Kojak (1973–1978): Season 1, Episode 10 - Cop in a Cage - full transcript
Kojak receives threats against his life just as his niece is about to get married.
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Two ounces of plastic explosive.
You could slip that into
a stranger's pocket, he'd never know it.
You sit in the can and think about
somebody for seven years,
they're no stranger... not Kojak.
In your sleep you talked about him.
Ground your teeth.
That pedometer,
how does it help solve my problem?
Well, it doesn't just measure
how far you walk.
You put it on a wheel,
and it runs up the miles too.
- Gonna put it on a car in a garage?
- No. I got a better place.
Goes off after 10 miles exactly.
Figurin' the radius of the tire,
I got the contact soldered onto the 10.
When this goes up to 10, finito.
Just like a timer.
But you couldn't use a timer, right?
Uh, well, it's a...
it's a church service, see?
Who knows how long?
Fair enough.
Hey. Come on, Ibbotson.
You wouldn't beat an old Dannemora
buddy out of a lousy thousand bucks?
Steel makes you sweat,
doesn't it, Jack?
Hey. Suppose... Just suppose
the cops busted you?
I don't wanna get
tied to this thing.
I wanna be out there
so he knows it's me.
And he can't do a damn thing
about it, Jack.
I wouldn't talk.
Are you crazy?
- Lieutenant Kojak.
- Theo? This is Sophie.
- Yeah. The nerve-racked mother.
- Yes, Sophie. What is it?
What it is is a rehearsal in an hour.
You coming?
This afternoon. Hey, look, if they
can pretend they're getting married,
can't they pretend I'm there?
Alexandra loves you and she's terrified
you'll miss the wedding.
Who knows? There could be
a big bust or something.
You couldn't get free.
Okay, you pain. I'll be there at 1:00.
But, look, I'm not gonna come to
the real thing.
Relax.
- You don't remember me.
- Aw, you kidding?
Ibbotson. Peter Ibbotson, extortion.
You keeping your nose clean?
- As a whistle.
Mmm. Well, you better be.
Get back in that dirty little
racket of yours, you're in trouble.
Anybody looking for me,
I'll be at Saint Basil's church in the Bronx.
Okay.
Something you wanted from me?
You know, I thought a lot about you
up there, Lieutenant. A lot.
- How you feeling, Lieutenant?
You feeling good?
- Fine.
That's good. And the family?
I hope the family's feeling good too.
Get him the hell
outta here.
Oh, there he is! There he is!
Hey, Theo!
You made it. Oh!
Yes.
Let's go inside.
How are you, beautiful?
I'm fine. How are you?
Just as gorgeous as ever.
And at this point,
I will place the crown upon your head.
And the best man
will exchange them three times.
We will chant, "O Lord, our God,
honor them with glory and honor.
O Lord, our God honor them"...
It's not too late, you know.
"O Lord, our God,
honor them with glory and honor.
O Lord, our God,
honor them with glory and honor. "
Can't you tell?
Now, look, two things I want you
to remember, kiddo. Number one,
you're marrying my favorite niece.
Right.
And number two, my favorite niece's
favorite uncle's a cop.
Hey. I won't forget that, sir.
Yeah, sir. You can cool the "sir," because
next week, you'll be crying uncle.
Right.
Get used to it, 'cause that's
what you'll be calling me.
Hey, Mort. I wanted to
make this deal a week ago
at my restaurant. What goes on?
I wanted you to see for yourself.
Special car. Special for the wedding party.
You know Jimmy here?
Hi, Jim.
He don't hang around smoking
when he's not driving.
Got a little hand vacuum,
all the time he's cleaning and polishing.
Every morning through the car wash.
It's spotless.
I know, Mort.
That's why we made that deal.
Now, for the second car,
not quite so costly, huh?
You know?
A new car for everybody else.
We'll squeeze 'em in somehow.
Mort, you're a sweetheart.
I'll see you later, all right?
Hey, you're just sore
'cause somebody else
is taking me to the movies now.
Excuse me.
Nice looking family you got there,
Lieutenant.
- Live around here?
- No.
Hmm. What are you doing here then?
Well, it's... it's been seven years.
You know, the city's changed.
I was just, uh...just checking
a few things out, that's all.
Are you objecting
to my being here, Lieutenant?
Mm-mmm. No.
Just as long as you don't
accuse me of police brutality.
Uncle Theo.
What is it, sweetheart?
Are you gonna come with us
to Papa's restaurant?
Costa, you old swindler.
You still puttin' oleo margarine
into the kourambiedes, right?
That's an insult.
I'll have you arrested.
Worse, I'll make you pay for your dinner.
I'll have you arrested,
you understand?
Listen, I'll be along
in just a minute. I just wanna...
Who is that man?
I think I've seen him someplace before.
No, sweetheart. He's nobody.
Absolutely nobody.
For the lieutenant. Some guy
downstairs just dropped that off.
Said it was important.
Thanks.
Don't laugh.
Mm-hmm.
"Patrick Frances Sullivan, Lieutenant
of Detectives, his wife, Maureen
and their three children,
were the victims of
a revenge-crazed kill..."
"April 12, 1931."
What is this?
Well, maybe I know.
Hello.
You know, Gloria, one day
a Mountie on horseback
is gonna come along, singing,
"Ah, sweet mystery of life."
He's gonna take you away
from all of this. Relax. Come here.
That's my kid sister. I wanna make
that last pitch and try to
make her go straight, you understand?
Here.
I want you to know
we're proud of you boys.
What'd I do, Kojak?
Here. You got too many vices.
"What'd I do, Kojak?"
I mean, besides hustling
the tourist trade, break the laws
and, uh, poison your liver, right?
- You don't get much of a tan yourself.
- Mmm.
- What's with this guy, Ibbotson?
- What's an Ibbotson?
An Ibbotson. Well, an Ibbotson is
a big pain where I don't need a big pain.
You got busted with him about
10 years ago? You know, uh,
an accessory with that
switched wallet and a few other cons?
It was easy. I was 19 years old.
Anybody's gonna believe anything I said.
You stop talking to me like a john
or I'll take my lollipop away.
- He's in Dannemora, I heard.
- Yeah. He got out three weeks ago.
Served seven years of
a seven-year sentence.
Refused parole twice.
Why?
