Original subtitles

What am I doing to you?

That's what family is for.

Where will it end?

It's only money.

$200.

And you realize that that's...

that's all...

That's all you've got left in the world.

I have a brother.

I'm so frightened.

Nothing's going to happen to you.

You're too good.

That's your trouble.

Those people won't let me live.

Come on, Sammy.

Let's see who's at the door, Sammy.

It's only the janitor.

I'd better be going.

You're going?

I-I'll try to get some more money.

I'll make it up to you.

Call me tomorrow. Yes.

I'm going down the back stairs.

It'll be safer.

What do you mean safer?

Come on, baby.

What good is this?

What good is this?

♪ ♪

Here's a nice one of Donnie.

I want to thank you again, Mr. Mannix, for coming here.

I know how busy you are.

You, uh, told my secretary

you were unable to leave your apartment, Miss Jordan.

Why is that?

I just couldn't walk into a private investigator's office.

We're a proud family, Mr. Mannix.

Although, heavens knows, we have little else left.

Here are the pictures.

Hmm.

Oh, I called the police.

They said your brother's wife hasn't reported him missing.

He was in a panic when he left here.

He hasn't phoned me in two days.

That's not like him.

Wouldn't she be concerned, as well?

Obviously not as much as I am.

Have you talked to her?

She might know something.

I told you.

My brother got into financial difficulty.

And in-in desperation, he went to some...

oh, some loan sharks,

instead of coming to me.

Mr. Mannix, I fear for my brother's life.

He could...

He could do something desperate.

What more do you need to know?

Miss Jordan,

businessmen usually go to banks.

He went to them all.

What did his partner say?

His partner only shares in the profits.

Miss Jordan, I really think

you ought to go to the Bureau of Missing Persons.

They do a very good job,

and the price is right.

If this isn't enough, there's more.

Do you, uh, usually carry this much cash?

I don't usually hire detectives.

Will you help me... please?

I'll have to ask questions.

Discreetly, Mr. Mannix.

I beg you.

Fair enough.

You... You know what they are?

Vultures... picking him clean.

Both of them.

His wife and his partner.

Mr. Mannix?

That's right.

I'm Walter Lucas, Donald's partner.

How do you do?

I'm afraid you wasted a trip out here.

I thought you might be able to tell me

how your partner got involved with loan sharks.

I told you on the phone...

I know nothing about my partner's personal life.

40 hours a week.

If conscientious, maybe 50 or 60.

All that time together,

and you talked about nothing but business?

Nothing that will help you on this wild goose chase.

Well, Donald's sister seems to think he might be in trouble.

Hmm. You met Frances.

What do you think?

You're suggesting something.

Sons and lovers often leave home.

Also brothers.

And you're sure he'll just show up one day?

Yeah, when he's through brooding.

About what?

I've told you all I can.

Not all.

You might as well tell me, Mr. Lucas. I'll find out.

We, uh, lost a contract we were bidding on

earlier this week.

It's nothing new.

But Donald has become increasingly upset over it.

Why, he asked, did we lose it?

Well, this time, they told him to his face.

They might want to invite their contractors

to their club for dinner one evening.

See, my partner's a courageous man,

but he hasn't got the guts to say he wants out.

Oh, he prefer that I leave a nice polite note

to avoid any kind of messy confrontation.

Oh, when you find him, tell him to stay lost,

'cause we're doing great without him.

How does his wife feel about that?

Why don't you ask her?

I'm sorry.

It's still funny.

Cream or sugar?

Oh, straight.

Why funny?

Well, Mr. Mannix, do you think...

that I'd be casually stirring coffee

if my husband had disappeared?

Well, sometimes the sugar sticks to the bottom of the cup.

I'd be concerned if I learned that you were missing,

and we've only just met.

Your, uh...

sister-in-law thinks Donald may be in the hands

of the people he borrowed the money from.

Frances is, um, a great worrier.

Mrs. Jordan, what do you think happened to Donald?

