Kojak (1973–1978): Season 4, Episode 4 - Out of the Shadows - full transcript
In an episode originally scheduled as the season opener (it was pushed back a few weeks to allow "Birthday Party," considered a better audience draw, to get the slot), a serial killer plunges a knife into anyone who stiffs him consumerwise -- six murders to date. The chief suspect is a troubled young man who sprays graffiti on walls talking about the character "The Grim Reaper."
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Don't come by again
you stupid, I'll fix you.
Now let's see.
Cabbage.
Two Cabbages.
Soup.
Bread.
Semmelman.
Who is this?
Hey, I told you I can't
do nothing for you.
Please.
You're right. You're gonna
get pulled in everytime
there is a homocide
within 10 feet of you.
And you know why, it's because
of this rotten yellowsheet.
I don't get it, my friend and
me we're sitting in the park
We're busted.
You're not busted. We're
looking for witnesses.
Now, people tell us you're
parked on that bench every night
Hey, will you
stop with that thing?
It's a machine. It works.
Last bargain in the world.
Crocker!
It's nine o'clock where have you been ?
Where have I been? I've been in Bermuda.
You were suppposed to be here an hour ago.
I was stuck in the Holland tunnel
for 40 minutes with 500
other commuters, 110
minimum, and a 300
pound pregnant woman
with claustrophobia.
-So? -So, these two guys sit on a
park bench, snapping mousetraps,
right where we found Mrs.
Alavez's body last week.
-Officer, this man is annoying us.
All right... Last Thursday, about 10 at
night, you see anything? Yes or no?
You get three choices.
-What's the third?
-We hold you as a material witness.
Witness to what? What are you setting
us up for?
You think we're hustling right.
-We got a right to sit anywhere we want.
-Hey, I don't care if the two of you
are running a puppet show on that bench.
A nut is running around this city cutting
people up.
Thursday night, about 10 o'clock.
We got picked up early.
We didn't see nothing.
Sorry.
You guys in here are bananas!
It's safer on the streets.
You think it's safer out there?
Get out there!
Get out!
Where is Louis Delaney?
Oh, what's with the music? It's
like an elevator in
a hospital. Patients
need soothing music
to isolate them
from fear, anxiety.
Oh, Frank, I'm sorry you're
sick, but you can't hide in here
I mean, the moon is
full, the humidity is 90,
the streets are filled
with werewolves.
So pipe the music outside, okay?
That's where the real patients are.
Maybe I'll buy an island.
Yeah. I don't know, where's
the sense to any of it?
This clown, he kills a fat lady who
teaches spiritual guidance, right?
A guy who rents out
apartments?
What else? A Puerto
Rican garage mechanic?
A department store salesman.
A clerk in a supermarket,
plain ordinary
nondescript victims?
No rhyme, no
reason, no direction...
Could be anybody next.
Well, the police psychiatrist
downtown thinks he wants
to get caught.
Yeah, so who's stopping him?
Well, we'll get him.
You know you're
awfully calm about all this.
The hell I am and you know it!
Pawnshop owner,
53rd and 8th Avenue.
$55... Credit card is not even
touched.
Louis Semmelman, Pawnbroker.
Yeah, how many stab wounds this time?
Three. One would have
done it.
This killer's gotta be an angry guy.
So who kills? A happy soul?
Ok out there, you
miserable...
Well, I'm angry and hostile, too.
I want every available man
posted five blocks around here.
Do you understand?
When our fruitcake sprays
his next message, I want him Crocker!
And that's according to the
Secretary of State.
And for more news, Manhattan's
Grim Reaper has struck again.
52-year-old pawn shop
owner Louis Semmelman
was the victim of
multiple stab wounds
sustained on 53rd Street
just off of 8th Avenue
at approximately
9:30 last night.
Initial police comments
indicate that once
again, robbery was not
the motive in the slaying.
This is the sixth such
killing in the past two
weeks and all without
any apparent pattern.
Stupid. There is a
pattern. There is a pattern.
Roger.
Did you see this?
The killer.
He did it again.
I heard it on the radio.
Where are you going?
Out!
You want coffee?
I have got melon. It is cold.
What about tonight?
Chicken Kiev?
Like they did at the
Russian Tavern?
When I was performing with
the company at Carnegie Hall.
We used to go there every
night after the performance.
Come on. Let's go damn it.
I think it is out.
What is a stupid thing
here for if it never works?
Like everything else
in this miserable world!
All units, it is now 9:30.
Now on previous instances,
the suspect has painted his message
to us between 9 and 11 a.m.
Now we know he
could pick out any
location within a few
blocks of the crime.
From a billboard to
a subway restroom.
So, keep out of
sight. Use your brains.
Why does he do
it in the daylight?
I mean, why not right
after he kills him?
Maybe he wants to get caught, Lieutenant.
Yeah, but if that's
is the only reason
why didn't he just turn himself in?
This is Crocker, one block
west of the pawn shop.
Thank you, Mrs. Olivar.
All right. Take
it to the station.
Full report. Circulate the full
description of the man.
And then have her
work with the artist.
Let's go to the station.
To the money lenders, the Reaper.
Well, how do we do
it? Do we advertise?
Do we spray the walls?
Come on in. We want you.
We find the pattern?
The pattern is that
there is no pattern.
I think this guy has
some sort of geographic
formula worked out
and he sticks pins
on his maps the way
we're doing on ours.
Only his pins tell him where to kill.
Money lenders. Not Semmelman.
The job, not the man.
The last victim, the revivalist,
after her death he wrote.
The Lord's retribution is tardy.
Again, the job, not the person.
And after the garage owner's death,
satisfaction not guaranteed.
The job again. You see
the connection?
We're dealing with a consumer
advocate, Frank.
I mean, no kidding. I think
this guy isn't killing in his eyes,
in his eyes.
He's complaining.
Hey, that's a great theory.
He's complaining.
Fantastic!
That attitude also
covers the way half
this city feels about
getting ripped off.
Lieutenant, this
doesn't look like
the same paint he used
before. It's metallic.
Hey, he used two different
kinds of paint before.
But there's a third kind.
It's a different base.
I'm sure.
Get it over to the lab fast.
You know, we already put
together a list of over 700 stores,
in the city to sell both of
the other two brands of paint.
But in this area,
they're all small shops.
My guess is not more
than 50 in this neighborhood
entirely use all three brands.
We need the men to
cover 50 stores?
What about the other
crimes in other places?
They'll have to be patient.
Meanwhile, we'll
start homing in.
Maybe find a clerk who
remember selling the paint
to a man fitting our
killer's description.
Yeah, but who knows if
the killer buys his paint
in the same store twice?
Frank, don't take our
rainbows away so fast, okay?
Our baby is out there, and
maybe he's planning again
We need to believe
we're finally on him.
We better believe.
Three o'clock? You said
you'd be here at three.
Roger, it's only 3:30.
It is not three.
Oh, God, I'm hot,
I'm tired. Roger,
will you just give me a break.
Roger, I can't understand
you not wanting to see Mark.
