Simon & Simon (1981–1989): Season 2, Episode 10 - Thin Air - full transcript
Rick's ex is accused of killing her husband. She denies it. Rick tries to help her. But they discover circumstantial evidence that makes her seem guilty. They then decide to talk to her daughter and she gives them some info that may help her mother.
- Did he ever go away and not
come back for a few days?
- Never.
[Announcer] Tonight
on Simon & Simon...
- Are you two all right?
- Oh, yeah. We're doing fine.
- No!
- You're not going to take
a four-year-old kid to jail.
She said if he ever hit
her again, she'd kill him.
I'm placing you under arrest for
investigation of the
murder of your husband.
She'll be taken
to juvenile hall.
He'll arrange for a foster home.
Private talent makes
me very nervous.
Aw, jeez.
[gunfire continues]
[sighs]
[glass shatters]
There's a place up here, honey.
Let's, uh... Let's
stop for some coffee.
Thank you.
- [dishes clatter]
- [Man chuckles]
Here you go, baby.
[Woman sighs]
Why don't you, uh,
order me a brandy?
I got to go.
You said coffee, Paul.
[Man] Just a minute.
Can I have it now?
Sure, honey, if they have it.
One chocolate mousse
for the little lady?
Please. And coffee
for me. And a brandy.
Yes.
Would you just tell her
that I'm not feeling well?
I'll wait for her in the car.
No problem.
The gentleman asked me to tell
you that he was not feeling well
and he went out to
the car to lie down.
I'm sure he'll be all
right. A little sleep.
There you go. You can
sit in the front seat, okay?
I want to ride in
the back with Paul.
Paul?
Paul!
[whispers] There you go.
Paul?
Are you up here?
Paul!
Paul!
Paul!
Paul!
If this is your idea of
a joke, it's not funny!
[tires screech]
- Hi, sweetie.
- Oh... Oh, Rick.
[crying] Thank you for coming.
- I'm so scared.
- I know, I know.
I know.
He just vanished into thin air.
[crying continues]
I didn't know what to do.
I didn't know whether to
call the police or to wait.
No, you did the right
thing. You called me.
Now, where's Karen?
Day school till 2:00.
Okay, now, you come
on with me. We'll find A.J.
You tell us exactly what
happened last night, okay?
- [stammers] - Hey, hey,
hey. Don't worry about it.
Wherever he is, we're
going to find him, okay?
I can't go out. Look
at me. I'm a wreck.
Hey. You look great.
Come on. Go fix your
face. You'll be fine.
Go on. Go on.
- Thanks.
- Why?
You always said I looked
good in the morning.
Still do.
That truck wasn't
there last night.
I'll get the license number.
Okay, let's go.
It was past midnight
when we got in.
Paul slept all the way home.
Then he went right inside.
I thought he was sick.
He just left Karen in
the backseat asleep.
I took her in, put her to bed.
Then he was gone.
Out the kitchen door.
He left the car?
I think somebody met
him. I heard a car drive off.
That's weird.
Very.
Well, what about work?
Anybody there know anything?
He quit his job
three months ago.
He's been looking for another.
Look, I'm sorry to ask you this,
but is it possible he had a
girlfriend who came to pick him up?
Or, you know, maybe just
somebody he went to go drinking with.
If he had a girlfriend,
I don't know about it.
And there was
liquor in the house,
so he didn't have
to go out to drink.
- Did he ever go away and not
come back for a few days?
- Never.
Oh, he'll turn up.
In fact, he'll probably be at
home by the time you get there.
But if he isn't, we'll find him.
We have them know. Advise.
Okay.
Tell us everything
you can about Paul.
Friends, business associates,
hobbies, anything that
might tie in to where he went.
Do you want us to
move on her now?
You'd rather they handle it.
Fine.
We'll let you know
as soon as she leaves.
[Woman] And they
were always fighting.
Oh, my God!
[police radio chatter]
- Mrs. Leona Holbrook?
- Yes?
I'm sorry, Mrs. Holbrook.
We think we may have
found your husband's body.
"Body"?
Yes, ma'am.
Dead?
If you could come with us.
We need to make a
positive identification.
Yes, of course.
Is it okay if she comes with me?
No problem. Follow us.
What is the matter with you?
Everything is going
down just right.
Private talent makes
me very nervous.
Easy.
[chatter]
Steady.
Watch your step.
Careful.
Careful.
Put it down.
When did it happen?
- Probably early this morning.
- Natural causes?
If you call multiple stab wounds,
massive internal hemorrhage
and crushed vertebrae
natural causes.
[Officer] Mrs. Holbrook,
is that your husband?
[cries] Yes.
[crying]
Oh, Paul.
[A.J.] Plus, I need the
preliminary findings to the autopsy,
and I need the complete
coroner's report when available.
- That won't be until tomorrow.
- Okay, well, in the meantime,
would you run a background
check on Paul Holbrook for me?
Did you ever think
of being a cop?
You sound just like one.
This is an old friend of
Rick's, and a good one.
It was her second marriage.
She didn't know the guy that long.
Maybe there was something in
his past he never told her about.
Please.
If I can, I will.
- Okay?
- Okay.
Um, what is his name again?
Holbrook. Paul Holbrook.
Okay, we've got some time.
Let's go.
[doorbell rings]
- How are you?
- Hi.
Detective Sig,
police department.
- Ah, yeah.
- Mrs. Holbrook?
- Right in there. Go on in.
- Thank you.
Hi.
- Mrs. Holbrook?
- Yes?
I'm placing you under
arrest for investigation
of the murder of your
husband, Paul Holbrook.
Now I'm going to
inform you of your rights.
[sighs]
"You have the right
to remain silent.
If you give up the
right to remain silent"...
I don't get it. Did you know
this was going to happen?
But why her? Why do they think
she had anything to do with it?
I don't know.
Mommy! Mommy! Police
cars! Can I go for a ride?
I'm going to make a call.
Come here, honey.
Everything is all right.