Are you trying to, uh, trap me

into revealing some horrid secret

by constantly asking that question?

Yes.

Donald's... on vacation.

Uh-huh.

Well, then if you'll just give a phone number,

I'll have his sister call him, and that should

take care of it.

There is no number.

An address?

Mr. Mannix,

you're not going to believe this.

Try me.

I have no idea where my husband is.

Mrs. Jordan, when I agreed

to look into this for your sister-in-law,

I felt I was wasting my time, but, uh...

there is something wrong, isn't there?

Mr. Mannix...

some men drink.

Some men... chase women.

Donald fishes.

He's gone fishing?

You see these?

Yes, I noticed.

My guilty conscience collection, I call it.

Every time Donald comes back,

he-he brings me some little trinket.

It's his way of asking me not to make inquiries.

Fishing.

Please don't prove me wrong.

Look at all this work.

Look at it!

I'm looking.

I'm a licensed private detective.

I have my own office.

I have my own clients.

What am I doing running around for Joe Mannix?

Helping a friend.

Here's the expense account.

Don't involve me in your own private wars.

Did you find it?

There is a $100,000 double indemnity insurance policy

on each of the partners.

How does that grab you?

Isn't that normal for construction companies?

Sure. Everything is normal until people start twisting.

In case of violent death,

$100,000 to the partner,

and $100,000 to the wife, Linda Jordan.

Now, that's normal, too, right?

Uh, are those the reports?

I incurred a lot of expense, Joe.

Three dollars for gas,

six dollars for phone bills, a dollar for a pen.

Albie... Okay, okay.

Uh, the construction firm of Jordan and Lucas is very busy.

As far as I could learn,

they did not lose a contract in the past six months.

Not one? Are you sure?

Jordan and Lucas is a big,

well-organized firm, operating at a profit.

Yet company funds are almost nonexistent.

They had to float a loan to buy a small tractor they needed.

Well, somebody is, uh, tapping the till.

Donald Jordan has no bank account,

unless it's in Switzerland.

Lucas has been draining his, 500 at a time.

Hm... Oh, you, uh, putting that on the expense sheet?

Only till I make a name for myself.

Then you won't be able to afford me for a partner.

Some case.

A wife who doesn't know where her husband is,

and a partner who doesn't care if he ever returns.

I followed up on the sister, too.

No checking account.

And her bank book reads in four figures,

like $10.95.

Hmm. Well, that's par for the course.

Partner's broke.

Sister's broke, but loaded with cash.

Company is busy but broke.

Uh, there seems to be a hole in the bottom of the well.

And Donald Jordan's lying in the well.

Which brings us to the double indemnity policy.

Look, Albie, you better get out that shovel.

Where do I start digging?

The morgue.

This... is Donald Jordan.

Brother of Frances, husband of Linda,

partner of Walter.

Mr. Mannix, if I didn't object,

my sister would still mix magic potions for my well-being

and hang them around my neck.

Don't tell me.

You went fishing.

Just tell Frances I'm fine.

Why don't you tell her?

Spare me that, and I'll see you can keep your fee.

Tell me, how did you know I was involved?

Your investigation was very thorough.

Thanks again.

Hmm.

If I ever am missing, I'll let you know.

You just let him walk?

Peggy, watch the store.

What?!

That, uh... man...

That cool man with no problems...

He had a gun under his coat.

Casey, a man just came in here, a tall blond.

Did you see him?

Yeah, he just ran out the back door. Thanks.

Excuse me.

Jordan!

No!

You weren't really going to use this, were you?

Hey.

What happened?

Ask him.

I... I wasn't in any danger.

But they were.

What's with this gun?

You were hired to find me.

I'm found.

It's no longer fun and games, Mr. Jordan.

I'd like an explanation.

It was a personal matter.

I give a 90-day guarantee.

You disappear again, and I'll be out looking for you.

Are you all right?

Just an old war wound.

Which war was that?

Never meet a moving car in the middle of a street.

