Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 5, Episode 5 - Hot Ice - full transcript
While performing an autopsy on a man who was hit by a bus, Quincy and Sam find what looks like a pacemaker inside of him. However, when they remove the object they find out that it actually was a container for diamonds that he was smuggling into the country. Quincy is then "drafted" by a pair of government agents to act as a replacement courier to try to catch the mob boss who was to receive the gems. However, Quincy soon becomes a target of a hit man who poisons him and now its a race against time to find the hit man and get an antidote to save Quincy.
You'll be
undercover, like a spy.
You don't need me, you need
Elliot Ness. I'd only blow it.
I always liked doctors. They
know so much about the body.
- It's not a pacemaker.
- What else could it be?
Wow.
There's a little
hole drilled in it.
I bet that's where the
poison was carried.
That man died
because of the bus.
We didn't find anything else.
Maybe that's because
we didn't look for enough.
When I was in Vegas,
somebody stuck me in the thigh.
I want you to cut me there.
- Quincy...
- Cut me.
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work.
The world of forensic medicine.
Made it through Customs.
We're going with him. Let's go.
You've got it.
Have a good flight.
Flight 62 to Los Angeles
via London, now
loading at gate 5.
Last call, please.
- Want a warm up, Doc?
- Oh, thanks, John.
Here you go.
I don't make money on coffee.
It's lunch time, I have to
get back to work, greedy.
I hear you're planning on going to
Vegas to judge a "Miss Coroner" contest.
- That's right.
- You are so strange.
Don't say "Miss Coroner's"
contest like it's a can of worms!
This is a big event. It took us
three years to get this organized!
What do you guys do,
judge a bunch of stiffs?
Wait till I send you a
picture of the winner.
Before or after the autopsy?
I'm gonna do better than that.
I'm gonna parade her around here
and make you eat your heart out.
Oh, speaking of winners, here.
- What's this?
- Directions.
For what?
First wheel, 10 red, second
wheel, 19 black. What is this?
Directions to what?
The buried treasure?
Could be, it's a list of bets.
Guaranteed winners.
Guaranteed winners?
I didn't know you
were superstitious.
Superstitious? I don't
believe in superstition!
This is astrology.
Astrology. Save your money.
Do I tell you how
to do autopsies?
Don't tell the master
how to bet. Here's $500.
Just follow directions.
Do you hear that?
He thinks I'm strange because I'm
judging a "Miss Coroner's" contest,
and he's betting
$500 on astrology.
You see, 500...
- Am I bad or what?
- Good luck.
- You think he's made us?
- Could be.
Bet he's just playing it safe.
Let's stick with him.
He ain't going nowhere.
Four-hour layover
on a plane's a killer.
Twenty hours on an
airplane, he looks like I feel.
My heart bleeds for both of
you. You wanna get closer?
Let's see what he does.
Did you make that guy?
The clown with the cane?
- No.
- Hey, did you see it?
- There was nothing I could do.
- Hey, all right.
The other guy, did
you see the other guy?
Aw, man, I didn't ever
see this guy. I just felt him.
- You'll back me up, right?
- I'll back you up.
- Don't worry about it.
- You saw it.
- Right, right.
- The nut come out of nowhere.
Take it easy. Go back to
your bus and wait for the cops.
Yeah, sure.
Dead?
- Is he dead?
- As a doornail.
We've had it.
He's got the case. There's
no way we can bust Otero.
No.
No, I don't think so.
Twenty years in this business
tells me he came up empty.
Empty.
Ready, Quince? Last one.
Hit by a bus at the airport.
And they say planes
are dangerous.
Where are the X-rays?
They're being processed now.
Coroner case 13721,
Vito Ravello, Caucasian,
175 pounds, 5'10".
Subject shows severe
discoloration and edema
over the chest and
abdominal areas.
Multiple lacerations
over left side of body,
particularly shoulder
and hip regions.
Blue discoloration of
the nail beds, cyanotic.
They say anything
about the handcuffs?
The report doesn't explain it.
Isn't that terrific?
There's a wound on
his upper right chest.
I see it, Sam. I see it.
It's hardy a wound.
It's an incision.
Gotta be about a month old.
- Dr. Quincy.
- Yeah?
Here are the x-rays,
screwed up again.
Set it up for me, will you?
Pacemaker implant?
Yup.
I guess he had bad
circulation, after all.
Thanks, Mark.
- What's going on here?
- What?
Well, it looks like a pacemaker,
it's shaped like a pacemaker.
Only one thing, it's not a pacemaker.
Where's the lead, where's the wire?
What else could it be?
I don't know. But I'm
sure gonna find out.
- Get me a tray, will you, Sam?
- Sure.
Put it over there.
Wow.
Diamonds.
I've heard it
happening like this.
Yeah, on Ellery Queen.
Sam, these must
be worth a fortune!
Two fortunes.
Monahan will wanna
know about this.
- Bring them over
to Asten, will you?
- Yeah.
And don't lose any.
Who? Sticky Fingers Fujiyama?
I'll finish up here.
Oh, if I don't see you before you
leave, say hello to "Miss Coroner" for me.
And have a good time, Quince.
Quincy, there you
are. Glad I caught you.
A couple more minutes
and you wouldn't have.
I got a plane to
catch to Las Vegas.
- "Miss Coroner", here I come.
- Yeah, I know.
Monahan wants to talk to
you about the diamonds.
I don't want to talk to him.
He's coming down the hall with
two men from the government.
- Outta my way...
- Quincy,
it'll only take a minute.
- I knew it, I knew it.
- Hey, you look terrific!
Couple of guys here wanna talk.
Niven, Brice. Customs.
Quincy, Asten. Coroners.
Aw come on, Quincy, will
you? Listen, this is important!
- So is my trip to Vegas!
- Oh, yes it is, Doctor.
Very important, and
we wouldn't want you to
miss that flight for
anything in the world.
- Yeah?
- Oh, yeah.
We followed those diamonds
you found all the way from France.
They were heading for Las Vegas
and a man named Andre Otero.
- Ever heard of him?
- He's a jockey, right?
Otero is mob, and
those are mob diamonds.
Oh, that's all I need.
In addition to his activities
of dope and prostitution,
he's also the biggest fence
operating in the United States.
We've been after him a longtime. We've
been working on this case a long time.
We finally thought we had him.
The man lying on your
table was a courier,
and they were gonna
make a transfer for $2 million.
That's the fence
value of those rocks.
Now, when Otero takes
possession, than we can nail him.
For smuggling, tax evasion, the
works. Then we can deport him.
But, as you know,
the courier is dead.
Then you're out of
luck. Case is closed.
- Not quite.
- I didn't think so,
but I figured
I'd give it a shot.
We still think that we can
get the diamonds to Otero.
Now, we can arrange
for an item in the
paper that says that
the courier was killed,
that you did an autopsy,
but no diamonds were found.
Naturally, Mr. Otero will think
that you have the diamonds.
Then you take them with you when
you go to Las Vegas, and sell them to him.
You want me to sell them to him?
Sure. It's simple.
You'll be
undercover, like a spy.
Me?
Well, they ain't
talking about me.
Monahan said you
could handle this.
Oh, Monahan said.
You're some pal,
I wanna tell you...
Look, I'm a medical
examiner. I'm not a cop.
You act like a cop.
You know, sometimes I think the
department ought to give you a pension.
You're not gonna let
up, you have to bury me...
Don't think I don't know why.
Fellas, you don't need me, you
need Elliot Ness. I'd only blow it.
I see, that's final? You
wouldn't care to reconsider?
I can't. If I could
help, I would.
Fellas, there's a plane waiting
for Vegas... "Miss Coroner"...