What are these?
Never you mind, baby.
Everything is
going to be all right.
- Hi, Uncle Rick.
- Hi, sweetie.
[A.J.] Lieutenant
Fowler, please.
The child will have
to come with us.
What are you talking
about? I can take care of her.
You the next of kin?
- No, I'm not next of kin...
- She'll be taken
to juvenile hall.
- He'll arrange
for a foster home.
- No! She's just a baby!
Mrs. Holbrook, believe me,
she'll be fine. She'll be fine.
- Now, please, calm down.
- I don't want her there!
Please, they're used to this kind
of thing at juvenile hall, believe me.
- Please calm down.
- No!
You're not going to take
a four-year-old kid to jail.
Would you mind getting
out of the way, please?
- You're not taking her.
- Now, look, if you don't move,
you'll be under arrest.
Oh, yeah? What are you
going to arrest me for?
Interfering with the
performance of an officer on duty.
Or would you prefer
resisting arrest?
Oh, I think I like the
sound of that one.
How is it that I'm resisting
arrest when you're arresting her?
- Just watch me turn this
into a parlay.
- Love to.
- Murphy.
- Come on. Slap them on, Murphy.
- You'll spend the rest
of your career indoors!
- Rick, be quiet!
Excuse me. I don't mean to
interfere, but I think you ought to know
the young lady driving up right
now is the assistant district attorney.
Now, I have reason
to believe that she's got
information that
pertains to this situation.
Excuse me. I'm Janet Fowler
from the district attorney's office.
- I love you.
- I have a custody order here
for Karen Holbrook.
She's going to be very well taken care of
by a close personal friend of the family.
She's an older woman
named Cecilia Simon.
All right. That'll be fine.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Oh, baby.
Move.
How would you like to go and
spend the night with Uncle Rick?
I want to be with you.
But you can't, honey.
You go with Rick.
You be a good girl.
Promise?
Karen's always a
good girl, aren't you?
Come on, sweetie.
Hey, everything
is going to be okay.
Hey. Where's my hug?
Oh, there's my hug!
- You used Mom's name?
- What was I going
to tell the judge?
That I was going to leave
a four-year-old with him?
Or with you? Here. Hold this.
Karen, hi there. I'm Janet.
- Hi.
- How you doing?
Why don't you
come with me, okay?
You can show me where your room
is and where you keep all your clothes,
and we'll gather up
some of your things, okay?
Hey, check out the
old biddy next door.
- [A.J.] Right.
- Hmph!
[clicks]
You're in my yard.
Yes, ma'am.
Won't be long.
You policemen!
What are you doing?
Looking for clues, ma'am.
Has one of the officers
interviewed you yet?
- Yes, this morning.
- Ah.
Well, I didn't have a
chance to read the report.
Maybe you'd be kind enough
to tell me, in your own words,
what exactly
happened last night.
Again?
Maybe you forgot
something the first time.
[dog barking]
What the hell is this guy doing?
She came home late.
He was drunk as usual.
It was 2:00 a.m., ma'am.
How come you weren't asleep?
I don't sleep well
since my husband died.
I'm sorry.
- I heard her yelling
at him again.
- "Again"?
They fought all the
time, like cats and dogs.
And with a little girl in the
house to hear every word.
Terrible.
He'd hit her.
She said if he ever hit
her again, she'd kill him.
- Ah.
- It's obvious.
He hit her, and she hit
him back and killed him.
After that, she called
that lover of hers.
"Lover"?
She was having an affair.
He probably found out about it.
Maybe that's what
they fought about.
After she killed him,
she called the lover.
He drove over. They
put the body in the car.
Then he drove the
body out to the desert.
Uh...
Uh, how much of this did
you actually see, ma'am?
Well, actually, none of it,
except her with that flashlight,
trying to make me think she didn't
know what happened to her husband.
Ah.
Cunning.
[Rick] You mean they
arrested her on the basis of that?
Apparently.
Karen, would wait
here for just a second?
I'll be right back.
There you go.
That is just ridiculous.
I mean, that old woman is
obviously crazy. Isn't that ridiculous?
Unless they had something
to corroborate her story.
- Maybe they found the man.
- No, I don't believe
she was having an affair.
She told us
that the marriage
was in trouble.
Now, if the police
found the lover,
and the lover didn't have
an alibi for late last night...
[Officer] Next.
Give me a right profile, honey.
Center. Give me center.
Come on. Lighten up your day.
- Where do you
think you're going?
- Charlie, how's it going?
- Come back here!
- Leona.
Rick!
Please, please.
This is real quick.
My partner will
handle the questions.
He can do that while we get a
cup of coffee. How does that sound?
[Officer] Come on now.
Give me a right profile there.
That way.
How do you take
your coffee? Black?
[Officer] Next.
Come on. Hurry it up.
Extra sugar, extra cream.
It's not true.
What about the lover?
Were you having an affair?
Isn't that my business?
If you were and the cops find him,
do you know what he's going to say?
Oh, Rick, what
are you asking me?
Yes, I had an affair.
It was over a couple
of months ago.
No, I didn't love him.
He was just a nice guy.
I needed him, okay?
- [A.J.] Okay.
- Yeah. Yeah.
Extra white and extra sugar.
Okay, here we go.
It'll just be a second.
Well, I guess I
forgot to press "cup."
Get him out of here, now!
- Get him out!
- Okay.
- [Officer] Front and center.
- Okay.
Come on. Chin up.
Left profile.
Next.
Leona, did you kill Paul?
Did you have a fight
when you came home?
No.
How can you believe that?
Rick, we have to go.
Yeah. Yeah.
Rick!
I didn't kill Paul, Rick!
I told you everything
that happened last night.
I hope so, honey,
'cause one way or the other, A.J. and
I are going to find out what happened.
Even if the cops don't, we will.
If you killed him, we're
going to wind up proving it.
I didn't...
[sighs]
[knocking softly]
What do you think you're doing?