And just when did that happen?

Yesterday.

The same two men.

They could've killed me then, if they wanted to.

You know, some people are worth more dead than alive.

If I was dead, I wouldn't be worth anything.

Wrong.

$100,000 would benefit certain people.

You were asked to find me,

not make accusations against people I love.

Peggy...

take this Jordan file over to the police department.

Oh.

My sister's been talking to you.

I ask you to forget about anything that she said.

She's filled with anxieties,

most of them about me.

I'm sorry for her.

She's good.

She gave me her last $200 the other day.

Your sister gave you the last of her money?

She loves me,

but she's not my guardian anymore,

and she won't accept the fact.

She's going to have to accept a lot more

if your wife gets $100,000.

Please, just forget about the insurance policy.

I love my wife.

She's a lot of things, but...

murder is not one of her accomplishments.

It's not hard to learn.

No.

She needs me alive.

Sit down.

I feel like a fool suddenly.

No one's laughing at you.

There were some... good years, you know.

That was before the fabrications,

the lost pocketbooks.

Giving the grocer two tens instead of two ones.

Misplaced jewelry.

Then when the bookmakers started calling,

she even had an answer for that.

We were the wrong Jordan.

She gambles?

My wife is an addict; a compulsive gambler.

She's ill.

You could never tell it by looking at her,

but she can't help herself.

Those, uh, two men...

They were trying to collect a gambling debt?

Right.

You pay this bill... then what?

She'll gamble again.

They'll hound me until I can raise the money.

I wouldn't let them hurt her.

And then she says that she's gonna stop... everything's

quiet for a while.

Then it starts all over again.

All right, Mr. Jordan.

Albie, get him someplace to stay

where he won't be bothered, huh?

You do see, don't you?

About my wife.

We were happy once.

I... couldn't leave her now.

Now, when you get to where you're going,

you stay put.

When I go, lock the door.

Clerk doesn't know what you look like,

so he can't answer questions.

You get hungry, go to a grocery store.

No restaurants.

Wait till it's dark.

You're very thorough.

That's how Albie Loos and Joe Mannix do business.

Oh, they make a great vermouth cassis here.

Really?

I might enjoy it more

if I knew the real reason we are here,

and why we couldn't talk at home.

Oh, thanks, Todd. Uh...

Well, I figured you'd been cooped up

in that house so long,

that a change of atmosphere would be nice.

Well...

Oh, please sit down, Miss Jordan.

We have a few things to talk over.

Very nice, Mr. Mannix.

Donald came to see me today.

Donnie? Mm.

Is he all right?

Well, he said he was.

Well, what happened?

Did he explain? What did he say?

Well, he wanted me to quit looking for him.

You don't seem surprised.

I never was worried.

Oh.

Hi, Casey. Miss Jordan?

No, I've already ordered.

I'll have whatever you have.

Vermouth cassis... two.

Mm-hmm.

Donald said he wasn't in any real trouble,

but I don't believe him.

Why?

Something's got him scared.

I'd like to know what.

That's what we're here to discuss.

All right, let's discuss it.

Well, I don't know.

I've... I've told you everything.

Did you?

Well, then maybe, uh,

we can figure this thing out together... the three of us.

I got a different story from each of you

about Donald's disappearance.

I got a third from his partner,

and, uh, a fourth from Donald himself.

Why?

I didn't lie to you, Mr. Mannix.

Miss Jordan,

your bank balance has been less than $50 for over a month now.

There.

Do you want to order now?

No, later, Casey, thanks, huh?

Mm-hmm.

Well, is where I got the money so important?

Well, your brother's in debt, Miss Jordan.

You paid me a thousand dollars that you can't account for.

Yes, I'd say it's important.

A thousand dollars?!

I got a loan on my car.

Frances, I don't understand

why... why you had to hire a private investigator

in the first place.

She may have saved your husband's life.

Well, I... I see that you found out

that there are...

there are certain men who are looking for Donald,

but they're certainly not going to kill him.

