Baretta (1975–1978): Season 1, Episode 6 - Ragtime Billy Peaches - full transcript

You mean that
Ragtime Billy Peaches

ain't gonna get to
write his love song

about the Gypsy
girl called Lola?

You're going to
break both our hearts.

Did you know that your wife in
Los Angeles was a prostitute?

You have arrested
the most important

and respected
lawyer in this state...

On nothing more than a hunch!

The facts tell me
that that guy had

sufficient motivation
to snuff his old lady.

10 will get you 50,
you're wrong. No bet.



I'm just stirring up the
soup to see what rises.

(theme music playing)

Here it is. "Magnificent
Macho"... jumps right out at you.

Jumps out at you at that weight?

(piano music playing)

(music stops)

Ah, no!

Tony, you said one more tune

and you'd work the bird for us.

All right, sing some blues
for me, and I'll work the bird.

♪ Don't do the crime if
you can't do the time ♪

♪ Oh, no... ♪ Yeah,
mama, sing it to me.

♪ Don't go to bed with
a price on your head ♪

♪ Oh, no ♪



♪ Keep your eye ♪

♪ On the sparrow... ♪

I love it, yeah.

♪ Don't do it ♪

♪ When the going ♪

♪ Gets narrow. ♪

Yeah!

Tony, the kids aren't
gonna pay to hear me sing,

they want to see Fred.

You got it, Sister.
Come on, Fred.

(cheering)

Say hello. Hello. Hello.

Attaboy! (laughter)

Who wants to pay 10¢

to see what Father Ed looks
like when he drinks too much?

I got a nickel. You got it.

Do it for me.
Attaboy. (laughing)

I'll get Tony for that.

Do you like little girls, huh?

What do you think
of the little boys?

(laughing)

Get on the floor and roll
over and play like a dead dog.

Roll over. Roll over.

Attaboy. Attaboy.

I want you to go collect
some money for me.

Give him a nickel.
Put it in the box.

Attaboy.

We gonna do the
famous skate trick

where Fred teaches everybody
how to go a million miles an hour.

Get rolling, Fred.
Come on! Atta boy.

Attaboy! Attaboy, Fred!

Attaboy! You're a champ, Fred.

Come on, Fred. Come on, Fred.

He's coming in, and he
wins all the money. (cheering)

You're a winner, Fred.

Do the chicken.
Chicken, chicken.

(clucks) Good.

Hey Tony. My man!

Better come with me.
There's trouble down the street.

(crowd murmurs)

Dispatch: 7-Ryan-33, clear.

Billy: Want to drift
up to St. Anthony's?

Baretta: Nah, I better
wait for the big cheese.

Where is he? Is he coming?

He's coming now.
Yeah, that's him.

(siren blasts)

Hi, boss.

What shape is that
body in? How bad is it?

Shotgun.

We checked out the
address on the car registration.

I got a purse in there says
her name is Mary Beth Harmon.

Yeah, I guess it had to be.

The house at that address
belongs to Wilmont Harmon.

Who's that?

Wilmont Harmon? Yeah?

He's one of the biggest
criminal mouthpieces in the state.

He's the best in the business.

He's also a good friend of mine.

That must be his wife.

I guess you got a
phone call to make, boss.

Tell me about it.

Hello. Yes?

I'm Tony Baretta, Detective.

I'd like to speak to
Mr. Harmon if I might.

Come in.

Thank you.

Actually, my father is resting.

Oh, I understand.

It's been a shock for all of us.

Certainly, certainly.

Well, I'm sorry I
have to be here...

maybe just talk to him
for a couple of minutes.

I guess I can wake him up.

Thank you.

Oh! Whoa.

Are you all right?

No, I'm fine. Really, I'm fine.

I just... I was trying to sleep

and I thought maybe a couple
of drinks might help me sleep.

Yeah, that works sometimes.

Are you Nicole? Yes.

Ah-ha.

Why don't you come on into
the living room and sit down?

Okay. I'll go see if
my father is awake.

Thank you.

That's Beth.

My father had it painted
nearly a year ago.

Is that your mother?

