Tropical Heat (1991–1993): Season 2, Episode 13 - Deceit - full transcript
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- We have a case.
600 dollars a day plus expenses.
- 600 bucks?
- Clients named is Hampton and he wants
us in there within a half hour.
- Look, when people step off the curb,
they're almost hit by a car.
That's an accident.
When they come up on the sidewalk
and chase you, that's not an accident.
- Your client said she was gonna kill him
and you found her standing over the body.
- Melanie isn't cheating on me.
She's trying to kill me.
- Who the hell do you think you are
walking in here accusing me of murder?
- I want you to find out
who killed my husband.
- Lady I was hired to prove that you
were tryin' to do just that.
- Get down.
- You can't get involved with this woman.
- We've been involved ever
since her husband hired me.
- You know what I mean.
- I just want to get the truth.
- That's what I'm counting on.
- I'm surprised, I thought
people in your profession
would've seen everything.
- He's in room seven.
I'd knock before you enter.
He's got company.
Ah! Look at this mess.
I can't find anything anywhere.
I don't know how we allowed
it to get like this.
Where is it?
- Look, you're being silly.
I can put my finger on anything
in this office in two seconds flat.
I can prove it.
Ask me for something, anything.
- All right, uh, the phone.
Find the phone.
Yes.
- All right.
The phone, see?
You were worried about nothing.
- Hm.
Ah, here it is.
What the hell is-
- Hey, hey, don't touch that.
- What the hell is this?
- I made this is summer camp
when I was eight years old.
My father was busting with pride.
You know he always
thought I'd be architect?
- That's nice, that's really nice.
I hate not being caught up.
- Look, the reason you're not caught up
is because you've been
spending too much time
in the field with me, when in reality,
as you well know, a
woman's place is at.
Very good, I was just making sure
you were paying attention.
- I need an assistant.
- You want an assistant?
Yes.
- All right, let me be your assistant.
I'll have you caught up in no time.
These are your bills,
- Those are the bills.
- I presume?
Perfect.
- What are you doing?
- Relax, relax, I know you can't just
throw bills away.
No, you gotta burn them.
- You can't burn bills.
- Well that's just great.
Look at what you've done.
You wasted an entire pot of coffee,
but, just to show you
what kind of guy I am,
I'll buy you a new pot.
- That's not the answer, Nick.
We need an assistant.
And I've hired one from
the Gordon Temp Agency.
She should be here any minute.
Aw, there she is.
- Well, you better get that
and tell her she's fired.
- We're not gonna fire her, Nick.
- Okay, we're not gonna fire her,
'cause anyway, when we tell her
we can't pay her, she'll quit.
- Nick!
- Janice?
- Oh, it's great to see you.
- Oh, oh, oh Nick.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Um.
I'll buy you a new, whatever that is.
- Forget it, it's all right.
- Janice, you're not from the
Gordon Temp Agency, are you?
- I'm not?
I mean, I am, I am.
See, it's this address and they said
the company to go to is Nick Slaughter
Private Investigator.
I knew it was you, 'cause you are
Nick Slaughter, Private Investigator.
- Yeah.
- I don't want to hear
about concrete delays, okay?
I've got 200 condo buyers who're gonna
be screaming for their
money back if I don't
deliver in 60 days.
60 days.
Get these guys working.
- It'll just take me a minute
to clean this stuff up.
- Heads.
Janice, I think we should talk.
- Oh, I've got too much work to do, Nick.
- I think that's what he
wants to talk to you about.
- Nick Slaughter, Private Investigations.
- Listen, I, I just don't think
it's a good idea that you work here.
- But, we work so well together.
When we caught Mr. Minton,
don't you remember?
You had the gun, and you went diving
on the stairs and the
baby cart went flying down
and Ms. Sylvie came with the big bag
and she whopped him on the-
- Janice, I remember.
- Oh.
Can I have your address please?
- Oh, I understand.
You don't think I can handle it?
- Janice, I like you, really I do.
- No, that's not what I mean.
I mean that the way we work is different
from what you're used to.
Right, thanks.
- She'll explain.
- We have a case.
600 dollars a day, plus expenses.
- 600 bucks?
- Clients name is Hampton and he wants us
there within the half hour.
- We won't be long.
- Don't worry about me.
- Janice, how much does
the agency pay you?
- Um, whoa, phew.
Um, 50 dollars for eight hours work.
- Well, I'll tell you what.
I'll pay you 75.
Here's the deal.
Don't do anything, nothing, okay?
Nothing.
- He's such a kidder.
Hi, next slot.
- Nice place.
We should've charged $700 a day.
Mr. Hampden's office.
- That's the kind of help
we need, right there.
Can you see her putting
our place to shame?
- All I can see is you
wearing a terry cloth bib
to wipe off the drool.
- Ms. Girard, Mr. Slaughter.
- Hello.
- Hi, I'm Ray Hampton.
- Hi.
- How you doing?
- Hi.
- Come on in.
- My partner, Danielle Reed.
Best engineer on the Key.
- Pleased to meet you.
- My pleasure.
- Hello.
- Please sit down.
Danielle draws them but I put 'em up.
Worked out pretty well so far.
- I know you have a lot to talk about.
I'll go over the revised facts.
- Good.
- Hope they can help.
Nice meeting you.
- You too.
- Bye.
- I've always been an admirer
of quality construction.
- Ah huh, you people did some work
for a friend of mine, Mike Jacklin.
- Yes, we managed to help Mr. Jacklin
with the trouble he had at home.
- A little trouble.
His wife and the decorator.
Three months that guy
spent in Mike's house,
never got past the bedroom.
- You think you might have a
similar situation, Mr. Hampton?
- No, my problem isn't that simple.
Melanie isn't cheating on me.
She's trying to kill me.
You look shocked.
I'm surprised, I thought
people in your profession
would've seen everything.
- Well, murder's still
pretty good for a reaction.
- She tried to run me over today,
in front of one of my projects,
either her or somebody she hired.
- Look, Mr. Hampton, I
know that playing tag with
a couple tons of cement can be scary,
but you know the way
people drive around here.
Are you sure it wasn't an accident?
- An accident?
Look when people step off the curb
and their almost hit by a car,
that's an accident.
When they come up on the
sidewalk and chase you,
that's not an accident.
- Did you call the police?
- Of course I called the police,
but there was no plates on the car
and outside of a couple bags of garbage,
that they hit, there's no evidence.
- We'll need a description of the car.
- Sure, black late model sedan.
- Why would your wife wanna kill you?
I mean, people have trouble nowadays
lot of them get a divorce.
- If it wasn't for the
prenuptial agreement,
she would've left me months ago.
If we divorce, she gets a small alimony.
- And if you die?
- She gets it all.
- Does Melanie know you suspect her?
- She thinks something's up, yeah.
- Why stay?
- I love her, I want to
believe that I'm wrong.
Look, I know that this sounds paranoid,
but this isn't the first
time that it's happened.
A couple of weeks ago,
somebody did some surgery
on the brake line of my car.
If Danielle hadn't spotted the fluid leak,
I'd be toast right now.
- Could it have been
someone other than Melanie?
That's what I want you to find out.
I want you to prove to me that
Melanie's not behind this.
But...
- Where can we find her?
- You'd probably find her at the bar
at the Tidewater Resort.
- All right, what is the matter.
- It's too hot, there's
too many mosquito's
and I'm down here with you.
- Listen, you were the one that wanted
to save the relationship.
That's why we're down here.
Phoebe, you can not run away from this.
- You can't resuscitate something
that's been dead for months.
What am I gonna tell the kids?
- Sorry, I mean about all this.
- These things happen.
- I mean, I didn't want to
spoil your view or anything.
- It's still there.
- You know I, I know this is
gonna sound like a come on.
Do you mind if I sit down, here?
- You're right, it does
sound like a come on,
and if you don't mind,
I'd prefer to appreciate
the view alone.
- You know, it's funny, I
thought that by comin' down here,
to someplace special, you
know, just the two of us
that maybe things would
work themselves out.
