The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco (2018) s01e05 Episode Script
Not Cricket
1 [BRASSY BIG BAND MUSIC PLAYS.]
[.]
[SIGHING.]
Well, lookie here.
Didn't expect to ever clap eyes on you again.
Seems you weren't the only one who read the message.
Relax, Eddie boy.
We're just a couple old friends grabbing coffee.
[SCOFFS.]
"Old friends.
" Though, by the way you're jittering like a bag of junebugs, you already drank too much.
I'm out of the habit.
I'll say.
Figured you'd turn yellow, walked away from the group.
I told myself it was too risky, being involved in the organization.
But then you remembered what you believe in.
[.]
So who's our man? I think he lost his nerve, didn't show.
Nah When a fellow takes time to reach out the way he did? He means business.
[.]
Look, Mommy.
Homework's done.
And I wrote Daddy a letter.
Good job! And quickly, too.
I have my reasons.
Do you now? Dory down the hall got a new toy.
You stick face-parts on a potato and call it "Mr.
Potatohead".
Sounds like a waste of good food.
Hey.
Ooh.
You look smart.
Going someplace? It's Friday night, hitting the town.
"Hitting" where, exactly? Dennis has a date with a girl.
Can it, squirt! A date? Well, what's her name? Miriam Lincoln.
The girl who works weekends at the bakery? Yeah.
Oh.
Well speaking of dough Here's a dollar.
Home by 10:30.
Thanks, Mom.
[SMOOCH.]
You sure you don't want me to stay home and play with you? I'll be fine, sweetheart.
Go on and see Dory.
Can I take a potato? Please? Whatcha gonna do here all alone? Gonna enjoy some peace and quiet.
Now scram.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY.]
[DOOR OPENS.]
[CONTENTED SIGH.]
[DOOR SHUTS.]
[.]
[EXHALES DEEPLY.]
[.]
[GRUNTS.]
Oh! [THUG GRUNTING, REDHEAD GROANING.]
[MILLIE.]
: I found all those in this darling shop.
And then there's this, which I'm not too sure about.
Oh, Millie, it'll look great on you.
Do you think so? A whole new you.
Though all this must've cost a pretty penny.
If I'm gonna snag a job here, I'm gonna need to look the part.
And then there's this.
[GASPING DEEPLY.]
Oh Oh, she's a beaut.
I'm glad you think so.
It's yours.
Oh! Oh, Millie, no.
No way can I pull that off.
You also can't keep living out of your old trunk.
I've got plenty wear in the clothes I brought with me.
Oh, come on, Jean.
There's a reason they call this the New World.
It's a chance to reinvent yourself.
I'm perfectly satisfied with the current model, thank you very much.
Just in case.
[BANGING ON DOOR.]
[MAN.]
: Edward! Edward! Please! Open up! If you're looking for Edward Harcourt, he hasn't lived here in over a year.
[MAN.]
: I need help.
Please! Oh! I'll call the police.
No police! Edward.
Oh, my God! Oh.
Good Lord.
[.]
Sounds like it was a terrible fright.
It was.
We'd no idea who the man was, he just kept saying your name.
A lanky ginger fellow, sporting a great mop of hair.
He was under the impression you still lived in the flat.
Redhead? I've no idea.
[CHUCKLES.]
Well, you will in a minute he's in here.
[EXHALING DEEPLY.]
Or he was.
They must've taken him somewhere.
Without his gown? I'll get a locksmith on that front door.
You can't have riff-raff staggering in off the street.
No, the man knew you, Edward.
I don't think so.
You can't just leave.
Why not? He did.
What's he hiding? My question precisely.
[YAWNING DEEPLY.]
[BANGS TOOLKIT DOWN.]
Rough night? We had this fellow Ginsberg over.
He read from this long poem of his while the rest of us played strip poker till the heater caught fire.
What a hoot! [LAUGHS.]
Hailey.
You're in a flea-infested rat-trap.
Sarge, it's my home.
And living with those men well, it's lowered your standards and raised some eyebrows.
You can do better.
Yeah, and you were never young.
All right.
So how's about I fix whatever you called me here for? Closet door giving you trouble? I told Marcus he screwed the hinges hinky, but would he listen? The closet door's fine, Hailey.
Toaster! That damn thing burned my biscuits last week.
Good thing that guy of yours is off to Vietnam.
I can finally fix things up around here.
It's not the toaster.
I'll say.
That your old cryptogram machine? It still work? I was hoping you could tell me.
I thought the government wouldn't let you do anything with it.
They might now.
I did get the patent.
What are you thinking? Market it.
There's a demand for simple encryption devices embassies, businesses, newspaper cables.
Folks all looking for a way to whisper their secrets in plain sight.
I was thinking we'd do a partnership.
Sarge, she's yours.
And she'll need a lot of work to be a viable prototype.
But if it sells? [SIGHS DEEPLY.]
Could mean income.
For both of us.
[HAILEY.]
: Maybe I can do better.
Thank you.
His personal effects.
The nurse didn't know what to do with them.
Cigarettes, wallet, socks.
He left without his socks? What on Earth was he running from? What I want to know is what we do with them.
Well, sure as eggs, my cousin knows how to get this man's stuff back to him.
Maybe what's in there can tell us why he came and bloodied up our doorstep.
You sure you know how to put this all back together again? Yup.
Good.
Sure are using a lot of oil there.
That's 'cause the parts are dirty.
Well, then shouldn't you use soap? I'll just charge you parts and labour.
No.
No, no, you're right.
Just do your thing.
It's just that, next to my babies, this is the best thing I ever dreamt up.
Yeah, and if we're gonna succeed, the machine needs to be as solid as the ideas behind it.
[SNAP.]
I think it's kinda like sausage.
Sausage? Yeah, like we made on the farm.
We knew, if folks were gonna enjoy the end-product Oh.
They couldn't see it getting made.
Bingo.
So, how's about I take this baby of yours back to my place? Sure.
[JEAN.]
: I'll put the kettle on and we can get started.
There must be something in here that's a way to identify him.
- Millie.
I say we start with the wallet.
- Millie, look.
[MILLIE.]
: Oh, my God.
Whoever our man's running from Is now after us.
[PHONE LINE RINGING.]
[SIGHING.]
[JEAN.]
: Sorry to come by like this, but we didn't know who else to call.
[IRIS.]
: No, of course.
You were smart to get out fast.
[HAILEY.]
: They could've come back.
Heck, they still could've been there.
[JEAN.]
: From what I could see, nothing was stolen, which makes it even more chilling.
Edward still isn't answering.
[JEAN.]
: Well, what, do we call the police? That's the one thing the redhead begged us not to do.
Either he's into something bad, or the cops are.
In this town, it's a toss-up.
This is what the nurses gave us, everything we know of the man.
See if we can make sense of it all.
There was nothing in his wallet just a couple of dollars, and this Holy doodle.
Looks like a marijuana cigarette.
Not that I'd know anything about it.
I don't want that in here.
Got it, Sarge.
Consider it unloaded.
Yes.
Into the garbage.
[MUTTERING.]
: Seems a waste.
[JEAN.]
: So he knew he was in danger and decided to make himself scarce.
[MILLIE.]
: Whoever smashed us up must've followed this red-headed mystery man to our flat.
[IRIS.]
: And then waited for you to clear out and ransacked the place.
[.]
[JEAN.]
: He didn't want anyone knowing who he was, even if he got hurt.
[IRIS.]
: Especially if he got hurt.
Maybe because that was no reefer.
[MILLIE GASPING.]
Oh, my! It's like miniature ticker-tape.
[HAILEY.]
: Except just try making sense of it.
It's some kind of code.
[MILLIE.]
: And no drugs? None that you'd smoke.
