Underbelly s06e01 Episode Script
Squizzy Steps Out
You wanna know my secret, do you? How I'm gonna pull off a job like this.
Well There's three points you gotta consider to take on this sort of enterprise.
First, you need to pick your crew.
They gotta have a range of skills and do as they're told.
Second, timing.
They gotta be where you want them at precisely the moment you want them there.
They get there too soon and they stick out like dog's balls.
Get there too late and, well, the whole thing's down the dunny, isn't it? Then there's the all-important third element.
Someone's gotta be in control.
Someone's gotta see the whole enterprise playing out like a general, directing his troops.
But, ladies and gentlemen the most important thing you need to pull off a job like this, the thing that I have by the bucketload is confidence.
Confidence.
We're gonna turn over a jewellery store, but not any old jewellery store.
We're going top end of town.
We're gonna turn over Drumm's emporium in Collins Street.
Right.
Tank, Snowy, you're guarding the door.
Don't let anybody else in.
And keep your eyes peeled.
There's at least two jacks patrolling the arcade at all times, and they'll be armed.
Gus, you're on the inside.
You gotta keep up the chat.
Wait till I give you the signal, then move fast.
Oh, by the way, I'm gonna wear a disguise.
Doll, you're the decoy.
Just imagine you're a respectable lady.
- Don't drop your 'H's.
- I can't 'elp it.
Doll, come on.
Don't get distracted.
You'll give the game away.
Sorry.
- And just one guinea, sir.
- Right.
It's of the best quality, is it? The finest quality, sir.
Just one moment.
May I help you ladies? The muffineer in your cabinet.
Beautiful quality.
Best out of Birmingham.
Hm.
Do you have any larger? Uh, larger? Also very fine.
The jacks.
Put it away! He hasn't noticed anything.
- Come on.
- Excuse me! Uh, one moment.
This one here - a guinea, you said? - Uh, yes, sir.
That's correct.
- A guinea? - Yes.
- I'm gonna need some change.
- I can supply you with change.
- Do you mind? I have a cold in my head, and I haven't got all day.
Yes, madam.
I'll just be with this gentleman first.
- This is most unsatisfactory.
- Apologies, madam.
- It's a busy spell.
- The cruets behind you.
Uh Yes, madam, they are a very fine article.
From whence did they originate? - Venetian.
- Venice! Marvellous.
Love the canals.
I shall enjoy perusing them.
The finest Wait! Wait! Wait! Somebody! Help! Help! How good was that? How much do you reckon we got? Thousands.
Doll, millions.
Pitch bloody perfect.
The salesman had no idea.
It was perfect.
I was perfect.
I told ya.
I told ya.
I can do anything.
What are you gonna do with your share? Don't know.
I can do whatever we want.
Room for three at this party? - No.
- Snowy.
Mate.
- I could kiss you.
Come here.
- Hey.
How come Gus is carrying the loot? Oh, come on, you square.
We've been through this.
Tankbuster! That was clockwork, mate.
You were clockwork! It was great, wasn't it, eh? Smart.
And no rough stuff.
Doll, get us a drink.
Come on, let's celebrate.
How come Gus is carrying the loot? I told you, mate, he doesn't attract attention.
Suppose someone rolled him? One of Long Harry Slater's boys? - No, Gus can look after himself.
- Oh, yeah, what? Wallop 'em with a book of poems? I should have gone with him.
Right, so you can shoot up Collins Street, huh? And didn't I particularly tell you not to bring a gun? - I just want my fucking haul! - Put the gun away, Snowy.
Ask and ye shall receive! Oh, ye of little faith! Ah, Les, I do believe you have found us the riches of Solomon.
Show us what we risked our necks in broad daylight for.
Deadset bloody legend.
To Les, the bloody little legend, hey? Legend! A legend.
Yeah, I don't mind the sound of that at all.
Jewellery robbery! Police baffled! Jewellery robbery! Police baffled! Drumm's jeweller's has just been turned over.
- Do we know by whom? - No, we do not.
Word is they got away with thousands.
Cheeky.
We don't mind a bit of cheek, do we? Who the bloody hell was it? Dunno.
You know? I dunno.
Henry Stokes? Someone new, then.
New crew? It's lucky it wasn't on our patch.
Otherwise I'd have to hunt them down and cut their fuckin' nuts off.
Oh! Thank you, Raymond.
That's good.
Here.
Bad business, that 'Galla-polli'.
- Gally-what? - You know, over in Turkey.
- Our boys, done over.
- Yeah, well, bloody Poms.
Don't know how to stick by their mates.
Speaking of mates, what the dickens was Snowy doing bringing that shooter to a job? Just showing willing.
Snowy's alright.
Showing that he's bloody loopy.
He'll be the death of ya.
Mate, you just worry about keeping the swag safe.
I'll do the talking.
Leslie Taylor for Mr Stokes.
He's busy.
He'll want to see me.
Might have trouble spotting you in a crowd.
I just thought, you know I thought he'd want to decide for himself.
Wait here.
I could play baccarat, you know.
- With these toffs? - Yeah, if I wanted to.
Yeah, well, I prefer a game of two-up myself.
G'day, Mr Stokes.
Have I got a treat for you.
Thought you were a pickpocket.
Must have very deep pockets.
Oh, we do what we must.
I actually regard myself as cut from your cloth, Mr Stokes.
Pig's arse.
Well, like you, I see further than from me hand to me mouth.
So, what can you do me? - 300? - Quality merchandise.
- I'm not denying.
- Oh, you bet it is.
There's more carats here than South Melbourne Market.
This stuff would fetch more like You reckon we should go back to Drumm's, see if they'll sell 'em for us? No, no, but Well, you know.
Blokes who melt 'em down, recut 'em.
And you clearly don't know that items as hot as these would make them nervous, and that costs.
Well, seeing as we can't do business, I'll be taking my merchandise elsewhere.
Suppose I could see my way to 320.
- 400.
- 340.
- 375.
- 350.
Pleasure doing trade with you, Mr Stokes.
- Or can I call you Henry? - You can whistle 'Dixie'.
I want to go through this all again.
Where's Detective Brophy? John? Freddy! You've come to slum with us, have you? Another pot, please, Clem, and a glass of milk for my lady friend here.
The Drumm jewel robbery.
What have you heard? Come, now, John.
Don't you have more fizgigs than any other officer south of Victoria Street? They've all been afflicted with a terrible case of the shrugs.
What about your habitual jewel thieves? One's doing three to five in Geelong, the other one was last heard of in Hobart, trying to pass off marcasite watches as diamond.
A heist like that doesn't happen out of thin air.
- Needed planning.
- Inside job? The staff all check out.
Someone new in town, maybe? I'm thinking a blue.
Oh, blue is good.
Navy? Navy is a hue that would set off your piercing eyes.
- In a pinstripe.
- A blue pinstripe.
- A blue-and-red pinstripe.
- Blue-and-red.
How audacious! Now, pay attention, class.
What the hell was that? Huh? You bloody little sook.
Watch this.
Huh? Mate, when I was your age, I could pick the ring off a bloke's finger - he wouldn't feel a thing.
Smarten up.
Go work the arcade and work those doors, alright? And do it like you mean it.
Go on.
And here's me favourite bad penny.
Took the words right out of me mouth, Mr Brophy.
- How's tricks? - Can't complain.
Good, 'cause I wouldn't listen.
Now, those boys of yours.
They been flat out like lizards drinking, I hope.
That job up in the arcade, that robbery at Drumm's jeweller's.
- What about it? - You heard anything? Uh, no, just just, uh, what I read in the paper.
It was, um, done in broad daylight, and they got away with thousands.
And a smart enterprise.
Pulled off by a couple of sheilas, if you can credit it.
But it's got a funny smell about it, that job.
Smell of what? Well, for a start, it took real brains to pull it off.
Now, that rules out all the crooks in this city.
Bunch of gutless wonders and bantam roosters, you lot.
But never mind.
I still love ya.
The most important thing you need to pull off a job like this, the thing that I have by the bucketload, is confidence.
Now, that's just another word for balls.
You got clean hands, Bert? Pass us that ribbon? Dumb prick.
He's a thick-arsed, big-bellied bastard, isn't he? - Who? - Bloody Brophy.
Always taking me dosh, looking down on me.
Think your mum'll like yellow? Doll.
I thought roses, on account of And then I thought you know, I could maybe give 'em to her.
I might just, um Dolly.
Well, we've been together for three years, Les.
- She's gotta meet me sometime.
- Oh, of course.
But today's not a good idea.
You know, she's an old busybody.
She'll give you the third degree, ask a hundred questions.
Well, I wouldn't drop me haitches.
Or me daks.
You can drop your daks for me any time.
That tickles.
Oh, roses! Oh, Leslie.
But you always were so poetic.
I got you this too.
A muffineer! It's pure silver.
Have you been spending all your wages on me again? - You know me, Ma.
Lucky punter.
- No, Leslie.
You're not lucky.
You're clever.
And you make the most of your chances.
Isn't that right? - Absolutely.
- Well, that's my boy.
Well, this is lovely, though you know all I really want from you, don't you? - Oh, Ma! - Now, Leslie.
I just want to see my son married to a nice girl who'll give me grandchildren to spoil.
I don't have time for that.
I'm a busy man.
Oh, I know I don't know all the ins and outs of your job, and I'm sure it's very, very important, and you know I couldn't be prouder of my clever boy.
But you're never gonna make your mark in this world as a bookie's clerk, now, are you? I don't usually patronise the Crystal Cafe, but I was feeling kind of lonesome.
What a coincidence.
Miss, uh - Call me Lottie.
- Miss Lottie.
- I'm all alone too.
- Oh.
Well, let's see if we can't be of some comfort to each other.
Squizzy was christened Joseph Theodore Leslie Taylor.
The nickname referred to the fact he was short.
And if that wasn't bad enough, 'squiz' was also slang for a bowel motion.
Nobody likes to be called a little shit, but the moniker would stick for the rest of his life.
You do have the most developed leg muscles I have ever seen.
Well, that'd be my bicycling.
Wouldn't have taken a handsome bloke like you for a delivery boy.
I'm a bank manager.
I manage two branches.
Doncaster and up at Templestowe.
Let me get that.
Doncaster? That's bloody miles away, love.
Nice orchards, but.
Well, fruit-picking season's my busiest time of the year.
These days, I'm cycling delivering the pays to the Templestowe agency.
Oh, really, love? And all that exercise gives me a fearful appetite.
