Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 5, Episode 11 - Murder by S.O.P. - full transcript

Am I under arrest?

Let's just call it
protective custody.

Watch it, Doc!

- They set me up!
- Who set you up?

Somebody who wanted me out of town
and wanted this investigation stopped.

A murder has been committed
here and it's not being investigated.

I'm gonna see that it gets looked
into even if it means getting rid of you.

I know you're the one
who murdered Clemmons.

But don't you see, it's
a motive for a killing.

You mean our Mayor killed him?

I am the Mayor, this is my town.



What are you crazy?

Gentlemen, you
are about to enter

the most fascinating
sphere of police work,

the world of forensic medicine.

That's all I need is a sedative.

Boy, I gotta stay awake. I
can sleep when I get there.

C'mon... Dang it... Stay awake.

Oh, boy.

Doin' too much
partying tonight, pal?

Partying? I haven't had anything
to drink. I'm in a hurry. I'm a doctor.

No kidding? Well,
doctors have been known

to take a nip now and then.

Would you mind stepping
out of the car, please?

Look, I didn't mean that. I
just meant I'm on my way



to a forensic
pathologists convention.

Could I see your
driver's license?

Out of the wallet.

Now your breath. What?

Your breath. Lemme
smell it. Oh, for Pete's sake.

All right? Or is
it against the law

to under the influence
of salami and onions?

Well, not quite
yet, sir. Stand erect.

Extend your arms
forward, close your eyes,

now try touching
the tip of your nose.

How could I miss a nose
like mine? Just touch it.

You want me to
try it with my toes?

Look pal, I'm only trying
to protect public interest.

Anytime I see someone driving
with their head that far out the window

I know they're in trouble.
I'll keep your driver's license.

You follow me in.
Follow you where?

Milner town jail.
Am I under arrest?

Let's just call it
protective custody.

Ah c'mon will ya, Sheriff. It's
only three hours to Sacramento.

I could stay awake that long.

After this, I could
stay awake all night.

Hiya, Sheriff, what
do we have here?

Sleepwalker. He's gonna
spend the night with us.

Well, you do a lot of
business for a small town.

Yeah, we got a lot
of traffic through here.

Most of 'em can't
touch their noses.

Ah, I'd rather be staying at the
Clayburne Arms in Sacramento.

Doc, If I let you keep driving,
you'd never make it to Sacramento.

Okay, you win.

Listen, I gotta get up first
thing in the morning, all right?

You'll be up. I'll
leave the cell open.

If you need anything, my
Deputy will be right outside, okay?

Okay, Doc?

I'm tryin' to sleep.
Do you mind?

Clemmons.

I gotta talk to ya.

Fire! Sheriff!
Everybody, get out.

Everybody back here
get on the ground now.

Get those cells
open. Hurry it up.

Doc, Doc, give me
a hand back here.

Hurry up. Get 'em open.

Sheriff, I lost the key.

Get down and keep goin'.

What is that stuff? It
smells like burning rubber.

Polyurethane. It's
giving off a cyanide gas.

You get it open?
I lost the keys.

I just found 'em. I'll
take care of the others.

It's too late,
Doc. It's too late.

- How's it look?
- Pretty bad.

It looks like we got four dead.

We're digging out
the last two now.

Say, that, uh,
that stuff? Poly...

Polyurethane. It's what the
mattress stuffing is made of.

You want some coffee?
No thanks. I'm coffeed out.

Look, I wanna get this straight

two of those bodies haven't
even been touched by the fire.

They didn't have to be.

That polyethylene stuff?

It gives off a cyanide
gas when it's burned.

Well, why do they keep
putting it in mattresses then?

Doesn't make sense.

People keep falling asleep
with cigarettes all the time.

Ah, I've been fighting
against that stuff for years,

because it's used where
people live and work,

right in buses and airplanes,
in hospitals, retirement homes

but at least there
it's regulated.

What bothers me is that it's used
in homes where you can't regulate it.

Can't the people sue
the manufacturers?

No, they don't like the
standards any more than we do.

They've been tryin' to get the
government to tighten them.

Hey, Ned.

Ned, Sheriff Evers, I'm sorry.

Greg, this is Doctor Quincy.
This is Greg Frost, our coroner.

How do you do.

Oh, then you'll be doing the
autopsies? No no, I'm just the coroner.