I'm going to getcha! I gotcha!
Thank you very much, Janet. We're
going to take her with us this time.
Okay. Don't forget your
sweater, sweetheart. Here you go.
By the way, where
are we taking her?
Disneyland!
- Your place.
- [Janet chuckles]
- I like your teddy bear, A.J.
- [sighs]
I'm hungry.
Yeah. Me, too.
How about Clown Burgers?
Goody!
Don't like Clown
Burgers. Okay, uh...
- Taco City.
- Yeah!
- How about I cook?
- Ew.
I don't know. What do you got?
- Meatloaf?
- Yuck.
- Yuck.
- [A.J.] Spaghetti.
- [Karen] Yuck.
- Yuck.
[A.J. sighs]
- Pizza.
- Goody! Pizza!
- Please!
- Please!
[sighs] Okay, okay.
Got any money?
- Don't you?
- No.
How about spinach?
[grunts]
Okay, what about Mr. Tie?
- What does he eat?
- Meatloaf.
[drawer opens]
[papers rustling]
One, two, three.
- Paper.
- Scissors. Scissors cuts paper.
- No, they don't.
- Yes, they do.
Son of a...
Uh, sweetheart, you wait
right here for a second, okay?
Where'd he go?
Damn!
I got to quit smoking. [panting]
Why were we chasing him?
[door opens]
Oh, you're going to have to
get a different housecleaner.
They're back, and
they didn't get him.
Can't anybody keep that
guy on a leash till this is over?
Suppose that's the same
knife that killed Paul Holbrook?
No, that guy wouldn't
be that stupid,
if it's the same guy.
Besides, there got to be
more where that came from.
Well, first thing
in the morning,
I'll give it to Janet.
See if she can talk your
friend, the lieutenant,
into running it through the lab.
I'd rather he ran
it through his ribs.
Sure messy.
My mom wouldn't like this.
[laughing]
Neither would mine.
Mmm. Good, huh?
Yeah.
Superb.
Can I have a mouse?
Well, we didn't order
it with mouse, princess.
[Karen] But I want a mouse.
Well, in that case,
you'll have to go out
to your Uncle Rick's
boat and catch one.
Cute.
Not that kind, chocolate.
I had one last night.
With your mom and Paul?
At the restaurant.
When do I have to go to bed?
Early. You were
up late last night.
But I slept in the
car with the man.
With the man?
Don't you mean
with your stepfather, with Paul?
Paul didn't come
home with us last night.
Well, honey,
who was the man who
did go home with you?
I don't know. He was sick.
Mom, hi, Rick.
Listen, how'd you like
to do me a favor tonight?
How would you like to baby-sit
an adorable little
four-year-old girl.
She's really cute.
Her name is Karen, and
her mom's in a lot of trouble.
Mmm, you got a date.
Uh, bring him over.
A.J.'s got a better
stereo than you do.
Okay.
Bye.
- Come on.
- [Women giggling]
Come on, girl. Come on, come on.
[Women murmuring]
[Woman] Hey,
girlfriend, cheer up.
[Women yelling at once]
[Woman] I want
to get out of here!
[yelling continues]
Is everything okay with Karen?
Fine. Absolutely
fine. She's with Mom.
Leona, Karen says that Paul
didn't go home
with you last night.
But that's ridiculous.
Of course he did.
Karen rode home in
the backseat with him.
No, no, with a man, not Paul.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
Are you sure you understood her?
Karen is four-years-old.
[A.J.] I know.
She says that she and
Paul used to play a game.
She would say, "Do you like me?"
And he would say,
"No, I love you."
That's right. They
played it all the time.
All right, now,
according to her,
last night she said to the man,
"Do you like me?"
And he said, "Yes, I
like you very much."
Paul would've never said that.
Okay. You stopped
somewhere last night.
Karen had a chocolate mousse.
Where was that?
Out in the desert
at a restaurant.
[Rick] But where, honey?
About halfway to Palm Springs.
Can you remember
the name of the place?
[exhales deeply]
- The Saddle Peak Lodge.
- Okay, good.
Now, you got there,
what happened?
My God.
Paul went to the men's
room in that restaurant.
[A.J.] Yes? And?
I ordered him a
drink, and then...
He never came back to the table.
He sent the waiter over
to tell me he
wasn't feeling well.
He went right out to the
car and got in the backseat.
I never saw him
clearly after that.
The waiter, would you
describe him, please?
He was black,
very big, uh, tall.
He walked with a limp.
Steak tartar.
Rock Cornish hen.
[A.J.] Thank you.
What's wrong?
Well, now I know
why they didn't ask me
how I wanted it done.
I've seen things hurt
worse than that get well.
[A.J. laughing]
Want to trade?
Sure.
You're kidding.
Excuse me.
Is there something wrong, sir?
No, everything is
excellent, just fine.
Perhaps I can bring
you something else.
[A.J.] Actually, Jules,
I was wondering
if I might speak
with you privately.
Uh, speak about what, sir?
What if we told you
right here and now?
Wouldn't be very
private, now, would it?
How about after work?
Well, I work late,
and I'm usually tired.
But perhaps we could,
uh, meet in the morning,
before we open, say, 8:00 A.M.?
Mmm. After work,
I really like the
sound of that better.
Well, it wouldn't be
possible after work.
It wouldn't be private.
[Jules laughing]
May I bring you a wine list?
Yes, please.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you, very much.
That was delicious.
Goodnight, gentlemen.
It was.
They said they
wanted to talk in private.
I said I'd be here in
the morning at 8:00.
I'm telling you, Sam.
They're getting too close.
Both of them have seen me.
If you think that I'm
going to take a fall
for something you
told me to do, uh-uh.
I didn't ask you to
kill anybody, did I?
Eh, don't worry about it.
You just stay out of trouble.
I'll see you're taken care of.
We'll get a little welcoming
committee ready in the morning,
and we'll have
private detectives
for breakfast.
[A.J.] Mom?
[Mom] Just a moment.
