Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 8, Episode 11 - The Law Is a Fool - full transcript

A narcissistic psychopath kidnaps the granddaughter of a former Congressman. He says it will be "Divine Retribution" if she dies, and the fault for her death will rest upon the shoulders of the Congressman and Quincy.

What have you
done with the child?

What child?

The child you kidnapped.

Is he going to
hurt my little girl?

I don't understand, why
can't you do something?

Why can't you just make
him tell you where she is?

This man wants more than money.

For the return of
my granddaughter.

The deal is I want you to try me for
the kidnapping of Deborah Hillman

and then I want you to
see that I'm found not guilty.

- You want me to
throw the case?
- Yeah.



Is he dumb? Is he
careless? Is he crazy?

He says that you and Professor
Hillman, are covering up a murder.

Gentlemen, you
are about to enter

the most fascinating
sphere of police work,

the world of forensic medicine.

Linda's doing very well, I think
the homework really paid off.

I'll see you tomorrow, dear.

Johnny, stop that!

You're going to hurt
someone doing that.

Debbie, your cab's here honey.

Be careful.

Boys, get down from
there right now. C'mon.

Do you mind holding on a minute?

- Brill, take this one.
- Yeah?



Thank you.

Hey, since when have
you been off Homicide?

Special request
from Captain Warner.

Since they snatched the
Hillman kid three days ago.

How's it going?

Pretty good, we're almost through.
He has a good eye for detail.

I'd never forget that
guy. Not those eyes.

Eyes of a killer. Like blue
ice, know what I mean?

- Yeah, well mister, um...
- Downing, Joseph P. Downing.

There are eight hundred
cameras and TV people out there.

You have got nothing
to say, understand?

You mean I can't
even be on television?

I don't know how you're
going to avoid that,

but I don't want you to tell
them anything. You understand?

Not even my name?

Mr. Downing, there's a
child's life at stake here.

Well,

if you want my best guess, I
think he's already got rid of her.

You have any direct
evidence that he's harmed her?

- No...
- In fact, you never
even saw her, did you?

Well... He drove
me around until dark,

I mean, I must've passed out
from the blood being cut off.

Then what makes you
think she's not alive?

Those eyes...

Yeah, I know. Like blue ice.

The composite just
released is of a man

the police suspect of abducting

the seven-year-old g randdaughter of
former Dean of the University Law School,

Professor Henry Lester Hillman.

A guy who'd do a thing like
that? They ought to string him up.

Yeah.

She's dead, you know?

How do you know?

That's the first thing
they do, kill the victim.

That's a lousy thing to say.

Well, it stands to reason
they don't want any witnesses.

Then how come they
left the cab driver alive?

How do I know? What am
I a detective or something?

Something.

Hi, how about a fast bite?

Just like that? No hello, how's
tricks? How are you feeling?

Hello. How's tricks? How are you
feeling? How about some fast food?

Tricks stink. I feel lousy.

- It's terrible about
that girl they kidnapped.
- Yeah.

Sit down.

They want me to
consult on the case.

- You, does that mean...
- Yeah, no, no.

I mean no one knows if she's still
alive. But they want me to stand by.

How about a chop steak,
salad... Something light.

That's great, can
you give it to me fast?

You got it. About the kid...

Don't you have to tell the chef?

Don't worry about it.

Tell me. Inside job, huh?
The cab driver's involved?

I don't know if he is or not. He
gave Monahan the description.

Monahan? That's Homicide?

No. He's assigned to the
case outside of Homicide.

- Ransom.
- No.

Small chop steak, salad.

Hey, that's terrific
how did you do it?

It was my lunch.

Quincy, telephone.

Lieutenant Monahan.

Monahan?

We found the cab
he took her in, Quince.

Anything useful?

Plenty of prints
but nothing else.

I'd appreciate if you came
over and checked things out.

I'm on my way.

You can have your lunch
back. They found the cab.

- And the kid?
- Nothing yet.

- John, I'm going to
need the hot sauce.
- Right.

- You know what I think?
- Don't say it!

Did you come up with anything?

Just a little debris, I don't think I
found anything that's gonna help us...

There's something
crazy about this guy.

He ran the cab through a car
wash not once but three or four times.