I'm not a physician.

We contract out our
autopsies to our local MD.

He's examining
two bodies right now.

Doesn't that make
your job a lot harder?

Oh, you believe the coroner
should be a physician.

It does seem logical.

I wouldn't want my
plumber to work on my car.

Greg's been our coroner
for the past six years.

So far, we haven't
had any complaints.

Do you think your doctor
would mind if I paid him a visit.

Professional curiosity?

No, go right ahead. Down
the street. The mortuary.

The mortuary? Well,
of course. Where else?

This case exhibits appropriate
cherry red skin discoloration

to indicate death occurred
due to toxic gas asphyxiation.

Do me a favor, will ya doctor?
Unplug my tape recorder

and plug the radio back
in. The one on the end here?

Yeah, yeah, that's it.

Oh, boy.

So when I finished my residency I
came back out here to go to work.

Look, I know it's
none of my business,

but do you always work
under these conditions?

No. Sometimes they're worse.

I've got two autopsies to
perform later on in Goddard.

Goddard? That's over
a hundred miles away.

That's one of my
closer trips too.

And no electrical
outlets there at all.

All right. Just just
leave 'em there.

So, I guess you'll be headin'
on to your convention, huh, Doc?

Yup.

Be sure and say hello to
the other pathologists for me.

Forensic pathologists.
Ah, that's right.

Forensic people. All three
hundred fifty-seven of you.

And we need more.

Listen, maybe one day
you'll take off some time

and go back to school.
We sure could use ya.

No, Doc, time is the
one thing I just don't have.

Wait...

I may be going crazy, but you're
signing all the death certificates.

That's 'cause they're dead.
Yeah, and you're listing

as cause of death
toxic gas asphyxiation.

That's right. That's what they
died from. Yeah, those two.

But you never even
touched these two bodies.

Well, I don't think that's
necessary. They were all in the fire.

They all died at the same
time and from the same thing.

Well, you can't know that.

You can't be sure until
you've performed an autopsy.

How can you be sure
you found all the facts?

Well, maybe all the
facts just don't get found.

This isn't the ideal state
here, this is the real world.

A world in which I have to drive
all over the damn countryside

every day just to get to
the bodies to do my work.

A hundred miles to
get to the next two

and sixty after that

and still try to keep my
private practice alive.

Speaking of which, if
you'll excuse me now

in addition to my autopsies,
I have to deliver a baby.

Doctor Jessup, listen.

Before you turn in
the death certificates,

do you mind if I
do the autopsies?

A little transferred guilt, Doc?

No, I can't leave anything
incomplete. It's a curse.

Be my guest.

Talk about a busman's holiday...

- Howdy.
- Hi.

Cleaned yourself up a bit, huh.

Yeah. I used your place.
I hope you don't mind.

No, it's all right.

How'd the delivery go?

Well, I've seen worse.

A boy nine pounds on the button.

Man, what a set of
lungs that kid had.

It's nice to see you so happy.
I'm afraid it's not gonna last.

Why, what's the matter now?

Charlie Clemmons one of the
two guys I did the autopsy on?

Don't tell me he didn't die from
asphyxiation like the others?

Oh he did that all right.

But the mode of death was
different. He was stabbed.

Murdered? C'mon.

You're saying that somebody sneaked
in and stabbed Charlie Clemmons?

That's ridiculous.
What was he in jail for?

A lot of city money was missing.

The town bonds had
been totally depleted.

A lot of people got burned,
lost their investment.

Charlie was the bookkeeper.

The Mayor's name was
dummied on some contract receipts

for work that was never done.

And Charlie claimed that the
Mayor was doing the stealing

and the Mayor claimed that
Charlie forged his signature

and he was doing the stealing.
Typical small town intrigue.

But don't you see, it's
a motive for a killing.

You mean our Mayor killed
him? I don't know who killed him.

I just know somebody did.
And don't think it's ridiculous.

I found the stab wound
myself. If it is a stab wound.

Wait a minute. You,
uh, you don't think it is?

Look, I agree that there's
something there, all right.

But in burn cases like this,

there's always so much
postmortem splitting of the soft tissue

that it's virtually impossible
to tell what caused it.

It was probably just the heat.

It is not impossible. You're
talking about my field now.

The wound was too perfectly formed
to have been caused by the heat.

Okay, even if that's the case,

Clemmons' body had
to be dug out, right?

