Mannix (1967–1975): Season 2, Episode 13 - Death Run - full transcript

A jeweler whose shop is located near Mannix' detective agency is murdered, and in the crowd outside the murder scene, Mannix runs into Bill Chase, a buddy from his days in the Korean War. Chase tells Mannix he's in trouble and asks Mannix to visit the small mountain town where he serves as a fire ranger so he can tell Mannix about his situation. Within a short time of his arrival in the town, however, Mannix finds a deepening mystery, as he's shot at, injured falling down a hill, and learns that the woman who claims to be Chase's wife is a completely different woman.

(clicks)

♪ ♪

(whirring)

(whirring stops)

(startled grunt)

(shrieks)

(theme music playing)

♪ ♪

(siren wailing)

(crowd murmuring)

All right, folks stand back.



Don't block the
sidewalk. Come on.

Look out, there... make room.

(tires squealing)

Stand back now.

Carlos, what happened?

Hi, Mannix.

Old man Kester.

Killed during the robbery.

Oh, Kester. Wow.

Who did it?

Don't know.

Robbery detail's
upstairs right now.

We'll get him.

I sure hope so.



Nothing to see.
Just keep moving.

Come on, folks.

Carlos.

CARLOS: Stand back, huh?

Bill? Bill Chase.

Huh?

Joe Mannix.

Joe, how are you? Fine.

It's good to see you.

Well, son of a gun.

Hey, what happened here?

There was a robbery, a killing.

Killing?

You forget.

Then you see a thing like this
and it's Korea all over again.

You remember how thin the
line is between living and dying.

Yeah.

(engines starting)

Well, where you
been keeping yourself?

The mountains.

I'm with the Forest Service.

I got married.

Mountains, huh?

Well, you always said
you were going to get away

from people, armies, killing.

Yeah. What about you, Joe?

Oh, I'm still single.

Got an office over
here in the Paseo.

Private investigator.

Ooh, investigator!

Hey, listen, why don't
you come on over

and let's bend a couple beakers,

and talk about old times.

I'd love to, Joe, but I'm
due on the fire watch.

I got to get up to the lookout.

Oh, that's too bad.

Now, look, the next time
you're in town you let me know

and we'll get some of the
old gang together, huh?

I promise.

I'll see you, Bill. Okay, Joe.

Joe...?

It just got through to me.

What's that?

You're an investigator;
you can handle trouble.

You got troubles, Bill?

I got big troubles,
Joe, big troubles.

I could end up on a
stretcher like that old man,

with a lot of strangers
looking down at me.

Will you help me?

Sure. Just tell me how.

Can you come to
my place tomorrow?

I can come right now.

No, no, not now. Not together.

I want you to kind of slip in,

on the quiet. Okay.

I'll be all right as long as I
know that you'll be at my place

around 10:00 in the morning.

How do I find it?

Pineville. Off Highway 17.

My house is right at the
end of Lakeview Drive.

I'll be there.

Thanks, Joe.

(engine starting)

♪ ♪

Fill it up?

Your move, George.

Your queen's in danger.

Sure put pressure on a guy.

Excuse me, old-timer.

Do you know how far
it is to Lakeview Drive?

Old-timer... (wry laugh)

You hear that, George?

I finally made it. I'm a native.

I am Dr. Stephen
Daedalus Harris,

born and bred in Philadelphia,

and I know precisely how
far it is to Lakeview Drive.

Well, I'm, uh... sorry, Doctor.

One and one quarter
miles due north.

Thanks.

Doc hasn't got much
of a bedside manner.

Figures the world's a
better place with just trees.

No people.

He might have a point.

I have.

And when you see Bill Chase,

tell him I'd like my copy
of Thoreau's Walden back.

Who said I was going to
see anyone called Chase?

Only two houses are
occupied up Lakeview Drive

this time of the year.

Bill Chase and the
Widow Johnson,

and no one goes
calling on the widow.

This might be her day.

Well, thanks again.

Hey, Doc, your move.

Hmm?