Yeah he's crazy like a fox. He
wanted to erase where it's been.

Yeah. But I'll bet you anything

the prints we got off the
steering wheel belong to him.

Why didn't he wipe off
the inside of the cab?

Yeah, yeah. And why didn't he
hide his face from the guy he tied up?

What is he? Is he dumb?
Is he careless? Is he crazy?

Smart enough to wash
the outside of the cab,

dumb enough to
leave his fingerprints.

- There's something...
- Thank you, Sergeant.

Lieutenant Monahan! They
got him! They got the kidnapper.

What? How?

He walked into the DA's
office and gave himself up.

What about the kid?

He was alone.

I better get down
to the station.

Dr. Quincy, can
you tell us anything?

- Is the child dead?
- What's your connection?

- I don't know.
- Then what are you
doing on this case?

I can't talk about it.

Then you know
where the little girl is?

- No, I don't know.
- Has there been
a ransom demand?

I don't know anything
except that I am here to assist

in the examination
of the suspect.

The police department and
the District Attorney's office

have asked me to lend whatever
help I can in a forensic medical capacity.

That's all I know.

See if you can't take a blood
sample and get it over to Sam.

A lavender and a red top tube.

You don't have to
whisper, Dr. Quincy.

- You know me?
- Oh, I know a lot
of people, Doctor.

You can have anything you like.

Blood, clippings of my nails, my
clothes, of course you already have.

Anything you like. Of course none
of it will tell you where I've been.

You are not required
to any of this by law.

Law? The law is a fool, Doctor.

What have you
done with the child?

What child?

The child you kidnapped.

Oh, is that what you think?

If you had any pity at all.

Pity is a cheap
commodity, Doctor.

The mud from his clothes and
under his fingernails is the same.

It's a 10 Y R/5/4 on the
Munsell Soil Color Code.

That's a Hanford sandy loam.

You find it in the central
valley like the Bakersfield area.

Nothing on or in the cab
indicates that it was there.

The problem is the valley
around Bakersfield is a large area

and I can't narrow
it down any smaller.

Come up with anything?

Let me show you on the map.

Looks like he took her
north to the Bakersfield area.

The bad news is there's 40,000
square miles with the same type of soil.

What about you?

We know a little more about
him his name is Carl Norman.

Name ring a bell?

Should it?

Works as a paralegal for a pretty
good law firm in downtown L.A.

They says he's bright
but a little erratic.

Arrogant, hard
to get along with.

- Carries grudges.
- Did he confess?

No. But he doesn't
deny anything either.

Says he came in because he recognized
the police artist sketch of himself.

He's the most arrogant
creep I ever met.

I know. It makes you want
to hit him. I came close.

I came closer than you did.

What are you looking
at me like that for?

Are you sure you don't know?

Didn't I say I didn't know? Why?

He says he knows you, Quincy.

Don't hold out on me, Quince.
He says, without admitting anything,

that if anything happens
to little Debby Hillman,

there'd be some kind of divine
retribution on her grandfather.

And how do I fit into this?

He says you helped the girl's
grandfather, Professor Hillman,

cover up a murder.

Okay, Sylvia, let him in
and hold all my calls will you?

- Quince, good to see you.
- Larry.

Dr. Quincy, this is Mrs. Evelyn
Hillman, the child's mother

and Professor Hillman,
the child's grandfather.

Dr. Quincy has been
helping us to locate Debby.

I'm afraid we haven't
had much to go on

but you have the efforts of
the very best people in town.

Larry's the best
Deputy DA they have.

I am aware of Mr. Borghese's quality,
Doctor. He was a student of mine.

What does this man mean that
you and my father-in-law know him.

Divine retribution?

For what?

For God's sakes what crime did a
seven-year old child ever commit?

I don't know what he
means by that, Mrs. Hillman.

We have checked the names of every
person who has had any connection

with the Medical Examiner's
office for the past ten years

and found no one by
the name of Norman.

Does that mean he's insane?
Is he going to hurt my ltitle girl?

I don't understand. Why
don't you do something?

Why don't you make
him tell you where she is?

We have tried. Believe
me, Mrs. Hillman, we've tried.

But he won't budge. He
won't admit or deny anything.