That's right. Part of the roof fell on
him when the firemen were working.

Poor guy, he died from
smoking. He didn't smoke.

I examined his lungs. Well,
he started smoking, okay?

A guy gets nervous in jail.

The cigarette started the fire
and burned the damn place up.

It could've been caused
by a sliver of wood, a nail,

anything like that.

I just don't see any reason
to assume it was a knife.

I don't believe I'm
hearing you say this.

I've seen the wound a thousand
times. It was always caused by a knife.

I just can't buy that because
if that's what happened

then whoever did it had to
get past me and my Deputy

and we were both there
right up to the start of the fire.

Maybe you both just fell asleep.

Now, Doctor, you said something
about going to a convention.

You've got to treat this
case like a homicide.

What was the cause of death?

Toxic gas asphyxiation.

Doctor Jessup's expert
opinion is all I need.

Now if you'll excuse us.

The blind are leading the blind.

Ah, yeah, okay. Well
thanks for calling.

There you go, Mrs.
Cutler. Thank you, Greg.

I heard about the fire
at the jail last night.

You know, it's, it's terrible.

I hope those poor
men didn't suffer.

Oh no, I'm sure they didn't.

You know, it's a shame
about poor Charlie Clemmons.

That's what he gets for messin'
around with the town's money

and he was punished.

Yeah, yeah, it is a shame.

Now, you have yourself a
very good day, you hear?

Thanks a lot.

A lot of people in town feel
sorry for Charlie Clemmons.

You've been talking
to a lot of people?

In a way. I've been tryin'
to find a way to look you up.

Well, you found me.

Frost's Service Station.
And if you want the Mayor,

he runs Jortner's Bakery
down on Pine Street.

Would you like a
soft drink? No thanks.

The Sheriff says that Clemmons
claimed the Mayor did the stealing.

The Mayor didn't steal anything

and Charlie was not
murdered the way you think.

- How do you know what I think?
- It's a small town.

Everybody talks to everybody.

I think you should call it a
homicide and investigate it.

That's the Sheriff's
job, not mine.

No, no, that's your
job. You're the coroner.

You declare it a homicide they
have to investigate it as one.

If Dr. Jessup thinks the
death was due to asphyxiation

that is good enough for me.
That is not good enough for me.

Well, it doesn't need to be.

Your opinion doesn't carry
any weight around here.

Well, there are certain
places where it does.

Now, Mr. Foster, I have a big
mouth I and I'm not afraid to open it up

in front of newspaper
and television reporters.

A murder has been committed
here and it's not being investigated.

But this case is far from over. I'm
gonna see that it gets looked into

even if it means
getting rid of you.

What kind of a lousy threat is that.
I never wanted to be the coroner.

Do you know the lousy
bucks I get for this job?

From what I've seen,
you're over-paid.

Hey, Quincy.

Where you headin'? Sacramento.

Look, I hope there
are no hard feelings.

- You're kiddin'?
- I took a closer look

at the two bodies you
autopsied. I got a lot to learn.

Well, you're never gonna
learn it if you keep a closed mind.

Can you see it in your heart to
give me a lift down the street?

Get in.

A chili dog and hot peppers?

What do you wash it
down with anti-freeze?

Look, I've been
awake for 24 hours.

I gotta have something
to keep my heart goin'.

- I'm glad you're
not still mad at me.
- How do you know I'm not?

To tell you the truth,

all this forensic stuff is
still pretty knew to me.

Well, what you
lack in experience

you've got to make up
in intensity and curiosity.

Hey, I'm not tryin' to
take the easy way out.

I really believe that wound
could've been caused by a nail

or some debris that fell on him.

Don't you see you're
jumping to the obvious.

You must never
rely on the obvious

unless you've checked
it and double checked it.

The most important
think you've got to learn

is to know what you don't know.

To realize that there's help
out there. You can call and get it.

Hot, huh? Mmm.

Yeah, like who?

Like me. Like ah us.

The County
Coroner's Office in LA.

We give tours. We give
lectures on death investigation,

phone consultations
and if that's not enough,

we'll take over
the case for you.

You really do all
that? Sure we do.

You take jurisdiction
though, right?

No we don't, no.
You're still in charge.

We just want to lend our
expertise for you to get at the truth.

I'm really surprised.
I had no idea.

