Hunter (1984–1991): Season 1, Episode 18 - Fire Man - full transcript

Hunter and McCall are brought in to help solve an arsonist/murder case. Someone has been setting fires all over the city to empty warehouses.

[Siren]

Jack Lachman Burned
To Death Last Night.

I Didn't Start
Those Fires, Ok?

You Think He's Your Guy?

Definitely
In The Running.

He Burned Women
And Old People And Kids,

And He Burned 'Em,
Like, To Ashes, Man!

Gotham City's
Counting On You, Batman.

And Don't Throw
Threats At Me.

See, That's Not
Healthy.

Better Not Upset Him,
Hunter.



He Might Light You
On Fire.

If I See You Around
Again,

I'm Going To Pull
Your Head Off.

Film At 11:00.

[Theme Music Playing]

Works For Me.

[Music Playing]

[No Audio]

♪ Oh, My God,
What Time Is It ♪

♪ I've Been Up All Night ♪

♪ I Can't Eat,
I Can't Sleep ♪

♪ I Didn't Take No Drugs ♪

♪ No Appetite
Except For You ♪

♪ And That's A Little Bit
Abused ♪



[Meows]

♪ Hearts And Bodies,
Soul And Mind ♪

♪ Torture
Of The Sweetest Kind ♪

♪ Empty Hands
That Held Your Heart ♪

♪ I Live And Die
To Play The Part ♪

♪ Play The Part
Of Your Fool ♪

♪ I'm Burnin'
Candles For You ♪

♪ I'm Burnin' ♪

♪ Sittin' Here Starin'
At An Empty Wall ♪

♪ What A Pitiful Picture
I Make ♪

♪ I Can't Believe
How Bad I Need ♪

♪ Every Breath I Take ♪

♪ I Feel Like
I'm Going To Break ♪

♪ I Made Another Mistake ♪

♪ Senseless Devotion ♪

♪ I Carry A Torch For You ♪

♪ I Wanna Die
In Your Arms ♪

♪ I Wanna Tell You
I Love You ♪

♪ That You've Never Been
Abused ♪

♪ I'm Burnin' Candles
For You ♪

♪ I'm Burnin' Candles
For You ♪

♪ I'm Burnin' Candles ♪

[No Audio]

♪ I'm Burnin' Candles ♪

♪ For You ♪

[Sirens]

[People Chattering]

Sorry I'm Late.

What Happened To "I'm Going
To Stay In Tonight

And Rest And Watch
The Game, Mccall"?

Nothing. I Just Had
To Go To The Store,
And I Met Her.

I'm Going To Give Her
A Ride Home.

Meet Her
In The Produce Section?

Who Won The Game?

Somebody Won,
Somebody Lost.

By My Calculations,

I Haven't Even Had A Date
In The Last 6 Weeks.

I Was Even Desperate Enough
To Try To Get You On The Phone

To See If You Wanted
To Go To A Movie
Paid For By Me.

Look, Mccall,
You're Pressing Here.

You're
In A Dry Spell.

Relax. It'll All
Happen For You.

Hmm.

...The Suspected
Arsonist

In The Last 2 Weeks.

Police At The Scene
Have Told Us

That The Homicide
Division Has Now
Been Called In,

Meaning That Tonight's
Fire May Have Claimed

Its First Casualty
In This Series Of Fires.

Excuse Me, Officers.
May I Get A Word?

Jake Tibbett, Arson.

Hunter And Mccall,
Homicide.

I Understand Your Firebug
Had Some Unexpected Company.

Watch Your Step Here.

[Coughs]

This Guy Didn't Have
A Chance, Did He?

Any Marks On The Body?

No, He Was
Too Well-Done,

But If You're
Looking For Bullets,

You're Going To Have
To Wait For The Coroner

To Come
And Take Him Apart.

Same M.O.
As The Last 3 Fires?

It Varies A Little,
Depending On What
Mr. Hibachi Feels Like.

They've All Been
Abandoned Buildings,

But Judging From
The Scorch Marks
We Keep On Finding,

He's Using A Flamethrower.

That's A Pretty Ugly
Weapon, Isn't It?

You Wouldn't Want
To Shake Hands With It.

Excuse Me, Officers.

Matt Gold,
Channel 3 News.

You're Wasting
Your Time, Mr. Gold.

We're Just Beginning
This Investigation.

Now, The Department
Will Hold A Press Conference

When It's Ready.

You Can't Even Tell Us
How Many People Died
In There?

You Want To Shut
That Thing Off?

Cat.

Look, Guys, It's Late.
We've Been Out Here
A Long Time.

Could You Give Me
Something Other Than
Ash On My Clothes?