This way, he doesn't have to
report to the parole officer.
Can't be picked up on
a hundred other minor violations,
and I'm looking for him, sweetheart.
- Why me?
- Because you sent him Christmas presents
every Christmas... except this last one.
Because you knew he was getting out.
He wanted certain things
from the outside.
Certain kinds of candy bars especially.
He didn't have many friends,
except for his family. Then they were gone.
You know that they ran off
after he went up?
I didn't want him getting out
holding anything against me. Not him.
Well, you better start thinking about me
the same way, sweetheart.
He phoned me once
a couple of weeks ago.
He said he was out of work.
He said he had plans...
seven years'worth of plans.
He didn't want to do anything
to foul them up.
I don't know where he is.
I didn't wanna know.
We didn't do anything.
I could understand that.
If you find out where he is,
you'll call me, right?
Sure, Kojak.
Who loves ya?
Good night, kid.
Stavros, find out
everything you can...
about any cell mate that
Ibbotson might've had in Dannemora.
If he was planning something,
maybe he shot his mouth off.
Okay, Lieutenant.
You're wonderful.
What's this, your lunchroom?
No. He ordered it for you.
Who's he?
Your friend across the street.
Saperstein's watching him.
All right. Tell Saperstein
to stay with him.
- Why are you putting a tail on him?
- I wanna find out where he goes,
what he does and who he talks to
when he's not bugging me.
Lab, this is Lieutenant Kojak,
Manhattan South.
Yeah, I'm sending some articles
over for laboratory investigation.
Ham and cheese on rye.
Tomato, pickles, lettuce, cheese
and chips.
Chips. Yeah.
How serious is this?
You see that creep out there?
You know what I collared him for?
He was running the dirtiest
extortion racket in this town.
A kid playing in the streets,
hit-and-run driver nails him.
Now, maybe he's killed,
maybe he's hurt.
Ibbotson reads about it in the paper.
Finds out if there are any other kids
in the family.
So then, he writes, "Sorry about
running overJohnny.
For $500.
I won't run overJimmy too."
- Real fox.
- Real fox.
And he'd only work out of
those areas like Bedford-Stuyvesant,
Harlem, Spanish Harlem,
where they know
they don't go to the cops.
They'd be afraid. They'd think
we wouldn't help 'em, so they pay.
And they keep paying.
And that's what kept Ibbotson
in alligator shoes.
I nailed him on three counts.
He got the maximum.
Stavros.
Don't eat this.
See if you can get a refund.
Right.
Yes, sir?
Check, please.
Pay the cashier, please.
Thank you.
One-seventy-five.
You enjoy your dinner, sir?
You need something...
chocolate for dessert.
With baklava, you need chocolate?
- You know any cops?
- Yeah, why? You need a cop?
How are you feeling?
- What?
- Feeling good?
Yeah, I feel good.
Hey. What is this all about?
"Do I know any cops?
Do I feel good?" What?
Call up a cop you know, okay?
Tell him someone was in here...
asking if you felt good.
We just had
a crazy man for dinner.
You know, he was here before, Papa.
Remember? Last week.
The night Father Aleksei had
moussaka for dinner,
and we all talked about the wedding?
Yeah. So, we'll talk to Theo.
It won't hurt. Now, you go over there
and take care of the customers,
huh, honey? Come on.
Like that, huh? What?
I don't like to bother you
at the job, Theo.
I know you're a very busy man.
But, Alexandra, I don't want anything
to upset her before the wedding.
You're not bothering me.
That's what the police are for.
He's just some kind of a nut.
Don't worry about it.
- But Eugene is taking her home?
- Yeah. Sure.
Okay.
Saperstein's still tailing Ibbotson, right?
Yeah, why? Is something shaking?
Yeah. He was just in
my brother-in-law's restaurant.
- Doing what?
- Eh, doing what.
Just putting the pressure on.
I hate to do this to Sophie.
Sophie. Theo. How are you?
Oh! Forty-eight hours,
my only daughter to be married.
I'm a terrific wreck.
Do me a favor, Sophie.
I want you to keep your eyes open
for a skinny guy.
Well, not skinny. Medium build.
Middle 30s.
Dumb-looking blank stare on his face,
and he likes to eat candy bars.
Aw, Theo. I've got so many things
on my mind.
Look, is this something
you could send me a...
something like a mug shot on?
- Mug shot. Is that right?
- A mug shot.
Uh, look, kid, we got it covered
pretty good here, okay?
It's just with all the presents around,
I don't want you letting strangers
into the house, you understand?
- Okay. Good.
- Good night, mug shot.
Ibbotson had three roomies
in the can. Evans died last year.
Wilson wouldn't talk to him,
thought he was a creep.
Henshaw got out six months ago.
"Wilson, car theft."
Doesn't everybody?
"Henshaw, arson.
Evans, suspicion of murder.
Picked up with high-powered rifle."
Look, Stavros, see what we can find out
on stolen rifles, huh?
Sporting good stores, whatever,
since Ibbotson got out.
- Okay, Lieutenant.
- What are you figuring, Lieutenant?
I could be his plan, couldn't I?
He gets his kicks from rattling me first.
You got any idea how many guys
have threatened to get me?
- A hundred, 200?
- A hundred, 200, huh?
If I put 'em all together, just to
keep an eye on 'em, I'd need the state
of Rhode Island, a couple of divisions.
This one's different. He's cool.
He just sits there and he waits, right?
He waits and he thinks.
I don't know what he's thinking about.
But you can't arrest him for that, can ya?
Tweet, tweet, baby.
I'm a cop in a cage.
Just pass the word on, Lieutenant.
I mean, if you want out, you know?
Cool it. Nobody else goes near him.
Understood?
Understood.
Hey, look, if you want to play potsy
in my neighborhood, that's all right.
I can take care of you.
But I don't like you
being too close to my family.
I have a perfect right.
"Officer and Family Slain
By Berserk Gunman."
You sent that to me. Why?
Because I lost my family.
A wife, two children.
I don't know where they are anymore.
Maybe they're, uh,
better off without you.
Give it a shot someplace else.
You see?
You can't appreciate the tragedy...
unless it happens to a cop.
Ah, that sounds like a threat, Cinderella.
- Assume the position. Turn around. Now.
- A threat?
Now.
