Original subtitles

From what I've seen, marriage and secrets have a lot in common.

Now, I've never been married

and to be honest, I'm usually paid to find out secrets,

not keep them.

But when you've worked in this profession long enough,

you begin to see some similarities.

Both depend on trust,

neither of them seems to last too long,

and they're usually based on the same thing, sex.

Would you please just turn that off?

The easiest way to end a marriage and the hardest secrets

to keep always involve sex.

Would you like a smoke, Mrs. Bauer?

Thank you.

Thanks again, Mr. Mallory.

You've been the only bright spot during this whole ordeal.

No thanks necessary. And, please, call me Ray.

All right. I still can't believe that he did this to me.

I can't help but feel that somehow, it's my fault.

I don't see how.

It's just that I'm afraid, you know, that I'm...

losing my looks.

Well, in my esteemed opinion,

you're still one very good-looking lady.

Do you mean that?

Well, I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it.

Thanks, Ray. You're not bad yourself. Not bad at all.

What is it?

Sorry to bother you, Ray, but, uh, your three o'clock is here.

How long before you can see him?

Tell him I'll be just a minute.

You better make that five minutes,

Terry, and hold all my calls. I don't want to be disturbed.

Gotcha. It'll be about five minutes, sir.

Now, where were we?

Now, in my business,

it's a rule of thumb never to get involved with the client.

Well, it's been my experience that rules,

like thumbs, can be broken.

I want you so bad, Ray. I want you inside of me.

That can be arranged.

l have been waiting for over half an hour.

l don't think you have anything to worry about, Mrs. Bauer.

Everything's going to work out just fine.

Uh, thank you, Ray, you've been, uh, a big help.

Sorry to keep you waiting. Ray Mallory.

Why don't you step into my office

and tell me what this is all about?

You're real smooth, Mallory. l'll give you that.

l guess l always knew it wouldn't last.

You know, she looks like a movie star.

l'm just an accountant from Palmdale.

What makes you so sure she's seeing someone else, Mr. Traux?

Well, to be honest, l'm not a hundred percent sure.

l mean, l admit, it could just be my own paranoia on account of

what my wife does for a living.

And what would that be?

She's a stripper.

Where does your wife work?

lt's at a place called the Excalibur Club.

lt's on Sunset. She, um, goes by the name of Holly.

l, l brought a picture of her.

Just, you know, to help you recognize her when you get there.

All right, then, Mr. Traux. l'll see what l can do.

Thank you.

The Excalibur was a little dive on Sunset

that tried to pass itself off as a classy gentleman's club.

lt failed miserably.

Can l get you a drink?

No, thank you.

Do you want a dance?

Yes. l'd like that.

Good. Follow me.

You need to keep your arms on the armrests, and remember...

...you can't touch.

Do you like this?

Very much.

Good.

-What's your name? -Max.

-Hi, Max. l'm Holly. -Hello, Holly.

So, what do you for a living, Max?

l'm in real estate.

That sounds like fun.

Oh, not really.

You need to get out more. Maybe you need a girlfriend.

Well, l guess l've never found the right girl.

You're very good at this.

Thank you. l practice.

l can tell.

God, you feel so good.

The song's over.

Do you want another dance?

Uh... No, l'm sorry. l, l need to be going.

Well... Maybe you'll be coming back.

-l mean, l work from... -No.

l, l'm leaving L.A. for a little while.

How much do l owe you?

Twenty-five bucks.

Here you go.

Thanks.

l didn't bring it. l'm sorry.

l'll have it here tomorrow at four. l can't get it until then.

Betsy needs more time. lt will be here tomorrow.

l can meet him. l can't guarantee it. Yes.

l missed you. God, l missed you, too. Yes. Yes, l love you.

So, you didn't get any photos of who she was with?

No, l didn't, Mr. Traux. Street cleaner came by.

Had to move the car. When l got back, whoever he was,

he was gone. l wouldn't worry, though.