I Am Trying To Do
A Piece Here.

Let Me Ask You
Something.

You Guys Cover
A Lot Of Fires
With That Thing?

Oh, They Call Me
The King Of Flame.

I'll Make You A Deal.
You Guys Help Us
Out Now,

And We'll Give You
First Crack At The Story

When We Decide
To Break It.

Deal.

Cat: That's
The Crowd Stuff
From Fire Number One.

[People Chattering]

What Are You
After Here, Hunter?

Oh, A Pattern, Is All.

Cat:
Fire Number 2.

Fire Number 3.

Hunter: Wait A Minute.
Run That Back For Me.

That Guy Right There
With The Jacket On.

He Was In The Crowd
At Fire Number 2.

And?

Well, Arsonists
Usually Return

To The Scene Of The Crime
More Likely Than Not.

You Think He's Your Guy?

Definitely
In The Running.

Let Me See
Last Night's Fire.

[Taps Keyboard]

[Tape Cues]

[Crowd Chattering]

Cat: Wait A Minute.
Our Groupie's Back.

Mccall: Always At
The Back Of The Crowd.

Hunter: He Can't Seem
To Stay Away, Can He?

Gold: Ok, Listen,
We're Really Rockin'
Here, Folks.

Cat, Get Me A Blowup
Of This Guy, Right?

We Throw It On The 6:00
With A "Have You Seen
This Guy?"

We Sit Back, We Wait For
Those Lines To Light Up.

Why Don't You Just
Sit Back And Relax

And Let Us Worry About
The Tactics, Ok?

I Thought
We Were A Team Here.

Well, We Are A Team,

And I'm The Head Coach.

I Just Hate To
Have You Get Fried

Trying To Get Tape
On This Guy.

Now, Can We Get A Copy
Of Those Tapes?

Yeah, But I'll Need
Approval From Matt.

No Way. I Have
To Protect My Story.

Look, Matt, We Know
You Have A Reporter's Right

To Protect
Your Information.

You Got That Right.

But This Would Really
Help Us Out.

You Need It,
You Got It.

Looks Like Maybe We're
Starting To Get Someplace.

Some Of Us
More Than Others.

What's That
Supposed To Mean?

Nothing.

"Nothing."
You're Lying.

What?

You Are. I Can Always Tell
When You're Lying.

You Get That Little Sound
In Your Voice.

What In The Hell
Are You Talking About?

Ha Ha! See? There You Go
Again. There It Is.

Look, Today
We Started Out Just Fine,

And Now Things
Are Not So Wonderful,

So That Means
There's Either

One Of Two Things
Wrong Here.

Oh.
What Might They Be?

One, You're Upset
Because I'm The One
Who Got Us The Tapes,

Or You Just Don't Like
Matt Gold.

I Don't Like
Matt Gold.

Hunter, Look,
He's A Nice Guy.

He's Being Nice
To Me, Ok?

You Know
What I'm Saying?

Look, Mccall,

Maybe You're Groping
For The First Man
That Smiles At You

Because You're
On The Rebound.

Oh, Will You
Give Me A Break?

♪ Come ♪

♪ When I Call ♪

♪ Don't ♪

♪ Run At All ♪

♪ Die ♪

♪ From Your Pain ♪

♪ Just ♪

♪ Live Again ♪

♪ Free ♪

♪ My Damned Soul ♪

♪ Don't ♪

♪ Do What You're Told ♪

♪ Call ♪

♪ Out My Name ♪

♪ Come ♪

♪ Come, Come ♪

♪ I Am The Demon Seed ♪

♪ I'll Set Your Senses
Free ♪

♪ You'll Be
The Demon Seed ♪

♪ I Am The One To Heed ♪

♪ Cry ♪

♪ Day And Night ♪

♪ Keep ♪

♪ Out Of Sight ♪

♪ Break ♪

♪ All The Rules ♪

♪ Don't ♪

♪ Act Like Fools ♪

♪ Beg ♪

♪ On Your Knees ♪

♪ Come ♪

♪ And Play With Me ♪

♪ Call ♪

♪ Out My Name ♪

♪ Come ♪

♪ Come, Come ♪

♪ I Am The Demon Seed ♪

♪ I'll Set Your Senses
Free ♪

♪ You'll Be
The Demon Seed ♪

♪ I Am The One To Heed ♪

♪ Don't ♪

♪ Follow Light ♪

♪ Dark ♪

♪ Blinding Right ♪

♪ Call ♪

♪ Out My Name ♪

♪ Come ♪

♪ Come, Come ♪

♪ I Am The Demon Seed ♪

[Breathing Heavily]

♪ I'll Set Your Senses
Free ♪

Dispatch: L-56,
There's A Warehouse Fire

At 7Th And Santa Fe.