You're wasting your time. I'm clean.
You were born dirty.
Go ahead, turn around.
Now, you listen, and listen good.
If I ever see you near my family,
I'm gonna have to, uh... I'm gonna
have to punish you.
What do you mean you're going to
have to punish me, Lieutenant, huh?
You mean, you'll kill me?
Huh?
Are you telling me that
if I go places in this city...
That you disapprove of,
you'll do me physical injury?
Come here. You like poetry?
Look at me.
If I ever see you near me
or any of my family,
I'm gonna scatter your brains
from here to White Plains, sweetheart.
Okay. Okay. Agreed.
Serokin is the creepiest lawyer in
the city. He defends ambulance chasers.
But Ibbotson had him on retainer,
and you waltzed right into his arms.
He made a threat.
Well, none of the witnesses
heard his threat.
But they heard yours.
And very shortly, there's gonna be
a piece of paper down here
with Latin on it.
It's called a writ.
Forbidding you or any of us
from harassing him in any way.
That means you can't tail him
worth a damn.
Well, how come I can't get
a writ against him?
For what? He asks how you feel?
He sends you a clipping which
I don't especially like either.
He buys you lunch.
He eats in a public restaurant.
Now, come on. Theo.
Before, we could pick him up for
tossing away one of his candy wrappers.
- Now, even that's
going to look like harassment.
- Okay. I'm on the hot seat.
But I'd probably do it all over again.
You know something?
Maybe his plan is a caper,
and this stuff with me is just
until he gets it all together.
But I'm gonna tell you something, Frank,
I wanna stick it to him.
I don't want him laughing at us... ever.
Sweetheart, that's just what he's doing.
I got your picture.
I'll be careful.
Hold on. I'll check.
Know anyone at this address?
That's my sister Sophie's place. Why?
Saperstein says Ibbotson's been
casing it for the past hour.
All right. Have Saperstein
stay with Ibbotson all the time.
If he needs any help, give it to him.
Right.
"The servant of God, Eugene,
"is crowned to
the handmaiden of God, Alexandra.
In the name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit."
It's part of the wedding ceremony
torn in half.
Who are you calling, Mama?
- I feel uneasy.
All right. Good, good, good, good.
There are all the pretty things
you can do with those. Thanks a lot.
You know you can kill a guy
with those in just two seconds?
I've got a question.
Can we haul in a suspect
for carrying a concealed weapon
ifhe's got them under his coat?
Come on, will ya, Crocker.
Don't bother me with that.
Call the D.A. Or something.
I'm sorry.
Kojak. Yeah, hi, Sophie.
We just got something.
Alexandra found it in the door.
All right, tell me about it.
In the door? With her name on it.
Well, look, Sophie,
I just put someone on you and Alexandra.
I'll talk to you later, okay? Good-bye.
What are you looking at?
You know, this guy Ibbotson's
getting to be a real drag.
Coming. Coming up.
If you don't have a warrant, gentlemen,
I'm gonna have a beautiful lawsuit.
Don't be so sure
what you're gonna have.
I'm clean.
Wouldn't keep a gun here if I had one.
Wouldn't keep anything here like that.
Man says he's clean.
He doesn't look so clean.
He don't smell so clean either.
Hey. What if we told you
we had a complaint?
Lady says you tried to
hustle her, huh?
Wouldn't be true.
Hmm.
You wouldn't wanna tell that to
a "Mrs. Corinne Wilson,
4780 East 217 th Street," would ya?
Who's she?
She's the lady who says
you called and said,
"If you don't come up with 500 bucks
you'd throw her other son out the window."
I never phoned anybody by that name.
That could be your M.O.
Little boy falls out
the window eight floors.
It was in the paper.
Okay if we look around?
What for?
What for? Clues, man.
That's what cops are for, right?
Hey, Craw, take a look at this.
You're not so clean after all, are you?
"James Wilson, three, eldest son
of Mrs. Corinne Wilson,
plunged to his death from
an uptown apartment building
late yesterday."
Well, look at it.
You planted this.
You wanna tell that to
Lieutenant Kojak?
Wanna come to the station house with us,
or do you wanna get lost, man?
I mean, real lost.
I mean, lost forever, because this is how
we're gonna hang you by your eyeballs...
if you don't
get off Lieutenant Kojak's back!
Don't think we can't do it, baby,
because we can.
We'll have you back inside so fast
your underwear will have to
take the next train.
You think about it, baby,
because your time is running out.
Think about it!
And stay clean, huh?
We were only trying to help, Lieutenant.
Yeah, with a frame.
With a frame, right?
"Only trying to help."
Nobody was trying to frame him, Lieutenant.
We were just trying to scare him
out of town, maybe. You know?
I see. "Maybe," huh?
You know how fast this complaint
came down this morning?
He probably had it in his lawyer's hands
and had it delivered then.
In the meantime, he's gonna be outside
doing what he wants to do,
and we'll be doing a fancy dance step
in front of the review board.
It was dumb.
Dumb, you understand? Dumb!
What do you mean?
Come on.
What do you got?
I was in at 8:00.
I was checking through the sheets,
and I find that two high-powered rifles
were stolen yesterday.
From where?
Staten Island. But it couldn't have been
him. Saperstein was on him.
So, what does that mean? Were they...
But, I found this poster.
A guy in the Bronx got knocked off
eight days ago. He was into arson.
Henshaw. That's Ibbotson's cell mate.
All right. I want you to call the 16th.
I want you to get everything you can
on this case.
I got a patrolman
bringing it all down now.
Stavros, very good.
You still practicing the bouzouki?
Yeah.
All right. Go get it
for the wedding.
- Hey, Lieutenant,
what time is the wedding?
- 11:00.
Ten. That's the magic number.
I like that.
Nice, round number
to even the score.
Here's everything Forensics found
at the Henshaw murder scene.
Cause of death,
slashed across the trachea.
Multiple punctures of the chest.
Medical suggests a blade
with serrations on it.
Okay, the cigarette butts.
They found traces of saliva that matches
the victim's blood type... O- positive.
The matchbook.
They traced it back to a joint
where Henshaw ate all the time.
In fact, the only thing
they haven't pinned to him is this.
- It's sweet.
- The lab found microscopic traces of
caramelized sugar on it.
