Chapter 10 of 15 · 3'12"
Ong Chi Seng is really there to sell the letter. He starts with a polite feeler—if it's a forgery, there'd be "no objection" to handing it to the prosecutor—then reveals the price: $10,000, just under Robert's savings. Howard's answer is blunt: "Tell your friend to go to the devil."
Howard Tells Ong's Friend to Go to the Devil
Howard Asks Ong What He Gets Out of It
Ong Chi Seng visits Howard Joyce about the letter. He first reports that Leslie denies writing it, so Howard calls it an obvious forgery; Ong then hints that a friend could offer it to the prosecutor, or sell it instead. He names a price of $10,000, matching Robert's savings, and asks that Leslie deliver the money herself.
The scene is a negotiation dressed up as information. Ong begins by asking whether Howard would object if the letter went to the prosecutor—a way of finding out how badly he needs it stopped. Once he hears that Leslie denies it, he offers the alternative: "if my friend could be induced to deliver the letter into our hands, it would save a great deal of trouble." The price is $10,000, chosen to match Robert's bank balance, and Howard's "Tell your friend to go to the devil" is the first real refusal. But Ong has already asked Robert to lunch and added conditions meant to bring Leslie out of the house. Howard's closing question—"What are you getting out of this?"—finally turns the spotlight on Ong himself.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“I mentioned the matter to Mrs. Crosbie, and she denies having written anything of the sort.”
One report links the denial to the forgery, laying the ground for the price to come.
Formal
“In that case, there would be no objection if my friend delivered the letter to the public prosecutor?”
A polite question that tests how little Howard really cares about the letter.
Formal
“Under what circumstance do you think you friend would be induced to part with the letter?”
He skips the truth and the price, asking only what it would take: the talk is now a deal.
Formal
“Tell your friend to go to the devil.”
No counter-offer, just an old curse that ends the negotiation on the spot.
Informal
“Therefore, I took the Liberty of asking Mr. Crosbie to have lunch with you.”
He acted first and explains it gracefully: the fixer's whole method in one sentence.
Formal
“Do you suppose Mrs. Crosbie can just walk out whenever she feels like it?”
A single question exposes her position: she cannot even leave, let alone deliver money.
Informal
“What are you getting out of this?”
One blunt question strips the helpfulness down to self-interest.
Informal
Up next · 11get hold ofThe scene: Howard Tells Bob to Buy the LetterIt lets him test how much Howard wants the letter kept hidden; a calm answer would mean Howard doesn't need it stopped.
It matches Robert's savings of $10,452, so the sellers know the Crosbies can just barely pay the whole sum.
The offer and its conditions strike him as absurd and coercive, so he refuses outright before negotiating further.
He says he gets $2,000 plus the satisfaction of being of service to Howard and their client.
His friend insists on it, which would force Leslie to leave the house and come out to meet the woman holding the letter.