[Siren]

There It Is--
Empty Building, 3 Days
After The Last One.

It's Just Like Matt Said.

Yeah.

Why Don't You
Check The Crowd

Before
They Lose Interest?

I'll Talk To Arson.

Mccall:
Penny For Your Thought.

Hunter!

Hey, You, Hold It!

Drop It! Police!

Sorry, You'll Have
To Leave Now.

There Will Be
A Departmental Statement

As Soon As We Have
Some Information.

Oh, You Mean You're
Not The Spokesman?

Not The Official
Spokesman Exactly.

You Know,
That Is A Shame,
You Know?

Because You Certainly
Have The Right Look.

Be That As It May,
There's Nothing--

[Mispronounces]
Terwilliger.

Terwilliger.

Terwilliger. Even
The Name Has That Feel
To It, Doesn't It?

Yeah.
Huh?

Some Guys
Got All The Luck.

Wait. What
Are You Saying?

Well, Just
That The Public
Is Getting So Tired

Of The Same Old
Pd Pr Faces

Always Rattling Off
The Same Lines.

They Could Use Somebody
Different To Look At,

Somebody...

They Can
Instinctively Trust.

Cat, Let's See
What The Light Is
On Mr. Terwillogy.

Terwilliger, By The Way.

Terwilliger.
Yes.

I Took A Couple Of
Communication Arts Courses
In Night School Once.

Oh, It Looks Great.

Thank You Very Much.

What--Heh Heh--
What Questions
Do You Want To Ask Me?

Uh, Well, This Arson
Investigation

You Homicide Boys
Have Jumped Onto.

Mmm, No, Never Mind.

What's The Point,
Right? We Got To Go.

But Actually--Actually,
I Am Conversant

In That Particular
Jacket. Heh Heh.

This Suspect You Have
Up Here On The Hot Seat,

Has He Been
Formally Charged Yet?

Uh, There Is Some
Questioning Being Done, Yes.

Rumor About It Being
A Deliberately Set
Insurance Fire,

Is That True?

With A Flamethrower?

No Way. No Way
In The World.

And The Only Suspect
You Got

Is The One That Mccall
And Hunter Rounded Up,
Right?

Excuse Me. I Wouldn't
Bring Them Into This--

Departmental Black Sheep.

Why Drop A Couple Of Flies

On The Proverbial Cake,
As It Were?

[All Laugh]

What Time Do You Guys Go
On The Air, 5:00 Or 6:00?

Look, I Didn't Start
Those Fires, Ok?

Why Are You
Doing This To Me?

Yeah, We Know. You Say
It's Some Guy Called
Donnie Warrick,

And It's His Face
That You're Looking For

At The Scene
Of The Fires, Right?

Why?

I Don't Know.

Can I Go, Please?

Why'd You Run, Jack?

I Don't Know.

Now Listen To Me
Very Carefully.

I'm Only Going
To Ask You This One Time

Before I Lock You Away.

Why Did You Run?

[Sighs]

I Saw Donnie's Face.

Where?
Driving By.

It Was Him. I Saw Him,
But He Didn't See Me.

I Know It Was Him.

We Served Together
In Asia.

You Don't Forget Who
You Were There With, Man.

We Were
A Secret Recon Squad.

There Were 6 Of Us.

We Had Orders To Go Over
The Border Into This Village

To Gather Information
Concerning Enemy Troop
Strength.

That Was All.
Nothing Else.

Nobody Heard Us Coming.
Things Were Cool.

We Had It, Man.

But Then...

Something Went Crazy.

Mccall: What?

What Went Crazy?

We Had A Flamethrower,
You See,

And As Soon As We Got
This Information,

He, Uh...

He, Uh...

He Torched It, Man!

He--He Torched It!

He Burned Women
And Old People And Kids,

And He Burned 'Em,
Like, To Ashes, Man.

He Burned Everything!

We Thought He'd Burn Us
If We Tried To Stop Him.

Did You Report Him To
Your Commanding Officer?

[Laughs]

No. Snoopy Said
We Shouldn't.

Who Was He?

Our Group Leader, Man.
His Name Was Gene Byrd.

He'd Known Donnie
Since High School,

And He Said That
Everything Would Be Ok,

And We Shouldn't Talk
To Anybody About It,

Because We Weren't
Supposed To Be There

In The First Place,
You Know?

So If They Found Out
About It,

We'd All Hang For It.

So, You Decided,
All Of You Guys,

To Protect Donnie

Because This Guy
Gene Byrd Said So,
Right?

Yeah.

