Mannix (1967–1975): Season 3, Episode 15 - Walk with a Dead Man - full transcript

Mannix is about to leave his office to meet a client one night when he receives a telephone call suggesting that he spend the night at home instead. As he exits his office, a shot is fired at him. Mannix manages to meet the client anyway, a secretive executive who claims that a blackmailer is threatening to reveal embarrassing information about his wife. But as the case grows more involved, Mannix' client suddenly denies having hired him, or even knowing who he is.

(crickets chirping)

(phone rings)

Hello.

MAN: Is this Joe
Mannix? That's right.

Mr. Mannix, I'd
like to talk to you

about business.

Well, uh, if you'll give me
your name and phone number,

I'll call you back
in the morning.

I'm on my way
out to see a client.

That's what I wanted to
talk to you about, Mr. Mannix.

It's a lousy night
for business calls.



Stay in.

Curl up with a good book.

(click, dial tone)

(gunshot)

(phone rings)

MAN: Mr. Mannix.

Yeah.

I told you it was
a rough night out.

Home's the only
safe place for you.

Sleep tight.

(click, dial tone)

(theme music playing)

♪ ♪

(light switch clicks)



(doorknob rattles)

♪ ♪

(engine turns)

(tires squealing)

(tires squealing)

(coins clinking)

Hey, buddy... Yeah?

Uh, have you got a half a buck

for a cup of coffee?

With a little wine in it?

Well, it cuts down
on my jogging.

(chuckling)

There you are.

Hey.

Join me?

Some other time.

(buzzer)

Mr. Mannix? That's right.

I'm Martin Emory.

You told me on the
phone this morning

that nobody knew
you contacted me.

No one did.

Correction.

I was warned off the case.

With a bullet to back it up.

How could anyone have known?

How about your secretary?

She phoned me for you.

No, no, I trust Miss
Phillips implicitly.

Besides, she didn't
know why I phoned you.

Maybe it's time I did.

All right.

The woman is my wife.

Sorry, Mr. Emory. I don't
handle cases like that.

It's not my line.

It's not what you think.

She told me the next morning.

She didn't even
know the man's name.

(sighs)

It was just a case of
one long, lonely evening

and one drink too many.

I never mentioned
it to her again.

I pushed it out of my mind,

until this photo arrived
about a month ago.

Laura doesn't know
about the photo.

I don't know what it would
do to her if she found out.

I paid the man
$2,500 the first time,

and I was glad, I thought,
to have it done with.

How much the second time?

Five thousand.

Now ten.

Getting steeper.

He's supposed to send
me the negative this time.

It's easy enough to
make copies of a negative.

Mr. Mannix, there's
$10,000 inside this envelope.

You'd only be throwing
good money after bad.

I know how these
characters work.

That's exactly why
I contacted you.

Track him down.
Find out who he is.

A man like that must
have some kind of a record.

Maybe you can put
the fear of God into him.

I sent Laura to
Europe until this is over.

I want it finished, Mr. Mannix.

As quickly as possible.

(buzzer)

How are the payoffs made?

Upper drive in the new Mount
Olympic building development.

The envelopes are left

underneath the
Mount Olympic sign.

When?

I was told to
watch the personals

in The Cool City.

That's one of those
underground newspapers.

Yeah, I know.

How are the notices identified?

"To M.E.

From Fantastic Photographer."

Okay, I'll be in touch.

Good.

You can contact me

through my personal
number at the office.

No one answers it but me.

KL5-6654.

Right.

(buzzer) I checked you out.

I know you can
be trusted to, uh,

keep this just between us.

Goes with the job.

And I'm glad you
decided to take the case.

I really took the
case before we met.

You see, Mr. Emory,

you don't like your wife's
reputation being threatened.

I don't like being shot at.

I'll be back.

Hey!

What happened last night?

Oh, I've told you
all I can, Peggy.

You didn't tell me anything.

And you tried to pass that off

as the work of a woodpecker.

Just a joke.

I know a bullet hole
when I see a bullet hole.

And a bullet hole ain't no joke.

Just be patient for a
little while, huh, Peggy?

Listen, this is a first.

I've been in on
every other case.

Now what's so
special about this one?