Oh.

(doorbell buzzes)

You must be Mr. Mannix.

Yes.

I'm glad you came.

I've been worried
sick about Bill.

Come on in.

Do you know what kind of trouble

Bill's in, Mrs. Chase?

No, he didn't tell me.

I was hoping you could.

He's been very upset lately.

Yeah, I noticed that
when I talked to him.

Is he around? No. He's
on duty up at the lookout.

But he told me to send you
up the moment you arrived.

How do I get there?

He left a map so you
wouldn't have to ask directions.

He said it would be better

if no one knew you
were coming up here.

You didn't tell anyone, did you?

No, I came directly here.

I stopped for some gas.

Where?

About a mile down the road.

Who was there?

Well, there was a
boy on the pump,

uh, a sheriff and a Dr. Harris.

But you didn't say anything

about coming to
see Bill, did you?

No.

But I think the doctor
might've guessed.

Oh?

Well, I guess I'd better
get up to the lookout.

Mr. Mannix...

the road's very dangerous.

You better take the jeep.

Don't worry, Mrs.
Chase. We'll figure it out.

I hope so.

Bill said you were the answer.

(engine starting)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(gunshot)

(gunshot)

(gunshot)

I feel dislocated, Doc.

Let's just say you're suffering

from strained
ligaments and muscles

and minor contusions.

Let's just say I hurt.

There you are. Mm.

You find out anything, Sheriff?

Nothing yet.

I sent my deputy
up the hill to check.

You've had quite
a day, Mr. Mannix.

Somebody tried
to make it my last.

Never had a man shot
at in Pineville before.

Least not while I've been here.

Then there's
always a first time.

Would you mind telling me

why you wanted
to see Bill Chase?

I'm afraid that's my
business, Sheriff.

I'm a private investigator.

Claiming you were shot
at makes it my business.

There's nothing private
about me, Mannix!

I'm the law and, when I want to
know something, I get answers!

Look, I'm the guy
someone took a potshot at.

I'm the victim, not the suspect!

Now get off my back!

"Get off..." Listen,
Mr. Investigator,

I'll get on your back... George!

That temper is no good
for your blood pressure.

Relax. Besides,

Mr. Mannix is probably right.

It's deer season.

And, if you ask me,
it was some hunter

indulging in man's eternal
urge to kill something.

Three shots, Doc?

I might look like a deer once,

but three times? Hardly.

All right, Mannix. Let's go.

Where?

You won't tell me, Carol will.

Carol?

Mrs. Chase.

Come on.

He's got a short
fuse, hasn't he?

What's his problem?

High blood pressure...

and a bit of trouble with
one of the Commandments.

Which one is that?

Well, in my faith,
it's the tenth.

What faith are you, Doc?

Lutheran.

"Thou shalt not covet
thy neighbor's wife."

(doorbell buzzing)

CAROL: Come in. The door's open.

HALE: Hello, Carol. I
want to hear your version

of what you told
him this morning.

I told him?

Why, I never saw this
man in my life, Sheriff.

Another woman? In this house?

You must be mistaken.

I assure you, Mr. Mannix,
I'm Carol Chase.

Sheriff, there was another woman

in this house this morning.

She was a brunette.

That so?

Yeah. She was about her size,

wearing a blue
skirt and sweater.

Did she tell you she
was Mrs. Chase?

Well, I don't remember.
But I called her Mrs. Chase,

and she didn't deny it.

Now, look, she told
me to take the jeep

so I could keep my
appointment with Bill.

In fact, she gave me
a map he had drawn

so I could find my
way up to the lookout.

She took it right
out of that drawer.

You got it with you?

Yeah, I got it.

It must have fallen
out of my pocket

when I took that roll
down the cliff. Of course.

Just when did you make
this date, Mr. Mannix?

Yesterday, when I
was in Los Angeles.

He told me he was in trouble.

Well, what kind of trouble?

He didn't say. He just
told me to get up here.

He's lying, George.

How do you know, Carol?

