too much attention. We cannot have them busting down doors, harassing our employees, asking questions and, sticking their Goddamn big noses into places they are likely to get cut off! It’s bad for business, and if it continues it’ll be very bad for your health.
Smitty: What am I supposed to do?
Articulate Mobster: I suggest you and Mr. Mancini here take a nice relaxing vacation. Maybe go to Mexico, see the ocean, drink a pinafuckingcolada. I really don’t care, just as long as you get far away from here.
Mobster 2: Yeah, Smitty. You and me are going to take a nice drive south and cool off in the water, maybe find us a pair of sen-yor-eetas to help pass the time. Don’t that sound nice?
Smitty: I need to run back to my pad and grab a few things, like my bathing suit. Seeing as how me and Mancini are going swimming. When are we taking off?
Articulate Mobster: Tonight. I need you gone tonight.
Smitty: Right. There’s a thing I gotta take care of, won’t take long. See you here in a couple of hours.
The Articulate Mobster stands to let Smitty out of the booth. Smitty rises and walks across the bar towards Richie Bruns and the girls. He walks up to Richie, puts his arm around his shoulder and leans towards his ear
Smitty: Let’s jet! I gotta talk to you… in private.
Richie: Uh, ok.
Smitty and Richie leave the bar and walk outside to the parking lot. Once outside, Smitty grabs Richie and violently spins him around. Throws a punch, putting Richie on the ground. Smitty stands over Richie.
Smitty: Listen to me, you asshole, and listen good! The cops are snooping around, asking about me and that Alleen Rowe broad. I haven’t told anyone about what happened with her, apart from you. You been talking to the cops, Richie? You been opening that big mouth of yours to the pigs?
Richie: No Smitty! I ain’t said a thing about nothing to nobody! Promise!
Smitty: Maybe you been letting things slip to that girl of yours while you’re trying to get in her panties? Is that what you did? I bet she’d tell the cops. That bitch has it in for me, I know it. The way she looks at me, all ‘superior-like’ as if she’s too good for me. I’ll fucking kill her if she’s been talking, you know I will…
Richie: No! I haven’t said a thing to her! She doesn’t know anything about it…
Smitty: We’ll see about that…
Smitty storms off and goes to his car. Gets in, starts the engine and screeches out of the parking lot. Richie gets to his feet, watches the car speed off and says quietly…
Richie: Fuck.