Oh! Oh, well.
You seem to be in a big hurry.
A big, big, big hurry.
Oh! Oh! That was a waste of me time and expertise, Les.
You are so We didn't make any money off him.
I know we didn't.
- I know.
- But But we will.
Because we're gonna rob a bank.
Morning! So, he leaves the Doncaster branch at 10:00 and he cycles down Doncaster Road to Williamsons, right, and then he turns left into Manningham Road, and he follows that all the way down to the crossroads at Templestowe Road - is that right, Gus? Yeah.
All along here, the paddocks are filled with fruit pickers, so I reckon we take him out here, right at the crossroads.
There's nothing there but bloody Jersey cows and sparrows.
And there's bushes up here, for cover.
Where we knock him.
No, only if we have to.
Course we have to.
He's going to see our faces.
No, he won't.
We'll be wearing disguises.
Hang on.
I'm not wearing a frock.
But you look so good in one, Snow.
Les, how exactly do you plan on getting us to Doncaster and back again? Yeah.
It's the back of bloody beyond.
Took hours to walk.
- We use a car.
- But none of us drive.
Burns Motor Taxis.
How much to hire a good car tomorrow morning? And I'd like to travel to Eltham and back.
The usual charge is a shilling a mile and 5-shilling detention fee.
And you're sure it's a good car, a good driver? All our chauffeurs are excellent.
And the driver - how do we, uh, manage him? We knock him once we're back in town, right? - Wrong.
We cut him in.
- But he's a squarehead.
Tank, he's a chauffeur.
Mate, we drop him a couple of quid, he'll drive us to Darwin if we want.
I'm not working with some outsider.
No, I'll sort the taxidriver out.
Jeez, if if we want to do this caper, we need a car and someone to drive it.
Les, I admire your plan, but it's rather Byzantine.
Now, perhaps it's just better if we don't bother.
- Don't bother? - Mmm.
This bank manager carries 500 quid in that bag.
Even split four ways, that's more than a year's wage each.
So we can make a year's wage in a single morning.
And, Gus, you're right.
It is a tricky caper.
And no-one's done it before.
But that is why it's going to work.
Cold, hard cash? It's me favourite kind.
The taxi company isn't gonna like taking its fancy little motor up Little Lon to collect us.
Tank, that is why you're with the smart party.
Cliveden Mansions, East Melbourne, 8am.
You got that? Yes, sir.
And the name of the booking party? Uh, Mr L'Estrange.
Thank you.
Right, and there's one more thing.
There's not enough room in the taxi for all of us.
We're all gonna get a share of the coin, but I'm only gonna use one of you on the day.
Who? Sure Snowy's the right choice for this? I mean, Gus is smarter, and Bert's bigger.
No, Gus is too soft.
Tank's too slow.
Snowy scares people.
- Thought it all out, ain't ya? - Yeah, of course I have.
I'm on top of it all.
- Just leave it be.
- It tickles.
Leave it be, I said.
- Mr L'Estrange? - That's me.
To the countryside, I hear.
Lovely day for it.
Better for taking in the sights.
- What's your name, mate? - Uh, Bill.
You been driving cabs long, Bill? Yeah, no, couple of years.
Won't be much longer, but.
- I'm joining up.
- Is that so? Good on ya.
All me mates are over there.
Figure I shouldn't miss out.
Actually, take Templestowe Road, would you, Bill? You know, it's quicker if we He said take bloody Templestowe Road.
You having a shindig before you head to France, Bill? Oh, I ain't got the moola.
Oh, well, you can't go to war without a party, hey? That's not right.
It's not Australian.
Yeah, I know.
Well Maybe if I kill the Kaiser, the King'll give me a prize and I can have one when I get home.
See, I can't serve meself on account of flat feet, so oh, the least I can do is is make sure you have a decent send-off, Bill.
Hey, fair dinkum? Well, that'd be real bonzer of you, sir.
All you need to do is, uh is help us out with a little something.
No-one gets hurt, no-one loses out, and you get your big shivoo.
I knew there was something off about you the second I saw you.
There's nothing off about the chance to make an easy quid, Bill.
- Please get out.
- Beg your pardon? I won't do what you're asking, so get out.
Please.
Mate, there'll be nothing to link you into this.
It's not right.
It's stealing.
Don't turn your nose up at the chance of a lifetime.
Shut the fuck up and do as he says.
Or I'll give you a new hole to whinge through.
Doesn't have to go this way, alright? You hop back in.
You drive us to Doncaster, we spot our bloke, we do our thing, and in half a jiffy, we're all that much richer and you're off to the front.
Or I can blow your fuckin' scone to kingdom come right now.
Come on, mate.
It's not that hard.
Look the other way for 10 minutes tops.
Bugger this.
What did you do that for? Well, you told me to bring out my shooter if he didn't agree.
To scare him, not to blow his fucking brains out.
Jesus, Snowy! Well, he wouldn't do what you said.
- He wasn't gonna drive us.
- He's certainly not now, is he? Huh? I was talking him round and you shot him.
Snowy.
What a moron! Who you calling a fucking moron? You, you moron.
What, you learned how to drive, have ya? Huh? So we can roll our bank bloke? Gonna drive us back to Melbourne after, are ya? Go on, get his body off the road before someone comes along.
Well Why do I have to do it? 'Cause you shot him.
So, what do we do now? Where you going? I'm taking a constitutional back to Melbourne, thanks to you.
Why don't we hitch? What, so someone can put two and two together between King and Country here? Jeez, you're a nit.
Jeez? What? - Can I have me gun back? - No.
Fuck me, Les.
Not if you were the last bloke on the planet.
Fuck! - Come on, you.
- Fuckin' new suit.
I didn't hear shots or nothing.
I was just coming to see to the fence and I heard voices - two blokes.
You hear what they were saying? They was angry, but.
And then I saw 'em heading across the bottom paddock.
- Towards town? - By way of the weir, yeah.
- Did you get a gander at 'em? - Not their faces.
The tall one, he had one of them straw Panama affairs.
- And the other bloke? - Bit of a titch.
Wore a black bowler.
Well Good on you for dropping in.
Oh, um, one of 'em, the short bloke, he was carrying something.
- What? - A suitcase.
But when they come out of the trees round the weir, he didn't have it no more.
Right.
Well, thanks for dropping in.
One short, one tall.
Not exactly Mr Observant, is he? Detective Bruce, do you know how to swim? - I can manage the 50 yards.
- That should be plenty.
What do you want to do that for? Evidence, Jack.
The key to modern policing.
The key to modern policing is locking up crooks, Fred! Always has been.
The shorter one was in the front.
- How tall was the tall one? - Taller than me.
-5'10"? -5'10".
-5'10".
- Short one? How high? - Well, he was shorter than me.
- 5'6".
- 5 No, no.
-5'2".
-5'2".
-5'2".
Fred! Moustache.
Spectacles.
- And gloves.
- Dress-ups.
Frederick Piggott was ahead of his time.
He believed good police work was purely a matter of science.
John Brophy, on the other hand, was an old-school cop with a nose for character, especially bad character.
Both men would play significant roles in Squizzy's downfall.
"Police have formed the suspicion that taxidriver Haines "was an innocent victim in a cunning plan to rob "either the Doncaster or Upper Templestowe bank "or waylay the bank officer carrying Treasury notes.
"Police say it was a foul scheme "but one requiring great ingenuity.
" I mean, black and white.
- I'm a genius.
- Genius, my arse.
Which is hanging out of me trousers since we didn't make any dosh.
And whose fault was that? Says here he was gonna join up.
He was gonna fight the Fritz.
I need a real drink.
of the Bard.
I gave the kid a choice, Tank.
If he'd if he had have listened to me, he wouldn't have come to any harm.
He was just a foot soldier, you know? I'm a general.
Tactician.
Planner.
If he'd obeyed my rules, he'd be halfway to France right now and we'd be rolling in it, but he missed his opportunity, didn't he? They don't really kill kittens, do they? Oh, yeah, they stab their frickin' eyes out.
The pubs have to shut at 6pm from now on, right? Hip, hip hooray for the new licensing laws, I say.
'Cause if I know the Aussie male's capacity for consuming fermented vegetable products, then I know that your excellent establishment will be getting a lot more new customers come Monday 6pm.
That is, of course, unless they wander down to your competitors.
But why would they, right, when I happen to know a young, enterprising businessman who can supply you with plenty of amber fluid for the right price.
How much? I'm sure we can come to an arrangement.
The pure genius of my scheme is that nobody gets hurt.
The trick's getting our hands on a regular supply of grog.
Well, that requires a long-term arrangement, and the best way to do it is to make sure every bloke along the way gets a handshake.
Wagon driver, foreman, depot manager.
Yep.
Pure genius.
There really is more to you than just a a pickpocket, isn't there? Oh, more strings to me bow than Paganini, Mr Stokes.
Call me Henry.
You're Squizzy, aren't you? Oh, I prefer Leslie.
Me mates call me Les.
Put it there, Les.
Busy.
The new restricted trading hours for pubs, I imagine people will be drinking more coffee.
I thought you'd be applauding 6:00 closing all the way down to the Temperance Union, Fred.
It's a futile law, destined to make the solving of real crime all the more difficult.
Now, to this matter of the Haines taxidriver murder.
This fellow calling himself L'Estrange has booked a cab to pick up from Cliveden Mansions, East Melbourne.
- Who is he? - Who indeed? Surely, he's got to be known to us.
I don't know about you blokes, but all the crims I know haven't got the patience for this sort of job.
Surely it's an out-of-town mob.
Can I have an oolong tea, please, a scone? Can I get a black coffee and a finger bun, thanks? Look, this description you took from the residents of Cliveden Mansions.
"The second man I observed getting into the taxi "was short, no more than 5'2" in my reckoning.
" And our farmer witness insists that one of the two men he saw was quite the shrimp.
Look, there is this titch of a bloke.
Leslie Taylor is his name.
They call him Squizzy.
- But - But what? He's a petty crim.
He lifts wallets.
Runs bets down the track.
He's not a murderer or a bank robber.
He hasn't got this sort of fancy gig in him.
There's nothing fancy about shooting an unarmed man in the side of the head.
No, but the other stuff - using a phone and false name to book the taxi.
Planning the robbery down in the boondocks.
Disguises.
I mean, this bloke is a is a pickpocket in Little Lon.
- He's not Professor Moriarty.
- What's your connection to him? He's a fiz.