I made a deal with a client.

Absolutely confidential.

Just between him and me.

Okay? Okay.

But it's not gonna stop me
from worrying about you.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(focus dial clicks)

(engine turns)

(tires squealing)

(tires squealing)

And in reference to
the inventory number

on the specified
date, I submit...

(phone ringing)

Excuse me, Miss Phillips.

We can finish this another time.

Yes, sir.

(door closes)

(phone continues ringing)

Yes?

This is Mannix.

I heard from the blackmailer
a few minutes ago.

He gets around fast.

Is it true what he said?

That, uh, there was no
money in the envelope,

just scraps of paper?

Yeah, I made a switch.

On whose authority?

Now look, Mr. Emory, you
put the case in my hands.

Yes, I did. And you
know what you've done?

It stirred him up, I hope.

Gave him a little shaking.

Well, he's doubled the amount!

That's how much
you stirred him up!

And if he doesn't have
the money by tomorrow,

he'll see that copies of the
photograph are circulated.

Well, we have until
tomorrow, so sit tight.

How can I sit tight?

You still don't know
a thing about him.

I do now.

I know that he's not the
man in the photograph,

and I've got the license
number on the car he was driving.

WOMAN: JFO247?

Well, let's see.

Ah, here we are.

JFO247.

That car was rented on the 11th

to a David Tremont.

Uh, did he give an address?

Yes. Uh, Crystal Hotel.

213 West Main.

Do you have a David
Tremont registered here?

Sure have.

Is he in?

Yes, I'd say he is.

What's his room number?

Who should I say is calling?

Oh, well, don't say.

I'll just go right on up.

Oh, I... couldn't do that.

Well, um... sort of a surprise.

Oh, that kind of a surprise.

Well, in that case, just
go right up to 315, sir.

Yeah. Thanks.

MAN: Yeah, what do you want?

Plumber.

Your bathroom's flooding
the room downstairs.

(footsteps)

(clattering)

(gunshots)

Okay, Wilke, you can
send for the lab crew now.

Right.

How much longer, Lieutenant?

That's up to you, Mannix.

We've covered everything.

That's what you say.

Look, it was self-defense.

I walked in, he shot at
me, I shot back. That's it.

Except why you came
here in the first place.

I told you... business.

That's like saying the stars
only come out after dark.

Deegan, I want
to get out of here.

And I want the
name of your client.

Wouldn't do you any good.

Well, who are you to say that?

Look, Deegan, you can
think what you want about me,

you can knock my profession,
you can give me the treatment,

you can cool my
heels till they freeze,

but it's still no dice!

Look, let's get one
thing straight, Mannix.

Maybe Lieutenant Tobias
would let you off easier,

but this is my case, not
his, so don't push me.

Okay?

Now, who's your client?

That's still privileged
information.

I'm still asking.

Book me!

Or let me go.

All right, Pete.

Where are you going?

Tail him, Lieutenant.

What for?

If you were on his tail,
he wouldn't go anywhere.

Mannix may be stubborn,
but he's not stupid.

He might have settled for this,

and I'd be on my way now

to join my wife in Europe.

The odds were against it.

Maybe so, but
now it's a lot worse.

I didn't bargain to get
involved in any killing.

I told you, I've kept
your name out of it.

I, uh, thought I'd seen
that woman before.

Brunette.

Where?

Driving a car that cut me off.

My mistake.

Mr. Mannix, let's be honest.

What, uh... what
are my chances now?

I knew from the
start it was a gamble.

Okay, Mr. Emory,
let's both be honest.

You'd like to cash
in your chips, right?

I don't know.

I don't know what to do.

It's your wife, your
name, your decision.

I think we... we'd
better call it quits.

Well, you can send that to me

after I've finished
my end of the case.

Someone still took a shot at me.

I want to know about that
brunette in the dark glasses,

and you paid me to
get a negative back.

It's still floating
around someplace.

(bell dings)

Anybody around I can talk to?

You fuzz?

No.

You look like fuzz.

Sorry.

I'm a private investigator.

Same as fuzz.

Not downtown it isn't.

You sure?

Sure.

Well, then welcome to Cool City.

All the news
that's unfit to print.

