Hawaii Five-O (1968–1980): Season 6, Episode 11 - The Finishing Touch - full transcript

Norman Cargill, an old friend of McGarrett's who has provided help in authenticating documents, gets tired of walking the straight and narrow for a peanuts salary (he is also going blind). When he's asked to verify a shipment of highly valuable bonds, he agrees -- and carefully starts copying them by hand to create bonds which he can keep and redeem. McGarrett could sympathize if that is all Cargill did, but then Cargill kills two people who want in on his secret. McGarrett reluctantly orders an intensive survey on Cargill, who figures it out and indignantly protests to McGarrett. Mcgarrett, who doesn't yet know for sure Cargill is a killer, calls off the surveillance -- but the evidence he already has forces McGarrett to investigate Cargill -- for murder.

( upbeat surf theme playing)

( peaceful theme playing)

Good morning, Raymond.

Good morning, morning.

I done like you showed me.

Here it is.

Sixty with orange borders
for the division of highways,

65 blue for the municipal issue,

the other 65,
water district bonds.

Well?

Congratulations, Raymond.



A thoroughly professional job.

Hey, I know that.

(spits)

What I want to know now is

when do I get to
see some dough, eh?

We should begin
sharing the million dollars

in a few days.

Oh, jeez. It don't
seem real, does it?

I'm going to break a rule
of long-standing, Raymond.

In spite of the early hour,

I think we should drink
a toast to our future.

All I got's some beer.

I'm sure, which is why
I brought this: Scotch.

I think it's festive
enough for the occasion.



Hey, 20 years old,
you better believe it.

I got some glasses
back in the sink.

May I use your phone, Raymond?

A local call.

Even if it wasn't, so what?

Call the moon. Be my guest.

( phone rings)

WOMAN (on phone): Hello?

Good morning, my dear.

Oh, Norman, it's you.

I was just sitting here
having some coffee

and wishing that you were here.

And there's no place
I'd rather be, but...

Norman, listen,
I've been thinking.

Maybe we could
take separate flights,

go to Maui for
the day and just...

You know that's impossible.

We agreed we
mustn't take the chance

of anybody establishing
a connection between us.

I know. It's just
that I miss you so.

(glass shatters) (
ominous theme playing)

And I miss you, my
dear, but I must go now.

Remember, dear,

tomorrow morning,
but not before 10:30,

and do exactly as I told you.

I will. I will.

Norman, are... Are the
eyedrops helping any?

I really must go.
I'll call you later.

(chatter on police radio)

What do we got, doc?

Been dead at least
24 hours, maybe more.

Cyanide from the
smell and the bluish tint.

Cyanide?

The bond you mentioned, Danno?

Found it in the wastebasket.

McGARRETT: "State of
Hawaii, division of highways,

$5,000 bearer bond."

No serial number. Yeah.

No authorizing countersignature.

Counterfeit?

All the way.

This the only one you found?

So far, Steve.

Not even paper stock
like this in the shop.

No guy produces a bond that good

and then just
tears it up for kicks.

Or commits suicide
for kicks either.

"I never made a will.

Maybe selling the equipment
can pay off what I owe."

No signature.

What do we know about Sakai?

Practically nothing yet.

He's 37 years old, unmarried.

He's owned this
shop for four years.

Run him through the
computer. Query Washington.

Really wring him out.

Right.

Uh, and Danno,

nobody leaks a word
about a counterfeit bond.

Nobody.

( dramatic theme playing)

(phone ringing)

May I help you?

Uh, yes, I-I have a
loan with the bank.

Won't you sit down, Miss, uh...?

Mrs. Taylor. Mrs. Taylor.

I, uh...

I decided to bring it
in instead of mailing it.

I think it's all here.

I'd like my bearer
bond back also

that I left as collateral.

Oh, of course. Let's see.

It's listed right
here. It's here.

City and county of Honolulu,

metropolitan water district
in the amount of $5,000.

Uh, number L-5-H-5-9.

I'll be right back, Mrs. Taylor.

CHE: I thought the watermark
might have been forged,

but it isn't.