Slips me a bit of information from time to time.
Information? So even though this criminal fellow Taylor fits the description, you don't believe he's our man? He's a short-arse with a big head full of piss and wind.
He comes into this place, he swans around like he owns the joint.
Hang on, gentlemen.
Now, the bloke who booked the taxi used a telephone, correct? - That's right.
- What was the name he used? L'Estrange.
Doll You should have seen it.
I had him eating out of me hand.
He asked me to call him Henry.
He even called me Les.
Les, there's someone to see you.
Who? Sorry, Les.
Mate.
Why? For that young bloke.
And for the kittens.
Here's to Tank.
May he shoot every Hun he meets.
And show those French sheilas how an Aussie bloke does it.
Tankbuster! Harry.
Fuckin' dickhead.
Did you say something, Taylor? I was just asking how's tricks? I hear that you've been getting chummy with no less than Henry Stokes himself.
I might have done a bit of work for him here and there, yeah.
A pickpocket from Little Lon, playing with a big boy.
I hope you ain't overstretching your reach, hmm? Boxing in the wrong div.
I do alright.
But thanks for your concern.
Fuckin' string bean.
Overstretching me reach.
If he knew what I'm capable of, huh? You know, what I've done.
Fuck, everyone here should know who I am.
They should all know, every single Don't think that's such a good idea, Les.
- Just calm down.
- Get him.
- Hey, hey.
- And him.
What's going on here? Brophy, what the fuck? What is this? One tall and fair, the other short and dark.
- You're under arrest.
- Under arrest? What for? Brophy! If this is about the booze, I can cut you in, you know that.
This is a lot more than a bit of slap and tickle.
You've gone a lot further than that.
Leslie Taylor, you are charged with the murder of taxidriver William Haines.
There's a difference between confidence and overconfidence.
Squizzy's greatest enemy wasn't the police, and it wasn't Long Harry Slater.
It was much closer to home.
We have a witness that places both Taylor and Cutmore near the scene.
We have a farmer who saw two men, one of them carrying a brown suitcase, walking in the direction of the car towards the weir, the same weir from which Detective Bruce here retrieved this brown suitcase filled with implements of crime.
We also have an old chap who saw them getting into taxi number 11-0-22 outside Cliveden Mansions at 8am that very day.
He tells us the two men he saw are definitely not fellow residents.
And the accused - Cutmore and Taylor? Typical criminal thugs.
That's Cutmore to a tee, but Taylor, I reckon he's got a bit more going on up top.
Not after he's hanged, he won't.
Squizzy Taylor.
Your lawyer's here.
- I didn't do it.
- Me neither.
- I never killed that taxidriver.
- Me neither.
I was nowhere near Doncaster that day.
My girlfriend will tell you.
I was with her.
Yep, and I was there too.
The police case against you is a mite more substantial.
And Piggott and Brophy are brimming with confidence.
We can't sort it out while we're stuck in here.
Any reason you can't arrange bail, Eugene? £50 for him.
Hold on.
I've got two eyewitnesses.
You can't be serious.
And And £50 for him.
Mr Cutmore.
Pub? Oh, and how, Les.
I could go a beer.
I could murder one, in fact.
You're not worried you'll swing? Not if you swing with me, Annie.
I like my business nice and regular.
Now, a murder charge could be somewhat problematic for you.
- Distracting.
- Henry.
I agree that your average bloke on the street facing the, uh, hangman's noose may regard it as somewhat of a problem.
See, but I, on the other hand, I see me situation in an altogether different complexion.
I see it as a challenge.
So how are we gonna nobble those witnesses? - Snowy! - Ways and means, mate.
How's trade? The Rats had a lean couple of days.
- Everywhere's quiet.
- What the hell is that? Three lines on page five.
Is that all I fuckin' rate? What is with that fuckin' nickname again? - Got my name right, Squizz.
- Shut up.
Come on, fellas.
We've got work to do.
Oh, Mr Farmer! Thank you, Mr Farmer! I beg your pardon? Well, the gentleman sitting there may resemble the shortish man I saw getting into the car that day, but as to it actually being him? Well, now I can't be certain.
You are the matron of the City Watch House? Yes.
And on the night of March 17, the defendants were in the cells there? Yes, they were in adjoining cells three and four.
Did they have any conversation together? They did.
- And did you hear it? - I did.
At about 11pm, prisoner Taylor was feeling jittery about the eyewitnesses ranged against 'em.
Those bloody witnesses.
Les.
Stop tapping.
Can you stop fuckin' tapping? And then he calmed somewhat.
Did Taylor discuss his change of heart with Cutmore? - He did.
- Oi, Snow.
What? Well, the way I see it, those bastards can't very well pot us if the witnesses of theirs can't identify us.
Right.
So how are we gonna do it? Once we've made bail "The bastards can't very well pot us for it "if those witnesses of theirs can't identify us.
" And what did you understand from that? That he meant to get at 'em.
Get at the witnesses.
Dolly worries about me.
She reckons I'm gonna die young.
Someone's bound to put a bullet in me head one day, she reckons.
I just laugh.
She wouldn't be happy if she didn't have anything to worry about.
I wouldn't mind a bullet, or even a blade.
Anything but the rope.
Good old Doll.
Been looking out for me since I was a kid.
It'd be half a day of your time, morning at most.
- You'd be done by lunch.
- This has got sand in it.
What you're asking, Les, I could go to jail for it.
You, go to jail? A respectable, smooth-talking man like you? You said yourself that me out keeps this business running smoothly, alright? - This is to your advantage.
- Really? Seems to me the advantage only flows one way.
Business is a two-way street, Les.
I do something for you, you have to do something for me.
So, what are you offering? A 10% price cut on the sly grog.
Mr Stokes, where were you on the morning of the 29th? I was at the Crystal Cafe, on Bourke Street.
I arrived around 10am.
Did you see anyone you knew there? Yes, Mr Cutmore and Mr Taylor were at a table near the rear, with Miss Dolly Grey.
You saw the accused in Bourke Street, in the city, at 10am? The same time the prosecution claims they were shooting Mr Haines a full 12 miles away in Doncaster? I saw them at 10:00.
They were sharing a pot of tea.
Mr Taylor was reading the newspaper - the 'Argus', I believe.
Squizzy! Squizzy! Squizzy! Squizzy! - This way, Squizzy! - It's the press, Squizzy! Uh, gentlemen, it's Leslie, actually.
Glad to be found not guilty, Squizzy? Glad to suck the sweet air of freedom into me lungs.
Do you have any words for the police, Squizzy? Oh, look, Mr Brophy and Mr Piggott have a job to do.
I know that.
It just seems to include harassing me.
And me name's actually Leslie Has being faced with a death sentence affected you, Squizzy? - Has it changed you? - It's had a powerful impact.
And it's made me truly ponder the meaning of me life.
And will you mend your ways? Well, put it this way.
Whilst you live, live in clover, for when you're dead, you're dead all over.
Squizzy, Squizzy.
One more.
Oh! Sorry.
- Oh.
Hello, sir.
- Hello, Squizzy.
Oh, well - glad to know we're still doing business, Mr Brophy, huh? - No hard feelings? - None.
I'm just gonna screw you for everything while I can.
The coppers don't appreciate being made look stupid, Les.
You shit in your own nest, you'll choke on it.
One day, Brophy.
One day, you'll tell your grandkids you knew Leslie Taylor.
Knock, knock.
Or is there a secret password? This is nice, isn't it? Hey? Lovely.
Very, uh very homely.
Perfect for a little sly grogging to the citizens of Fitzroy.
So you're free to pick pockets again, thanks to Henry Stokes.
You must be giving his dick a pretty solid suck.
No dick sucking involved, Harry.
We're just good friends.
Yes, well, any mate of that bastard, I'll take with a grain of salt.
Check it.
You think I'd sell you watered-down? Harry! You wound me.
You really do.
- Man of me word.
- Good thing too.
Or I'd make you eat them.
So, you doing me the same price you're doing Stokes? - Les! - Arsehole! Les! Calm down! Look, it's not about you.
It's about him trying to put one over Henry Stokes.
They cross the street so they don't walk on the same cobble.
I don't care why.
He's a dickhead.
And I need every penny I can get.
The bastards will send me to the poorhouse.
I was thinking maybe we could pull off a bank job.
Snowy would be in for sure, and we could top up the coffers for all of us in one fell swoop.
No can do, mate.
The jacks are watching me day and night.
I can't take a slash without Brophy or one of his uniforms offering to shake it for me.
Right, and Snowy and Ed tell me it's the same for them, but it's not gonna last forever, right? And I'm planning to put one over them, but until then, we're just gonna have to keep our heads below the battlements.
We could boost a safe, then.
We could roll a bookie.
There's a big race day Fuck it, Gus! I'll come up with the bright idea, OK? But until then, you'll give it a rest.
Trouble is I got a couple of urgent domestic expenses.
Bloody Henry VIII here.
Shouldn't have too many wives.
Well, at least Gus is married.
Some men round here ain't been down the aisle even once.
- How is Mrs Murray? - Which one? The landlord's been going on and on about the rent.
And the butcher wouldn't extend me any more credit.
But now you're home, we can pay them all.
Of course we can.
- Love? - Hmm? How much do we owe exactly? £108, six shillings and tuppence.
Right.
Put your hands up or I'll blow your brains out! I'm a desperate man, and I need all your money! - Sorry.
- I should punch your head in.
Probably for the best I'm in here, then.
What's the name of your accuser? I'll have a chat.
Thanks, mate, but it's it's under control.
I think I'm going to have a shot at defending myself.
Defend yourself with what? Power of the spoken word, mate.
- Gus.
- Mate.
-No, no, no, no.
One word in the teller's ear would be all it takes.
Les, I appreciate it, I really do.
But it's fine.
Let it please the court that regarding the day in question, it is perpetrator of the crime speak with an accent indigenous to those states of the Union opposed to the abomination that is human slavery, that the perpetrator of the crime which bound him hand and foot, thereafter purloining moneys from the safe, spoke with a with a Yankee accent.
What I wish to discover, in the interest of jurisprudence lends itself to rigorous testing of evidence and the golden thread of the assumption of innocence, is was this truly a was this truly a Yankee accent? Beg pardon? I'll repeat the question, shall I? My love.
Come on.
- Don't bend over in the shower.
- Thanks for the tip, Snow.
Alright.
So you you'll come visit me sometime, yeah? - Help me while away the hours? - You can count on it.