Well, we're all on the same side.
We all want to catch the murderer.

Whether it's human, a disease, an
accident. We've got to work together.

You want a bite?

Sure looks good.
Naw, I better not.

I guess I kinda pulled the
rug out from under ya, didn't I?

You sure did. But
you're not alone.

So did the Sheriff
and the Coroner.

Did you talk to Frost? Yeah.

You know this town
is one closed family.

Hey, don't go
gettin' paranoid now.

It's not as if there's a
conspiracy goin' on here.

No Bad Day at Black Rock.

I hope not 'cause I'm no Spencer
Tracy but I'm gonna tell you somethin'.

I'm never gonna
let go of this case.

Oh, give me that.

Mmm, give me a pepper.

Now what?

What did I do now?

Doctor Quincy.

If this is a parade, I
don't wanna be part of it.

I think I might have been a bit
too short with you, Dr. Quincy.

I'd like you to meet
our Mayor, Mr. Jortner.

Yeah, yeah, look,

he tells me that you think
this is murder. Is that right?

I don't think it's murder.
I know it's murder.

Well, don't you see
where that puts me?

That crummy little thief Clemmons
was trying to implicate me

in the theft of city
funds. Okay, okay,

because when I got
me him into court,

I was gonna prove that I was not involved
that it was just him stealing the money.

Well now, if you scream murder,

it's going to
look like I did it,

I'm the one that has the motive.

Well I can't do
anything about that.

Oh, yes you can. You
can come back into town

- and prove it one
way or the other.
- Are you kidding?

Your coroner here won't
give me the time of day,

your sheriff keeps trying
to throw me out of town.

Oh, don't worry about a thing.

I am the Mayor, this is my town.

You are going to get all
the cooperation in the world.

Now then, you game?

Sure, I'm game.

I don't believe it. Oh, you
better believe it, Sheriff.

This man has got carte blanche.
Give him anything he wants.

And if he doesn't,
you just come find me.

Okay boys, get to
it. I gotta get to work.

I'm gonna bake a cake
you boys will not believe.

A five decker.

One deck for each one
of Myrtle Harris' divorces.

Crazy woman thinks
I'm gonna be the sixth.

Hi, Sheriff.

Thank you.

Oh, come on Sheriff.
Things could be a lot worse.

Yeah, how?

This door lead to the outside?
Yeah. Forget about that door.

It's always locked.
Who has the keys?

Me. My deputies.

The guy that caters the
food for the prisoners.

He's been closed for
the last couple of days.

It's like looking for a
needle in a haystack.

Find anything?
Just started looking.

Well, I just ran into the
Mayor. He made it pretty clear

I'm supposed to get
over here and help out.

Man, you really twisted
the cat's tail, didn't ya.

Just my charisma.

Could I have one of those cups?

What do ya see? Looks like a

cigarette butt.

It's burned but not too bad.

You know this could've set
fire to the blanket and then

and then rolled
off and under here.

But it didn't belong to
Clemmons. He wasn't a smoker.

Besides it would take
more than a cigarette

to start a fire this fast.
Something flammable was used.

Sheriff what are your
rules on cleaning this place?

The prisoners have to
clean the cell block every day.

Why?

This is why.

Toby's Roadside Restaurant.

That's the guy that
brings in the food.

You said they were closed
the past couple of days.

Oh, he was. We
had to send out for it.

But if they clean so thoroughly,
what is this doing here?

Maybe it was left from another
day? No... I don't think so.

I have 'em clean
this place clean.

Then this is a very
valuable piece of evidence.

Whoever smoked this
cigarette had blood type "0".

The guy who served the food, do
you know what his blood type is?

Well, that's Toby Michaels.
I've got his file right here.

Don't forget, I'm the
only doctor in town.

I've got everyone's files
here. That's why I asked you.

Let's see... Michaels...

Michaels.

Blood type "0". That's
it, then it matches.

Well that's hardly conclusive
evidence. Yeah, by itself, it isn't.

What about the match book
from the restaurant we found.

And this? This piece of
Clemmons' mattress was doused

with a commercial-strength
grease cutting product

that had kerosene
and pine oil in it.

Now if he uses a product like
that and we put all of this together,

kind of makes you think, doesn't
it? Yeah, it kinda makes me think

we oughtta go have a chat with
Mr. Michaels and see what he has to say.

