Piano Man,

play a melody for the lives of tormented souls

  Kenjin is a private detective for Captain, the son of an old friend of his father. He demands that Carmyne help Kenjin investigate “The Piano Man”. It seems that people who go to this bar at night don’t make it out come morning, in particular, women.

  They do a stakeout at the bar he works at. There, he plays piano for his regulars; and old man who drinks all night, a man who smokes cigar after cigar, the bartender who’s mind is somewhere else, a navy man, a real estate novelist, the waitress, businessmen and the manager. Surprised to see two new faces, he approaches Carmyne first and flirts with her. She denies his advances telling him she has dealt with his kind before- charming musicians. He invited her back to his place and Kenjin motions her to go with him while he tails them. She pretend to give into his charm and accepts his offer.

  Instead of walking to his apartment they walk to the park. They sit on a bench and talk but are soon interrupted by a drunken man. It is the navy man from the bar. Stricken with extreme paranoia from war, the navy veteran believes Carmyne to be a spy and accuses the piano man to be a spy if he doesn’t kill her. Kenjin attempts to kill the navy veteran before he tries to kill anyone, but the Piano Man take the gun from Kenjin and knocks out the navy man.

  The piano man was relieved of his duty. He explains that all the regulars at the bar lives were in his hands and The Manager. The navy man would follow one of the regulars each night and whoever they picked up the regular would have to kill or be killed to confirm loyalty. As proof they would have to bring the body to the manager who has sex with dead bodies. If they didn’t he would kill someone in their family. Each of the regulars has families that are held captive in the bar’s basement. Some of the prisoners are siblings, parents, children or their lovers. The Manager demands money from the victims' families and in most cases gets it, but the families never get their loved one back. Kenjin and Carmyne agree to help the man kill the manager and free their families.

Back at the dive, they scope out the place.  They see that the businessmen are at all entrances. The have walkie-talkies in hand. The piano man tells them that they are probably sending some of the regulars after him since he has been gone for too long.  Carmyne reaches in her pocket and uses a portable stun gun with sedating bullets to take out the henchmen without alarming the manager. With them down, the piano man leads them the manager's dungeon.  There, they find him in a room filled with coffins, some have bodies in them and some are empty but waiting for a body to be put in them. The manager pulls out a shotgun and aims it at Carmyne. He pulls the trigger, but misses her as the piano man shoves her to the floor. Kenjin kills the manger with a single gun shot to the chest. They free the families and Captain forgives the regulars for their actions, but imprisons the businessmen. The manager is placed in one of the coffins and the dive is burned downed. Case closed. Kenjin tells Carmyne to remind him  to never go to a dive again. Only bars and clubs for him.

Sequence: "Piano Man"-Billy Joel

Kenjin and Carmyne enjoy a night at a bar with the families of the regulars. The heavy drinker has a drinking match with Kenjin who epically loses. He is out--smoked by the cigar man as well. Carmyne laughs at him for trying to keep up with pros. Another man at the bar is so drunk he rambles on about being a movie star. His brother just wants to forget the memories he carries with him from serving in the navy. The parents of the real estate novelist asks him if he will ever get married and he tells them that Carmyne is his wife. The waitress starts up a debate with family members who are stoned. They drink well into the night and the kids of these families are asleep in the living room in the upstairs apartment of the Piano Man's bar. How they can sleep through a the noise, nobody knows.