I'll see you later.
That's okay,
Doctor, I understand.
You do?
Oh, yes, no hard feelings. But
you can't blame me for trying.
As a token of my appreciation,
I would like you to wear this.
I know it's silly, maybe it will give you
a little luck when you get to Las Vegas.
Wear it on the flight.
When you get back, we
can talk this over drinks.
Oh, thank you very
much. Are you Mr. Brice?
- Niven.
- Nivens.
That's Brice. Thank
you, too, Mr. Brice.
Thank you. They're very nice.
- Thank you for understanding.
- Have fun.
Well, I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I think
Dr. Quincy was right in this decision.
Perhaps he was. Dr. Asten, do
you have a phone that I could use?
Oh, certainly. Just follow me.
Brice.
- Hello. I'd like to
speak to Mr. Otero.
Otero?
I don't know nobody named Otero.
Well, you may not know him,
but I do. My name is Quincy.
Dr. Quincy. And I
have 20 diamonds
that I think Mr. Otero
would like to have.
Hey, how'd you get this number?
I found it when I was
doing the autopsy.
You see, your courier will
not be making it to Las Vegas.
He was stopped by a bus.
So if Mr. Otero is going to see his
stones, he'll have to deal with me.
Look, I told you buddy,
I don't know nobody named Otero.
That's fine. If the person you
don't know changes his mind,
I'll be on the evening
flight from LA.
I'll be wearing a
white carnation.
Dr. Quincy?
Yeah. Hey, you guys from
the "Miss Coroner's" contest?
As a matter of fact, we are.
Let us help you with your bags.
Oh, how nice of
you to meet me here.
- Pleasure.
- Hey, is this the car?
- Now, that is terrific.
- Just get in.
Didn't you hear him
say, get in there?
As a matter of fact, I did.
Hello, Dr. Quincy.
How do you know who I am?
I'm Otero, the guy you were
so hot to see when you called.
I didn't call you! I
didn't call anybody!
You want me to
lean on him a little bit?
No, he doesn't
want you to do that.
Come on, Doctor, we
both know you called.
How else could we
have recognized you
if you hadn't told us you'd
be wearing that carnation?
I don't believe this!
You don't believe what?
Look, I didn't call
you. I was set up.
By who?
Oh, what's the difference? I don't
have your diamonds, I never took them.
- You performed the autopsy?
- Yeah.
- You found the diamonds?
- Yeah.
- And you don't
have them on you?
- No!
Frisk him.
Oh, no.
Touchdown.
You see, Doctor, I told
you not to play games.
Now what was this
going to be? A little teaser
so you could try to hold
me up for a little extra loot?
- But I'm trying to
tell you, I was set up...
- No more buts, pal.
You've got our property,
and I want it back.
I'm gonna throw a little
bonus for you. $50,000, cash.
$50,000?
That's right! You be at pool
side tomorrow, the Riviera,
at 2:00. On the dot.
We'll make the trade.
Aw, I can't make it at 2:00.
See, I gotta judge the preliminaries
for the "Miss Coroner's" contest.
The what?
A "Miss Coroner's" contest?
What do you gonna do,
judge a bunch of stiffs?
- Look at this, who's
laughing at me... All right, okay.
All right, you judge the stiffs at
2:00. You be at the pool at 4:00,
or you'll be a stiff at 6:00.
Now get him out of here.
Nice meeting you.
Come on, let's go.
Bernie, you did very well.
Thank you, Mr. Otero.
Would you pass the cheese?
Surprise.
It's not my birthday.
But we thought we'd
have a party, anyway.
- Well, look who's here, Mr. Brice.
- Mr. Niven.
What did you do, take
the room next to mine?
No, we're guests in the
other part of your suite.
Suite, what suite? They
didn't give me a suite,
they gave me a room.
Wow.
- You mean this is all mine?
- Yup.
We changed it to a
suite. It looks better.
Someone who's about to make a
big score usually likes to live big.
Oh, look at that beautiful
Las Vegas, will you?
- Who is this supposed to be?
- This is Loxi Adams.
Las Vegas branch of the FBI.
And I'm going to be your
bodyguard for the next few days.
- You're my bodyguard...
- Yes.
And you two guys set me up pretty
good. Now, why did you do that?
- Did you tell
them we set you up?
- No.
Well, you see you're more of a natural
born policeman than you thought you were.
I never would have left
there alive if I told them.
Well, first things first. When
and where is the meeting?
How did you know about that?
They wanna meet me at
4:00 tomorrow at the pool.
And they want me
to have the diamonds.
We'll get them to you
before the meeting.
And don't worry, we'll have
the entire area staked out.
Thank you, Doctor.
You're a very good man.
Never mind that.
You don't have to leave.
Oh Doctor, you're gonna be seeing
quite enough of me in the next few days.
Not more than I'd care to.
Listen, we're in Vegas,
the night is young.
Yes.
But you're not.
See you tomorrow.
Well, I guess I better get these
weary old bones into a shower
and get some sleep.
And these little ladies are
listening for your heartbeat
to see who will be Miss Coroner.
Good morning,
everybody, I'm Dr. Quincy.
Sure hope I didn't
miss anything.
Good morning to you, Doctor.
You haven't missed a thing.
The MC is just beginning
to start the rehearsal.
Wow! Sexy costumes, huh?
I mean, very appropriate costumes. I
mean, a stethoscope and a smock...
Yes, lovely.
And now, ladies and gentlemen,
an amazing demonstration
of balance and coordination.
From Pocatello, Idaho,
Miss Cherry Chadwick!
You dropped your rope.
Oh, thank you.
This isn't just rope,
this is macrame.
It's part of my act.
- You must be a new judge.
- Yeah, I am Dr. Quincy.
- A Doctor.
- Yeah.
I always liked Doctors. They
know so much about the body.
Well, I hope you like my act.
I've been working on it real hard.
Oh, I'm sure I will.
You look very talented.
Oh, thank you.
Well, I've gotta be
going now, but I'm sure
we'll be seeing a lot
of each other later.
Well, so long.
Doctor!
You don't miss a trick, do you?
♪ Bye-bye blackbird ♪
Now, on her tippy, tippy
toes, with her tippy, tippy taps,
from Omaha, Nebraska,
Miss Joanie Powell.
Time to go, Doctor. Niven and Brice
want to see you before the meeting.
- All ready?
- Yes, we've gotta go.
- We don't have much time.
- But the girl from Omaha.
She's gonna dance with a rope.
- Where are you going?
- Have to leave.
But the competition is just
beginning. You can't leave now!
You don't know how
much I wish I couldn't.
Listen, that crack you made
last night about my age,
that was just to
put me off, right?
Wrong.
I get the feeling we're
not gonna hit it off.
We're not supposed
to hit it off, Dr. Quincy.
Don't think of me as your date,
think of me as Joe Wambaugh.
Joe Wambaugh should be so tough.
I gotta see if Long
John Silver's map works.
Closest roulette
table to the door.
- What are you talking about?
- A treasure map.
- $50 on red to win.
- All bets down.
Sixteen, red.
At least, there's one
winner around here.
Luck. Just luck. Let's go.
Killjoy.
Here are the diamonds.
All 20 of them.
Guard them with your life.
I don't have enough
responsibilities.
We've got the whole pool area
staked out with ten operatives,
so we're really covered.
Your safety is what
we're most concerned with.
What do I have to do?
First, take the diamonds.
As soon as the trade is made,
give the signal.
What signal?
When the trade is
made, take this out
and wipe your face.
That will be our
signal to come in.
Like this...
Don't pull it out until Otero has
the diamonds in his possession.
Not a moment before.