We may need some help
in convincing him to talk.

We'll pick that up
on the way. All right.

I think you're all crazy,
that's what I think.

Coming here and accusing
me of something like this.

Not so crazy, Toby.

You're the only one who
had a key to that side door

besides me and my
deputies. So what if I do?

Maybe one of your
deputies killed him?

And left this?

One of my matchbooks. So what?

One of these matches
probably started the fire.

Found this in your
kitchen. Smell.

Pine oil and kerosene
helped the fire right along.

And for the finale, we
found one of your cigarettes

with your blood type on it.

I'm the only one with my blood
type that smokes this brand?

Probably not, Toby.

No one of these things
in itself is incriminating.

But as Dr. Quincy pointed out,

it's when they're taken all
together it looks really bad.

Hey, I was at the
sanitarium with my wife.

You know that. Right.

- That's why I had to close...
- But that's only
a two hour drive away.

Toby, there's nobody around
here that's gonna blame you.

The money that Clemmons
stole from the city hurt us all,

especially your wife.

But we can't let it seem
as if the Mayor is guilty.

Toby I'll do everything I
can to help you, ya hear?

Because I know what that lousy
little crook Clemmons tried to do to me.

It'll be easy on you. But you
have got to tell us the truth.

The truth, Toby. Did you do it?

Just tell us the truth.

Is it right my wife should
be in that place? Is it right?

Just because Charlie
Clemmons stole all our money.

No, Toby, it's not right.

C'mon, you and me
are gonna take a walk.

He's, he's not a bad kid, Doctor.
I've known him all of my life.

Well, I sure am glad I
caught up with you. Thank you.

I am indebted to you.
That's all right, sir.

Me, too and if, uh, you wanna
say I told ya so, I'm ready.

It's all over. That's
what's important.

Well, Quincy, what can I say.

Say goodbye. I want
to get to that convention.

Quincy...

Goodbye. Thank you.

If you ever want to go
into forensics call me

cause I'm not comin'
through here again.

Frankly, as a
Representative of Congress

I am always Interested in hearing
the problems that confront our people,

but I just don't know
what you're asking me for.

All you seem to be talking about
is the latest sort of equipment.

No, no, that's not what we're
talking about, Congressman,

that's only part of it.

They're also talking about
competency and funding,

and how these things
affect the job we're doing.

Doctor Asten here was telling me ah
how very well you do perform your job.

Well, he's too kind. But I'm
not talking about me specifically.

I'm talking about what happened just
yesterday not three hours from here.

Where a murderer
almost went undetected

because the doctor in charge
was not adequately trained

and didn't have the time
to do the job properly.

Now I'm sure that everybody
at this table has a similar story.

Right, Fred? You bet.

Last year I was
called in by a family

to perform an independent
autopsy on their father.

The first autopsy that
had been performed

said the man died of natural causes
but the family claimed he was murdered.

So we exhumed the
body, and sure enough,

after two weeks of
testing, I found digoxin,

which is a heart-regulating drug
that increases blood pressure.

The guy's business
partner had murdered him.

But the first
pathologist missed it

because the body was
embalmed before he ever saw it

and he simply didn't have
the funding or the time

to do the necessary testing to unmask
the digoxin from the embalming fluid.

Look, it's bad enough that
murderers are still walking the streets

because of all of this,

but I worked on a case
where a family was broke,

penniless from
paying medical bills

to a mental hospital
where their son died.

The coroner of the area,
who was unqualified,

ruled the death accidental,
resulting from a fall down some stairs.

But the boy's mother
eventually hired me,

and I discovered that he
had been beaten to death.

Okay, okay I'm beginning
to get the picture.

Congressman, now please be sure

we're not just talking
about malicious intent here,

though that does
exist to some degree.

We're talking primarily
about men and women who,

because of a situation they're in,
just can't do their job adequately.

Now isn't that right?

It seems that the
word ah "adequate"

could mean an awful big
difference in your line of work.

So okay if I go back
to Congress with this,

what can I tell them
needs to be done?

First, the centralization
of morgues. Right.

And the office of coroner
should be appointed, not elected.

And whoever is appointed

should be trained in investigation
and medically qualified.

The office of coroner shouldn't
go just to a smooth politician.

I hope you don't have anything
against politicians, Doctor Quincy.

No, not as long as they stay in
their area, and let me stay in mine.