One weekend out of a month
for a father to
spend with his son.
Father? A father is a
man who supports his son.
Hey, you working here?
We ain't coming to watch
life's passing parade.
Roger.
Just some coffee, please.
You like toast?
No, not now.
I can pay for the toast!
Toast and two coffees.
You know, Mark is three
years old.
He couldn't care less whether
or not his father can get a job.
He just wants to see you.
This meeting to discuss
our son was so important,
you couldn't
even show up on time.
Thank you.
Roger, can you make a suggestion?
Don't. Not again.
Okay,
Okay, not an analyst. A group.
No, really, it's a group of people
and they can help you.
Look, the way you just
treated that waitress.
She was ignoring me!
Sit around in a circle
with a lot of uptight people,
learn how to
shout at each other.
Oh, that's terrific,
Jenny. That's a solution,
That's an answer for it all.
He can do wonders.
Oh, yeah, right,
sure.
I love all the things that can do wonders.
This guy in this agency
looks at my resume last month.
It's obvious you're an
engineer, Mr. Villers,
and it is the worst
resume I ever saw.
So he sends me to this friend,
this genius
with resumes.
There's an art to it, young
fellow, and we know just
how to play up your strong points.
A hundred bucks I pay
with a perfect resume.
You think I got one call
when I sent them out?
One call?
What do you bet he got
a kickback on the hundred?
I'm sorry if I'm boring you.
You are talking resumes,
and I am talking therapy.
Once again, we are not
talking about the same thing.
Yes, we are. They both make
promises that don't get kept.
It's like this hair piece
I got suckered into.
Women were gonna fall all over
me with this, when I got off on my own
So where are they?
The guy who sold me this
guaranteed a whole new
life for me. Where is it?
I doubt if it has anything
to do with your hair, Roger.
It's my emotional
state.
Well, you didn't exactly
help that, did you?
No, I guess I didn't.
I fell in love with
someone.
It didn't work out.
At least I was honest about it.
Honest?
Honest?
You shoot a man to death,
you take his life away,
and then you say to him, honest?
I didn't mean to kill
you.
Does that bring him back?
Does that breathe
new life into him?
Look, Roger, I do not
want to argue with you
Not in
private, not ever again.
Especially not in public.
Roger, now I want you to
see your son this weekend.
And I gotta have some support money.
You understand?
Hey, I'm a stone. You
squeeze me, you get nothing.
I will go to court if I have
to.
I promise you that.
Promise, promise. Love,
honor, obey.
Be faithful.
Did you keep that promise? Did you?
Cold. Cold toast.
Roger, leave me alone!
Hey, buddy, wait a minute.
It's a $1.10.
The coffee came out
of your crankcase and
your toast was cold.
Get your hands off of me!
Charlie, if I had an angle,
I'd give it to your paper.
No, nobody else.
I know you held that
Kingman story out
of the paper. What,
am I indebted for life?
Don't give me that
public relations jazz
I've got problems bigger than that.
Yeah, yeah. All right, thanks.
Contrary to what people
may believe in this city,
this is not the only
killer on the loose.
Did you see today's
reports?
They might just as well
have come in by jungle drums.
They're going nuts out there.
Crocker!
What's up?
That was the lab on the phone
with the report
on the spray paint.
It's all done, on the way
to the print shop. It'll be
at every precinct house
in the morning at roll call.
Okay, now listen
to this.
Today's message was painted
with a color called Toro Red,
manufactured by the Econo Paint Company.
Now, you pull out our list
of stores.
See how many handle all three
brands he used to use so far.
Okay, high tone, color
bright, and Econo. Got it.
Don't forget, we only
want the brand killer's dig.
That's five of the
dumbest words I ever heard
Give me back my money.
What'd you expect, honey? Satin sheets?
Hmm?
A palace, maybe. Oh, I know.
I got it, a white carpet. Yeah.
Well, this is it,
mister. I'm sorry.
This is my castle,
baby. This is home.
Got it?
And if this is the
pigsty like you called it,
you are definitely a
pig for coming up here.
I tell you what, next
time for your 10 bucks,
why don't you
call up Sophia Loren?
Now, get out of here.
I earned my money just by talking to you.
Marino's Building
Supplies, West 38th Street.
Carries color bright,
Toro, and Econo paint.
Sebring hardware.
West 23rd Street. How many we got?
In Manhattan South? Yeah.
15.
All right, get Rizzo, McDonald.
Start by taking
that drawing of our
suspect to every one
of these stores, okay?
Kojak.
Yeah...
We stand here playing
pin the tail on the paint can.
He's out there killing another one.
Where?
Times Square.
A prostitute.
West Side.
Maybe tomorrow morning
he buys the paint first thing.
Concentrate on these
three stores near 42nd Street,
23rd, 30th, and 52nd Street.
If this is our only
kind of shot,
you make that stakeout
perfect.
Go ahead.
Roger.
You told me to wake you.
I put in a pinch of cinnamon
because you are so spicy.
Thanks.
Roger.
I am not one of those
people, who...
likes to talk about
these things, but...
last night...
you made me very happy.
Well, I'm happy if you're
happy. Enough said, okay?
Okay.
It was just so nice having
a man around the house.
That nut out there, killing again.
How do you know?
I have a whole big breakfast.
Olga, the whole world is coming apart.
Yes, I know.
Don't be upset.
Roger, I am not nosy, but wait a minute.
I said I would lend you $50.
It is not a loan.
I want, and you want.
Yes?
Why should you be any different?
Crocker, we hit it. He is
on his way in right now.
I am not even in the store.
You never saw me before.
When I make my move towards
this guy, get out of the way.
Freeze right there, mister. Police.
RIZZO!
You make one more
wiggle, you're a dead man.
We got him.
Yeah, we got him.
You bet you're keister, I'm worried.
I'm worried this guy
will change his mind
about being questioned
without a lawyer.
I'm worried the press will find out.
I'm worried that people
will rush to protect
this killer before
we get a confession.
Frank, we got a man
who bought a can of paint.
And he looks like the guy
you chased across the roof.
Okay, we're close.
Just let me build
more of a case before
I interrogate him.
Theo, you know how it is.
The worse the crime, the
more we've got to worry
that the big bad cops will
deprive him of his rights.
Like he deprived his victims of theirs.
So treat him gently and hurry it up.
Lieutenant Kojak, this is Olga
Norrell. She has the
adjacent apartment.
What is going on here?
What are you searching for?
Lewis, did they show you a warrant?
No, we don't need a
warrant, Mr. Norrell,
not to enter and
search a hotel room.
You see, we have the manager's consent.
Search it for what?
Is he hurt?
Is Roger all right?
Roger, first name. You know him well?
Sure, I know him.
Well, I mean, I was
sitting right here at this
table with him two months
ago when he moved in.
We are friends.
I mean, neighbors.
Tell me, what has he done?
Well, I'll tell you how we'll do it.
I'll ask some questions and you
give me some answers, all right?
Now, where does he work?
He does not.
Any family?
No, he is divorced.
Tell me what trouble he is in.