Oh! What a pleasant surprise.
- Hi, Mom.
- Hi, Mom.
Mwah.
Hi, there.
Burt Holloway, here.
Hi, how do you do?
This is my son A.J.,
and the rude one was Rick.
Burt's in ladies' lingerie.
Oh, that... that's
nice. That's nice.
I'm sorry we barged
in on you like this.
We'll get our of your way
here in just a second, okay?
- Rick.
- Yeah?
This is Burt Holloway.
Hi. How are you?
Mom, is Karen okay?
Oh, she's fine.
Good, good.
Are you two all right?
[both] Oh, yeah.
- We're doing fine.
- Just great.
- [Rick] Okay, you all set?
- [A.J.] Yeah.
[Rick] Okay.
Lock.
Okay, Mom.
We'll see you later.
It was nice to meet you.
[Burt] Yeah.
Mom, have fun.
Very nice to meet you, sir.
Yeah. Yeah.
All right, it's 5:54.
Sun'll be up in a few minutes.
Well. Let's go.
Wanna get in there
before it turns light.
Yep.
[whispers] All right,
Leona said the last time
she saw Paul alive, he
was going to the men's room.
Okay. Let's go check it out.
Yeah.
[door closes]
[muffled dialogue]
[whispers] Men's room
looks perfectly normal.
Hey.
Looks like
somebody's living here.
Yeah.
Let's assume that
that door wasn't locked
the other night
when Paul was here.
He came in here, he saw
something he wasn't supposed to see.
- Or somebody.
- Or somebody.
So they killed him.
But then they got a problem.
His wife and his little girl
out there in the restaurant.
Put Paul's clothes
on somebody else.
Then just send word to the table
he's not feeling well,
he's gonna go to the car.
Leona drives all the way home
assuming that that's
Paul in the backseat.
All along, it's somebody else.
Somebody who then got in the car
which followed Leona,
brought him back here.
Neat as a pin.
Except for one problem.
A nosy neighbor with
an overactive imagination.
Now instead of having
an unsolved mystery,
you got an innocent
woman accused of murder.
[Man] Come on, Sam.
Let me buy you a drink.
[door closing]
[muffled dialogue]
[glass clinking, liquid pouring]
[both] All right, hold it!
Who the hell are those guys?
All of you now, up real slow.
Hands in the air. Turn
around, face the wall.
Ahh. I don't think
they're gonna do it.
Neither do I.
You two put away those guns
and maybe you won't get hurt.
[laughs] I don't think
that's a good idea.
- No.
- I tell you what.
We'll make you a deal, though.
You give us that
tall skinny guy,
the one that likes
to play with knives,
and we'll just take
him and go away
and you all can forget
that we were ever here.
How does that soun...
You know, if we're ever
going to get out of here,
one of us is going to have
to make a run for the truck.
I'll flip you for
it. Loser runs.
No, uh, rock, paper, scissors.
- Ready?
- Okay.
1, 2, 3.
Paper covers rocks...
and you damn well
better cover me.
[tires squealing]
Aww, jeez.
Oh, no.
Aah!
You okay?
- Yeah. You're not.
- Port side.
[gunshots]
Is that your idea of cover?
Is that your idea of driving?
- Who the hell
are those guys?
- I don't know.
Little brother, I'm sorry
I got you into this one.
Never mind that. When
we get out of here...
- Yeah?
- There's just
one thing I want.
Yeah, what?
I want you to get your damn boat
out of my yard. Okay?
- Yeah, okay.
- Okay. Are you ready?
- Yeah.
- On three.
- Right.
- [both] 1, 2...
[Man on speaker]
This is the FBI.
Hold onto three. I think
we may be out of this.
Throw down your guns
and come into the open.
- Think they mean us?
- I don't know.
This is your last warning. Throw
the guns out, away from the truck.
Then stand with your hands up.
They do mean us!
Hey! You guys!
You got it all wrong!
We're the good guys!
We know who you are.
Throw out your guns.
- Uh-uh.
- No!
Let's see some ID!
You throw a badge in here!
Good thinking.
[clears throat]
Uh, guys?
Coming out now!
No shooting, right?
Aah, aah, okay, guys.
Uh, you don't understand.
Uh, we can explain all of this.
- Really, we can.
- We really can.
A.J., explain this.
Uh. Aah!
[Man] Okay, out.
Ahh-haa.
You got us out.
No. The detective got you out.
Uh, uh, hey.
You know, you guys
managed to wander into
the middle of a very secret deal
- between the FBI...
- [Men whistling, yelling]
and an east coast gambler
named Sallie Caruso.
He was ready to
turn state's evidence
against some of his own boys.
Lieutenant, did you
know about that?
Uh, you know, the FBI had
you two under surveillance
from the very beginning.
Hi, Karen.
- [phone ringing]
- Nice to see you.
Thanks for comin'
down. How you doin'?
What do they got
you in for, Lefty?
Sweetheart, your mommy
will be out real soon.
- Goody!
- There we go.
Take her over there.
Oh, just nicked myself
shaving, that's all.
It's a nice, happy ending.
Does anybody care
that an innocent man
got killed over all this?
Well, that was one thing
the FBI hadn't figured on.
Yeah, but I'm sure
since they wanted to get
Caruso into federal court,
they were willing to
grant him amnesty.
They'll probably just look
the other way over this.
I'll make sure they don't.
Yeah.
You're gonna go
up against the FBI?
He has all their
hoods in custody,
including Caruso.
Wait a minute. How...
How's that possible since the Feds
already had him in their custody?
Well, since they
gave him amnesty,
he couldn't be arrested.
Since he couldn't be arrested,
he wasn't in their custody.
Therefore, they couldn't stop me
from arresting him.
Oh, that is absolutely inspired.
And they can thank that
young lady over there.
It was her idea.
Oh, now I'm impressed.
[laughs] Oh, really? Thank you.
Oh, Karen!
Oh, I missed you so much!