The paper is the same stock used

in this issue of
water district bonds.

Steve, if the serial number
and authorizing signature

were on that bond,

I wouldn't know it was a phony.

McGARRETT: But
why wasn't this filled in?

Why wasn't the serial number
and an authorizing signature

forged along with
the rest of the bond?

Why was it just torn
up and thrown away?

Why didn't they burn it?

I'm afraid the "whys"
are your department.

Thanks, Che.

MAN: Mrs. Taylor,
are you sure...

How many times do
I have to repeat it?

It is not my bond. But madam...

Look, I told her, I
told your Mr. Emery,

and now I am telling you.

My bond had a tear right
here at the top of the page

where I tried to scrape
some candle wax off of it,

and a piece of tape
that I used to mend it.

Mrs. Taylor, I'm sure
this is nothing more

than a clerical error.

Your bond was probably placed

in another customer's file

by mistake. Exactly.

Now, I'm sure Mr. Emery

will be able to locate
it in just a moment.

(door opens)

Well?

It's... It's just not
here, Mr. Pryor.

Well, then where is it?

I'm afraid we'll have
to notify the police,

Miss Hillis.

( ominous theme swells)

(door opens, shuts)

You're saying
it's a forgery too?

That's my opinion.

I checked it out with
samples of Sakai's handwriting

we found at the shop.

Somebody's trying to make
murder look like suicide.

Something strange
there too, Steve.

Doc Bergman's postmortem

showed Sakai drank
enough cyanide

to kill half a dozen men.

I read doc's report.
What are you suggesting?

How did he ingest it?

Here.

Didn't drink it from this.

Are you sure?

No trace of cyanide
in that broken glass,

or any of the other glasses
or cups we found in the shop,

and there were no fingerprints

on any of them except Sakai's.

(phone rings)

Lab.

For you, Steve.

McGarrett.

Are you sure?

Okay, I'm on my way.

A bank downtown thinks
they found a counterfeit bond

in their vault.

I don't care what
the bank remembers

or doesn't remember,
Mr. McGarrett.

When I brought my bond in here

it had a tear at
the top of the page

with a piece of
scotch tape on it,

and I gave it to her.

I handle an awful lot
of loans, Mr. McGarrett.

Well, I don't,

and I'd like to remind the
bank that you owe me $5,000.

Believe me, Mrs. Taylor,

you'll get it back
or its equivalent.

When?

We're holding your bond
as evidence, Mrs. Taylor.

As soon as the
investigation is over,

I assume that Mr. Pryor
will make it good.

Che, what have you got?

I'm not sure, Steve.

Look for yourself.

This is the bond you
brought back from the bank,

the one the lady
says is a forgery.

Now look at an
authentic sister bond

furnished by the
state treasurer's office.

See my problem?

McGARRETT: Yeah.

Yeah.

Twins.

And if, uh, this one
had a serial number

and an authorizing signature,

we'd have triplets.

Okay. We know
that this is a phony,

but what about
Mrs. Taylor's bond?

Good or bad? Give
me an educated guess.

Okay, but that's all it will be.

Mrs. Taylor's bond
is a counterfeit,

but I wouldn't want
to swear to it in court.

Why?

I'm just not enough
of an expert.

Let's get one.

Norman Cargill?

He's the best.

(phone ringing)

I'll get it. I'm expecting
a call from the man.

McGarrett.

WOMAN (on phone):
The governor's calling.

Yes, put him on, please.

Yes, governor?

Steve, I've just had two calls.

One from the state treasurer

and one from the
metropolitan water district.

They're up in arms over
this counterfeit bearer bond

at the bank of Honolulu.

Well, we don't know
it's a counterfeit yet, sir,

we'll have to get a
documents expert to examine it.

Well, then get one.

State and city bonds
are as negotiable as cash,

and if we have to pay off
on both principle and interest

on a flood of counterfeits,
it could bankrupt

every government
agency in this state.

Yes, sir. I'm aware of that.

How fast can you get an
expert here from the mainland?

We may not have
to go that far, sir.