I believe he has
done this as an act of

vengeance for some
slight real or imaginary.

Done by whom?

My husband has
been dead for six years.

Evidently by me or
your father-in-law here.

I want you to tell me.

Do you think my
daughter is still alive?

Yes I do. There's
every chance that she is.

He hasn't made any demand
for a ransom or anything else.

He'd be in a poor bargaining
position if she wasn't still alive.

He's playing possum
right now. But sooner or

later he'll have to
tell us what he wants.

We'll just have to
wait and see what it is.

Whatever he wants
we must give it to him.

Please tell him not to
hurt my little girl, please.

No, no, no.

Evelyn please go
home and try to rest.

I'll be there very shortly.

I didn't want my
daughter-in-law to hear but I

think I know what
this man wants.

I had a student, a young
woman, very pretty,

extremely unstable. She was
clearly out of her depths in law school.

But she worked
hard desperately hard

but was running along the
ragged edge of a complete collapse.

She did, in fact, have two
psychotic breaks in her first year

and was advised by the school doctors
and her own physician to drop out.

She committed suicide a
few days after I spoke to her

and advised her to
drop out of law school.

Her name was Elizabeth Harrison.

When I saw Norman I remember
having seen them together.

That's it! Harrison! That's
where I remember him.

He came around screaming
that she had been murdered.

That it wasn't suicide. But I didn't
understand what he was saying.

It was clearly a
self-inflicted wound.

That's because you looked
upon it as a doctor, a scientist.

In the mind of this obsessed young
man my finger pulled the trigger.

But that's insane.

It is logic of a sort.

This information
doesn't help us, does it?

No, I'm afraid it doesn't. If
anything, it makes it worse.

The so-called "Normal"
criminal only wants money.

He doesn't want to prove some
theory or redress some wrong

or inflict some
bizarre idea of justice.

No. This man wants more than
money for the return of my granddaughter

and we must find out what it is.

Well, we still have him

and we have a lot
of troops on our side.

No. No, if you had captured him,

that would have
given me some hope.

But he gave himself up.

No, he's having it all his own
way. Whatever his crazy scheme is,

it's working for him.

You're right. The only thing we
can do is wait for his next move.

Hey, guard!

What is it?

Tell the DA I
want to talk to him.

Have your lawyer call him.

Hey! You tell him I
want to make a deal

and I want to see him alone.

Witnesses dismissed.

Court is in recess until
9.00 tomorrow morning.

Charlie.

I wanted you to know your
presentation was perfect,

stay on that tack and
we'll put him away.

- Larry.
- Hi, Al.

You really must want to see
me, tracking me down here.

The Word has come from Colonel
Norman. He wants to talk deal.

Ah!

What do you want me to do?

Hang tough.

Fine, Al. That's for the public prints.
But he's got a four-year-old child

and probably some
crazy accomplice out there.

She might be in an
abandoned building, a culvert.

She's probably cold and
hungry and out of her mind.

Save it for the
courtroom, Larry.

I repeat, how far
do you want to go?

What can we hang on
him besides kidnapping?

The guy's a living Christmas tree...
We can hang robbery, he stole the cab.

A.D.W., he assaulted
the cab driver.

Aggravated assault,
he tied the driver up.

Unlawful detention, transportation
for an unlawful purpose

and that's just for Downing.
So far as the girl's concerned

if he so much as touched her
we have him for child molestation,

endangering the health
and welfare of a minor,

unlawful detention,
simple assault.

I can take that clown
right down to the operation

of a hired vehicle
without a hack license.

What? Oh, yeah. I
was just thinking...

- Tell me something.
- Yeah?

Uh...

What does he want?

I don't know.

And I won't know until I
get down to the jail, Al.

You mean he hasn't
been questioned at all?

Only preliminarily.

He refused counsel so we
have the right to question him.

This guy is a little more
than a jail-house lawyer

he worked for McDaniel and
Whitestone as a paralegal.

Failed law student?

There's more to it than that, Al.
He's on some kind of vengeance kick.

- Has he confessed?
- No.

- Denied his guilt?
- No.

I'm up to my chin in
murder cases, so, Larry,

I am going to let you fly on your
own. You do whatever you need to do.