That's heroin.
[GASPS.]
I'd say that's more than a hundred grams.
[HAILEY.]
: Hot damn.
What's that worth? My guess is [SIGHS.]
maybe $4,000? That's more than I make in a year! I've seen this stuff hollow out a person, whole communities.
I hate this stuff with a passion.
I can flush it right now.
No, we won't.
We won't? Oh Because we can't.
Someone is willing to beat a man almost to death in order to get it back.
If we get rid of it, we could be sealing his fate.
And ours as well.
So what do we do? Well work out a way to return it.
Otherwise we're signing the man's death warrant.
How do we know he wasn't just a dealer, and got in trouble? Mommy, what are you doing? Cadence.
To your room.
Now.
I'll be in after these ladies leave.
[.]
[TROUBLED SIGH.]
[JEAN.]
: Did you know, when one has illicit drugs burning a hole in one's handbag, it looks like everyone's giving you the fish-eye? The bottom of your handbag, Jean, is possibly the safest place on Earth.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR.]
[JEAN.]
: Well, let's not test that theory against a police detective.
Stash it.
[BRYCE.]
: Ladies! There you are! Just who I was looking for.
I'm guessing you've something to tell me.
You've been shopping? Oh! [LAUGHS.]
Yes.
Yes, we've been buying up the town.
[CHUCKLES.]
I'll, um I'll leave you two to chinwag.
Detective.
Take as long as you like! She's a funny one.
Oh! Hysterical.
You said we had something to tell you? Yeah! When am I taking you out again? [LAUGHING.]
Oh! Is that all? Well, that's not nothing.
I'll take that as a yes, then.
A drink on Monday.
I'd suggest one now, but I fear you'd get the wrong idea.
I've got a better one.
How about I pick you up when I finish work? Very well, then.
But we've got one problem.
A problem? I noticed the lock on that door is broken.
Oh, yes.
Oh.
No, we're well aware.
My cousin is, in fact, the landlord, and he's going to fix it.
Well, it better be soon.
Because you never know who might just walk right on in there.
In fact why don't I go upstairs and check on your digs? If there were marauding invaders, we'd have heard shrieks from above.
[CHUCKLES.]
Jean doesn't seem the shrieking type.
You'd be surprised.
[ROCK MUSIC BLARING.]
What the hell are you boys doing? You know you can turn this thing into a stereophonic turntable? Sure I know that, Ray, I just don't want to.
My records aren't stereo and mono increases the decibels without sacrificing sound quality.
Cut the gas now! Get ready for another Hail-storm.
We're just trying to make it better.
You want better? Wash the dishes.
Scrub the toilet.
Pick up your socks! Or even better? Pay your damn rent.
You know what Nietzsche said? "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
" Wrong one.
"Women were God's second error.
" Sure, but he also said "Without music, life would be a mistake.
" Yeah, the same goes for living with you two.
I could do a whole lot better here, you know.
I want my hi-fi back the way it was.
You hear me? - Man - Whoa.
[CLICKING.]
You wanna try my new toy? I just got a three-reel set of the Grand Canyon! Maybe after I speak with your mother.
[FOOTSTEPS.]
Cadence, honey, why don't you take yourself into the courtyard? The light's better out there.
Thank you.
Thank you for making the trip over.
You said it was important.
I need to get home to my family, though.
I don't have much time.
Um, Olivia, I value your opinion as a police employee.
[DEEP BREATH.]
If someone I knew came across a quantity of, uh illicit drugs Like what? 120 grams of heroin? Oh, dear Well, this person should share the fact and the drugs with the police, yes? Hypothetically? Yes.
That's what I thought.
But in this city, at this time? - I wouldn't dream of it.
- Why not? The new Chief is trying to stand up to the graft, but between criminals on the street and crooked politicians at City Hall? It's a steep climb.
So who can you trust? No one.
The patrol division is swimming with corruption, and in cahoots with other divisions.
So this person what should she do? Iris, you make damn sure that whatever cop you speak with is a straight-shooter.
I-It's not me, Olivia.
Of course, it isn't.
And not every cop is crooked, but be careful.
In this town, that's a toe dipped in trouble.
[.]
[OLIVIA.]
: She's a sweetheart.
[CHUCKLES.]
How old are yours now? Four and six.
Oh, that's a great age.
They still think their mothers know everything.
[CHUCKLES.]
[KNOCKING AT DOOR.]
[RELIEVED SIGH.]
Oh You've cleaned it up well.
Nothing quite so motivating as the spectre of a detective's visit.
I was afraid Millie was gonna invite him up for a tumbler of rum.
[LAUGHS.]
- Did you flush the drugs? - Despite the close call I decided they'd be more use to us on this side of the sewage system.
Heroin does real damage to our city.
I don't want to just find out who these men are, I want to put them in jail.
Good thing we've got what they're after.
Not only that, looks like they're expecting us.
[IRIS.]
: "You know the place, you know the time.
" - But we don't.
- Bastards! That was my best shade.
The redhead may know who's behind this.
Well, if Hansel left a trail I'd say these are the breadcrumbs.
[IRIS.]
: At least we can crack the ticker tape code.
What are these? Could they be phone numbers? [IRIS.]
: Perhaps if the exchange were enciphered as numbers, but not in San Francisco.
What about a reverse cipher? We could try dialing them backwards.
Ooh! [ROCK MUSIC BEGINS BLARING.]
[.]
[POWER CLUNK.]
[THUMPS DESK.]
It was just a fuse.
You're an idiot.
Hey, it's back to mono, like you wanted.
When two signals equal in level but uncorrelated are added together, the sum of the two is I want you to hear me, loud and clear.
Where's your rent, Murray? [BLOWS AIR.]
As Karl Marx says, the interests of the landlord are not those of society.
[HAILEY.]
: Except I'm society.
I'm damn well interested, and sick of playing this song and dance every month.
Hailey.
We're poets.
I don't care if the goddamn muse of inspiration's whispering in your ear.
You're two weeks late.
If you don't have this by tomorrow What? You'll move out? No, Murray.
You will.
It's my name on the lease, remember? And I'm done living with men.
I'll bet you are.
Murray don't.
No.
I-I wanna know.
What nice, tidy lady-girl's gonna wanna move in here? They all went and got married.
But not our little Hail-Storm, no.
And if you managed to sucker in some sweet-faced gal, well, one up-close look at who you are what you are? Poor gal'd run off screaming.
Murray! Shut up, will you? [.]
[PHONE LINE RINGING.]
[MAN'S VOICE.]
: Hello? Oh, hello, sir.
My name's Jean McBrian.
I'm an acquaintance of someone who was recently assaulted a tall, lanky red-headed - What are you telling me for? - [ANNOUNCEMENT CRACKLES.]
I believe you may know the man.
I've no idea who you are talking about.
You've got the wrong number.
Please don't call again.
Well, certainly.
But could you just - [DIAL TONE BUZZING.]
- [JEAN SIGHS.]
[JEAN.]
: That's the second friendly Franciscan "I've no idea who you're talking about" "You've got the wrong number.
Please don't call again.
" It's a word-for-word repeat of what the first fellow said on the telephone.
At the Presidio, when we'd ask higher-ups for intel, sometimes, no matter who we'd asked, the denial would be the same.
[JEAN.]
: Same here.
We would get the exact same response.
We knew that not only did they know the answers [IRIS.]
: But they'd worked out the exact same way to cover up the fact.
[JEAN.]
: Well, thank goodness, that's not all I heard.
What else did he say? He didn't say anything, but in the background, I could hear, "End of the line for 59.
" 59? That-That's the, uh, Powell-Mason cable car.
I did hear a screeching of brakes.
Well, that's the cable car turner at one end or the other.