They just want him to pay them back.

Oh, I forgot, uh...

You wouldn't stir your coffee

if you thought there was any real danger.

Well, so I did bend the truth a little,

but, uh, frankly, I didn't want you to find him.

Why?

Well, Mr. Mannix... I'm afraid that...

we're in so deeply this time that

they're probably afraid

that he... he won't pay them back;

that he might run away.

I knew that if you could find him,

they certainly would also find him.

So, I... I just wanted

to give him time to think, that's all.

How dare you.

After all you've done,

how dare you drag my brother's name

down to your level.

Mr. Private Investigator,

you've brought the two cats together in the ring,

they've clawed each other, as you expected.

I trust you found out what you needed to know.

And may we take me home now, please?

Bye, Frances.

I'm usually paid to know what people are thinking.

I suppose Donald told you everything.

Everything he thought was important, I guess.

Well, I mean, about me.

He is worried.

Oh, Mr. Mannix, you are in there with a pro.

A pro is always in control.

Oh, he sold, and you bought.

Wonder which story it was this time.

Let's see.

First, I was a compulsive spender.

More recently, I've become a compulsive gambler.

Why are we stopping?

We haven't had lunch.

Thank you.

Oh, they were out of onions.

You know, Donald and I used to come down here a lot.

In fact, that's why we bought the house on the hill.

Hmm.

You know, you were saying earlier,

he lied to me.

'Cause he did lie.

You see, he can't help it.

There's that story about the addict...

That was his story, not mine.

In other words, you're saying he's a compulsive gambler.

Do you know what that means?

He'd give up everything we own,

and bet it on, for instance,

how many waves were going to break in the next hour.

Do you gamble, Mr. Mannix?

Me?

I'm very large with gas station sweepstakes.

Well, you see, you play 'cause you think you're going to win.

And that's fine.

But compulsive gambler...

Well, he really wanted to lose.

And so, he-he keeps on playing

until... until there's nothing left.

It's because he feels guilty,

maybe for wanting something for nothing.

But it's as if...

as if Donald were possessed.

And it drains you,

twists your life all around.

Then you don't know what's happening

until it's too late.

Frankly, I'm sick of it.

That scene in the restaurant was very interesting.

Maybe I should just let

big sister Frances carry him on her shoulders.

Come on.

Now you don't really mean that, do you?

Now, what do you think that's going to accomplish?

No, just...

too much fresh air out here, I guess.

I thought I had begun to figure this all out.

Oh, well, don't try.

I don't understand.

Why do you stay with him?

Well, I've tried to leave.

Three times I've tried.

Can't.

If he was an alcoholic, I wouldn't leave him, either.

You see, we were very much in love.

And I have to remember that.

I'm kind of like the farmer

with the parched fields,

sitting, waiting hopefully for the rains to come.

I keep hoping, too.

♪ ♪

In here, Peg.

Put on the coffee and take a letter.

No coffee.

No letter.

Your secretary hasn't returned yet.

What can I do for you?

We represent a client.

Donald Jordan owes him a sum of money,

and, uh, we'd like to arrange

for some method of repayment, if we may.

If you leave your name, I'll have him get in touch.

Oh, uh, these kind of things

are always best resolved in person.

So if you'll, uh,

just give us the motel address.

Some guy laying at the bottom of the river

with his feet in cement?

That kind of arrangement?

Mr. Mannix, those sort of things are old-fashioned.

You see, a dead man can never pay.

Who are you guys?

Just the address.

The secretary.

Joe!

Albie, you okay?

Listen, if you hadn't loused up the interrogation,

I would have found out who those guys worked for.

Okay, Albie.

Now, just sit down, take it easy.

All right, now, give it to me slowly.

They came looking for Donald Jordan.

They knew we put him in a motel.

Oh-ho.

Well, I only told his wife and sister.

Listen, If I'm gonna do any more work

for you on this case,

we're gonna have to make a new deal.