Beth? Yes.

No, no.

Actually, Beth was
one of my best friends.

You see my mother
died nearly 15 years ago.

Uh-huh.

Listen, could I get you
something? No, no, no.

Why don't you sit
down here for a minute

and let your father sleep
for a few minutes more.

Have a seat. Whoops.

Maybe we'll
just talk a little bit

and let your father
sleep awhile longer.

How old are you?

21. Mm-hmm.

You see, I met Beth
when I was in college,

and she came home
with me one vacation

and I introduced
her to my father.

They had a whirlwind romance

and they got married
shortly after Beth graduated...

which was last summer.

What was she like?

Oh, Beth was very, very smart.

Very smart.

Dean's list. Phi Beta.

A lot smarter than me.

But I liked Beth...
everybody liked Beth.

She was fun, you know?

But there was something
underneath that.

I don't know she had...
a kind of a wisdom.

She knew who she was.

You know? Like she'd experienced

a lot more than the rest of us.

Yes, yes, I understand.

Tell me, did it make you...

Well, you brought your
college chum home and...

she and your father...

I beg your pardon,
but it seems that...

You mean when
they fell in love? Yes.

Did it bother me?

Yes.

No, why should it?

Well, I don't know.

My father's a very,
very attractive man.

At least, I think he's a
very attractive man...

and Beth was my best friend.

What could be more ideal?

Excuse me, listen,
I think I'm going to...

get myself another drink.

Right.

Could I get you
something? No, thank you.

I could make you some
fresh coffee or something?

No, just fine, fine.
Go ahead. Thank you.

Okay, just relax
and I'll be back.

She was beautiful, wasn't she?

Yes, sir.

My name is Tony Baretta.

Inspector Shiller,
he... Oh, yes.

I'm very sorry to
have to be here, sir,

and I do respect your grief.

I hope your nap...

Maybe you're
feeling a little better?

Thank you. I am, a little.

You've met my daughter? Yes.

Yes, we met.

She was the most radiant
creature. I adored her.

I'd never met anyone like her...

and I never will again.

I'm sorry, sir.

It's not your job to be sorry.

You're going to find the man
or the person who killed her.

So, sit down, start
asking questions

and never mind
about my feelings.

I'll learn to live with them.

Yes, sir.

When was the last
time you saw your wife?

It was the first of the week.

Monday or Tuesday...
Tuesday, I believe.

I count that four days ago, sir.

Did you hear from her?

No... neither had Nicole.

Well, was that unusual?

Yes, it was.

Did you think about
reporting her missing?

I thought of it, especially when
she wasn't back by last night.

You see, Friday
night was always...

special with us.

But I didn't report it because,

you see, my wife was
quite a bit younger than I am,

and I wanted her
to feel, always,

that a certain part of
her life was her own.

I didn't want her
tied down to me.

See, I loved her very much.

I'd have done anything
to see her happy.

She was from Los Angeles?

Yes.

I haven't been able to track
down any kind of information.

Can you tell me
something about her past?

I'm afraid I can't.

You see, she never
spoke about the past.

I never forced the issue.

That's very true.

Even in college she never
talked too much about it.

She used to say,

"No need for
yesterday's papers."

Baretta: I need a dozen

3x5s of this broad
this afternoon, okay?

Nice! Your new girlfriend?

She's a corpse... but
don't let that stop you.

Go ahead. Enjoy
yourself. You got it.

Pilar, you got that for me? The
Harmon case... just finished, okay?

I love you... thanks.
Shiller: Baretta!

Yes, sir? Oh, hi boss.

Did you just make a cash
draw of $500? Yeah, sure.

That's a lot of
money. What's it for?

That's expenses...
I gotta go to LA.

LA? Yeah.

Shall I list it as
a paid vacation,

or do you want
to tell me about it?

I was gonna tell you
about it. I'll tell you now.

The Harmon case... I ain't
coming up with nothing.

There ain't no social
security number,

there ain't no driver's license.

All I got is that
her maiden name

is Mary Beth Rumsey,
she comes from LA...

After that, it's a cab.