What's the matter?

Something got you uptight?

Oh, well, it's really
none of my business.

(laughing) You mean
I'm a little too grownup

for this sort of thing, huh?

Well, I... Hey, look, man,

things are tough in the
newspaper game, right?

All the news is on TV, right?

So you got to feed
the public all the stuff

they can't see on
the tube, right, man?

So here I am on Cool City.

You know, I used to be
on the old New York Herald,

and I was there 30
years before it folded.

You know what I did?

Now don't laugh.

I was a church editor.

Yeah. Now, go ahead and laugh.

(laughs) No laugh.

Look, I'd like to check
out this personal notice.

There were, uh,
two others like that.

Yeah, I know.

We get lots of personals.

Make our best reading.

Real way-out stuff, huh?

(chuckles)

Yeah, I remember this
one and the other two.

Tried to make it real hip,
but it came out square.

Like the person who placed it.

Mm-hmm.

Well... (laughs)

Takes one to know one.

Uh, what, uh...
what'd he look like?

Wasn't a he.

Was a she.

Brunette? Dark glasses?

Yeah, man.

Well, you got anything on her?

A name, address, anything?

Nothing.

We don't ask no questions
of nobody around here.

That's what makes
Cool City... cool.

No changing your story, Mannix?

No change, Lieutenant.

Okay, let's go
over it step by step.

You're a real tiger, Deegan.

Don't get funny.

Just trying to start
the day off with a smile.

Not at my expense.

Now, he fired first, you said?

That's right.

Three shots?

Right. Wrong.

The lab crew went
over the entire room.

No trace of a slug,

no bullet hole on
your side of the room.

Now look, Lieutenant,
I'm not blind, I'm not deaf.

I saw gun flashes,
and I heard gunshots.

Then how come the only
slug we found was in him,

fired by your detective special?

What did the report
say about his gun?

Fully loaded, unfired, unused.

You knew the dead
man as David Tremont.

No, I didn't know him at all.

The desk clerk said he was
registered under that name.

You ever hear of Dennis Taggart?

No.

Well, that was his
real name... Taggart.

Two-bit con artist.

Not bright enough for
big-time extortion, but

smart enough about one thing.

He never packed a gun.

Anything you care to
add, Mannix... now?

No, nothing more
that would help you.

Help yourself.

Like prove to me you
were even on a case.

He was. He told me.

DEEGAN: He told you what?

That he was working on a case.

What case?

I don't know.

You can't claim
privileged information.

She doesn't know a thing.

Look, if there's some personal
reason you're fighting me,

Mannix, let's get it
out in the open, huh?

I'm doing my job, Lieutenant.

I'm protecting a client.

If I were in your shoes, Mannix,

I'd start worrying
about protecting myself.

(door slams)

Joe...

Peggy, I've got to make
a phone call. Personal.

But what's it all about?

Now I don't know.

Would you let me
make this phone call?

OPERATOR: What number
are you calling, please?

KL5-6654.

I'm sorry, sir, but that number
has been disconnected.

(click, dial tone)

I want to see Mr. Emory.

Well, I'm sorry, but
Mr. Emory's not in.

I'll wait.

Well, I'll have to schedule
you for an appointment.

May I have your name,
please, and your phone number?

The name is Mannix.

And the number?

Now wait a minute.

You're Miss
Phillips, aren't you?

Yes.

You're Mr. Emory's private
secretary? Yes, of course.

Then what's this big act, as
if you never heard my name?

I'm sorry, sir, but I never
have heard it before.

You called me for
Mr. Emory when he hired me.

There must be some mistake.

Push the button.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

(tapping)

Now, I'm going to tell
you for the second time...

(footsteps approaching)

PHILLIPS: He's
trying to force his way

into Mr. Emory's office.

What's going on out here?

I want to talk to you.

Tell them it's okay,
that you know me.

Well, how can I tell
them I know you?

I never saw you before!

PHILLIPS: Shall I call

the police, Mr. Emory?

I don't think that will be
necessary, Miss Phillips.

Just show him out.

I don't believe he'll
cause us any more trouble.

♪ ♪

MAN: Hey, Jim, you check
on the other side of the house.

I'm gonna check
down by the fence.