Wait a minute, Al.

If he hasn't hurt the kid and we get
her back right away can I kick it down?

You can kick it down to crossing
against the traffic light if you want.

Because let me tell you
something, dear friend.

Right now, he's in
the driver's seat not us.

I'm Larry Borghese.

I know, I saw you
at the arraignment.

You mind unbuttoning your shirt and
then pulling the shirt out of your pants?

I'm not wired.

Just want to make
sure, Mr. Borghese.

What's the deal?

I want you to try me for the
kidnapping of Deborah Hillman

and I want you to see to
it that I'm found not guilty.

What?

Double jeopardy. You won't be
able to try me again for the kidnapping.

Are you crazy?

Oh, yeah,

one more thing.

After the trial and the jury
returns the verdict of not guilty...

I want $500,000 wired to a
numbered Swiss bank account.

That information will be
supplied to you at a later date.

No way.

Now if you want to talk
about a reduction of charges...

I'm not copping a plea!
This is a straight trade

me for the kid plus
$500,000. We got a deal?

You want me to throw the case?

Now you really got it, yeah. You've
got it, throw it right into the dumper.

I want to walk away clean
and I want to walk away rich.

No, that's out of the
question no deal. No!

I wouldn't be so quick,

maybe you ought to
talk it over with the high

and mighty Professor
Henry Lester Hillman

the tyrant of the
classroom. Hillman the killer.

- He won't agree.
- Oh, no?

We are talking about the
only child of his only child?

I don't think you realize just how
sentimental grandpas can become.

And try explaining it
to Mrs. Evelyn Hillman.

Hey, pal... They're not going
to know about your proposition.

Oh, yes they are.

Because I'll make
sure they find out.

Right now this is just
between the two of us.

You know...

I can keep you in the can until
your whiskers reach the floor.

Sure you can

but she'll be dead long before
then and you'll never find her.

You can do it.

I gave you enough
evidence to indict me and

to arraign me and
that's as far as it goes.

I want an acquittal.

You really have a twisted mind if
you think this kind of thing can work.

I know it can work,
Borghese. The law is a fool

and I am going to prove it
to you and to everyone else.

It took me a long
time to plan this

and there are no loopholes.

Who the hell do
you think you are.

Those are the terms, Professor.
It's quite a little package.

I know we can raise them
money for the ransom.

That's not the
problem though, is it?

No.

You've discussed it
with the District Attorney?

It's my case. I
can do as I like.

He dropped it like a hot potato.

What do you want
me to say, Larry?

I want you to say that I
have to prosecute this case

and nail Norman to the wall,
regardless of the consequences.

I can't. Don't ask
me to say that!

She's my granddaughter.

So the law is unyielding and rigid
only when it applies to someone else?

I know that's not
what I taught you.

No, it isn't, Professor,

that maniac wants me to rip the
blindfold off of our precious lady.

Let her see so she can decide who gets
the protection of the law and who doesn't.

"If you compromise
a piece of the law

"a little at a time, you will
eventually end up with anarchy."

How many students
have you told that to?

Everyone. All of my classes.

Then how can you ask
me to violate the law?

I haven't asked you
to violate anything.

You say you came here
for my advice, but you didn't.

You just wanted me to corroborate your
beliefs. That you should convict this man,

and let my innocent little
granddaughter die. I can't do that.

You see, I love the law, but I
love my granddaughter even more.

And I can't advise you.

That doesn't help
me much, Professor.

Damn it, Borghese what makes
you think it's supposed to be easy?

If justice, if law, if the
rules of civilized society

were so damned easy to interpret
then who would need judges and lawyers

and juries and the whole panoply
of the law and the rules we live by?

Then all we'd need to do would be
to punch it all into some computer

and get the solution
down at the bottom.

Where have you been, Evelyn?

Walking. Just walking. You
have news about Debby?

Yes. We have every reason to
believe that she's alive and well.

What reasons?

Carl Norman has confessed to the
kidnapping and has made a ransom demand.

Then she'll be back. How soon?

Wait a minute, it's not
as simple as it sounds.

Part of the ransom is that he be
tried and found not guilty of kidnapping.

I'm sorry. I don't understand
what you're talking about.