Henshaw was a diabetic,
so it kind of stuck out.
Candy bars.
All right, get a photo of Ibbotson
up to the 16th.
Have 'em see if anybody spotted him
around the neighborhood
the night that Henshaw was killed.
So what do we got,
a firebomb in the building?
Henshaw just wasn't into arson.
He was into explosives.
He had a piece of plastique
squirreled away. Little piece,
about this big.
Make a picture window out of
the whole side of this building.
All right. Call the bomb squad.
We got an hour before the wedding.
Check every pew at Saint Basil's...
especially where
my family's gonna be sitting.
- What about the reception?
- Get them to Constantine's restaurant.
We'll have more time there.
Oh, yes, and the limousines.
Get a man to check them both,
and stay with them all the time.
Okay, Lieutenant.
You got it.
It's 30 minutes, Theo.
Are we gonna have a wedding
or are we not gonna have a wedding?
Weddings we can have anytime.
Children we only have once.
We've gotta take care of them.
- Bomb squad says the church is all clean.
- All right. The front, the back, pews,
altar, everything, huh?
Everything. They even went through
with a dog that sniffs out explosives.
All right, you get in the back.
Put Saperstein in the front.
He knows this Ibbotson.
And I want you to check all the guests.
Costa, you stay with him
and have a good time.
Don't worry. Go ahead.
Okay.
Gomez, how about the restaurant?
They're just going over it now.
And I want you to check the musicians,
the waiters, everybody.
All right.
I want you to make sure
that creep doesn't get in there.
Right.
And who's checking the limousines?
Stavros sent two guys
from the bomb squad.
Okay.
The chauffeurs are bonded.
My wife's own cousins.
Well, they're clean.
Motor, gas tank, upholstery.
Good.
I got four locks
on the garage. Nobody gets to it.
This is my baby, understand?
I don't wanna think about
anything going wrong.
Yeah. Uh, which one of these
terraplanes is for the wedding couple?
Jimmy's car right here.
All right.
He specializes in the newlyweds.
Good. I'll ride with you.
Jimmy, uh, get a wash,
and this time get a good one.
Okay.
Good.
Lieutenant. Gomez.
- Yeah?
- Well, they even checked the drums
and the piano.
Okay. Everybody comes in and out
the front door.
Everybody. Deliverymen, florists,
photographers. Check 'em all.
Maybe this is all he wants.
You miss the wedding. Everybody sweats.
Maybe. Anyway, from the church
to the restaurant, I'll be tailing behind
the two limos.
- You, you stay slightly ahead.
- All right.
Lieutenant, this is Stavros.
Are you picking me up yet?
- Yeah, Stavros?
- Yeah, well, I'm in the car now,
and it's as clean as a baby's nose.
Okay. When you get here,
you stay with it outside the church.
- Forget about kissing the bride.
- Right. Where you going?
To you this car is clean.
To Mort, a flyspeck on
the windshield is dreck.
We've gotta wash 'em on
the way to every job.
Hey. Ho. Don't open that door.
Don't get in that car.
You, get behind the wheel.
Pull it off the ramp.
Nice and easy.
You love your mother and father?
What's that mean?
Would you put your mother
and father in this car?
You better believe it.
All right. Come on.
I'll drive you to the reception.
All right, sweetheart.
Turn around. Assume the position.
Beautiful, Kojak.
Just wait till my lawyer
hears about this.
Shut up, you creep.
You're not gonna be
out of my sight for one minute now.
It's gonna be a pleasure
watching you walk a beat, Kojak.
You killed a guy named Henshaw.
Some kind of a hotshot with explosives?
My lawyer's gonna make me
a rich man after this arrest.
You made one mistake, sonny boy.
You left one of these wrappers
in the wrong place.
They sell a million of these a day,
and I swear by it.
- You did it. I know you did.
I can feel it in my bones.
- That's just what I want, Kojak.
Hold your coat, princess.
Serrated.
- Just like the knife that killed Henshaw.
- Hey. We got something.
- Could be dried blood in here.
- Just a knife.
- For fishing.
Don't make any plans, junior.
The blood on that turns out
to be type O, the ball game's over.
- I'm type O.
- Type O and diabetic?
Henshaw was diabetic.
Let's see what the odds are.
Now, if you're same thing,
that's one in 100,000.
I wanna see my lawyer.
You're gonna see a mortician
if I hear a bang! Bang!
Within 10 blocks of here.
My lawyer, please.
Get 'im in the car.
Don't hit him. Don't hit him.
Come on, you creep.
Get in there.
He likes it.
Get in there.
- No. You drive.
- It's over here. Get in there.
Get in the car. Go on. That's it.
You lead the procession.
Now, Stavros, you keep your eyes peeled.
Anybody on that street makes
a move to that limousine, you drive
right between them, you understand?
Okay, Lieutenant.
- What's that?
- What?
What is it leaking, gas?
- No. That's water. Don't worry.
- Water from what?
- That's water from the car wash.
- What car wash?
The car wash on the way to
the church.
- Call the bomb squad.
- Hello, Central?
This is Stavros.
Get a bomb squad down to
146th and Lennox right away.
- Get in front of them and cut 'em off.
- Look at that putz.
- What are you gonna do?
Take time to exchange insurance cards?
Take cover. Out of the cars.
Take cover. Get away from
the limousine.
Take cover. Out of the cars.
Come on!
Check that first limo.
Car 23, 10-1 your command.
- 93?
- Code two, car 93.
Come out here, you.
Lieutenant.
Just got a call from the 16th.
They found a clerk
who recognized the photo,
and our friend over here bought
four candy bars down by Henshaw's
the night of the murder.
We got him.
Fancy that.
Now, you listen good, yo-yo.
Because I'm gonna tell you something
for every cop's had to live under a threat
from a punk like you.
You know, maybe sometimes
when you're an old man,
you'll be thinking about getting out.
Don't think anything about getting even.
I want you to think about me.
Because ifby some remote possibility
you get out,
there's gonna be a little
150-year-old man waiting for you.
And that little old man will be me.
Okay, Harry.
What happened to you?
Everything okay?
Okay, Nick. Everything's all right.
Look. I gotta go down to
the station house and book this guy.
I'll see you at the reception.
- Uh-huh.
I'll go get my bouzouki.
Here. Take him to the car.