- I tried that once.
- Maybe it was the wrong someone.
- That's what my husband says.
I'm married too.
- But unhappily, I guess, like me?
- Look, I'm not here to
try and get picked up.
You can save yourself a lot
of time and conversation.
- Listen, conversation
doesn't cost us anything.
It may even help and I'm
not trying to pick you up.
That's how I got in that mess.
- Well then, you should've
learned your lesson.
- Let's make a deal.
As soon as I try to pick you up,
I'll let you know in advance.
- You know you really
do have a way about you.
- Slade, Nick Slade.
- Well frankly, I don't
know what her problem is,
but right now one man is
about all I can handle.
- This husband of yours
must really be putting
you through the wringer.
- Well, it's a lot harder on him
than it is on me.
It's been a lot worse
in the last few months.
Every time I try to find out what's wrong,
he pushes me away.
- He sounds like the type of guy
you'd be smart to get away from.
- Maybe I'm not so smart.
Maybe I still love him.
Not what you wanted to
hear, was it Mr. Slade?
Well, I'm sorry you had
to waste your repartee.
It really was quite good.
Don't get too close.
We don't want her to spot us.
- Sylvie don't worry.
This is not the first
time I've tailed someone.
- He loves her, she loves him.
- Idyllic isn't it?
You know if Melanie's lying,
she's putting on a hell of an act.
Ten minutes alone with her makes Hampton
seem like a stone paranoid.
- You know, someone once said that
paranoids are like anybody else,
they just have more reliable information.
- I hear you.
- Now let's see.
Cut brake line.
A game of chicken on the sidewalk.
Yeah, he has a reason to believe that
somebodies annoyed with him.
- What I don't get is why
he's so convinced it's her?
- Maybe it's men's intuition.
- I mean, she comes across as being
a sad, lonely wife who loves her husband,
who just can't figure out
why he's acting so weird.
- She had no idea what
you were doing there,
so she had no reason to lie.
- I know, unless it just
comes naturally to her.
- Nick, she's turning.
- She's going into her hubbies office.
I wonder what the hell she's doin' there?
- She wouldn't?
She couldn't?
- Better get in there and
make sure she doesn't.
- No, he went out the window, the man.
- I'm sorry Mrs. Hampton but you're going
to have to hang on just
a little while longer.
Now tell it to me.
All that you can.
, I came
into the outer office,
and I saw them arguing.
Ray and the Man.
- Did you hear anything they were saying?
- No, just a few words.
Uh, he said something
about Ray not paying him
and then Ray said something
and then I walked in
and that's when the man shot him.
- Can you describe the assailant?
- It was a black man, medium build.
- Ever seen him before?
- No.
- If I gave you a mug book,
think you can spot him?
A man killed my husband.
Someone does something like that,
you tend to remember what they look like.
That man Mister Slade,
he, I met him in a bar
and then he was in the office.
He would've seen the killer too.
What were you doing there?
- I was just going to ask Mr. Slade
the very same thing.
Take Mrs. Hampton and then
show her some pictures.
This way
please, Mrs. Hampton.
Do You mind telling me
where you two bought tickets to this?
- We were doing some
consulting for Mr. Hampton.
- Yeah, well how does the lady fit in?
- Well Hampton wanted
us to check on his wife.
He thought she was trying to kill him.
- Kill him?
- Yeah, well, that's what the man said.
- Your client said she
was tryin' to kill him?
And you found her standing over the body?
Now how long you think a jury
will deliberate over that one?
- Ollie, we both saw the car driving away.
And it matched the description of the car
that tried to run Ray
Hampton over earlier today.
He reported it.
- All right, I'll, I'll pull the file.
- Where you going?
- To have another talk
with our grieving widow.
- You know, if I were
you, I'd also be checking
the murder weapon for
registration and prints
and also check the neighborhood.
Maybe someone saw something else.
- Thank you very much for
explaining procedure to me.
Maybe you can stop by the academy some day
and speak to the recruits.
- Sorry.
- Look man, I'm not looking
to railroad the lady,
but you gotta admit, your testimony
makes her look awfully good for it.
And if I don't ask her
the right questions,
the D.A.'s gonna ask me some.
- Oh my gosh.
- Hey, if you like it now, wait 'til you
see it when it's finished.
This is gonna take me a year to clean up.
- This morning, you were
only two months' behind,
but oh no, you didn't
know when you had it good.
- My Mother always said,
"You have to make a mess
"to clean a mess."
- Your Mom would be very proud of you.
- Thank you.
Now, as an extra special surprise,
I fixed your log cabin.
See, I painted it and everything.
That's okay, you don't have to thank me.
It's all part of the service.
- Don't say anything.
I know it's my fault.
I'm sorry.
- Not half as sorry as you're gonna be.
Look at this place.
- Nick Slaughter, private investigations.
Mrs. Hampton?
Just a minute please,
I'll see if he's here.
Oh, here he is.
- Hello, Mrs. Hampton?
Yeah, I know a place where we can meet.
- Sergeant Porter says the
only reason he didn't hold me
was because of your testimony.
- Just told the man what I saw.
- He seems to have a lot of
respect for your opinions.
- The things people say
behind your back, huh?
- I want to hire you, Mr. Slaughter.
- What?
- I want you to find out
who killed my husband.
- Lady, I was hired to prove that
you were tryin' to do just that.
- But you know I didn't do it.
You were there, you saw the car.
- All I saw was a car pulling away.
- Please, don't you think
you owe me something?
Look I'm sorry, I'm wasting
your time, Mr. Slaughter.
Look I know you have no
reason to believe me,
but I really did love my husband.
- Wait, wait.
Please sit down.
Maybe I do owe you something,
you and your husband.
Maybe if I had done my job
right, he never would've died.
- Then you'll help me?
- I'll call you.
- Thank you.
- Come in.
- Hello.
Mrs. Brady I don't know
if you remember us.
We met with Mr. Hampton yesterday?
- I remember.
- I know this must be
quite a shock for you.
- Ray was such a power house, I always
thought he was indestructible.
- Somebody was trying very
hard to prove he wasn't.
- When I talked with Sgt. Porter,
they said they were questioning Melanie?
They can't think she had
anything to do with it?
- And you don't?
- Of course not!
If you only knew her, I told Ray that.
- He obviously wasn't listening.
- Ray was exhausted to the bone.
I guess the deadline on the condo project
was really getting to him.
- You two sound like
you were pretty close.
- We were close.
We weren't involved if
that's what you're asking.
- It was you that saw the
cut in Ray's brake line?
- Yes.
I'm not an expert, but I don't see how
it could've been an a accident.
- Two accidents that
couldn't have been accidents.
- I'm sorry?
- Well, we must've been
dealing with a pretty
clumsy killer here.
Yesterday must've been his lucky day.
- Do you have any idea who
might want to kill Ray?
- It's not as if he didn't have enemies.
Sort of goes with the business.
- Melanie said that she heard the killer
tell Ray to pay up.
Is there any body after Ray for money?
- No, our accounts are all up-to-date.
- Was there any other kind of threats,
blackmail, extortion?
- No.
- What is it?
- One of the concrete suppliers
wanted Ray to use his materials,
even made threats.
Ray didn't seem worried, so I didn't
think anything of it.
- What was his name?
- Nash, Patrick Nash.
He owns Nash Building Materials.
- Looks like someone
we should know better.
- Thanks.
- Hey get back to work now.
I don't pay you to stand
here and guff all day.
- Nick, I don't like this.
I think we should be careful with Nash.
- What's the problem?
- There's a lot of tough
looking guys around here.
- I just wanna ask 'em some questions.
That's all.
- So what if they don't like questions?
- Look I'm the King, he's the sardine can.
Watch the master at work.
- Look I don't want to hear anything
more about overtime.
You get those guys and
get back to work now!
- Well, business seems brisk.
- I keep the customers satisfied and
they keep on coming back.
What can I do for you?