He's cooked up a scheme
to commit a kidnapping

and collect a ransom
and escape punishment.

But it requires that
I throw the case.

Then do it!

It's negotiating with someone
who has a gun at your head.

He doesn't have it at your head.

He has it at my child's head!

If it gets out that I
made a deal like this

it'll be open season for
kidnappers. No child will be safe.

My oath of office...

I don't care about your office.
All I care about is my daughter.

There is a chance that she may
be found before we go to trial.

No. No.

I am not interested in chances.

I am not interested in clever
policemen, or principled lawyers, please.

I just want my little girl back,
can't you understand that?

I want to hold her against me!

And you're the only one
with the power to get her back.

You guys didn't find
anything in the area?

Keep looking, thank you, bye.

Nothing in that area.

The mud we found on his clothes
was deliberately put there to throw us off.

I'd bet on it.

What do you want
us to do, Doctor?

What are you
getting mad at me for?

Because you sent
us to Bakersfield

it was our best lead and now you're
chickening out on your own analysis?

He faked us out. He deliberately
dug his hands into mud from that area.

So we got to look everyplace
else but where the kid is?

We're going over everything he owns his
clothes, his shoes, even his toothbrush.

How about his personal life?

We checked out where he lived
and where he worked. He's a loner.

Well, he's got one
friend anyway...

Whoever's babysitting out
there with Debby Hillman.

- Hey, Larry.
- Hey, Quince.

Lieutenant.

Get together what you have on Carl Norman
and the possible location of the child.

Well, Larry, we don't have much.

It will have to do. I've got a
trial date set for six weeks.

Six weeks?

I never heard of a major
case being put up so fast.

Yeah, well, I think the only prayer
we have of finding that kid alive

is to put him on trial for kidnapping.
Maybe that will convince him we're serious.

Excuse me, Larry but I don't think you've
got much of a case to bring to a jury.

Oh, yeah?

Just what law school did
you get your degree from?

I ain't no lawyer, but I've been
a cop long enough to know...

Okay, the first part of your
statement ought to be enough.

Hey, take it easy, Larry.
Monahan didn't mean anything.

Didn't he? Well I think he did.

I am sick and tired of people
taking cuts at my rear end.

I'm the DA in charge of the case that
puts me right up front of the parade.

I say we go in six weeks and you
better be ready with whatever you have!

Mr. Norman, my name is Jack Wray, I've
been appointed your counsel by the court.

Mmm-hmm.

Well, I'm told you had a conference
with the assistant District Attorney.

Yeah.

Well, that wasn't very wise,
Mr. Norman I wish I had been present.

That's all right, I
knew what I was doing.

Oh, but you see, you don't.

I appreciate that you've had
some legal background and

that you think you know,

but there are a lot of pitfalls

I don't "Think" I know. I know.

Well, the harm's done.

If necessary we can come back to that
as an excuse for a retrial or an appeal.

There won't be any
retrials or appeals.

It's going to be an
acquittal, a clean acquittal.

Well, we certainly hope so.

I want one charge of kidnapping

all the other charges
are to be dropped.

But, kidnapping is the
most serious offense, Carl.

Conviction in this state is life
without a possibility for parole.

I know that. I want
all the other charges...

Robbery, assault, grand theft...

All the garbage
dropped. Is that clear?

Uh, you've got it all wrong.

I thought I could use those lesser
charges as a way of making a deal.

In return for getting the
kidnapping charge dropped...

No, Jack, you have it all wrong.

Do I?

Yes, Jack.

I'll tell you how it's
going to be played.

It's going to be
clean and simple

a classic case of circumstantial evidence
being blown right out of the water.

He wants a clean deal.

The charge of kidnapping
the girl and nothing else.

Okay, you've got it, Jack.

He says the whole ball
of wax is circumstantial.

Maybe it is, Jack.

You know all the
evidence we have.

Hmm.

What was the conference
you two had about?

- Sorry, confidential.
- I could use it
against you later, Larry.

It was a conference requested by
the accused and not by the State.

I think he's crazy.

I agree. Going to plead it?

No way.

He insists on a
plea of "Not guilty".

He's got an ego a little smaller
than the state of New Jersey.

