A Perfect Murder

Emily:
We'll work it out? Let me tell you something, you work it out on your f***ing own! This is over!

Steven:
You're not leaving me, the only way you leave me is dead!

Steven:
When you wake up tomorrow, all this will seem like a bad dream.

Emily:
What if there is no tomorrow?

Emily:
That's not happiness to see me is it?

Raquel:
I mean screwing around is second oldest reason to kill someone.

Emily:
Oh really, and what would be the first?

Raquel:
[raises a glass] Money, honey!

David Shaw:
Hey Steven, do I keep f***ing your wife in the meantime, or what?

[Just after David Shaw is stabbed and Steven Taylor is looking at a piece of paper]

David Shaw:
Steven Taylor's greatest hits.

David Shaw:
What happens if the plan goes to hell?

Steven:
It won't.

David Shaw:
When's this card game of yours?

Steven:
Tomorrow evening.

David Shaw:
Tomorrow? No f***ing way!

Bobby Fain:
Rich people, they're different from you and me?

Mohamed Karaman:
How's that?

Bobby Fain:
Well, for one thing, they've got a lot more money...

Mohamed Karaman:
[smirks] Very good, Bobby.

David Shaw:
Excuse me sir, can you spare 400 grand?

Steven:
I don't see why not.

David Shaw:
Excuse me sir, can you spare me 400 grand?

Steven:
I don't see why not.

[first lines]

Steven:
There you are. And how was your day? Any progress in saving the world?

Emily:
I'm working on it.

[last lines]

[after listening to the tape of the murder plan]

Emily:
[crying] He... he said he was going to kill me. So I tried to run.

Mohamed Karaman:
And then he attacks you?

Emily:
Yes.

Mohamed Karaman:
What else could you do?

[Emily looks at Karaman with gratitude]

Mohamed Karaman:
[In Arabic] May God be with you.

Emily:
And you as well.

Steven:
How's *that* for wet work?

Emily:
He must have put it back on his way in, didn't plan on that did you?

Steven:
Young David he was... he was very unpredictable.

Steven:
[Steven stabs David Shaw] You should thank me. Artists are always appreciated more after they're dead!

Mohamed Karaman:
I know what you're worth Mrs. Taylor and that kind of money is always a motive, I took your case a part a thousand times, then I put it back together again, there was always one piece left out on the table like a screw that didn't quite fit, the dead man had a wallet, cash and change, driver's license even a membership card to a video store but not a single key, not one, not even to his apartment

Steven:
F***ing my wife

David Shaw:
I don't know...

Steven:
I think it's about time you called me Steven

David Shaw:
We're in love sir

Steven:
That's it? You steal the crown jewel of a man's soul, and your only excuse is some candy ass Hallmark card sentiment? Even if it were true, that's not good enough!

David Shaw:
What werent true?

Steven:
She is in love with you buddy, you're in business

David Shaw:
What the hell are saying?

Steven:
I'm saying you did not meet my wife by chance, I'm saying is you didn't study at Berkley, I'm saying is you learned to paint by doing three to six at Soledad State Prison, for relieving a widow in San Francisco of her life savings, your second conviction, if I'm not mistaken your real name is Winton Lagrange, which I'd rather like, born to pure trailer trash in Barstow California, warded to the court at the age of 10, you went from pick pocket, to car thief to con man until you found out you had a way with the softer sex no doubt looking for that mother you can barely remember, life made up of completely depressing little scams, until now

David Shaw:
Where'd you get all that?

Steven:
All that is for sale Winston, the hell of it is that you're not half bad with a brush

David Shaw:
Thank you, call it rehabilitation

Steven:
Call it a con and my wife is the grand prize but you set your sights a little too high this time

David Shaw:
She loves me

Steven:
she loves "David Shaw", your invention not that it matters because you made a fundamental miscalculation, now you play it out, love conquers all, Emily divorces me, she marries you, given your history her advisors are going to insist on a prenup, so you might storm the castle but you're not getting the keys to the treasure room ever!