What about his evenings? You
know where he spends them?
Well, what can he do? He
is broke. He stays in a lot.
Tell me what he did.
What about last night?
You see him last night?
Actually, no, I did not, but I
saw him this morning, early.
What time?
About nine.
Was he coming in, going out?
I am not a traffic cop.
Thank you, Miss Norell.
We won't take you down for a
formal estate until we
get a confession, all right?
You'll be in your apartment all day?
Confession to what?
A crocker. Take
Miss Norell back to her
room and get her
phone number, okay?
Thank you.
All right, what have we got?
We got all these clippings
on the murder and
we got this almost
empty can of red paint.
What about the knife?
The usual kitchen stuff in
that drawer under the hot plate.
You know, the coroner found a
piece of the tip
in the girl's body.
He said it was dull, olive
drab, like a war
surplus bayonet.
Nothing like that, here.
Okay, keep an eye on the stuff.
Maybe Saperstein
got lucky outside.
Hey, Detective, could this be the one?
No, he broke the blade this time.
Why don't you try
the sewer draining
down at the end of the block?
Ok!
Thanks a lot!
Sure, restaurants serve
cold toast and lousy coffee,
and I get pulled in for
buying a can of paint.
Rape, murder.
You sign an oath when you join the force.
Preserve law and order.
Big joke.
You guys ought
to be arrested for
misrepresentation,
pretending to care,
pretending to be concerned.
We were talking paint.
You want to talk paint? We'll talk paint.
So what are you painting, Villers?
I'm not a painter.
You were buying a can.
I spray it in the air. It
makes a kind of red mist.
I like to look through
it. Rose-colored world.
This was blood red, not rose.
So they ran out of rose.
I guess other people have the
same idea about
this crummy world.
So you sprayed it at a woman yesterday.
Did I? Yeah, she identified you to a T.
Well, I guess she knows.
Hey, where were you last night?
It's personal.
A woman?
-My neighbor. -No, your neighbor
says you were not with her last night.
That's par for the course?
A woman was killed six
blocks from your room.
Same man who
killed a pawnbroker,
a mechanic, and
a phony evangelist.
Can I have a drink of water?
What's your special
interest in this grim reaper?
You cut out newspaper clippings,
you make notes
about his victims.
What are you doing?
You're starting a library?
Dick Tracy lost it's charm.
What about the messages
you sprayed on the walls?
What messages?
The Lord's retribution is tardy.
Satisfaction not guaranteed.
That fellow's a poet.
I'm an engineer. On occasion, that is.
This guy's laughing at us.
Can I have that water now?
Water... I'd like to drown him.
Tired of going easy on this creep.
I'm gonna break him
down if I have to hide
him in the basement
and scrap all the rules.
Hey, I'm with you, Captain.
To all of us who have
found true compassion.
Easy, Captain, easy.
You gotta understand, the
Captain is under tremendous strain.
I mean, the whole
department is, thanks to you.
Now, I personally would like
to see this whole thing end.
Send you a nice hospital,
see that you get a lot of rest.
Okay. I'll cooperate.
What do I do?
You tell us about the killings.
Tell us how you did it, why
and when, and like that, okay?
Hey, hey, come on. All in fun.
Fun, you call killing six people fun?
What people?
Mr. Villers, we know the truth.
You won't know the
truth from your stinkin'...
You talk?
Okay, hold it. Hold it! Hold it!
Okay. Okay.
Here.
I, Roger Villers, am the Grim Reaper.
I kill the unjust, the unkind,
the unfair, the unworthy.
I kill the pawnbrokers
who offer you pennies
for the things you
can't bear to sell.
I kill the women who promise
you pleasure you never get.
I kill the ministers,
no, the fakes,
who promise deliverance
with cheap rituals.
The garage mechanics
who cheat you with their bills.
The employment people stuffing
any job to get the commission.
No act, Mr. Villers.
No act.
Names, places, all of it.
Whatever I can remember.
How many times did you stab them?
Four or five times each.
What kind of knife did you use?
Switchblade.
How long did you plan the
murders before you did them?
I don't know. I don't remember.
Most of it just comes and goes.
All I know is that
I get the idea and
suddenly I'm there and
then I don't remember.
I blank out.
Oh, God.
God, please take me from this rotten life.
Please!
26 years.
I still can't get used to it.
The anger.
The sickening rage in that man.
Every word that comes out, it just...
It makes you want to be ill.
Yeah, he's a pretty bitter guy.
Well, we've got the bitter and the sweet.
We've got the
facts, the details, the
number of blows,
the times of death.
Rizzo.
Yeah?
Get a hold of
Sebastian, see if he
needs more men on
that weapon detail.
Check out the teams questioning
people who knew the victims.
Tell them to meet as soon as
they think they can put together
some sort of composite of
the man we're looking for, okay?
Okay.
Don't touch the coffee,
Frank. It's terrible.
Theo, what are you doing?
God, take me from this rotten life.
Hey, Frank, that's what he said.
Huh.
I'm not God.
I'm just the officer in
charge of this case, right?
I'm still that, aren't I, Frank?
But he confessed.
Hey, every day of the week we
get someone in
here who confesses.
Oh, I forgot to tell you.
Mark Anthony walked
in this morning and
we wrapped up the
Julius Caesar matter.
He has all the facts.
And so have the newspapers.
But he's saying things
that the press didn't print.
Oh!
He went to the scene of every crime.
After.
Not before, Frank.
After and better.
Here.
The best laid plans, et cetera.
I was gonna call the mayor.
I was gonna call the DA.
I was gonna spend a
happy hour or two on the
work schedule to give
the men some time off.
Because they deserved
it after all the hard work
they did in apprehending
that killer in there.
I was going home to
introduce myself to my wife.
I was gonna turn on my air conditioner.
Now, you tell me why I
can't do any of those things.
You're right, Frank.
I'm just sorry about that switchblade.
What switchblade?
Oh, the switchblade that he said
he used to kill
the prostitute with.
The switchblade that broke in her rib cage.
You know, she had a magic rib cage, Frank.
It was a switchblade when it went in.
But the piece of metal the
coroner took out of her body,
suddenly became part
of a war surplus bayonet.
Maybe he's trying to
trick us, hoping to get off.
Get off?
Look, he wants to hang so
bad he'll weave the rope for us.
I think he'd love to be the
killer so bad he can taste it.
But killing, I don't know, it's
just not his brand of insanity.
So what does he do?
He does it by proxy.
Joe DiMaggio!
He's a guy sitting in his stands
cheering on his
favorite ballplayer.
Oh, so that's what you're up to.
You once wanted
some time off to go
back to college and
study psychology.
I said I couldn't spare you,
and now this is my punishment.
I'm glad it's over. Really, I am.
Oh, one more thing.
That switchblade, where'd you buy it?
One of those stores, Macy's, Alexander's.
Macy's, Alexander's. Thanks.
Wait, you heard it.
Yeah, I heard it.
I'm just sorry I didn't
catch it the first time.
So am I. But don't
take him downtown yet.