So two possibilities, at either end of the city.
I heard seagulls.
One of the turnarounds is near the water, so that's the north end of the Powell-Mason line.
So we're just gonna show up at an intersection? It's all we have, Millie.
Well, you two try and give it a shot tomorrow.
I'll tackle that cipher First I'm off for a family reunion.
[.]
- [BELL DINGS.]
- [COOK.]
: Order up! He goes by "Rusty.
" Appropriate.
Why not tell us before? He's a private person.
As am I.
What the hell was that doing in his wallet? You would know better than me, Edward.
You can rest assured I haven't told a soul.
I went two years without seeing him, Camilla.
I wouldn't know how to find him now.
[HUSHED.]
: We are sitting on a hot box of drugs worth thousands of dollars.
Your friend is at risk, and so are we.
[EDWARD SIGHS.]
It was two years ago until two days ago.
This very diner.
We were both sent here for a rendezvous, but when the man we were expecting failed to show, I left.
And he stayed? - I guess, for a while.
- To move drugs? No! It had nothing to do with that.
I told you what I know, Camilla.
Stop twisting this into something else.
Your friend was found with drugs on him.
Are you seriously telling me that that's a coincidence? He's not my friend.
Now kindly get the hell out of my business.
He's half-dead and running for his life, and you are our only link.
Then consider yourself lucky.
[WEARY SIGH.]
[.]
[BRAKEMAN.]
: End of the line for 59.
[BELL DINGS.]
[.]
Well, here we are.
"End of the line for 59.
" The conductor, the screeching car wheels, seagulls [IRIS.]
: Well, those apartments look promising.
[JEAN.]
: There's only so many places where you could hear all those noises from.
[IRIS, SIGHING.]
: "So many," indeed.
[JEAN.]
: Well, I see two windows open, so let's try them.
You think it's enough to go on? I've gotten more from less.
Hmm.
Well, let's get knocking.
[KNOCKING.]
Sorry to bother.
We're looking for someone who may have come here injured the other night.
No idea what you're talking about.
Well, he came to us for help.
We've got his belongings here.
Paul! Just let 'em in.
How did you find me? Ciphers and seagulls.
We're here about the night you were beaten, and a meeting you had with your friend, Edward Harcourt.
I wouldn't call Edward a "friend.
" I barely know the guy.
Then why come banging down his door? I'd been mugged.
He was the closest I could think of.
- Yet no calling the police.
- What's the point? Precisely what we're trying to figure out.
Well, don't.
I don't need your help! Just walk out and forget me! There are some dangerous people after you, and now they're after us as well.
Rusty, I'm your friend, but this is crossing the line.
Do you recognize these? Haymakers.
Not my brand.
They were on you the night you were attacked.
I met up with a man.
Friendly enough.
Offered 'em to me.
Started asking about drop-offs and payments, I told him I had no clue what he meant, so I walked away.
Only he started following, asking if I was the right guy.
I told him it didn't seem I was, then he started chasing me, and I'm running for my life, and I couldn't get free, and he caught me, and It took everything I had to get away.
So you never knew what was in them? What? Heroin.
[SHAKEN.]
: Definitely not my brand.
Well, it's not ours, either, but here we are.
Just throw the drugs away! Rusty, someone out there is after these drugs, and they'll do anything to get them back.
Now, who did you meet with? [LOUDLY.]
: I don't know! I think it's time you two left.
Then how did you arrange the meeting? I thought it would be someone else.
I thought it would be a friend.
He's safe now.
We're gonna keep it that way.
Take your junk and get out.
Now! Tell Edward tell him don't go near the papers.
What? "The papers"? What do you mean by the papers? [DOOR BANGS.]
[.]
[JEAN SIGHS.]
Who fixed the lock? Yours truly.
Any luck? I've tried everything from Gronsfeld to Playfair, but nothing cracks it.
How's about you? You find your man? We did, but he's keeping mum.
Though he did leave us a parting gift.
Told Edward "Don't go near the papers.
" Ticker-tape paper? Cigarette papers? [MILLIE.]
: No idea.
For this code, I'm inclined to use lex parsimoniae.
Lex what? "Law of Parsimony.
" According to William of Ockham, the hypothesis requiring the fewest assumptions should be selected.
If this is street code, it can't be complex.
Otherwise you wouldn't be able to write it on one end, and then read it on the other.
[HAILEY.]
: So think simple instead of complicated.
Wrap it.
What are you talking about? A possible scytale code.
Try this.
[IRIS.]
: Scytale is a simple transposition cipher, used by the ancient Greeks and Spartans.
It's how military commanders would communicate with their front lines during battle.
[JEAN.]
: First, a band of parchment gets wrapped around a rod, then the message gets written.
[IRIS.]
: And when the band of paper is unrolled, it becomes ciphertext.
[JEAN.]
: The trick then is to have a baton in the battlefield that matches the sender's.
[IRIS.]
: Wrap the parchment right, and boom, there's your message.
[JEAN.]
: This has the advantage of being fast to make and not prone to mistakes helpful things when you're at war.
"H" A-N-D O-F-F "Hand-off.
" C-E-D-A-R M-I-L-L "Cedar Mill" 4-2 S U-N 7 P M.
"Hand-off Cedar Mill 42, Sun, 7 p.
m.
" Jean, you're a genius.
We've got it a time and a place.
Brava, ladies.
What's 42? I don't know, but but the meeting's tonight.
We really should call the police.
[IRIS.]
: There's too many police on the take, but if we can smoke out these buyers, we give them hard facts that they can't deny their names, their game plan.
Let's go hand off some drugs.
[JEAN.]
: You two find the dealer.
We'll keep a lookout.
[IRIS.]
: Everyone off for the weekend.
Our gents must've known that.
[HAILEY.]
: The sheds are numbered.
There's our 42.
That way.
Good luck.
Just keep an eye out.
Come on.
[.]
[.]
[HAILEY.]
: Hang on.
We're here.
I don't think you ladies got the right place.
Oh, we do and we come bearing gifts.
Not the kind I usually pick up from.
Takes all kinds in this world.
And what's on offer should be of no less interest to you.
[CLANG.]
[MAN.]
: That's for sure.
I was staring down hot water if you didn't show.
How long has it been? Oh, it's been minutes, Iris.
They'll be fine.
Oh, no.
Oh, the guard's headed toward the girls.
What happens if he sees them dealing? Oh, let's not find out.
Hey! Hello? Yoo-hoo! Excuse me.
Well, sir it's been a pleasure doing business.
Tell your bosses to ease up on the beatings now.
Hey! Someone tampered with the goods.
Just a bit of quality control.
It's all there, guaranteed.
Back.
[JEAN.]
: Uh, sir! Can you help us? Our car.
It broke down.
[IRIS.]
: Just over there, see? We thought we were out of gas, but, um, we're not out of gas.
[IRIS.]
: It could be the starter.
- Or the battery.
- Or the muffler.
Well, probably not the muffler.
What're you ladies doing here? Well, we took a wrong turn.
And then another, looking for help.
For our poor busted-up car And then it just finally up and died.
Do you know a thing or two? [IRIS.]
: Our friends went looking for help, but there seems to be no one around.
[GUARD.]
: Okay, I'll have a look.
You know, we can leave you to this You can stay put until I'm finished my inventory here.
I got fellows to answer to, just like you.
[CAR ENGINE STARTS.]
Oh, it must've just needed a rest.
And of course, your expert touch.
Well best be on your way, ladies.
[DOOR BANGS.]
Uh, sir! If we could just get your name, so we could recommend you, to your superiors.
Better not.
I got a schedule to keep.
I'd get in trouble if they knew I stopped it to do stuff like this.
Come on, Brutus.
[.]
[BRUTUS BARKS.]