Take this out and wipe my face,
but not before Otero has all
the diamonds in his possession.
Well, that takes care of
everything. Are you all set?
Do I look all set?
That's not important. Let's go.
Ah!
- Oh, I'm terribly sorry. It was my fault.
- That's all right.
Oh, hi, Dr. Quincy!
- Oh, you're limping! Are you okay?
- Oh, I'm all right.
Some guy hit me with a cane.
I could rub it for you
if you want me to.
- You could?
- Sure.
Okay, let's sit down over there.
Oh, did you like my act? I
didn't see you when I finished.
I had to go away, but I
heard you were terrific.
I gave you a very high mark.
Oh, thank you. Here.
It's over here.
Later.
I thought he liked me.
Good afternoon, Dr. Quincy.
You ready to trade?
More ready than
you'll ever know.
Who's he with? That's not Otero.
Bernie something.
Evans!
He works for Otero.
One of the other guys
is Lew Malloy, two-bitter.
That's terrific, wonderful,
marvelous. It won't do us any good.
We'll have to go down and stop
him before he makes the trade.
Whoa, whoa! Hold on. We
could get Quincy into trouble.
He is in trouble.
Okay, now you've gotta let me see the
money before I show you the diamonds.
The money's in the brief
case. You show me the rocks.
You show me the money,
I show you the rocks.
Okay, there's the money.
And there's the rocks.
All right! All right!
All of you out! Out!
Well, if it ain't Lewis
Malloy, big time hood.
- What do you guys want?
- We're the heat.
Your friend here's been
knocking over liquor stores.
Me? I didn't do nothing.
- I didn't give you the signal.
- Put it away, put it away.
All right, both of you out! Out!
I didn't give the signal, Brice.
Niven.
You're as bad as they are!
I didn't give any signal.
Suddenly, World
War II breaks out.
I could've been
killed out there.
You said you talked
to Otero. This is Otero.
He said he was Otero.
I thought he was Otero.
Well, he wasn't.
We could bust a flunky anytime.
Oh, what happened to all that
talk about your "Safety comes first"?
I'll tell you what happened,
it went out the window!
- And that's
exactly where I'm going.
- What does that mean?
What am I doing,
Lady, talking Chinese?
I'm pulling out. You can have your
suite. I'm going back to the room.
Another room won't help.
What are you gonna do, shoot me?
I won't.
See, even if we bust those guys,
Otero's the one we lose.
You know, I'm getting
sick and tired of Otero.
Not only do we lose him,
but he is tipped off
that he has been set up.
And he will think
that you did it.
You wouldn't like that at all. Your
life wouldn't be worth a poker chip.
Oh, how nice. You guys
stuck me in the middle.
But we can still nail him. All you
have to do is take the offensive.
You see, you let
them come to you.
And then tell them you
think that they set you up.
That they're bumblers, and you will
deal with Otero directly from now on only.
See, there. You see
how lucky you are.
The fiasco at the
pool can work for you.
I'm gonna rush right down to the
roulette table. My luck amazes me!
Just have the next meeting right here
in your room. We'll be right next door.
We have it miked.
You see, it'll be easy.
Easy?
Easy! This guy sets me up
as a patsy with a carnation,
three hoods bounce me
around like a rubber ball.
Those guys almost killed me
down at the pool, and you say easy?
And on top of everything
else, I feel rotten.
Just nerves.
It'll all be over, soon.
That's what I'm afraid of.
And now, ladies and gentlemen,
the preliminary event for
the bathing suit competition.
Here they come.
Mr. Otero wants to see you.
Well, no. I gotta watch
these rehearsals first.
Mr. Otero...
In a little while. This is the
first time in their bathing suits.
I gotta see this.
Hey, he wants to see you.
Yeah, but...
The bathing suits...
- Listen, we have to talk.
- We? You set me up!
Set you up?
I worked my whole
life to become a doctor.
I could've been arrested!
I could've lost my license!
I thought at least you guys
would've acted professionally.
So what were the cops
doing in there, anyway?
They were following your boy.
That's what they were doing there.
Hey, look, that was a mistake.
That could've happened to anyone.
Yeah. Well, it didn't happen to anyone.
It happened to me, and I don't like it!
Next time, I talk only to Otero.
What are you talking
about? I'm Otero.
And I'm Pinocchio. You think
I just got off the banana boat?
This morning, I went down to the
police station to see what he looked like.
He should be so cute.
So okay? So what?
So, if he still wants a
deal with the diamonds,
he's gotta do it personally.
And I'm telling you, the price has
gone up to $200,000 because of inflation.
In small bills.
- You're kidding?
- Try me.
We'll meet in my room in
two hours, where it's safe.
And if Otero doesn't show up,
I'm gonna look for a new market.
Now I've gotta judge a
beauty contest. Do you mind?
♪ And Miss Coroner
♪ You're the girl
that will bury me
♪ In good old USA ♪
You handled that very nicely.
I told you it would go easy.
It better continue to be easy.
It will. You're jacket's been
miked, and the room is bugged.
There won't be any problems.
And we'll be right in the next
room. Do you have the diamonds?
No, I hocked them.
Wonderful sense of humor.
I wish I could turn the thermo stat
down in this room. I'm burning up.
It's just nerves.
Otero. They're
coming down the hall!
This is it.
We'll come in just as
soon as you give the signal.
- Remember.
- I'll remember. I hope you do.
Yes, sir.
I'm Mr. Otero.
I know.
Oh, yes, a very bad picture.
You're a hard man to
do business with, Doctor.
You mean, I'm a
hard man to cheat.
Well, Bernie told me
about the trouble you had.
I can understand how you feel.
I mean, Bernie's
choice of an accomplice
was very unfortunate.
"Unprofessional" was the
word that you used, I believe.
- That's the very word I used.
- You have the jewels, Doctor?
You have the money?
I have the jewels.
Count these, Bernie.
Give me back the money, Doctor.
What are you talking about?
About taking back your money.
Come now, Doctor
Quincy. I'm a professional.
I couldn't very well let
you get away with this
and still retain my standing in the
professional community, could I?
I mean, what would
people say if they found out
that I let myself be
held up by an amateur?
Do you see those diamonds?
They're mine.
The money is
mine. It's all mine.
And now, I'm afraid
I'm gonna have you hurt.
Did you say you're
gonna have me hurt?
I'm gonna have
them hurt you, Doctor.
When you're finished, you
come back to the apartment.
It's been a pleasure
doing business with you.
He didn't mean you guys
were gonna hurt me, did he?
That's right, Doc.
Looks like you lose your
medical license after all.
It mustn't be working.
All right, hold it! Hold it!
Ah, Mr. Otero, nice to see you.
Uh, what is this?
Just a little matter of diamonds.
Mr. Brice, take them away.
Thank you.
And thank you.
Are you okay?
Where were you, I
could've been killed?
Oh, that's that old
War surplus stuff.
It's over now, right?
Yes, it's over. It's finished. We
couldn't have done it without you.
Hey, you're trembling. Relax.
I'll be all right. It'll pass.
I can't believe that I'm free,
that I can go down to the
pageant and have a good time.
- Hi.
- Hello.
Where are all the judges going?
Are you all right?
Yeah. Where are they going?
Well, you're just in
time. We're finished.
Finished?
Dr. Quincy.
Oh, Joanie. Listen, I wanna...
What's going on? Where am I?
You're in a Las
Vegas hospital, Quince.
You passed out
about three hours ago.
Oh, yeah, passed out.
It must have been sun
stroke or something.
What are you doing here?
Get me a drink,
I'm really thirsty.
We had no knowledge
of your medical history,
so I called the Coroner's
Office back in LA.