Switchblades have been illegal
in New York for
the past 20 years.
That's right, Frank.
And if he went to buy one, he'd know that.
Look, if we don't have any luck this time,
let's try the sewers down at
the end of the block, all right?
Hey, detective, I think
I got something for you.
That's the baby. Let's go.
Break it up, break it up, break it up.
Yes, I want a knife.
I can't spend a
lot, but it better
be very strong, guaranteed,
and I mean it.
You guys put in 20 years.
You can retire. You got income.
Not me. I get to pay a lousy
600 a month in alimony forever.
Why'd you kill the evangelist?
I told her about my marriage problems.
She said the Lord would
help me if I was generous,
so I gave her my money.
My wife left me anyway.
He says he gave her money,
but he's not on any of her donation lists.
All right, check the court
of domestic relations.
Get a list of every
angry, frustrated husband
who's stuck for alimony and support.
And try to tie a name in with
the pawnbroker's records
and the evangelist's donation lists.
Maybe this guy Villers just
gave us the start of a patern?
A guy who's fighting back.
It's weird. All you really want is to live,
get some pleasure out
of a day now and then,
get your wife and your kid back.
But you gotta pay to stay apart.
You get nothing for your work,
for your trying, for your money,
but heartbreak.
Why did you kill a prostitute?
I wanna kill everyone who hypes you up
with their satisfaction guaranteed baloney.
Promises, promises.
Now, what type would you go for next?
What?
You wanna know what gets to me, Villers?
Those old ladies on Broadway.
They sit on those benches
trying to look
right through you.
They cross the street any time they want.
They don't care about
the light, just themselves.
And then you get arrested
for running them over.
Yeah, that's what I mean.
That's what burns me up.
That man killed all
those people, he's insane.
And he's insane if he didn't.
Now, how in the world
can listening to what he says
help us do anything but
walk around in circles?
You saw that collection in his room?
Newspaper clippings, photographs,
magazine articles with stories about fraud
and dishonesty and adultery,
and every vice in the
Bible outlined in red.
This man's bitter,
he's angry, and
he's filled with hate.
Just like the killer.
In every way but one, Frank.
He can't get himself to kill.
So he lives the killer's acts
after he has committed them.
Rizzo?
We got this from three
people that were in the area
where the crimes were committed.
Now, this Roger Villers,
he was identified by all three of them.
The day after the killings.
He was never a customer of this pawnbroker
because we checked his books.
And not once does the name Villers appear.
Lieutenant, we got the knife.
We found it down the
sewer about two blocks away
from the hotel where the girl was killed.
Now, the lab says it matches,
and the tip was broken.
Theo.
Uh, I know how these
things can go, and so do you.
Now, we have a very disturbed young man.
We have the vague identification
of a hysterical woman.
We have a small piece broken off a knife.
Now, I'm telling you, go slowly.
Take him through it. Get all you can.
Don't rush it.
What is it?
He's gonna kill again,
and he's gonna do it soon.
Since you know that much,
can you tell us
who the victim is?
If I was filled with the
bitterness and anger
that Roger Villers has gotten across to us
and someone sold me a knife that broke,
it would be like all the
other tricks life played on me.
And you know something Frank?
I'd go after the man who sold it.
I want you to cover all the army, war,
surplus stores in the borough to find out
if they remember anyone
who gave them a hard time,
complained, argued, a
man with a bad temper.
Take the photos of Villers along.
I'm not as convinced as Kojak is.
Uh, no, this is Mr. Burke.
Well, I'm sorry, sir, but
Mr. Owens took the day off.
Oh, uh, are you the same
party that called yesterday
about a knife that was defective?
Because if you'll
just bring it in, we'll...
That man swore to me
that the knife I was buying
would never break.
Indestructible. Now, that's what he said.
I want to straighten this out with him now.
Well, uh, Mr. Owens took an extra day off.
He has a cold.
What's his first name?
Uh, Theodore why?
Information for Mr. Theodore Owens.
Start with Manhattan.
Why are we here?
Well, it's part of our procedure,
just, uh, just show us what happened.
Did you go to the bathroom at all?
Yes.
How'd you like the color?
Don't you believe me?
Oh, well, I'm not a jury.
Just answer me.
She was pretty.
I didn't just pick her up.
I looked for a real nice one.
You remember her name?
They always lie.
Anyway, she...
she asked for her money.
She was going to leave.
And I was going to lose her.
She was pretty.
Pretty face.
Nice legs.
Supposed to make you happy.
Good for your ego.
If you're a man, and somebody you love...
and you lose her.
Lose her? I mean, a working girl?
Not this one.
Oh, what one?
I don't want to be here.
Can we go?
We can't.
Not yet, I'm sorry, Roger, but...
what woman are you talking about?
Do we need that?
We need it all.
My wife, Jenny.
What about her?
She was having an affair.
I caught on.
I followed her one day.
They...
they checked out of this motel room.
And I checked in.
I made sure it was the same room.
I sat on one chair for four hours.
Like they were there.
I was invisible.
They couldn't see me.
Why did you put yourself through that?
It was like seeing something
of mine stolen from me.
I could see it happening,
but I couldn't stop it.
I'd never do that to her, never.
Lousy, lying, cheat.
Now I'm gonna get them all.
I don't want to be here, please!
Forget it.
Mr. Villers.
Roger.
You know, you
may have done a lot
of things that you
need to escape from.
And some things you want to pay for.
But I got news for you.
You didn't kill the woman
who lived in this room.
I don't think you've ever killed anybody.
I think you know about him.
In a way, you're closer to him
than anybody else in the world.
Besides his victims, that is.
But he killed, Roger.
He took life. You didn't.
We'll prove it.
And you know we will.
He was just fighting back.
I talked to people where
he did those things.
Maybe he was wrong, but
he was just fighting back.
Sometimes it gets so heavy.
The pressures, the
failures, the frustrations.
I don't know.
You don't know
who to strike out at.
I never talked like this about
my life to anyone before.
Maybe my wife was right.
I need to talk to people.
Maybe you ought to tell her.
Kojak.
You were right, Lieutenant.
Maybe I was lucky.
I was lucky, yeah.
Lucking out after just five stores.
There was a salesman inside named Burke.
Some guy called him
this morning. Really bugged.
Yeah, he was hot. He was furious.
Wanted to speak only to the
guy who sold him the knife.
I mean, what did he think we got here?
The Abercrombie and Fitch?
Did he ask for the salesman by name?
No, but I gave it to him. Theodore Owens.
He's at home if you want to speak to him.
Give me his address and fast, Mr. Burke.
Why? What's wrong?
I said fast, Mr. Burke, okay?
Okay.
Yes, Mr. Owens?
I thought I might catch
you here on my lunch hour.
It's about some merchandise.
The store sent me over.
I'm off today. I don't feel good.
It'll only take a moment.
Alright... Just a few minutes.
You stay with Roger. Crocker, come with me.
Just a minute.
Yes.
You take the upstairs
and I'll take the downstairs.
Just a minute.
Yes?
Mr. Owens, this is police. It's important.