What do ya got there, Brutus? Huh? What do ya got? [BARKS.]
Evening, sir.
You with the broken-down ladies? Oh, come on.
There's a bit of life left in them yet.
Charming place you've got here.
Hope you can enjoy it.
[.]
Come on.
[.]
Come on, Brutus.
Drugs are off our hands and onto theirs.
I'd say that's the last trouble we'll see Rusty and Co.
as well.
Right.
Let's get out of here.
Well, you certainly know how to show a girl a good time.
[LAUGHING.]
You tired already? This is more fresh air than my lungs have previously encountered.
[CHUCKLES.]
That, and I had a late night.
Oh? So I've got competition.
You're not even on the race-track, my friend! [CHUCKLES.]
It's my cousin, Edward.
I'm worried he's got into some trouble.
Such as? Oh, come on It's not like I'll go arrest him.
Unless he went and killed somebody.
Still, it would compromise you, and I'm sure you steer clear of that.
Well, I've got to admit, I spend a lot of time scratching the underbelly of this fair city.
And if you lie with dogs, you wake up with fleas.
That's why a walk like this is nice reminds me that there's more to this city than its darkest corners.
I'd be tempted to stay in those dark corners, to take bribes, withhold evidence [CHUCKLES.]
Well, you work a beat long enough, anything you need, eventually, you know a guy who can get it for you.
And have you ever needed something? No.
[.]
Oh.
Oh, will you look at that? Mm-hmm.
How's this? "Cozy room available in a fun, breezy warehouse space.
" A good start.
What do you mean "start"? That's my tenth kick at the can.
Hailey, it's great that you're looking for better roommates, but when you write "fun," a girl will read that as another word for "noisy.
" And, uh, "cozy," she'll think "small.
" "Breezy" Sounds like a hurricane comes through every night.
- Mm.
- I got it Oh Plus, the papers will charge a buck for that magnum opus.
Abbreviate.
"The papers" That's what this guy, Edward, wasn't supposed go near.
Maybe it's got nothing to do with cigarette papers.
Want me to phone it in for you? Sarge.
Maybe it's newspapers.
As in "Don't do anything that'll get you written about in the news"? Or "don't go putting anything in there yourself.
" But what do I know? Bottom to top? How do you read that way? I'm not reading.
I'm detecting anomaly, which the eye does faster when the mind isn't trying to make sense of the words.
"Think less, do more.
" Huh.
There.
Look.
A cipher.
This may get us closer to those dealers.
[.]
Cracked it.
Didn't take long.
Well, it's just a simple Caesar cipher every letter transposed three letters ahead "A" is "D," "B" is "E.
" Smart.
Gaius Julius thought so.
It's one of the oldest ciphers in history, simple enough for the average person to use.
What's it say? The tough part is the abbreviations, but essentially, it's a warning telling "all able men" to beware of someone else's messages in the "Help Wanted" section.
To "Stay out of the papers," or else.
Jean! Jean? Millie! Oh, God.
What happened? Who would do this to him? It doesn't make sense.
We delivered the package to the men who wanted it.
That was not what they were after.
We haven't stopped the beatings.
There's another reason for these attacks.
[JEAN.]
: And one we've seen before [EDWARD TAKES A DEEPER BREATH.]
Tell me you're not Saint Peter.
That'd be your lucky day.
I'd let anyone through those pearly gates.
[WEAK CHUCKLE.]
[SIGHS.]
Last thing I remember, I was locking my front door on the way to the bank.
You were found beaten up in an alley.
Just like Rusty.
It was a mugging.
Welcome to America.
Oh, come on, Edward.
I don't care what you're up to, but if we don't know why these attacks are taking place, we can't stop them.
If you won't talk to me, please talk to the police.
Oh, Camilla, for God's sake There's a detective outside, he's a good man.
Except in the eyes of the law, I'm also breaking one.
And what have you done? It's not what I've done.
It's who I am.
You've no idea why I left home.
I believe I do.
"The heart is a lonely hunter," as the book puts it.
You came here to be the man you need to be.
I understand.
[SIGHS.]
You don't.
You may have once ran off with a man but at least he was a man.
They weren't all men.
Really, the only difference is when it comes to the hunt, I enjoy it.
[BOTH CHUCKLING QUIETLY.]
[IRIS.]
: There's a whole series of them encrypted messages in the, uh, "help wanted" section of the newspaper.
Folks talking to each other, right under our noses.
Sounds like a latter-day agony column.
What's an agony column? Oh, they've been around since Victorian times.
Secret messages encrypted in the classifieds, so to arrange a rendezvous.
For people too afraid to pick up the phone or write a letter.
Yes.
Only This time, I think it's a for group of men, to connect.
How would you know this? [JEAN.]
: I worked for a man who kept me on for a few years after the war.
A brilliant cryptographer.
He'd cracked the Enigma code, invented computing devices and and he loved men.
Here, that's a crime.
Well, yes, it is back in Britain, too.
Like the codes he cracked, he was hidden in plain sight, until the police found out.
He'd called them because he'd been robbed by one of his, um, visiting gentleman.
When the world saw him for what he was they destroyed him.
So you think our men are like this man that you worked for? Mm.
And they feel that they're in danger and clearly, with good reason.
Edward Harcourt, meet Detective Bryce.
I can see why you chose him.
Because he's a fine investigator Mr.
Harcourt.
I hear you may have a thing or two to tell me.
I'll take my leave.
Gentlemen.
As I told Camilla, I've no recollection I'm not interested in today.
It's the weeks before I wanna know about.
I understand there are some bad people you'd like to catch But if you don't, and I've shared the truth about myself I still have to pay the price.
In the eyes of the law, I'm a criminal, too, as bad as the man who beat me.
Well, I doubt he's as clever and good.
Detective, you're muddying waters.
And flirting.
That's not cricket.
Whatever you tell me, I will take it to the right people.
You will see justice done.
I sure hope so.
[KNOCKING AT DOOR.]
Good morning, Sarge.
Oh, it's a quiet morning here, for once.
[HAILEY.]
: The boys are off to some coffee shop.
I tell you, next to hearing themselves squawk, the next best thing is listening to someone else.
Don't worry, Sarge.
I know how to put it back together again.
Good.
Oh, I went by the newspaper offices this morning and picked up what's come up on your "for rent" listing.
Already? Oh, I wrote you a good ad.
Oh, this is gonna be good.
Just think one of these gals could end up living here.
So be careful who you let in.
Look at this one "loves to converse.
" Uh, that means "insufferably opinionated.
" Or this one "easy-going.
" That means "slovenly as hell.
" I wonder what I'd put down if I had to describe myself.
You know my code.
You don't need one.
What else you got there? Um likes to cook - Oh! - Crochet Mm-hmm.
That's good.
I don't know how to cook very well.
[EDWARD.]
: Ladies, you don't have to do this.
[MILLIE.]
: Just a few days.
Just to have someone to change your dressings and feed you, you know, soup.
Tell me, Jean, when was the last time my cousin made soup? I picked up a ham hock this morning.
I'll have pea soup on the go in no time.
More coppers? What do you mean "more"? What kind of tenants have I been renting to? Edward Harcourt? Yes? You're under arrest for suspicion of communist conspiracy.
Don't be ridiculous.
Officer, I'm no communist.
The charges can be explained at the station.
This is rubbish.
My cousin has just come back from hospital, and he is not going anywhere.
You'll keep your distance, ma'am.
He's coming with me.
I would like to see you try.
Millie! I'll be fine.
Now, you listen to me.
You know, that's a great idea.
Why don't we do that down at the station? You two are coming with me.
She's got nothing to do with this! She does now.
You know who this is down to, don't you? Bill Bryce.