Asten figured I knew
you as well as anyone.
Besides, you had
me sort of concerned.
Don't have to be concerned anymore,
'cause we're getting outta here.
Oh, boy...
Whoa, partner. You stay right
here for just a little bit longer.
That's what you think. I've
got a beauty contest to judge!
You should see Miss South
Philadelphia. She's got...
You better do as he says,
Quince. Doctor's orders.
Yeah, and the doctor
always knows best, right?
Look who came
to visit, Mr. Brice.
Mr. Niven.
Again with Mr. Niven. Listen, I
don't need all that with who's on first...
That's funny.
I just remembered the last time I
saw someone look like you do now.
As dehydrated and the
same color as the courier.
The man who was hit by the bus.
He got off the international flight,
he was leaning against the walls,
he was woozy. We
thought it was jet lag
because the flight
was twenty hours long.
I don't think you could've
caught anything, Quince.
I was exposed,
too. I'm all right.
Oh, but Sam, remember I told you I
thought that he had bad circulation?
Sure. His finger tips were blue.
He was cyanotic.
I thought it was the pacemaker,
but when I went inside...
I found he didn't
have bad circulation.
Feel them.
- They're cold.
- That's right.
And slightly blue.
Did you run a tox
screen on the courier?
Quince, I never
had a chance to do it.
We'd better run those tests.
But Quince, that man
died because of the bus.
We didn't find anything else.
Maybe that's because
we didn't look far enough.
Now, we gotta get back to LA.
Oh, boy!
Can you make it?
I gotta make it.
How're you doing, Quince?
Wow. To tell you the
truth, Sam, I have felt better.
- What did you find?
- Not a thing.
The tox screen came
back squeaky clean.
I couldn't detect any
poisons in his body.
Oh, that's terrific! It must
have been something I ate.
I don't think so.
- I think I found something.
- What?
Well, I ran a test on the
vitreous fluid from the eyes,
and it didn't show what we had known,
that he had been dead for four hours.
If it had, the potassium
level would have increased to
six mille equivalence per liter.
But it decreased to one-third of
what it would have been if
he would have been alive.
But that's impossible.
There were witnesses who
saw him get hit by the bus.
Then there's only one answer.
A poison that pushed
the potassium down.
A poison that we can't identify.
So if the bus hadn't killed
him, the poison would have.
But how? How.
How did the poison get
into me and the courier?
Did we eat it?
Drink it? Breathe it?
It can be injected or
absorbed through the skin.
That's right, Sam!
So if it happened like that,
maybe we can find the point
where it entered the courier.
Right. We could find
the poison and isolate it.
- Find the poison.
- And identify it.
Listen, get the body out.
We'll go over it again.
This time, very carefully,
from head to toe.
Right. Sam.
There it is.
Midway down the
anterior portion of the thigh.
No wonder we
didn't see it before.
Injuries from the accident
made it almost invisible.
Yeah, I'm gonna
take a section of this.
I got it, Sam.
Quincy, let me do it.
Why don't you relax, okay?
Be careful.
If there's any poison residue
left, I don't want to lose it
I'll be careful.
- What's this?
- What's the matter?
There's something in here.
Sam, hand me the
forceps and a Petri dish.
Looks almost like
a grain of sand.
No.
It's too round to
be a piece of sand.
I wanna see this enlarged
on the video monitor.
It's a little metal ball.
There's a little
hole drilled in it.
I bet that's where the
poison was carried.
Sam, put that thing
through the wash right away!
See if there's
something remaining.
Right.
A tiny ball big as
the head of a pin.
Of course!
Of course. Don't you remember?
The two Bulgarian defectors
who lived in England.
Somebody stuck them
with a cane or an umbrella,
and one of them died.
Quincy, I think you
should take it easy.
It all fits.
The pellet. The
traceless poison.
While I was in Las
Vegas with Otero,
somebody stuck me in the thigh.
I want you to cut me there.
Quincy...
Cut me.
I'll get you a local anesthetic.
Quincy...
Quincy...
We ran the wash on
the two metal balls,
the one from the courier, and
the one we took from your leg.
They're clean, Quince.
No trace of anything.
Call Monahan.
Tell them to track down Niven.
He said they had some film of
the courier getting on the plane.
Maybe they'll show us something.
Right. Right away.
This is over in Marseille?
Right. If anything, it's
here, in the crowds.
Nivens.
You finally got it right.
What is it, Quincy?
I think I saw him.
- The man with the cane?
- Yeah.
Hey, crank it back.
Stop. Go forward.
Hold it. Freeze frame.
That him, Quincy?
I think so. Closer.
That's it!
We've gotta find him.
We're not gonna find anyone.
The ambulance is waiting outside.
You're going to the hospital.
We'll find him. I promise
you, I promise you.
So?
So, I send this to Washington, and maybe
our central computers can get us an ID.
Then I go to Las Vegas
and start questioning people.
Questioning people?
Questioning Who?
Dr. Asten, how long
does Quincy have?
You know, it's hard to say.
We don't know what
poison we're dealing with.
His cardiac arrhythmia
is getting worse.
From the condition of the
courier, I'd say ten hours.
We haven't any
time for all that!
I don't know what the
hell else we can do!
That's because you think big.
I know what to do
because I think small.
Now, everybody in this
room owes me something.
And you all know,
that if I want to, I want to
spend a little time and dig,
I can put you all away.
Now, that's the way it is,
whether you like it or not.
Now, you're all being
given pencil and paper.
In a couple of minutes, I'm gonna
show you a picture of somebody.
I want each and every one of
you to tell me who you think he is
and where hang out. Everything.
Now, it's all gonna be done secret
so you don't know who squealed.
And if you people don't
tell me what I wanna know,
I promise you,
each and every one of you
will be doing time within a month.
Okay Brill, put up the picture.
Now, study it very carefully
and tell me who he is.
Well that's it.
We've got four who
wrote Santa Claus,
two I don't knows, another
five miscellaneous names.
And the rest all identify
him as Eddie Parker.
Terrific.
Eddie Parker lives in LA.
He's a health food
freak, and he travels a lot.
Any indication
where to find him?
Yeah, there was something here.
Yeah, here it is.
When in LA, spends most of
his time at Rutgers Health Spa.
That's over in Santa
Monica. I know where it is!
Oh, yeah. A couple of these
mention a bar and health food stare.
Listen, Niven
and I'll take these.
You and Asten
take the health spa.
- Mr. Parker?
- Yes?
You're under arrest.
What for?
For murder and attempted murder.
What was that poison you
used? We need to know.
Wait a minute.
If you guys don't back off,
I'm afraid I'm gonna have
to call the management.
Watch it! Watch it!
You tell me the poison you
used or I'll break your neck.
It's digitalis.
So what did you use
to lower the potassium?
All right. It was
ethacrynic acid.
That's it!
Now don't move!
I have to call the hospital.
They have to give Quincy a
potassium IV, monitor his electrolytes.
And with that digitalis, they
have to be ready for heart failure.
I didn't know you could do that.
I was an airborne
ranger. A long time ago.
I know I'm not dead.
'Cause I know they'd
never let you guys in heaven.
Oh, you're so sure
you'll be there?
Watch your step.
What're you guys doing?
Quincy, you were in
the hospital for a week.
You worked so hard
you missed all the fun.
I wanna make it up to you.
In Danny's?
That's as far away from
Vegas fun as you can get.
Oh, yeah?
Happy homecoming!
Oh, you guys went
to all this trouble?
Hey, I won some money for you.
You would have won
more money for me
if you weren't playing
Inspector Clouseau.
I know. Oh, this is terrific!
There's only one thing missing.
I don't believe it.
Joanie, it is you!