Police?
Help!
Help!
Help!
Hold it! police!
You know this man?
It's me.
No. But it could be.
I suppose it could be a lot of us.
Come on, you've done
some good, Roger. Smile.
---
Don't come by again
you stupid, I'll fix you.
Now let's see.
Cabbage.
Two Cabbages.
Soup.
Bread.
Semmelman.
Who is this?
Hey, I told you I can't
do nothing for you.
Please.
You're right. You're gonna
get pulled in everytime
there is a homocide
within 10 feet of you.
And you know why, it's because
of this rotten yellowsheet.
I don't get it, my friend and
me we're sitting in the park
We're busted.
You're not busted. We're
looking for witnesses.
Now, people tell us you're
parked on that bench every night
Hey, will you
stop with that thing?
It's a machine. It works.
Last bargain in the world.
Crocker!
It's nine o'clock where have you been ?
Where have I been? I've been in Bermuda.
You were suppposed to be here an hour ago.
I was stuck in the Holland tunnel
for 40 minutes with 500
other commuters, 110
minimum, and a 300
pound pregnant woman
with claustrophobia.
-So? -So, these two guys sit on a
park bench, snapping mousetraps,
right where we found Mrs.
Alavez's body last week.
-Officer, this man is annoying us.
All right... Last Thursday, about 10 at
night, you see anything? Yes or no?
You get three choices.
-What's the third?
-We hold you as a material witness.
Witness to what? What are you setting
us up for?
You think we're hustling right.
-We got a right to sit anywhere we want.
-Hey, I don't care if the two of you
are running a puppet show on that bench.
A nut is running around this city cutting
people up.
Thursday night, about 10 o'clock.
We got picked up early.
We didn't see nothing.
Sorry.
You guys in here are bananas!
It's safer on the streets.
You think it's safer out there?
Get out there!
Get out!
Where is Louis Delaney?
Oh, what's with the music? It's
like an elevator in
a hospital. Patients
need soothing music
to isolate them
from fear, anxiety.
Oh, Frank, I'm sorry you're
sick, but you can't hide in here
I mean, the moon is
full, the humidity is 90,
the streets are filled
with werewolves.
So pipe the music outside, okay?
That's where the real patients are.
Maybe I'll buy an island.
Yeah. I don't know, where's
the sense to any of it?
This clown, he kills a fat lady who
teaches spiritual guidance, right?
A guy who rents out
apartments?
What else? A Puerto
Rican garage mechanic?
A department store salesman.
A clerk in a supermarket,
plain ordinary
nondescript victims?
No rhyme, no
reason, no direction...
Could be anybody next.
Well, the police psychiatrist
downtown thinks he wants
to get caught.
Yeah, so who's stopping him?
Well, we'll get him.
You know you're
awfully calm about all this.
The hell I am and you know it!
Pawnshop owner,
53rd and 8th Avenue.
$55... Credit card is not even
touched.
Louis Semmelman, Pawnbroker.
Yeah, how many stab wounds this time?
Three. One would have
done it.
This killer's gotta be an angry guy.
So who kills? A happy soul?
Ok out there, you
miserable...
Well, I'm angry and hostile, too.
I want every available man
posted five blocks around here.
Do you understand?
When our fruitcake sprays
his next message, I want him Crocker!
And that's according to the
Secretary of State.
And for more news, Manhattan's
Grim Reaper has struck again.
52-year-old pawn shop
owner Louis Semmelman
was the victim of
multiple stab wounds
sustained on 53rd Street
just off of 8th Avenue
at approximately
9:30 last night.
Initial police comments
indicate that once
again, robbery was not
the motive in the slaying.
This is the sixth such
killing in the past two
weeks and all without
any apparent pattern.
Stupid. There is a
pattern. There is a pattern.
Roger.
Did you see this?
The killer.
He did it again.
I heard it on the radio.
Where are you going?
Out!
You want coffee?
I have got melon. It is cold.
What about tonight?
Chicken Kiev?
Like they did at the
Russian Tavern?
When I was performing with
the company at Carnegie Hall.
We used to go there every
night after the performance.
Come on. Let's go damn it.
I think it is out.
What is a stupid thing
here for if it never works?
Like everything else
in this miserable world!
All units, it is now 9:30.
Now on previous instances,
the suspect has painted his message
to us between 9 and 11 a.m.
Now we know he
could pick out any
location within a few
blocks of the crime.
From a billboard to
a subway restroom.
So, keep out of
sight. Use your brains.
Why does he do
it in the daylight?
I mean, why not right
after he kills him?
Maybe he wants to get caught, Lieutenant.
Yeah, but if that's
is the only reason
why didn't he just turn himself in?
This is Crocker, one block
west of the pawn shop.
Thank you, Mrs. Olivar.
All right. Take
it to the station.
Full report. Circulate the full
description of the man.
And then have her
work with the artist.
Let's go to the station.
To the money lenders, the Reaper.
Well, how do we do
it? Do we advertise?
Do we spray the walls?
Come on in. We want you.
We find the pattern?
The pattern is that
there is no pattern.
I think this guy has
some sort of geographic
formula worked out
and he sticks pins
on his maps the way
we're doing on ours.
Only his pins tell him where to kill.
Money lenders. Not Semmelman.
The job, not the man.
The last victim, the revivalist,
after her death he wrote.
The Lord's retribution is tardy.
Again, the job, not the person.
And after the garage owner's death,
satisfaction not guaranteed.
The job again. You see
the connection?
We're dealing with a consumer
advocate, Frank.
I mean, no kidding. I think
this guy isn't killing in his eyes,
in his eyes.
He's complaining.
Hey, that's a great theory.
He's complaining.
Fantastic!
That attitude also
covers the way half
this city feels about
getting ripped off.
Lieutenant, this
doesn't look like
the same paint he used
before. It's metallic.
Hey, he used two different
kinds of paint before.
But there's a third kind.
It's a different base.
I'm sure.
Get it over to the lab fast.
You know, we already put
together a list of over 700 stores,
in the city to sell both of
the other two brands of paint.
But in this area,
they're all small shops.
My guess is not more
than 50 in this neighborhood
entirely use all three brands.
We need the men to
cover 50 stores?
What about the other
crimes in other places?
They'll have to be patient.
Meanwhile, we'll
start homing in.
Maybe find a clerk who
remember selling the paint
to a man fitting our
killer's description.
Yeah, but who knows if
the killer buys his paint
in the same store twice?
Frank, don't take our
rainbows away so fast, okay?
Our baby is out there, and
maybe he's planning again
We need to believe
we're finally on him.
We better believe.
Three o'clock? You said
you'd be here at three.
Roger, it's only 3:30.
It is not three.
Oh, God, I'm hot,
I'm tired. Roger,
will you just give me a break.
Roger, I can't understand
you not wanting to see Mark.
One weekend out of a month
for a father to
spend with his son.
Father? A father is a
man who supports his son.
Hey, you working here?
We ain't coming to watch
life's passing parade.
Roger.
Just some coffee, please.
You like toast?