- We're developing some coastlines.
Some quality condos for the folks
back in blizzard country to enjoy.
- Ew, now that's a new idea.
- Well, it ain't new, but
we're gonna do it right.
- Yes, everything top quality.
Above code.
- That's right Ms. Girard, thank you.
- Well, like I always say,
when it comes to concrete,
mine's as hard as anybodies.
- You always say that do you?
- Can I ask who put you on to me?
- Yeah, he's not a developer, Ray Hampton.
- What are you, cops?
- Sorry, guess I pushed
a button there, huh?
- You're not cops.
You private dicks?
- Well, actually we were working for Ray
when he was killed.
- Sounds like you outta work then.
From what I hear, they already
popped his old lady for it.
- Nobody's popped anybody for anything.
- Hey, wait a minute.
I know why you're mooching around here.
Somebody told you I offered a deal
and he didn't take it.
That's the way it was.
And it wasn't the first time either.
But hey, the guy doesn't want to deal,
what am I supposed to do?
- I don't know, threaten him?
- Who the hell you think you are
walking in here, accusing me of murder?
- Nobodies accusing anybody of anything.
- You wanna talk about threats?
- Boys.
- I see you again, this gonna
seem like a school dance.
- You all right?
- Why didn't you tell
me to be more careful?
- I did.
- Why didn't I listen?
- Well, we don't have to look
much further for Ray's killer.
- Maybe he's just naturally unfriendly.
- That doesn't get him off.
Whoever killed Ray was
definitely unfriendly.
- What are we gonna do now?
- We have to find a way to tie
Nash in more closely with Ray's murder.
Why don't you check in with Ollie,
see if he's got a make on that car yet.
- And what are you gonna
do in the mean time?
I'm gonna go see Melanie,
see if she can help us out.
- All right, does that hurt?
- Ouch!
- Sorry, sorry, okay.
- Nick, what happened to you?
- I just had a little talk with somebody.
The only problem is they
talked a little too loud.
- Are you sure you're okay?
- I've been worse.
- Come on in.
You remember Danielle?
- Yes.
- With Ray gone, she's been forced
to take over the day-to-day operations.
I'm just staying on as a silent partner.
- Not too silent, I hope.
- Danielle, would you mind if I spoke
to Melanie in private for a moment?
- No problem.
We've got a good jump on things.
I'll call when I've gone
over these with the lawyer.
- Thanks, Danielle.
- Take care.
- Nick, what have you found out?
- Well, the guy I spoke
too was named Patrick Nash.
He owns a building supply.
He's real sensitive to
questions about your husband.
Ray ever mention his name?
- No, never, I really
didn't know very much
about Ray's business.
- Well, Sylvie will run a check on Nash,
maybe she can come up with something.
- Nick, the police have called again.
They want to ask me some more questions.
- Well, they're only questions.
If they had anything, they wouldn't let
you go in the first place.
- If this man, Nash,
really did kill my husband,
you will make sure that
he pays for it, won't you?
- Well, yeah.
If he did it, one way or
another he'll pay for it.
- Thank you.
Would you like a drink.
- No.
- You know, when I asked you, I really
didn't think you'd help me.
I just didn't know where else to turn.
- Well, I just want to get at the truth.
- It's what I'm counting on.
But I was hoping, maybe it
was something a little more.
When you talked to me in the bar,
I really felt like you
cared about my problems.
I guess, I thought maybe you
were a little attracted to.
- That so strange?
- Yes.
In the last few months,
Ray barely touched me.
I guess I really needed your attraction,
your attention, more than anything else.
- Get down!
Stay right here.
I'm telling you all, you
should be checkin' out Nash.
- What, the shooter stopped
and introduced himself?
- Look, all I had to do
was mention Hampton's name
and Nash blew up.
- Is that how come your
face looks like that?
Real attractive.
- Thanks.
- So did you find out
anything about the gun
that they used to kill Hampton?
- It was stolen last month in
a heist from a private home,
along with an art collection.
- An art collection?
- Yeah, a collection of paintings
from an artist named Brachi.
The take was almost a 100 thou.
After that, the trail goes cold.
- What happened?
- Well, according to Ollie,
Melanie snuck out while I wasn't looking
and then a, took a few shots
at herself through the window.
- You're too close to the lady, man.
You've lost your sense of humor.
- What do you got?
- On Nash, enough to know why
he doesn't like questions.
- Let's have it.
- Well, word is he's under investigation
for using strong arm
tactics to get contracts.
You don't buy his concrete and
unexplained accidents happen on your site.
- So, if the gentle
persuasion doesn't work,
he offs Hampton as an
example to everyone else.
- Look, I'm not saying that you're wrong.
- What are you saying?
- He's throwing a close second.
The day's screaming for blood
and looks your widow might be the one
who does the bleeding.
Excuse me.
- You okay?
- I guess so, I just don't understand
why this has happened.
- Someone's trying to stop us
from finding out who killed your husband
and they don't care who
else they kill to do it.
- Sylvie, do you know
a painter named Brachi.
- Yeah, his work's very popular right now.
- I was just thinking, if we find out who
stole the paintings, we'll
find out who stole the gun.
- And that'll lead us to Hampton's killer.
- I know a guy who specializes
in moving this kind of stuff.
- Maybe it's about time
we got some culture.
- All right.
- Nick, I want to come with you.
- No way.
Look, somebody just took some shots at us
and they didn't seem to care who they hit.
Don't worry, I'll be back.
- Nick, are you sure you know
what you're getting into here?
- Nope.
- Where do I start by saying
that she's our clients widow,
that she's one of the prime
suspects to his murder.
Stop me if any of this is
getting through to you.
- It is, it is.
- Nick, you can't get
involved with this woman.
- We've been involved every
sense her husband hired us.
- You know what I mean.
- Yeah, I know what you
mean and you may be right,
but, there's something to that woman.
I'd like to get to know her
and I think she feels
the same thing for me.
- Nick.
- When it's over, when she's over him.
Maybe then, okay?
- Okay.
Oh that's nice, that's very nice.
- Perky, yet delicate.
- Post-Impressionism?
- I'd say it looks more like surrealism.
- Actually, it looks
like Gilligan's Island.
Look there's Gilligan.
- That's not Gilligan, it's the Skipper,
you can tell by the hat.
- Oh, that's right.
- Yeah, it's too bad you copied it
from someone else.
Of course, the little old lady who buys
it from you will never know
the difference, will she?
- You know I don't come
around and bother you
when you're working, do I Slaughter?
- Oh, that's right, Nick.
An artist like Monty
needs total concentration.
- All an artist like Monty
needs is tracing paper.
- Now what exactly do you want?
- Oh, I thought we might
have a little conversation
about our history.
- Since when are you
interested in our history?
- Since some paintings I know about
were part of a collection and suddenly
they were history.
- The canvas was done by
an artist named Brachi.
- I'm a forger, not a thief.
- No identity crisis here.
I mean, there's a man who
knows exactly who he is.
- I told you, I don't know
anything about stolen paintings.
- And I say you do and I
got a police wrap sheet
from here to Miami that'll back me up.
Now what do you know about
the Briachi paintings?
- Briachi?
He's an overrated poser.
- No, no.
I didn't ask for a critique.
- Look we don't want
anything from you Monty.
We just wanna know who
stole the paintings.
- What's the big deal?
For a nickel and dime heist?
- They stole a gun too.
- I'm an artist.
I don't know anything about guns.
- Okay Monty, but you do know
about the Briachi's, right?
- Leave me alone.
Okay, just leave me alone.
- No can do Monty.
I need some information that you've got
and if I don't get it,
I'm gonna be all over you
like cheap cologne.
Now everything you do,
I'm gonna know about.
And that covers an awful lot of territory.
- Okay, his name is Peter and he lives,
if you can call it that,
at the Coral Hotel.
- See, it wasn't that hard, was it?
- Phone Ollie, tell him
to compile a file on Dial
and fax it to the office.