Well, maybe she didn't drive
and maybe she didn't work.

Or are you trying to tell me that
Wilmont Harmon's wife was using an alias?

No, no, there's
a birth certificate

in that high school
she went to before

she went to Sussex
College for Women in Philly.

Chief? I just came
down from the lab

and they claim you can't find lip
prints on a Styrofoam cup so I...

What are you talking about?!

It's that hit-and-run case.
If I can place the lip prints

on the Styrofoam cup,
inside the car... I got a case.

Foley! Get out of here!

I'll be in the lab if
you want me, sir.

Close the door. Right, right.

Chief, watch that guy 'cause
he's looking for your job.

Where were we?

We ain't no place,
that's where we are.

Unless the girl
stepped out of the ocean

at age 21, like a mermaid,

all I got is that there's
some kind of background

in LA and I got to
go there and dig it up.

What about the
college she went to?

Sussex College for Women in
Philly. Do you know the records?

Yeah. There ain't none.

What? Every college
keeps records.

This one had records
but they ain't there.

Nobody knows where
they are or they're gone.

That's it... except the Dean
of Women remembers her.

He said he was very
impressed with her. He was?

It's a he, a guy.
What do I know?

Anyway, he said he was
very impressed with her

on account of
she's the first girl

from this little high
school in Los Angeles,

Franklin Pierce
High, that ever made it

to his big hotsy-totsy
college in Philly...

Sussex College for Women, amen.

All right, when are
you going to LA?

I'm going this afternoon.

I got my uptown duds on,
we'll be properly represented.

Stay in touch.

You got it.

Hey, chief? Yeah?

If I call and you ain't here,

you want me to check with Foley?

I'll see you later.

(country accent) I'd like to
come in for a second, if I might.

We're closed. I understand.

Can I come in for
a second, if I might?

Come back tomorrow, okay?

See, I'm not sure there's
gonna be any tomorrow.

Hey darlin', I have
regards for you

from a good friend of yours,
Ms. Mary Beth Rumsey.

Mary Beth? Yeah!

Hello. Is Mary Beth back?

I beg your pardon. Is Mary Beth
back? Is she here in Los Angeles?

I don't know...

This is gorgeous. My goodness.

A fella could go bonkers
looking at these beautiful things.

No, you see, I knew her
in the East a while back.

She told me if I
ever came out here

to Los Angeles that I was
to look up a little Gypsy girl

named Lola, and I believe
I may have found her.

Yes, you have.

I'm glad. What's your name?

My name is Ragtime
Billy Peaches.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

I did not know
Mary Beth for long,

but I knew her well and
I wrote a tune for her.

She said if I ever found
the Gypsy girl Lola,

I'd have another
tune to write...

and I believe I have one
comin' on... She said that, huh?

About a Gypsy girl named Lola

and all the magic.

Yes, ma'am.

I have my dinner waiting for me.

Oh, excuse me.

Why, that's impolite.

Oh, one more time!

That's lovely. You
have dinner waiting?

Yes.

How about if I
sing while you eat?

Do you know that I can sing
while I eat? Like to see that?

You're hungry, huh? Yes, ma'am.

Okay, Peaches. Do you like rice?

No, ma'am.

Do you like
vegetables? No, ma'am.

Then you're not
gonna like your dinner.

I like wine and I got me a
skinful. Do you like wine?

I like wine. Let's eat.

Mary Beth...

Lord, I have not seen
her in so many years.

I miss her.

Last time, she was in someplace

like Iran, Lebanon...

someplace far away.
Wherever it was... too far away.

She's so crazy.

Crazy, good lady.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. (giggles)

There's not anything weird...

Nothing she would
not try once, twice...

The guy that she
ran away with...

he was a john of hers.

What was that, a john?

What is a john anyway?

A customer. A customer?

What was she selling? Tricks.

What's that, tricks? Tricks.

Mary Beth was a hooker.

My Lord, if I'da known that, I'da
written a different kind of song.

She was a hooker?

Yes, sir. Oh, my Lord.

And a good one.

My gracious sakes
alive. A good one.