Wait for me.
Tradition. I gotta be
the first to dance with the bride.
---
Two ounces of plastic explosive.
You could slip that into
a stranger's pocket, he'd never know it.
You sit in the can and think about
somebody for seven years,
they're no stranger... not Kojak.
In your sleep you talked about him.
Ground your teeth.
That pedometer,
how does it help solve my problem?
Well, it doesn't just measure
how far you walk.
You put it on a wheel,
and it runs up the miles too.
- Gonna put it on a car in a garage?
- No. I got a better place.
Goes off after 10 miles exactly.
Figurin' the radius of the tire,
I got the contact soldered onto the 10.
When this goes up to 10, finito.
Just like a timer.
But you couldn't use a timer, right?
Uh, well, it's a...
it's a church service, see?
Who knows how long?
Fair enough.
Hey. Come on, Ibbotson.
You wouldn't beat an old Dannemora
buddy out of a lousy thousand bucks?
Steel makes you sweat,
doesn't it, Jack?
Hey. Suppose... Just suppose
the cops busted you?
I don't wanna get
tied to this thing.
I wanna be out there
so he knows it's me.
And he can't do a damn thing
about it, Jack.
I wouldn't talk.
Are you crazy?
- Lieutenant Kojak.
- Theo? This is Sophie.
- Yeah. The nerve-racked mother.
- Yes, Sophie. What is it?
What it is is a rehearsal in an hour.
You coming?
This afternoon. Hey, look, if they
can pretend they're getting married,
can't they pretend I'm there?
Alexandra loves you and she's terrified
you'll miss the wedding.
Who knows? There could be
a big bust or something.
You couldn't get free.
Okay, you pain. I'll be there at 1:00.
But, look, I'm not gonna come to
the real thing.
Relax.
- You don't remember me.
- Aw, you kidding?
Ibbotson. Peter Ibbotson, extortion.
You keeping your nose clean?
- As a whistle.
Mmm. Well, you better be.
Get back in that dirty little
racket of yours, you're in trouble.
Anybody looking for me,
I'll be at Saint Basil's church in the Bronx.
Okay.
Something you wanted from me?
You know, I thought a lot about you
up there, Lieutenant. A lot.
- How you feeling, Lieutenant?
You feeling good?
- Fine.
That's good. And the family?
I hope the family's feeling good too.
Get him the hell
outta here.
Oh, there he is! There he is!
Hey, Theo!
You made it. Oh!
Yes.
Let's go inside.
How are you, beautiful?
I'm fine. How are you?
Just as gorgeous as ever.
And at this point,
I will place the crown upon your head.
And the best man
will exchange them three times.
We will chant, "O Lord, our God,
honor them with glory and honor.
O Lord, our God honor them"...
It's not too late, you know.
"O Lord, our God,
honor them with glory and honor.
O Lord, our God,
honor them with glory and honor. "
Can't you tell?
Now, look, two things I want you
to remember, kiddo. Number one,
you're marrying my favorite niece.
Right.
And number two, my favorite niece's
favorite uncle's a cop.
Hey. I won't forget that, sir.
Yeah, sir. You can cool the "sir," because
next week, you'll be crying uncle.
Right.
Get used to it, 'cause that's
what you'll be calling me.
Hey, Mort. I wanted to
make this deal a week ago
at my restaurant. What goes on?
I wanted you to see for yourself.
Special car. Special for the wedding party.
You know Jimmy here?
Hi, Jim.
He don't hang around smoking
when he's not driving.
Got a little hand vacuum,
all the time he's cleaning and polishing.
Every morning through the car wash.
It's spotless.
I know, Mort.
That's why we made that deal.
Now, for the second car,
not quite so costly, huh?
You know?
A new car for everybody else.
We'll squeeze 'em in somehow.
Mort, you're a sweetheart.
I'll see you later, all right?
Hey, you're just sore
'cause somebody else
is taking me to the movies now.
Excuse me.
Nice looking family you got there,
Lieutenant.
- Live around here?
- No.
Hmm. What are you doing here then?
Well, it's... it's been seven years.
You know, the city's changed.
I was just, uh...just checking
a few things out, that's all.
Are you objecting
to my being here, Lieutenant?
Mm-mmm. No.
Just as long as you don't
accuse me of police brutality.
Uncle Theo.
What is it, sweetheart?
Are you gonna come with us
to Papa's restaurant?
Costa, you old swindler.
You still puttin' oleo margarine
into the kourambiedes, right?
That's an insult.
I'll have you arrested.
Worse, I'll make you pay for your dinner.
I'll have you arrested,
you understand?
Listen, I'll be along
in just a minute. I just wanna...
Who is that man?
I think I've seen him someplace before.
No, sweetheart. He's nobody.
Absolutely nobody.
For the lieutenant. Some guy
downstairs just dropped that off.
Said it was important.
Thanks.
Don't laugh.
Mm-hmm.
"Patrick Frances Sullivan, Lieutenant
of Detectives, his wife, Maureen
and their three children,
were the victims of
a revenge-crazed kill..."
"April 12, 1931."
What is this?
Well, maybe I know.
Hello.
You know, Gloria, one day
a Mountie on horseback
is gonna come along, singing,
"Ah, sweet mystery of life."
He's gonna take you away
from all of this. Relax. Come here.
That's my kid sister. I wanna make
that last pitch and try to
make her go straight, you understand?
Here.
I want you to know
we're proud of you boys.
What'd I do, Kojak?
Here. You got too many vices.
"What'd I do, Kojak?"
I mean, besides hustling
the tourist trade, break the laws
and, uh, poison your liver, right?
- You don't get much of a tan yourself.
- Mmm.
- What's with this guy, Ibbotson?
- What's an Ibbotson?
An Ibbotson. Well, an Ibbotson is
a big pain where I don't need a big pain.
You got busted with him about
10 years ago? You know, uh,
an accessory with that
switched wallet and a few other cons?
It was easy. I was 19 years old.
Anybody's gonna believe anything I said.
You stop talking to me like a john
or I'll take my lollipop away.
- He's in Dannemora, I heard.
- Yeah. He got out three weeks ago.
Served seven years of
a seven-year sentence.
Refused parole twice.
Why?
This way, he doesn't have to
report to the parole officer.