He Said He'd Go Back
To San Diego With Donnie

After We All Got Home
And Make Sure He Was Ok,

And The Whole Thing
Would Blow Over.

Mccall: So, Donnie
Was Gene's Problem?

Yeah.

Anyway, I Started
Coming To These Fires,

Because, Like,
I Knew Donnie Was Here.

It's Weird,
But I Knew It, Man.

What Made You Think
It Was Donnie?

He Likes To Start
Fires, Man!

Don't You Get It?

Hey, What Is This?

What The Hell
Are You Doing, Gold?

Hey, Freedom Of The Press,
Hunter, All Right?

It's The Public's
Right To Know.

If You Want To Have A Copy
Of The Constitution,

Go Look At The Library.

Cat: Oh, Come On,
Sergeant.

We're
On Assignment Here.

We're Just Trying
To Pay The Rent.

Well, Get
A Part Time Job
At The All-Night Market.

Let's Have The Tape.
No Way.

You're On The Premises
Of A Police Facility.

We Have The Right
To Examine And Confiscate

Anything You May Have
Brought In Here With You.

Yeah. If You Want A Copy
Of The Penal Code,

Get One
On The Way Out.

Now Let's Have The Tape.

I Could Go Over Your Head
To Get That Tape Back, Hunter.

I Am Over His Head,
And, No, You Can't.

Well, If It's The Tape
You're Worried About,
We Can Fix That.

Try A 2-Parter.

You Can Get A Refund
From The Desk Sergeant

For The Cassette
On Your Way Out.

Boy, That Guy's
Got A Lot Of Guts
Coming Up Here.

He Doesn't Know
When To Quit, Does He?

Well, He Wouldn't Be
With The Press

If He Knew
When To Quit.

Now, Listen, I Can Only
Hold This Guy In Here

For So Long
On Resisting Arrest.

You Two Have Got To Get
Started On This Right Away.

Now, Where The Hell
Is This Donnie Warrick?

Hunter: The Last Known
Address Is In San Diego.

Well, What The Hell
Are You Standing Here For?

Get Going.

This Spot's
One Of My Real Favorites.

I Like To Visit Donnie
A Lot.

I Don't Know. When
You're Here All The Time,

You Get Different Feelings

From All
The Different Graves.

I Just Like The Ones
Donnie Gives Off.

Did You Ever Run Into
Any Of Donnie's Friends

Who Came To Visit Him?

No. That's Why
I Try To Give Him
Just A Little Extra Time--

You Know, Clear The Leaves Off
During The Winter

And Give Him A Little Extra
Water During The Summer.

I Don't Know. I Just Like
To Pamper Him A Little Bit.

You Never Saw Any
Family Or Friends Come?

Not A Soul.

Seems Real Wrong.
He Was Just A Young Guy.

Well, What About
The Funeral Services,

Like This Gravestone Here?

Somebody Had To Have
Bought That.

Well, You Know,
It Got To The Point

Where I Finally Asked
About It Myself,

Seeing As
Nobody Ever Showed Up.

The Front Office Told Me
That The Stone Was
Ordered By Phone,

Paid Through The Mail
In Cash,

And Then
Nobody Ever Showed Up,

Not Even A Priest
The Day They Put Him In.

And After
They Covered Him Up,

I Went Down There,
And I Talked To Him
For A Little Bit--

Just Tried To Tell Him

That This Was His Home,

And He Was Welcome Here.

Does That Sound Sick?

Listen, Thanks A Lot, Judy.

We Really Appreciate
Your Help.

Is There
Something Wrong?

Is That Why The Two
Of You Came Down Here?

That's Why Nobody
Showed Up At
His Funeral, Isn't It?

Well, If We Find
Anything Out,
We'll Let You Know, Ok?

You Don't Have
To Do That.

I Mean, It's Not Going
To Bring Donnie Back,
Whatever It Is.

Yeah.

Hunter: You Can't
Release Jack Lachman.

We Let This Guy
Slip Through
Our Fingers Now,

We're Making
A Big Mistake.

Well, I'll Think
About It, Hunter,

But I Don't Know
How Much Longer
I Can Hold This Guy

On What I've Got.

Well, If You Kick This Guy
Loose Right Now,

I'm Back To Square One.

No, You're Not.

You Still Got
Your Signed Statement

From Your Caretaker
In San Diego,

And You've Still
Got Your Crimebuster
Instincts.

Come On, Gotham City's
Counting On You, Batman.

Well?

Well, I Just Got Off
The Phone With San Diego.

Apparently, This Gene Byrd
Was So Upset About Donnie

He Decided To Move To L.A.
And Just Put It All Behind Him.

Take A Wild Guess What
This Guy Does For A Living.

