Sugar
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
The lost finding the lost.
Whats a hard-boiled detective story if not that?
Every case isthecase: one lost soul hired to solve the mystery of another.
You pass through these spaces and are met with a hundred cinematic associations and emotions at once.
The many faces of the American Dream life.
Do they lead to a deeper understanding of who we are inthislife?
John Sugar is a film addict and private investigator.
His words, not mine.
I dont like hurting people, its true, Sugar says in voice-over.
This world has more than enough suffering without extra contributions from me.
Finding people that are lost, bringing them back to those that miss them.
That part of the job I like.
Many years ago, I spent time in Damascus, he tells the driver.
So youre a film buff?
Hes more interested in Johns day job.
Our central case is Siegels granddaughter Olivia (Sydney Chandler), 25.
Shes been missing two weeks now, not necessarily out of the ordinary.
Olivia has had drug problems and is no stranger to vanishing for days, weeks, even months.
But shed always called her grandfather for money in the past.
This time, theres been no sign of her.
When a client reaches out to you directly, its disrespectful, she reminds him.
Not to mention, theyd agreed that when Sugar got back to Tokyo, hed take a much-needed break.
But the case brought forth an itch he had to scratch.
Its this girl, he says.
She reminds me of Jen.
He means it, and dropping that name is enough to win Ruby over.
Sugar heads out from Rubys in his freshly uncovered, baby-blue vintage Corvette.
His next stop: Olivias condo.
From the looks of the place, Olivia wasnt planning on being gone this long.
Hes arrived unexpectedly with an armed buddy, Kenny (Alex Hernandez).
Sugar calms the nervous pair down pretty quickly and identifies himself as working for Davids granddad.
But whats David doing here?
Hes there on behalf of his father, Bernie, who also has a key to the condo.
Youre a terrible liar, Davie, Sugar responds.
Maybe the worst liar ever.
But he doesnt press the issue.
Melanie isnt home, so the bar from the picture, the Step-Hi, is Sugars next stop.
Several drinks later, Melanies sloshed and Sugars doing just fine.
My body processes alcohol at a rate 50 times faster than normal.
From any other private detective, thatd sound like a put-on for I hold my liquor well.
But Sugar seems like he really means it.
His eyes are sharp and still beaming with empathy.
Even a drunk Melanie proves a formidable interlocutor, though.
She reads this cat like a book: Theres more to you than meets the eye.
You have secrets, and you keep things secret.
But theres hope for you yet, John Sugar.
Lo and behold, theres a dead body in her trunk.
Thankfully, its not Olivias, but the plot is thickening fast.
Sugar marvels at how accustomed hes become to the violence of this world after all this time.
What does that say about he is?
So why he so often avoids the others is a question one could ask.
The bleeding starts when he finds some old, mildly compromising Polaroids of Kaye.
Its still wrapped up, and his shirt is all white and in a pile on the floor.
Accepting these cases has triggered some weird events, both externally and internally.
But the missing have been identified.
Now is the time to find them.
Youre a good man, Karl.
Wiley, in particular, seemed to make some sort of extrapsychic connection with Sugar.