The audio l recorded last night should be good enough to hold up

in any court.

You know, listen, Mallory,

we signed a prenupt before we got married. Now unless l have,

unless you can prove

she's meeting with some guy, she gets half of what l own,

and l want to keep what's mine.

l understand, Mr. Traux. Leave it to me. Bye-bye.

Thanks, Terry.

Gotcha.

Hey, Terry? l am home!

Ray, you'd better get in here quick.

The political world is shocked by what appears to be a tryst

between Congressional candidate, Arthur Sterling,

and an unknown woman at a home located in the Hollywood Hills.

While the woman's identity is still not known at this time,

these photos of her with Sterling were published

in today's ''Hollywood lnquisitor''. -You've got to be kidding me.

So far, polls have shown Sterling's lead dropping

significantly. lt is estimated to be only five or six points,

and that is shrinking by the minute.

-Did you know any of this, Ray? -lt's news to me.

Traux must have tipped off the reporters.

And you didn't recognize him when you took his picture.

l don't know anything about politics.

The last time l voted it was for the baseball all-star game.

ls anyone here?

Would you take care of that?

Mrs. Sterling, what do you think of the allegations against

your husband?

l, l don't believe them for an instant. l know my husband,

and l know he is one-hundred percent faithful.

Uh, Ray? Could you come here a minute?

What does she want now?

Please, no more questions.

Oh, Jesus, Terry. l hope this thing blows over.

So, you're Ray Mallory. lt figures. l hope you

got your jollys the other night, 'cause when l finish with you,

you won't ever have a chance to pull this shit again.

And if you don't want your license revoked,

you'd better tell me who hired you to take these pictures.

l, l, l can't tell you that. The names of my clients

are confidential.

Don't give me this shit!

This is my face all over this paper!

What kind of private investigator sells photos to the press?!

Mrs. Traux, perhaps you should ask your husband about this.

-Maybe he can... -l'm not married,

and my name ain't Traux. lt's Grail.

How many times do l have to go through this with you?!

l did not send you those pictures.

l simply want to know how the newspaper got a hold of them.

-Assholes. -So they think you sent them.

l can't believe this.

l can't guarantee it. Yes. l missed you.

God, l missed you, too. lt will be here tomorrow.

l can meet him. l can't guarantee it.

Yes. l missed you. God, l missed you, too.

Yes. Yes, l love you.

Sometimes things happen to people for no reason.

These people get hurt, they call it bad luck,

and no one's to blame for that.

But that wasn't what happened here.

l was just dumb.

And what do you call it when something bad happens,

not for no reason, but for no good reason?

Dumb luck, l guess. And dumb luck or not,

it didn't make me feel any less responsible.

Everybody makes mistakes. Some are so costly,

then can derail careers. Take Arthur Sterling, for example.

Caught with a stripper in some love nest in the Hollywood Hills.

Pretty bad for a Congressional hopeful.

And who took these photos? Me. That's my mistake.

And l've got the law suit to prove it.

My only hope to avoid losing my license was to talk to

Mr. Sterling and hopefully square everything away, man to man.

The only problem was,

l wasn't going to be talking to Mr. Sterling.

Let me get this straight. You say that a Mr. Traux

claims to be Holly's husband, and hired you to take those photos,

and this is the same mystery man that sent them to the papers.

-ls that correct? -Mm-hm.

Well, you are a very lucky man, Mr. Mallory, because l believe you

and so does my husband. That's why were dropping the law suit.

-What? Drop it? -Yes.

So, you can forget about everything.

Well, see that's the problem, Mrs. Sterling. l can't forget

about it.You see, a man in my line of work relies on

his reputation. Now when word gets out that l was played for

a sucker now, that's the end of me. Clients have a tendency

to stay away from stupid P. l.'s, so if you don't mind

l'd like to speak with your husband, now.

l'm sorry but Arthur can't be disturbed right now.