I trusted that bastard and he betrayed us.
[DOOR SLAMS.]
[.]
[SIGHING.]
Well, lookie here.
Didn't expect to ever clap eyes on you again.
Seems you weren't the only one who read the message.
Relax, Eddie boy.
We're just a couple old friends grabbing coffee.
[SCOFFS.]
"Old friends.
" Though, by the way you're jittering like a bag of junebugs, you already drank too much.
I'm out of the habit.
I'll say.
Figured you'd turn yellow, walked away from the group.
I told myself it was too risky, being involved in the organization.
But then you remembered what you believe in.
[.]
So who's our man? I think he lost his nerve, didn't show.
Nah When a fellow takes time to reach out the way he did? He means business.
[.]
Look, Mommy.
Homework's done.
And I wrote Daddy a letter.
Good job! And quickly, too.
I have my reasons.
Do you now? Dory down the hall got a new toy.
You stick face-parts on a potato and call it "Mr.
Potatohead".
Sounds like a waste of good food.
Hey.
Ooh.
You look smart.
Going someplace? It's Friday night, hitting the town.
"Hitting" where, exactly? Dennis has a date with a girl.
Can it, squirt! A date? Well, what's her name? Miriam Lincoln.
The girl who works weekends at the bakery? Yeah.
Oh.
Well speaking of dough Here's a dollar.
Home by 10:30.
Thanks, Mom.
[SMOOCH.]
You sure you don't want me to stay home and play with you? I'll be fine, sweetheart.
Go on and see Dory.
Can I take a potato? Please? Whatcha gonna do here all alone? Gonna enjoy some peace and quiet.
Now scram.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY.]
[DOOR OPENS.]
[CONTENTED SIGH.]
[DOOR SHUTS.]
[.]
[EXHALES DEEPLY.]
[.]
[GRUNTS.]
Oh! [THUG GRUNTING, REDHEAD GROANING.]
[MILLIE.]
: I found all those in this darling shop.
And then there's this, which I'm not too sure about.
Oh, Millie, it'll look great on you.
Do you think so? A whole new you.
Though all this must've cost a pretty penny.
If I'm gonna snag a job here, I'm gonna need to look the part.
And then there's this.
[GASPING DEEPLY.]
Oh Oh, she's a beaut.
I'm glad you think so.
It's yours.
Oh! Oh, Millie, no.
No way can I pull that off.
You also can't keep living out of your old trunk.
I've got plenty wear in the clothes I brought with me.
Oh, come on, Jean.
There's a reason they call this the New World.
It's a chance to reinvent yourself.
I'm perfectly satisfied with the current model, thank you very much.
Just in case.
[BANGING ON DOOR.]
[MAN.]
: Edward! Edward! Please! Open up! If you're looking for Edward Harcourt, he hasn't lived here in over a year.
[MAN.]
: I need help.
Please! Oh! I'll call the police.
No police! Edward.
Oh, my God! Oh.
Good Lord.
[.]
Sounds like it was a terrible fright.
It was.
We'd no idea who the man was, he just kept saying your name.
A lanky ginger fellow, sporting a great mop of hair.
He was under the impression you still lived in the flat.
Redhead? I've no idea.
[CHUCKLES.]
Well, you will in a minute he's in here.
[EXHALING DEEPLY.]
Or he was.
They must've taken him somewhere.
Without his gown? I'll get a locksmith on that front door.
You can't have riff-raff staggering in off the street.
No, the man knew you, Edward.
I don't think so.
You can't just leave.
Why not? He did.
What's he hiding? My question precisely.
[YAWNING DEEPLY.]
[BANGS TOOLKIT DOWN.]
Rough night? We had this fellow Ginsberg over.
He read from this long poem of his while the rest of us played strip poker till the heater caught fire.
What a hoot! [LAUGHS.]
Hailey.
You're in a flea-infested rat-trap.
Sarge, it's my home.
And living with those men well, it's lowered your standards and raised some eyebrows.
You can do better.
Yeah, and you were never young.
All right.
So how's about I fix whatever you called me here for? Closet door giving you trouble? I told Marcus he screwed the hinges hinky, but would he listen? The closet door's fine, Hailey.
Toaster! That damn thing burned my biscuits last week.
Good thing that guy of yours is off to Vietnam.
I can finally fix things up around here.
It's not the toaster.
I'll say.
That your old cryptogram machine? It still work? I was hoping you could tell me.
I thought the government wouldn't let you do anything with it.
They might now.
I did get the patent.
What are you thinking? Market it.
There's a demand for simple encryption devices embassies, businesses, newspaper cables.
Folks all looking for a way to whisper their secrets in plain sight.
I was thinking we'd do a partnership.
Sarge, she's yours.
And she'll need a lot of work to be a viable prototype.
But if it sells? [SIGHS DEEPLY.]
Could mean income.
For both of us.
[HAILEY.]
: Maybe I can do better.
Thank you.
His personal effects.
The nurse didn't know what to do with them.
Cigarettes, wallet, socks.
He left without his socks? What on Earth was he running from? What I want to know is what we do with them.
Well, sure as eggs, my cousin knows how to get this man's stuff back to him.
Maybe what's in there can tell us why he came and bloodied up our doorstep.
You sure you know how to put this all back together again? Yup.
Good.
Sure are using a lot of oil there.
That's 'cause the parts are dirty.
Well, then shouldn't you use soap? I'll just charge you parts and labour.
No.
No, no, you're right.
Just do your thing.
It's just that, next to my babies, this is the best thing I ever dreamt up.
Yeah, and if we're gonna succeed, the machine needs to be as solid as the ideas behind it.
[SNAP.]
I think it's kinda like sausage.
Sausage? Yeah, like we made on the farm.
We knew, if folks were gonna enjoy the end-product Oh.
They couldn't see it getting made.
Bingo.
So, how's about I take this baby of yours back to my place? Sure.
[JEAN.]
: I'll put the kettle on and we can get started.
There must be something in here that's a way to identify him.
- Millie.
I say we start with the wallet.
- Millie, look.
[MILLIE.]
: Oh, my God.
Whoever our man's running from Is now after us.
[PHONE LINE RINGING.]
[SIGHING.]
[JEAN.]
: Sorry to come by like this, but we didn't know who else to call.
[IRIS.]
: No, of course.
You were smart to get out fast.
[HAILEY.]
: They could've come back.
Heck, they still could've been there.
[JEAN.]
: From what I could see, nothing was stolen, which makes it even more chilling.
Edward still isn't answering.
[JEAN.]
: Well, what, do we call the police? That's the one thing the redhead begged us not to do.
Either he's into something bad, or the cops are.
In this town, it's a toss-up.
This is what the nurses gave us, everything we know of the man.
See if we can make sense of it all.
There was nothing in his wallet just a couple of dollars, and this Holy doodle.
Looks like a marijuana cigarette.
Not that I'd know anything about it.
I don't want that in here.
Got it, Sarge.
Consider it unloaded.
Yes.
Into the garbage.
[MUTTERING.]
: Seems a waste.
[JEAN.]
: So he knew he was in danger and decided to make himself scarce.
[MILLIE.]
: Whoever smashed us up must've followed this red-headed mystery man to our flat.
[IRIS.]
: And then waited for you to clear out and ransacked the place.
[.]
[JEAN.]
: He didn't want anyone knowing who he was, even if he got hurt.
[IRIS.]
: Especially if he got hurt.
Maybe because that was no reefer.
[MILLIE GASPING.]
Oh, my! It's like miniature ticker-tape.
[HAILEY.]
: Except just try making sense of it.
It's some kind of code.
[MILLIE.]
: And no drugs? None that you'd smoke.
That's heroin.
[GASPS.]
I'd say that's more than a hundred grams.