- Compile a file on Dial?
- That's simple enough, isn't it?
- Absolutely.
I thought you'd never get here.
- Hello.
- Hi, what can I do for you?
- We're looking for a guy.
- I rent the rooms by the hour.
What you do with them is your business.
- The guys' name is Pete Dial.
- Our clients are sort of
eccentric about their names.
- Ah, hide away for the
rich and famous, huh?
- Something like that.
- Well I think this
Dial might be interested
in what we have to say.
- And what might that be?
- He's supposed to be real good at
getting into places he's
not supposed to be in.
And we might just have a place.
- Yeah and it might be worth some serious
change to anyone who can put us on to him.
- He's in room seven.
Oh, by-the-way, I'd
knock before you enter.
He's got company.
- Thanks.
- Dial?
- I guess he doesn't know it's impolite
to keep company waiting.
- He's not the only one who's gonna
forget his manners.
They got away clean.
- Not quite.
- If she didn't like the ring,
she could've just told him.
- Not too many women would
be impressed by this.
It's made of iron.
There's an inscription on it.
June 4th, 1986.
Could he have given it to her?
- Maybe, maybe it's an
anniversary gift of some kind.
- Hey, what's the matter,
didn't you find him?
- Oh we found him all right,
he just wasn't breathing.
- What?
- The guy was murdered.
- What are you talking about?
I run a respectable place here.
- I've seen roach motels more
respectable than this dive.
Now who was he with?
- I told you, a working girl.
I didn't get a good look at her.
- You didn't notice anything?
The color of her hair or clothes?
- She had this thing on
her head, like a scarf.
She wore sunglasses.
- And that's it?
- Hey look, there's a lot
of people come through here.
I wasn't judging her
for the fashion column.
Hey, what am I supposed to do about Dial?
- Call Sgt. Ollie Porter,
Key PD and tell him
there's been a homicide.
- Hey what am I, a messenger service here?
- Okay Janice, what happened?
- Well, I had a little problem
with the lamp and I tried to fix it,
but then I had a little accident
and then the power kind of...
- It's all right, it's all right.
Never mind.
- Anyway, I think it's
kind of romantic like this,
don't you?
- It's kind of dark, is what it is.
- Come on, let's take
another look at that ring.
Is somebody getting married?
- No, someone got killed.
- They don't give rings for that.
- Janice, please, this is important.
- Did Ollie send the fax?
- Yeah.
- Here.
- Thanks.
What's the date on the ring?
- June 4th, 1986, why?
- Blows our anniversary theory to pieces.
He was in prison in
Carolina from '84 to '88.
- So he didn't give it to her,
but what kind of man would
give a woman an iron right?
- Iron?
I know.
- Please, we're concentrating.
- So am I.
- Maybe it's a secret
society or something.
- It's architects.
- Architects are hardly a secret society.
- No, but they all wear iron rings.
I worked for architect
once, for a little while,
and he told me that they all get them
when they graduate.
- Danielle.
- No, his name was Larry.
- 10 to one, the date on this
is when Danielle got a degree.
- Yeah, she must have
killed Ray to take over
his end of the business.
- Janice, you were great.
- I was?
- Yes.
Slyvie, we'll call Ollie
from the car phone.
Tell him to pick up Danielle Brady.
Right.
- I was great, I was great, I was great.
Uh oh.
- I must admit, Danielle
played us real smooth.
She was so helpful.
- Yeah, she almost helped
get the wrong guy arrested.
I wonder where the fire is?
- Nick, it's a copy of the contract.
- Between Danielle and Ray?
- No, between Danielle and Melanie.
- Melanie?
- It says here that if
one of the parties die,
sole ownership reverts to the other.
- Which means Melanie
could be her next target.
- Still no answer.
It was perfect.
Danielle steered us toward Nash.
- Why?
- Why, because Nash would be taken down.
And Danielle would walk away
with control of the company.
- Two botched murder attempts.
One she uncovers herself
when she spots brake fluid?
- Right.
- I mean if there is a frame,
it was around Melanie, not Nash.
- But she killed Dial.
- I know, I agree.
- Wait a second.
There were two frames.
And I only saw one.
- They're all gone.
Everyone who could hurt us.
- Melanie!
- What are they doing?
- I lost my ring, they know!
- They can't.
Just relax.
- You can't be tied to Dial.
The gun can't be traced.
- I am in this as deep as you are.
I'm going to find out
what they want and I'm
going to get rid of them.
No, I'll get rid of them.
- Hold it right there, Danielle.
- Nick, Nick, thank God you're here.
She killed them all, she
was coming here to kill me.
- What are you saying?
- She came in here with a gun.
- Why are you doing this?
- She was coming here to kill me
and take over the business.
- I did this for you.
- She killed Ray!
- It's all right.
- She's alive.
So she wasn't lying,
you were in it together.
- You hired me as your pet detective.
You wanted me to lead the
police right past you.
You know, Ollie's not that stupid.
He wasn't buying it yet,
but he was starting too.
- So wrong, Nick.
- Listen, Danielle knew we were onto Dial.
The only way she could've known that
is if you told her.
There was no one else.
- No.
- And with her out of the way,
you could inherit the company.
- It's not true.
- Nick, I thought we meant
something to each other.
- So did I.
I told you I just wanted
to get to the truth.
You said you were counting on it.
Well, it took a long
while, but here we are.
Sgt. Porter, please.
Ollie, there's been a
shooting at Hampton's place.
Can you send an ambulance right away?
I guess Melanie's little innocent act
didn't play very well
at the D.A.'s office.
- Well Ollie says they're
goin' for the full pop
on all the murders.
- You two are here a bit early aren't you?
- Actually we've been meaning
to talk to you about that.
- About what?
- Well, Ian old boy, we've
decided to make the Tropical Heat
our base of operations for a little while.
- Just until we get the repairs done.
- What repairs?
- Well, there was a fire.
- And the water damage when
the fire department came.
- And then there was the
door that they broke down.
- Oh, and don't forget the wall
when she tried to hang the pictures.
- Hold it.
It sounds like a bloody
whirlwind hit the place.
Who's she?
- Janice.
But since she burned down our office,
I mean, we can hardly keep her around.
- Hold it, you mean Janice Jennis?
- Yeah, why?
- Well, I was a bit short staffed,
I called up the temp agency
and the next think you know,
who's here but J-
- Nick!
Wait, wait.
- Ian, you didn't?
- I did.
- Well Ian, I have only two
words of advice for you.
- What are they?
- Watch out.
- Uh oh.
- This coming from the lady who said
she couldn't remember how to play poker?
- Once the cards were in my head,
it all came back to me.
- Yeah.
- Bet's to you Ian.
- Check.
- 50 bucks.
- Hmm, let me see.
I surrender.
- Hmm, I hate to sit out on the last hand.
I'll raise you 10.
- She's a hit and run
artist, that's what she is.
- You wouldn't had a couple lucky hands,
tonight would've been a different night.
- And if the Queen had a beard.
- One card.
You want to win over the long haul,
you better learn how to bluff.
- If I hadn't learned how to bluff
by watching you, I'll never know at all.
I stand pat.
- What'd you do, chew on four leaf clovers
before you sat down?
- I could be bluffing.
- 10 bucks.
- Raise you 40.
- How do you know I didn't pull my card?
- You had two pairs at
best, hoping for the boat.
You haven't pulled your card all evening.
- She's bluffing for sure.
I'll go light and raise you forty.
- Evidently, you want to turn a bad night
into a total disaster.
Up a hundred.
- A hundred?
- No limit, remember?
- You're lookin' at me
and tellin' me you're
sitting on a flush?
I don't buy it.
- Could be a straight too.
- You know, if there's one
thing Nick Slaughter knows,
it's when a woman's lying to him.
I gotta stand just to teach you a lesson.
- It'll cause you a bill, teach.
Thank you boys.
Cashing in.
- You were bluffing right?
- We'll never know, will we?
Same time next week?
- I got a date.
- With me.