Oh, am I glad to see you.
Didn't you tell me you won?
Miss Coroner.
I knew it.
Listen, after the party,
I'd like you to see my boat.
Oh, I'd love to.
And so would I.
What are you doing here?
I'm chaperoning the winner.
undercover, like a spy.
You don't need me, you need
Elliot Ness. I'd only blow it.
I always liked doctors. They
know so much about the body.
- It's not a pacemaker.
- What else could it be?
Wow.
There's a little
hole drilled in it.
I bet that's where the
poison was carried.
That man died
because of the bus.
We didn't find anything else.
Maybe that's because
we didn't look for enough.
When I was in Vegas,
somebody stuck me in the thigh.
I want you to cut me there.
- Quincy...
- Cut me.
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work.
The world of forensic medicine.
Made it through Customs.
We're going with him. Let's go.
You've got it.
Have a good flight.
Flight 62 to Los Angeles
via London, now
loading at gate 5.
Last call, please.
- Want a warm up, Doc?
- Oh, thanks, John.
Here you go.
I don't make money on coffee.
It's lunch time, I have to
get back to work, greedy.
I hear you're planning on going to
Vegas to judge a "Miss Coroner" contest.
- That's right.
- You are so strange.
Don't say "Miss Coroner's"
contest like it's a can of worms!
This is a big event. It took us
three years to get this organized!
What do you guys do,
judge a bunch of stiffs?
Wait till I send you a
picture of the winner.
Before or after the autopsy?
I'm gonna do better than that.
I'm gonna parade her around here
and make you eat your heart out.
Oh, speaking of winners, here.
- What's this?
- Directions.
For what?
First wheel, 10 red, second
wheel, 19 black. What is this?
Directions to what?
The buried treasure?
Could be, it's a list of bets.
Guaranteed winners.
Guaranteed winners?
I didn't know you
were superstitious.
Superstitious? I don't
believe in superstition!
This is astrology.
Astrology. Save your money.
Do I tell you how
to do autopsies?
Don't tell the master
how to bet. Here's $500.
Just follow directions.
Do you hear that?
He thinks I'm strange because I'm
judging a "Miss Coroner's" contest,
and he's betting
$500 on astrology.
You see, 500...
- Am I bad or what?
- Good luck.
- You think he's made us?
- Could be.
Bet he's just playing it safe.
Let's stick with him.
He ain't going nowhere.
Four-hour layover
on a plane's a killer.
Twenty hours on an
airplane, he looks like I feel.
My heart bleeds for both of
you. You wanna get closer?
Let's see what he does.
Did you make that guy?
The clown with the cane?
- No.
- Hey, did you see it?
- There was nothing I could do.
- Hey, all right.
The other guy, did
you see the other guy?
Aw, man, I didn't ever
see this guy. I just felt him.
- You'll back me up, right?
- I'll back you up.
- Don't worry about it.
- You saw it.
- Right, right.
- The nut come out of nowhere.
Take it easy. Go back to
your bus and wait for the cops.
Yeah, sure.
Dead?
- Is he dead?
- As a doornail.
We've had it.
He's got the case. There's
no way we can bust Otero.
No.
No, I don't think so.
Twenty years in this business
tells me he came up empty.
Empty.
Ready, Quince? Last one.
Hit by a bus at the airport.
And they say planes
are dangerous.
Where are the X-rays?
They're being processed now.
Coroner case 13721,
Vito Ravello, Caucasian,
175 pounds, 5'10".
Subject shows severe
discoloration and edema
over the chest and
abdominal areas.
Multiple lacerations
over left side of body,
particularly shoulder
and hip regions.
Blue discoloration of
the nail beds, cyanotic.
They say anything
about the handcuffs?
The report doesn't explain it.
Isn't that terrific?
There's a wound on
his upper right chest.
I see it, Sam. I see it.
It's hardy a wound.
It's an incision.
Gotta be about a month old.
- Dr. Quincy.
- Yeah?
Here are the x-rays,
screwed up again.
Set it up for me, will you?
Pacemaker implant?
Yup.
I guess he had bad
circulation, after all.
Thanks, Mark.
- What's going on here?
- What?
Well, it looks like a pacemaker,
it's shaped like a pacemaker.
Only one thing, it's not a pacemaker.
Where's the lead, where's the wire?
What else could it be?
I don't know. But I'm
sure gonna find out.
- Get me a tray, will you, Sam?
- Sure.
Put it over there.
Wow.
Diamonds.
I've heard it
happening like this.
Yeah, on Ellery Queen.
Sam, these must
be worth a fortune!
Two fortunes.
Monahan will wanna
know about this.
- Bring them over
to Asten, will you?
- Yeah.
And don't lose any.
Who? Sticky Fingers Fujiyama?
I'll finish up here.
Oh, if I don't see you before you
leave, say hello to "Miss Coroner" for me.
And have a good time, Quince.
Quincy, there you
are. Glad I caught you.
A couple more minutes
and you wouldn't have.
I got a plane to
catch to Las Vegas.
- "Miss Coroner", here I come.
- Yeah, I know.
Monahan wants to talk to
you about the diamonds.
I don't want to talk to him.
He's coming down the hall with
two men from the government.
- Outta my way...
- Quincy,
it'll only take a minute.
- I knew it, I knew it.
- Hey, you look terrific!
Couple of guys here wanna talk.
Niven, Brice. Customs.
Quincy, Asten. Coroners.
Aw come on, Quincy, will
you? Listen, this is important!
- So is my trip to Vegas!
- Oh, yes it is, Doctor.
Very important, and
we wouldn't want you to
miss that flight for
anything in the world.
- Yeah?
- Oh, yeah.
We followed those diamonds
you found all the way from France.
They were heading for Las Vegas
and a man named Andre Otero.
- Ever heard of him?
- He's a jockey, right?
Otero is mob, and
those are mob diamonds.
Oh, that's all I need.
In addition to his activities
of dope and prostitution,
he's also the biggest fence
operating in the United States.
We've been after him a longtime. We've
been working on this case a long time.
We finally thought we had him.
The man lying on your
table was a courier,
and they were gonna
make a transfer for $2 million.
That's the fence
value of those rocks.
Now, when Otero takes
possession, than we can nail him.
For smuggling, tax evasion, the
works. Then we can deport him.
But, as you know,
the courier is dead.
Then you're out of
luck. Case is closed.
- Not quite.
- I didn't think so,
but I figured
I'd give it a shot.
We still think that we can
get the diamonds to Otero.
Now, we can arrange
for an item in the
paper that says that
the courier was killed,
that you did an autopsy,
but no diamonds were found.
Naturally, Mr. Otero will think
that you have the diamonds.
Then you take them with you when
you go to Las Vegas, and sell them to him.
You want me to sell them to him?
Sure. It's simple.
You'll be
undercover, like a spy.
Me?
Well, they ain't
talking about me.
Monahan said you
could handle this.
Oh, Monahan said.
You're some pal,
I wanna tell you...
Look, I'm a medical
examiner. I'm not a cop.
You act like a cop.
You know, sometimes I think the
department ought to give you a pension.
You're not gonna let
up, you have to bury me...
Don't think I don't know why.
Fellas, you don't need me, you
need Elliot Ness. I'd only blow it.
I see, that's final? You
wouldn't care to reconsider?
I can't. If I could
help, I would.
Fellas, there's a plane waiting
for Vegas... "Miss Coroner"...
I'll see you later.
That's okay,
Doctor, I understand.
You do?
Oh, yes, no hard feelings. But
you can't blame me for trying.
As a token of my appreciation,
I would like you to wear this.
I know it's silly, maybe it will give you
a little luck when you get to Las Vegas.