♪ ♪

I'm just gonna have to
tighten security around here.

Nobody's perfect.

What do you want?!

Now you can cut
out the act, Emory.

There's nobody around.

Listen, who are you?

Well, I can understand why
you'd like not to know me now,

why you've been dodging
me, pretending I'm not there.

Well, I'm here, Emory,
and I'm telling you there are

just too many
holes in your story,

and I've been
dropping through them.

I've been obligated
to protect you

and keep your name
out of it up to now.

But if you know
anything that can help me,

you'd better start talking.

How can I? I don't know
what you're talking about.

Maybe Mrs. Emory does.

Are you threatening
my wife in some way?

No. No, that's no threat.

I just want to know more about
the man in the photo with her.

Man with Laura? Yeah.

What man? What photo?

It's your choice, Emory.

You talk to me...
or I get in touch

with Mrs. Emory in
Europe and talk to her.

Europe?

Yeah.

What gave you that idea?

LAURA: Martin?

I'll be right with you, Laura.

Not too long, dear.

I'll be just a few
more seconds, darling.

My wife in Europe?

Now whoever told you that?

I've heard some stories in
my life, but that is the weirdest.

Yeah, and he just grins at me,

and he went up
and joined his wife.

At least that frees
you of all obligation.

Now you can tell Lieutenant
Deegan everything.

My word against Emory's? Ha!

Facts are facts, Joe.

What facts?

There's nothing
linking Emory with me.

The meetings were secret,
the phone calls private,

he paid me in cash.

There's no record of the
case at all. No evidence!

Except there was a bullet
hole in that front door.

Now, someone took a shot at you.

We've got proof.

We're not gonna open
up that can of beans yet.

Why not?

Look at the way
it would stack up.

Taggart comes here
and takes a shot at me.

So I go gunning for vengeance.

I walk into his hotel
room and I blast him!

That's just circumstantial.

Yeah, but it's enough to book
me on suspicion of murder,

at least in Lieutenant
Deegan's book.

Well, there's still
that picture negative.

Now, Taggart had to
have hidden it someplace.

It won't do me any good.

Joe, I know it's dirty
pool, but it ties Emory in.

Peggy, I didn't know until I
saw Laura Emory this afternoon.

Know what?

She's not the
woman in that photo.

That was a phony, too.

Look, I shouldn't
even be talking to you.

Well, if you'll just,
uh, give me the key

to room 315, we
wouldn't have to talk.

After what happened the
last time you went up there?

I'll only be ten minutes.

Sorry.

Well, there's no law

against renting a room
for the night, is there?

Well, when you put it that way.

That'll be $42.

The sign says
six dollars a night.

We only rent by the week.

Since when?

Since the new
policy went into effect.

Thanks.

Uh, just one thing.

No more surprises, huh?

I'll do my best.

Oh, by the way, uh,
who's my neighbor?

316 is empty.

The other night, too? Uh-uh.

She checked out
the morning after.

What'd she look like?

Couldn't see much of her face.

Brunette? Right.

Always wore dark glasses.

Same woman. Has to be.

Taggart could have
had an accomplice.

Yeah, maybe.

Now, when I broke in here,

Taggart was standing
at that window.

He opened it,

and he was on his
way out when I came in.

He then fired three shots at me.

But he didn't fire at all.

I mean, there's not a slug
or a bullet hole anywhere.

Now figure that one out.

Yeah.

Look, Peggy, you wait out here,

count to five, and
then come in, huh?

Okay.

One, two, three, four, five.

What's that?

An invitation to
murder. What'd you see?

A figure at the window, Joe:

you.

Then?

Then three flashes of light.

Hmm... From this.

But I had three
blanks fired at me.

But Taggart's gun
wasn't used at all.

No, he didn't fire the gun.

The way I figure it,
he was unconscious.

Somebody propped
him up in this window.

They were behind
him on the fire escape,

and fired three blanks
at me from behind him,

and got me to
return the real thing.

This fire escape
connects these two rooms.

Ah... ah, the brunette
with the dark glasses, right.

Now look, Peggy, the
police only checked

the inside of the
room for fingerprints.

Call Sid Davis over at C & I.