Bill's been up at the lookout
since yesterday morning.

I drove him there
myself in the jeep.

Have you got another car?

The black one outside,

and they were both
here all day yesterday.

Well, Mr. Mannix?

Look, I saw Bill Chase
in Los Angeles yesterday

in a yellow convertible.

You couldn't have, Mr. Mannix.

I talked to Bill

by radio this morning,
right before I went

into Pineville to do
my weekly shopping.

And, other than being
bored and missing me,

Bill is in absolutely
no trouble or danger.

You can call him on that thing?

That's the only way.

The only phone up in the lookout

is a hotline for fire alerts.

Well, then call him
and let me talk to him.

Yeah. All right.

Maybe Bill can clear this up.

Lookout Tower, this
is Sheriff Hale calling.

Do you read me?

Bill, this is George Hale.

Are you there?

You still sure he's
safe, Mrs. Chase?

He isn't always by the phone.

Bring in the jeep, Tom?

Nah, I couldn't. I
didn't find it on...

I left it right...

Shut up, Mannix. Go on, Tom.

Like I was saying, I
didn't find it on the road,

but I did see it. Where?

It was halfway down the
cliff, smashed pretty bad.

Take a big crane or
a winch to get her up.

Be a full day's work.

I left that jeep on the road

in front of a barricade.

What barricade?

No barricade?

What for?

George, try Bill again.

Now I am worried.

Lookout Tower... this is George
Hale calling Lookout Tower.

Do you read me, Lookout Tower?

(echoing over
speakers): Bill! Bill Chase!

This is George Hale.

Do you read me?

This is Sheriff Hale
calling Bill Chase.

Urgent! Calling Bill Chase.

If you read me, come in at once.

Come in, Bill!

(panting over radio)

Bill, is that you?

(panting)

Yeah, it's me.

Let me get my breath.

Take it easy, Bill.

Take it easy?

I run up half a
mountain... 40 steps...

And you tell me to take it easy?

What's wrong? Where's Carol?

She's right here with
an old friend of yours.

Old friend of mine? Who?

I'll let him tell you himself.

Bill, it's Joe.

Joe?

Joe Mannix.

Joe. What are you doing there?

Where did you come from?

Hey, you told me to
come up here, remember?

I did? When?

Yesterday, in Los
Angeles, when we talked.

Aw, come on, Joe,
you're putting me on.

I haven't been
to L.A. in months.

Not since last May.

Yeah, that was it... Mayday.

First of May.

Had me a real
Mayday celebration.

Had a hangover like the one

we used to have in the service.

By the look on his face,

looks like your
friend still has one.

Well, listen, you tell him

to stay there
until I get off duty.

Then we'll go out and
get another hangover,

and tell each other how
great we look out of uniform.

You read me, Joe?

I read you, Bill.

Okay, Bill. See you.

Two Mrs. Chases, a wrecked jeep,

Bill Chase hasn't
been in L.A. for months.

Now, what's your
next story, Mannix?

I need your help, Doc,
one big-city boy to another.

Ribs acting up?

No. My curiosity.

An infinitely more
intriguing subject.

How long have you
lived in Pineville, Doctor?

15 years, four months, two
weeks and six days, precisely.

Very precisely.

I considered myself reborn

when I left the rat
race and came up here,

so I keep track of how
long I've been alive.

15 years, huh?

Well, maybe you can help
me find the lady I'm looking for.

I thought it was Bill Chase
you came up here to see.

Well, it was, but
the right Mrs. Chase

turned out to be the
wrong Mrs. Chase.

See, the Mrs.
Chase I'm looking for

is about five-five,
28 years old,

brunette, well put-together.

Have you ever treated
anyone like that, Doctor?

That description could fit
any one of four or five women.

Could you narrow it down for me?

Mr. Mannix, I'm not a magician.

I can't just pull a woman
out of a hat for you.

I'll have to give
it some thought.

Will you?

All right, Mr. Mannix.

You've awakened a long-dormant

sense of adventure in me.