Oh, yeah. He's
the brilliant one.

You think he did it?

I know he did!

You really got blood
in your eye, Larry.

Sorry. I didn't mean
to spoil your lunch.

How did you get the case
on the calendar so fast?

Well, she's the child of a former
U.S. Senator. A lot of public interest.

Yeah.

But you are coming to trial with a lot
less than a barrelful of direct evidence.

Not that I'm complaining,
you understand,

I'm just impressed by this
sudden rush to judgement.

Well, that's my idea.

You do know that you're going
about this the wrong way, Larry.

How so?

Well, if I were in your shoes...

I'd let him sweat it
out keep him in jail

if he has a partner
make the partner nervous

stall the trial as
long as possible.

Why?

- Well, it might work.
- Mmm.

That plays with the kid's life.

She may be dead already.

But if she isn't one or
both of them might break.

I mean, that's what I'd
do if I were in your shoes.

I just wish you
were in my shoes.

So at that point you definitely
saw Debby enter the cab.

Yes, I did.

And then you saw
the cab drive away?

That's correct.

Thank you, Mrs.
Kendall. Your witness.

Mrs. Kendall...

You saw the cab,
you saw the child.

Yes.

Did you see the driver?

He was in the front seat.

Isn't it true, Mrs. Kendall,

that when parents pick up children, there
is always a lot of noise and confusion?

Yes, of course.

People double parking,

stopping where they shouldn't...

Children likely to
dart out into the street.

We keep very close
watch on things like that.

Well, with so much happening...

Did you really "See" the driver?

Or did you merely note that
there was a driver in the front seat?

And identify Norman because Lieutenant
Monahan told you he was the driver.

That's not exactly what...

Let's be honest, Mrs. Kendall,

you can't even testify

that the driver you saw was a
man or a woman. Isn't that so?

- Well...
- You saw a figure
in the front seat.

Someone wearing
a jacket and a cap.

It could have been
a woman, couldn't it?

- I hardly think...
- Mrs. Kendall,

a man's life is at stake here! So, I
want you to stop being so vague.

I want an accurate statement.

Why is Larry letting him
intimidate her like that?

Was the person in the front seat,
Mr. Downing, the regular driver?

Well, I can't say for certain
it wasn't Mr. Downing but...

That's all I wanted to know.
Thank you, Mrs. Kendall.

He'll get the doubt out
of her testimony now.

Mr. Borghese, any redirect?

No, Your Honor.

Let's get out of here.

Prosecution, call
your next witness.

Quince, I didn't see you
come in. How's it going in court?

Don't ask.

Borghese. He's letting things get by that
a first year law student would pick up.

Let's face it, Quincy, it's not the
strongest case I've ever handed a DA.

Even so it just doesn't smell
right. Why don't you talk to him?

Are you kidding?

The brass would hand me my head

if I went and complained about
the way he was handling a case.

He complains to you fast enough.

That's the way the
world goes, Quincy.

Everyone can play
cops and robbers,

but they don't let you play law
and lawyers without a license.

That creep is going to get off and we
still don't know where that little girl is!

Well, he faked us out with
the dirt and the other traces.

Where are you going?

Back to the lab I got to do
something or I'll go crazy.

What are you
doing in the factory?

Ah!

I'd like to help
them find that child.

How thoroughly did the
crime lab examine these?

They beat them out and checked
everything that dropped off.

There were some dog hairs, some
plant material they couldn't identify,

fibers, natural and synthetic, but
nothing they've been able to use.

- These are his?
- Yeah.

Just regular hiking boots.

The type you'd wear if you were
going to cover some rough terrain.

Yeah, they'd protect your feet.

Sam, get me the
large autopsy knife.

These boots have been
examined much too delicately.

Right.

What are you going to do?

See what's hidden
behind these seams.

I'm going to give these
boots a rough time.

So he hails me down. After we
was going about a $1.80's worth...

He stuffs a gun in my ear

and told me to
drive to the suburbs.

He stopped me
on a deserted road,

tied me up and stuffed me
in the front well of the car.

Then he drove off.

- You say he drove off?
- That's right.

How do you know that?

I was there, remember?

No, no. I mean how do
you know that he drove off?

Did you see him
drive the cab away?