Fair enough.

You know, I think I'd like
to talk with you doctors

a little more about this.
C'mon, why don't we move

to one of the seminar halls
where we'll have more room.

Fine. We'd like to.

You're doing
wonderfully, just wonderful.

And now, in Milner, it looks
like the murder/arson case

- isn't a case after all.
- C'mon, let's go.

- Shh, I want to hear this.
- What do you mean, "shh"?

As we reported yesterday, a
restaurant owner in that town

had confessed to the
murder of Charles Clemmons,

a prisoner in the Milner jail.

Well, it turns out that Toby
Michaels, the man who confessed,

didn't really do it after all.

It was revealed today that Mr. Michaels,
at the exact time of the fire,

was visiting a sanitarium
with fourteen witnesses.

He was set free this morning.
I was set up. They set me up.

Who set you up? I
dunno. Probably Evers.

Evers? What are you talking about?
Listen, the congressman's almost

I gotta make a call.

Quincy, he likes you. He
likes you. We need you.

Um... Congressman.

There's nothing goin'
on back here, Quincy.

Michaels had
an alibi, that's all.

What about the
evidence we found?

Well, that can be explained.
We got carried away.

So the stuff was there
from before, that's all.

Bull! What about the Sheriff

telling us he had those cells
cleaned every day by the prisoners.

They wouldn't have overlooked
stuff like that. Besides, he confessed.

Well, he says he
was threatened into it.

Baloney!

The important thing is he
does have an airtight alibi.

Don't you see what's goin' on?

If Michaels didn't do it, then
somebody placed those matches

and the cigarette
butt there to set me up.

Somebody who wanted me out of town
and wanted this investigation stopped.

Well, even if that's the case we
still don't have anything to go on.

Yes we do.

Look, maybe there's a way I
can prove to you this is a murder.

If he was stabbed

you'd expect to find some
internal bleeding, right?

Of course. But you'd
also find something similar

just from the body
damage done by the fire.

Right, but primarily
in the chest cavity

with maybe a little
seepage into the abdomen.

If he was stabbed like I say,

there should be a
pool of congealed blood

in one of the lowest
points of his body

the sacral hollow in the
pelvis. Please go back and look.

I'm tellin' you you'll find
somethin' that'll pay off.

All right, Quincy, you win.

I'll do it. But you
wanna know somethin'?

I hope it doesn't pay off.

Okay, I'll make a deal with ya.

If you don't find anything,
you don't have to call me back.

It's a deal.

My God, Quincy...
You were right...

It was murder...

How many times have I let
something like this go by...

Well, not anymore.

No more. I'm gonna take
this investigation all the way.

Dr. Quincy, please.

I'm sorry, he's not in right
now. May I take a message?

Would you please tell him
that Dr. Carl Jessup called.

The number's 888-5001.

Sure. Thank you.

Oh, Dr. Quincy. I have
a message for you.

Get him for me, will ya? Sure.

It's busy. Try again, will ya?

I have to come and see you. Why?

Because I know you're the
one who murdered Clemmons.

I'll be there in thirty minutes.

It's ringing. Thank you.

Now nobody's home.

Can I try later for you?

No thanks. I'll call him
first thing in the morning.

Good evening. Good night.

- Hello?
- Carl?

No, this is Sheriff
Evers. Who's this?

Dr. Quincy. Lemme talk
to Dr. Jessup, please.

I'm sorry, Doctor, I wish
I could, but he's dead.

What?

Automobile accident. Car
went over a cliff last night.

- I'm on my way.
- No, you don't have to...

I know he called me last night
because he found out who the killer was.

How do you know?
Because we had a deal.

He was going to investigate
something. If he didn't find anything,

he wasn't gonna
call me. But he did.

Well, if he knew who the murderer
was, why did he go off on his own?

Why didn't he call me? Maybe
he figured it was safer not to.

Now what the hell is
that supposed to mean?

You tell me. You never
wanted to pursue this case.

You wouldn't listen to
anything I had to say.

Jessup was the man who
performed the autopsy.

His was the only
opinion I cared to listen to.

Well, I think he changed his opinion
last night and got murdered for it.

You know what I think I think
you're just trying to cause trouble.

I think maybe I oughtta
run you out of town.

Well, take your best shot
because if I get to stay,

I'll find out who the killer is.