- Can I come?
- Hmm, wimps.
---
- We have a case.
600 dollars a day plus expenses.
- 600 bucks?
- Clients named is Hampton and he wants
us in there within a half hour.
- Look, when people step off the curb,
they're almost hit by a car.
That's an accident.
When they come up on the sidewalk
and chase you, that's not an accident.
- Your client said she was gonna kill him
and you found her standing over the body.
- Melanie isn't cheating on me.
She's trying to kill me.
- Who the hell do you think you are
walking in here accusing me of murder?
- I want you to find out
who killed my husband.
- Lady I was hired to prove that you
were tryin' to do just that.
- Get down.
- You can't get involved with this woman.
- We've been involved ever
since her husband hired me.
- You know what I mean.
- I just want to get the truth.
- That's what I'm counting on.
- I'm surprised, I thought
people in your profession
would've seen everything.
- He's in room seven.
I'd knock before you enter.
He's got company.
Ah! Look at this mess.
I can't find anything anywhere.
I don't know how we allowed
it to get like this.
Where is it?
- Look, you're being silly.
I can put my finger on anything
in this office in two seconds flat.
I can prove it.
Ask me for something, anything.
- All right, uh, the phone.
Find the phone.
Yes.
- All right.
The phone, see?
You were worried about nothing.
- Hm.
Ah, here it is.
What the hell is-
- Hey, hey, don't touch that.
- What the hell is this?
- I made this is summer camp
when I was eight years old.
My father was busting with pride.
You know he always
thought I'd be architect?
- That's nice, that's really nice.
I hate not being caught up.
- Look, the reason you're not caught up
is because you've been
spending too much time
in the field with me, when in reality,
as you well know, a
woman's place is at.
Very good, I was just making sure
you were paying attention.
- I need an assistant.
- You want an assistant?
Yes.
- All right, let me be your assistant.
I'll have you caught up in no time.
These are your bills,
- Those are the bills.
- I presume?
Perfect.
- What are you doing?
- Relax, relax, I know you can't just
throw bills away.
No, you gotta burn them.
- You can't burn bills.
- Well that's just great.
Look at what you've done.
You wasted an entire pot of coffee,
but, just to show you
what kind of guy I am,
I'll buy you a new pot.
- That's not the answer, Nick.
We need an assistant.
And I've hired one from
the Gordon Temp Agency.
She should be here any minute.
Aw, there she is.
- Well, you better get that
and tell her she's fired.
- We're not gonna fire her, Nick.
- Okay, we're not gonna fire her,
'cause anyway, when we tell her
we can't pay her, she'll quit.
- Nick!
- Janice?
- Oh, it's great to see you.
- Oh, oh, oh Nick.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Um.
I'll buy you a new, whatever that is.
- Forget it, it's all right.
- Janice, you're not from the
Gordon Temp Agency, are you?
- I'm not?
I mean, I am, I am.
See, it's this address and they said
the company to go to is Nick Slaughter
Private Investigator.
I knew it was you, 'cause you are
Nick Slaughter, Private Investigator.
- Yeah.
- I don't want to hear
about concrete delays, okay?
I've got 200 condo buyers who're gonna
be screaming for their
money back if I don't
deliver in 60 days.
60 days.
Get these guys working.
- It'll just take me a minute
to clean this stuff up.
- Heads.
Janice, I think we should talk.
- Oh, I've got too much work to do, Nick.
- I think that's what he
wants to talk to you about.
- Nick Slaughter, Private Investigations.
- Listen, I, I just don't think
it's a good idea that you work here.
- But, we work so well together.
When we caught Mr. Minton,
don't you remember?
You had the gun, and you went diving
on the stairs and the
baby cart went flying down
and Ms. Sylvie came with the big bag
and she whopped him on the-
- Janice, I remember.
- Oh.
Can I have your address please?
- Oh, I understand.
You don't think I can handle it?
- Janice, I like you, really I do.
- No, that's not what I mean.
I mean that the way we work is different
from what you're used to.
Right, thanks.
- She'll explain.
- We have a case.
600 dollars a day, plus expenses.
- 600 bucks?
- Clients name is Hampton and he wants us
there within the half hour.
- We won't be long.
- Don't worry about me.
- Janice, how much does
the agency pay you?
- Um, whoa, phew.
Um, 50 dollars for eight hours work.
- Well, I'll tell you what.
I'll pay you 75.
Here's the deal.
Don't do anything, nothing, okay?
Nothing.
- He's such a kidder.
Hi, next slot.
- Nice place.
We should've charged $700 a day.
Mr. Hampden's office.
- That's the kind of help
we need, right there.
Can you see her putting
our place to shame?
- All I can see is you
wearing a terry cloth bib
to wipe off the drool.
- Ms. Girard, Mr. Slaughter.
- Hello.
- Hi, I'm Ray Hampton.
- Hi.
- How you doing?
- Hi.
- Come on in.
- My partner, Danielle Reed.
Best engineer on the Key.
- Pleased to meet you.
- My pleasure.
- Hello.
- Please sit down.
Danielle draws them but I put 'em up.
Worked out pretty well so far.
- I know you have a lot to talk about.
I'll go over the revised facts.
- Good.
- Hope they can help.
Nice meeting you.
- You too.
- Bye.
- I've always been an admirer
of quality construction.
- Ah huh, you people did some work
for a friend of mine, Mike Jacklin.
- Yes, we managed to help Mr. Jacklin
with the trouble he had at home.
- A little trouble.
His wife and the decorator.
Three months that guy
spent in Mike's house,
never got past the bedroom.
- You think you might have a
similar situation, Mr. Hampton?
- No, my problem isn't that simple.
Melanie isn't cheating on me.
She's trying to kill me.
You look shocked.
I'm surprised, I thought
people in your profession
would've seen everything.
- Well, murder's still
pretty good for a reaction.
- She tried to run me over today,
in front of one of my projects,
either her or somebody she hired.
- Look, Mr. Hampton, I
know that playing tag with
a couple tons of cement can be scary,
but you know the way
people drive around here.
Are you sure it wasn't an accident?
- An accident?
Look when people step off the curb
and their almost hit by a car,
that's an accident.
When they come up on the
sidewalk and chase you,
that's not an accident.
- Did you call the police?
- Of course I called the police,
but there was no plates on the car
and outside of a couple bags of garbage,
that they hit, there's no evidence.
- We'll need a description of the car.
- Sure, black late model sedan.
- Why would your wife wanna kill you?
I mean, people have trouble nowadays
lot of them get a divorce.
- If it wasn't for the
prenuptial agreement,
she would've left me months ago.
If we divorce, she gets a small alimony.
- And if you die?
- She gets it all.
- Does Melanie know you suspect her?
- She thinks something's up, yeah.
- Why stay?
- I love her, I want to
believe that I'm wrong.
Look, I know that this sounds paranoid,
but this isn't the first
time that it's happened.
A couple of weeks ago,
somebody did some surgery
on the brake line of my car.
If Danielle hadn't spotted the fluid leak,
I'd be toast right now.
- Could it have been
someone other than Melanie?
That's what I want you to find out.
I want you to prove to me that
Melanie's not behind this.
But...
- Where can we find her?
- You'd probably find her at the bar
at the Tidewater Resort.
- All right, what is the matter.
- It's too hot, there's
too many mosquito's
and I'm down here with you.
- Listen, you were the one that wanted
to save the relationship.
That's why we're down here.
Phoebe, you can not run away from this.
- You can't resuscitate something
that's been dead for months.
What am I gonna tell the kids?
- Sorry, I mean about all this.
- These things happen.
- I mean, I didn't want to
spoil your view or anything.
- It's still there.
- You know I, I know this is
gonna sound like a come on.
Do you mind if I sit down, here?
- You're right, it does
sound like a come on,
and if you don't mind,
I'd prefer to appreciate
the view alone.
- You know, it's funny, I
thought that by comin' down here,
to someplace special, you
know, just the two of us
that maybe things would
work themselves out.