[HAILEY.]
: Hot damn.
What's that worth? My guess is [SIGHS.]
maybe $4,000? That's more than I make in a year! I've seen this stuff hollow out a person, whole communities.
I hate this stuff with a passion.
I can flush it right now.
No, we won't.
We won't? Oh Because we can't.
Someone is willing to beat a man almost to death in order to get it back.
If we get rid of it, we could be sealing his fate.
And ours as well.
So what do we do? Well work out a way to return it.
Otherwise we're signing the man's death warrant.
How do we know he wasn't just a dealer, and got in trouble? Mommy, what are you doing? Cadence.
To your room.
Now.
I'll be in after these ladies leave.
[.]
[TROUBLED SIGH.]
[JEAN.]
: Did you know, when one has illicit drugs burning a hole in one's handbag, it looks like everyone's giving you the fish-eye? The bottom of your handbag, Jean, is possibly the safest place on Earth.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR.]
[JEAN.]
: Well, let's not test that theory against a police detective.
Stash it.
[BRYCE.]
: Ladies! There you are! Just who I was looking for.
I'm guessing you've something to tell me.
You've been shopping? Oh! [LAUGHS.]
Yes.
Yes, we've been buying up the town.
[CHUCKLES.]
I'll, um I'll leave you two to chinwag.
Detective.
Take as long as you like! She's a funny one.
Oh! Hysterical.
You said we had something to tell you? Yeah! When am I taking you out again? [LAUGHING.]
Oh! Is that all? Well, that's not nothing.
I'll take that as a yes, then.
A drink on Monday.
I'd suggest one now, but I fear you'd get the wrong idea.
I've got a better one.
How about I pick you up when I finish work? Very well, then.
But we've got one problem.
A problem? I noticed the lock on that door is broken.
Oh, yes.
Oh.
No, we're well aware.
My cousin is, in fact, the landlord, and he's going to fix it.
Well, it better be soon.
Because you never know who might just walk right on in there.
In fact why don't I go upstairs and check on your digs? If there were marauding invaders, we'd have heard shrieks from above.
[CHUCKLES.]
Jean doesn't seem the shrieking type.
You'd be surprised.
[ROCK MUSIC BLARING.]
What the hell are you boys doing? You know you can turn this thing into a stereophonic turntable? Sure I know that, Ray, I just don't want to.
My records aren't stereo and mono increases the decibels without sacrificing sound quality.
Cut the gas now! Get ready for another Hail-storm.
We're just trying to make it better.
You want better? Wash the dishes.
Scrub the toilet.
Pick up your socks! Or even better? Pay your damn rent.
You know what Nietzsche said? "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
" Wrong one.
"Women were God's second error.
" Sure, but he also said "Without music, life would be a mistake.
" Yeah, the same goes for living with you two.
I could do a whole lot better here, you know.
I want my hi-fi back the way it was.
You hear me? - Man - Whoa.
[CLICKING.]
You wanna try my new toy? I just got a three-reel set of the Grand Canyon! Maybe after I speak with your mother.
[FOOTSTEPS.]
Cadence, honey, why don't you take yourself into the courtyard? The light's better out there.
Thank you.
Thank you for making the trip over.
You said it was important.
I need to get home to my family, though.
I don't have much time.
Um, Olivia, I value your opinion as a police employee.
[DEEP BREATH.]
If someone I knew came across a quantity of, uh illicit drugs Like what? 120 grams of heroin? Oh, dear Well, this person should share the fact and the drugs with the police, yes? Hypothetically? Yes.
That's what I thought.
But in this city, at this time? - I wouldn't dream of it.
- Why not? The new Chief is trying to stand up to the graft, but between criminals on the street and crooked politicians at City Hall? It's a steep climb.
So who can you trust? No one.
The patrol division is swimming with corruption, and in cahoots with other divisions.
So this person what should she do? Iris, you make damn sure that whatever cop you speak with is a straight-shooter.
I-It's not me, Olivia.
Of course, it isn't.
And not every cop is crooked, but be careful.
In this town, that's a toe dipped in trouble.
[.]
[OLIVIA.]
: She's a sweetheart.
[CHUCKLES.]
How old are yours now? Four and six.
Oh, that's a great age.
They still think their mothers know everything.
[CHUCKLES.]
[KNOCKING AT DOOR.]
[RELIEVED SIGH.]
Oh You've cleaned it up well.
Nothing quite so motivating as the spectre of a detective's visit.
I was afraid Millie was gonna invite him up for a tumbler of rum.
[LAUGHS.]
- Did you flush the drugs? - Despite the close call I decided they'd be more use to us on this side of the sewage system.
Heroin does real damage to our city.
I don't want to just find out who these men are, I want to put them in jail.
Good thing we've got what they're after.
Not only that, looks like they're expecting us.
[IRIS.]
: "You know the place, you know the time.
" - But we don't.
- Bastards! That was my best shade.
The redhead may know who's behind this.
Well, if Hansel left a trail I'd say these are the breadcrumbs.
[IRIS.]
: At least we can crack the ticker tape code.
What are these? Could they be phone numbers? [IRIS.]
: Perhaps if the exchange were enciphered as numbers, but not in San Francisco.
What about a reverse cipher? We could try dialing them backwards.
Ooh! [ROCK MUSIC BEGINS BLARING.]
[.]
[POWER CLUNK.]
[THUMPS DESK.]
It was just a fuse.
You're an idiot.
Hey, it's back to mono, like you wanted.
When two signals equal in level but uncorrelated are added together, the sum of the two is I want you to hear me, loud and clear.
Where's your rent, Murray? [BLOWS AIR.]
As Karl Marx says, the interests of the landlord are not those of society.
[HAILEY.]
: Except I'm society.
I'm damn well interested, and sick of playing this song and dance every month.
Hailey.
We're poets.
I don't care if the goddamn muse of inspiration's whispering in your ear.
You're two weeks late.
If you don't have this by tomorrow What? You'll move out? No, Murray.
You will.
It's my name on the lease, remember? And I'm done living with men.
I'll bet you are.
Murray don't.
No.
I-I wanna know.
What nice, tidy lady-girl's gonna wanna move in here? They all went and got married.
But not our little Hail-Storm, no.
And if you managed to sucker in some sweet-faced gal, well, one up-close look at who you are what you are? Poor gal'd run off screaming.
Murray! Shut up, will you? [.]
[PHONE LINE RINGING.]
[MAN'S VOICE.]
: Hello? Oh, hello, sir.
My name's Jean McBrian.
I'm an acquaintance of someone who was recently assaulted a tall, lanky red-headed - What are you telling me for? - [ANNOUNCEMENT CRACKLES.]
I believe you may know the man.
I've no idea who you are talking about.
You've got the wrong number.
Please don't call again.
Well, certainly.
But could you just - [DIAL TONE BUZZING.]
- [JEAN SIGHS.]
[JEAN.]
: That's the second friendly Franciscan "I've no idea who you're talking about" "You've got the wrong number.
Please don't call again.
" It's a word-for-word repeat of what the first fellow said on the telephone.
At the Presidio, when we'd ask higher-ups for intel, sometimes, no matter who we'd asked, the denial would be the same.
[JEAN.]
: Same here.
We would get the exact same response.
We knew that not only did they know the answers [IRIS.]
: But they'd worked out the exact same way to cover up the fact.
[JEAN.]
: Well, thank goodness, that's not all I heard.
What else did he say? He didn't say anything, but in the background, I could hear, "End of the line for 59.
" 59? That-That's the, uh, Powell-Mason cable car.
I did hear a screeching of brakes.
Well, that's the cable car turner at one end or the other.
So two possibilities, at either end of the city.
I heard seagulls.