I'll think about it,

and see if I can find the
wrong Mrs. Chase for you.

(shaver buzzing)

(turns off shaver,
knocking at door)

Well, Mrs. Chase.

You're not surprised to see me?

Let's say I'm surprised to
see the real Mrs. Chase.

Come in.

Mr. Mannix, I'm sorry

if I seemed hostile
this afternoon.

That's all right.

You didn't believe me.
That's a woman's privilege.

Besides, I like standing
around with egg on my face.

I do believe you, Mr. Mannix.

You mean about
Bill being in L.A.?

The phony Mrs.
Chase? You buy that?

The jeep, the map, the rifle
shots, the whole package?

Yes.

You know, I could've
used your support

in front of your
uniformed friends.

Why didn't you say
so this afternoon?

I'm sorry, but I had my reasons.

One of them, by any
chance, wearing a badge?

George Hale?

Yeah. The friendly sheriff.

What do you know about him?

Just that he's got a
hair-trigger temper,

and doesn't pay much attention
to one of the commandments.

What?

"Thou shalt not covet
thy neighbor's wife."

Oh.

No comment from one
of the neighbor's wives?

I knew George Hale for a
couple of years before I met Bill.

We saw a lot of
each other and I...

I think I might
have married him,

except he's so... so terribly
possessive and jealous and...

well, you were right
about his temper.

And I don't figure
him to be a good loser.

No.

Mrs. Chase, did he ever have
a run-in with your husband?

Did he ever threaten him?

I don't know.

Somebody put a scare in him.

He made no bones about
it in Los Angeles yesterday,

and he made it
pretty clear again

on the radio this afternoon.

But how? I-I heard him.

It's a word he used.

He said it twice.

He pulled it in
out of left field

to make sure I
got it... "Mayday."

Mayday's a word
we used in the service

when you were in trouble,

needed help; an emergency.

That's why I've got to
talk to him, Mrs. Chase.

All right.

He calls in every
night around 11:00,

if you want to
come to the house.

I'll be there.

Mr. Mannix... yesterday,

when Bill came to see you...

Well, he didn't come to see me.

I ran into him on the street.

A man was killed near my office,

and Bill got caught
in the traffic jam.

In any case, was he alone?

Yeah. Why?

I was wondering who drove him.

Both our cars were
up at the house all day.

He was doing his own driving.

What sort of car?
Did you notice?

I thought I told you.

It was a yellow convertible.

Oh, yes, you did, didn't you?

Well, I'll see you about 11:00.

Good night.

(car door opens,
shuts; engine starts)

(doorbell buzzes)

(doorbell buzzes)

Mrs. Chase?

Mrs. Chase?

(knob clicks)

Hello, Bill, this is Joe here.

Lookout Tower... Bill...
This is Mannix here.

Can you hear me?

I can hear you, Joe.

I guess you read my mayday.

Are you all right?

I'm all right now.

What's going on?

Why the cop-out about
being in Los Angeles?

I had no other choice, Joe.

Carol was in danger.

Danger from what?

Look, Joe, can you
get up here right now?

And bring Carol.

I don't like the idea
of her being alone.

She's not here, Bill.

What?

She, uh, she wanted
me to meet her, but, uh...

(car approaching)

Wait a minute. Here comes a car.

It might be Carol.

Bill, it's Sheriff Hale.

Joe, get out of there.

What's going on?
What's bugging you?

It's Hale, he's crazy...
If he finds out that

you're trying to
help me, he'll kill you.

Now get out of there, quick!

(doorbell buzzes)

(doorbell buzzes)

♪ ♪

Sheriff!

She's dead.

Yeah, Bill was going
to call in at 11:00.

She wanted me...

Use your head, Sheriff!

I didn't kill her!

Cut it out!

You'll hang for
this! I'm going...

What are you...? Wait!

He's gone.

He's not getting
off this mountain.

Call the Highway Patrol.

I want roadblocks on everything

from a cow path
to the main road.

I'm going to take him.

Sheriff?

Yeah?