Wear it on the flight.
When you get back, we
can talk this over drinks.
Oh, thank you very
much. Are you Mr. Brice?
- Niven.
- Nivens.
That's Brice. Thank
you, too, Mr. Brice.
Thank you. They're very nice.
- Thank you for understanding.
- Have fun.
Well, I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I think
Dr. Quincy was right in this decision.
Perhaps he was. Dr. Asten, do
you have a phone that I could use?
Oh, certainly. Just follow me.
Brice.
- Hello. I'd like to
speak to Mr. Otero.
Otero?
I don't know nobody named Otero.
Well, you may not know him,
but I do. My name is Quincy.
Dr. Quincy. And I
have 20 diamonds
that I think Mr. Otero
would like to have.
Hey, how'd you get this number?
I found it when I was
doing the autopsy.
You see, your courier will
not be making it to Las Vegas.
He was stopped by a bus.
So if Mr. Otero is going to see his
stones, he'll have to deal with me.
Look, I told you buddy,
I don't know nobody named Otero.
That's fine. If the person you
don't know changes his mind,
I'll be on the evening
flight from LA.
I'll be wearing a
white carnation.
Dr. Quincy?
Yeah. Hey, you guys from
the "Miss Coroner's" contest?
As a matter of fact, we are.
Let us help you with your bags.
Oh, how nice of
you to meet me here.
- Pleasure.
- Hey, is this the car?
- Now, that is terrific.
- Just get in.
Didn't you hear him
say, get in there?
As a matter of fact, I did.
Hello, Dr. Quincy.
How do you know who I am?
I'm Otero, the guy you were
so hot to see when you called.
I didn't call you! I
didn't call anybody!
You want me to
lean on him a little bit?
No, he doesn't
want you to do that.
Come on, Doctor, we
both know you called.
How else could we
have recognized you
if you hadn't told us you'd
be wearing that carnation?
I don't believe this!
You don't believe what?
Look, I didn't call
you. I was set up.
By who?
Oh, what's the difference? I don't
have your diamonds, I never took them.
- You performed the autopsy?
- Yeah.
- You found the diamonds?
- Yeah.
- And you don't
have them on you?
- No!
Frisk him.
Oh, no.
Touchdown.
You see, Doctor, I told
you not to play games.
Now what was this
going to be? A little teaser
so you could try to hold
me up for a little extra loot?
- But I'm trying to
tell you, I was set up...
- No more buts, pal.
You've got our property,
and I want it back.
I'm gonna throw a little
bonus for you. $50,000, cash.
$50,000?
That's right! You be at pool
side tomorrow, the Riviera,
at 2:00. On the dot.
We'll make the trade.
Aw, I can't make it at 2:00.
See, I gotta judge the preliminaries
for the "Miss Coroner's" contest.
The what?
A "Miss Coroner's" contest?
What do you gonna do,
judge a bunch of stiffs?
- Look at this, who's
laughing at me... All right, okay.
All right, you judge the stiffs at
2:00. You be at the pool at 4:00,
or you'll be a stiff at 6:00.
Now get him out of here.
Nice meeting you.
Come on, let's go.
Bernie, you did very well.
Thank you, Mr. Otero.
Would you pass the cheese?
Surprise.
It's not my birthday.
But we thought we'd
have a party, anyway.
- Well, look who's here, Mr. Brice.
- Mr. Niven.
What did you do, take
the room next to mine?
No, we're guests in the
other part of your suite.
Suite, what suite? They
didn't give me a suite,
they gave me a room.
Wow.
- You mean this is all mine?
- Yup.
We changed it to a
suite. It looks better.
Someone who's about to make a
big score usually likes to live big.
Oh, look at that beautiful
Las Vegas, will you?
- Who is this supposed to be?
- This is Loxi Adams.
Las Vegas branch of the FBI.
And I'm going to be your
bodyguard for the next few days.
- You're my bodyguard...
- Yes.
And you two guys set me up pretty
good. Now, why did you do that?
- Did you tell
them we set you up?
- No.
Well, you see you're more of a natural
born policeman than you thought you were.
I never would have left
there alive if I told them.
Well, first things first. When
and where is the meeting?
How did you know about that?
They wanna meet me at
4:00 tomorrow at the pool.
And they want me
to have the diamonds.
We'll get them to you
before the meeting.
And don't worry, we'll have
the entire area staked out.
Thank you, Doctor.
You're a very good man.
Never mind that.
You don't have to leave.
Oh Doctor, you're gonna be seeing
quite enough of me in the next few days.
Not more than I'd care to.
Listen, we're in Vegas,
the night is young.
Yes.
But you're not.
See you tomorrow.
Well, I guess I better get these
weary old bones into a shower
and get some sleep.
And these little ladies are
listening for your heartbeat
to see who will be Miss Coroner.
Good morning,
everybody, I'm Dr. Quincy.
Sure hope I didn't
miss anything.
Good morning to you, Doctor.
You haven't missed a thing.
The MC is just beginning
to start the rehearsal.
Wow! Sexy costumes, huh?
I mean, very appropriate costumes. I
mean, a stethoscope and a smock...
Yes, lovely.
And now, ladies and gentlemen,
an amazing demonstration
of balance and coordination.
From Pocatello, Idaho,
Miss Cherry Chadwick!
You dropped your rope.
Oh, thank you.
This isn't just rope,
this is macrame.
It's part of my act.
- You must be a new judge.
- Yeah, I am Dr. Quincy.
- A Doctor.
- Yeah.
I always liked Doctors. They
know so much about the body.
Well, I hope you like my act.
I've been working on it real hard.
Oh, I'm sure I will.
You look very talented.
Oh, thank you.
Well, I've gotta be
going now, but I'm sure
we'll be seeing a lot
of each other later.
Well, so long.
Doctor!
You don't miss a trick, do you?
♪ Bye-bye blackbird ♪
Now, on her tippy, tippy
toes, with her tippy, tippy taps,
from Omaha, Nebraska,
Miss Joanie Powell.
Time to go, Doctor. Niven and Brice
want to see you before the meeting.
- All ready?
- Yes, we've gotta go.
- We don't have much time.
- But the girl from Omaha.
She's gonna dance with a rope.
- Where are you going?
- Have to leave.
But the competition is just
beginning. You can't leave now!
You don't know how
much I wish I couldn't.
Listen, that crack you made
last night about my age,
that was just to
put me off, right?
Wrong.
I get the feeling we're
not gonna hit it off.
We're not supposed
to hit it off, Dr. Quincy.
Don't think of me as your date,
think of me as Joe Wambaugh.
Joe Wambaugh should be so tough.
I gotta see if Long
John Silver's map works.
Closest roulette
table to the door.
- What are you talking about?
- A treasure map.
- $50 on red to win.
- All bets down.
Sixteen, red.
At least, there's one
winner around here.
Luck. Just luck. Let's go.
Killjoy.
Here are the diamonds.
All 20 of them.
Guard them with your life.
I don't have enough
responsibilities.
We've got the whole pool area
staked out with ten operatives,
so we're really covered.
Your safety is what
we're most concerned with.
What do I have to do?
First, take the diamonds.
As soon as the trade is made,
give the signal.
What signal?
When the trade is
made, take this out
and wipe your face.
That will be our
signal to come in.
Like this...
Don't pull it out until Otero has
the diamonds in his possession.
Not a moment before.
Take this out and wipe my face,
but not before Otero has all
the diamonds in his possession.
Well, that takes care of
everything. Are you all set?
Do I look all set?
That's not important. Let's go.
Ah!
- Oh, I'm terribly sorry. It was my fault.
- That's all right.