One of the turnarounds is near the water, so that's the north end of the Powell-Mason line.
So we're just gonna show up at an intersection? It's all we have, Millie.
Well, you two try and give it a shot tomorrow.
I'll tackle that cipher First I'm off for a family reunion.
[.]
- [BELL DINGS.]
- [COOK.]
: Order up! He goes by "Rusty.
" Appropriate.
Why not tell us before? He's a private person.
As am I.
What the hell was that doing in his wallet? You would know better than me, Edward.
You can rest assured I haven't told a soul.
I went two years without seeing him, Camilla.
I wouldn't know how to find him now.
[HUSHED.]
: We are sitting on a hot box of drugs worth thousands of dollars.
Your friend is at risk, and so are we.
[EDWARD SIGHS.]
It was two years ago until two days ago.
This very diner.
We were both sent here for a rendezvous, but when the man we were expecting failed to show, I left.
And he stayed? - I guess, for a while.
- To move drugs? No! It had nothing to do with that.
I told you what I know, Camilla.
Stop twisting this into something else.
Your friend was found with drugs on him.
Are you seriously telling me that that's a coincidence? He's not my friend.
Now kindly get the hell out of my business.
He's half-dead and running for his life, and you are our only link.
Then consider yourself lucky.
[WEARY SIGH.]
[.]
[BRAKEMAN.]
: End of the line for 59.
[BELL DINGS.]
[.]
Well, here we are.
"End of the line for 59.
" The conductor, the screeching car wheels, seagulls [IRIS.]
: Well, those apartments look promising.
[JEAN.]
: There's only so many places where you could hear all those noises from.
[IRIS, SIGHING.]
: "So many," indeed.
[JEAN.]
: Well, I see two windows open, so let's try them.
You think it's enough to go on? I've gotten more from less.
Hmm.
Well, let's get knocking.
[KNOCKING.]
Sorry to bother.
We're looking for someone who may have come here injured the other night.
No idea what you're talking about.
Well, he came to us for help.
We've got his belongings here.
Paul! Just let 'em in.
How did you find me? Ciphers and seagulls.
We're here about the night you were beaten, and a meeting you had with your friend, Edward Harcourt.
I wouldn't call Edward a "friend.
" I barely know the guy.
Then why come banging down his door? I'd been mugged.
He was the closest I could think of.
- Yet no calling the police.
- What's the point? Precisely what we're trying to figure out.
Well, don't.
I don't need your help! Just walk out and forget me! There are some dangerous people after you, and now they're after us as well.
Rusty, I'm your friend, but this is crossing the line.
Do you recognize these? Haymakers.
Not my brand.
They were on you the night you were attacked.
I met up with a man.
Friendly enough.
Offered 'em to me.
Started asking about drop-offs and payments, I told him I had no clue what he meant, so I walked away.
Only he started following, asking if I was the right guy.
I told him it didn't seem I was, then he started chasing me, and I'm running for my life, and I couldn't get free, and he caught me, and It took everything I had to get away.
So you never knew what was in them? What? Heroin.
[SHAKEN.]
: Definitely not my brand.
Well, it's not ours, either, but here we are.
Just throw the drugs away! Rusty, someone out there is after these drugs, and they'll do anything to get them back.
Now, who did you meet with? [LOUDLY.]
: I don't know! I think it's time you two left.
Then how did you arrange the meeting? I thought it would be someone else.
I thought it would be a friend.
He's safe now.
We're gonna keep it that way.
Take your junk and get out.
Now! Tell Edward tell him don't go near the papers.
What? "The papers"? What do you mean by the papers? [DOOR BANGS.]
[.]
[JEAN SIGHS.]
Who fixed the lock? Yours truly.
Any luck? I've tried everything from Gronsfeld to Playfair, but nothing cracks it.
How's about you? You find your man? We did, but he's keeping mum.
Though he did leave us a parting gift.
Told Edward "Don't go near the papers.
" Ticker-tape paper? Cigarette papers? [MILLIE.]
: No idea.
For this code, I'm inclined to use lex parsimoniae.
Lex what? "Law of Parsimony.
" According to William of Ockham, the hypothesis requiring the fewest assumptions should be selected.
If this is street code, it can't be complex.
Otherwise you wouldn't be able to write it on one end, and then read it on the other.
[HAILEY.]
: So think simple instead of complicated.
Wrap it.
What are you talking about? A possible scytale code.
Try this.
[IRIS.]
: Scytale is a simple transposition cipher, used by the ancient Greeks and Spartans.
It's how military commanders would communicate with their front lines during battle.
[JEAN.]
: First, a band of parchment gets wrapped around a rod, then the message gets written.
[IRIS.]
: And when the band of paper is unrolled, it becomes ciphertext.
[JEAN.]
: The trick then is to have a baton in the battlefield that matches the sender's.
[IRIS.]
: Wrap the parchment right, and boom, there's your message.
[JEAN.]
: This has the advantage of being fast to make and not prone to mistakes helpful things when you're at war.
"H" A-N-D O-F-F "Hand-off.
" C-E-D-A-R M-I-L-L "Cedar Mill" 4-2 S U-N 7 P M.
"Hand-off Cedar Mill 42, Sun, 7 p.
m.
" Jean, you're a genius.
We've got it a time and a place.
Brava, ladies.
What's 42? I don't know, but but the meeting's tonight.
We really should call the police.
[IRIS.]
: There's too many police on the take, but if we can smoke out these buyers, we give them hard facts that they can't deny their names, their game plan.
Let's go hand off some drugs.
[JEAN.]
: You two find the dealer.
We'll keep a lookout.
[IRIS.]
: Everyone off for the weekend.
Our gents must've known that.
[HAILEY.]
: The sheds are numbered.
There's our 42.
That way.
Good luck.
Just keep an eye out.
Come on.
[.]
[.]
[HAILEY.]
: Hang on.
We're here.
I don't think you ladies got the right place.
Oh, we do and we come bearing gifts.
Not the kind I usually pick up from.
Takes all kinds in this world.
And what's on offer should be of no less interest to you.
[CLANG.]
[MAN.]
: That's for sure.
I was staring down hot water if you didn't show.
How long has it been? Oh, it's been minutes, Iris.
They'll be fine.
Oh, no.
Oh, the guard's headed toward the girls.
What happens if he sees them dealing? Oh, let's not find out.
Hey! Hello? Yoo-hoo! Excuse me.
Well, sir it's been a pleasure doing business.
Tell your bosses to ease up on the beatings now.
Hey! Someone tampered with the goods.
Just a bit of quality control.
It's all there, guaranteed.
Back.
[JEAN.]
: Uh, sir! Can you help us? Our car.
It broke down.
[IRIS.]
: Just over there, see? We thought we were out of gas, but, um, we're not out of gas.
[IRIS.]
: It could be the starter.
- Or the battery.
- Or the muffler.
Well, probably not the muffler.
What're you ladies doing here? Well, we took a wrong turn.
And then another, looking for help.
For our poor busted-up car And then it just finally up and died.
Do you know a thing or two? [IRIS.]
: Our friends went looking for help, but there seems to be no one around.
[GUARD.]
: Okay, I'll have a look.
You know, we can leave you to this You can stay put until I'm finished my inventory here.
I got fellows to answer to, just like you.
[CAR ENGINE STARTS.]
Oh, it must've just needed a rest.
And of course, your expert touch.
Well best be on your way, ladies.
[DOOR BANGS.]
Uh, sir! If we could just get your name, so we could recommend you, to your superiors.
Better not.
I got a schedule to keep.
I'd get in trouble if they knew I stopped it to do stuff like this.
Come on, Brutus.
[.]
[BRUTUS BARKS.]
What do ya got there, Brutus? Huh? What do ya got? [BARKS.]