One of the top men in his
field lives right here in Honolulu.

We've used him a
couple of times before.

Good. Get him.

(ringing)

Norman Cargill speaking.

Steven.

How nice to hear from you.

There's no doubt in your mind

about this being a
counterfeit, Mr. Cargill?

None whatsoever.

Please note the
countersignature first,

the care with
which the last name

in particular has been written,

not at all like the
authentic signature.

GOVERNOR: Hm.

How many bank
employees had access

to the bonds in
the vault, Steve?

Four: Pryor, the bank manager,

the assistant
manager, Arthur Sung,

the cashier, J.B. Emery,

and his assistant, a
woman named Olivia Hillis.

We can't be certain
that the bank of Honolulu

is the only bank holding
counterfeit bonds, can we?

No, sir. Depending on the
size of the forgery operation,

there could be counterfeits
in the hands of every bank

and every financial
institution in the state,

and maybe even on the mainland.

Not to mention those
in individuals' hands.

They could be anywhere,

from safe-deposit boxes to
tin cans buried in backyards.

How do we get them to examine?

However you do
it, it has to be done.

And every state
and municipal bond

we lay our hands on
has to be scrutinized.

Mr. Cargill?

Sir?

I know this is a... A huge job,

but could you take it over?

Well, uh...

I am expecting a call from
a San Francisco museum

to examine a 14th-century diary

reputed to have
been written by...

But in view of the
urgency of the situation,

I don't suppose I can refuse.

Fine.

Well, I don't think we need
to keep you any longer.

Mr. McGarrett will be in touch

as soon as the
details are worked out.

And thanks again.

My pleasure, sir.

( ominous theme swells)

This way, gentlemen.

In here.

The cleaning woman.

Well, shall we get started?

A list of today's
bonds by number,

issuing authority, and amount.

Checked it at the
bank before we left.

You sign here,

unless you wish
to check it yourself.

Gracious, no, Mr. Sung. I
trust the bank of Honolulu.

McGARRETT: When
Mr. Sung and Mr. Emery

come back this evening,
they'll have a duplicate list,

they'll check the bonds
and sign it for your record.

Is that satisfactory?
Eminently so.

We'll see you about 4.

Kimo, Kiokee, I want
one of you with Mr. Cargill

with the door locked
and one in the corridor.

Yes, sir. I'll take the hall.

Okay. Anything you
need, Norman, let me know.

I will, Steven, I will.

And thank you.

Hm.

Judging from the size
of this first day's batch,

you're going to be
with me a long time.

Perhaps you'd be
more comfortable

at the desk in my office.

I don't know...

I only request that you
leave the door open.

Okay.

( mysterious theme playing)

DANNO: Where did you
buy your bond, Mrs. Taylor?

From a Mr. Dunlap at the
Morgan Harrison company.

That's a brokerage house.
Yes, I know the company.

Now, I just have a
couple more questions.

My information shows
that you purchased the bond

16 months ago.

Two months later,
you used it as collateral

for a $1,500 loan,

which you used as a
down payment for a new car.

Yes.

May I ask why?

Why what?

Why you didn't borrow
the entire amount

to pay off the car in
cash, rather than...

Mr. Williams,

I don't quite understand
what business it is of yours,

and I don't see why you
have found it necessary

to snoop into my
personal financial affairs.

Just routine.

Thank you, Mrs. Taylor.

(phone ringing)

Yes?

Norman, Norman,
I've got to see you.

That's impossible.

You know I explained to
you that we couldn't afford...

OLIVIA (on phone): Please. There
was someone here from Hawaii Five-0,

a Mr. Williams.

He asked all sorts of questions.

I know he suspects something.

Impossible.

Norman, I am sure that he does.

Now, now, my dear, just be calm.

We'll meet and
talk about it, hm?

Tonight?

NORMAN (on phone): I'm
going to be occupied tonight.

It will have to be first
thing in the morning.

Meanwhile, just
remember I love you.

And I love you too, Norman.

( dramatic theme playing)

( mysterious theme playing)

(engine starts)

Quiet. Keep both
hands on the wheel.