No, not now.
I can pay for the toast!
Toast and two coffees.
You know, Mark is three
years old.
He couldn't care less whether
or not his father can get a job.
He just wants to see you.
This meeting to discuss
our son was so important,
you couldn't
even show up on time.
Thank you.
Roger, can you make a suggestion?
Don't. Not again.
Okay,
Okay, not an analyst. A group.
No, really, it's a group of people
and they can help you.
Look, the way you just
treated that waitress.
She was ignoring me!
Sit around in a circle
with a lot of uptight people,
learn how to
shout at each other.
Oh, that's terrific,
Jenny. That's a solution,
That's an answer for it all.
He can do wonders.
Oh, yeah, right,
sure.
I love all the things that can do wonders.
This guy in this agency
looks at my resume last month.
It's obvious you're an
engineer, Mr. Villers,
and it is the worst
resume I ever saw.
So he sends me to this friend,
this genius
with resumes.
There's an art to it, young
fellow, and we know just
how to play up your strong points.
A hundred bucks I pay
with a perfect resume.
You think I got one call
when I sent them out?
One call?
What do you bet he got
a kickback on the hundred?
I'm sorry if I'm boring you.
You are talking resumes,
and I am talking therapy.
Once again, we are not
talking about the same thing.
Yes, we are. They both make
promises that don't get kept.
It's like this hair piece
I got suckered into.
Women were gonna fall all over
me with this, when I got off on my own
So where are they?
The guy who sold me this
guaranteed a whole new
life for me. Where is it?
I doubt if it has anything
to do with your hair, Roger.
It's my emotional
state.
Well, you didn't exactly
help that, did you?
No, I guess I didn't.
I fell in love with
someone.
It didn't work out.
At least I was honest about it.
Honest?
Honest?
You shoot a man to death,
you take his life away,
and then you say to him, honest?
I didn't mean to kill
you.
Does that bring him back?
Does that breathe
new life into him?
Look, Roger, I do not
want to argue with you
Not in
private, not ever again.
Especially not in public.
Roger, now I want you to
see your son this weekend.
And I gotta have some support money.
You understand?
Hey, I'm a stone. You
squeeze me, you get nothing.
I will go to court if I have
to.
I promise you that.
Promise, promise. Love,
honor, obey.
Be faithful.
Did you keep that promise? Did you?
Cold. Cold toast.
Roger, leave me alone!
Hey, buddy, wait a minute.
It's a $1.10.
The coffee came out
of your crankcase and
your toast was cold.
Get your hands off of me!
Charlie, if I had an angle,
I'd give it to your paper.
No, nobody else.
I know you held that
Kingman story out
of the paper. What,
am I indebted for life?
Don't give me that
public relations jazz
I've got problems bigger than that.
Yeah, yeah. All right, thanks.
Contrary to what people
may believe in this city,
this is not the only
killer on the loose.
Did you see today's
reports?
They might just as well
have come in by jungle drums.
They're going nuts out there.
Crocker!
What's up?
That was the lab on the phone
with the report
on the spray paint.
It's all done, on the way
to the print shop. It'll be
at every precinct house
in the morning at roll call.
Okay, now listen
to this.
Today's message was painted
with a color called Toro Red,
manufactured by the Econo Paint Company.
Now, you pull out our list
of stores.
See how many handle all three
brands he used to use so far.
Okay, high tone, color
bright, and Econo. Got it.
Don't forget, we only
want the brand killer's dig.
That's five of the
dumbest words I ever heard
Give me back my money.
What'd you expect, honey? Satin sheets?
Hmm?
A palace, maybe. Oh, I know.
I got it, a white carpet. Yeah.
Well, this is it,
mister. I'm sorry.
This is my castle,
baby. This is home.
Got it?
And if this is the
pigsty like you called it,
you are definitely a
pig for coming up here.
I tell you what, next
time for your 10 bucks,
why don't you
call up Sophia Loren?
Now, get out of here.
I earned my money just by talking to you.
Marino's Building
Supplies, West 38th Street.
Carries color bright,
Toro, and Econo paint.
Sebring hardware.
West 23rd Street. How many we got?
In Manhattan South? Yeah.
15.
All right, get Rizzo, McDonald.
Start by taking
that drawing of our
suspect to every one
of these stores, okay?
Kojak.
Yeah...
We stand here playing
pin the tail on the paint can.
He's out there killing another one.
Where?
Times Square.
A prostitute.
West Side.
Maybe tomorrow morning
he buys the paint first thing.
Concentrate on these
three stores near 42nd Street,
23rd, 30th, and 52nd Street.
If this is our only
kind of shot,
you make that stakeout
perfect.
Go ahead.
Roger.
You told me to wake you.
I put in a pinch of cinnamon
because you are so spicy.
Thanks.
Roger.
I am not one of those
people, who...
likes to talk about
these things, but...
last night...
you made me very happy.
Well, I'm happy if you're
happy. Enough said, okay?
Okay.
It was just so nice having
a man around the house.
That nut out there, killing again.
How do you know?
I have a whole big breakfast.
Olga, the whole world is coming apart.
Yes, I know.
Don't be upset.
Roger, I am not nosy, but wait a minute.
I said I would lend you $50.
It is not a loan.
I want, and you want.
Yes?
Why should you be any different?
Crocker, we hit it. He is
on his way in right now.
I am not even in the store.
You never saw me before.
When I make my move towards
this guy, get out of the way.
Freeze right there, mister. Police.
RIZZO!
You make one more
wiggle, you're a dead man.
We got him.
Yeah, we got him.
You bet you're keister, I'm worried.
I'm worried this guy
will change his mind
about being questioned
without a lawyer.
I'm worried the press will find out.
I'm worried that people
will rush to protect
this killer before
we get a confession.
Frank, we got a man
who bought a can of paint.
And he looks like the guy
you chased across the roof.
Okay, we're close.
Just let me build
more of a case before
I interrogate him.
Theo, you know how it is.
The worse the crime, the
more we've got to worry
that the big bad cops will
deprive him of his rights.
Like he deprived his victims of theirs.
So treat him gently and hurry it up.
Lieutenant Kojak, this is Olga
Norrell. She has the
adjacent apartment.
What is going on here?
What are you searching for?
Lewis, did they show you a warrant?
No, we don't need a
warrant, Mr. Norrell,
not to enter and
search a hotel room.
You see, we have the manager's consent.
Search it for what?
Is he hurt?
Is Roger all right?
Roger, first name. You know him well?
Sure, I know him.
Well, I mean, I was
sitting right here at this
table with him two months
ago when he moved in.
We are friends.
I mean, neighbors.
Tell me, what has he done?
Well, I'll tell you how we'll do it.
I'll ask some questions and you
give me some answers, all right?
Now, where does he work?
He does not.
Any family?
No, he is divorced.
Tell me what trouble he is in.
What about his evenings? You
know where he spends them?
Well, what can he do? He
is broke. He stays in a lot.
Tell me what he did.
What about last night?
You see him last night?
Actually, no, I did not, but I
saw him this morning, early.