He's trying to fix what is left of his campaign.

Why do you want to talk to him, anyway?

Mrs. Sterling, whoever set me up had nothing against me.

They were trying to get back at your husband.

l'd like to find out why.

So do you think that this Holly, the stripper,

-...knows anything about it? -lt's possible. Maybe.

Well, l have a proposition for you. l would like to hire you

to find her and bring her to be before Tuesday's elections.

l'll pay you double your regular rate plus

an additional ten thousand dollars if you can bring her to me

before Monday evening.

That's mighty generous.

l have my husband's reputation to worry about.

Find her. You have three days.

l tried to get a hold of Holly at the club that she worked at,

ut no luck. They hadn't seen hide nor hair of her in two days

ever since the story broke about her and Sterling.

Normally, l don't like doing this breaking and entering,

but when you're getting offered as much money as l was,

you quickly begin to make exceptions.

The stove was on,

but all the water in the kettle had evaporated.

l don't know what happened to Holly, but l could tell

that she had left, and in a very big hurry.

-Acme Taxi Service. -Did you say Acme Taxi Service?

That is correct, sir. How can l help you?

This is Lieutenant Stamp from L.A.P.D.

Have you picked up anyone from eighteen-eighty-nine

Let's see. Yes. Yes, we did, sir. Yesterday morning.

Really? Well, could you tell me where this woman was dropped off?

Sometimes l forget how small this town can be.

it didn't take me

long to find out what was located there and who owned it.

His was a name l hadn't heard in years, and from the sound of it,

he seems to have moved up in the world.

All right, honey, let's go. We'll get to that later. Let's go.

Yeah, we'll get to that later. Roll 'em. And action!

l wonder what's taking the pizza man so long?

-You ordered a pizza? -ls it hot and tasty?

Well, you're just gonna have to find that out for yourself.

You should... You two should...

-Line? -Cut!

What the fuck, man! The line is supposed to be,

You're gonna have to find out for yourself.

''Why don't you eat it. And see what you think.

How hard is that?! To say!

l'm very sorry, Buddy. l've completely forgot.

Oh, you forgot. Every time you forget, it costs me.

All right... Let's try again, people!

Shhh... And action!

You can just offer to find out for yourself.

That sounds like a good idea.

Do you still try to win the Oscar, Buddy?

Who let you in here, Mallory? This is a closed set.

l told them l was a friend of yours,

Buddy G., from back in the old days.

Yeah, what days? There are no days.

Back in the days when l kept picking you up as a driver

for that little call girl outfit down on Gower.

Good to see you moved up.

Mm-hm. All right. Let's move away from the set.

l don't want to disturb my actors.

Keep rollin'. l'll be back in a second.

So what do you want, Mallory? Last l heard, you had left Vice.

You heard right. Three years ago. Now l'm gum-shoein' on an M.P.

l thought you might be able to help me out with it.

Yeah, who's missin'?

A stripper by the name of Holly Grail. You heard of her?

Holly Grail? ls that her real name or stage?

Real.

Jesus, that is the fakest soundin' name l've ever heard.

l know she came here two days ago.

l thought you might be able to tell me why.

Oh, yeah. This chick was here, all right.

Why did she come here, Buddy?

Well she had to talk to one of my actresses,

a girl by the name of Candy Cane and that's not her real name.

Could l speak with her?

Yeah, you can in a second. Let me just get through the scene.

She, uh, needed some money and a ride.

She's in trouble, and, uh, she didn't say why.

Do you remember where you drove her?

-To L.A.X. -Which terminal?

-Allied Airlines, l think. -How do you know Holly?

-We used to work together. -Really? Where at?

-An escort service. -Which one?

-Well, Fay Legs. -Really? The Fay Legs? Wow.

Do you know anybody else that she might ask for help?

Any girls she was close to, any friends?

No. Um, uh, the only friend she had was an ex-roommate of hers.