You're taking advantage of me.

Albie... you all right?

Why aren't you out chasing those guys?

How are we going to get any leads?

You sit tight, Albie.

What happened?

He just read my expense account.

Uh-uh.

Those two guys, right?

Oh, you saw them?

They almost knocked me over.

It seems someone has learned we have, uh, Donald Jordan.

Well, you won't have too much trouble locating them.

I, uh, wrote the license number down with my lipstick.

I'm Joe Mannix.

Let me in or I'll scream.

Take a good look around, Albie.

Joe Mannix.

I ought to break it, O'Keefe.

Oh, that's why you haven't been around.

You're angry about something.

How did you know I was looking for Donald Jordan?

Oh... little bird.

Bird or pigeon?

She loves the guy, Joe.

She's worried about him.

She didn't waste any time fingering him for you.

We just want to talk to Donald.

Talk to me.

What good is running?

You know that's not the way to do business.

Let the guy come in

and make a definite arrangement to pay.

That's your only interest?

That's my only interest.

$56,000.

Joe, one of those gents who mistook me for you

is over at that table.

Thank you! Seven again!

Hey, what the... I'm the real Joe Mannix.

You can tell your friend.

Next time, make sure your collectors know what I look like.

I sell wallet-size photos, three for a dollar.

Mannix... what about Jordan?

You want him, you find him.

Did we accomplish anything just now?

You feel better?

That's what we accomplished.

Joe, in your office when I blasted you...

Oh, forget it... look, we also know

Linda Jordan is a very good liar.

You never did stop being a detective, did you?

All that display

of sensitivity was just another

of your devices, wasn't it?

Like... like a magnifying glass or skeleton keys.

Don't-don't-don't turn that ice on me.

You'd make someone a reliable friend.

Yeah.

Someone who played it straight.

In our group?

Now, look, what kind of woman are you?

I thought you knew.

Well, I know that both you and his partner

are trying to sell me on the idea

that your husband was doing what comes naturally when he disappeared.

And I also know...

that he's had several so-called accidents,

and that there's still $200,000 on his head.

Gambling is Donald's drug.

What's your excuse?

Oh, why, now, why did you call O'Keefe?

John O'Keefe? Are you crazy?

Donald's hiding from him.

Don't you think I know that? Now, come off it.

He admitted that he was tipped by a woman.

Oh, and it's always the wife, isn't it?

Yeah!

Wow.

That's where she got the cash.

$1,000.

Yeah, O'Keefe knew I wouldn't work for him,

so he had sister Frances hire me.

Well, it had to be her.

You're the only ones who knew about the motel.

Plus Walter.

What?

Well, I knew that Walter would be relieved

to know that Donald was all right.

He already knew.

Well, how?

Donald phoned him.

Doesn't he realize Walter Lucas hates his guts?

Not true.

Well, he said so.

Well, he lied.

Walter's protecting him, too.

Peggy...

Get Albie over to Jordan's motel fast.

Then phone Jordan and tell him to stay locked in.

Right.

This is Mannix.

Albie was across town, but he's on his way.

Did you reach Jordan?

He won't move until you get there.

I'm getting there.

Jordan?

He left you a message.

Don't tell me.

He said everything was just wonderful.

I'm getting upset about nothing.

Where is he?

He wants to work out his own problems.

You have a number of talents, Lucas.

You run a very successful business,

but there are no funds to show for it.

And you possess an abundant supply of gall.

Well, I do try.

Maybe you'd try to kill your partner, huh?

Me?

Kill Donald?

Your personal bank account

shows large, regular deductions.

Why? I need the money.

Blackmail? What?

Donald is blackmailing you, isn't he?

I give the money willingly.

I have for years.

Lucas, you're just too good to be true.

How much is a friend worth?

In this case, double for dead... $200,000.

Now, wait a minute, Mannix.

This whole situation's getting way out of control.

They say that we're all brothers under the skin, right?

Well, me and Donald go deeper.