Oh, baby. [crying]
Oh, my baby.
Oh, honey, I love you.
Closed-Captioned By J.R.
Media Services, Inc. Burbank, CA
come back for a few days?
- Never.
[Announcer] Tonight
on Simon & Simon...
- Are you two all right?
- Oh, yeah. We're doing fine.
- No!
- You're not going to take
a four-year-old kid to jail.
She said if he ever hit
her again, she'd kill him.
I'm placing you under arrest for
investigation of the
murder of your husband.
She'll be taken
to juvenile hall.
He'll arrange for a foster home.
Private talent makes
me very nervous.
Aw, jeez.
[gunfire continues]
[sighs]
[glass shatters]
There's a place up here, honey.
Let's, uh... Let's
stop for some coffee.
Thank you.
- [dishes clatter]
- [Man chuckles]
Here you go, baby.
[Woman sighs]
Why don't you, uh,
order me a brandy?
I got to go.
You said coffee, Paul.
[Man] Just a minute.
Can I have it now?
Sure, honey, if they have it.
One chocolate mousse
for the little lady?
Please. And coffee
for me. And a brandy.
Yes.
Would you just tell her
that I'm not feeling well?
I'll wait for her in the car.
No problem.
The gentleman asked me to tell
you that he was not feeling well
and he went out to
the car to lie down.
I'm sure he'll be all
right. A little sleep.
There you go. You can
sit in the front seat, okay?
I want to ride in
the back with Paul.
Paul?
Paul!
[whispers] There you go.
Paul?
Are you up here?
Paul!
Paul!
Paul!
Paul!
If this is your idea of
a joke, it's not funny!
[tires screech]
- Hi, sweetie.
- Oh... Oh, Rick.
[crying] Thank you for coming.
- I'm so scared.
- I know, I know.
I know.
He just vanished into thin air.
[crying continues]
I didn't know what to do.
I didn't know whether to
call the police or to wait.
No, you did the right
thing. You called me.
Now, where's Karen?
Day school till 2:00.
Okay, now, you come
on with me. We'll find A.J.
You tell us exactly what
happened last night, okay?
- [stammers] - Hey, hey,
hey. Don't worry about it.
Wherever he is, we're
going to find him, okay?
I can't go out. Look
at me. I'm a wreck.
Hey. You look great.
Come on. Go fix your
face. You'll be fine.
Go on. Go on.
- Thanks.
- Why?
You always said I looked
good in the morning.
Still do.
That truck wasn't
there last night.
I'll get the license number.
Okay, let's go.
It was past midnight
when we got in.
Paul slept all the way home.
Then he went right inside.
I thought he was sick.
He just left Karen in
the backseat asleep.
I took her in, put her to bed.
Then he was gone.
Out the kitchen door.
He left the car?
I think somebody met
him. I heard a car drive off.
That's weird.
Very.
Well, what about work?
Anybody there know anything?
He quit his job
three months ago.
He's been looking for another.
Look, I'm sorry to ask you this,
but is it possible he had a
girlfriend who came to pick him up?
Or, you know, maybe just
somebody he went to go drinking with.
If he had a girlfriend,
I don't know about it.
And there was
liquor in the house,
so he didn't have
to go out to drink.
- Did he ever go away and not
come back for a few days?
- Never.
Oh, he'll turn up.
In fact, he'll probably be at
home by the time you get there.
But if he isn't, we'll find him.
We have them know. Advise.
Okay.
Tell us everything
you can about Paul.
Friends, business associates,
hobbies, anything that
might tie in to where he went.
Do you want us to
move on her now?
You'd rather they handle it.
Fine.
We'll let you know
as soon as she leaves.
[Woman] And they
were always fighting.
Oh, my God!
[police radio chatter]
- Mrs. Leona Holbrook?
- Yes?
I'm sorry, Mrs. Holbrook.
We think we may have
found your husband's body.
"Body"?
Yes, ma'am.
Dead?
If you could come with us.
We need to make a
positive identification.
Yes, of course.
Is it okay if she comes with me?
No problem. Follow us.
What is the matter with you?
Everything is going
down just right.
Private talent makes
me very nervous.
Easy.
[chatter]
Steady.
Watch your step.
Careful.
Careful.
Put it down.
When did it happen?
- Probably early this morning.
- Natural causes?
If you call multiple stab wounds,
massive internal hemorrhage
and crushed vertebrae
natural causes.
[Officer] Mrs. Holbrook,
is that your husband?
[cries] Yes.
[crying]
Oh, Paul.
[A.J.] Plus, I need the
preliminary findings to the autopsy,
and I need the complete
coroner's report when available.
- That won't be until tomorrow.
- Okay, well, in the meantime,
would you run a background
check on Paul Holbrook for me?
Did you ever think
of being a cop?
You sound just like one.
This is an old friend of
Rick's, and a good one.
It was her second marriage.
She didn't know the guy that long.
Maybe there was something in
his past he never told her about.
Please.
If I can, I will.
- Okay?
- Okay.
Um, what is his name again?
Holbrook. Paul Holbrook.
Okay, we've got some time.
Let's go.
[doorbell rings]
- How are you?
- Hi.
Detective Sig,
police department.
- Ah, yeah.
- Mrs. Holbrook?
- Right in there. Go on in.
- Thank you.
Hi.
- Mrs. Holbrook?
- Yes?
I'm placing you under
arrest for investigation
of the murder of your
husband, Paul Holbrook.
Now I'm going to
inform you of your rights.
[sighs]
"You have the right
to remain silent.
If you give up the
right to remain silent"...
I don't get it. Did you know
this was going to happen?
But why her? Why do they think
she had anything to do with it?
I don't know.
Mommy! Mommy! Police
cars! Can I go for a ride?
I'm going to make a call.
Come here, honey.
Everything is all right.
What are these?
Never you mind, baby.
Everything is
going to be all right.
- Hi, Uncle Rick.
- Hi, sweetie.
[A.J.] Lieutenant
Fowler, please.