What time?
About nine.
Was he coming in, going out?
I am not a traffic cop.
Thank you, Miss Norell.
We won't take you down for a
formal estate until we
get a confession, all right?
You'll be in your apartment all day?
Confession to what?
A crocker. Take
Miss Norell back to her
room and get her
phone number, okay?
Thank you.
All right, what have we got?
We got all these clippings
on the murder and
we got this almost
empty can of red paint.
What about the knife?
The usual kitchen stuff in
that drawer under the hot plate.
You know, the coroner found a
piece of the tip
in the girl's body.
He said it was dull, olive
drab, like a war
surplus bayonet.
Nothing like that, here.
Okay, keep an eye on the stuff.
Maybe Saperstein
got lucky outside.
Hey, Detective, could this be the one?
No, he broke the blade this time.
Why don't you try
the sewer draining
down at the end of the block?
Ok!
Thanks a lot!
Sure, restaurants serve
cold toast and lousy coffee,
and I get pulled in for
buying a can of paint.
Rape, murder.
You sign an oath when you join the force.
Preserve law and order.
Big joke.
You guys ought
to be arrested for
misrepresentation,
pretending to care,
pretending to be concerned.
We were talking paint.
You want to talk paint? We'll talk paint.
So what are you painting, Villers?
I'm not a painter.
You were buying a can.
I spray it in the air. It
makes a kind of red mist.
I like to look through
it. Rose-colored world.
This was blood red, not rose.
So they ran out of rose.
I guess other people have the
same idea about
this crummy world.
So you sprayed it at a woman yesterday.
Did I? Yeah, she identified you to a T.
Well, I guess she knows.
Hey, where were you last night?
It's personal.
A woman?
-My neighbor. -No, your neighbor
says you were not with her last night.
That's par for the course?
A woman was killed six
blocks from your room.
Same man who
killed a pawnbroker,
a mechanic, and
a phony evangelist.
Can I have a drink of water?
What's your special
interest in this grim reaper?
You cut out newspaper clippings,
you make notes
about his victims.
What are you doing?
You're starting a library?
Dick Tracy lost it's charm.
What about the messages
you sprayed on the walls?
What messages?
The Lord's retribution is tardy.
Satisfaction not guaranteed.
That fellow's a poet.
I'm an engineer. On occasion, that is.
This guy's laughing at us.
Can I have that water now?
Water... I'd like to drown him.
Tired of going easy on this creep.
I'm gonna break him
down if I have to hide
him in the basement
and scrap all the rules.
Hey, I'm with you, Captain.
To all of us who have
found true compassion.
Easy, Captain, easy.
You gotta understand, the
Captain is under tremendous strain.
I mean, the whole
department is, thanks to you.
Now, I personally would like
to see this whole thing end.
Send you a nice hospital,
see that you get a lot of rest.
Okay. I'll cooperate.
What do I do?
You tell us about the killings.
Tell us how you did it, why
and when, and like that, okay?
Hey, hey, come on. All in fun.
Fun, you call killing six people fun?
What people?
Mr. Villers, we know the truth.
You won't know the
truth from your stinkin'...
You talk?
Okay, hold it. Hold it! Hold it!
Okay. Okay.
Here.
I, Roger Villers, am the Grim Reaper.
I kill the unjust, the unkind,
the unfair, the unworthy.
I kill the pawnbrokers
who offer you pennies
for the things you
can't bear to sell.
I kill the women who promise
you pleasure you never get.
I kill the ministers,
no, the fakes,
who promise deliverance
with cheap rituals.
The garage mechanics
who cheat you with their bills.
The employment people stuffing
any job to get the commission.
No act, Mr. Villers.
No act.
Names, places, all of it.
Whatever I can remember.
How many times did you stab them?
Four or five times each.
What kind of knife did you use?
Switchblade.
How long did you plan the
murders before you did them?
I don't know. I don't remember.
Most of it just comes and goes.
All I know is that
I get the idea and
suddenly I'm there and
then I don't remember.
I blank out.
Oh, God.
God, please take me from this rotten life.
Please!
26 years.
I still can't get used to it.
The anger.
The sickening rage in that man.
Every word that comes out, it just...
It makes you want to be ill.
Yeah, he's a pretty bitter guy.
Well, we've got the bitter and the sweet.
We've got the
facts, the details, the
number of blows,
the times of death.
Rizzo.
Yeah?
Get a hold of
Sebastian, see if he
needs more men on
that weapon detail.
Check out the teams questioning
people who knew the victims.
Tell them to meet as soon as
they think they can put together
some sort of composite of
the man we're looking for, okay?
Okay.
Don't touch the coffee,
Frank. It's terrible.
Theo, what are you doing?
God, take me from this rotten life.
Hey, Frank, that's what he said.
Huh.
I'm not God.
I'm just the officer in
charge of this case, right?
I'm still that, aren't I, Frank?
But he confessed.
Hey, every day of the week we
get someone in
here who confesses.
Oh, I forgot to tell you.
Mark Anthony walked
in this morning and
we wrapped up the
Julius Caesar matter.
He has all the facts.
And so have the newspapers.
But he's saying things
that the press didn't print.
Oh!
He went to the scene of every crime.
After.
Not before, Frank.
After and better.
Here.
The best laid plans, et cetera.
I was gonna call the mayor.
I was gonna call the DA.
I was gonna spend a
happy hour or two on the
work schedule to give
the men some time off.
Because they deserved
it after all the hard work
they did in apprehending
that killer in there.
I was going home to
introduce myself to my wife.
I was gonna turn on my air conditioner.
Now, you tell me why I
can't do any of those things.
You're right, Frank.
I'm just sorry about that switchblade.
What switchblade?
Oh, the switchblade that he said
he used to kill
the prostitute with.
The switchblade that broke in her rib cage.
You know, she had a magic rib cage, Frank.
It was a switchblade when it went in.
But the piece of metal the
coroner took out of her body,
suddenly became part
of a war surplus bayonet.
Maybe he's trying to
trick us, hoping to get off.
Get off?
Look, he wants to hang so
bad he'll weave the rope for us.
I think he'd love to be the
killer so bad he can taste it.
But killing, I don't know, it's
just not his brand of insanity.
So what does he do?
He does it by proxy.
Joe DiMaggio!
He's a guy sitting in his stands
cheering on his
favorite ballplayer.
Oh, so that's what you're up to.
You once wanted
some time off to go
back to college and
study psychology.
I said I couldn't spare you,
and now this is my punishment.
I'm glad it's over. Really, I am.
Oh, one more thing.
That switchblade, where'd you buy it?
One of those stores, Macy's, Alexander's.
Macy's, Alexander's. Thanks.
Wait, you heard it.
Yeah, I heard it.
I'm just sorry I didn't
catch it the first time.
So am I. But don't
take him downtown yet.
Switchblades have been illegal
in New York for
the past 20 years.
That's right, Frank.
And if he went to buy one, he'd know that.
Look, if we don't have any luck this time,
let's try the sewers down at
the end of the block, all right?
