CECILIA: You and Vinnie—the “Detective” and the “Lone Ranger”. Did you fool everyone or just each other?

CARTER: Look—“Miss Priss”—Did he ever talk to you about these photographs? Did he ever mention where he might have hid them?

CECILIA: I don’t think they were as vital to him as they are to you. The only reason he showed them to me was to share something about his past.

CARTER: Sure.

CECILIA: What?

CARTER: You don’t actually believe that, do you? A man shows you a bunch of obscene pictures in order to “share something about his past”? Are you kidding?

CECILIA: He showed them to me as examples of his work. That’s all.

CARTER: Why are you so thick, Cecilia? Missouri’s raised some very shrewd citizens over the decades. Why aren’t you one of them?

CECILIA: You must be quite ruthless in business too, I suppose.

CARTER: Oh yeah, I’m a regular cut-throat.

CARTER’s cellular phone starts buzzing, inside his briefcase. Pause. They both stare at the briefcase.

CECILIA: Your briefcase is buzzing.

CARTER stands up and staggers slightly from the booze, then pulls himself together and moves to the briefcase. He stands over it and stares at it. Pause.

CECILIA: Maybe it’s your buddy.

CARTER squats down, opens briefcase and answers phone. As he does this, lights come up in a dim pool on SIMMS, seated at his desk, on the phone, stage left. No card.

CARTER (on phone): Yeah.

SIMMS (on phone, stage left): We’ve got a little problem here, Carter.

CARTER: Who is this?

CARTER stands slowly. CECILIA continues with dishes.

SIMMS: “Ames”. Your man in the Blue Grass.

CARTER: What’re you doing calling me here!

SIMMS: Seems your boy has jumped clean across the line. State lines, to be exact.

CARTER: What boy? I’ve told you never to try to get ahold of me! How’d you get this number?

SIMMS: Your boy, “Vincent T. Webb”. He’s peddling some very classified material here. Thought you might be interested.

CARTER: What material? What’re you talking about? He’s out here! I just saw him!

SIMMS: Well, he’s got a very convincing double then.

CARTER: He came to you?

SIMMS: In the flesh.

CARTER: What’s he want?

SIMMS: Three guesses.

CARTER: Don’t try to pull anything on me, Simms!

SIMMS: I just thought maybe you’d like to know what’s on the open market. I might be able to sell you a share.

SIMMS hangs up softly. Lights dim on him. CARTER stays on phone.

CARTER: SIMMS! HEY! HELLO! SIMMS! (He slams phone back into briefcase.) Lousy, goddamn scummy bastard!

CARTER moves back to bottle and drinks.

CECILIA (at sink): Who was it?

CARTER: Just—a client. Business.

CECILIA: Simms?

CARTER: What?

CECILIA: Who’s Simms?

CARTER: Why don’t you just leave now. There’s no point in you being here anymore. Vinnie’s not here and—