We were just two floundering kids when we met...

Angry, frustrated, with no real direction in our lives.

Who can explain it, man?

We... we propped each other up.

We got construction jobs, and we liked it.

So we went to school together.

We scrounged for engineering degrees together.

Brotherly love.

No, together, we were whole.

You told me different things the first time we met.

I was just trying to discourage you

from looking for Donald, that's all.

Somehow, I buy the first attitude.

A bit too much on the racial overtones, maybe,

but, uh, the bitterness fits the crime.

I would not hurt him.

Jordan dies, everybody wins.

Even sister Frances lives with a little less jealousy.

You're talking about premeditated murder.

Spread the word.

♪ ♪

Oh.

What are you doing here?

Well, it seems, uh,

everybody has a motive for wanting your brother dead.

I thought maybe yours would be tucked away here someplace,

along with that nonexistent checkbook.

You mean you actually believe that I would

plot against my own brother?

You told me you got my fee from a bank loan.

That's pretty good to start with.

John O'Keefe really gave you that money.

John O'K... Is that how...?

Oh, for heaven sakes.

Why, he-he wanted to help.

Oh, some friend.

Yes, he's very close to Donnie.

Very close.

And if the two of them ever get near each other,

I'm sure Mr. O'Keefe will break your brother in half.

You're lying.

Now, don't tell me you don't know about O'Keefe.

The kind of club he runs.

The people he's rumored to have killed.

That can't be true.

Oh, no, John O... John O'Keefe came here to see me.

He, uh...

Yes, he said he had missed Donnie at the club.

Oh, Sammy, Sammy.

He, uh, he-he said he wanted to help...

if I would keep his name out of it.

I never met that man until that day.

Miss Jordan... you tell me you have money,

then you tell me you have no money...

That you don't know O'Keefe.

And yet your brother owes him $50,000.

$50,000?

Let me guess.

You didn't know that either.

I know that she is destroying him.

Miss Jordan, what's the real reason

that you don't get along with your brother's wife?

Oh, don't tell me

that I'm jealous of my brother's wife.

Well, it happens.

When I met you, Mr. Mannix,

I felt that I was in such...

such strong hands.

Donnie has strong hands, too.

He once said to me he could never be hurt,

because I had cast a spell over him.

But, after all...

Linda is the real sorceress, isn't she?

Look what she's done to both of you.

Find anything?

Albie...

do you think I could be influenced by a pretty face?

Don't ask me.

I'm only handsome.

Joe, you want me to do anything?

You know, so far, Jordan's been very lucky.

What now?

Well, they can't all be lying.

So why don't we start with Linda Jordan's story.

I want you to go to every gambling house you can think of.

Now, if her husband's like she says he is,

why, he can't stop. You can forget

about O'Keefe's place, 'cause Jordan...

Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe...

I know, I know... We're being watched.

One of O'Keefe's men?

Or somebody's.

Probably waiting to follow a car.

Let's give him one.

Yeah.

♪ ♪

Hello, Moose.

Mannix!

How you doing, dad?

I thought you gave this all up to become a flower child.

Oh, I did, I did, but I've got to work,

be able to afford to do nothing, dig?

What'd you come up with?

Crazy man...

Puts five G's on a 20-to-one pot of glue.

My boy just isn't that rich anymore.

This guy walked away from the window three times.

I believe he was gonna faint.

That the boy?

Oh, you're way off.

This mark is black.

Hair and skin, Mannix, and scared.

Oh... Did he win?

Come on, you know better at 20-to-one.

Yeah.

Look, uh, Moose, you, uh,

wanted me to know about this particular guy... why?

John O'Keefe's boys were around here

asking the same kind of questions earlier.

Dig? Ah.

Dig.

Thanks, Moose.

Hey, Mannix... don't be a stranger.

Come around and see me, Dad.

Dig?

Baby Buck racing on the outside

and moving ahead of Little Quinn by a length,

with Golden Miller running wide and dropping back.