Ask him to come down here

and dust this fire
escape for prints, huh?

Right.

Oh, Joe, one thing...

Taggart was deadweight, right?

I'd say roughly about
160 pounds worth.

Then how could a woman, alone,

put him into an
upright position?

She must have had help.

(tires screech)

That's a moving
violation, Lieutenant.

Just saving you a trip downtown.

You asked Sid Davis in C & I

to check out some
prints for you. Why?

Routine.

Oh, come off it,
Mannix, will you?

Sid may be your friend,

but he still works for
the department first.

Okay, so Sid told you where
he dusted up those prints;

the window outside of room 315.

I know where.

I want to know
how they got there.

Look, I don't even know
yet who the prints belong to.

Harry Glidden. G-L-I-D-D-E-N.

Name ring a bell?

Zero.

Our records list him
as a grifter, a petty thief

and a one-time partner of
Dennis Taggart, the man you shot.

Anything you want to add?

If there is, you'll be
the first to hear from me.

I'll tell you what. Let's
make an appointment.

You be in my office
by 2:00 this afternoon.

And Mannix, I guess
there's one more thing

you ought to know
about Harry Glidden.

Our records list him as dead

for just over ten years.

Excuse me. Yeah?

Are you Vince Allison?

Aw, look, fella, I'm
up to my ears now.

I can't take another job for
at least a week. I'm sorry.

It's not about a job.

It's about Harry Glidden.

Look, I'm clean.

I haven't touched
a hot car in years.

Relax, I'm not a cop.

Then beat it.

Don't look for trouble, mister.

I'm looking for information
on Harry Glidden.

What for? He's dead.

You're acting like
he's back among us.

One thing the world don't need

is the second coming
of Harry Glidden.

Why is that?

He'd turn in his own
father, if he knew who it was.

He's strictly poison.

What else? That's all.

Nothing else.
I've said my piece.

Look, as far as I'm
concerned, the less said

about Harry Glidden, the better.

What'd he do to you?

Left me behind the
wheel of a getaway car...

while he got away.

That shouldn't have surprised
me, though, knowing what he was.

Just one thing about Harry
Glidden did surprise me.

What's that?

He died of natural causes.

(elegant piano music plays)

Peggy, did you check the doctor

who signed the
death certificate?

Dead, too. But not natural.

Hit and run victim,

two weeks after
Glidden was buried.

Did you dig up a
picture of Glidden?

Only in word.

He was camera shy.

What's the word?

Crafty. Wily. Ruthless.

According to whom?

The men in his life.

Well, what about the women?

I'm working on that.

Oh, one more thing, Joe.

Lieutenant Deegan called.

He said your time was up.

Yeah, okay.

Deegan means business.

Yeah, I know,
Peggy. I'll be in touch.

What'll it be?

What's she drinking?

Whiskey, straight, on the rocks.

Two of them.

Oh, uh, mind if I make
another phone call?

It's local, isn't it? Yeah.

(rings)

Deegan.

Mannix, you're overdue!

Yeah, look, Lieutenant,
I got a little problem.

Um, I need a little more time.

Now, I'm not playing games
with you. I give you my word.

I'm giving you mine. It's no.

I'll come in as
soon as I'm finished.

You come in now,
or I'll go and get you.

Sorry, Lieutenant.

Put out an APB on Mannix.

(coins clink)

Thanks.

Big spender.

Replacement.

Oh, I'll drink to that.

Mmm. If I don't hear
it clink, I play better.

What would you like to hear?

Anything you feel like.

Hey, you got style, you know it?

What do you want?

Talk.

Lonely?

Curious.

About Harry Glidden, right?

You've been putting me on.

Hmm?

Who told you where to find me?

My job is asking questions.
Who told you to expect me?

Look, it's an
unofficial organization.

The "Hate Harry Glidden Club."

Dead ten years.

They still hate him.

And you?

Well... I liked him.

Sue me. I liked Harry Glidden.

That surprises you, huh?

Well, he must have
been different with you.

You know, it was funny.

H-He wasn't even good looking.

Nose was all crooked, and
the ears stuck out too far,

but there was something
about him only women knew.

He made you feel like you
were something special.

