Fay Grim

Fay?

Are you okay?

I'm afraid.

Why? Has something happened?

I'm afraid for my son.

He's 14.

Boys have been known to survive that, Fay.

I'm afraid he'll grow up to be...

...well... like his father.

I know... I know what you're thinking. Forgive the man...

...nobody's perfect.

But I go forgive him.

I always did.

That's my problem.

I mean, like, who was Henry anyway?

We lived together for 7 years.

Had a child. Shared a home.

And I don't even know where he came from.

You must miss him very much, I think.

Excuse me.

Hi, it's Fay.

Fay.

Thank you for coming.

This is the end of the line for you, Mister.

- But, Mom... - Sit up straight.

Let's step inside.

Ned brought this pornographic device to school today...

...and was caught showing it off to the other children.

- What is it? - See for yourself.

- Mom, you got to turn it on. - Where?

It has a crank thing on the side.

Wow...

That's cool, huh?

Where did you get this?

It came in the mail.

- Whose mail? - Our mail.

- Since when do you open the mail? - It was addressed to me.

Well, then who sent it to you?

I don't know. There was no return address or letter or anything.

It's an orgy.

Yeah, I know that, Ned.

Fay, where he got it is not the issue.

The point is he can't bring this sort of thing into the school.

You're grounded like... forever.

- Come on. Let's go. - Fay.

Can I have a word with you in private?

It's no secret in this school, or in this town, of course...

That Ned's father was no model citizen.

Tell me about it. I took back my maiden name.

Yes... your maiden name.

But it is also not lost on your neighbors or Ned's classmate that his uncle...

...your brother, is the notorious and controversial poet, Simon Grim.

Yes. We're very proud of Simon.

Fay, your bother is in a state penitentiary.

So?

Well he's hardly a role model.

Ned can't help who his family is.

Fay.

Have you ever thought of moving to a different town?

Hello.

- Good afternoon, Fay. - Hi.

Mister James is expecting you. Can I take these?

This way please.

Fay, Hello. I'm Angus.

It's nice to meet you finally after all these years.

You're not going to stop publishing Simon's poetry are you?

What? No.

His royalty checks are the only thing we have to live on, we just moved to a new home.

No, no, not at all. Please. Fay, no.

Simon's been a gold mine. I'd be insane to drop him.

And don't you worry about those royalty checks.

And if I may say so... I consider Simon my friend.

Oh. Yeah. Okay.

Nevertheless, and you might be surprised to hear this... Fay.

Iconoclastic avant garde... poetry of the kind your brother has come to personify.

This marginal yet vital form of artistic expression...

...is becoming less and less popular in America.

- Oh no, really? - Yes, but I have an idea.

Fay, are you aware that I once read your husband's book? His Confessions?

Yes, Simon tried to get you to publish them.

That's right, he did.

And I decided against it...

...even though Simon threatened to renege on our deal to publish his own poetry.

I remember.

It was a trying time.

To be perfectly frank, Fay...

...I must tell youl thought Henry's book was quite bad.

- Simon thought so too. - Yes, he did.

Nevertheless...

Since your brother's trial five years ago, things have changed.

Simon, you're being charged with the willful obstruction of justice...

...aiding and abetting a known criminal... ...of falsifying official documents.

Why would a world... famous poet, a literary celebrity,

stoop to help a man of such negligible redeeming value

at such cost to his own reputation and livelihood?

He was my friend.

Or was it what he was carrying was more valuable in your eyes than the pursuit of justice!

What was he carrying, Simon?

What did Henry Fool have with him...

...as he boarded that flight to Sweden pretending to be you.

His book. His Confessions. Eight or so notebooks.

And some extra shirts.

As a result of all this, Simon Grim fans the world over...

...as well as his most fierce and dedicated detractors...

...have seized upon this mysterious friend, Henry Fool, and his fabled Confessions...

...as an essential key

to the deeper understanding of the incarcerated garbage man poet of Woodside, Queens.

It's been great for business.

But, you see, it won't last forever.

Henry is larger than life now.

And his Confessions a desperately sought after commodity now.

The time to strike is now. We've got to get our hands on those books and publish them.

But they're bad, right?

Not worth publishing. You said so yourself.

Well, we can't be too hard-line about these things, Fay.

Anything capable of being sold... ...can be worth publishing.

You haven't...

I mean... Henry hasn't...

you know... Been in contact with you. Has he?

No.

I'm sorry.

It's okay.

I realize you must... well, miss the man.

I hope I never see him again.

Really...

I mean it.

I'm single.

Sort of.

I was wondering...

Yeah?

Well, I was wondering if, perhaps,..

I was wondering if you'd care to have dinner with me some night this week?

You mean, like, you know... a date?

I'm afraid so.

Agent Fulbright, CIA.

This is Agent Fogg, but you can call him Carl.

Hi.

How did you get in here?

We're professionals, Fay. They teach us stuff like that, at the Academy.

Fay, we'd like to ask you some questions about your husband.

When will this end?

How long are you going to harass me!

I have no idea where my husband is!

I'm single. Sort of.

Yeah, we know. But the case is still open and new evidence has arisen.

Evidence of what?

Fay, where were you... ...when Henry boarded that plane for Sweden?

At home, I didn't go to the airport. Only my brother Simon was with him.

We went over all this during the trial.

But Simon didn't actually see him board the plane. Did he?

Your brother last saw Henry at the departure gate, having by already then...

...successfully forged documents permitting him to leave the country under a false identity.

Well, yeah. But so what?

Well so, maybe he never got on the plane.

Why wouldn't he have gotten on the plane?

He was in trouble. He was running away. That was the whole point.

Last minute pangs of conscience?

Conscience? Henry? Please.

He may have suddenly felt full force the love that he had for you, his son...

...his friends, the community.

Easy, Carl.

Henry would have gotten on that plane.

And, anyway, if you ask me, its what he should have done.

Fay, he killed a man.

It was an accident.

He was defending himself. The man he killed was gross.

Do you really have so little faith in society?

I mean... why are you so certain Henry wouldn't have been exonerated?

Carl, that's enough. Fay, look.

It appears that Henry boarded the plane posing as your brother Simon.

But he didn't get off the plane in Stockholm.

Which makes us think that he had an accomplice at the airport.

You mean, besides Simon?

Does the name Konchalovsky mean anything to you?

- No. - Bebe.

Bebe Konchalovsky.

We understand that Henry kept a diary, some kind of a journal, many volumes.

What he referred to as his Confessions.

Yeah so?

Did you ever read this book? These Confessions?

A little. Once. By accident.

Could you tell us about what you've read?

I'd rather not.

Was it treasonous?

Did it seem to discuss subjects potentially dangerous to the security of the United States of America?

I just read the dirty parts.

The dirty parts?

You get that, Carl?

Got it.

What are you saying, that Henry was some sort of a spy?

Or worse...

Look, Fay...

What?

Fay, Henry's dead.

Ma, you okay?

Yeah.

Did you eat?

I'll make something.

What time is it? Where have you been?

It's 7:30.