I warned him about doing jobs on his own.
QED - that's Latin for "It's not my fault.
" "Dear Gus, Hope this finds you in the clover.
"Sorry I haven't dropped by yet, "but I've been busy, very busy.
"My advice? Keep clear of any of Long Harry's mob.
"And remember, if you stand tall, "no bastard can get you down.
"Meanwhile, I always find it helps "to look back on the good times.
" I can't sleep.
I said, I can't sleep.
Sorry, Gus.
Dolly is always telling me, I make things to complicated.
That's just 'cause she doesn't understand the way me mind works.
You see, I like being the smartest bloke in the room.
Gives me a thrill.
But the biggest thrill is when you dream up an ambitious plan and bang, it comes off.
There's no other feeling like it.
It's better than sex.
It's time we took our relationship to the next level.
I've got a proposal, a way for us both to get ahead a little in these difficult times.
But it's a bit involved.
I've got a proposal for you, Harry, a way for us both to make a quid in these difficult times.
Why would I do a job with you? Well, we ain't ever worked together, Harry.
And why is that, huh? Why haven't the Narrows Gang and the Bourke Street Rats come together? Joined forces like the Spartans and the Persians? The Spartans and the Persians kicked the shit out of each other.
Well, the point is that we're stronger as a team.
What's the plan? A tried and tested one.
First, we use disguises to avoid identification.
And second, we organise a decoy to distract the staff while we snatch the loot.
And third, my personal signature, we chain the door so they can't chase us and call the jacks.
It's brilliant, huh? And who do we use as a fence? - Henry Stokes.
- Stokes? I wouldn't trust him further than that.
He'll get us a good price.
Yes, well, so would plenty of others.
Well, do they have Stokes's clout and his reach? Stokes is a liar and a cheat, and he's from Tasmania! I vouch for him.
What if I agree that one of your blokes is bagman? Matt Daly.
He carries the loot, and he does the deal with Stokes.
Is he reliable? I'll vouch for him.
Mr Brophy, I want to I want to get us back on an even keel.
You know, back to normal.
Show - Show willing.
- How willing? Word on the street is there's gonna be a jewellery robbery.
So the jacks nab Daly before he gets here.
And they get to look like ace crime busters.
Everybody wins.
- Except Matthew Daly.
- Yeah, well.
He'll have to do a spot of time.
But as far as Long Harry's concerned, that's because Daly attracted too much attention and got himself arrested.
How do we make any money out of this? Well, Mad Matt Daly's the decoy, right? Snowy's the one lifting the loot.
And unknown to Matt, he's gonna make the lion's share disappear.
You stuff this up and you'll have every man in town after you.
He's got the bag.
Ready? Let's just possess ourselves with patience.
See where he's headed.
Come on.
Brophy, grab him! What are you doing? Hurry up! - Who are you? - What are you doing here, Daly? - Mr Stokes! - What? Police! Don't move.
Fucking jack! Don't you touch me! Get your hands off me! Hold your horses! Hold your Where is he? Where is the little turd? Hey, no need for name calling, Harry.
I should never have fucking listened to you.
You and your stupid fuckin' schemes.
Harry, it wasn't my fault.
Matt reckons close to a dozen jacks turned up at Stokes's.
And I think he drew them there.
And how do you reckon that, Leslie? Well, he's a thug, Harry.
Stomps along like Jack the Ripper.
Any cop in town would know that he was up to no good, but he was your choice, so Anyway, look, I'm glad you're here, because I need to know that we can depend on him, right? You know, with the jacks.
Are you saying that I would have a filthy dog working for me? No, I'm saying that for all we know, he's in there fizgigged and putting you and me in it right now.
Matt knows how to keep his gob locked, Les.
What bothers me is this.
You see, it says that was taken from Kilpatrick's.
But when the jacks nabbed Matt and Stokes, they only had 300 quid's worth.
Well, that leaves over £1,000 worth of sparklers missing.
- Where have they got to? - I don't know.
Maybe their report's wrong, Harry.
Hey? Or Kilpatrick's are running an insurance scam, eh? - Upping their losses.
- No, no, no, I don't think so.
You see, I think that someone has dudded me.
- Dudded ya? - Yes, dudded me.
And I know who.
Henry fucking Stokes! Yeah, well, what makes you think it's him? Because he is the only prick that I know who has got the sly, calculating brain capable enough of coming up with a scheme like this! I'm tellin' you, Les, if Matt goes down, I am gonna find Stokes, I am going to cut off his head and I am going to shit down his neck! OK, well, we'll sort it out, hey, Harry? You just relax, hey? Take a seat.
Bunny.
You're making me nervous, mate.
- Come on, Doll.
Make 'em a brew.
- Cup of tea? Cup of tea would be great, Doll.
Thank you very much.
Well, have a seat.
Have a seat, everyone.
Squizzy Taylor had learned a thing or two about the court process during his murder trial.
He'd discovered that as part of full disclosure, jury members' names and addresses were posted for all to see.
A few quid to the right jurymen and Stokes's and Daly's chances of acquittal looked a whole lot brighter.
Hopefully, all the bad blood his scheming had caused would soon be water under the bridge.
Mr Stokes, the police claim when they arrived at your business premises, they found rings stolen from Kilpatrick's on your desk.
Mr Stokes, you said in your original statement to police that at no time did Mr Daly offer to sell you rings stolen from Kilpatrick's jeweller's.
Are you now saying he did offer you stolen property? No, he never offered to sell them to me.
We find the defendant not guilty.
Even though his man had been acquitted, Long Harry was far from happy.
There was still the little matter of a missing £1,000.
Happy days, Doll, hey? All's well that ends well.
- You heard from Cutmore yet? - Uh, yeah.
He's got onto the best fence in Sydney, some sheila called Kate Leigh.
He's gonna be back any day now, and our pockets will be that much richer.
Well, well, well.
Stokes the thief with his pet rat.
Be careful.
You might catch fleas.
Hold him.
You can hear me good and clear, can ya? Listen up.
You ain't welcome in Fitzroy no more, Squizzy.
Your good mate over there neither.
No-one that you work for.
No-one who works for you.
Fitzroy, Carlton, Collingwood, it's all my territory.
If I see any of youse north of Victoria Street, I will kill ya.
Hey, Les.
Les! What do you reckon? As a seamstress, do I make a good prossie? Oh, I forgot to tell ya.
I got a card from Tankbuster, all the way from France.
He looks handsome, doesn't he? "Dear Dolly, Greetings from the land of frogs and garlic, "though I haven't seen neither of them, "just mud and more mud.
" You can read it later.
Let's, um Let's do something fun, Les.
Let's go to the pictures.
The only thing I feel like doing is kicking the shit out of Long Harry's fat head.
He really said we weren't to go to Fitzroy anymore? And I'll return the favour.
I'll slit his throat if he comes down here.
You know what I reckon? If you went and saw Harry, bought him a beer, everything would sort out.
Let's just nip it in the bud before someone really gets hurt.
- Before someone gets hurt? - Well He almost split me skull, Doll.
- You brought that on yourself.
- Brought it on meself? Playing people off against each other.
Doublecrossing, triplecrossing.
You're always trying to prove you're smarter than everybody else, and I don't know why - what's it all for? I'll tell you what it's fuckin' for.
Where did this come from, hey? Hey? And this shit? Huh? My mental schemes mean that you don't have to spread your legs day and night, so don't piss on me parade when you're happy enough to take the spoils.
All I'm saying is that someone has got to pull their head in.
Few days ago, there was none of this silly "my territory, your territory".
- It was all just mates.
- Mates? Well, mates don't go kicking you in the head, don't stab you in the back, hey? Fuck you if that's your idea of being mates That's not what I meant! Les, where are you going? Fuck you! Hey, you're a bloody waste of time.
You don't do anything around here! Loves me not.
So don't piss on me parade when you're happy enough to take the spoils.
You know what I reckon? If you went and saw Harry, bought him a beer, everything would sort out.
It would - let's just nip this in the bud before someone really gets hurt.
- What do you want, Doll? - Whisky.
Whisky would be nice.
Look, I know what happened between you and Les didn't go according to plan.
And, look, look, but the way I think of it is that nobody's lost an eye, and you've given out payback to good payback, him and Henry Stokes, and Well, there's no more need for any of this bad blood that's between us.
Dolly? Come and have a drink with me.
Help! Oh.
Thanks, Ma.
Hope you destroyed the horse.
- What horse? - The horse that kicked you.
- Oh.
Nah, not yet.
- Well, you should, Les.
Animal that's gone rogue.
Can't be safe to have round the stables.
Better to be safe than sorry, I say.
Well Who'd have thought a bookie's clerk would be such a dangerous job? - Top-up? - Mmm.
Yeah.
Let me read your leaves first.
- Ma, come on.
- Now, now, Leslie.
You know I got the gift from your gran.
Well, you see the same thing for me every time.
Wedding bells and confetti.
I just read what the leaves say.
A lady.
Bowl me over with a feather.
Oh, she's a special one alright.
She's kind, considerate.
Yeah, she's got her head screwed on alright.
Plenty of common sense.
She's brave too.
And loyal.
She'll stand by you in a hurricane.
Ooh, and see this little piece here? Means she's got a heart made for loving.
You know, she sounds like the perfect girl.
Oh, she is.
The leaves never lie.
Well, won't it be wonderful when you finally meet her? Doll? Doll.
Hey, I'm really sorry about what I said before, eh? I was a real prick, and I know that.
For me? Oh, Les, you shouldn't have.
G'day, mate.
How are ya? - Yeah, what happened to you? - Oh, it doesn't matter.
- How was the Harbour City? - Oh, a shithole.
- It's too bloody hot.
- I know.
And you do alright with the Kilpatrick's bits and bobs? - Oh, you bet I did.
- Good man.
Got over £400 in me kit.
- She asleep, is she? - Nah, she's not here.
Well, I let meself in.
Yeah.
Oi, Taylor! Oh, Doll! Doll, come come Come here.
Oh! What happened? What happened? Shh, shh, shh.
What happened? Hey, what happened? Who did this? Huh? Who did this to you? Dolly.
It's alright.
Did you go to Fitzroy, Doll? We're gonna start a war between Long Harry and Stokes.
Three rival gangs fighting for survival.
Two rival women fighting for love.
Les is my fella.
My Les? No, MY Les.
And one man wants to rule them all.
Australia's first criminal superstar is just getting started.