Can't be picked up on
a hundred other minor violations,
and I'm looking for him, sweetheart.
- Why me?
- Because you sent him Christmas presents
every Christmas... except this last one.
Because you knew he was getting out.
He wanted certain things
from the outside.
Certain kinds of candy bars especially.
He didn't have many friends,
except for his family. Then they were gone.
You know that they ran off
after he went up?
I didn't want him getting out
holding anything against me. Not him.
Well, you better start thinking about me
the same way, sweetheart.
He phoned me once
a couple of weeks ago.
He said he was out of work.
He said he had plans...
seven years'worth of plans.
He didn't want to do anything
to foul them up.
I don't know where he is.
I didn't wanna know.
We didn't do anything.
I could understand that.
If you find out where he is,
you'll call me, right?
Sure, Kojak.
Who loves ya?
Good night, kid.
Stavros, find out
everything you can...
about any cell mate that
Ibbotson might've had in Dannemora.
If he was planning something,
maybe he shot his mouth off.
Okay, Lieutenant.
You're wonderful.
What's this, your lunchroom?
No. He ordered it for you.
Who's he?
Your friend across the street.
Saperstein's watching him.
All right. Tell Saperstein
to stay with him.
- Why are you putting a tail on him?
- I wanna find out where he goes,
what he does and who he talks to
when he's not bugging me.
Lab, this is Lieutenant Kojak,
Manhattan South.
Yeah, I'm sending some articles
over for laboratory investigation.
Ham and cheese on rye.
Tomato, pickles, lettuce, cheese
and chips.
Chips. Yeah.
How serious is this?
You see that creep out there?
You know what I collared him for?
He was running the dirtiest
extortion racket in this town.
A kid playing in the streets,
hit-and-run driver nails him.
Now, maybe he's killed,
maybe he's hurt.
Ibbotson reads about it in the paper.
Finds out if there are any other kids
in the family.
So then, he writes, "Sorry about
running overJohnny.
For $500.
I won't run overJimmy too."
- Real fox.
- Real fox.
And he'd only work out of
those areas like Bedford-Stuyvesant,
Harlem, Spanish Harlem,
where they know
they don't go to the cops.
They'd be afraid. They'd think
we wouldn't help 'em, so they pay.
And they keep paying.
And that's what kept Ibbotson
in alligator shoes.
I nailed him on three counts.
He got the maximum.
Stavros.
Don't eat this.
See if you can get a refund.
Right.
Yes, sir?
Check, please.
Pay the cashier, please.
Thank you.
One-seventy-five.
You enjoy your dinner, sir?
You need something...
chocolate for dessert.
With baklava, you need chocolate?
- You know any cops?
- Yeah, why? You need a cop?
How are you feeling?
- What?
- Feeling good?
Yeah, I feel good.
Hey. What is this all about?
"Do I know any cops?
Do I feel good?" What?
Call up a cop you know, okay?
Tell him someone was in here...
asking if you felt good.
We just had
a crazy man for dinner.
You know, he was here before, Papa.
Remember? Last week.
The night Father Aleksei had
moussaka for dinner,
and we all talked about the wedding?
Yeah. So, we'll talk to Theo.
It won't hurt. Now, you go over there
and take care of the customers,
huh, honey? Come on.
Like that, huh? What?
I don't like to bother you
at the job, Theo.
I know you're a very busy man.
But, Alexandra, I don't want anything
to upset her before the wedding.
You're not bothering me.
That's what the police are for.
He's just some kind of a nut.
Don't worry about it.
- But Eugene is taking her home?
- Yeah. Sure.
Okay.
Saperstein's still tailing Ibbotson, right?
Yeah, why? Is something shaking?
Yeah. He was just in
my brother-in-law's restaurant.
- Doing what?
- Eh, doing what.
Just putting the pressure on.
I hate to do this to Sophie.
Sophie. Theo. How are you?
Oh! Forty-eight hours,
my only daughter to be married.
I'm a terrific wreck.
Do me a favor, Sophie.
I want you to keep your eyes open
for a skinny guy.
Well, not skinny. Medium build.
Middle 30s.
Dumb-looking blank stare on his face,
and he likes to eat candy bars.
Aw, Theo. I've got so many things
on my mind.
Look, is this something
you could send me a...
something like a mug shot on?
- Mug shot. Is that right?
- A mug shot.
Uh, look, kid, we got it covered
pretty good here, okay?
It's just with all the presents around,
I don't want you letting strangers
into the house, you understand?
- Okay. Good.
- Good night, mug shot.
Ibbotson had three roomies
in the can. Evans died last year.
Wilson wouldn't talk to him,
thought he was a creep.
Henshaw got out six months ago.
"Wilson, car theft."
Doesn't everybody?
"Henshaw, arson.
Evans, suspicion of murder.
Picked up with high-powered rifle."
Look, Stavros, see what we can find out
on stolen rifles, huh?
Sporting good stores, whatever,
since Ibbotson got out.
- Okay, Lieutenant.
- What are you figuring, Lieutenant?
I could be his plan, couldn't I?
He gets his kicks from rattling me first.
You got any idea how many guys
have threatened to get me?
- A hundred, 200?
- A hundred, 200, huh?
If I put 'em all together, just to
keep an eye on 'em, I'd need the state
of Rhode Island, a couple of divisions.
This one's different. He's cool.
He just sits there and he waits, right?
He waits and he thinks.
I don't know what he's thinking about.
But you can't arrest him for that, can ya?
Tweet, tweet, baby.
I'm a cop in a cage.
Just pass the word on, Lieutenant.
I mean, if you want out, you know?
Cool it. Nobody else goes near him.
Understood?
Understood.
Hey, look, if you want to play potsy
in my neighborhood, that's all right.
I can take care of you.
But I don't like you
being too close to my family.
I have a perfect right.
"Officer and Family Slain
By Berserk Gunman."
You sent that to me. Why?
Because I lost my family.
A wife, two children.
I don't know where they are anymore.
Maybe they're, uh,
better off without you.
Give it a shot someplace else.
You see?
You can't appreciate the tragedy...
unless it happens to a cop.
Ah, that sounds like a threat, Cinderella.
- Assume the position. Turn around. Now.
- A threat?
Now.
You're wasting your time. I'm clean.
You were born dirty.
Go ahead, turn around.