The child will have
to come with us.
What are you talking
about? I can take care of her.
You the next of kin?
- No, I'm not next of kin...
- She'll be taken
to juvenile hall.
- He'll arrange
for a foster home.
- No! She's just a baby!
Mrs. Holbrook, believe me,
she'll be fine. She'll be fine.
- Now, please, calm down.
- I don't want her there!
Please, they're used to this kind
of thing at juvenile hall, believe me.
- Please calm down.
- No!
You're not going to take
a four-year-old kid to jail.
Would you mind getting
out of the way, please?
- You're not taking her.
- Now, look, if you don't move,
you'll be under arrest.
Oh, yeah? What are you
going to arrest me for?
Interfering with the
performance of an officer on duty.
Or would you prefer
resisting arrest?
Oh, I think I like the
sound of that one.
How is it that I'm resisting
arrest when you're arresting her?
- Just watch me turn this
into a parlay.
- Love to.
- Murphy.
- Come on. Slap them on, Murphy.
- You'll spend the rest
of your career indoors!
- Rick, be quiet!
Excuse me. I don't mean to
interfere, but I think you ought to know
the young lady driving up right
now is the assistant district attorney.
Now, I have reason
to believe that she's got
information that
pertains to this situation.
Excuse me. I'm Janet Fowler
from the district attorney's office.
- I love you.
- I have a custody order here
for Karen Holbrook.
She's going to be very well taken care of
by a close personal friend of the family.
She's an older woman
named Cecilia Simon.
All right. That'll be fine.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Oh, baby.
Move.
How would you like to go and
spend the night with Uncle Rick?
I want to be with you.
But you can't, honey.
You go with Rick.
You be a good girl.
Promise?
Karen's always a
good girl, aren't you?
Come on, sweetie.
Hey, everything
is going to be okay.
Hey. Where's my hug?
Oh, there's my hug!
- You used Mom's name?
- What was I going
to tell the judge?
That I was going to leave
a four-year-old with him?
Or with you? Here. Hold this.
Karen, hi there. I'm Janet.
- Hi.
- How you doing?
Why don't you
come with me, okay?
You can show me where your room
is and where you keep all your clothes,
and we'll gather up
some of your things, okay?
Hey, check out the
old biddy next door.
- [A.J.] Right.
- Hmph!
[clicks]
You're in my yard.
Yes, ma'am.
Won't be long.
You policemen!
What are you doing?
Looking for clues, ma'am.
Has one of the officers
interviewed you yet?
- Yes, this morning.
- Ah.
Well, I didn't have a
chance to read the report.
Maybe you'd be kind enough
to tell me, in your own words,
what exactly
happened last night.
Again?
Maybe you forgot
something the first time.
[dog barking]
What the hell is this guy doing?
She came home late.
He was drunk as usual.
It was 2:00 a.m., ma'am.
How come you weren't asleep?
I don't sleep well
since my husband died.
I'm sorry.
- I heard her yelling
at him again.
- "Again"?
They fought all the
time, like cats and dogs.
And with a little girl in the
house to hear every word.
Terrible.
He'd hit her.
She said if he ever hit
her again, she'd kill him.
- Ah.
- It's obvious.
He hit her, and she hit
him back and killed him.
After that, she called
that lover of hers.
"Lover"?
She was having an affair.
He probably found out about it.
Maybe that's what
they fought about.
After she killed him,
she called the lover.
He drove over. They
put the body in the car.
Then he drove the
body out to the desert.
Uh...
Uh, how much of this did
you actually see, ma'am?
Well, actually, none of it,
except her with that flashlight,
trying to make me think she didn't
know what happened to her husband.
Ah.
Cunning.
[Rick] You mean they
arrested her on the basis of that?
Apparently.
Karen, would wait
here for just a second?
I'll be right back.
There you go.
That is just ridiculous.
I mean, that old woman is
obviously crazy. Isn't that ridiculous?
Unless they had something
to corroborate her story.
- Maybe they found the man.
- No, I don't believe
she was having an affair.
She told us
that the marriage
was in trouble.
Now, if the police
found the lover,
and the lover didn't have
an alibi for late last night...
[Officer] Next.
Give me a right profile, honey.
Center. Give me center.
Come on. Lighten up your day.
- Where do you
think you're going?
- Charlie, how's it going?
- Come back here!
- Leona.
Rick!
Please, please.
This is real quick.
My partner will
handle the questions.
He can do that while we get a
cup of coffee. How does that sound?
[Officer] Come on now.
Give me a right profile there.
That way.
How do you take
your coffee? Black?
[Officer] Next.
Come on. Hurry it up.
Extra sugar, extra cream.
It's not true.
What about the lover?
Were you having an affair?
Isn't that my business?
If you were and the cops find him,
do you know what he's going to say?
Oh, Rick, what
are you asking me?
Yes, I had an affair.
It was over a couple
of months ago.
No, I didn't love him.
He was just a nice guy.
I needed him, okay?
- [A.J.] Okay.
- Yeah. Yeah.
Extra white and extra sugar.
Okay, here we go.
It'll just be a second.
Well, I guess I
forgot to press "cup."
Get him out of here, now!
- Get him out!
- Okay.
- [Officer] Front and center.
- Okay.
Come on. Chin up.
Left profile.
Next.
Leona, did you kill Paul?
Did you have a fight
when you came home?
No.
How can you believe that?
Rick, we have to go.
Yeah. Yeah.
Rick!
I didn't kill Paul, Rick!
I told you everything
that happened last night.
I hope so, honey,
'cause one way or the other, A.J. and
I are going to find out what happened.
Even if the cops don't, we will.
If you killed him, we're
going to wind up proving it.
I didn't...
[sighs]
[knocking softly]
What do you think you're doing?
I'm going to getcha! I gotcha!
Thank you very much, Janet. We're
going to take her with us this time.
Okay. Don't forget your
sweater, sweetheart. Here you go.
By the way, where
are we taking her?
