Chinatown Scene 13 Summary

  • Jake goes with Escobar to the house where he says Evelyn's hiding—but it's actually the house of Curly, the guy he helped to discover his cheating wife at the beginning of the movie. (Curly's wife has a black eye).
  • Jake goes in first, acting like he wants to speak with Evelyn alone.
  • Since Curly owes him money, Jake gets Curly to drive him out the back of the house. Jake hides in the backseat so Escobar doesn't see him.
  • Jake offers to pay Curly to meet up with him later and help drive some passengers (Evelyn and her daughter) out of town. Curly agrees, but for payment.
  • For now, Jake gets Curly to drop him off at Evelyn's recently abandoned house. He phones Noah Cross and asks him to meet him there.
  • Jake quickly reveals that he knows the girl is actually Evelyn's daughter.
  • He shows Noah the obituary from the paper, and explains that he knows that Noah drowned Hollis in the pond and is plotting to steal water.
  • Noah tells Jake that he's going ahead with his plan to steal the water—and that he's going to force L.A. to incorporate the valley, which will now have the water, into the city, in order to force L.A. to buy the water directly from him.
  • They talk about Evelyn, and Noah says he doesn't blame himself for what he did and that most people don't realize what they're capable of doing.
  • Claude Mulvihill arrives, working for Noah, and puts a gun to Jake's head, forcing Jake to give the damaged bifocals to him.