Hey, detective, I think
I got something for you.
That's the baby. Let's go.
Break it up, break it up, break it up.
Yes, I want a knife.
I can't spend a
lot, but it better
be very strong, guaranteed,
and I mean it.
You guys put in 20 years.
You can retire. You got income.
Not me. I get to pay a lousy
600 a month in alimony forever.
Why'd you kill the evangelist?
I told her about my marriage problems.
She said the Lord would
help me if I was generous,
so I gave her my money.
My wife left me anyway.
He says he gave her money,
but he's not on any of her donation lists.
All right, check the court
of domestic relations.
Get a list of every
angry, frustrated husband
who's stuck for alimony and support.
And try to tie a name in with
the pawnbroker's records
and the evangelist's donation lists.
Maybe this guy Villers just
gave us the start of a patern?
A guy who's fighting back.
It's weird. All you really want is to live,
get some pleasure out
of a day now and then,
get your wife and your kid back.
But you gotta pay to stay apart.
You get nothing for your work,
for your trying, for your money,
but heartbreak.
Why did you kill a prostitute?
I wanna kill everyone who hypes you up
with their satisfaction guaranteed baloney.
Promises, promises.
Now, what type would you go for next?
What?
You wanna know what gets to me, Villers?
Those old ladies on Broadway.
They sit on those benches
trying to look
right through you.
They cross the street any time they want.
They don't care about
the light, just themselves.
And then you get arrested
for running them over.
Yeah, that's what I mean.
That's what burns me up.
That man killed all
those people, he's insane.
And he's insane if he didn't.
Now, how in the world
can listening to what he says
help us do anything but
walk around in circles?
You saw that collection in his room?
Newspaper clippings, photographs,
magazine articles with stories about fraud
and dishonesty and adultery,
and every vice in the
Bible outlined in red.
This man's bitter,
he's angry, and
he's filled with hate.
Just like the killer.
In every way but one, Frank.
He can't get himself to kill.
So he lives the killer's acts
after he has committed them.
Rizzo?
We got this from three
people that were in the area
where the crimes were committed.
Now, this Roger Villers,
he was identified by all three of them.
The day after the killings.
He was never a customer of this pawnbroker
because we checked his books.
And not once does the name Villers appear.
Lieutenant, we got the knife.
We found it down the
sewer about two blocks away
from the hotel where the girl was killed.
Now, the lab says it matches,
and the tip was broken.
Theo.
Uh, I know how these
things can go, and so do you.
Now, we have a very disturbed young man.
We have the vague identification
of a hysterical woman.
We have a small piece broken off a knife.
Now, I'm telling you, go slowly.
Take him through it. Get all you can.
Don't rush it.
What is it?
He's gonna kill again,
and he's gonna do it soon.
Since you know that much,
can you tell us
who the victim is?
If I was filled with the
bitterness and anger
that Roger Villers has gotten across to us
and someone sold me a knife that broke,
it would be like all the
other tricks life played on me.
And you know something Frank?
I'd go after the man who sold it.
I want you to cover all the army, war,
surplus stores in the borough to find out
if they remember anyone
who gave them a hard time,
complained, argued, a
man with a bad temper.
Take the photos of Villers along.
I'm not as convinced as Kojak is.
Uh, no, this is Mr. Burke.
Well, I'm sorry, sir, but
Mr. Owens took the day off.
Oh, uh, are you the same
party that called yesterday
about a knife that was defective?
Because if you'll
just bring it in, we'll...
That man swore to me
that the knife I was buying
would never break.
Indestructible. Now, that's what he said.
I want to straighten this out with him now.
Well, uh, Mr. Owens took an extra day off.
He has a cold.
What's his first name?
Uh, Theodore why?
Information for Mr. Theodore Owens.
Start with Manhattan.
Why are we here?
Well, it's part of our procedure,
just, uh, just show us what happened.
Did you go to the bathroom at all?
Yes.
How'd you like the color?
Don't you believe me?
Oh, well, I'm not a jury.
Just answer me.
She was pretty.
I didn't just pick her up.
I looked for a real nice one.
You remember her name?
They always lie.
Anyway, she...
she asked for her money.
She was going to leave.
And I was going to lose her.
She was pretty.
Pretty face.
Nice legs.
Supposed to make you happy.
Good for your ego.
If you're a man, and somebody you love...
and you lose her.
Lose her? I mean, a working girl?
Not this one.
Oh, what one?
I don't want to be here.
Can we go?
We can't.
Not yet, I'm sorry, Roger, but...
what woman are you talking about?
Do we need that?
We need it all.
My wife, Jenny.
What about her?
She was having an affair.
I caught on.
I followed her one day.
They...
they checked out of this motel room.
And I checked in.
I made sure it was the same room.
I sat on one chair for four hours.
Like they were there.
I was invisible.
They couldn't see me.
Why did you put yourself through that?
It was like seeing something
of mine stolen from me.
I could see it happening,
but I couldn't stop it.
I'd never do that to her, never.
Lousy, lying, cheat.
Now I'm gonna get them all.
I don't want to be here, please!
Forget it.
Mr. Villers.
Roger.
You know, you
may have done a lot
of things that you
need to escape from.
And some things you want to pay for.
But I got news for you.
You didn't kill the woman
who lived in this room.
I don't think you've ever killed anybody.
I think you know about him.
In a way, you're closer to him
than anybody else in the world.
Besides his victims, that is.
But he killed, Roger.
He took life. You didn't.
We'll prove it.
And you know we will.
He was just fighting back.
I talked to people where
he did those things.
Maybe he was wrong, but
he was just fighting back.
Sometimes it gets so heavy.
The pressures, the
failures, the frustrations.
I don't know.
You don't know
who to strike out at.
I never talked like this about
my life to anyone before.
Maybe my wife was right.
I need to talk to people.
Maybe you ought to tell her.
Kojak.
You were right, Lieutenant.
Maybe I was lucky.
I was lucky, yeah.
Lucking out after just five stores.
There was a salesman inside named Burke.
Some guy called him
this morning. Really bugged.
Yeah, he was hot. He was furious.
Wanted to speak only to the
guy who sold him the knife.
I mean, what did he think we got here?
The Abercrombie and Fitch?
Did he ask for the salesman by name?
No, but I gave it to him. Theodore Owens.
He's at home if you want to speak to him.
Give me his address and fast, Mr. Burke.
Why? What's wrong?
I said fast, Mr. Burke, okay?
Okay.
Yes, Mr. Owens?
I thought I might catch
you here on my lunch hour.
It's about some merchandise.
The store sent me over.
I'm off today. I don't feel good.
It'll only take a moment.
Alright... Just a few minutes.
You stay with Roger. Crocker, come with me.
Just a minute.
Yes.
You take the upstairs
and I'll take the downstairs.
Just a minute.
Yes?
Mr. Owens, this is police. It's important.
Police?
Help!
Help!
Help!
Hold it! police!
You know this man?
It's me.
No. But it could be.
I suppose it could be a lot of us.
Come on, you've done
some good, Roger. Smile.