They did outcalls under the ad, College Coeds ln Need of Money,

but, uh, l don't know her name and l never met her before.

Um, to be honest with you, l, l really wasn't that close to Holly.

Well, if you weren't that close to her,

why did she call you for help?

l guess she just thought she could trust me.

Thanks, Candy. You've been a real help.

We all done?

Yeah. That's it. Pretty painless, huh?

-Are you finished for the day? -Yeah.

Well, how would you like to make a little extra money?

Well, what exactly do you have in mind?

Hi. l couldn't help

but notice that you've been sitting here for a while.

Shit!

Hi, l'd like to help out with the campaign.

She can help you with that.

Thanks.

Hello. l'm Tom Shrader.

l'd like to help out with the campaign.

Great. l'm very happy you want to volunteer, Mr.

l'm sorry. l forgot your name.

Shrader. Tom.

OK, let me just get the volunteer forms ready for you.

Sounds good.

Are those pictures of the Congressman?

Oh, yes. Yes, they are.

Would you mind if l took a closer look?

Oh... no. Feel free.

Sorry ton trouble you again, but

who is this gentlemen here with the Congressman?

Oh, uh, that's Henry Graham, one of Mr. Morgan's aides.

You know, he used to work here,

actually, um, till he got moved to some other duty.

Really. What's his job now?

Um, l'm not really sure.

He was transferred three days ago.

Oh, here are your forms and let me get you just one more.

Yes. ls Mr. Graham in?

He's not.

Well, then, can l leave him a message?

Tell him that Ray Mallory called,

and that l need to speak with him about Mr. Traux.

That's right. Traux.

No, he'll, he'll know what l'm talking about.

All right. Thank you. Bye-bye.

How's it goin', chief?

Oh, as well as can be expected.

What have you got for me?

Well, l checked with Allied Airlines,

and nobody under the name of Holly Grail is listed

on any of the flights.

But that doesn't really mean much.

-Maybe she used an alias. -Or she didn't fly at all.

What else have you got for me?

All of her relatives are on the East Coast,

except for a step brother,

and he's right here in Los Angeles.

Outstanding. Could you dig up something on him for me.

l already did.

His name is William Jefferson Grail,

and he's been arrested for pandering and lewd conduct,

but never charged with anything.

William Jefferson Grail. Probably goes by ''Bill'', l'd assume.

Or his nickname, which is listed here as ''Buddy''.

Did you say Buddy?

Mm-hm.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, baby.

Oh, you are just somethin' else.

Oh, that feels so good! Mmm.

l hope l'm not interrupting anything.

No, don't stop on my account, Buddy, or should l say, Bill?

-What the fuck, Mallory?! -Where's your sister?!

What the fuck are you talkin' about?!

l can't believe l was so thick.

Buddy G. A.K.A. Bill Grail.

Holly didn't come here to see Candy, she came here to see you

her step brother.

l don't know what the screw you're talkin' about, man!

You're lyin' to me, scumbag!

l want to know where your sister is!

l don't know, man!

She was here but she ain't right now!

Look, she came by again right after you left.

l told her, l told her how you were lookin' for her,

and how Candy let it slip

that she used to work for Fay, and she bolted!

What's she so afraid of?

Look, Mallory, l don't know, OK? She kept me in the dark.

All l could figure out

is that she's tryin' to get a hold of somethin',

and some guy called Lott

is supposed to bring it to her.

All right. Listen up.

You get in touch with your sister and tell her to get a hold of me.

She's got nothing to be afraid of.

Oh, really?

She doesn't.You do.

See you around, Buddy.

Hold it, Mallory.

You're not goin' anywhere tonight.

Well, if it isn't my old friend.

Somebody wants to talk to you. Follow me.

Hey, Tiger, aren't you going to thank me

for getting your glands waxed?

You know who l am?

Congressman Joseph Morgan,

Representative from the state of California for the last five terms.