And then we'll take over this town.
New Underbelly: Squizzy.
Next Sunday.
Well There's three points you gotta consider to take on this sort of enterprise.
First, you need to pick your crew.
They gotta have a range of skills and do as they're told.
Second, timing.
They gotta be where you want them at precisely the moment you want them there.
They get there too soon and they stick out like dog's balls.
Get there too late and, well, the whole thing's down the dunny, isn't it? Then there's the all-important third element.
Someone's gotta be in control.
Someone's gotta see the whole enterprise playing out like a general, directing his troops.
But, ladies and gentlemen the most important thing you need to pull off a job like this, the thing that I have by the bucketload is confidence.
Confidence.
We're gonna turn over a jewellery store, but not any old jewellery store.
We're going top end of town.
We're gonna turn over Drumm's emporium in Collins Street.
Right.
Tank, Snowy, you're guarding the door.
Don't let anybody else in.
And keep your eyes peeled.
There's at least two jacks patrolling the arcade at all times, and they'll be armed.
Gus, you're on the inside.
You gotta keep up the chat.
Wait till I give you the signal, then move fast.
Oh, by the way, I'm gonna wear a disguise.
Doll, you're the decoy.
Just imagine you're a respectable lady.
- Don't drop your 'H's.
- I can't 'elp it.
Doll, come on.
Don't get distracted.
You'll give the game away.
Sorry.
- And just one guinea, sir.
- Right.
It's of the best quality, is it? The finest quality, sir.
Just one moment.
May I help you ladies? The muffineer in your cabinet.
Beautiful quality.
Best out of Birmingham.
Hm.
Do you have any larger? Uh, larger? Also very fine.
The jacks.
Put it away! He hasn't noticed anything.
- Come on.
- Excuse me! Uh, one moment.
This one here - a guinea, you said? - Uh, yes, sir.
That's correct.
- A guinea? - Yes.
- I'm gonna need some change.
- I can supply you with change.
- Do you mind? I have a cold in my head, and I haven't got all day.
Yes, madam.
I'll just be with this gentleman first.
- This is most unsatisfactory.
- Apologies, madam.
- It's a busy spell.
- The cruets behind you.
Uh Yes, madam, they are a very fine article.
From whence did they originate? - Venetian.
- Venice! Marvellous.
Love the canals.
I shall enjoy perusing them.
The finest Wait! Wait! Wait! Somebody! Help! Help! How good was that? How much do you reckon we got? Thousands.
Doll, millions.
Pitch bloody perfect.
The salesman had no idea.
It was perfect.
I was perfect.
I told ya.
I told ya.
I can do anything.
What are you gonna do with your share? Don't know.
I can do whatever we want.
Room for three at this party? - No.
- Snowy.
Mate.
- I could kiss you.
Come here.
- Hey.
How come Gus is carrying the loot? Oh, come on, you square.
We've been through this.
Tankbuster! That was clockwork, mate.
You were clockwork! It was great, wasn't it, eh? Smart.
And no rough stuff.
Doll, get us a drink.
Come on, let's celebrate.
How come Gus is carrying the loot? I told you, mate, he doesn't attract attention.
Suppose someone rolled him? One of Long Harry Slater's boys? - No, Gus can look after himself.
- Oh, yeah, what? Wallop 'em with a book of poems? I should have gone with him.
Right, so you can shoot up Collins Street, huh? And didn't I particularly tell you not to bring a gun? - I just want my fucking haul! - Put the gun away, Snowy.
Ask and ye shall receive! Oh, ye of little faith! Ah, Les, I do believe you have found us the riches of Solomon.
Show us what we risked our necks in broad daylight for.
Deadset bloody legend.
To Les, the bloody little legend, hey? Legend! A legend.
Yeah, I don't mind the sound of that at all.
Jewellery robbery! Police baffled! Jewellery robbery! Police baffled! Drumm's jeweller's has just been turned over.
- Do we know by whom? - No, we do not.
Word is they got away with thousands.
Cheeky.
We don't mind a bit of cheek, do we? Who the bloody hell was it? Dunno.
You know? I dunno.
Henry Stokes? Someone new, then.
New crew? It's lucky it wasn't on our patch.
Otherwise I'd have to hunt them down and cut their fuckin' nuts off.
Oh! Thank you, Raymond.
That's good.
Here.
Bad business, that 'Galla-polli'.
- Gally-what? - You know, over in Turkey.
- Our boys, done over.
- Yeah, well, bloody Poms.
Don't know how to stick by their mates.
Speaking of mates, what the dickens was Snowy doing bringing that shooter to a job? Just showing willing.
Snowy's alright.
Showing that he's bloody loopy.
He'll be the death of ya.
Mate, you just worry about keeping the swag safe.
I'll do the talking.
Leslie Taylor for Mr Stokes.
He's busy.
He'll want to see me.
Might have trouble spotting you in a crowd.
I just thought, you know I thought he'd want to decide for himself.
Wait here.
I could play baccarat, you know.
- With these toffs? - Yeah, if I wanted to.
Yeah, well, I prefer a game of two-up myself.
G'day, Mr Stokes.
Have I got a treat for you.
Thought you were a pickpocket.
Must have very deep pockets.
Oh, we do what we must.
I actually regard myself as cut from your cloth, Mr Stokes.
Pig's arse.
Well, like you, I see further than from me hand to me mouth.
So, what can you do me? - 300? - Quality merchandise.
- I'm not denying.
- Oh, you bet it is.
There's more carats here than South Melbourne Market.
This stuff would fetch more like You reckon we should go back to Drumm's, see if they'll sell 'em for us? No, no, but Well, you know.
Blokes who melt 'em down, recut 'em.
And you clearly don't know that items as hot as these would make them nervous, and that costs.
Well, seeing as we can't do business, I'll be taking my merchandise elsewhere.
Suppose I could see my way to 320.
- 400.
- 340.
- 375.
- 350.
Pleasure doing trade with you, Mr Stokes.
- Or can I call you Henry? - You can whistle 'Dixie'.
I want to go through this all again.
Where's Detective Brophy? John? Freddy! You've come to slum with us, have you? Another pot, please, Clem, and a glass of milk for my lady friend here.
The Drumm jewel robbery.
What have you heard? Come, now, John.
Don't you have more fizgigs than any other officer south of Victoria Street? They've all been afflicted with a terrible case of the shrugs.
What about your habitual jewel thieves? One's doing three to five in Geelong, the other one was last heard of in Hobart, trying to pass off marcasite watches as diamond.
A heist like that doesn't happen out of thin air.
- Needed planning.
- Inside job? The staff all check out.
Someone new in town, maybe? I'm thinking a blue.
Oh, blue is good.
Navy? Navy is a hue that would set off your piercing eyes.
- In a pinstripe.
- A blue pinstripe.
- A blue-and-red pinstripe.
- Blue-and-red.
How audacious! Now, pay attention, class.
What the hell was that? Huh? You bloody little sook.
Watch this.
Huh? Mate, when I was your age, I could pick the ring off a bloke's finger - he wouldn't feel a thing.
Smarten up.
Go work the arcade and work those doors, alright? And do it like you mean it.
Go on.
And here's me favourite bad penny.
Took the words right out of me mouth, Mr Brophy.
- How's tricks? - Can't complain.
Good, 'cause I wouldn't listen.
Now, those boys of yours.
They been flat out like lizards drinking, I hope.
That job up in the arcade, that robbery at Drumm's jeweller's.
- What about it? - You heard anything? Uh, no, just just, uh, what I read in the paper.
It was, um, done in broad daylight, and they got away with thousands.
And a smart enterprise.
Pulled off by a couple of sheilas, if you can credit it.
But it's got a funny smell about it, that job.
Smell of what? Well, for a start, it took real brains to pull it off.
Now, that rules out all the crooks in this city.
Bunch of gutless wonders and bantam roosters, you lot.
But never mind.
I still love ya.
The most important thing you need to pull off a job like this, the thing that I have by the bucketload, is confidence.
Now, that's just another word for balls.
You got clean hands, Bert? Pass us that ribbon? Dumb prick.
He's a thick-arsed, big-bellied bastard, isn't he? - Who? - Bloody Brophy.
Always taking me dosh, looking down on me.
Think your mum'll like yellow? Doll.
I thought roses, on account of And then I thought you know, I could maybe give 'em to her.
I might just, um Dolly.
Well, we've been together for three years, Les.
- She's gotta meet me sometime.
- Oh, of course.
But today's not a good idea.
You know, she's an old busybody.
She'll give you the third degree, ask a hundred questions.
Well, I wouldn't drop me haitches.
Or me daks.
You can drop your daks for me any time.
That tickles.
Oh, roses! Oh, Leslie.
But you always were so poetic.
I got you this too.
A muffineer! It's pure silver.
Have you been spending all your wages on me again? - You know me, Ma.
Lucky punter.
- No, Leslie.
You're not lucky.
You're clever.
And you make the most of your chances.
Isn't that right? - Absolutely.
- Well, that's my boy.
Well, this is lovely, though you know all I really want from you, don't you? - Oh, Ma! - Now, Leslie.
I just want to see my son married to a nice girl who'll give me grandchildren to spoil.
I don't have time for that.
I'm a busy man.
Oh, I know I don't know all the ins and outs of your job, and I'm sure it's very, very important, and you know I couldn't be prouder of my clever boy.
But you're never gonna make your mark in this world as a bookie's clerk, now, are you? I don't usually patronise the Crystal Cafe, but I was feeling kind of lonesome.
What a coincidence.
Miss, uh - Call me Lottie.
- Miss Lottie.
- I'm all alone too.
- Oh.
Well, let's see if we can't be of some comfort to each other.
Squizzy was christened Joseph Theodore Leslie Taylor.
The nickname referred to the fact he was short.
And if that wasn't bad enough, 'squiz' was also slang for a bowel motion.
Nobody likes to be called a little shit, but the moniker would stick for the rest of his life.
You do have the most developed leg muscles I have ever seen.
Well, that'd be my bicycling.
Wouldn't have taken a handsome bloke like you for a delivery boy.
I'm a bank manager.
I manage two branches.
Doncaster and up at Templestowe.
Let me get that.
Doncaster? That's bloody miles away, love.
Nice orchards, but.
Well, fruit-picking season's my busiest time of the year.
These days, I'm cycling delivering the pays to the Templestowe agency.
Oh, really, love? And all that exercise gives me a fearful appetite.
Oh! Oh, well.