Yeah. Donnie Had
Trouble Emotionally

From The Day We Met.

I Always Thought It Was
Just A Matter Of Time

Before
He Hurt Himself Bad.

Or Killed Himself?

Jack Said You Were Involved
In A Secret Squad In Asia.

How Secret?

Invisible.

The Government
Never Acknowledged
The Mission.

That's Why Donnie
Got Off.

If They'd Have
Locked Him Up,

They Would've Had
To Admit

That It Happened
In The First Place.

None Of Us Ever Said
A Thing About What
Happened That Night,

But The Army
Figured It Out.

Is That Why He's Not Buried
In A Military Cemetery?

You Got It.

What About His Childhood?

You Know Anything
About That?

Real Messed Up.

He Had A History
Of Starting Fires

Ever Since
He Was A Little Kid.

He Told Me
That, Um...

That Was All
Behind Him

When We Got
To Know Each Other
In High School.

You Never Know, Huh?

Yeah, Well,
I Guess You Knew

When You Saw That Village
Though, Huh?

Yes, We Did.

Coffee?

Yes. Thank You.

Well, I Tell You,
Sergeant,

A Lot Of Us Felt Like
Those People Were
The Enemy,

No Matter
How You Cut It.

Maybe Donnie
Did The Right Thing.

Maybe Not.

It Was War.

I Thought At The Time
Maybe It Wasn't Crazy.

I Thought Maybe
He Was A Better
Soldier Than Me.

Maybe You Should've Tried
To Get Him Some Help.

I Did, But Donnie
Wouldn't Hear Of It.

He Thought He Was
As Normal As You Or Me.

He Swore On It.

Well, I Wouldn't Be
A Bit Surprised

If That Automobile Accident
Wasn't A Suicide.

Ran Into A Pole
To Blow Himself Up?

No Way, Man.
It Was An Accident.

Well, Whatever It Was,
At Least We Know Now

That Jack
Couldn't Have Seen Him.

Uh, No, Ma'am.

In Fact, I Was
The Last One
To See Him.

I Went Down And Ided
The Body Personally.

I Handled The Whole
Funeral Myself.

Really?
Yeah.

I Bought The Headstone
And Arranged For Flowers

To Be Sent
Every Other Week.

Donnie Wasn't
Just Some Casual
Acquaintance With Me.

We Were About
As Tight As It Gets.

When I Go Home, I Visit
His Grave All The Time.

Hunter: What A Bunch
Of Crap, Huh?

Well, You Know,
It's Possible

He Lied To Us About
Visiting The Grave
And Everything

Because He Was Ashamed
He Never Did.

Come On, Would You Lie
To 2 Cops About That?

What About The Fact
He Said He Personally
Went Down To San Diego

To Order The Headstone

When We Know For A Fact
It Was Ordered
Over The Telephone?

Now, This May Be
A Little Rash,

But I Think
The Guy's Lying.

Dispatch:
L-26, Please Come In.

Mccall:
This Is L-26.

I Got That Info For You.

Jack Lachman Was Released
About An Hour Ago,

Captain's Orders.

♪ Sittin' Here
Starin' At An Empty Wall ♪

♪ What A Pitiful Picture
I Make ♪

♪ I Can't Believe
How Bad I Need ♪

♪ Every Breath I Take ♪

♪ I Feel Like
I'm Going To Break ♪

♪ I Made Another Mistake ♪

♪ Senseless Devotion ♪

♪ I Carry A Torch For You ♪

♪ I Wanna Die
In Your Arms ♪

♪ I Wanna Tell You
I Love You ♪

♪ That You've Never Been
Abused ♪

♪ I'm Burnin' Candles
For You ♪

♪ I'm Burnin' Candles
For You ♪

♪ I'm Burnin' Candles ♪

I'm In My Trailer
Watching Tv,

And All Of The Sudden,
I Hear Something Like
An Explosion.

Then I Got One Look
Out Of My Window,

And, I Mean, I Couldn't Believe
What I Was Looking At.

And That's When
You Went To Get
The Fire Extinguisher

You Were Telling Us
About Before?

Absolutely.

I've Kept One
Ever Since One Night

I Saw A Trailer
Burn Up On Kojak.

But You Were Too Late
To Save Mr. Lachman.

Oh, Yes. That Car
Was Real Bad.

I Mean, Those
Fire Department Boys

Must've Had
A Heavy Dinner,

Because They Sure
Took Their Time.

You Know, I Don't Think
Your Tv Buddy

Gives A Damn What Happened
To Jack, You Know That?

I Think He Runs
Strictly On Ratings.

Why Don't You Give Him
A Break, Huh?

He's Not That Bad.