Don't try to attract attention.

Turn left at the next corner.

Perfect.

A touch more eye shadow perhaps,

but otherwise excellent.

You're still worrying
about your interview

with Mr. Williams, aren't you?

It's just that I keep feeling

that the police know
more than they're saying.

Nonsense.

We keep getting in this thing

deeper and deeper.

I'm afraid I don't understand.

You knew from the very beginning

what we were
going to do and why.

Yes, but this...

But what?

It's far too late for
second thoughts.

We can't undo what we've done,

replace the bonds I've taken,

or recall Raymond
Sakai and Olivia Hillis.

We've burned our
bridges behind us.

We have to go on, don't we?

Yes.

I can't help wondering, my dear,

are your second thoughts
really about our project,

or are they about me?

You?

I cautioned you
against falling in love

with a middle-aged
man who's going blind.

Oh, Norman.

And I can understand how
you might regret having...

No, God, please don't
even say it or think it.

I love you.

(whispers): I'm sorry.

I'm being silly. I'm sorry.

No need to apologize.

I'm all right now.

I know you are.

It's 9:30.

That gives you just half an hour

to get to the bank.

( dramatic theme playing)

Well, Miss Hoover, what can
we do for you this morning?

Making another little deposit?

No, a little
withdrawal, Mr. Brock.

How much do you want?

All of it: $19,608,
plus interest.

And, uh, I'd... I'd like
it all in cash, please.

Cash?

Cash.

Excellent, my dear, excellent.

Now, your ticket to Los Angeles.

United Airlines, flight 114.

Reservation in the
name of Oretha Hoover,

and you know what to do
when you get to Los Angeles.

Yes, I catch the next
plane back to Honolulu

under my right name.

You're forgetting
one thing, my dear.

Most importantly, your costume.

The moment you
arrive in Los Angeles,

you must destroy it.

Burn it, if possible.

The trail of Olivia Hillis,

alias Oretha Hoover,

must end on the mainland.

Vanish completely
without a trace.

Do you understand?

And then your role will be over.

All over.

( ominous theme swells)

CARGILL: Note the authentic
bond serial number on the right.

Firm printing, no blurring.

True alignment, to
one 100th of an inch.

Now, on the left,
one of the counterfeits

I found in the bank
of Honolulu files today.

Notice the very slight blurring,

and the alignment
of the serial number

is off by two 100ths.

Hm.

Danno, call Pryor at the bank
and tell him we're on our way.

DANNO: Right.

Then these two bonds were
done by the same person

who forged Mrs. Taylor's bond.

A strong possibility, Steven.

No, I'll get it.

Well, uh, wh-what's
going to happen now?

We want you to go on with
your examination, Norman.

DANNO: Steve, Pryor
is climbing the walls.

Olivia Hillis didn't
show up for work today,

and there's no answer
at her apartment.

Have you got an address? Yeah.

Get Ben. Get on it.

Right. Thank you, Norman.

(door shuts)

( mysterious theme playing)

Danny.

Find something?

Well, lots of women
wear men's pajamas.

Not that big.

Laundry mark.

WL-1915.

Let's Check it out.

( mysterious theme playing)

Got a break, Steve.

A kickback on the circular

that was distributed by
H.P.D. on Olivia Hillis.

A woman closed out a savings
account at the Bank of Hawaii.

Got the cancelled
passbook right here.

Took $19,608 in cash.

The teller thought
it was strange,

told his boss, who called H.P.D.

Oretha Hoover?

"O.H."

Olivia Hillis.

Yeah, could be.

Kind of a wild
possibility, but could be.

See if you can get a
positive identification

from the, uh, teller,

first thing in the morning.

Okay.

WL-1915. Beachside Laundry,

about a block from
Sakai's print shop.

The 19 refers to the letter S,

the 19th letter in the alphabet,

and the 15 was Sakai's
customer number.

Sakai.

Hillis.

He counterfeited them,
she planted them. Yeah.

BROCK: Hoover, Hillis,

I don't care what
you call her, that's her.

All right, Ben,

see if you can get a
make on her from L.A.P.D.