Very good. lt's nice to be recognized.

Well, if you know who l am,

then you know how important l am to the state and to the city,

how l sit on five committees,

am the chairman of two of them,

how l bring a large number of jobs and government contracts to L.A.

Yeah, l know all that.

l also know that you were investigated twice

by the House Ethics Committee for illegal campaign contributions.

Where's the girl, Mr. Mallory?

l don't know. But l will soon.

Tell you what.

You find that girl for me before Monday night,

and l will reward you generously.

What's she to you?

She has something of mine, Mr. Mallory.

l just want it back.

And what would that be?

-Good news? -Very good.

We may no longer have need of your services, Mr. Mallory.

Now l would like to keep this little conversation

just between the two of us.

Sounds good to me.

And to make sure that happens,

l've told the boys to give you a little reminder.

Mallory? Are you all right?

Holly, what are you doing here?

My brother told me that you went to see him

and that you wanted to help me.

What happened to you?

l stuck my thumb in the wrong pie.

-Let me take a look. -lt's fine.

Look, l'm sorry about that.

Don't apologize. My brother told me all about you.

Yeah? What did he say?

He said that you were an all right guy.

But now there's something that l have to ask you.

Why are you looking for me?

l was hired, too.

-By whom? -Arthur Sterling's wife.

Janice? Really?

Well, now you can tell her that you've found me

and that l'm all right.

-Now, who did this to you? -Congressman Morgan.

Apparently, he's under the impression

that you have something of his.

Look, Ray, l just came by to let you know that l'm okay,

and to tell you that l don't blame you for any of this.

Yeah, well, l blame myself.

And to tell you the truth, l don't think everything's okay with you.

l think there's still something going on

and you're not telling me everything.

Looks like they really worked you over, didn't they?

l'm fine.

Well, is there anything that l can do?

Kiss it and make it better.

-ls that better? -Much.

lf l had to tell you everything l had to go through

to find this girl Holly, you wouldn't believe me.

But find her, l did.

Or in truth, she found me like a wish come true,

or a sweet dream where everything come out perfect in the end.

Unfortunately, just like a dream, she was gone in the morning.

Ray, you'd better get up.

lt doesn't look good for the client

to see you sleeping like this. Ray!

-Where's the girl? -Girl?

Holly. Holly Grail. She was here last night.

-Really? -Don't start with me.

That's ten-thousand dollars we just lost.

Uh, no, that's ten-thousand dollars that you just lost.

l'm sorry. l had to leave.

l mean, l really wish you'd throw these out

when you're finished with them.

Let me see that.

Let me see the other one.

Sure. Why?

lf it was a snake, it would've bit me.

Where are you going?

l'll be back in an hour.

l asked the manager if anyone fitting a certain description

was staying at the motel.

lt cost me two Andy Jacksons

to get the information l was looking for.

He had paid for two weeks in advance

and gave the manager a hefty bonus not to be disturbed.

The place had been searched, and by amateurs from the look of it.

They had been in a hurry, too.

l hoped that whatever they had been looking for, they couldn't find.

There's an old saying that goes,

hide it in plain sight.''

A book in a book case?

Or in this case, a videotape in a VCR.

Well, well, well.

Hey, Lott! Why don't you put that camera down and join the party?

l guess this is what he means by family values, huh?

Lott! Why don't you put down the camera and join in?

l will in a minute.

l'm just making sure everyone's enjoying the party.

We should release this to the press.

They would have a field day with this.

No, l don't think so.

l think that's the last thing that Holly wants.

Why is that?

Why, hello. ls Mrs. Sterling there?

Oh, she's not.

Do you know when she left?

No, that's all right. l, l think l know where she is.

l can tell when you have something, Mallory. What's up?

l can't say, yet, but l think l got a hunch.

Mallory, here. Oh, hello, Congressman.

l see you got my note.

Yes. Mm-hm. l got the tape right here.