How in the hell did a
high-class girl like her

wind up... trickin'?

I don't know...

It's good money, I don't know.

She was workin' regular out of
this place called the Club Corsair

down there in North Hollywood.

My Lord o' Goshen.

Say now, you
wasn't... You didn't...

You was one of them hookers?

Me, Peaches? Yeah.

No. No, if I love
'em it's for free,

and if I don't... I don't like
IOUs and stuff like that.

That's good, darling, 'cause
I ain't got a damn dime.

(laughs)

(lounge music playing)

(yelling, catcalls)

Let the good times roll!

Mr. Valance? Yeah, come in.

How do you do?
Ragtime Billy Peaches.

Pleasure to meet
you. How are you?

Where's the girl?

You know, the name
you sent in here.

If you want me
to give her a job,

let's have a little
look at her, okay?

Well, sir, she ain't here.

She's not even with me at all.

The truth of the matter is
I don't know where she is.

I'm looking for her my own
self, and I heard she had worked

for you at one time and I was
wondering if you knew where she was.

Not me. Let me just refresh
your memory. There you go.

What'd you say her name
was? Mary Beth Rumsey.

Have a seat.

Well, thank you.

Yeah, she worked
for me awhile back.

Your move.

That's it. It's a mismatch.

You're distracting
me. Oh, I'm sorry.

Why are you looking for her?

As a matter of fact, she
owes me some money.

How much? 3,000 of my
dollars are in her pocket.

(laughs) I was pimping for
her down there in New Orleans.

You think you got troubles?
Yes, sir, 3000 of 'em.

She turned some
tricks for me, too.

Wasn't half bad, till some
customer ran off with her to Iran...

Some Arab, I guess.

Where's that, sir? Iran.

You figure she
might still be there?

She could be dead,
for all I know... or care.

I sure hope she ain't.

I ain't gonna get no $3,000
out of a hole in the ground.

(laughing)

Well... thank you for your time.

It's been a pleasure
meeting you.

You wouldn't happen to know
how to get to that Iran, would you?

Ask an Arab. Oh,
okay, thank you.

Gimme a drink.

Artie, you were gonna forget
all about her, remember?

Let her be.

Put a couple of
boys on that cowboy.

(crowd applauding)

You all aren't gonna
leave your car there,

'cause I'm just might be
a few minutes, you see...

Hold on, now. Wait a minute.

Now, that's just my keys up
there. There ain't no money.

Whatever y'all
want, you can have it.

Who are you? My name's
Peaches, sir... Ragtime Billy Peaches.

What'd you want with that broad?

It's like I told the
fella you work...

We ain't got no boss and
you ain't told us nothing!

Say, that there's my guitar arm.

You're kinda bending
it up a little bit.

Ohh! Ohh!

You see, the thing is
that I'm from Texarkana,

and she owes me $3,000.

(grunts)

I'm gonna tell you the truth.

I just was hired,
you see, to find her.

I ain't getting
but $50 for this.

I'm just a go-between and I'd
just as soon quit the whole thing

if it's all the same with y'all.

(tires screech)
There's a car coming.

I'm gonna leave
this whole town...

Let's go!

Baretta: I'm gonna tell you
something about Los Angeles...

(groaning)

I'm gonna make a call

and find out what's going
on with the Gypsy girl.

Hey, mister, come here a
minute. No, no, please, mister!

Let me talk to you.
Here... here's my ring!

I don't want your ring. Let
me give you my credit cards!

Can I have a dime,
please? I'll give you anything!

How about my wallet?
Shh. Listen to me.

I'll give you my money. I'll give
you all... Hey, will you shut up?!

You nut! Will you
listen to me?! Yes, sir.

I want 10¢. Yes,
here's all my change.

I don't want all your change!
I want a dime! Thank you!

Yes. Yes, yes. You people
in Los Angeles are nuts!

Lola, if you ain't home,
I'm calling the mortuary.

I'll take good care of
you, okay, little baby?

(groans) You too sore
for that, are you, huh?

I'll take care of it. Ahhh!

I'll lay a little
magic on you later,

as soon as I get you
feeling better, all right?