No. I couldn't see him.

He stuffed me so I wouldn't
be facing the driver's side,

and he put a blanket over me.

So someone else could have been driving
the cab and you wouldn't have known?

What?

How long after he stuffed you into
the well was the cab driven away?

Ten, fifteen minutes.

Why the delay?

How the heck do I know?

Is it possible

that you could have been
robbed by the defendant,

but driven off by
a different person?

The kidnapper?

I never thought
about it that way.

Why not?

After all, you can swear
that he robbed you, right?

Sure. I can swear to
that. I saw him do it.

Exactly.

But you didn't see
him drive your cab.

So you can't swear
to that, can you?

No. I guess not.

Too bad he's on trial for
kidnapping and not armed robbery.

Perhaps my esteemed colleague
might have been able to get a conviction.

Order. Order in the court.

No further questions,
Your Honor.

Professor, I've
tried, I've tried.

I can't go through with it.

I won't go through with it. I
am sick to my stomach with it!

I can't let it go on!

Not even my love for you...

You were as much my
father as my own father was.

He gave me life

but you gave me purpose

and I won't throw that purpose
away! I won't throw away everything

you taught me to
revere and to respect!

If I let him go, I have given
every hoodlum, every killer,

every punk a weapon he can
point at the head of a prosecutor.

I can't allow it,

I won't set that
kind of precedent.

I am going for his
skull and I will get it.

I won't beg you, Larry.

I have too much
respect for you to do that.

Larry, I've got to talk to you.

What about?

We found plant material in Carl
Norman's boots. It's bear poppy.

What does that mean?

Dr. Redmond from the Botanical
Gardens says it only grows in Death Valley.

So what?

We also found alkaline soil
in the seams of his boots.

That's desert soil. Norman
was in a desert area recently

I think Debby is being
kept in Death Valley.

What do you want
me to do with that?

You can delay the trial you
give us a chance to find her!

We already have people going
through the park we have the local sheriff.

And because it's federal
land, we got the FBI.

We even got the Army to loan us some
men with jeeps and a few helicopters.

Monahan, you said
federal land? You sure?

Yes, I'm sure.

Look we'll find her,
we just need more time.

Time is what that child
doesn't have much of.

No. I'm not going to delay the trial.
I haven't any legitimate reason to.

You can try!

- No, I can't.
- You haven't tried
much of anything!

For your information,

I was going into that courtroom
tomorrow and tear his defense apart.

But I just changed my mind.

Why?

Because of your mentor's visit?

I don't have to answer
to you. But I will.

No, not because of
Professor Hillman.

But why?

I don't know what's happening in
this case. Your behavior is all cockeyed.

I hope it's not going
to hurt that child.

It won't. Not now.

Debby will be home
with her mother soon.

This whole trial will
be over tomorrow.

And if I know that jury they'll stay
out just long enough to get another

free meal out of the county
before they come in with a verdict.

Then he's won
and the law is a fool!

We'll see.

Ladies and gentlemen of the
jury, have you reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

Give the bailiff your
verdict, Mr. Foreman.

The defendant will rise
and hear the verdict.

The court Clerk
will please read it.

Title of court and cause.

People of the State of California
vs Carl Raymond Norman.

We the jury in the
above entitled action,

find the defendant not guilty
of the charge of kidnapping.

Order, order in the court.

Ladies and
gentlemen of the jury,

I thank you very much. Your services
on this case are no longer needed,

you are excused.

Mr. Norman, as much as
I disagree with this verdict,

you are free to go.

But first I want to make a
statement for the record.

During the course of a trial I'm
refrained from making comment

on the evidence or the
attorney's presentation.

However, since the verdict has
been rendered and it is final...

I must tell you, Mr. Borghese,

that I have never seen a more incompetent
presentation and cross examination

from any member
of the DA's staff.

I intend to do
something about it.

I am going to report your
conduct to the State Bar

and recommend censure on the grounds
that your actions released a guilty man.

This court stands adjourned.

Jack, no problem.

- He got away with it!
- He sure did.

Come on.

You are not going to insist that I
take you to the exact right spot?

Once they find the
girl we're satisfied.

About my call to Switzerland?

They are placing it now.

And my passport?