Oh, hi, Dr. Quincy!
- Oh, you're limping! Are you okay?
- Oh, I'm all right.
Some guy hit me with a cane.
I could rub it for you
if you want me to.
- You could?
- Sure.
Okay, let's sit down over there.
Oh, did you like my act? I
didn't see you when I finished.
I had to go away, but I
heard you were terrific.
I gave you a very high mark.
Oh, thank you. Here.
It's over here.
Later.
I thought he liked me.
Good afternoon, Dr. Quincy.
You ready to trade?
More ready than
you'll ever know.
Who's he with? That's not Otero.
Bernie something.
Evans!
He works for Otero.
One of the other guys
is Lew Malloy, two-bitter.
That's terrific, wonderful,
marvelous. It won't do us any good.
We'll have to go down and stop
him before he makes the trade.
Whoa, whoa! Hold on. We
could get Quincy into trouble.
He is in trouble.
Okay, now you've gotta let me see the
money before I show you the diamonds.
The money's in the brief
case. You show me the rocks.
You show me the money,
I show you the rocks.
Okay, there's the money.
And there's the rocks.
All right! All right!
All of you out! Out!
Well, if it ain't Lewis
Malloy, big time hood.
- What do you guys want?
- We're the heat.
Your friend here's been
knocking over liquor stores.
Me? I didn't do nothing.
- I didn't give you the signal.
- Put it away, put it away.
All right, both of you out! Out!
I didn't give the signal, Brice.
Niven.
You're as bad as they are!
I didn't give any signal.
Suddenly, World
War II breaks out.
I could've been
killed out there.
You said you talked
to Otero. This is Otero.
He said he was Otero.
I thought he was Otero.
Well, he wasn't.
We could bust a flunky anytime.
Oh, what happened to all that
talk about your "Safety comes first"?
I'll tell you what happened,
it went out the window!
- And that's
exactly where I'm going.
- What does that mean?
What am I doing,
Lady, talking Chinese?
I'm pulling out. You can have your
suite. I'm going back to the room.
Another room won't help.
What are you gonna do, shoot me?
I won't.
See, even if we bust those guys,
Otero's the one we lose.
You know, I'm getting
sick and tired of Otero.
Not only do we lose him,
but he is tipped off
that he has been set up.
And he will think
that you did it.
You wouldn't like that at all. Your
life wouldn't be worth a poker chip.
Oh, how nice. You guys
stuck me in the middle.
But we can still nail him. All you
have to do is take the offensive.
You see, you let
them come to you.
And then tell them you
think that they set you up.
That they're bumblers, and you will
deal with Otero directly from now on only.
See, there. You see
how lucky you are.
The fiasco at the
pool can work for you.
I'm gonna rush right down to the
roulette table. My luck amazes me!
Just have the next meeting right here
in your room. We'll be right next door.
We have it miked.
You see, it'll be easy.
Easy?
Easy! This guy sets me up
as a patsy with a carnation,
three hoods bounce me
around like a rubber ball.
Those guys almost killed me
down at the pool, and you say easy?
And on top of everything
else, I feel rotten.
Just nerves.
It'll all be over, soon.
That's what I'm afraid of.
And now, ladies and gentlemen,
the preliminary event for
the bathing suit competition.
Here they come.
Mr. Otero wants to see you.
Well, no. I gotta watch
these rehearsals first.
Mr. Otero...
In a little while. This is the
first time in their bathing suits.
I gotta see this.
Hey, he wants to see you.
Yeah, but...
The bathing suits...
- Listen, we have to talk.
- We? You set me up!
Set you up?
I worked my whole
life to become a doctor.
I could've been arrested!
I could've lost my license!
I thought at least you guys
would've acted professionally.
So what were the cops
doing in there, anyway?
They were following your boy.
That's what they were doing there.
Hey, look, that was a mistake.
That could've happened to anyone.
Yeah. Well, it didn't happen to anyone.
It happened to me, and I don't like it!
Next time, I talk only to Otero.
What are you talking
about? I'm Otero.
And I'm Pinocchio. You think
I just got off the banana boat?
This morning, I went down to the
police station to see what he looked like.
He should be so cute.
So okay? So what?
So, if he still wants a
deal with the diamonds,
he's gotta do it personally.
And I'm telling you, the price has
gone up to $200,000 because of inflation.
In small bills.
- You're kidding?
- Try me.
We'll meet in my room in
two hours, where it's safe.
And if Otero doesn't show up,
I'm gonna look for a new market.
Now I've gotta judge a
beauty contest. Do you mind?
♪ And Miss Coroner
♪ You're the girl
that will bury me
♪ In good old USA ♪
You handled that very nicely.
I told you it would go easy.
It better continue to be easy.
It will. You're jacket's been
miked, and the room is bugged.
There won't be any problems.
And we'll be right in the next
room. Do you have the diamonds?
No, I hocked them.
Wonderful sense of humor.
I wish I could turn the thermo stat
down in this room. I'm burning up.
It's just nerves.
Otero. They're
coming down the hall!
This is it.
We'll come in just as
soon as you give the signal.
- Remember.
- I'll remember. I hope you do.
Yes, sir.
I'm Mr. Otero.
I know.
Oh, yes, a very bad picture.
You're a hard man to
do business with, Doctor.
You mean, I'm a
hard man to cheat.
Well, Bernie told me
about the trouble you had.
I can understand how you feel.
I mean, Bernie's
choice of an accomplice
was very unfortunate.
"Unprofessional" was the
word that you used, I believe.
- That's the very word I used.
- You have the jewels, Doctor?
You have the money?
I have the jewels.
Count these, Bernie.
Give me back the money, Doctor.
What are you talking about?
About taking back your money.
Come now, Doctor
Quincy. I'm a professional.
I couldn't very well let
you get away with this
and still retain my standing in the
professional community, could I?
I mean, what would
people say if they found out
that I let myself be
held up by an amateur?
Do you see those diamonds?
They're mine.
The money is
mine. It's all mine.
And now, I'm afraid
I'm gonna have you hurt.
Did you say you're
gonna have me hurt?
I'm gonna have
them hurt you, Doctor.
When you're finished, you
come back to the apartment.
It's been a pleasure
doing business with you.
He didn't mean you guys
were gonna hurt me, did he?
That's right, Doc.
Looks like you lose your
medical license after all.
It mustn't be working.
All right, hold it! Hold it!
Ah, Mr. Otero, nice to see you.
Uh, what is this?
Just a little matter of diamonds.
Mr. Brice, take them away.
Thank you.
And thank you.
Are you okay?
Where were you, I
could've been killed?
Oh, that's that old
War surplus stuff.
It's over now, right?
Yes, it's over. It's finished. We
couldn't have done it without you.
Hey, you're trembling. Relax.
I'll be all right. It'll pass.
I can't believe that I'm free,
that I can go down to the
pageant and have a good time.
- Hi.
- Hello.
Where are all the judges going?
Are you all right?
Yeah. Where are they going?
Well, you're just in
time. We're finished.
Finished?
Dr. Quincy.
Oh, Joanie. Listen, I wanna...
What's going on? Where am I?
You're in a Las
Vegas hospital, Quince.
You passed out
about three hours ago.
Oh, yeah, passed out.
It must have been sun
stroke or something.
What are you doing here?
Get me a drink,
I'm really thirsty.
We had no knowledge
of your medical history,
so I called the Coroner's
Office back in LA.
Asten figured I knew
you as well as anyone.
Besides, you had
me sort of concerned.
Don't have to be concerned anymore,
'cause we're getting outta here.
Oh, boy...
Whoa, partner. You stay right
here for just a little bit longer.
That's what you think. I've
got a beauty contest to judge!