You seem to be in a big hurry.
A big, big, big hurry.
Oh! Oh! That was a waste of me time and expertise, Les.
You are so We didn't make any money off him.
I know we didn't.
- I know.
- But But we will.
Because we're gonna rob a bank.
Morning! So, he leaves the Doncaster branch at 10:00 and he cycles down Doncaster Road to Williamsons, right, and then he turns left into Manningham Road, and he follows that all the way down to the crossroads at Templestowe Road - is that right, Gus? Yeah.
All along here, the paddocks are filled with fruit pickers, so I reckon we take him out here, right at the crossroads.
There's nothing there but bloody Jersey cows and sparrows.
And there's bushes up here, for cover.
Where we knock him.
No, only if we have to.
Course we have to.
He's going to see our faces.
No, he won't.
We'll be wearing disguises.
Hang on.
I'm not wearing a frock.
But you look so good in one, Snow.
Les, how exactly do you plan on getting us to Doncaster and back again? Yeah.
It's the back of bloody beyond.
Took hours to walk.
- We use a car.
- But none of us drive.
Burns Motor Taxis.
How much to hire a good car tomorrow morning? And I'd like to travel to Eltham and back.
The usual charge is a shilling a mile and 5-shilling detention fee.
And you're sure it's a good car, a good driver? All our chauffeurs are excellent.
And the driver - how do we, uh, manage him? We knock him once we're back in town, right? - Wrong.
We cut him in.
- But he's a squarehead.
Tank, he's a chauffeur.
Mate, we drop him a couple of quid, he'll drive us to Darwin if we want.
I'm not working with some outsider.
No, I'll sort the taxidriver out.
Jeez, if if we want to do this caper, we need a car and someone to drive it.
Les, I admire your plan, but it's rather Byzantine.
Now, perhaps it's just better if we don't bother.
- Don't bother? - Mmm.
This bank manager carries 500 quid in that bag.
Even split four ways, that's more than a year's wage each.
So we can make a year's wage in a single morning.
And, Gus, you're right.
It is a tricky caper.
And no-one's done it before.
But that is why it's going to work.
Cold, hard cash? It's me favourite kind.
The taxi company isn't gonna like taking its fancy little motor up Little Lon to collect us.
Tank, that is why you're with the smart party.
Cliveden Mansions, East Melbourne, 8am.
You got that? Yes, sir.
And the name of the booking party? Uh, Mr L'Estrange.
Thank you.
Right, and there's one more thing.
There's not enough room in the taxi for all of us.
We're all gonna get a share of the coin, but I'm only gonna use one of you on the day.
Who? Sure Snowy's the right choice for this? I mean, Gus is smarter, and Bert's bigger.
No, Gus is too soft.
Tank's too slow.
Snowy scares people.
- Thought it all out, ain't ya? - Yeah, of course I have.
I'm on top of it all.
- Just leave it be.
- It tickles.
Leave it be, I said.
- Mr L'Estrange? - That's me.
To the countryside, I hear.
Lovely day for it.
Better for taking in the sights.
- What's your name, mate? - Uh, Bill.
You been driving cabs long, Bill? Yeah, no, couple of years.
Won't be much longer, but.
- I'm joining up.
- Is that so? Good on ya.
All me mates are over there.
Figure I shouldn't miss out.
Actually, take Templestowe Road, would you, Bill? You know, it's quicker if we He said take bloody Templestowe Road.
You having a shindig before you head to France, Bill? Oh, I ain't got the moola.
Oh, well, you can't go to war without a party, hey? That's not right.
It's not Australian.
Yeah, I know.
Well Maybe if I kill the Kaiser, the King'll give me a prize and I can have one when I get home.
See, I can't serve meself on account of flat feet, so oh, the least I can do is is make sure you have a decent send-off, Bill.
Hey, fair dinkum? Well, that'd be real bonzer of you, sir.
All you need to do is, uh is help us out with a little something.
No-one gets hurt, no-one loses out, and you get your big shivoo.
I knew there was something off about you the second I saw you.
There's nothing off about the chance to make an easy quid, Bill.
- Please get out.
- Beg your pardon? I won't do what you're asking, so get out.
Please.
Mate, there'll be nothing to link you into this.
It's not right.
It's stealing.
Don't turn your nose up at the chance of a lifetime.
Shut the fuck up and do as he says.
Or I'll give you a new hole to whinge through.
Doesn't have to go this way, alright? You hop back in.
You drive us to Doncaster, we spot our bloke, we do our thing, and in half a jiffy, we're all that much richer and you're off to the front.
Or I can blow your fuckin' scone to kingdom come right now.
Come on, mate.
It's not that hard.
Look the other way for 10 minutes tops.
Bugger this.
What did you do that for? Well, you told me to bring out my shooter if he didn't agree.
To scare him, not to blow his fucking brains out.
Jesus, Snowy! Well, he wouldn't do what you said.
- He wasn't gonna drive us.
- He's certainly not now, is he? Huh? I was talking him round and you shot him.
Snowy.
What a moron! Who you calling a fucking moron? You, you moron.
What, you learned how to drive, have ya? Huh? So we can roll our bank bloke? Gonna drive us back to Melbourne after, are ya? Go on, get his body off the road before someone comes along.
Well Why do I have to do it? 'Cause you shot him.
So, what do we do now? Where you going? I'm taking a constitutional back to Melbourne, thanks to you.
Why don't we hitch? What, so someone can put two and two together between King and Country here? Jeez, you're a nit.
Jeez? What? - Can I have me gun back? - No.
Fuck me, Les.
Not if you were the last bloke on the planet.
Fuck! - Come on, you.
- Fuckin' new suit.
I didn't hear shots or nothing.
I was just coming to see to the fence and I heard voices - two blokes.
You hear what they were saying? They was angry, but.
And then I saw 'em heading across the bottom paddock.
- Towards town? - By way of the weir, yeah.
- Did you get a gander at 'em? - Not their faces.
The tall one, he had one of them straw Panama affairs.
- And the other bloke? - Bit of a titch.
Wore a black bowler.
Well Good on you for dropping in.
Oh, um, one of 'em, the short bloke, he was carrying something.
- What? - A suitcase.
But when they come out of the trees round the weir, he didn't have it no more.
Right.
Well, thanks for dropping in.
One short, one tall.
Not exactly Mr Observant, is he? Detective Bruce, do you know how to swim? - I can manage the 50 yards.
- That should be plenty.
What do you want to do that for? Evidence, Jack.
The key to modern policing.
The key to modern policing is locking up crooks, Fred! Always has been.
The shorter one was in the front.
- How tall was the tall one? - Taller than me.
-5'10"? -5'10".
-5'10".
- Short one? How high? - Well, he was shorter than me.
- 5'6".
- 5 No, no.
-5'2".
-5'2".
-5'2".
Fred! Moustache.
Spectacles.
- And gloves.
- Dress-ups.
Frederick Piggott was ahead of his time.
He believed good police work was purely a matter of science.
John Brophy, on the other hand, was an old-school cop with a nose for character, especially bad character.
Both men would play significant roles in Squizzy's downfall.
"Police have formed the suspicion that taxidriver Haines "was an innocent victim in a cunning plan to rob "either the Doncaster or Upper Templestowe bank "or waylay the bank officer carrying Treasury notes.
"Police say it was a foul scheme "but one requiring great ingenuity.
" I mean, black and white.
- I'm a genius.
- Genius, my arse.
Which is hanging out of me trousers since we didn't make any dosh.
And whose fault was that? Says here he was gonna join up.
He was gonna fight the Fritz.
I need a real drink.
of the Bard.
I gave the kid a choice, Tank.
If he'd if he had have listened to me, he wouldn't have come to any harm.
He was just a foot soldier, you know? I'm a general.
Tactician.
Planner.
If he'd obeyed my rules, he'd be halfway to France right now and we'd be rolling in it, but he missed his opportunity, didn't he? They don't really kill kittens, do they? Oh, yeah, they stab their frickin' eyes out.
The pubs have to shut at 6pm from now on, right? Hip, hip hooray for the new licensing laws, I say.
'Cause if I know the Aussie male's capacity for consuming fermented vegetable products, then I know that your excellent establishment will be getting a lot more new customers come Monday 6pm.
That is, of course, unless they wander down to your competitors.
But why would they, right, when I happen to know a young, enterprising businessman who can supply you with plenty of amber fluid for the right price.
How much? I'm sure we can come to an arrangement.
The pure genius of my scheme is that nobody gets hurt.
The trick's getting our hands on a regular supply of grog.
Well, that requires a long-term arrangement, and the best way to do it is to make sure every bloke along the way gets a handshake.
Wagon driver, foreman, depot manager.
Yep.
Pure genius.
There really is more to you than just a a pickpocket, isn't there? Oh, more strings to me bow than Paganini, Mr Stokes.
Call me Henry.
You're Squizzy, aren't you? Oh, I prefer Leslie.
Me mates call me Les.
Put it there, Les.
Busy.
The new restricted trading hours for pubs, I imagine people will be drinking more coffee.
I thought you'd be applauding 6:00 closing all the way down to the Temperance Union, Fred.
It's a futile law, destined to make the solving of real crime all the more difficult.
Now, to this matter of the Haines taxidriver murder.
This fellow calling himself L'Estrange has booked a cab to pick up from Cliveden Mansions, East Melbourne.
- Who is he? - Who indeed? Surely, he's got to be known to us.
I don't know about you blokes, but all the crims I know haven't got the patience for this sort of job.
Surely it's an out-of-town mob.
Can I have an oolong tea, please, a scone? Can I get a black coffee and a finger bun, thanks? Look, this description you took from the residents of Cliveden Mansions.
"The second man I observed getting into the taxi "was short, no more than 5'2" in my reckoning.
" And our farmer witness insists that one of the two men he saw was quite the shrimp.
Look, there is this titch of a bloke.
Leslie Taylor is his name.
They call him Squizzy.
- But - But what? He's a petty crim.
He lifts wallets.
Runs bets down the track.
He's not a murderer or a bank robber.
He hasn't got this sort of fancy gig in him.
There's nothing fancy about shooting an unarmed man in the side of the head.
No, but the other stuff - using a phone and false name to book the taxi.
Planning the robbery down in the boondocks.
Disguises.
I mean, this bloke is a is a pickpocket in Little Lon.
- He's not Professor Moriarty.
- What's your connection to him? He's a fiz.
Slips me a bit of information from time to time.