- I tried that once.
- Maybe it was the wrong someone.
- That's what my husband says.
I'm married too.
- But unhappily, I guess, like me?
- Look, I'm not here to
try and get picked up.
You can save yourself a lot
of time and conversation.
- Listen, conversation
doesn't cost us anything.
It may even help and I'm
not trying to pick you up.
That's how I got in that mess.
- Well then, you should've
learned your lesson.
- Let's make a deal.
As soon as I try to pick you up,
I'll let you know in advance.
- You know you really
do have a way about you.
- Slade, Nick Slade.
- Well frankly, I don't
know what her problem is,
but right now one man is
about all I can handle.
- This husband of yours
must really be putting
you through the wringer.
- Well, it's a lot harder on him
than it is on me.
It's been a lot worse
in the last few months.
Every time I try to find out what's wrong,
he pushes me away.
- He sounds like the type of guy
you'd be smart to get away from.
- Maybe I'm not so smart.
Maybe I still love him.
Not what you wanted to
hear, was it Mr. Slade?
Well, I'm sorry you had
to waste your repartee.
It really was quite good.
Don't get too close.
We don't want her to spot us.
- Sylvie don't worry.
This is not the first
time I've tailed someone.
- He loves her, she loves him.
- Idyllic isn't it?
You know if Melanie's lying,
she's putting on a hell of an act.
Ten minutes alone with her makes Hampton
seem like a stone paranoid.
- You know, someone once said that
paranoids are like anybody else,
they just have more reliable information.
- I hear you.
- Now let's see.
Cut brake line.
A game of chicken on the sidewalk.
Yeah, he has a reason to believe that
somebodies annoyed with him.
- What I don't get is why
he's so convinced it's her?
- Maybe it's men's intuition.
- I mean, she comes across as being
a sad, lonely wife who loves her husband,
who just can't figure out
why he's acting so weird.
- She had no idea what
you were doing there,
so she had no reason to lie.
- I know, unless it just
comes naturally to her.
- Nick, she's turning.
- She's going into her hubbies office.
I wonder what the hell she's doin' there?
- She wouldn't?
She couldn't?
- Better get in there and
make sure she doesn't.
- No, he went out the window, the man.
- I'm sorry Mrs. Hampton but you're going
to have to hang on just
a little while longer.
Now tell it to me.
All that you can.
, I came
into the outer office,
and I saw them arguing.
Ray and the Man.
- Did you hear anything they were saying?
- No, just a few words.
Uh, he said something
about Ray not paying him
and then Ray said something
and then I walked in
and that's when the man shot him.
- Can you describe the assailant?
- It was a black man, medium build.
- Ever seen him before?
- No.
- If I gave you a mug book,
think you can spot him?
A man killed my husband.
Someone does something like that,
you tend to remember what they look like.
That man Mister Slade,
he, I met him in a bar
and then he was in the office.
He would've seen the killer too.
What were you doing there?
- I was just going to ask Mr. Slade
the very same thing.
Take Mrs. Hampton and then
show her some pictures.
This way
please, Mrs. Hampton.
Do You mind telling me
where you two bought tickets to this?
- We were doing some
consulting for Mr. Hampton.
- Yeah, well how does the lady fit in?
- Well Hampton wanted
us to check on his wife.
He thought she was trying to kill him.
- Kill him?
- Yeah, well, that's what the man said.
- Your client said she
was tryin' to kill him?
And you found her standing over the body?
Now how long you think a jury
will deliberate over that one?
- Ollie, we both saw the car driving away.
And it matched the description of the car
that tried to run Ray
Hampton over earlier today.
He reported it.
- All right, I'll, I'll pull the file.
- Where you going?
- To have another talk
with our grieving widow.
- You know, if I were
you, I'd also be checking
the murder weapon for
registration and prints
and also check the neighborhood.
Maybe someone saw something else.
- Thank you very much for
explaining procedure to me.
Maybe you can stop by the academy some day
and speak to the recruits.
- Sorry.
- Look man, I'm not looking
to railroad the lady,
but you gotta admit, your testimony
makes her look awfully good for it.
And if I don't ask her
the right questions,
the D.A.'s gonna ask me some.
- Oh my gosh.
- Hey, if you like it now, wait 'til you
see it when it's finished.
This is gonna take me a year to clean up.
- This morning, you were
only two months' behind,
but oh no, you didn't
know when you had it good.
- My Mother always said,
"You have to make a mess
"to clean a mess."
- Your Mom would be very proud of you.
- Thank you.
Now, as an extra special surprise,
I fixed your log cabin.
See, I painted it and everything.
That's okay, you don't have to thank me.
It's all part of the service.
- Don't say anything.
I know it's my fault.
I'm sorry.
- Not half as sorry as you're gonna be.
Look at this place.
- Nick Slaughter, private investigations.
Mrs. Hampton?
Just a minute please,
I'll see if he's here.
Oh, here he is.
- Hello, Mrs. Hampton?
Yeah, I know a place where we can meet.
- Sergeant Porter says the
only reason he didn't hold me
was because of your testimony.
- Just told the man what I saw.
- He seems to have a lot of
respect for your opinions.
- The things people say
behind your back, huh?
- I want to hire you, Mr. Slaughter.
- What?
- I want you to find out
who killed my husband.
- Lady, I was hired to prove that
you were tryin' to do just that.
- But you know I didn't do it.
You were there, you saw the car.
- All I saw was a car pulling away.
- Please, don't you think
you owe me something?
Look I'm sorry, I'm wasting
your time, Mr. Slaughter.
Look I know you have no
reason to believe me,
but I really did love my husband.
- Wait, wait.
Please sit down.
Maybe I do owe you something,
you and your husband.
Maybe if I had done my job
right, he never would've died.
- Then you'll help me?
- I'll call you.
- Thank you.
- Come in.
- Hello.
Mrs. Brady I don't know
if you remember us.
We met with Mr. Hampton yesterday?
- I remember.
- I know this must be
quite a shock for you.
- Ray was such a power house, I always
thought he was indestructible.
- Somebody was trying very
hard to prove he wasn't.
- When I talked with Sgt. Porter,
they said they were questioning Melanie?
They can't think she had
anything to do with it?
- And you don't?
- Of course not!
If you only knew her, I told Ray that.
- He obviously wasn't listening.
- Ray was exhausted to the bone.
I guess the deadline on the condo project
was really getting to him.
- You two sound like
you were pretty close.
- We were close.
We weren't involved if
that's what you're asking.
- It was you that saw the
cut in Ray's brake line?
- Yes.
I'm not an expert, but I don't see how
it could've been an a accident.
- Two accidents that
couldn't have been accidents.
- I'm sorry?
- Well, we must've been
dealing with a pretty
clumsy killer here.
Yesterday must've been his lucky day.
- Do you have any idea who
might want to kill Ray?
- It's not as if he didn't have enemies.
Sort of goes with the business.
- Melanie said that she heard the killer
tell Ray to pay up.
Is there any body after Ray for money?
- No, our accounts are all up-to-date.
- Was there any other kind of threats,
blackmail, extortion?
- No.
- What is it?
- One of the concrete suppliers
wanted Ray to use his materials,
even made threats.
Ray didn't seem worried, so I didn't
think anything of it.
- What was his name?
- Nash, Patrick Nash.
He owns Nash Building Materials.
- Looks like someone
we should know better.
- Thanks.
- Hey get back to work now.
I don't pay you to stand
here and guff all day.
- Nick, I don't like this.
I think we should be careful with Nash.
- What's the problem?
- There's a lot of tough
looking guys around here.
- I just wanna ask 'em some questions.
That's all.
- So what if they don't like questions?
- Look I'm the King, he's the sardine can.
Watch the master at work.
- Look I don't want to hear anything
more about overtime.
You get those guys and
get back to work now!
- Well, business seems brisk.
- I keep the customers satisfied and
they keep on coming back.
What can I do for you?
- We're developing some coastlines.