At least he made me
feel that way until...

Well, there was one thing
I didn't like about Harry.

(stops playing) That. See?

All his women.
That was his idea.

Put his brand on 'em.

(plays stray chords)

(chuckles)

You know, it was years ago,

but I can still
remember the night

when she walked into

the spot I was playing.

Harry looks at her
and he says to me,

"Now, there's a gal with class.

That's no peroxide blonde."

So I said to myself,
"Good-bye, Harry."

You know what he dug about

that blonde chick the most?

She wouldn't let him
put his brand on her,

wouldn't get tattooed for him.

So, he left me.

Still... (resumes playing)

you got to take the
good with the bad, right?

(mutters)

One thing I got to admit...
That blonde did have class.

I wonder what she
ever saw in Harry.

Yeah. So do I.

♪ ♪

I didn't want to
come empty-handed.

Now, the size may be wrong,

but I'm sure you
understand my intention.

If you're thinking of
calling the police, forget it.

They're already looking for me.

Oh, and if you're,
uh, thinking of

setting off the
alarm to call your

security guards, you
can forget that, too.

It's been disconnected in here.

Now, you and I are going
to have a private talk,

Mrs. Emory, before
your husband gets home.

Who are you? What...?

And the next question is obviously,
"What do you want?" Right?

Well, I'll tell you
what I don't want.

I don't want to play
patsy for anyone.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

The brunette who was in
the hotel room next to Taggart.

The brunette who cut me off

when I was tailing Taggart
from the money drop.

I'm talking about... you.

And I'm talking about
one of your old boyfriends,

Harry Glidden, who suddenly
returned from the dead.

In a way, Mr. Mannix,
I'm relieved that you know.

Don't get too comfortable.

It's a pretty long trip from
Harry Glidden's old hangouts

to an estate in Holmby Hills.

Or were you just
slumming in those days?

Slumming.

What about Harry Glidden?

What do you think?

He is alive.

And well.

EMORY: And living
in Holmby Hills.

You're home early.

Oh, I was here
before you, waiting.

We've been expecting
you, Mr. Mannix.

Oh, how the little woman
must have inspired you.

From hoodlum to magnate.

I saw the makings.

The rest was easy.

Phony death, plastic surgery...

new name, new life.

There's a drifter in
Harry Glidden's grave.

But we don't have to
tell you that, now do we?

Only how Taggart got on to you.

That was a piece
of, uh, bad luck.

You see, in prison, an inmate
will read just about anything.

Taggart happened to come
across a rare photo of me

in an industrial publication.

Something in the eyes, he said,

something only
he would recognize.

It was blackmail, of course,
but not the kind we discussed.

And it was you who
fired those shots at me

in my office to get me involved.

No, I did.

I also made the first
call for your appointment.

Hmm... the family
that slays together...

Well, I'd say you two have
just about covered everything.

(chuckles)

Yes, of course.

It was even
reported to the police

that you attempted
to break into my office,

and that you made
illegal entry here.

I knew you'd be back.

I even relaxed the guard
to... to make it easier for you.

But you're not
getting out, Mannix.

And that gun isn't
going to help you.

Why don't you have
a look out the window?

I alerted them. They're
hunting for a prowler.

(no dial tone)

Now don't you think I would
have taken care of that, too?

(grunting)

(gun hammer cocks)

(gun fires)

(gun fires)

Drop your gun, Emory!

Drop it!

(gun clatters)

It's a good thing you dropped
your gun, or you'd be dead.

He's been dead ten
years, Lieutenant.

(clicks)

(slams drawer)

You know, I still can't
figure how Deegan

knew to come to Emory's place.

When I asked him, all
he said was "Forget it."

So, forget it.

I can't. It's bugging me.

Well, do whatever you want.

I've got work.

(whistles) Hey, hey, what work?

Just work.

Peggy?

I'm going to lunch.

It can wait!

I'm hungry. Peggy!

All right, I called Deegan.
I was worried about you.

Peggy, how many
ti... Now, wait a minute.

Just wait a minute.

I mean, I practically
saved your life.

Yeah, I guess you did.

Well, look, um...

Why don't you take
an extra hour for lunch?

Okay.

(theme music playing)