And may l be the first to say, sir,

that you are very photogenic.

Yeah. Wait. Let me tell you what l'm gonna do.

l'll give you a call in an hour and give you the address

of where l want us to meet.

Mm-hm.Bye-bye.

Ray, are you gonna tell me what's going on?

Later. Right now l've got something for you to do.

Take that tape to Mrs. Sterling,

and tell her to meet me at ten o'clock

at this address.

She'll figure out the rest.

You got it.

Holly, l am so glad that you're...

Come in, Mrs. Sterling. l've been expecting you.

What are you doing here?

Please, take a seat, Mrs. Sterling.

Holly, be a doll and fix us a couple of drinks, would you?

l demand to know what's going on here.

All in good time, Janice.

-lt is Janice, isn't it? -Yes.

May l ask you what your maiden name was?

Town. Why?

Just trying to fit the missing pieces into the puzzle, that's all.

What's that supposed to mean?

Well, l was curious as to why you hired me.

Generally, when a woman finds her husband cheating,

she wants the other woman to completely vanish.

Maybe l'm not like those other wives.

Maybe l'm more understanding.

Maybe.

And maybe your husband wasn't with Holly that night in the motel.

Maybe it was somebody else.

Like who?

Let me tell you about a case l'm working on.

There was a young politician who decided to run for Congress.

The only problem was,

is the incumbent Congressman was a real S.O.B.

who didn't like to lose.

So the Congressman decided to dig up

as much dirt on the young candidate as he could find.

The thing is, he was clean, squeaky clean.

The Congressman's men couldn't find a thing on him except

it seems that the young candidate's wife used to put herself

through school by working as a call girl with her ex-roommate.

Now, when the Congressman found out about this,

he knew he had all he needed

to put him over the top.

Once the news was released to the press

the race would be over.

Are you with me so far? Good.

Well, the roommate found out about the Congressman's plan.

And when the young woman moved on and got married,

the roommate stayed behind and worked in a brothel,

the same brothel that the Congressman frequented.

And she found out that there existed a tape.

that containes some of the Congressman's

extracurricular activities.

And she knew, that if she gonna hold that tape

the Congressman could never realize the young candidate's wives

through get it little a secret.

So, they get together to figur

that they can get a hold of the tape.

But she sad, they still had feelings from one another.

You see, at one time they were very much in love.

One thing led to another.

l think you're that someone.

Am l right, Mrs. Sterling?

Yeah. You got it right.

l, l never meant to cheat on Arthur.

lt was kind of our farewell kiss.

So, what now, Mallory?

l guess you want me to pay you off so that you don't release

the sordid little details of my life.

Well, l'm sorry. lt doesn't matter anyway.

A few hours, Morgan's gonna tell the world everything.

And l will have ruined the one man that l ever loved.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Who's that?

That would be Joseph Morgan.

Joseph Morgan?

Why is he here?

Because l invited him.

l thought you wanted to make a deal?

-Where's the tape? -lt's not here.

Call off your dog, Morgan.

l already sent the tape to Sterling.

What? Well, now what could you possibly hope to accomplish?

Well, what we have here is a stand-off.

Without that tape, you can't release

Miss Sterling's dirty little secrets

not unless you want the kind of press that ruins political careers.

You listen to me, Mallory.

l'm still gonna win that election.

And when l do, l'm gonna make you pay!

Well, let's not make any threats

until the last vote is counted, shall we?

Get the door.

The door, door!

Quite a night, huh?

Are you depressed?

No. l'll be all right.

l just need some relaxation, that's all.

Well, maybe this will cheer you up.

What is it?

My resignation.

What? Your resignation?

Yep. Effective immediately.

Terry, you can't quit. l need you.

Well, you can always hire me back once you're feeling better.

You're amazing.

Ain't l, though?

So that pretty much wrapped it up.

l re-hired Terry,of course.

And every so often, she would resign.