Lola? Yeah?

Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Did I hurt you? No.

What?

(grunts)

I ain't Billy Peaches.

You're being too nice to me,
darling... I gotta level with ya.

My name's Tony Baretta.

Now just stay nice... I'm a cop.

It ain't got nothing
to do with you...

Wait a minute... The
way you live, everything,

I love it, it's terrific.

I'm here on important
stuff. Now just hear me.

I'm here to
investigate a murder.

Yeah?

Your girlfriend,
Mary Beth Rumsey...

Yeah? She's dead.

Oh, no! I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I did
this to you, pal.

The reason I didn't
tell you I was a cop is

because most people
don't talk to cops.

You can't get no
information... especially

pretty people that live
the way you do here,

and a Gypsy and everything...
You don't want no cops around.

Everybody's supposed to be a
suspect, that's what the book says.

The first 10 seconds, you were a
suspect, but I know you're straight...

My heart tells me. So I'm
telling you everything I know...

and I'm sorry.

How did Mary Beth die?

Somebody shot her.

And I ain't got much to go on.

She was married to
a guy back in my city.

She was married?
Yeah, a big rich guy.

A big hot-dog lawyer.

But you told me something
that was important, honey.

You said that she was a hooker,

and I'm betting that a big,
rich important guy like him...

He wouldn't marry
a girl if he knew that.

That's something.
That's something to go on.

And I'm gonna go
back and check that out.

What about the guys
that beat you up?

They must work for
this guy, Valance.

You see, he's a joker
too. He's lying to me.

I don't know what his
story is, but he's lying.

Everybody lies in
this world, Gypsy girl,

except the people like you.

I'm sorry, I gotta ask
you something else.

I gotta have a $100
to get back to my town.

You got it!

Go back there.

Find out who did Mary Beth in.

I'll do it, I promise
you. Find out who did it!

I'll find out who did
it. That's a promise.

And I'll come back here
and I'll make this up to you.

That's a promise too.

I will.

Baretta: Not only that, but
the guy's old lady was a hooker.

Billy: Mrs. Wilmont
Harmon was a what?

The lady was a prostitute of
the first magnitude, that's what.

I don't believe it.

I ain't talking through
the top of my head.

I checked it out.
She had a record.

She got busted for tricking.

That high-class broad
was a hooker. (grunts)

Lord! I wonder if he knew.

Boy, he's been flying around
with some high-flying people...

Yachts, governors.

I think he even knew Agnew.

They say he was
planning to run for governor.

If this leaked out, what would that
have done to his political career, huh?

Billy, my boy, you know
what you've given me?

What?

One of the prime requisites
for adequate police procedure...

The suspect's motivation.

(leaf blower humming)

♪ Don't go to bed with
no price on your head, no ♪

♪ Don't do it ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Don't do the crime if
you can't do the time, now ♪

♪ No, don't do it ♪

♪ Keep your eye ♪

♪ On the sparrow ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah ♪

♪ When the going gets narrow ♪

♪ Ohhh... ♪

♪ Don't do it hell, yeah ♪

♪ Where can I go where
the cold winds don't blow? ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Well, well,
well, well, well. ♪

(knocks)

All right! Hold it right there!

Hold it, Mrs. Harmon,
I'm a cop. Will you wait?

Stop this car, will you?!

Mr. Harmon, you're under arrest.

What's the charge? Murder.

You have a right to remain
silent... I know. I know my rights.

Good, because I can
never remember 'em.

Tell me, who did I
murder? I ain't sure.

But that was your wife
I just chased outta here,

and if she's alive, then,
partner, somebody else is dead.

You thought that was
my wife I was talking to?

I'm betting on it.
Come on, Baretta.

A man and woman go to a hotel
in the middle of the afternoon.

There's nothing wrong with that.

Sure, I'll believe it... three days
after his wife was murdered?

I'm afraid so. She also
happens to be a client,

so I'm not about to
tell you her name.

Although, I'd be very glad if she'd
step forward and identify herself.

Mr. Harmon, that was your
wife that went outta here,

or it was her twin sister.