He's Not The Enemy,
You Know.

Not Unless
You Make Me Mad.

Listen, We Got
To Take Off.

I Was Just Wondering
How Things Were
Coming Here.

Well, We Got A Burned Body,
And Someone's Murdered Her Car.

Other Than That,
Everything's Fine.

Oh, Look, Dee Dee,
I Have A Friend
In The Car Business.

I Can Arrange
The Whole Thing For You.

I'll Get You
A Real Sweet Deal.

I Can Take Care
Of It Myself,
Really,

But Thanks Anyway.

Well, You Know,
You Change Your Mind,

You Just--Just
Say The Word, Ok?

Ok.

Let Me Know When
My Story Breaks, Huh?

Oh, And We Should
Do That Dinner--Soon.

Hey, Look At This.

Here's Jack
And Here's Gene Byrd.

So, Which One's Donnie?

Right There--
With The Grin.

What's This All About?

Jack Lachman
Burned To Death Last Night.

What?

You Know, Gene,
It's Real Tough

For Me To Believe
You're Not Covering Up

For Your Old Buddy
Donnie Again.

Hey, What Are You
Talking About?

You Did It Once.
How Do I Know You're
Not Doing It Again?

Covering Up What?
He's Dead.

Nah. We Don't Think So.

Jack Saw Him, Remember?

Now There's Flames
All Over The Damn Place.

Hey, Come On.
This Doesn't Make Sense.

If A Guy's Alive,
He's Gonna Be
Somewhere, Right?

So, Where Is He? Why Can't
Anybody Find Him?

Well, Maybe You're
Covering Up For Him Again

Like You Did Before.

You Lied To Us, Gene,
And That's Not Good.

Nobody Showed Up
For Donnie's Funeral--

Not You, Not Anybody.

Yeah, And Nobody Sends Him
Flowers Anymore.

Plus, The Headstone
Was Ordered Over
The Telephone,

Followed Up
By An Anonymous
Cash Payment.

Now, How Do You
Explain All That?

Look, I Tried To Help You.

You Don't Have Any Right
To Come Back In Here

And Start Accusing Me
Of Anything, Man.

It's History.
Donnie's Over.

He's Dead.
Are You Sure?

I Think
You'd Better Leave.

I Don't Think
You're Going To Like It
When I Come Back.

Well, He's Nervous Enough
To Be Involved.

He's Involved, All Right.
You Can Count On That.

Well, Then Why Don't
We Go Back In

And Take Him Downtown
For Questioning?

Because All We Have
To Work On So Far

Is Circumstantial
Evidence.

We Need Something
A Lot Stronger.

Like What?

This Is Not One Of Your
Brighter Ideas, Hunter.

Just Open The Door.

Your Crime, Sir.

No, Wrong--

Moral Imperative In Defense
Of The Public Good.

Nobody's
Going To Buy That.

Look, We're Saving Lives
And Property Here.

We're Preventing A Bigger Crime
With A Much Smaller One.

Oh, A Bigger
With A Smaller.

I See. Well, What Do You
Call That? Uh...

Hunter's Law, Right?

That's Right.
Hunter's Law.

Right.

Seek.

Zero.

Not Quite.
Read That.

If You Got A Flamethrower,
You Got To Feed It, Right?

Better Killing
Through Chemistry.

This Place
Is Right Here In Town.

Yeah, And Here's
The Good Part.

"Unified
Chemical Warehouse.

"Dear Customer,
Your Order For Chemicals
Has Just Arrived.

Please Claim As Soon As
Possible. Sincerely--"

Et Cetera, Et Cetera.

"Unified
Chemical Warehouse."

Postmarked The Day
Before Yesterday.

Mccall: Maybe We Scared
This Guy So Bad

He's Going To Go
To Ground On Us.

Hunter: Nah, He'll
Show Up, Believe Me.

Here Comes Our Boy.

Very Weird.

Yeah, Tell Me About It.

Not Only
Is He Covering Up,

He's Helping To Buy Supplies
For His Friend.

2 Firebugs?

Heavy Odds.

Maybe There's
Only One Firebug,
And It's Donnie.

Which Means
Gene Byrd

Never Helped
Donnie Vanish
In The First Place.

Donnie Did It
Himself.

That Means The Body
In That Grave
Could Be Gene Byrd's.

Yeah.

It Fits. He Kills
His Own Best Friend,

Assumes His Identity.

It's The Perfect Cover.

He's Not Going To
Any Barbecue. Let's Go.

What The Heck's That?

I Don't Believe This Guy.
He's Following Us.

You Know, You Keep
Sticking Your Nose
Into Police Business

I'm Going To Break It
For You.