Thank you.

And you have a first class
one-way ticket to Zurich.

Excellent.

Sylvia? Right.

Your call to Zurich.

Thank you.

May I speak to
Mr. Kanzler, please?

Mr. Kanzler. This is account

PK-341-GK.

Do I understand there
has been an addition of

500,000 American dollars
added to that account?

Excellent.

I'll see you soon.

Okay, satisfied?

Oh...

- You bet.
- Where's the girl?

In a cave.

It's 2.7 miles north...

Here we are.

Two-point-seven miles north of
the junction of Highways 87 and 54.

It's just west of
the Cholla Gardens.

She's all right. She was all right
yesterday when I was acquitted.

Debbie! Debbie,
sweetheart! Oh, baby.

Thank you, thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

Larry, there's no way I'll
ever be able to thank you.

I know what this cost
you in personal anguish.

All I can say is, for the rest of
my life, it'll cost me ten times more.

Get me the mike, will you?

This is deputy district
attorney Larry Borghese.

Patch me through to
the Coroner's Office.

All persons meeting
incoming flights

requested not to go beyond the reception
area on the north end of the terminal.

Cooperation will be
greatly appreciated.

Mr. Norman! How does it
feel to be a free man again?

- Oh, great!
- Were you ever worried?

- No, never.
- Why?

Because you have
faith in our legal system?

No.

No, because I have absolute
no faith in our legal system.

AIRPORT ANNOUNCER OVER
PA: Air Waikiki flight number 64

from Honolulu now
loading at gate...

Why did you ask
us to meet you here?

Just to see this
creep rub it in?

- No.
- How's Debby?

Okay. A little thinner than she was
when he hid her there... But she's okay.

Well thank God for that.

It just eats my guts
to see him walk off.

Making a fool out of the law?

Making a fool out of all of us.

Maybe he hasn't, Quince.

What's going on there?

Carl Raymond Norman has
just been placed under arrest

for the kidnapping
one Deborah Hillman.

But you can't do that,
that's double jeopardy.

Where's Borghese?

What the hell kind of a
double-cross is this, Borghese?

You can't try me twice
for the same crime.

Anyone who knows anything
about the law knows that.

The state of California
is not trying you.

When you hid Debby Hillman on federal
land you broke federal kidnap laws, too.

So Uncle Sam is the one who is
trying you and your accomplice.

I know you'll tell us who he is
because you'll be looking for a deal,

but we're in the driver's seat this
time. You see we've got an eyewitness.

Debby Hillman.

Get him out of here.

What did he mean that
you double crossed him?

That's gangster talk
Quince, doesn't mean a thing.

Well come on, while you guys are buying
me dinner I'll accept your apologies.

So, I guess the best way I
can sum it all up is to say that

when I was your age, full of
dreams, hope and ambitions

I fell head over heels
in love with the law.

Now, looking back, I
realize that on occasion...

This mistress I chose can
be unfaithful and frustrating

sometimes available
to the highest bidder.

And yet, for those of us who
have been devoted to her,

she has remained
strong, loyal and constant

the only true safeguard against
chaos, anarchy and tyranny.

Since I retired from full-time
teaching eleven years ago,

I've enjoyed sharing
thoughts like these with you.

Lecturing when I've been asked

and keeping young by staying in touch
with aspiring lawyers like yourselves.

So, it's with, uh,
considerable sadness

that I say that this
lecture will be my last.

In short, my...

My conscience will no longer allow
me to be associated with teaching

in any way.

Thank you.

Sir, may I ask a question?

Certainly.

Professor Hillman,

if a person accepts
imperfections in the law,

which you've just acknowledged,

shouldn't he be equally able
to accept them within himself?

Not if those imperfections
violate the total

essence of what he teaches.

What can honest human
frailties possibly violate?

If the law makes demands that
force you to give up all compassion

like the love of
one's family then,

I don't know... Maybe I'm
in the wrong profession and

should think
about quitting, too.

Professor Hillman, you
not only taught us the law,

you taught us to be caring,
compassionate individuals

both in thought and deed.

So, I for one

don't find any acceptable
grounds for your resignation.

You're simply too
valuable to lose.

I wonder if anyone else
here agrees with me?