Now, you listen, and listen good.
If I ever see you near my family,
I'm gonna have to, uh... I'm gonna
have to punish you.
What do you mean you're going to
have to punish me, Lieutenant, huh?
You mean, you'll kill me?
Huh?
Are you telling me that
if I go places in this city...
That you disapprove of,
you'll do me physical injury?
Come here. You like poetry?
Look at me.
If I ever see you near me
or any of my family,
I'm gonna scatter your brains
from here to White Plains, sweetheart.
Okay. Okay. Agreed.
Serokin is the creepiest lawyer in
the city. He defends ambulance chasers.
But Ibbotson had him on retainer,
and you waltzed right into his arms.
He made a threat.
Well, none of the witnesses
heard his threat.
But they heard yours.
And very shortly, there's gonna be
a piece of paper down here
with Latin on it.
It's called a writ.
Forbidding you or any of us
from harassing him in any way.
That means you can't tail him
worth a damn.
Well, how come I can't get
a writ against him?
For what? He asks how you feel?
He sends you a clipping which
I don't especially like either.
He buys you lunch.
He eats in a public restaurant.
Now, come on. Theo.
Before, we could pick him up for
tossing away one of his candy wrappers.
- Now, even that's
going to look like harassment.
- Okay. I'm on the hot seat.
But I'd probably do it all over again.
You know something?
Maybe his plan is a caper,
and this stuff with me is just
until he gets it all together.
But I'm gonna tell you something, Frank,
I wanna stick it to him.
I don't want him laughing at us... ever.
Sweetheart, that's just what he's doing.
I got your picture.
I'll be careful.
Hold on. I'll check.
Know anyone at this address?
That's my sister Sophie's place. Why?
Saperstein says Ibbotson's been
casing it for the past hour.
All right. Have Saperstein
stay with Ibbotson all the time.
If he needs any help, give it to him.
Right.
"The servant of God, Eugene,
"is crowned to
the handmaiden of God, Alexandra.
In the name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit."
It's part of the wedding ceremony
torn in half.
Who are you calling, Mama?
- I feel uneasy.
All right. Good, good, good, good.
There are all the pretty things
you can do with those. Thanks a lot.
You know you can kill a guy
with those in just two seconds?
I've got a question.
Can we haul in a suspect
for carrying a concealed weapon
ifhe's got them under his coat?
Come on, will ya, Crocker.
Don't bother me with that.
Call the D.A. Or something.
I'm sorry.
Kojak. Yeah, hi, Sophie.
We just got something.
Alexandra found it in the door.
All right, tell me about it.
In the door? With her name on it.
Well, look, Sophie,
I just put someone on you and Alexandra.
I'll talk to you later, okay? Good-bye.
What are you looking at?
You know, this guy Ibbotson's
getting to be a real drag.
Coming. Coming up.
If you don't have a warrant, gentlemen,
I'm gonna have a beautiful lawsuit.
Don't be so sure
what you're gonna have.
I'm clean.
Wouldn't keep a gun here if I had one.
Wouldn't keep anything here like that.
Man says he's clean.
He doesn't look so clean.
He don't smell so clean either.
Hey. What if we told you
we had a complaint?
Lady says you tried to
hustle her, huh?
Wouldn't be true.
Hmm.
You wouldn't wanna tell that to
a "Mrs. Corinne Wilson,
4780 East 217 th Street," would ya?
Who's she?
She's the lady who says
you called and said,
"If you don't come up with 500 bucks
you'd throw her other son out the window."
I never phoned anybody by that name.
That could be your M.O.
Little boy falls out
the window eight floors.
It was in the paper.
Okay if we look around?
What for?
What for? Clues, man.
That's what cops are for, right?
Hey, Craw, take a look at this.
You're not so clean after all, are you?
"James Wilson, three, eldest son
of Mrs. Corinne Wilson,
plunged to his death from
an uptown apartment building
late yesterday."
Well, look at it.
You planted this.
You wanna tell that to
Lieutenant Kojak?
Wanna come to the station house with us,
or do you wanna get lost, man?
I mean, real lost.
I mean, lost forever, because this is how
we're gonna hang you by your eyeballs...
if you don't
get off Lieutenant Kojak's back!
Don't think we can't do it, baby,
because we can.
We'll have you back inside so fast
your underwear will have to
take the next train.
You think about it, baby,
because your time is running out.
Think about it!
And stay clean, huh?
We were only trying to help, Lieutenant.
Yeah, with a frame.
With a frame, right?
"Only trying to help."
Nobody was trying to frame him, Lieutenant.
We were just trying to scare him
out of town, maybe. You know?
I see. "Maybe," huh?
You know how fast this complaint
came down this morning?
He probably had it in his lawyer's hands
and had it delivered then.
In the meantime, he's gonna be outside
doing what he wants to do,
and we'll be doing a fancy dance step
in front of the review board.
It was dumb.
Dumb, you understand? Dumb!
What do you mean?
Come on.
What do you got?
I was in at 8:00.
I was checking through the sheets,
and I find that two high-powered rifles
were stolen yesterday.
From where?
Staten Island. But it couldn't have been
him. Saperstein was on him.
So, what does that mean? Were they...
But, I found this poster.
A guy in the Bronx got knocked off
eight days ago. He was into arson.
Henshaw. That's Ibbotson's cell mate.
All right. I want you to call the 16th.
I want you to get everything you can
on this case.
I got a patrolman
bringing it all down now.
Stavros, very good.
You still practicing the bouzouki?
Yeah.
All right. Go get it
for the wedding.
- Hey, Lieutenant,
what time is the wedding?
- 11:00.
Ten. That's the magic number.
I like that.
Nice, round number
to even the score.
Here's everything Forensics found
at the Henshaw murder scene.
Cause of death,
slashed across the trachea.
Multiple punctures of the chest.
Medical suggests a blade
with serrations on it.
Okay, the cigarette butts.
They found traces of saliva that matches
the victim's blood type... O- positive.
The matchbook.
They traced it back to a joint
where Henshaw ate all the time.
In fact, the only thing
they haven't pinned to him is this.
- It's sweet.
- The lab found microscopic traces of
caramelized sugar on it.
Henshaw was a diabetic,
so it kind of stuck out.
Candy bars.