Are you gonna take him alive?

Yeah, alive.

But I want him.

(insistent knocking)

What happened to you?

I've taken up jogging.

At 5:00 in the morning?

You have any luck
with that mystery lady?

I think so, but you need...

I know, I need a doctor,

but, right now, I need the
first Mrs. Chase a lot more.

Who is she?

Laura Giles.

Any connection with the Chases?

She's a friend.

Does she by any chance
drive a yellow convertible?

Yeah, she does.

Where does she live, Doc?

Well... (car approaches)

Where?

You can't get
there without a car.

(footsteps approaching)

(knocking) That's
the only way out.

If you prefer to remain
unseen, wait in there.

(knocking continues)

Doc, there's been a murder.

Murder?

Carol's dead.

Carol Chase?

How? When?

About six hours ago.

She was drowned.

And you think whoever
did it is still around?

I know who it is.

And it's not "whoever,"

it's our private
investigator, Mr. Mannix!

Are you sure?

I found him with
her, and he ran!

Why would he kill her?

I don't know.

I'm warning everybody
to keep a lookout,

so consider yourself warned.

And lock the door.

Yes, of course.

(car door shuts, car departs)

This is more excitement
than I care for.

Believe me, Doc, I...
Explain, Mr. Mannix.

You really think I killed her?

Well, then why don't
you call the sheriff back?

What's your motive?

Why would you do it?

I didn't.

Then why did you run away?

'Cause Hale found
me next to her body.

He didn't bother
to ask questions.

He just belted me
and went for his gun.

His gun!

That's right... you know
how he felt about her.

You're the one who
mentioned it, remember?

Yes, I know.

She was never out
of his mind very long.

Everything reminded
him of Carol.

Like last Friday.

We went fishing, George and I.

Nice, quiet, peaceful.

Not catching much of anything.

There was a family
rowing on the lake...

A man and a woman
and a boy about eight.

George watched them.

He never took his eyes off them

till they rounded the point.

And then he said, "Doc,
that could have been me,

Carol, maybe our kid."

He never believed
Bill was right for Carol.

No, she was never out
of his mind very long.

Knowing that, do you
think he could be rational

about someone he
thinks killed Carol?

Guilty or innocent, do you think

I'd be safe in his custody?

Doc...

that woman you
mentioned... Laura Giles...

The one with the
yellow convertible.

I'm sure she's got the
answer to Carol's death.

All right... my car keys.

You'll find her at a place
called "Pineville Lodge,"

north of here...
You can't miss it.

Watch out. It's
getting light out.

Thanks, Doc.

♪ ♪

You know, then?

(voice breaking):
Dr. Harris called me.

I only wish it had been
me instead of Carol.

Anyone tell Bill?

I don't know.

He's a madman.

He's never gotten
over losing her.

Sheriff Hale?

He swore if he couldn't
have her, nobody would.

I've got to get out of here.

You? Why?

I don't know what he'll
do when he finds out

I helped Bill get to L.A.

You mean Friday
when I bumped into him?

Yeah, he didn't want anyone
to know he was off the mountain.

So you took your
car up to the lookout,

and Bill drove it
into Los Angeles.

Right.

Why?

He was following the sheriff.

To find out what?

Hale used to go with Carol.

Go on.

He convinced Carol
to meet him in L.A.

Bill found out
and followed them.

Hale was like a madman,
threatening to kill himself

if Carol didn't
come back to him.

He wanted her to divorce Bill.

She said she'd think about it.

Then she told Bill.

He knew what the
sheriff was really like,

that he wouldn't
stop at anything

if he couldn't have her.

So Sheriff Hale
killed Carol tonight

when she turned him down.

And put the blame on you.

Bill thinks Hale will
try to kill him, too.

Why didn't you tell
me this morning?

Bill was going to tell you
when you got to the lookout.

He knew Carol would be shopping,

so he had me go to his house,

get you in and out
as quickly as possible.

Why you?

I've been their
friend for years.

All right, let's go. Where?

