Possible Loves (Amores Possíveis)

Let me get this straight. You say you're the caretaker of the building?

l... (Mutters a response)

What have you got for me, Williams?

Break-in. Homicide.

That's the fifth one this week. Must be a gang war.

This one's a...little different, chief.

Why? What did they get?

His brain.

- What? - That's all they took.

His brain.

Holy shit.

- He had $1 ,000 in his pocket. - Holy shit.

A broker. Barber.

George Barber.

We're running a background check.

Where's the top of his head?

Um... Right here, chief.

What did they use? A Skil Saw?

There are no abrasions.

Can you get any money for a brain?

Not that l know of.

Check all the hospitals, especially the university clinic.

Give me a background check as soon as possible.

Yes, sir.

What are you doing?

Thinking.

Running over some possibilities.

Have fun.

# MELTORME: Long Ago And Far Away

# You're here at last

# Chills run up and down my spine...

Do you mind if l sit here?

No, go ahead.

Did you see that article about the magnetised babies?

No.

What about those missing brains?

What paper was this in?

The National Enquirer.

- l don't read the Enquirer. - Well, l do...

..sometimes...for a joke.

Those guys have some imagination.

l'm George.

Joyce.

l've seen you somewhere before.

l don't think so.

Are you from the city?

l grew up in a little northern town. You probably wouldn't have heard of it.

- What's it called? - Novar.

Really? l grew up there too.

What part of Novar?

East Lake. Er...right out near the filling station.

- You went to school there? - Sure.

- What did you say your name was? - George Barber.

- lt's funny, l don't remember you. - Well, l looked...

very different back then.

You must have. There were only a hundred people in the high school.

l remember you.

You used to swim in the regatta.

You could hold your breath longer than anyone.

Do you work around here?

l teach at the university.

Neurology?

That's right.

How did you know?

Just a feeling.

What do you do? Read minds?

No, l...

advise companies...er...on the risks of investing in various countries.

You must travel a lot.

l've been everywhere.

You're very beautiful.

Oh, please...

You should've been a model.

Well, that's the last thing l would want to do.

Do you ever think you might have done something different?

No.

Why not?

When people think of their lives as being different,

they always make the most trivial changes.

''lf only l'd been to that party or taken that job.'' They never say,

''lf only l'd had two brains or been able to photosynthesise my food.''

lt's as if they think the smaller changes are more likely to have occurred.

That God might have overlooked them.

How could anything be different from what it is?

But surely you've wished you could do things over.

You only have one life.

Why waste it dreaming about things that could never have happened?

Well, do you ever fantasise when you make love?

What?

l mean, um...

Surely you must use your...

- sometime. - No.

l don't believe in promiscuity.

Neither do l.

l've got to get back to the lab.

How about a show tomorrow night?

- l'm working. - What about the weekend?

l'm going to Novar.

- Well, maybe l'll see you here again. - l doubt it.

How long have you known the victim's wife?

Less than a month.

And how would you describe your relationship?

l barely knew her.

Three days ago you gave her a present.

A glass bowl.

lt was a token of admiration.

Hey, Williams. Williams!

CHlEF: Find out if they know each other, what they have in common.

We found another body.

- Same? - Yes.

What's this?

Companies that work on the brain.

l asked you to look into this.

l was interviewing a suspect.

What suspect?

The man who gave Mrs Barber this present.

Williams,

suppose the man you were talking to was having an affair with the wife?

- Yes. - And he killed the husband.

Yes.

Why would he remove the victim's brain?

l have a few other leads.

Good.

Shit.

George Barber?

You used to work for Merrill Lynch?

Yes.

Mr Parford recommended you highly.

He said that you were...uncanny.

Well, Mr Parford is a nice man.

We're gonna read you some questions.

Something we do with all our applicants.

Some involve some math that you may not be familiar with.

Don't worry if you can't answer them all.

- Thank you. - They were developed by

a philosopher at Harvard - Eric Goodman.

- Does the name ring a bell? - No.

Made a fortune teaching ethics to bankers.

He sounds like a very interesting man.

Yeah.

These questions involve some numbers. You are allowed to use a calculator.

That's all right.

A pharmaceutical company called Gentec introduces a new treatment for Alzheimer's.

Shortly after, it is found to cause irreversible hair loss.

The affected patients file a class action lawsuit.

The value of Gentec falls by over 50%.

You're then offered an option to buy 150,000 shares of Gentec at $35 a share.

lf the lawsuit is settled out of court,

you stand to make a 60% return.

lf it goes to trial...

you lose a million dollars.

Now, George,

you can pay the vice president of Gentec a half a million dollars to tell you if they've settled,

but there's only a 78.2% chance he'll tell you the truth that they've settled,

and only a 49% chance if they haven't.

As far as you know there's a 63% chance that they hav e settled.

Do you pay the vice president?

No.

Why not?

lt's a trick question.

What do you mean?

Using the numbers you gave me, it's worth buying no matter what he says.

You did the sums in your head?

Yes.

The next question will be a little more difficult.

lNTERVlEWER: Do you want some paper?

No.

You own a pharmaceutical company. Your staff has manufactured a new batch of acne pills.

Normally they test them by feeding them to a hundred rats and observing how many die.

From previous experience they have an idea of how many will die if the batch is defective.

Unfortunately, due to new regularity manufacture of this particular batch...

Can l sit here?

Sure.

This place has gotten pretty popular.

- Yes. - Five years ago,

when l first started selling stocks, nobody would come here.

lt was too seedy then.

You don't know me, but l saw you coming out of Carson's office this afternoon.

Are you jumping ship?

Yes.

How did it go?

Great.

l guess you're celebrating.

Guess so.

You don't seem too thrilled.

l'm not.

l've heard about you. You're very good.

Why the change?

Money?

No.

Sure. Give yourself a few years, you'll just be like everybody.

What's so funny?

l am everybody.

What's that, some kind of private joke?

l could have all the money l want.

Couldn't we all?

l know things.

Don't tell me. l've had enough of that kind of information.

This isn't the type of information

- that they can prosecute you for. - Who's your source?