This Story Is Public
Business, Hunter.

And Don't Throw
Threats At Me.

See, That's Not Healthy.

Especially When
I Could Go On The Air
At Any Time.

I Could Tell
All My Viewers

About Your Illegal Entry

Into Gene Byrd's
Apartment.

I Was Down The Block
When That Happened.

And I'll Tell You
Something Else.

If I'm In The Mood,
I Might Just Mention

How You Two Always
Seem To Manage

To Show Up Just
A Little Bit Too Late.

Now Roll This Around In
Your Fat Empty Head, Gold.

There's A Screwball
Out There

Trying To Fry
Half The People In This City.

Now, They Want Him Caught,
And That's What
I'm Going To Do.

Justice?
That's Exactly Right.

Now, Do Yourself A Favor
And Stay Away From Me,

Because You And I
Aren't Friends Anymore.

If I See You Around
Again,

I'm Going To Pull
Your Head Off.

Film At 11:00.

We Had A Deal, Matt.

Look, I Know I Haven't
Helped You Guys Out,

But It's Not Exactly
My Business

To Stay Out Of The Way.

When We Broke This Case
It Was Going To Be Yours,

So What Happened?

The Station
Needs Footage, Dee Dee.

I Make A Living My Way,
You Make One Yours.

Look, I Don't Often
Say This,

But I Am Sorry.

Come On, Dee Dee,
I Admit It. I'm Human.

You Know, Your Partner's
Getting To Be
A Real Hard-Nose,

And I Don't Feel Like
Getting Stonewalled

When This Case Cracks.

You Know What
I Was Thinking?

Maybe You And I
Should Go Have Dinner,

The One We've Been
Talking About,

Just As A Way
Of Saying Thank You

For Getting Hunter
Off My Case, Huh?

It'd Be My Treat.

Not Hungry.

Right On Time.

You Know, You're
Breaking About 500 Laws

Following Them
Like This, Matt.

Look, We're Getting Paid
To Get Film. Let's Do It.

♪ I Can't Eat,
I Can't Sleep ♪

♪ I Didn't Take No Drugs ♪

♪ No Appetite
Except For You ♪

♪ And That's
A Little Bit Abused ♪

♪ Hearts And Bodies,
Soul And Mind ♪

♪ Torture
Of The Sweetest Kind ♪

♪ Empty Hands
That Held Your Heart ♪

♪ I Live And Die
To Play The Part ♪

♪ Play The Part
Of Your Fool ♪

♪ I'm Burnin'
Candles For You ♪

♪ I'm Burnin' ♪

♪ Sittin' Here Starin'
At An Empty Wall ♪

♪ What A Pitiful Picture
I Make ♪

♪ I Can't Believe
How Bad I Need ♪

♪ Every Breath I Take ♪

♪ I Feel Like
I'm Going To Break ♪

♪ I Made Another Mistake ♪

♪ Senseless Devotion ♪

♪ I Carry A Torch For You ♪

♪ I Wanna Die
In Your Arms ♪

♪ I Wanna Tell You
I Love You ♪

♪ That You've Never Been
Abused ♪

♪ I'm Burnin' Candles
For You ♪

♪ I'm Burnin' Candles
For You ♪

♪ I'm Burnin' Candles ♪

Ok, Ok, Stop Here.
Let's See What
They're Doing.

I'm Going To Take Off
And Get This.

Matt!

You Stick
With Hunter.

What The Hell
Are You Doing Here?

Matt--He Wanted To Find Out
What Was Going On.

Where Is He?

Aah!

Help! I Can't Get Out!

Help! I Can't Get Out!

Help! Somebody! Help!

[Tires Screech]

Nice Going, Matt.

"You Have The Right
To Remain Silent.

"If You Give Up
The Right
To Remain Silent,

"Anything You Say
Can And Will Be Used
Against You

In A Court Of Law."

Read The Rest Of Them
In The Car On The Way
Downtown.

I'm On To Your Secret.
Stand Up.

I Ain't Got No Secrets.

Hey, What's
With The Cuffs, Man?

Hey, Calm Down,
Donnie.

I'm Not Donnie.
You're Talking About
My Best Friend.

I'm Not Going
To Let You Trash Him

Over Some Stupid Theory.

You Want To Talk
About Theory?

You Know, When I Saw
Your Squad Picture Of Vietnam,

You Know What Hit Me
Right Between The Eyes?

How Much You And Gene
Look Like Brothers, Donnie.

The Name's Gene, Damn It.

Mccall: You Guys Got
The Same Build,
The Same Height,

The Same Coloring.

I'll Bet You Were
Mistaken For Each Other
All The Time.

