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THE CLUB. INT. EL HAVANA—NIGHT
Who says money can’t buy happiness? It had certainly better, especially when a cocktail in this establishment costs upwards of three clams. Torch singer June Holliday (Jennifer Hudson) warms up her pipes with “My Man (Is No Longer Around)” for a roomful of Toluca Lake swells (from left: Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington, Adam Beach, Amy Adams, and Derek Luke), none of whom has a motive in the slaying of Oscar Slade, which is exactly what makes them suspicious. The only one seemingly not enjoying himself this evening is Confidential photographer Sam Brady (James McAvoy), but he revels in misery, which means he’s content in his own way. Is that cigarette girl (Evan Rachel Wood) really a cigarette girl? Are her intentions as dark as those chocolates?
Sam: Or is it that those chocolates are as sweet as the look in your eye?
Cigarette Girl: Sorry, Sam. They’re caramels.

THE CRIME SCENE. EXT. SUNSET & VERDUGO—NIGHT—RAIN
On a hard bed of wet L.A. pavement, Oscar (Bruce Willis) has begun his eternal rest. Sweet dreams, detective. Someone has seen fit to tip off shutterbug Sam Brady (James McAvoy), formerly of The Sun, lately of Confidential. The doll with the .44 (Kirsten Dunst) appears to be none other than Laura Lydeker, an heiress whose father owns half the lemon trees in the state of California and whose mother owns the other half. Laura says she has no idea how she ended up here with a pistol in her hand. “I’ve never been fond of guns,” she tells the police. “They make an awful racket.”
She also says she’s not sure she’s Laura Lydeker. It seems she has suffered a light blow to the skull. The only thing she’s certain of is that she would like to slip into something nice and dry, preferably a martini—gin, with a kiss of Benzedrine. Funny, though, the bullets in her pistol don’t match the lead souvenirs in Oscar’s back.