Go pick up Bill and
get off this mountain.

That's what you want, isn't it?

Yes, of course. Let's go.

(engine starts)

TOM: Uh-huh.

Yeah.

Right, right.

Got it.

Sheriff? Yeah.

This call, they
just spotted Mannix

on the way up to the lookout.

The lookout, huh?

All right, round up
a couple of boys.

Meet me up there.

Sheriff?

You're not going
up alone, are you?

To get Mannix, I'm
not waiting for anybody.

George... you said
alive, remember?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

You finally made it, Joe.

Hello, Bill.

I knew I could depend
upon you, Laura.

My relief will be
here in an hour,

we'll go pick up Carol and
kiss Pineville good-bye forever.

He doesn't know.

Bill... I know.

You've got a million questions
and you want a million answers.

Okay, shoot.

What is it? What's happened?

It's Carol, Bill.

She's dead.

Dead?

She was killed last night.

Carol...

Like I said, Joe, in L.A.,

there's a very thin line
between living and dying.

Like the old man
on the stretcher,

a very thin line.

Hale?

Yes. We're not sure.

Well, who else
could it have been?

Didn't you tell him?

Didn't you tell him everything?

She told me.

She told me why you
were in Los Angeles,

why you're
following the sheriff.

How he saw you, threatened
to kill you, himself, Carol.

Don't, Mannix.

Don't make him
live it over again.

Well, he'll be after me next.

He'll be coming up here.

But I'll be ready for him.

Hold it, Bill.

What's that for?

Insurance against a
bullet from that rifle.

That's been the plan
all along, hasn't it,

from the minute I
stepped foot in Pineville?

Have you gone crazy?

Sheriff Hale wasn't in
Los Angeles Friday, Bill.

Well, if he told
you that, he's lying.

He didn't tell me;
Doc Harris told me.

Sheriff Hale was with
the doc out on the lake

fishing all day Friday.

Now you want to go down there

and tell Doc Harris
to his face he's a liar?

Or would you rather
tell me the real reason

you were in Los Angeles?

Not that it's necessary.

I think I already know.

What do you mean?

That little ruckus
that jammed traffic

just before I ran into
you in Los Angeles.

Don't say anything, Bill.

What, about the old
man getting killed?

What's that got to do with it?

How did you know
he was an old man?

Are you kidding?

I saw him.

I didn't see him. I
was on the sidewalk.

His body was covered.

Well, I-I... I just assumed it.

All right, so he wasn't old.

He was old.

He's bluffing, Bill.

He said he didn't
see him either.

I didn't have to.

I knew him when he was alive.

So did you, Bill, just
before you killed him.

Jewels, armed robbery, an
old man named Aaron Kester...

That's the real reason you
were in Los Angeles, isn't it?

So perfect... so perfect.

And then you show up.

The million-to-one shot.

The one witness that could
prove that I wasn't up here that day.

So you had to try and kill me.

I didn't want to, Joe,
believe me, I didn't want to,

but if you'd have
talked to anyone,

if you'd have told
them you'd seen me,

you stood in the
way of my one chance

to get off this lousy hill

to live like a man.

With Laura?

Is that why Carol had to die?

Killing her your idea?

No.

We didn't plan to kill anyone.

We just wanted to be alone.

But you knew I
had talked to Carol.

She'd be wondering why
you were in Los Angeles.

I didn't want
anybody to die, Joe.

You've got to believe me.

Let's go tell it
to Sheriff Hale.

♪ ♪

All right, Mannix!

Drop it!

Sheriff, don't shoot!

Chase is the one!

Shoot! He's trying to kill us!

All right, Bill!

I've got him now! Hold off!

Better get down here,
Sheriff. He'll kill you.

(gunshot)

(gunshot) He's gone crazy.

No.

He wants to kill us.

He killed his wife.

What?

He killed Carol.

(gunshot)

(screams)

(gasps)

We went through a lot together.

And almost got killed once,
taking a hill just like this.

All right, come on.

(theme music playing)