Information? So even though this criminal fellow Taylor fits the description, you don't believe he's our man? He's a short-arse with a big head full of piss and wind.
He comes into this place, he swans around like he owns the joint.
Hang on, gentlemen.
Now, the bloke who booked the taxi used a telephone, correct? - That's right.
- What was the name he used? L'Estrange.
Doll You should have seen it.
I had him eating out of me hand.
He asked me to call him Henry.
He even called me Les.
Les, there's someone to see you.
Who? Sorry, Les.
Mate.
Why? For that young bloke.
And for the kittens.
Here's to Tank.
May he shoot every Hun he meets.
And show those French sheilas how an Aussie bloke does it.
Tankbuster! Harry.
Fuckin' dickhead.
Did you say something, Taylor? I was just asking how's tricks? I hear that you've been getting chummy with no less than Henry Stokes himself.
I might have done a bit of work for him here and there, yeah.
A pickpocket from Little Lon, playing with a big boy.
I hope you ain't overstretching your reach, hmm? Boxing in the wrong div.
I do alright.
But thanks for your concern.
Fuckin' string bean.
Overstretching me reach.
If he knew what I'm capable of, huh? You know, what I've done.
Fuck, everyone here should know who I am.
They should all know, every single Don't think that's such a good idea, Les.
- Just calm down.
- Get him.
- Hey, hey.
- And him.
What's going on here? Brophy, what the fuck? What is this? One tall and fair, the other short and dark.
- You're under arrest.
- Under arrest? What for? Brophy! If this is about the booze, I can cut you in, you know that.
This is a lot more than a bit of slap and tickle.
You've gone a lot further than that.
Leslie Taylor, you are charged with the murder of taxidriver William Haines.
There's a difference between confidence and overconfidence.
Squizzy's greatest enemy wasn't the police, and it wasn't Long Harry Slater.
It was much closer to home.
We have a witness that places both Taylor and Cutmore near the scene.
We have a farmer who saw two men, one of them carrying a brown suitcase, walking in the direction of the car towards the weir, the same weir from which Detective Bruce here retrieved this brown suitcase filled with implements of crime.
We also have an old chap who saw them getting into taxi number 11-0-22 outside Cliveden Mansions at 8am that very day.
He tells us the two men he saw are definitely not fellow residents.
And the accused - Cutmore and Taylor? Typical criminal thugs.
That's Cutmore to a tee, but Taylor, I reckon he's got a bit more going on up top.
Not after he's hanged, he won't.
Squizzy Taylor.
Your lawyer's here.
- I didn't do it.
- Me neither.
- I never killed that taxidriver.
- Me neither.
I was nowhere near Doncaster that day.
My girlfriend will tell you.
I was with her.
Yep, and I was there too.
The police case against you is a mite more substantial.
And Piggott and Brophy are brimming with confidence.
We can't sort it out while we're stuck in here.
Any reason you can't arrange bail, Eugene? £50 for him.
Hold on.
I've got two eyewitnesses.
You can't be serious.
And And £50 for him.
Mr Cutmore.
Pub? Oh, and how, Les.
I could go a beer.
I could murder one, in fact.
You're not worried you'll swing? Not if you swing with me, Annie.
I like my business nice and regular.
Now, a murder charge could be somewhat problematic for you.
- Distracting.
- Henry.
I agree that your average bloke on the street facing the, uh, hangman's noose may regard it as somewhat of a problem.
See, but I, on the other hand, I see me situation in an altogether different complexion.
I see it as a challenge.
So how are we gonna nobble those witnesses? - Snowy! - Ways and means, mate.
How's trade? The Rats had a lean couple of days.
- Everywhere's quiet.
- What the hell is that? Three lines on page five.
Is that all I fuckin' rate? What is with that fuckin' nickname again? - Got my name right, Squizz.
- Shut up.
Come on, fellas.
We've got work to do.
Oh, Mr Farmer! Thank you, Mr Farmer! I beg your pardon? Well, the gentleman sitting there may resemble the shortish man I saw getting into the car that day, but as to it actually being him? Well, now I can't be certain.
You are the matron of the City Watch House? Yes.
And on the night of March 17, the defendants were in the cells there? Yes, they were in adjoining cells three and four.
Did they have any conversation together? They did.
- And did you hear it? - I did.
At about 11pm, prisoner Taylor was feeling jittery about the eyewitnesses ranged against 'em.
Those bloody witnesses.
Les.
Stop tapping.
Can you stop fuckin' tapping? And then he calmed somewhat.
Did Taylor discuss his change of heart with Cutmore? - He did.
- Oi, Snow.
What? Well, the way I see it, those bastards can't very well pot us if the witnesses of theirs can't identify us.
Right.
So how are we gonna do it? Once we've made bail "The bastards can't very well pot us for it "if those witnesses of theirs can't identify us.
" And what did you understand from that? That he meant to get at 'em.
Get at the witnesses.
Dolly worries about me.
She reckons I'm gonna die young.
Someone's bound to put a bullet in me head one day, she reckons.
I just laugh.
She wouldn't be happy if she didn't have anything to worry about.
I wouldn't mind a bullet, or even a blade.
Anything but the rope.
Good old Doll.
Been looking out for me since I was a kid.
It'd be half a day of your time, morning at most.
- You'd be done by lunch.
- This has got sand in it.
What you're asking, Les, I could go to jail for it.
You, go to jail? A respectable, smooth-talking man like you? You said yourself that me out keeps this business running smoothly, alright? - This is to your advantage.
- Really? Seems to me the advantage only flows one way.
Business is a two-way street, Les.
I do something for you, you have to do something for me.
So, what are you offering? A 10% price cut on the sly grog.
Mr Stokes, where were you on the morning of the 29th? I was at the Crystal Cafe, on Bourke Street.
I arrived around 10am.
Did you see anyone you knew there? Yes, Mr Cutmore and Mr Taylor were at a table near the rear, with Miss Dolly Grey.
You saw the accused in Bourke Street, in the city, at 10am? The same time the prosecution claims they were shooting Mr Haines a full 12 miles away in Doncaster? I saw them at 10:00.
They were sharing a pot of tea.
Mr Taylor was reading the newspaper - the 'Argus', I believe.
Squizzy! Squizzy! Squizzy! Squizzy! - This way, Squizzy! - It's the press, Squizzy! Uh, gentlemen, it's Leslie, actually.
Glad to be found not guilty, Squizzy? Glad to suck the sweet air of freedom into me lungs.
Do you have any words for the police, Squizzy? Oh, look, Mr Brophy and Mr Piggott have a job to do.
I know that.
It just seems to include harassing me.
And me name's actually Leslie Has being faced with a death sentence affected you, Squizzy? - Has it changed you? - It's had a powerful impact.
And it's made me truly ponder the meaning of me life.
And will you mend your ways? Well, put it this way.
Whilst you live, live in clover, for when you're dead, you're dead all over.
Squizzy, Squizzy.
One more.
Oh! Sorry.
- Oh.
Hello, sir.
- Hello, Squizzy.
Oh, well - glad to know we're still doing business, Mr Brophy, huh? - No hard feelings? - None.
I'm just gonna screw you for everything while I can.
The coppers don't appreciate being made look stupid, Les.
You shit in your own nest, you'll choke on it.
One day, Brophy.
One day, you'll tell your grandkids you knew Leslie Taylor.
Knock, knock.
Or is there a secret password? This is nice, isn't it? Hey? Lovely.
Very, uh very homely.
Perfect for a little sly grogging to the citizens of Fitzroy.
So you're free to pick pockets again, thanks to Henry Stokes.
You must be giving his dick a pretty solid suck.
No dick sucking involved, Harry.
We're just good friends.
Yes, well, any mate of that bastard, I'll take with a grain of salt.
Check it.
You think I'd sell you watered-down? Harry! You wound me.
You really do.
- Man of me word.
- Good thing too.
Or I'd make you eat them.
So, you doing me the same price you're doing Stokes? - Les! - Arsehole! Les! Calm down! Look, it's not about you.
It's about him trying to put one over Henry Stokes.
They cross the street so they don't walk on the same cobble.
I don't care why.
He's a dickhead.
And I need every penny I can get.
The bastards will send me to the poorhouse.
I was thinking maybe we could pull off a bank job.
Snowy would be in for sure, and we could top up the coffers for all of us in one fell swoop.
No can do, mate.
The jacks are watching me day and night.
I can't take a slash without Brophy or one of his uniforms offering to shake it for me.
Right, and Snowy and Ed tell me it's the same for them, but it's not gonna last forever, right? And I'm planning to put one over them, but until then, we're just gonna have to keep our heads below the battlements.
We could boost a safe, then.
We could roll a bookie.
There's a big race day Fuck it, Gus! I'll come up with the bright idea, OK? But until then, you'll give it a rest.
Trouble is I got a couple of urgent domestic expenses.
Bloody Henry VIII here.
Shouldn't have too many wives.
Well, at least Gus is married.
Some men round here ain't been down the aisle even once.
- How is Mrs Murray? - Which one? The landlord's been going on and on about the rent.
And the butcher wouldn't extend me any more credit.
But now you're home, we can pay them all.
Of course we can.
- Love? - Hmm? How much do we owe exactly? £108, six shillings and tuppence.
Right.
Put your hands up or I'll blow your brains out! I'm a desperate man, and I need all your money! - Sorry.
- I should punch your head in.
Probably for the best I'm in here, then.
What's the name of your accuser? I'll have a chat.
Thanks, mate, but it's it's under control.
I think I'm going to have a shot at defending myself.
Defend yourself with what? Power of the spoken word, mate.
- Gus.
- Mate.
-No, no, no, no.
One word in the teller's ear would be all it takes.
Les, I appreciate it, I really do.
But it's fine.
Let it please the court that regarding the day in question, it is perpetrator of the crime speak with an accent indigenous to those states of the Union opposed to the abomination that is human slavery, that the perpetrator of the crime which bound him hand and foot, thereafter purloining moneys from the safe, spoke with a with a Yankee accent.
What I wish to discover, in the interest of jurisprudence lends itself to rigorous testing of evidence and the golden thread of the assumption of innocence, is was this truly a was this truly a Yankee accent? Beg pardon? I'll repeat the question, shall I? My love.
Come on.
- Don't bend over in the shower.
- Thanks for the tip, Snow.
Alright.
So you you'll come visit me sometime, yeah? - Help me while away the hours? - You can count on it.
I warned him about doing jobs on his own.