You really think I'm
involved in this, don't you.

I haven't ruled you out.

I was just going out and
watch them raise the car.

You wanna come
along, you're welcome.

I wouldn't miss it for
anything in the world.

Oh wow. What a mess.

There's no doubt
that he died on impact.

I went down there earlier
when we sent the body

to Carville to be examined.

Any sign that he was
run off the road? No.

Run off? What's
he talking about?

Well, he thinks Carl
knew the murderer

and that the killer arranged
to have this happen.

Do you mind if I go down there?

It's pretty dangerous
down there, Doctor.

A city boy like you, you
could get banged up a little.

I think I can handle it. I
use to be a Boy Scout.

I think we oughtta
let him go down.

Okay, take it up...

Nice and easy. That's it...

Doin' fine.

Hold it a minute,
will ya. Hold it.

I'm Doctor Quincy. The Sheriff
said it was all right to look.

You about finished, Doc? I
gotta get this thing outta here.

Yeah, okay. Okay, take it away.

Find somethin? Maybe.

Maybe this is the Cracker
Jack box with the big prize in it.

Watch it, Doc!

If these ashes are the
only thing I found in the car,

they must've told him something.

They must have told him
who the murderer was.

You know, I can't figure you,
Doctor. What's all this to you?

You wouldn't even
be involved here

if you'd left for Sacramento
a couple of hours earlier.

Well, I am involved.

I liked him. He was a nice kid.

Maybe I pushed him too
hard. Anyway, I feel responsible.

Hey, look, I don't particularly
care for you personally,

but I can tell you this.

You had nothing to
do with Carl's death.

However he died,
it was part of his job.

Not your job, his job.

Well, I'm gonna try to
finish this job for him.

Eh, it looks like
some tissue paper.

Some sputum.

I'll need to do some agglutination
tests and a nuclear stain.

What does that mean?

We found this outside
Clemmons' cell.

Those tests will tell us whether
it was a male or a female

and what blood type he
or she has. That's a start.

Okay, if you need me,
I'll be across In my office.

No Barr bodies.

So, you told me you're a male.

What else you tryin' to tell me?

I better use the high power.

Wow!

Look what else you told me.

Do you have Jessup's files? Yeah,
I impounded them when he died.

I'd like to look
at them, please.

Hey, wait a minute now.
Those files are in my custody

to protect the patients'
right to privacy.

I can't just let anybody
go digging through them.

I figured you'd say that.
That's why I brought the mayor.

Give him what he
wants. But it's illegal.

Well then you better
make it legal, fast.

Because this could
cost me my office

and it could cost yours, too.

Did you find
something? Yes, I did.

That ball of ashes I
found in Jessup's car,

there was a sputum sample in it.

I checked it out for sex
and I found something else.

Whoever left it in the jail
had pulmonary carcinoma.

What's that? Lung cancer.

- Can I look at his
files now, please.
- Yeah.

- And I'll help.
- Me, too.

- Pulmonary carcinoma?
- You find it?

No no, I'm just trying to
remember how to say it.

Wait a minute.

I've got it. Who?

Your coroner, Frost.

- Greg?
- Yeah.

Of course.

Of course, he didn't even have

- to go past me
that night, either.
- What do you mean?

Well, Greg's been on the
wagon for close to ten years.

That night was the
first time he fell off.

He didn't have to go past me
because he was already in jail.

We picked him up
earlier in the day, drunk.

I didn't bother to lock the cell. I
figured I'd just let him sleep it off.

It couldn't be easier.

Well, we still have to prove
it. I don't think this is enough.

Well, now we know who made
Toby give that phony confession.

If we can get him to tell
us everything he knows...

Yeah, yeah,

if you can get him to
corroborate what you're saying,

that would be
enough. Here, catch.

Brass knuckles. What am I
supposed to do with these?

You ever play good guy, bad guy?

Oh yeah.

And right now would I
like to play the bad guy.

Wait just a minute.

As Mayor, I didn't hear a
word you fellas were saying.

I better go down and keep
my friend Greg company.

And we'll let you know as
soon as we find anything out.

C'mon, Sheriff, are you
gonna keep ridin' me about this?

I told you I'm sorry. Sorry
won't do this time, Toby.

What's "this time"? What is it?

I'll tell you what it is we wanna
know who made you confess.

Who made me confess?