Some quality condos for the folks
back in blizzard country to enjoy.
- Ew, now that's a new idea.
- Well, it ain't new, but
we're gonna do it right.
- Yes, everything top quality.
Above code.
- That's right Ms. Girard, thank you.
- Well, like I always say,
when it comes to concrete,
mine's as hard as anybodies.
- You always say that do you?
- Can I ask who put you on to me?
- Yeah, he's not a developer, Ray Hampton.
- What are you, cops?
- Sorry, guess I pushed
a button there, huh?
- You're not cops.
You private dicks?
- Well, actually we were working for Ray
when he was killed.
- Sounds like you outta work then.
From what I hear, they already
popped his old lady for it.
- Nobody's popped anybody for anything.
- Hey, wait a minute.
I know why you're mooching around here.
Somebody told you I offered a deal
and he didn't take it.
That's the way it was.
And it wasn't the first time either.
But hey, the guy doesn't want to deal,
what am I supposed to do?
- I don't know, threaten him?
- Who the hell you think you are
walking in here, accusing me of murder?
- Nobodies accusing anybody of anything.
- You wanna talk about threats?
- Boys.
- I see you again, this gonna
seem like a school dance.
- You all right?
- Why didn't you tell
me to be more careful?
- I did.
- Why didn't I listen?
- Well, we don't have to look
much further for Ray's killer.
- Maybe he's just naturally unfriendly.
- That doesn't get him off.
Whoever killed Ray was
definitely unfriendly.
- What are we gonna do now?
- We have to find a way to tie
Nash in more closely with Ray's murder.
Why don't you check in with Ollie,
see if he's got a make on that car yet.
- And what are you gonna
do in the mean time?
I'm gonna go see Melanie,
see if she can help us out.
- All right, does that hurt?
- Ouch!
- Sorry, sorry, okay.
- Nick, what happened to you?
- I just had a little talk with somebody.
The only problem is they
talked a little too loud.
- Are you sure you're okay?
- I've been worse.
- Come on in.
You remember Danielle?
- Yes.
- With Ray gone, she's been forced
to take over the day-to-day operations.
I'm just staying on as a silent partner.
- Not too silent, I hope.
- Danielle, would you mind if I spoke
to Melanie in private for a moment?
- No problem.
We've got a good jump on things.
I'll call when I've gone
over these with the lawyer.
- Thanks, Danielle.
- Take care.
- Nick, what have you found out?
- Well, the guy I spoke
too was named Patrick Nash.
He owns a building supply.
He's real sensitive to
questions about your husband.
Ray ever mention his name?
- No, never, I really
didn't know very much
about Ray's business.
- Well, Sylvie will run a check on Nash,
maybe she can come up with something.
- Nick, the police have called again.
They want to ask me some more questions.
- Well, they're only questions.
If they had anything, they wouldn't let
you go in the first place.
- If this man, Nash,
really did kill my husband,
you will make sure that
he pays for it, won't you?
- Well, yeah.
If he did it, one way or
another he'll pay for it.
- Thank you.
Would you like a drink.
- No.
- You know, when I asked you, I really
didn't think you'd help me.
I just didn't know where else to turn.
- Well, I just want to get at the truth.
- It's what I'm counting on.
But I was hoping, maybe it
was something a little more.
When you talked to me in the bar,
I really felt like you
cared about my problems.
I guess, I thought maybe you
were a little attracted to.
- That so strange?
- Yes.
In the last few months,
Ray barely touched me.
I guess I really needed your attraction,
your attention, more than anything else.
- Get down!
Stay right here.
I'm telling you all, you
should be checkin' out Nash.
- What, the shooter stopped
and introduced himself?
- Look, all I had to do
was mention Hampton's name
and Nash blew up.
- Is that how come your
face looks like that?
Real attractive.
- Thanks.
- So did you find out
anything about the gun
that they used to kill Hampton?
- It was stolen last month in
a heist from a private home,
along with an art collection.
- An art collection?
- Yeah, a collection of paintings
from an artist named Brachi.
The take was almost a 100 thou.
After that, the trail goes cold.
- What happened?
- Well, according to Ollie,
Melanie snuck out while I wasn't looking
and then a, took a few shots
at herself through the window.
- You're too close to the lady, man.
You've lost your sense of humor.
- What do you got?
- On Nash, enough to know why
he doesn't like questions.
- Let's have it.
- Well, word is he's under investigation
for using strong arm
tactics to get contracts.
You don't buy his concrete and
unexplained accidents happen on your site.
- So, if the gentle
persuasion doesn't work,
he offs Hampton as an
example to everyone else.
- Look, I'm not saying that you're wrong.
- What are you saying?
- He's throwing a close second.
The day's screaming for blood
and looks your widow might be the one
who does the bleeding.
Excuse me.
- You okay?
- I guess so, I just don't understand
why this has happened.
- Someone's trying to stop us
from finding out who killed your husband
and they don't care who
else they kill to do it.
- Sylvie, do you know
a painter named Brachi.
- Yeah, his work's very popular right now.
- I was just thinking, if we find out who
stole the paintings, we'll
find out who stole the gun.
- And that'll lead us to Hampton's killer.
- I know a guy who specializes
in moving this kind of stuff.
- Maybe it's about time
we got some culture.
- All right.
- Nick, I want to come with you.
- No way.
Look, somebody just took some shots at us
and they didn't seem to care who they hit.
Don't worry, I'll be back.
- Nick, are you sure you know
what you're getting into here?
- Nope.
- Where do I start by saying
that she's our clients widow,
that she's one of the prime
suspects to his murder.
Stop me if any of this is
getting through to you.
- It is, it is.
- Nick, you can't get
involved with this woman.
- We've been involved every
sense her husband hired us.
- You know what I mean.
- Yeah, I know what you
mean and you may be right,
but, there's something to that woman.
I'd like to get to know her
and I think she feels
the same thing for me.
- Nick.
- When it's over, when she's over him.
Maybe then, okay?
- Okay.
Oh that's nice, that's very nice.
- Perky, yet delicate.
- Post-Impressionism?
- I'd say it looks more like surrealism.
- Actually, it looks
like Gilligan's Island.
Look there's Gilligan.
- That's not Gilligan, it's the Skipper,
you can tell by the hat.
- Oh, that's right.
- Yeah, it's too bad you copied it
from someone else.
Of course, the little old lady who buys
it from you will never know
the difference, will she?
- You know I don't come
around and bother you
when you're working, do I Slaughter?
- Oh, that's right, Nick.
An artist like Monty
needs total concentration.
- All an artist like Monty
needs is tracing paper.
- Now what exactly do you want?
- Oh, I thought we might
have a little conversation
about our history.
- Since when are you
interested in our history?
- Since some paintings I know about
were part of a collection and suddenly
they were history.
- The canvas was done by
an artist named Brachi.
- I'm a forger, not a thief.
- No identity crisis here.
I mean, there's a man who
knows exactly who he is.
- I told you, I don't know
anything about stolen paintings.
- And I say you do and I
got a police wrap sheet
from here to Miami that'll back me up.
Now what do you know about
the Briachi paintings?
- Briachi?
He's an overrated poser.
- No, no.
I didn't ask for a critique.
- Look we don't want
anything from you Monty.
We just wanna know who
stole the paintings.
- What's the big deal?
For a nickel and dime heist?
- They stole a gun too.
- I'm an artist.
I don't know anything about guns.
- Okay Monty, but you do know
about the Briachi's, right?
- Leave me alone.
Okay, just leave me alone.
- No can do Monty.
I need some information that you've got
and if I don't get it,
I'm gonna be all over you
like cheap cologne.
Now everything you do,
I'm gonna know about.
And that covers an awful lot of territory.
- Okay, his name is Peter and he lives,
if you can call it that,
at the Coral Hotel.
- See, it wasn't that hard, was it?
- Phone Ollie, tell him
to compile a file on Dial
and fax it to the office.
- Compile a file on Dial?
- That's simple enough, isn't it?