QED - that's Latin for "It's not my fault.
" "Dear Gus, Hope this finds you in the clover.
"Sorry I haven't dropped by yet, "but I've been busy, very busy.
"My advice? Keep clear of any of Long Harry's mob.
"And remember, if you stand tall, "no bastard can get you down.
"Meanwhile, I always find it helps "to look back on the good times.
" I can't sleep.
I said, I can't sleep.
Sorry, Gus.
Dolly is always telling me, I make things to complicated.
That's just 'cause she doesn't understand the way me mind works.
You see, I like being the smartest bloke in the room.
Gives me a thrill.
But the biggest thrill is when you dream up an ambitious plan and bang, it comes off.
There's no other feeling like it.
It's better than sex.
It's time we took our relationship to the next level.
I've got a proposal, a way for us both to get ahead a little in these difficult times.
But it's a bit involved.
I've got a proposal for you, Harry, a way for us both to make a quid in these difficult times.
Why would I do a job with you? Well, we ain't ever worked together, Harry.
And why is that, huh? Why haven't the Narrows Gang and the Bourke Street Rats come together? Joined forces like the Spartans and the Persians? The Spartans and the Persians kicked the shit out of each other.
Well, the point is that we're stronger as a team.
What's the plan? A tried and tested one.
First, we use disguises to avoid identification.
And second, we organise a decoy to distract the staff while we snatch the loot.
And third, my personal signature, we chain the door so they can't chase us and call the jacks.
It's brilliant, huh? And who do we use as a fence? - Henry Stokes.
- Stokes? I wouldn't trust him further than that.
He'll get us a good price.
Yes, well, so would plenty of others.
Well, do they have Stokes's clout and his reach? Stokes is a liar and a cheat, and he's from Tasmania! I vouch for him.
What if I agree that one of your blokes is bagman? Matt Daly.
He carries the loot, and he does the deal with Stokes.
Is he reliable? I'll vouch for him.
Mr Brophy, I want to I want to get us back on an even keel.
You know, back to normal.
Show - Show willing.
- How willing? Word on the street is there's gonna be a jewellery robbery.
So the jacks nab Daly before he gets here.
And they get to look like ace crime busters.
Everybody wins.
- Except Matthew Daly.
- Yeah, well.
He'll have to do a spot of time.
But as far as Long Harry's concerned, that's because Daly attracted too much attention and got himself arrested.
How do we make any money out of this? Well, Mad Matt Daly's the decoy, right? Snowy's the one lifting the loot.
And unknown to Matt, he's gonna make the lion's share disappear.
You stuff this up and you'll have every man in town after you.
He's got the bag.
Ready? Let's just possess ourselves with patience.
See where he's headed.
Come on.
Brophy, grab him! What are you doing? Hurry up! - Who are you? - What are you doing here, Daly? - Mr Stokes! - What? Police! Don't move.
Fucking jack! Don't you touch me! Get your hands off me! Hold your horses! Hold your Where is he? Where is the little turd? Hey, no need for name calling, Harry.
I should never have fucking listened to you.
You and your stupid fuckin' schemes.
Harry, it wasn't my fault.
Matt reckons close to a dozen jacks turned up at Stokes's.
And I think he drew them there.
And how do you reckon that, Leslie? Well, he's a thug, Harry.
Stomps along like Jack the Ripper.
Any cop in town would know that he was up to no good, but he was your choice, so Anyway, look, I'm glad you're here, because I need to know that we can depend on him, right? You know, with the jacks.
Are you saying that I would have a filthy dog working for me? No, I'm saying that for all we know, he's in there fizgigged and putting you and me in it right now.
Matt knows how to keep his gob locked, Les.
What bothers me is this.
You see, it says that was taken from Kilpatrick's.
But when the jacks nabbed Matt and Stokes, they only had 300 quid's worth.
Well, that leaves over £1,000 worth of sparklers missing.
- Where have they got to? - I don't know.
Maybe their report's wrong, Harry.
Hey? Or Kilpatrick's are running an insurance scam, eh? - Upping their losses.
- No, no, no, I don't think so.
You see, I think that someone has dudded me.
- Dudded ya? - Yes, dudded me.
And I know who.
Henry fucking Stokes! Yeah, well, what makes you think it's him? Because he is the only prick that I know who has got the sly, calculating brain capable enough of coming up with a scheme like this! I'm tellin' you, Les, if Matt goes down, I am gonna find Stokes, I am going to cut off his head and I am going to shit down his neck! OK, well, we'll sort it out, hey, Harry? You just relax, hey? Take a seat.
Bunny.
You're making me nervous, mate.
- Come on, Doll.
Make 'em a brew.
- Cup of tea? Cup of tea would be great, Doll.
Thank you very much.
Well, have a seat.
Have a seat, everyone.
Squizzy Taylor had learned a thing or two about the court process during his murder trial.
He'd discovered that as part of full disclosure, jury members' names and addresses were posted for all to see.
A few quid to the right jurymen and Stokes's and Daly's chances of acquittal looked a whole lot brighter.
Hopefully, all the bad blood his scheming had caused would soon be water under the bridge.
Mr Stokes, the police claim when they arrived at your business premises, they found rings stolen from Kilpatrick's on your desk.
Mr Stokes, you said in your original statement to police that at no time did Mr Daly offer to sell you rings stolen from Kilpatrick's jeweller's.
Are you now saying he did offer you stolen property? No, he never offered to sell them to me.
We find the defendant not guilty.
Even though his man had been acquitted, Long Harry was far from happy.
There was still the little matter of a missing £1,000.
Happy days, Doll, hey? All's well that ends well.
- You heard from Cutmore yet? - Uh, yeah.
He's got onto the best fence in Sydney, some sheila called Kate Leigh.
He's gonna be back any day now, and our pockets will be that much richer.
Well, well, well.
Stokes the thief with his pet rat.
Be careful.
You might catch fleas.
Hold him.
You can hear me good and clear, can ya? Listen up.
You ain't welcome in Fitzroy no more, Squizzy.
Your good mate over there neither.
No-one that you work for.
No-one who works for you.
Fitzroy, Carlton, Collingwood, it's all my territory.
If I see any of youse north of Victoria Street, I will kill ya.
Hey, Les.
Les! What do you reckon? As a seamstress, do I make a good prossie? Oh, I forgot to tell ya.
I got a card from Tankbuster, all the way from France.
He looks handsome, doesn't he? "Dear Dolly, Greetings from the land of frogs and garlic, "though I haven't seen neither of them, "just mud and more mud.
" You can read it later.
Let's, um Let's do something fun, Les.
Let's go to the pictures.
The only thing I feel like doing is kicking the shit out of Long Harry's fat head.
He really said we weren't to go to Fitzroy anymore? And I'll return the favour.
I'll slit his throat if he comes down here.
You know what I reckon? If you went and saw Harry, bought him a beer, everything would sort out.
Let's just nip it in the bud before someone really gets hurt.
- Before someone gets hurt? - Well He almost split me skull, Doll.
- You brought that on yourself.
- Brought it on meself? Playing people off against each other.
Doublecrossing, triplecrossing.
You're always trying to prove you're smarter than everybody else, and I don't know why - what's it all for? I'll tell you what it's fuckin' for.
Where did this come from, hey? Hey? And this shit? Huh? My mental schemes mean that you don't have to spread your legs day and night, so don't piss on me parade when you're happy enough to take the spoils.
All I'm saying is that someone has got to pull their head in.
Few days ago, there was none of this silly "my territory, your territory".
- It was all just mates.
- Mates? Well, mates don't go kicking you in the head, don't stab you in the back, hey? Fuck you if that's your idea of being mates That's not what I meant! Les, where are you going? Fuck you! Hey, you're a bloody waste of time.
You don't do anything around here! Loves me not.
So don't piss on me parade when you're happy enough to take the spoils.
You know what I reckon? If you went and saw Harry, bought him a beer, everything would sort out.
It would - let's just nip this in the bud before someone really gets hurt.
- What do you want, Doll? - Whisky.
Whisky would be nice.
Look, I know what happened between you and Les didn't go according to plan.
And, look, look, but the way I think of it is that nobody's lost an eye, and you've given out payback to good payback, him and Henry Stokes, and Well, there's no more need for any of this bad blood that's between us.
Dolly? Come and have a drink with me.
Help! Oh.
Thanks, Ma.
Hope you destroyed the horse.
- What horse? - The horse that kicked you.
- Oh.
Nah, not yet.
- Well, you should, Les.
Animal that's gone rogue.
Can't be safe to have round the stables.
Better to be safe than sorry, I say.
Well Who'd have thought a bookie's clerk would be such a dangerous job? - Top-up? - Mmm.
Yeah.
Let me read your leaves first.
- Ma, come on.
- Now, now, Leslie.
You know I got the gift from your gran.
Well, you see the same thing for me every time.
Wedding bells and confetti.
I just read what the leaves say.
A lady.
Bowl me over with a feather.
Oh, she's a special one alright.
She's kind, considerate.
Yeah, she's got her head screwed on alright.
Plenty of common sense.
She's brave too.
And loyal.
She'll stand by you in a hurricane.
Ooh, and see this little piece here? Means she's got a heart made for loving.
You know, she sounds like the perfect girl.
Oh, she is.
The leaves never lie.
Well, won't it be wonderful when you finally meet her? Doll? Doll.
Hey, I'm really sorry about what I said before, eh? I was a real prick, and I know that.
For me? Oh, Les, you shouldn't have.
G'day, mate.
How are ya? - Yeah, what happened to you? - Oh, it doesn't matter.
- How was the Harbour City? - Oh, a shithole.
- It's too bloody hot.
- I know.
And you do alright with the Kilpatrick's bits and bobs? - Oh, you bet I did.
- Good man.
Got over £400 in me kit.
- She asleep, is she? - Nah, she's not here.
Well, I let meself in.
Yeah.
Oi, Taylor! Oh, Doll! Doll, come come Come here.
Oh! What happened? What happened? Shh, shh, shh.
What happened? Hey, what happened? Who did this? Huh? Who did this to you? Dolly.
It's alright.
Did you go to Fitzroy, Doll? We're gonna start a war between Long Harry and Stokes.
Three rival gangs fighting for survival.
Two rival women fighting for love.
Les is my fella.
My Les? No, MY Les.
And one man wants to rule them all.
Australia's first criminal superstar is just getting started.
And then we'll take over this town.
New Underbelly: Squizzy.
Next Sunday.