David Shaw:
I don't care about that

Steven:
The petty swindler, doesn't care about a trust fund that can buy f***ing Barstow? Why don't you cut the sh*t? You care or we would not be having this conversation, the only thing that's stopping you from bolting out right now is bad genes and greed

David Shaw:
Now what?

Steven:
Choices, I can tell Emily exactly who you are, and life will imitate art you become a starving painter, game over

David Shaw:
Or?

Steven:
Or you can cash out

David Shaw:
Cash out?

Steven:
Half a million dollars, tax free

David Shaw:
Just for walking away from her?

Steven:
I said "tax free", I didn't say "free"

Steven:
What do you want?

David Shaw:
The rest of my money

Steven:
You didn't fulfill your end of the bargain did you?

David Shaw:
So?

Steven:
So, what do I get?

David Shaw:
You get the "super fine thing", might even call it the "legitimately sublime"

Steven:
What exactly is this "super fine thing"?

David Shaw:
You're looking at it, it's called "time outside of prison" old partner, and you can't beat it with a stick

Steven:
Exactly how much time does four hundred thousand dollars buy me?

David Shaw:
Whatever the market will bear

Steven:
It'll take me a few days

David Shaw:
You've got four hours

Steven:
That's impossible and you know it

Harrington:
Mrs. Taylor, passing this kind of information, even to a spouse, is unethical.

Emily:
I understand.

Harrington:
Your husband has been buying U.S. and foreign bonds on margin and using those securities as collateral, that's illegal, in fact his company has been under investigation for almost a year, some months ago, U.S. interest rates started moving against him, he should've gotten some horrific margin calls but the banks he's in bed with have been hiding the losses hoping that things will turn around, it isn't happening, sooner or later those margin calls will come and when they do, your husband will be wiped out.

David Shaw:
What's the five hundred grand for?

Steven:
Killing my wife.

David Shaw:
Emily?

Steven:
One hundred thousand now, four hundred thousand after cash and carry.

David Shaw:
You're out of your mind.

Steven:
Not really.

David Shaw:
Why?

Steven:
I appreciate your curiosity but my agenda doesn't concern you.

David Shaw:
What if I go to straight to Emily and tell her all this?

Steven:
That'd be my word against yours, Winston.

David Shaw:
What if I go to the cops?

Steven:
Have you ever been to Boca Raton Florida? there was a lady down there that was carrying on with a much younger man he was a hell of a tennis player, anyway when the affair ended he disappeared, along with the lady's bearer bonds, an acquaintance of mine has a photograph of the suspect and all police need is a name, as in strike three, fifteen years no parole.

Steven:
I'm sure someone with your resume will be able to come up with an alibi in no time.

David Shaw:
I'm sure someone with my resume would just take the money and run.

Steven:
I'll bet you four hundred thousand more you don't.

Raquel:
Steven's already rich and you with your money you must've had a prenup, tell me you had a prenup?

Emily:
He offered I said no

Raquel:
So if you die he gets like a hundred million bucks?

Emily:
Something like that

Raquel:
Lucky guy

Emily:
But why did you put his key on my key chain?

Steven:
David threatened violence from the very beginning so when I saw the body lying in the kitchen I'm sure it was him none of the doors have been forced open so I assumed he had your key

Emily:
But when? I had just used it to come that evening

Steven:
Are you sure? He used your key? Because if memory serves me right the door was wide open I saw you walk in

Emily:
Maybe

Steven:
In which case he could've taken your key the day before, did you see him the day before?

Emily:
Yes

Steven:
So I went through his pockets and found what I thought was your key and I reacted I grabbed a screwdriver and jimmied the door and put back in his pocket and took what I thought was your key and put it on your keychain I am so sorry for having to put you through this it was the only thing I could do

Emily:
Can you ever forgive me?