- Absolutely.
I thought you'd never get here.
- Hello.
- Hi, what can I do for you?
- We're looking for a guy.
- I rent the rooms by the hour.
What you do with them is your business.
- The guys' name is Pete Dial.
- Our clients are sort of
eccentric about their names.
- Ah, hide away for the
rich and famous, huh?
- Something like that.
- Well I think this
Dial might be interested
in what we have to say.
- And what might that be?
- He's supposed to be real good at
getting into places he's
not supposed to be in.
And we might just have a place.
- Yeah and it might be worth some serious
change to anyone who can put us on to him.
- He's in room seven.
Oh, by-the-way, I'd
knock before you enter.
He's got company.
- Thanks.
- Dial?
- I guess he doesn't know it's impolite
to keep company waiting.
- He's not the only one who's gonna
forget his manners.
They got away clean.
- Not quite.
- If she didn't like the ring,
she could've just told him.
- Not too many women would
be impressed by this.
It's made of iron.
There's an inscription on it.
June 4th, 1986.
Could he have given it to her?
- Maybe, maybe it's an
anniversary gift of some kind.
- Hey, what's the matter,
didn't you find him?
- Oh we found him all right,
he just wasn't breathing.
- What?
- The guy was murdered.
- What are you talking about?
I run a respectable place here.
- I've seen roach motels more
respectable than this dive.
Now who was he with?
- I told you, a working girl.
I didn't get a good look at her.
- You didn't notice anything?
The color of her hair or clothes?
- She had this thing on
her head, like a scarf.
She wore sunglasses.
- And that's it?
- Hey look, there's a lot
of people come through here.
I wasn't judging her
for the fashion column.
Hey, what am I supposed to do about Dial?
- Call Sgt. Ollie Porter,
Key PD and tell him
there's been a homicide.
- Hey what am I, a messenger service here?
- Okay Janice, what happened?
- Well, I had a little problem
with the lamp and I tried to fix it,
but then I had a little accident
and then the power kind of...
- It's all right, it's all right.
Never mind.
- Anyway, I think it's
kind of romantic like this,
don't you?
- It's kind of dark, is what it is.
- Come on, let's take
another look at that ring.
Is somebody getting married?
- No, someone got killed.
- They don't give rings for that.
- Janice, please, this is important.
- Did Ollie send the fax?
- Yeah.
- Here.
- Thanks.
What's the date on the ring?
- June 4th, 1986, why?
- Blows our anniversary theory to pieces.
He was in prison in
Carolina from '84 to '88.
- So he didn't give it to her,
but what kind of man would
give a woman an iron right?
- Iron?
I know.
- Please, we're concentrating.
- So am I.
- Maybe it's a secret
society or something.
- It's architects.
- Architects are hardly a secret society.
- No, but they all wear iron rings.
I worked for architect
once, for a little while,
and he told me that they all get them
when they graduate.
- Danielle.
- No, his name was Larry.
- 10 to one, the date on this
is when Danielle got a degree.
- Yeah, she must have
killed Ray to take over
his end of the business.
- Janice, you were great.
- I was?
- Yes.
Slyvie, we'll call Ollie
from the car phone.
Tell him to pick up Danielle Brady.
Right.
- I was great, I was great, I was great.
Uh oh.
- I must admit, Danielle
played us real smooth.
She was so helpful.
- Yeah, she almost helped
get the wrong guy arrested.
I wonder where the fire is?
- Nick, it's a copy of the contract.
- Between Danielle and Ray?
- No, between Danielle and Melanie.
- Melanie?
- It says here that if
one of the parties die,
sole ownership reverts to the other.
- Which means Melanie
could be her next target.
- Still no answer.
It was perfect.
Danielle steered us toward Nash.
- Why?
- Why, because Nash would be taken down.
And Danielle would walk away
with control of the company.
- Two botched murder attempts.
One she uncovers herself
when she spots brake fluid?
- Right.
- I mean if there is a frame,
it was around Melanie, not Nash.
- But she killed Dial.
- I know, I agree.
- Wait a second.
There were two frames.
And I only saw one.
- They're all gone.
Everyone who could hurt us.
- Melanie!
- What are they doing?
- I lost my ring, they know!
- They can't.
Just relax.
- You can't be tied to Dial.
The gun can't be traced.
- I am in this as deep as you are.
I'm going to find out
what they want and I'm
going to get rid of them.
No, I'll get rid of them.
- Hold it right there, Danielle.
- Nick, Nick, thank God you're here.
She killed them all, she
was coming here to kill me.
- What are you saying?
- She came in here with a gun.
- Why are you doing this?
- She was coming here to kill me
and take over the business.
- I did this for you.
- She killed Ray!
- It's all right.
- She's alive.
So she wasn't lying,
you were in it together.
- You hired me as your pet detective.
You wanted me to lead the
police right past you.
You know, Ollie's not that stupid.
He wasn't buying it yet,
but he was starting too.
- So wrong, Nick.
- Listen, Danielle knew we were onto Dial.
The only way she could've known that
is if you told her.
There was no one else.
- No.
- And with her out of the way,
you could inherit the company.
- It's not true.
- Nick, I thought we meant
something to each other.
- So did I.
I told you I just wanted
to get to the truth.
You said you were counting on it.
Well, it took a long
while, but here we are.
Sgt. Porter, please.
Ollie, there's been a
shooting at Hampton's place.
Can you send an ambulance right away?
I guess Melanie's little innocent act
didn't play very well
at the D.A.'s office.
- Well Ollie says they're
goin' for the full pop
on all the murders.
- You two are here a bit early aren't you?
- Actually we've been meaning
to talk to you about that.
- About what?
- Well, Ian old boy, we've
decided to make the Tropical Heat
our base of operations for a little while.
- Just until we get the repairs done.
- What repairs?
- Well, there was a fire.
- And the water damage when
the fire department came.
- And then there was the
door that they broke down.
- Oh, and don't forget the wall
when she tried to hang the pictures.
- Hold it.
It sounds like a bloody
whirlwind hit the place.
Who's she?
- Janice.
But since she burned down our office,
I mean, we can hardly keep her around.
- Hold it, you mean Janice Jennis?
- Yeah, why?
- Well, I was a bit short staffed,
I called up the temp agency
and the next think you know,
who's here but J-
- Nick!
Wait, wait.
- Ian, you didn't?
- I did.
- Well Ian, I have only two
words of advice for you.
- What are they?
- Watch out.
- Uh oh.
- This coming from the lady who said
she couldn't remember how to play poker?
- Once the cards were in my head,
it all came back to me.
- Yeah.
- Bet's to you Ian.
- Check.
- 50 bucks.
- Hmm, let me see.
I surrender.
- Hmm, I hate to sit out on the last hand.
I'll raise you 10.
- She's a hit and run
artist, that's what she is.
- You wouldn't had a couple lucky hands,
tonight would've been a different night.
- And if the Queen had a beard.
- One card.
You want to win over the long haul,
you better learn how to bluff.
- If I hadn't learned how to bluff
by watching you, I'll never know at all.
I stand pat.
- What'd you do, chew on four leaf clovers
before you sat down?
- I could be bluffing.
- 10 bucks.
- Raise you 40.
- How do you know I didn't pull my card?
- You had two pairs at
best, hoping for the boat.
You haven't pulled your card all evening.
- She's bluffing for sure.
I'll go light and raise you forty.
- Evidently, you want to turn a bad night
into a total disaster.
Up a hundred.
- A hundred?
- No limit, remember?
- You're lookin' at me
and tellin' me you're
sitting on a flush?
I don't buy it.
- Could be a straight too.
- You know, if there's one
thing Nick Slaughter knows,
it's when a woman's lying to him.
I gotta stand just to teach you a lesson.
- It'll cause you a bill, teach.
Thank you boys.
Cashing in.
- You were bluffing right?
- We'll never know, will we?
Same time next week?
- I got a date.
- With me.
- Can I come?
- Hmm, wimps.