All right, get a photo of Ibbotson
up to the 16th.
Have 'em see if anybody spotted him
around the neighborhood
the night that Henshaw was killed.
So what do we got,
a firebomb in the building?
Henshaw just wasn't into arson.
He was into explosives.
He had a piece of plastique
squirreled away. Little piece,
about this big.
Make a picture window out of
the whole side of this building.
All right. Call the bomb squad.
We got an hour before the wedding.
Check every pew at Saint Basil's...
especially where
my family's gonna be sitting.
- What about the reception?
- Get them to Constantine's restaurant.
We'll have more time there.
Oh, yes, and the limousines.
Get a man to check them both,
and stay with them all the time.
Okay, Lieutenant.
You got it.
It's 30 minutes, Theo.
Are we gonna have a wedding
or are we not gonna have a wedding?
Weddings we can have anytime.
Children we only have once.
We've gotta take care of them.
- Bomb squad says the church is all clean.
- All right. The front, the back, pews,
altar, everything, huh?
Everything. They even went through
with a dog that sniffs out explosives.
All right, you get in the back.
Put Saperstein in the front.
He knows this Ibbotson.
And I want you to check all the guests.
Costa, you stay with him
and have a good time.
Don't worry. Go ahead.
Okay.
Gomez, how about the restaurant?
They're just going over it now.
And I want you to check the musicians,
the waiters, everybody.
All right.
I want you to make sure
that creep doesn't get in there.
Right.
And who's checking the limousines?
Stavros sent two guys
from the bomb squad.
Okay.
The chauffeurs are bonded.
My wife's own cousins.
Well, they're clean.
Motor, gas tank, upholstery.
Good.
I got four locks
on the garage. Nobody gets to it.
This is my baby, understand?
I don't wanna think about
anything going wrong.
Yeah. Uh, which one of these
terraplanes is for the wedding couple?
Jimmy's car right here.
All right.
He specializes in the newlyweds.
Good. I'll ride with you.
Jimmy, uh, get a wash,
and this time get a good one.
Okay.
Good.
Lieutenant. Gomez.
- Yeah?
- Well, they even checked the drums
and the piano.
Okay. Everybody comes in and out
the front door.
Everybody. Deliverymen, florists,
photographers. Check 'em all.
Maybe this is all he wants.
You miss the wedding. Everybody sweats.
Maybe. Anyway, from the church
to the restaurant, I'll be tailing behind
the two limos.
- You, you stay slightly ahead.
- All right.
Lieutenant, this is Stavros.
Are you picking me up yet?
- Yeah, Stavros?
- Yeah, well, I'm in the car now,
and it's as clean as a baby's nose.
Okay. When you get here,
you stay with it outside the church.
- Forget about kissing the bride.
- Right. Where you going?
To you this car is clean.
To Mort, a flyspeck on
the windshield is dreck.
We've gotta wash 'em on
the way to every job.
Hey. Ho. Don't open that door.
Don't get in that car.
You, get behind the wheel.
Pull it off the ramp.
Nice and easy.
You love your mother and father?
What's that mean?
Would you put your mother
and father in this car?
You better believe it.
All right. Come on.
I'll drive you to the reception.
All right, sweetheart.
Turn around. Assume the position.
Beautiful, Kojak.
Just wait till my lawyer
hears about this.
Shut up, you creep.
You're not gonna be
out of my sight for one minute now.
It's gonna be a pleasure
watching you walk a beat, Kojak.
You killed a guy named Henshaw.
Some kind of a hotshot with explosives?
My lawyer's gonna make me
a rich man after this arrest.
You made one mistake, sonny boy.
You left one of these wrappers
in the wrong place.
They sell a million of these a day,
and I swear by it.
- You did it. I know you did.
I can feel it in my bones.
- That's just what I want, Kojak.
Hold your coat, princess.
Serrated.
- Just like the knife that killed Henshaw.
- Hey. We got something.
- Could be dried blood in here.
- Just a knife.
- For fishing.
Don't make any plans, junior.
The blood on that turns out
to be type O, the ball game's over.
- I'm type O.
- Type O and diabetic?
Henshaw was diabetic.
Let's see what the odds are.
Now, if you're same thing,
that's one in 100,000.
I wanna see my lawyer.
You're gonna see a mortician
if I hear a bang! Bang!
Within 10 blocks of here.
My lawyer, please.
Get 'im in the car.
Don't hit him. Don't hit him.
Come on, you creep.
Get in there.
He likes it.
Get in there.
- No. You drive.
- It's over here. Get in there.
Get in the car. Go on. That's it.
You lead the procession.
Now, Stavros, you keep your eyes peeled.
Anybody on that street makes
a move to that limousine, you drive
right between them, you understand?
Okay, Lieutenant.
- What's that?
- What?
What is it leaking, gas?
- No. That's water. Don't worry.
- Water from what?
- That's water from the car wash.
- What car wash?
The car wash on the way to
the church.
- Call the bomb squad.
- Hello, Central?
This is Stavros.
Get a bomb squad down to
146th and Lennox right away.
- Get in front of them and cut 'em off.
- Look at that putz.
- What are you gonna do?
Take time to exchange insurance cards?
Take cover. Out of the cars.
Take cover. Get away from
the limousine.
Take cover. Out of the cars.
Come on!
Check that first limo.
Car 23, 10-1 your command.
- 93?
- Code two, car 93.
Come out here, you.
Lieutenant.
Just got a call from the 16th.
They found a clerk
who recognized the photo,
and our friend over here bought
four candy bars down by Henshaw's
the night of the murder.
We got him.
Fancy that.
Now, you listen good, yo-yo.
Because I'm gonna tell you something
for every cop's had to live under a threat
from a punk like you.
You know, maybe sometimes
when you're an old man,
you'll be thinking about getting out.
Don't think anything about getting even.
I want you to think about me.
Because ifby some remote possibility
you get out,
there's gonna be a little
150-year-old man waiting for you.
And that little old man will be me.
Okay, Harry.
What happened to you?
Everything okay?
Okay, Nick. Everything's all right.
Look. I gotta go down to
the station house and book this guy.
I'll see you at the reception.
- Uh-huh.
I'll go get my bouzouki.
Here. Take him to the car.
Wait for me.
Tradition. I gotta be
the first to dance with the bride.