I took a little trip to LA.

Your wife had a
record out there.

So, you did your
homework. I sure did.

I got me a set of fingerprints.

I'm gonna have that body exhumed

and if those prints
don't match...

And Mr. Lawyer, they ain't
gonna match and you know it...

Then I gotcha on a murder rap.

That's very interesting.

You might get
promoted if you're right,

but if you're wrong, you
might get fired... also sued.

We'll see where the
chips fall, won't we?

They're identical.

What?! They match.

They match? You
were wrong, Baretta.

I hope you realize the
position you have put me in.

I saw her... Shut up!

You have arrested the most important
and respected lawyer in this state...

And a personal friend of mine... on nothing
more than a hunch, which doesn't pay off.

You're probably looking a false
arrest charge right smack in the face.

On top of that, you compromised
the whole department

and make me look like an idiot!

If you so much as go near him
again, even look at him the wrong way,

this whole town is gonna
come down on top of your head

and I'm gonna be
the first one to jump.

Have I said that in a
way that you understand?

Is that clear to you? Yeah,
that's clear. I understand.

Then get the hell back out on the
street and find out what really happened.

Okay.

Hey, hey, hey! It's
Ragtime Billy Peaches!

Tony! And he's
dragging his peaches.

Hi there! Hello.

Oh. Baretta: Ahh!

It's nice to see you. You too.

I got something for you. You do?

Here's your 100 bucks.
See there? I'm a good cop.

I got something for you, too.

Yeah? Yeah.

What's happening?

I got myself in a little jam...

Over your girlfriend,
Mary Beth Rumsey.

She's still alive.

She's what? What? I
saw her. She's alive.

I think she is, but when
we dug up the grave,

that's where the jam came in
because the fingerprints say she's dead.

I'm lost, honey. I saw her
and she ran away from me.

And I'm betting
she's still alive.

You gotta tell me if
there's anybody you knew...

A boyfriend that she would
go to, old school friends,

family, something.

Karen.

We were both very
close friends with Karen.

Yeah? I haven't heard
from her in a long time.

You don't know where she is?
No... I got some stuff in the back.

It's been a long time since
I've been through this stuff.

That's my first night out.

Your first... night out.

Yes. Okay. Here,
you look through these.

Yeah. Yearbook. Okay.

(chuckles) Flash.

Hey, there we are.

"The Think Tank."

That's what they called us
because we were the poorest

but the smartest kids in class and
we took turns being number one.

That's you in the middle. Yeah.

Little fatso there, huh?
That's why they called it tank.

I'm the tank. I see. Who's
this cutie pie on the left?

That's Mary Beth.

No, no, honey, this is
Mary Beth over here.

No, that's Karen Dennison.

This is Mary Beth Rumsey.

What?

This is Karen Dennison?

Did she and Mary
Beth work at the same...

Did they both work for
that guy? Yeah, yeah.

Did she trick for him? Yeah, Karen is
the one that turned Mary Beth onto the gig.

Now, you see.

I go to that guy, Valance, and
ask him about Mary Beth Rumsey,

and he don't wanna know nothing!

I ask him about Karen. I show
him a picture of Karen Dennison,

and he wants to beat me
up to find out what I know.

Why wouldn't he just
tell you that you had

a picture of Karen and
you had the names...?

I don't know, but
I'm gonna find out.

(rock 'n roll music playing)

Tennis wasn't my sport, but watching
those guys... that's something else.

Hey, you know it.

Sorry, fella. The
place is closed.

Oh, I was just gonna
go talk to your boss.

Well, we're closed
for any kinda business.

You don't remember me, do you?

No. I owe you something.

I don't remember you
owing me anything either.

My name is Ragtime
Billy Peaches.

Oh yeah, Billy Peaches.

Son of a gun.

(girls screaming)

(glass shatters)

Baretta: That's
enough! Back off!

I said, back off! Do you see what
you're looking at, man? Back off!

I'm a cop. You see here,
you're dealing with the fuzz.

I've had enough of you
cowboys. Now get over there.

Get over there!

I wanna talk to the
boss. Move, old man.