You should see Miss South
Philadelphia. She's got...
You better do as he says,
Quince. Doctor's orders.
Yeah, and the doctor
always knows best, right?
Look who came
to visit, Mr. Brice.
Mr. Niven.
Again with Mr. Niven. Listen, I
don't need all that with who's on first...
That's funny.
I just remembered the last time I
saw someone look like you do now.
As dehydrated and the
same color as the courier.
The man who was hit by the bus.
He got off the international flight,
he was leaning against the walls,
he was woozy. We
thought it was jet lag
because the flight
was twenty hours long.
I don't think you could've
caught anything, Quince.
I was exposed,
too. I'm all right.
Oh, but Sam, remember I told you I
thought that he had bad circulation?
Sure. His finger tips were blue.
He was cyanotic.
I thought it was the pacemaker,
but when I went inside...
I found he didn't
have bad circulation.
Feel them.
- They're cold.
- That's right.
And slightly blue.
Did you run a tox
screen on the courier?
Quince, I never
had a chance to do it.
We'd better run those tests.
But Quince, that man
died because of the bus.
We didn't find anything else.
Maybe that's because
we didn't look far enough.
Now, we gotta get back to LA.
Oh, boy!
Can you make it?
I gotta make it.
How're you doing, Quince?
Wow. To tell you the
truth, Sam, I have felt better.
- What did you find?
- Not a thing.
The tox screen came
back squeaky clean.
I couldn't detect any
poisons in his body.
Oh, that's terrific! It must
have been something I ate.
I don't think so.
- I think I found something.
- What?
Well, I ran a test on the
vitreous fluid from the eyes,
and it didn't show what we had known,
that he had been dead for four hours.
If it had, the potassium
level would have increased to
six mille equivalence per liter.
But it decreased to one-third of
what it would have been if
he would have been alive.
But that's impossible.
There were witnesses who
saw him get hit by the bus.
Then there's only one answer.
A poison that pushed
the potassium down.
A poison that we can't identify.
So if the bus hadn't killed
him, the poison would have.
But how? How.
How did the poison get
into me and the courier?
Did we eat it?
Drink it? Breathe it?
It can be injected or
absorbed through the skin.
That's right, Sam!
So if it happened like that,
maybe we can find the point
where it entered the courier.
Right. We could find
the poison and isolate it.
- Find the poison.
- And identify it.
Listen, get the body out.
We'll go over it again.
This time, very carefully,
from head to toe.
Right. Sam.
There it is.
Midway down the
anterior portion of the thigh.
No wonder we
didn't see it before.
Injuries from the accident
made it almost invisible.
Yeah, I'm gonna
take a section of this.
I got it, Sam.
Quincy, let me do it.
Why don't you relax, okay?
Be careful.
If there's any poison residue
left, I don't want to lose it
I'll be careful.
- What's this?
- What's the matter?
There's something in here.
Sam, hand me the
forceps and a Petri dish.
Looks almost like
a grain of sand.
No.
It's too round to
be a piece of sand.
I wanna see this enlarged
on the video monitor.
It's a little metal ball.
There's a little
hole drilled in it.
I bet that's where the
poison was carried.
Sam, put that thing
through the wash right away!
See if there's
something remaining.
Right.
A tiny ball big as
the head of a pin.
Of course!
Of course. Don't you remember?
The two Bulgarian defectors
who lived in England.
Somebody stuck them
with a cane or an umbrella,
and one of them died.
Quincy, I think you
should take it easy.
It all fits.
The pellet. The
traceless poison.
While I was in Las
Vegas with Otero,
somebody stuck me in the thigh.
I want you to cut me there.
Quincy...
Cut me.
I'll get you a local anesthetic.
Quincy...
Quincy...
We ran the wash on
the two metal balls,
the one from the courier, and
the one we took from your leg.
They're clean, Quince.
No trace of anything.
Call Monahan.
Tell them to track down Niven.
He said they had some film of
the courier getting on the plane.
Maybe they'll show us something.
Right. Right away.
This is over in Marseille?
Right. If anything, it's
here, in the crowds.
Nivens.
You finally got it right.
What is it, Quincy?
I think I saw him.
- The man with the cane?
- Yeah.
Hey, crank it back.
Stop. Go forward.
Hold it. Freeze frame.
That him, Quincy?
I think so. Closer.
That's it!
We've gotta find him.
We're not gonna find anyone.
The ambulance is waiting outside.
You're going to the hospital.
We'll find him. I promise
you, I promise you.
So?
So, I send this to Washington, and maybe
our central computers can get us an ID.
Then I go to Las Vegas
and start questioning people.
Questioning people?
Questioning Who?
Dr. Asten, how long
does Quincy have?
You know, it's hard to say.
We don't know what
poison we're dealing with.
His cardiac arrhythmia
is getting worse.
From the condition of the
courier, I'd say ten hours.
We haven't any
time for all that!
I don't know what the
hell else we can do!
That's because you think big.
I know what to do
because I think small.
Now, everybody in this
room owes me something.
And you all know,
that if I want to, I want to
spend a little time and dig,
I can put you all away.
Now, that's the way it is,
whether you like it or not.
Now, you're all being
given pencil and paper.
In a couple of minutes, I'm gonna
show you a picture of somebody.
I want each and every one of
you to tell me who you think he is
and where hang out. Everything.
Now, it's all gonna be done secret
so you don't know who squealed.
And if you people don't
tell me what I wanna know,
I promise you,
each and every one of you
will be doing time within a month.
Okay Brill, put up the picture.
Now, study it very carefully
and tell me who he is.
Well that's it.
We've got four who
wrote Santa Claus,
two I don't knows, another
five miscellaneous names.
And the rest all identify
him as Eddie Parker.
Terrific.
Eddie Parker lives in LA.
He's a health food
freak, and he travels a lot.
Any indication
where to find him?
Yeah, there was something here.
Yeah, here it is.
When in LA, spends most of
his time at Rutgers Health Spa.
That's over in Santa
Monica. I know where it is!
Oh, yeah. A couple of these
mention a bar and health food stare.
Listen, Niven
and I'll take these.
You and Asten
take the health spa.
- Mr. Parker?
- Yes?
You're under arrest.
What for?
For murder and attempted murder.
What was that poison you
used? We need to know.
Wait a minute.
If you guys don't back off,
I'm afraid I'm gonna have
to call the management.
Watch it! Watch it!
You tell me the poison you
used or I'll break your neck.
It's digitalis.
So what did you use
to lower the potassium?
All right. It was
ethacrynic acid.
That's it!
Now don't move!
I have to call the hospital.
They have to give Quincy a
potassium IV, monitor his electrolytes.
And with that digitalis, they
have to be ready for heart failure.
I didn't know you could do that.
I was an airborne
ranger. A long time ago.
I know I'm not dead.
'Cause I know they'd
never let you guys in heaven.
Oh, you're so sure
you'll be there?
Watch your step.
What're you guys doing?
Quincy, you were in
the hospital for a week.
You worked so hard
you missed all the fun.
I wanna make it up to you.
In Danny's?
That's as far away from
Vegas fun as you can get.
Oh, yeah?
Happy homecoming!
Oh, you guys went
to all this trouble?
Hey, I won some money for you.
You would have won
more money for me
if you weren't playing
Inspector Clouseau.
I know. Oh, this is terrific!
There's only one thing missing.
I don't believe it.
Joanie, it is you!
Oh, am I glad to see you.
Didn't you tell me you won?
Miss Coroner.
I knew it.
Listen, after the party,
I'd like you to see my boat.
Oh, I'd love to.
And so would I.
What are you doing here?
I'm chaperoning the winner.