Steven:
I already have

Emily:
We have to go to the police

Steven:
I don't think this is the time for brutal honesty I've tampered evidence in a homicide I paid off a blackmail I'm in way over my head and so are you, David can say anything he wants he could say I hired him to kill you or he could say he blackmailed us the happily married wealthy couple in which case it appeared we killed that poor bastard thinking it was David all depends how he wants to play it

Emily:
What about the man that I killed?

Steven:
You think that has anything to do with David?

Emily:
It must

Steven:
Do you have any idea how many burglaries are committed each day in this city? I don't think so

Emily:
What are we going to do now?

Steven:
We're going to have to disentangle ourselves from your artist friend is there anything in his loft that can link David to you and I?

Emily:
My ring

Steven:
I thought you said it was being repaired?

Emily:
That was a lie I left it by the bed

Steven:
Is there anything else?

Emily:
Isn't that enough?

Steven:
I'll get it

Steven:
[Explaining the murder plan to David] There was a robbery in the building last year probable means of entrance is the driveway gate that granite facade creates a blind sport in the surveillance cameras it wasn't corrected for aesthetic reasons, you enter as I leave at eight o clock for my card game tomorrow night I'm not going to pull out of the driveway until its clear the gate takes five seconds to close you have the right side of the wall as I drive by then you enter the stairs and use the service elevator the key to the front door also works on the service entrance I'm going to take the key from Emily's purse and hide it behind the pipe in the stairway my key implicates me her key could've been lost or stolen in any case she's not going to be around to explain, the lock to the service entrance is always dead bolted she won't notice it even if she checks you'll be in the stairway at nine thirty, by that time Emily will be taking a bath because that's what she does on nights I play cards the phone in the kitchen is a separate telephone line exactly ten o clock I'll call here when she answers the phone and the tragic confrontation will happen which will appear to be a spur of the moment bludgeon rifle the jewelry in the bedroom disable the service entrance lock and make it look like it was jimmied put the key back behind the pipe and leave the building the same way you came in

Emily:
The key to the dead man's apartment was on my key chain, someone put it there after I killed him and there's only one person in the world that could've done that

Steven:
me

Emily:
Why?

Steven:
To protect you

Emily:
From what?

Steven:
[Steven shows Emily of pictures her and David kissing] Your lover, unless somebody else sent me these pictures, he called me here at the office two months ago, bragged about how hard you fell for him, he shelled out a hundred thousand dollars but he wants more

Emily:
For what?

Steven:
Breaking it off

Emily:
I don't believe you

Steven:
Did he mention Belize? That's where he took all the other ones, This guy was quite the aphrodisiac with lowly limited means he learned to paint in a state prison not at Berkley I don't know where we go from here Emily I don't know if "we" is an option I do know I have done everything in my power to protect you from this career criminal you let crawl into our bed

Emily:
Why didn't you tell me?

Steven:
Because I was sure you were in love with him, were you?

Emily:
I thought I was I can't even imagine what I put you through, is this why your business is in trouble? Banks and margin calls?

Steven:
How did you know?

Emily:
Its true isn't it?

Steven:
Yes it's true but I can always make money that's the fun part, there's a god damn sea of it out there but there's only one of you

Mohamed Karaman:
To what do I owe the pleasure?

Emily:
I have some information about my husband

Mohamed Karaman:
Concerning?

Emily:
It seems he was in serious financial trouble and he was hiding it from me and I thought that might be a possible reason for him to...

Mohamed Karaman:
Hire someone to kill you

Emily:
Yes

Mohamed Karaman:
We considered him a suspect until we traced a cell phone call he made the night you were attacked the trace led us to an automated quote system in his office, it lasted five minutes before ten to nine minutes after ten that has to be one of more cleaner alibis we've come across

David Shaw:
Come on Steve, a man with your resume can come up with four hundred grand in no time

Steven:
[Nods] where?

David Shaw:
My place, you don't show up with the cash, I'll mail the recording I have as "Steven's greatest hits"

Steven:
I understand

David Shaw:
Be f***ing sure you do