Get in there. One of you
guys wanna shoot a cop?

Go ahead! Get dumb
enough and try it!

Get in there!

You and me are gonna
talk... About Karen Dennison.

Why? Is she dead?

No... Mary Beth Rumsey is.

Like I told you before,
it means nothing to me.

You wanna get cute?

Want me to get extradition papers and
take you back to my town on a murder rap?

Murder? Yeah, I'm
talking about murder!

I haven't seen either
of them in five years.

Now, listen to me! You had me
worked over out in that parking lot.

That must have meant
something. Shut up!

You lied to me when I
came in here with that picture.

Now I ain't no dummy. I'm
gonna ask you one more time.

What went down with
you and Karen Dennison?

And you answer me straight or
we're walking out of here together.

Now you got the ball.
Go ahead, mess up.

All right...

I was in love with her.

That's right, I was in love
with one of my own hookers.

And I'd cut my own
throat for her too.

She was making me
three, four grand a week.

I was somebody, you know?

I was moving up
in the organization.

Man, I coulda been
running this town.

Except for her.

I pulled her out of circulation.

Whenever she needed bread,

I gave it to her out
of my own pocket.

I hung jewels and furs on her.

Oh, man, she walked around here

with ice on her worth a
couple hundred grand.

Then, one day...

she ran out on me and...

just vanished off
the face of the earth.

I spent another 50 G's
just trying to find her.

My luck went bad and...

I got shut out, you know?

Coulda got killed...

But I didn't care
about any of that.

All I really wanted was to...

have her back with me, you know?

I still want her back.

That's the story... Mr. Cop.

Yeah.

(phone ringing)

Hold on. He's right
here. Hey cop! It's for you.

Yeah? Hello.

Tony! Get over here quick!

What's the matter? Are you okay?

Just get over here
quickly. Okay, just sit tight.

(chimes jingle) Baretta: Lola?

Tony? Tony. Yeah.

What's the matter?
Karen Dennison just called.

Karen Dennison called you?

Yeah, she's very uptight
and she would not tell me why.

She wanted to come and
stay with me for a while.

Where'd she call from?

Area code 677...
Someplace back East.

Write that phone
number down. Okay.

What did you tell her?

I told her that I couldn't talk
right now. I'd call back later.

I was thinking of getting
married. You're a good cop.

Call her back and
tell her it's great.

She can come out to see you,
but you want to wait for a while.

No, wait a minute. Don't call
her for like four or five hours.

I'm gonna get on a
plane. That's so long.

Don't call until I call you. I'll
call as soon as I get home.

Thanks, pal. Take care.

Karen? Now don't get tense.

Remember me?

You ran away from me
once before, didn't you?

I'm a cop...

and you're under arrest.

(door closes)

You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be
used against you in a court of law.

You got a right to have
an attorney present.

If you can't afford one,
the court'll appoint one.

And that's the
name of that tune.

Did you understand
what I said? Yes.

Do you know what
you're charged with?

Accessory after the
fact in a murder case.

I didn't know he
was going to kill her.

See, it ain't so much what
you knew or didn't know,

it's what you did or didn't
do when you found out.

Hello, Nicole.

What do you want?

Will you take me to him, please?

You know, you're crazy.

Would you get
him for me, please?

I let your tail off the hook once
because your boss talked me into it.

One mistake is all
you're going to get.

Hold on a second.
This is official business.

You're under arrest
on a murder charge.

I don't believe you.
You just keep after it.

It'll get easier. May
I make a phone call?

You certainly know that you're
entitled to a phone call, sir.

I'm calling Shiller. I
thought you would.

I'll get it.

Baretta: Good afternoon,
Inspector Shiller.

Wilmont. Karl.

Baretta, I hope you have an
explanation for whatever is going on here.

You know I most
certainly do, sir.

I've arrested Wilmont Harmon
on first degree murder...

Charged with the death
of Mary Beth Rumsey.

You have what?!

Now, now, give me a chance to try
to explain the way I think it happened.

This is gonna be kind of a Sherlock
Holmes number, so you'd better sit down.