Evening, sir.
You with the broken-down ladies? Oh, come on.
There's a bit of life left in them yet.
Charming place you've got here.
Hope you can enjoy it.
[.]
Come on.
[.]
Come on, Brutus.
Drugs are off our hands and onto theirs.
I'd say that's the last trouble we'll see Rusty and Co.
as well.
Right.
Let's get out of here.
Well, you certainly know how to show a girl a good time.
[LAUGHING.]
You tired already? This is more fresh air than my lungs have previously encountered.
[CHUCKLES.]
That, and I had a late night.
Oh? So I've got competition.
You're not even on the race-track, my friend! [CHUCKLES.]
It's my cousin, Edward.
I'm worried he's got into some trouble.
Such as? Oh, come on It's not like I'll go arrest him.
Unless he went and killed somebody.
Still, it would compromise you, and I'm sure you steer clear of that.
Well, I've got to admit, I spend a lot of time scratching the underbelly of this fair city.
And if you lie with dogs, you wake up with fleas.
That's why a walk like this is nice reminds me that there's more to this city than its darkest corners.
I'd be tempted to stay in those dark corners, to take bribes, withhold evidence [CHUCKLES.]
Well, you work a beat long enough, anything you need, eventually, you know a guy who can get it for you.
And have you ever needed something? No.
[.]
Oh.
Oh, will you look at that? Mm-hmm.
How's this? "Cozy room available in a fun, breezy warehouse space.
" A good start.
What do you mean "start"? That's my tenth kick at the can.
Hailey, it's great that you're looking for better roommates, but when you write "fun," a girl will read that as another word for "noisy.
" And, uh, "cozy," she'll think "small.
" "Breezy" Sounds like a hurricane comes through every night.
- Mm.
- I got it Oh Plus, the papers will charge a buck for that magnum opus.
Abbreviate.
"The papers" That's what this guy, Edward, wasn't supposed go near.
Maybe it's got nothing to do with cigarette papers.
Want me to phone it in for you? Sarge.
Maybe it's newspapers.
As in "Don't do anything that'll get you written about in the news"? Or "don't go putting anything in there yourself.
" But what do I know? Bottom to top? How do you read that way? I'm not reading.
I'm detecting anomaly, which the eye does faster when the mind isn't trying to make sense of the words.
"Think less, do more.
" Huh.
There.
Look.
A cipher.
This may get us closer to those dealers.
[.]
Cracked it.
Didn't take long.
Well, it's just a simple Caesar cipher every letter transposed three letters ahead "A" is "D," "B" is "E.
" Smart.
Gaius Julius thought so.
It's one of the oldest ciphers in history, simple enough for the average person to use.
What's it say? The tough part is the abbreviations, but essentially, it's a warning telling "all able men" to beware of someone else's messages in the "Help Wanted" section.
To "Stay out of the papers," or else.
Jean! Jean? Millie! Oh, God.
What happened? Who would do this to him? It doesn't make sense.
We delivered the package to the men who wanted it.
That was not what they were after.
We haven't stopped the beatings.
There's another reason for these attacks.
[JEAN.]
: And one we've seen before [EDWARD TAKES A DEEPER BREATH.]
Tell me you're not Saint Peter.
That'd be your lucky day.
I'd let anyone through those pearly gates.
[WEAK CHUCKLE.]
[SIGHS.]
Last thing I remember, I was locking my front door on the way to the bank.
You were found beaten up in an alley.
Just like Rusty.
It was a mugging.
Welcome to America.
Oh, come on, Edward.
I don't care what you're up to, but if we don't know why these attacks are taking place, we can't stop them.
If you won't talk to me, please talk to the police.
Oh, Camilla, for God's sake There's a detective outside, he's a good man.
Except in the eyes of the law, I'm also breaking one.
And what have you done? It's not what I've done.
It's who I am.
You've no idea why I left home.
I believe I do.
"The heart is a lonely hunter," as the book puts it.
You came here to be the man you need to be.
I understand.
[SIGHS.]
You don't.
You may have once ran off with a man but at least he was a man.
They weren't all men.
Really, the only difference is when it comes to the hunt, I enjoy it.
[BOTH CHUCKLING QUIETLY.]
[IRIS.]
: There's a whole series of them encrypted messages in the, uh, "help wanted" section of the newspaper.
Folks talking to each other, right under our noses.
Sounds like a latter-day agony column.
What's an agony column? Oh, they've been around since Victorian times.
Secret messages encrypted in the classifieds, so to arrange a rendezvous.
For people too afraid to pick up the phone or write a letter.
Yes.
Only This time, I think it's a for group of men, to connect.
How would you know this? [JEAN.]
: I worked for a man who kept me on for a few years after the war.
A brilliant cryptographer.
He'd cracked the Enigma code, invented computing devices and and he loved men.
Here, that's a crime.
Well, yes, it is back in Britain, too.
Like the codes he cracked, he was hidden in plain sight, until the police found out.
He'd called them because he'd been robbed by one of his, um, visiting gentleman.
When the world saw him for what he was they destroyed him.
So you think our men are like this man that you worked for? Mm.
And they feel that they're in danger and clearly, with good reason.
Edward Harcourt, meet Detective Bryce.
I can see why you chose him.
Because he's a fine investigator Mr.
Harcourt.
I hear you may have a thing or two to tell me.
I'll take my leave.
Gentlemen.
As I told Camilla, I've no recollection I'm not interested in today.
It's the weeks before I wanna know about.
I understand there are some bad people you'd like to catch But if you don't, and I've shared the truth about myself I still have to pay the price.
In the eyes of the law, I'm a criminal, too, as bad as the man who beat me.
Well, I doubt he's as clever and good.
Detective, you're muddying waters.
And flirting.
That's not cricket.
Whatever you tell me, I will take it to the right people.
You will see justice done.
I sure hope so.
[KNOCKING AT DOOR.]
Good morning, Sarge.
Oh, it's a quiet morning here, for once.
[HAILEY.]
: The boys are off to some coffee shop.
I tell you, next to hearing themselves squawk, the next best thing is listening to someone else.
Don't worry, Sarge.
I know how to put it back together again.
Good.
Oh, I went by the newspaper offices this morning and picked up what's come up on your "for rent" listing.
Already? Oh, I wrote you a good ad.
Oh, this is gonna be good.
Just think one of these gals could end up living here.
So be careful who you let in.
Look at this one "loves to converse.
" Uh, that means "insufferably opinionated.
" Or this one "easy-going.
" That means "slovenly as hell.
" I wonder what I'd put down if I had to describe myself.
You know my code.
You don't need one.
What else you got there? Um likes to cook - Oh! - Crochet Mm-hmm.
That's good.
I don't know how to cook very well.
[EDWARD.]
: Ladies, you don't have to do this.
[MILLIE.]
: Just a few days.
Just to have someone to change your dressings and feed you, you know, soup.
Tell me, Jean, when was the last time my cousin made soup? I picked up a ham hock this morning.
I'll have pea soup on the go in no time.
More coppers? What do you mean "more"? What kind of tenants have I been renting to? Edward Harcourt? Yes? You're under arrest for suspicion of communist conspiracy.
Don't be ridiculous.
Officer, I'm no communist.
The charges can be explained at the station.
This is rubbish.
My cousin has just come back from hospital, and he is not going anywhere.
You'll keep your distance, ma'am.
He's coming with me.
I would like to see you try.
Millie! I'll be fine.
Now, you listen to me.
You know, that's a great idea.
Why don't we do that down at the station? You two are coming with me.
She's got nothing to do with this! She does now.
You know who this is down to, don't you? Bill Bryce.
I trusted that bastard and he betrayed us.
[DOOR SLAMS.]