Chief, Che says Oretha
Hoover's handwriting

on the savings
account application

is the same as the handwriting
on Sakai's forged suicide note.

How does it check
with Olivia Hillis'?

It looks a lot the same, but
there are some differences.

Maybe to disguise it to
make it look like Hoover's?

Maybe. (intercom buzzes)

McGarrett.

Yes, put him on, Jenny.

Right.

Cargill.

Yes, Norman?

For how much?

All right, I'll send
for it right away.

Another counterfeit?
Yeah, fourth:

$10,000 highway department bond.

( ominous theme playing)

McGARRETT: What do we know?

We know that a woman who
calls herself Oretha Hoover

forged the Sakai suicide note,

but Che has not been
able to make a positive link

between her handwriting
and Olivia Hillis'.

Even without that, Steve,
don't we have all we need?

The tie-in between
Sakai and Hillis,

the bank account
she cleaned out,

the one-way ticket to L.A.

It all fits.

( ominous theme playing)

(phone rings)

McGarrett.

Yeah, Che.

Good, I'll be right down.

Sit tight. Che's got something.

These are the four
counterfeits Cargill turned up.

I applied a ninhydrin spray
on them and heated them.

The ninhydrin and heat
work on the amino acids

that might be left by prints.

They come out that
reddish-purple color.

Did you get a make
on any of them?

Yes. Right forefinger
and thumb of yours,

several of mine,

and a whole set of
one other person's.

Olivia Hillis.

No. Who?

Norman Cargill.

Norman Cargill?

Norman Cargill.

DANNO: That doesn't
mean anything, Steve.

Cargill's fingerprints
would be on them.

After all, he had to handle
them when he examined them.

That's right, Danno,

but think about it. Somebody...

Pryor, Sung, Emery,
or Olivia Hillis.

One of the four who had
access to that bank vault.

Had to stash those counterfeits

for Cargill to find.

So why aren't any of
their prints on them?

Exactly.

There's only one explanation.

The counterfeits Cargill
found were never in the vault.

Exactly.

The counterfeits were completed

after the good bonds
were delivered to Cargill

for examination.

Forged by Cargill?

Who else, John?

Who has that kind
of expert knowledge?

I don't believe it.

He's one of the most respected
documents experts in the world.

And we hired him.

He couldn't have known
he was going to be hired,

so he had to get the
idea after he started work.

Even if that's true,
why did Olivia Hillis run?

CHIN HO: Where did
she get nearly $20,000?

Not on what she could save
out of her salary for two years.

All right, gentlemen, all right.

I realize that there
are lots of holes,

that there are lots of
unanswered questions,

but let's stop
talking about them

and try plugging some of them.

John, I want a court order

to put Cargill under audio
and video surveillance

in his lab, and I want
it before morning.

All right, Steve, you'll have it

if I can find a judge
who's awake at this hour.

Chin, you and Ben work
with Che on the installation

after we get the court order.

Che's got something
special for this kind of job:

a TV lens no bigger
around than a cigarette.

Good. Get on it.

Steve, before we can
hang anything on Cargill

and make it stick,
we've got to show

how he could have switched
Maxine Taylor's good bond

for a counterfeit while it was
tucked away in a bank vault.

Danno, we've been assuming
that just because Mrs. Taylor

bought a good bond from
Morgan Harrison and Company,

that it was the same one

that she gave the
bank for collateral,

but what if she gave
them a counterfeit bond

to secure her loan?

You mean, the Taylor
woman is working with Cargill?

Well, possibility.

But there's no
connection between them.

Correction, Danno,

there's no connection
we know about.

Yeah, but that amounts to
the same thing, doesn't it?

Yeah, at this point in time.

NORMAN: There
you are, gentlemen.

SUNG: Thank you.

(door shuts)

( mysterious theme playing)

( dialing)

Mr. McGarrett, please.

Mr. Cargill speaking.

Good morning, Steven.

Good morning, Norman.
Another counterfeit?

No, Steven, no. A
personal matter this time.

I'd like to see you
immediately, if possible.