Hey, what's this
guy talkin' about?

You know what I'm talking
about and you're gonna tell me.

C'mon, all right, let
me handle this, will you.

That match cover and cigarette
were put there on purpose

- to make us think you did it.
- Hey, I got no idea...

And when Carl got killed,
you didn't expect that to happen

but it did and now
you are involved.

Look, I didn't know nothin'
about anybody dying.

- It happened just like I said.
- You're lying.

You're lying. Carl
Jessup was my friend

and I'm gonna see
that you get yours.

Knock it off, will
ya. Now back off.

He helped to kill Carl Jessup.

We don't know that yet.

Now go on, wait over there
will ya, let me talk to him.

- What is this guy crazy?
- Yeah, maybe he is.

You know, he really liked Carl.

Now, I can't believe you're dumb
enough to keep covering for somebody

who'd leave you
out on a limb like this.

That is one mad dude over there.

Well, I guess I'm gonna
have to take a little walk,

ya know what I mean?

Yeah, let you and the good
doctor thrash things out.

Hey, you're not gonna
turn that nut loose on me?

Oh, yeah, that's exactly
what I'm gonna do, Toby.

Okay, Doc, he's all yours.

Hey, what're ya
gonna do with those.

Hey, c'mon.

What are you crazy?

C'mon. Sheriff.
Sheriff. It was Frost.

I was away. I really was away.

Frost came to me out of the
blue. He said, he said he could fix it

so I'd get my money back
if I just went along with him.

It was Frost.

Well, Doctor Quincy.
What can I do for you?

Fill it up. I'm goin' to
Sacramento. You bet.

It's too bad you have to
go back empty-handed.

Oh, he's not going back
empty-handed. No, not at all.

And I owe him Greg,
because he cleared me.

Yep, Charlie Clemmons
was murdered all right

and Quincy here has
found out who did it.

You did. Who?

You.

Oh it was a good plan, get drunk and
disorderly so you could get arrested,

stab Clemmons and burn the
body trying to destroy the evidence.

Being the coroner you
knew how Jessup worked.

He never would have found you out. It
was my being here that upset your plan.

But you were leaving.

Mayor, you remember I
called you to bring Quincy back.

Now it would've been
senseless if I'd been the murderer.

No, I don't think it would be.

You knew how scared I was, Greg,

you knew that Quincy here
was gonna cause a stink.

Well, if you could get
me to drag him back

and get Toby to confess,

well, the whole thing
would be cleared up, huh?

Toby confessed again.

This time he told the truth.

Greg... Why?

I needed the money.

I wanted to put something
aside for my kids.

I never, never gave
them very much

'cause I was sick so much.

When Carl Jessup told me I
didn't have much time to live,

well I had to do
something for them, hmm?

What did I have to lose.

Charlie got what he deserved

but the charge against
you did not stick.

It was so perfect,

but

Doc Jessup,

I'm sorry about that.

I really liked him.

He is the most stubborn,
bull-headed man I've ever known.

Well, you're lucky you only had
to spend a coupla days with him.

I have to spend half my life.

Yeah, and he's no bargain
as a customer either.

He's always comin' in
here talkin' about fatty livers

and diseased
kidneys... And loud.

What is all this. We didn't
order it. On the house.

What are you running, a fever?

You guys are talkin' like I'm
the kitchen cat, like I'm not here.

- Sometimes I wish you weren't.
- I bet he keeps you
on your toes, huh?

You can say that again.

Telephone for you,
Sheriff Evers. For me?

- Not don't get fresh.
- Excuse me.

Hey Quince, he's
a real nice guy.

Oh yeah. My first impression
of him was so wrong.

- Did he help you
solve the case?
- Did he.

You guys ever play
good cop, bad cop?

Monahan and I
play that all the time.

Ah, you never gave a
performance like I did.

And him too. I mean, we had
to get a confession from this guy

so we played good cop
bad cop. I was the bad cop.

I was James Cagney, John
Wayne, Humphrey Bogart

all rolled up into
one. Now I walked in,

I threw the salt shakers
over, the napkins everything.

Now I'm tellin' ya
this guy was not a kid.

He was about six foot six.

I mean he was really a giant.

What is so funny? The
guy could've killed me.

He weighed about
260 pounds. He was...

What's the matter with you
guys. He was like the green Hulk...

Well, he was a fella.