Disneyland!
- Your place.
- [Janet chuckles]
- I like your teddy bear, A.J.
- [sighs]
I'm hungry.
Yeah. Me, too.
How about Clown Burgers?
Goody!
Don't like Clown
Burgers. Okay, uh...
- Taco City.
- Yeah!
- How about I cook?
- Ew.
I don't know. What do you got?
- Meatloaf?
- Yuck.
- Yuck.
- [A.J.] Spaghetti.
- [Karen] Yuck.
- Yuck.
[A.J. sighs]
- Pizza.
- Goody! Pizza!
- Please!
- Please!
[sighs] Okay, okay.
Got any money?
- Don't you?
- No.
How about spinach?
[grunts]
Okay, what about Mr. Tie?
- What does he eat?
- Meatloaf.
[drawer opens]
[papers rustling]
One, two, three.
- Paper.
- Scissors. Scissors cuts paper.
- No, they don't.
- Yes, they do.
Son of a...
Uh, sweetheart, you wait
right here for a second, okay?
Where'd he go?
Damn!
I got to quit smoking. [panting]
Why were we chasing him?
[door opens]
Oh, you're going to have to
get a different housecleaner.
They're back, and
they didn't get him.
Can't anybody keep that
guy on a leash till this is over?
Suppose that's the same
knife that killed Paul Holbrook?
No, that guy wouldn't
be that stupid,
if it's the same guy.
Besides, there got to be
more where that came from.
Well, first thing
in the morning,
I'll give it to Janet.
See if she can talk your
friend, the lieutenant,
into running it through the lab.
I'd rather he ran
it through his ribs.
Sure messy.
My mom wouldn't like this.
[laughing]
Neither would mine.
Mmm. Good, huh?
Yeah.
Superb.
Can I have a mouse?
Well, we didn't order
it with mouse, princess.
[Karen] But I want a mouse.
Well, in that case,
you'll have to go out
to your Uncle Rick's
boat and catch one.
Cute.
Not that kind, chocolate.
I had one last night.
With your mom and Paul?
At the restaurant.
When do I have to go to bed?
Early. You were
up late last night.
But I slept in the
car with the man.
With the man?
Don't you mean
with your stepfather, with Paul?
Paul didn't come
home with us last night.
Well, honey,
who was the man who
did go home with you?
I don't know. He was sick.
Mom, hi, Rick.
Listen, how'd you like
to do me a favor tonight?
How would you like to baby-sit
an adorable little
four-year-old girl.
She's really cute.
Her name is Karen, and
her mom's in a lot of trouble.
Mmm, you got a date.
Uh, bring him over.
A.J.'s got a better
stereo than you do.
Okay.
Bye.
- Come on.
- [Women giggling]
Come on, girl. Come on, come on.
[Women murmuring]
[Woman] Hey,
girlfriend, cheer up.
[Women yelling at once]
[Woman] I want
to get out of here!
[yelling continues]
Is everything okay with Karen?
Fine. Absolutely
fine. She's with Mom.
Leona, Karen says that Paul
didn't go home
with you last night.
But that's ridiculous.
Of course he did.
Karen rode home in
the backseat with him.
No, no, with a man, not Paul.
I don't know what
you're talking about.
Are you sure you understood her?
Karen is four-years-old.
[A.J.] I know.
She says that she and
Paul used to play a game.
She would say, "Do you like me?"
And he would say,
"No, I love you."
That's right. They
played it all the time.
All right, now,
according to her,
last night she said to the man,
"Do you like me?"
And he said, "Yes, I
like you very much."
Paul would've never said that.
Okay. You stopped
somewhere last night.
Karen had a chocolate mousse.
Where was that?
Out in the desert
at a restaurant.
[Rick] But where, honey?
About halfway to Palm Springs.
Can you remember
the name of the place?
[exhales deeply]
- The Saddle Peak Lodge.
- Okay, good.
Now, you got there,
what happened?
My God.
Paul went to the men's
room in that restaurant.
[A.J.] Yes? And?
I ordered him a
drink, and then...
He never came back to the table.
He sent the waiter over
to tell me he
wasn't feeling well.
He went right out to the
car and got in the backseat.
I never saw him
clearly after that.
The waiter, would you
describe him, please?
He was black,
very big, uh, tall.
He walked with a limp.
Steak tartar.
Rock Cornish hen.
[A.J.] Thank you.
What's wrong?
Well, now I know
why they didn't ask me
how I wanted it done.
I've seen things hurt
worse than that get well.
[A.J. laughing]
Want to trade?
Sure.
You're kidding.
Excuse me.
Is there something wrong, sir?
No, everything is
excellent, just fine.
Perhaps I can bring
you something else.
[A.J.] Actually, Jules,
I was wondering
if I might speak
with you privately.
Uh, speak about what, sir?
What if we told you
right here and now?
Wouldn't be very
private, now, would it?
How about after work?
Well, I work late,
and I'm usually tired.
But perhaps we could,
uh, meet in the morning,
before we open, say, 8:00 A.M.?
Mmm. After work,
I really like the
sound of that better.
Well, it wouldn't be
possible after work.
It wouldn't be private.
[Jules laughing]
May I bring you a wine list?
Yes, please.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you, very much.
That was delicious.
Goodnight, gentlemen.
It was.
They said they
wanted to talk in private.
I said I'd be here in
the morning at 8:00.
I'm telling you, Sam.
They're getting too close.
Both of them have seen me.
If you think that I'm
going to take a fall
for something you
told me to do, uh-uh.
I didn't ask you to
kill anybody, did I?
Eh, don't worry about it.
You just stay out of trouble.
I'll see you're taken care of.
We'll get a little welcoming
committee ready in the morning,
and we'll have
private detectives
for breakfast.
[A.J.] Mom?
[Mom] Just a moment.
Oh! What a pleasant surprise.
- Hi, Mom.
- Hi, Mom.
Mwah.
Hi, there.
Burt Holloway, here.
