UM TRECHO DE MILLER’S CROSSING

Roteiro por Joel e Ethan Coen

Um trecho:

24.  INT   APARTMENT

As Verna gives up and Tom enters.

Verna walks over to the phone.  As she dials, Tom tosses
his hat onto a chair and checks the apartment to see if
they're alone.

			Verna
	Hello, officer, I'd like to report an intruder at
	346 West--

Tom grabs the phone away from her.

			Tom
	Who's this?. . . 'Lo, Shad, Tom Duchaisne here.
	We won't be needing any today. . . That's right,
	my mother.  She didn't recognize me.  Lemme talk
	to Mulvaney.

He takes a flask out of his packet and looks across the
room towards Verna.

	. . . Miss me?

			Verna
	Drop dead.

We hear a voice barking through the line and Tom turns back
to the phone.

			Tom
	. . . 'Lo Sean, tell O'Car to send a car over to
	Leo's tonight.  If we're going to be banging away
	at Caspar we ought to be ready for him to bang
	back. . . Yeah.

He hangs up the phone and tips the flask back, draining the
last drop.

			Verna
	What do you want?

Tom is crossing to the bar.

			Tom
	I was in the neighborhood, feeling a little
	daffy.  Thought I'd drop in for an apperitif.

He pours himself a drink.

	. . . Rug Daniels is dead.

			Verna
	Gee, that's tough.

			Tom
	Don't get hysterical.  I've had enough excitement
	for one nigit without a dame going all weepy on
	me.

			Verna
	I barely knew the gentleman.

			Tom
	Rug?  Bit of a shakedown artist.  Not above the
	occasional grift, but you'd understand that.  All
	in all not a bad guy, if looks, brains and
	personality don't count.

			Verna
	You better hope they don't.

He gives her a sick grin.

			Tom
	. . . Yeah well, we're none of us the saint I
	hear your brother is.

			Verna
	Who killed him?

			Tom
	Leo thinks Caspar did.

			Verna
	But you know better.

			Tom
	I do now.  Caspar just tried to buy me into
	settling his tiff with Leo, which held hardly do
	if he was waging war.  So I figure you killed
	him, Angel.  You or Saint Bernard.

			Verna
	Why would I--or my brother--kill Rug Daniels or
	anybody else?

			Tom
	Rug was following you.  He knew about you and me.
	That wouldn't help your play with Leo, would it?

He looks at her.  She holds his gaze.

			Verna
	You think I murdered someone.  Come on, Tom, you
	know me a little.

			Tom
	Nobody knows anybody--not that well.

			Verna
	You know or you wouldn't be here.

			Tom
	Not at all, sugar.  I came to hear your side of
	the story--how horrible Rug was, how he goaded
	you into it, how he tried to shake you down--

			Verna
	That's not why you came either.

Tom shrugs.

			Tom
	Tell me why I came.

Verna looks at him.

			Verna
	The oldest reason there is.

			Tom
	There are friendlier places to drink.

			Verna
	Why can't you admit it?

			Tom
	Admit what?

			Verna
	Admit you don't like me seeing Lee because you're
	jealous.  Admit it isn't all cool calculation
	with you--that you've got a heart--even if it's
	small and feeble and you can't remember the last
	time you used it.

			Tom
	If I'd known we were going to cast our feelings
	into words I'd have memorized the Song of
	Solomon.

Verna smiles.

			Verna
	. . . Maybe that's why I like you, Tom.  I've
	never met anyone made being a sonofabitch such a
	point of pride.

She turns to walk across the room.

	. . . Though one day you'll pay a crice for it.

Tom grabs her wrist.

			Tom
	Okay, Verna.  But until then, let's get stinko.

He draws her close.

			Verna
	. . . Let's do something else first.

She reaches up, takes off his hat, and tosses it casually
away.  We pan with the hat to where it lands on the floor,
in front of a curtained window.

			Tom  (off)
	Yeah.  Let's do plenty.

…