eduardo. rama.
wilson?
i didn't expect anyone.
i mean, what has it been -- six months?
i didn't even know who i was writing to -- just someone with the same last name. she never talked about any family.
huh?
now, wait up a second, man.
i never said nothin' about nothin' like that. no, no, no. that's not what i wrote to you.
look, i sent you that newspaper clipping, all right? i told you what i know. it was an accident. i didn't say anything about anybody being "snuffed."
terry valentine.
i dunno. what's he gonna say? they had a fight that night, she drove away, she was upset? i don't even know the guy. don't get me wrong, jenny and me were friends, but we didn't travel in the same social circles. she had her life, i had mine.
valentine came into the restaurant where i work with jenny a couple times. he's a money guy. jenny would say, hey, here's my friend eddie and he would shake my hand and everything, but he wouldn't even see me, you know what i mean.
there was an investigation, okay? the car was totalled. jennifer was .  her neck was broken. on impact, they said. so she wouldn't have .  felt the effects of the fire. it happens up there. happens a lot. what more can i tell you.
i'm just sayin' -- it was a steep hillside. there was no moon that night .
coulda happened to anyone, man. i never knew her to be reckless. i mean, sure, she would smoke a little grass, or something, have a few drinks. but that's it, nothing more than that.
i dunno .  maybe they do.
boomerang.
i knew when i was droppin' that letter into the mail slot it was gonna come back and smack me in the face. i did my time, okay? my sister, her ol' man's up in chino right now doin' eight years.
you kiddin', man? i don't need a wife and screamin' kids. i still got my youth.
i go to work, try to keep my life together, put all that shit behind me, man. what d'you want from me.
couple weeks before she died, jennifer asked me to drive her downtown. said she was meeting -- her boyfriend -- valentine. but i think she was looking for him.
that's what i thought, man. but it was not a hotel or nothin' that we went to. it was someplace else.
bad place, man. bad people. some guys loading some trucks. some kinda deal goin' down. i don't know and i don't care. maybe they're shipping fava beans to eskimos.
valentine wasn't even there. if he was into something, if she was involved -- who can say. but i'll tell you something. she stood in front of these dudes, man. eyeballing them. checking them out. i felt like she was covering my ass that day.
i drove her back to valentine's house.
he was standing outside waiting for her. that's the only other time i ever saw him. last time i saw her.
what you gonna do, man? you gonna go to the cops?
those streets up in the hills, man. gotta be real careful, keep your eye on the ball. two o'clock in the morning, it's dark, your mind is all agitated, you're drivin' a little too fast .  those curves don't kid around.
you should talk to elaine. that was her best friend.
she didn't know what to say. i thought someone should say something. to someone. with me it was, i don't know -- jenny liked me for some reason. i felt like i owed her.
not me, man. i'm no drug dealer, what you think.
i already told you, man. corcoran. know what that is? state prison.
but that's not me anymore. that's when i was into the gang lifestyle. that's not who i am now. five years in the joint -- that's it for me, man.
go home, man. get on a plane.
you're kiddin' me, right?
these are not guys you can just go run a number on, man.
are you a resident of california? you gonna fill out forms, man? do the background check? go through a three-day waiting period?
probation? man, you crazy. they shouldn't've let you outta your country, much less prison.
as if resigned and mulling the problem over:
under the table?
lookin' good.
what'd you call that -- the protector?
cq what?
he don't have a concealed weapons permit.
not me, man.
you hadda show up on a weekend. this weekend. wouldn't've even been a gun show .  for another month.
now what. you gonna take your new arsenal, go visit terry valentine, just like that? boom bam boom.
five years, i think. long time.
jenny told me she met him at the beach. got blinded by his smile. you believe that shit? son of a bitch never smiled at me. buried her at a "private" service. private for who. him?
he came in with jenny to the restaurant where i work. that's not where they met.
no, no -- jenny used to work as a waitress. before she met him. but that's not where she met me. not in my restaurant.
oh, jenny was in my acting class.
told you you wouldn't be able to see through that gate.
who'd you butcher at the house?
huh?
what?
has he?
that was one of them?
those aren't guards. they're valets.
valets. they park cars. he's having a party.
i thought you just wanted to check out the house, man.
no one else is even here yet.
got a coke?
if you could afford a house like this you would buy a house like this.
faith.
okay.
you goin' back inside?
you steady on, man. what the fuck else did you do back there.
why didn't you just kill him, you had the chance.
too easy?
you think a fuckin' guy like that ever will? what more do you want, man?
calls frantically to wilson from their car.
c'mon, man! c'mon!
what d'you say, elaine?
same.
last time i saw you, weren't you up for some equity-waiver thing?
i was gonna be in that michael mann movie, you know -- with pacino and deniro. got three callbacks.
didn't get it.
not no more, they ain't. i quit that acting shit, man.
hell, no. i started writing.
i've been wondering something.
do you have any friends, man?
what post office?
hey, elaine. you even know what he's saying half the time?
 reminds me of jennifer.
i thought maybe you just came for the ride.
he puts the gun in his jacket and slides away.