Hi, how do you do?
This is my son A.J.,
and the rude one was Rick.
Burt's in ladies' lingerie.
Oh, that... that's
nice. That's nice.
I'm sorry we barged
in on you like this.
We'll get our of your way
here in just a second, okay?
- Rick.
- Yeah?
This is Burt Holloway.
Hi. How are you?
Mom, is Karen okay?
Oh, she's fine.
Good, good.
Are you two all right?
[both] Oh, yeah.
- We're doing fine.
- Just great.
- [Rick] Okay, you all set?
- [A.J.] Yeah.
[Rick] Okay.
Lock.
Okay, Mom.
We'll see you later.
It was nice to meet you.
[Burt] Yeah.
Mom, have fun.
Very nice to meet you, sir.
Yeah. Yeah.
All right, it's 5:54.
Sun'll be up in a few minutes.
Well. Let's go.
Wanna get in there
before it turns light.
Yep.
[whispers] All right,
Leona said the last time
she saw Paul alive, he
was going to the men's room.
Okay. Let's go check it out.
Yeah.
[door closes]
[muffled dialogue]
[whispers] Men's room
looks perfectly normal.
Hey.
Looks like
somebody's living here.
Yeah.
Let's assume that
that door wasn't locked
the other night
when Paul was here.
He came in here, he saw
something he wasn't supposed to see.
- Or somebody.
- Or somebody.
So they killed him.
But then they got a problem.
His wife and his little girl
out there in the restaurant.
Put Paul's clothes
on somebody else.
Then just send word to the table
he's not feeling well,
he's gonna go to the car.
Leona drives all the way home
assuming that that's
Paul in the backseat.
All along, it's somebody else.
Somebody who then got in the car
which followed Leona,
brought him back here.
Neat as a pin.
Except for one problem.
A nosy neighbor with
an overactive imagination.
Now instead of having
an unsolved mystery,
you got an innocent
woman accused of murder.
[Man] Come on, Sam.
Let me buy you a drink.
[door closing]
[muffled dialogue]
[glass clinking, liquid pouring]
[both] All right, hold it!
Who the hell are those guys?
All of you now, up real slow.
Hands in the air. Turn
around, face the wall.
Ahh. I don't think
they're gonna do it.
Neither do I.
You two put away those guns
and maybe you won't get hurt.
[laughs] I don't think
that's a good idea.
- No.
- I tell you what.
We'll make you a deal, though.
You give us that
tall skinny guy,
the one that likes
to play with knives,
and we'll just take
him and go away
and you all can forget
that we were ever here.
How does that soun...
You know, if we're ever
going to get out of here,
one of us is going to have
to make a run for the truck.
I'll flip you for
it. Loser runs.
No, uh, rock, paper, scissors.
- Ready?
- Okay.
1, 2, 3.
Paper covers rocks...
and you damn well
better cover me.
[tires squealing]
Aww, jeez.
Oh, no.
Aah!
You okay?
- Yeah. You're not.
- Port side.
[gunshots]
Is that your idea of cover?
Is that your idea of driving?
- Who the hell
are those guys?
- I don't know.
Little brother, I'm sorry
I got you into this one.
Never mind that. When
we get out of here...
- Yeah?
- There's just
one thing I want.
Yeah, what?
I want you to get your damn boat
out of my yard. Okay?
- Yeah, okay.
- Okay. Are you ready?
- Yeah.
- On three.
- Right.
- [both] 1, 2...
[Man on speaker]
This is the FBI.
Hold onto three. I think
we may be out of this.
Throw down your guns
and come into the open.
- Think they mean us?
- I don't know.
This is your last warning. Throw
the guns out, away from the truck.
Then stand with your hands up.
They do mean us!
Hey! You guys!
You got it all wrong!
We're the good guys!
We know who you are.
Throw out your guns.
- Uh-uh.
- No!
Let's see some ID!
You throw a badge in here!
Good thinking.
[clears throat]
Uh, guys?
Coming out now!
No shooting, right?
Aah, aah, okay, guys.
Uh, you don't understand.
Uh, we can explain all of this.
- Really, we can.
- We really can.
A.J., explain this.
Uh. Aah!
[Man] Okay, out.
Ahh-haa.
You got us out.
No. The detective got you out.
Uh, uh, hey.
You know, you guys
managed to wander into
the middle of a very secret deal
- between the FBI...
- [Men whistling, yelling]
and an east coast gambler
named Sallie Caruso.
He was ready to
turn state's evidence
against some of his own boys.
Lieutenant, did you
know about that?
Uh, you know, the FBI had
you two under surveillance
from the very beginning.
Hi, Karen.
- [phone ringing]
- Nice to see you.
Thanks for comin'
down. How you doin'?
What do they got
you in for, Lefty?
Sweetheart, your mommy
will be out real soon.
- Goody!
- There we go.
Take her over there.
Oh, just nicked myself
shaving, that's all.
It's a nice, happy ending.
Does anybody care
that an innocent man
got killed over all this?
Well, that was one thing
the FBI hadn't figured on.
Yeah, but I'm sure
since they wanted to get
Caruso into federal court,
they were willing to
grant him amnesty.
They'll probably just look
the other way over this.
I'll make sure they don't.
Yeah.
You're gonna go
up against the FBI?
He has all their
hoods in custody,
including Caruso.
Wait a minute. How...
How's that possible since the Feds
already had him in their custody?
Well, since they
gave him amnesty,
he couldn't be arrested.
Since he couldn't be arrested,
he wasn't in their custody.
Therefore, they couldn't stop me
from arresting him.
Oh, that is absolutely inspired.
And they can thank that
young lady over there.
It was her idea.
Oh, now I'm impressed.
[laughs] Oh, really? Thank you.
Oh, Karen!
Oh, I missed you so much!
Oh, baby. [crying]
Oh, my baby.
Oh, honey, I love you.
Closed-Captioned By J.R.
Media Services, Inc. Burbank, CA