You're Going
To Hold Me In Jail

Just Because
We Look Alike?

No. You're Under Arrest
For Suspicion Of Arson,

Suspicion
Of First Degree Murder,

And Suspicion Of
Second Degree Murder,

No Matter
What You Look Like.

Now Come On.

I Want To Talk To A Lawyer.
I Got A Right.

Yeah, You'll Call Him
Downtown,

But Listen
To My Theory First.

So, You See, It Doesn't
Make Any Difference

Who Burned Up In That
Car Fire 15 Years Ago.

The One Who Lived
Could've Assumed
The Other One's Identity.

Might've Pulled It Off,
Too, If He'd Played
His Cards Right.

Right, Mccall?

Yeah. With Burns
Covering 99%
Of His Body,

It'd Be Easy. It'd Be
A Simple Way To Assume
A New Identity.

Especially If You've
Burned Down A Village.

Yeah, Except
For One Problem.

Right.
It's Bull.

Aren't You Curious
To Know How You Blew It?

X-Rays.

You See, We Went And
Talked To Gene Byrd's
Pediatrician Yesterday,

And He Was Very Helpful,
Wasn't He, Mccall?

Yeah. He Told Us That
When Gene Was A Kid,

He Broke
His Right Leg Playing
Pop Warner Football.

Now, He Sent Me
The X-Ray.

I Bet If We Checked
Your Leg,

There Wouldn't Be
Any Sign Of A Break.

So We're Going To Drive
Down To San Diego,

Dig Up That Body,
And Check Out His Leg.

How Does That Sound,
Donnie?

You Two Are Insane.

Well, You'd Know.

You Can't Do That.
It's Wrong.

Better Not Upset Him,
Hunter.

He Might Light You
On Fire.

When I Come Back
From San Diego,

You're Going To Be
Sorry You Even Saw
A Book Of Matches.

Well, You Were Wrong,
Hunter.

You Went Down
And Dragged A Guy Off
His Civil Service Job

On Nothing But
Circumstantial.

We Followed This Guy
Right To The Fire.

And You Didn't See Him
Do A Thing, Did You?

We Saw Him Jump
Through The Window.

And You Couldn't I.D. Him
In A Million Years.

The Guy You Saw
Was All Greased Up.

He Had On Goggles And
A Breather, Didn't He?

Didn't He?

Yes.

So You Couldn't I.D. Him
In A Lineup Then, Could You?

I Guess Not, No.

There.

Heh Heh.
You See How Easy It Is

To Be A Defense Lawyer?

I'm Sorry, But This
Department Has No Choice

But To Let The Guy Go.

And I Hope, For His Sake,
He Finds Himself
A Good Hospital.

Lord Knows He Needs It.

Oh, That'll Be Great.
He'll Like That.

That'll Give Him
Something Else To Burn Up.

Well, I'll Tell You
What, Hunter.

Next Time You Catch Him
In The Act,

Otherwise I Don't Want
To See Him, You Got Me?

Oh, We're Going
To Catch Him, All Right.

So?

So, He Knows We're Going
Down To San Diego.

Let's Go Down There And
See What Kind Of Trouble
We Can Dig Up.

This Plan Of Yours
Better Fall Together
Quick.

It's Freezing Out Here.

Not If You're The One
Doing The Digging.

Well, If Donnie's
Going To Show,

He's Going To Do It
Pretty Soon.

I'll Be Watching.

I'm Counting On That.

Why Don't You
Come On Out, Donnie?

I'd Like To Help You,
Donnie,

So Why Don't You Drop
That Flamethrower?

Shut Up!
Come On, Donnie.

We Both Know
You Don't Want To Do
What You Did To Gene.

I Said Shut Up!

That's Not Going
To Get It, Donnie.

You Know That.

It Never Did.

[Helicopter]

Donnie?

Gene.
My Name Is Gene.

You Don't Have To Lie
Anymore, Donnie.

We Know What
Your Real Name Is.

Now, Remember
That Story I Told You
About Gene's Football Injury?

Well, I Just Told You
That To Get You To
Follow Me Down Here.

Now Why Don't You Drop
That Flamethrower

And Let Me Help You?

I Don't Want
Your Help.

Donnie!

Aah!

Unh!

End Of The Line,
Donnie.

What A Thing To Happen.

Aw, You Get Used To It.

No, You Don't.

Why Would Anyone Invent
A Thing Like That?

I Hope They Give Him
The No Smoking Section
At The Hospital.

Officers, Could We Get
A Word Or Two Here?

Come On, Guys, It's Late,
And It's Starting
To Drizzle.

Give Us Something Besides
Wet Clothes, Will You?

We're Trying To Do
A Piece Here.