It's rather urgent.

All right, I'll come right over.

Not here, Steven.

I think your office
would be better.

You see, I've just
discovered that someone

has my laboratory under
electronic surveillance.

Oh, I see.

( dramatic theme swells)

You, Steven? You spied on me?

Yes. Yes, Norman, I did.

And here's the court order
authorizing the surveillance.

This is the most infamous...

Norman, I'm going
to lay it on you.

Please do.

I am convinced that
none of the four people

who had access
to that bank vault

had anything to do with
planting that first counterfeit,

and that includes the
missing Olivia Hillis.

I am also convinced

that there was only
one counterfeit bond

in that bank when we hired you,

and that belonged
to Mrs. Taylor.

If there was a
counterfeit in the bank

before I was retained by you,

then how did it get in there?

Surely you don't think I could
have walked into the bank

and put it in the vault.

Somebody planted
it for you. Obvious.

Aren't you contradicting
yourself, Steven?

You just said the four
employees who did have access...

Wait. I see your reasoning.

You think that the
woman's bond...

Mrs. Taylor, is that her name?

Was a counterfeit from the
beginning and that I had...

Yes, and that you had her use it

for collateral for a loan,

make payments
on it for 14 months,

then reclaim it and
denounce it for a forgery.

Yes, Norman, that's
exactly what I think.

Which also means that you
poisoned that printer Sakai

and that you tried
to frame Miss Hillis

by tying her in with him.

I also have a strong feeling

that when we find Miss Hillis,

we're going to find her dead.

Really, Steven,
you can't be serious.

I'm dead serious, Norman.

Well, before you give me a
prepared confession to sign,

I think you should recognize

the glaring flaw in your theory:

that this Mrs. Taylor, this
alleged accomplice of mine,

is a total stranger to me.

I've never laid eyes
on her in my life.

Or do you have some
evidence to the contrary?

No, I have not
uncovered anything yet.

And you won't
because there is none.

This was really unnecessary.

Did you forget you had a
police officer with me at all times?

What was that all about?

Why do you suppose he wanted
to beard the lion in his den?

Why not? What
did he have to lose?

If we arrest the guy
and he goes to trial,

he can tell the jury
that as an honest citizen

he marched right
over here to find out

why we'd subject a man
of his impeccable reputation

to surveillance.

If we don't nail him,
he's lost nothing.

You want to put a tail on him?

No, it wouldn't do any good,

such an obvious move.

He's, uh... He's
probably sitting

right down there on
the steps of the palace

waiting for the guy.

Maxine Taylor.

Cargill and Taylor.

That's the connection
we need, Danno.

There just isn't any, Steve.

Got to be.

We'd have found it.

Let's have a look
at that videotape.

Jenny, ask Che to bring up
the video equipment, please.

(ringing)

Hello?

Maxine, listen carefully
and don't interrupt.

I'll be by at 1:00.

Is something the matter, Norman?

Listen to me.

That will give you
an hour to pack.

Pack?

No questions.

Just do as I say.

Hold it, Danno, right there.

Back it up.

Now, slowly forward.

(whirring)

Slower.

Three-five-five...
four-nine-nine-one.

Get the listing for that number.

( funky theme playing)

(engine starts)

Get out. Put your
hands on your head.

How did you do it, Steven?

How did you make the connection?

We picked up Mrs. Taylor's
number from the videotape.

You called her before you
realized you were bugged,

remember?

They're all there.

Where is Olivia Hillis?

Buried in the rain
forest off Old Paria Road.

I can take you there.

Why, Norman? Why?

A man at the top of his field,

and you threw it all away. Why?

I'm going blind, Steven,

a rather severe handicap
for a documents expert,

and then what
would become of me?

Would you believe it, Steven?

The top man in my field,

and I never made more
than $20,000 a year.

I spoke hastily in
your office, Steven.

I still value our
past relationship.

Surely we can part friends?

Norman, counterfeiting
is one thing, but murder?

Murder?

( dramatic theme playing)

Book him. Murder one.

( dramatic theme swells)

( upbeat surf theme playing)