There's just some
figuring out to do.

(clears throat)

What we got here is two girls.

This is Mary Beth Rumsey.

And this is Karen Dennison,

the wife of Wilmont Harmon.

Now just wait. I'll
explain that to you.

These two girls... they worked in
Los Angeles for a man named Valance.

They were prostitutes. Ah...

Wait a minute... that's
fact. I got that documented.

We didn't come
to the theory yet.

These two girls worked and
everything went along fine.

At some point, this girl here...

Mary Beth Rumsey...
She leaves the country.

Now a little while after that,

Karen Dennison stole a whole
lot of money from Valance.

Now, in order to hide from him,

and with the use of
high school transcripts,

she's able successfully
to sneak into a college

as Mary Beth Rumsey.

So now we got the
transfer complete.

Karen Dennison has
become Mary Beth Rumsey.

And that's the end of Act I,

and we whip right into Act Il.

When she's in college,
she meets Nicole Harmon,

and through Nicole...
They've become friends now...

She meets and she
marries Wilmont Harmon.

And they're gonna
live happily ever after.

But after a coupla years,

up pops Mary Beth Rumsey...

And she sees that her
girlfriend has taken her identity,

married a rich man...
There's millions involved...

She decides she wants a
little taste of the action, right?

How is she gonna get it?

She's gonna blackmail
Wilmont Harmon.

She threatens to mess
up his whole legal practice

and worse than that, she's
gonna destroy his political future

by revealing that
she and her girlfriend

were both hookers
in Los Angeles.

Now, Mr. Harmon's
political future

is the most important
part of his life.

There ain't nobody gonna
take it away from him.

So he plans and he executes

the murder of Mary Beth Rumsey.

Now, what he planned to do
with his wife, I don't really know.

Anyway, boss,
what we got here...

A girl, Karen Dennison,

takes her girlfriend's identity,

everything goes smooth,

the real girl shows
up, and he kills her.

And that's the end of Act Il.

How'd I do?

Well, I... It's
ridiculous, Karl.

Obviously aside
from the theatrics,

your detective has no
hope of proving any of it.

I have nothing
to say. Baretta...

Now hold on, boss.

I got a little bit more to say.

I ain't gonna leave
you hung out to dry.

I got the man.

Get ready for Act Ill.

Ole Sherlock ain't finished yet.

(whistles)

Beth! You're alive!

Yep... only this is not Beth.

Mr. Shiller...

Mr. Harmon, I'd like
you to meet your wife,

Karen Dennison, alias
Mary Beth Rumsey,

alias Mary Beth Harmon.

Why did you have to betray me?

Why did you have to kill her?

(sighs)

I...

I think we all
better go downtown.

Karen.

Mr. Harmon.

Baretta, I...

I know... you don't
have to say a word, boss.

Ole Sherlock did
it again. Baretta, I...

Now, now, now. I'm gonna explain
it to you again on the way down.

It took me a coupla
weeks to understand it.

Hey, Tony. (laughs)

It's good to see you
again. It's good to see you.

You must have gotten rich...
For a round-trip ticket for me?

What, you're the star witness
in the big case I solved.

I don't know anything about
the Mary Beth Rumsey case.

You know that and I know that, but
the DA's office is paying for the tickets.

Billy, this is Lola... a cousin
of mine from Des Moines.

She's gonna stay
with us for a little while.

Another cousin from Des Moines? She
doesn't look a bit like the last cousin.

You must have a lot of
cousins in Des Moines.

Just kidding you, honey.
Glad to have you with us.

Don't give your right name.

Baretta!

The magic lady's
here, crazy woman.

You solved a big
one! Ain't I a big shot?

What's the matter, now you're
not gonna talk to us common folk?

I couldn't live
without talking to you.

Good! I'll make chicken
soup for us in the morning.

You got it! Who's that?

This is... from Des
Moines. I'm his cousin.

(laughing) Another cousin!

You're busy, right?
Yeah, I really...

Goodbye. I'll see you later...

In the morning, with
the chicken soup.

How come I never meet
your aunts or uncles?

(laughs)

(theme music playing)