Into the stretch it's Baby Buck by a neck.

Little Quinn by two lengths.

And now Janey Q is moving between horses

and challenging the leader.

It's Baby Buck and Little Quinn...

Don... Shh!

Hold it.

I tried to discourage Mannix.

Yeah, that's a good deal.

Yeah, but I-I don't think it worked.

Janey Q by a head.

It's Janey Q is drawing away

and Janey Q wins it!

Oh... the seventh race!

The second, the fourth, and the seventh race...

All three came in.

There it is... Three out of four winners.

He'll find you again.

That means the others will.

Who cares?

We pay O'Keefe that $50,000,

and we got a banquet left over.

$50,000?

You told me you paid most of that back

with the last money I gave you.

I'm gonna pay it all now.

I'm a big, fat winner.

Come on, buddy, we're gonna collect

together.

Nobody's trying to kill you.

You're just holding out from O'Keefe.

Everything's fine now, isn't it?

When that first horse lost $5,000...

Man, my heart just went out of me.

All that money.

Month after month... Good money after bad.

What are you talking about?

I didn't bet the other races.

You had to.

Here's what's left... $15,000.

You know what you did?

Yeah, I know.

You... crazy, stupid fool!

I won.

I've got a system.

I've got it all worked out.

I won a fortune!

Outside.

But walk slowly.

I don't want to make the same mistake

my friend made out in the alley.

15 grand.

That leaves 35... plus interest.

Look, look, you've got enough from him.

Why don't you leave him alone, huh?

Mannix!

Mannix!

Stop 'em!

Let him go!

Get out of the way or you'll pick up the pieces.

What do you think the odds are

O'Keefe will get to you before the police,

if you kill Jordan?

Back off, Mannix.

I've already called the police.

Back off!

Donnie, Donnie, I had no idea

who that man O'Keefe was.

I would never have helped him find you.

It's all right, Don,

we'll arrange something...

Pay back a little each week.

He'll have to take it.

Now that it's out in the open,

well, he wouldn't dare try to hurt you.

Everybody, listen, this is all so unnecessary.

I'd have O'Keefe's money right now and a lot to spare

if Walter had a little bit more confidence in me.

Right, Walter?

Now it's gonna take some time,

but I'm gonna repay all of you

ten times over.

Don't you understand, I've got a system!

It's gonna work.

Just a few thousand, Walter.

It's no use, Mr. Mannix.

You ought to go now.

No, no, Linda, I'd like to earn my fee.

I was hired to find a man

and bring him home safe and sound.

I've done that.

Here I am, turning him right back

to the three people who've helped destroy him.

Destroy him?

We've done everything we can to try to help.

Oh, help, huh?

Oh, come on now, all of you have been giving Donald

the two things a compulsive gambler needs most...

Lies and money!

He's my brother.

I love him.

Your baby brother.

He's still depending on you.

And you, Walter.

Maybe you've been lying and bankrupting yourself

because Donald made you his brother to start with.

You can get your head busted for a crack like that.

And you can kill a man with love and kindness, too.

Oh, and here I've been out looking for someone

who I thought was trying to kill Donald,

and I finally found him, right here in this room.

You've just got to stop lying for him.

Let him face his own responsibilities.

Or in two weeks...

In two weeks, you'll be hiring another man

to save him from another O'Keefe.

Mr. Mannix, wait.

Now, you're right.

I know you're right.

I don't know how it happens.

I just keep going on and on and on,

hurting people...

till there's nothing left.

I don't know how to stop.

Please, someone tell me!

Well, I would say you've finally taken your first step, Donald.

And you've taken it alone.

Just remember... one step at a time, huh?

Linda, you're not going?

I'm seeing Mr. Mannix to the door.

You know...

he'll try, but, uh, it's not over yet.

Could he make it without me?

No.

But there's a chance with you.

At least that.

Just remember the good years.

I'll bet I can find that door.

All settled?

Not really, Albie.

But the odds are a little better.