Starsky and Hutch (1975–1979): Season 1, Episode 9 - The Bait - full transcript

How many times you
going to count that, Starsk?

Just watch the road, okay?

You know what
your problem is, boy?

What's that?

Looking rich makes you nervous.

This fine set of wheels

intimidates your
basic gross nature.

It's these kinky clothes
that make me nervous.

You want to look like a pimp,

you've got to dress like one.

Hey.



What?

These shoes you bought me.

Yeah?

They're killing my instep.

Instep?

Instep.

It's the inside of the sole.

I love those shoes.

Uh-oh.

Here come the do-right brothers.

It's the heat. Move.

Run.

Now what do we do, huh?

Surrender.



Knew you'd come
through in a pinch.

I didn't know it was heroin.

I swear.

I didn't know what
I was carrying.

Okay, Rafferty...

No, no. I'm O'Brien.

This here is Rafferty.

How did you leave Chicago?

Pretty much as we found it.

Comedians.

Cops chase you out?

A few of the boys
got angry at us

and, well, uh...

you know how it is.

Moore, how long you
been doing business

with these two?

Who's doing business?

I ran into these
guys in the alley.

They tried to sell me some dope.

I never saw them before.

Book them.

Well, you win some,
you lose some.

Easy.

Hey I got an itchy
nose. Scratch it?

Hey don't forget
to book my shoes.

Why didn't you tell these people

you were in their territory?

We figured there was less chance

of getting our cover blown.

Is that your thinking too?

Well, I figure

the fewer people
know you're cops,

of course, the
fewer people can tell.

Terrific.

After spending a lot of
the taxpayers' money,

you finally nail somebody
in Danner's operation,

then you have him busted.

A fat lot of good
he's going to do us

doing five to 10 in the joint.

Well, I guess we
start from scratch.

Maybe not.

You got any ideas, captain?

The Narcs in this precinct

want Danner too.

They busted one of his girls

this morning

with two kilos of smack,

just before they busted you.

Starsky, will you
get your own coffee?

Sorry, cap.

Her name is, uh...

Cheryl Waite.

She's young

and this is her first offense.

You think she'll help us?

Nobody's asked her yet.

Now, the D.A.
just might be willing

to work a deal

if she can point you to Danner.

Well, once we hit
the street, of course,

Danner's going to
know we broke loose.

That'll really impress him.

That'll help the image.

Sure.

Can't go on meeting here, cap.

How about Huggy Bear's?

Just ask for
Rafferty and O'Brien.

I know who you are.

Go spring the girl.

Whew, boy.

You sure two are cops?

Yeah, nice cover,
don't you think?

Yeah, except for his shoes.

I told you. They're not me.

Oh, stop bellyaching.

Let's get out of here.

Where are we going?

Uh, you hungry?

Yeah. Why?

What do you want?

What do I really want?

Yeah.

Lobster.

What's shaking? What's the deal?

Well, it's been
less than two hours

since you were picked up.

Danner doesn't know
you were arrested,

so what we want you to do

is to make the drop
like nothing happened.

Yeah, then what do I do?

Well, when you find an opening,

You let Danner know
that you met two guys,

O'Brien and Rafferty,

from Chicago,

who want to deal.

I can't.

I don't deal with Danner.

Danner never
gets near the street.

We all deal independently.

Who do you deal with?

A guy named Connie.

Is he close to Danner?

Danner keeps all of
us working in the blind.

Me, I'm small fry.

I got a feeling Connie's
not much bigger.

Okay.

We start with Connie.

How much are you looking to buy?

Half a kilo.

And then we let them know

that's only for openers.

So...

I let Danner know you're
in the market to buy,

you arrest him

making a sale,

and I get a suspended
sentence, right?

If you're straight with us.

That's a two-way street.

The lady's cautious.

The lady's been burned.

Danner has his offices in there.

It's an import-export brokerage

for stamps and coins.

We'll check it out.

It's legitimate.

The stamps, anyway.

I hear he's a real
freak for them.

There's the man himself.

So near and yet so far away.

Who's that goon with Danner?

Starsky...

I know that man.

It's, uh...

Shockley. Shockley.

I busted him when
he was just a runner,

back when I was
still in uniform.

Do you think he'd
still recognize you?

Yeah, I'm sure of it.

If we're going to start

getting close to Danner,

it better be without Shockley.

Well, I guess we
worry about that

when the time comes.

Why, sure, my man.

We can deal.

It'd be my pleasure.

I always like doing business
with my Caucasian cousins.

Okay, cousin. How much?

30 long ones.

Well, that's $5000
over the going price.

Hey, man,

if you can't come
up with an extra five,

you're in the wrong business.

I mean, you are
seriously underfinanced.

Dig?

Friend, we've got all
the money we need.

We just don't dig a rip-off.

Hey, I got other customers.

You can take it or shake it.

Okay, you got it, boy.

Now, if we like it,

we'll be back for more.

More than you can handle, maybe.

Well, I can only
give it my best.

See if you can do something

about your price structure.

Well, I'll have
to consider that,

but I'd need some incentive.

It's hard doing business

without incentive.

You need any girls?

Why?

Because I've got too many.

In fact, I've got a
whole crib too many.

What you got?

Well, for starters,

I got this big, black,
beautiful Cadillac

with all the extras

and three white
Chevys, almost like new,

a brown Jag,

and a brand new '61 Triumph.

Sounds good.

We'll have to think about it.

Like my daddy used to say,

"Son, you got to
get the cotton picked

before you go to town."

Where do you want us to go?

I want you to go home

and wait for a phone call.

I pick the time and place.

We're at the Regency.

Nice pad.

Who's financing you?

The good old boys back in Texas.

You ready?

Hey, she's going with me.

Yeah, why not?

You believe that?

Did you hear what he said?

Yeah.

"1961 Triumph."

That girl's got to be
all of 14 years old.

You know something, Starsky?

When we blow this operation,

it's going to be my pleasure

to bust that clown.

Word is, you were two hours late

with your delivery this morning.

How come?

I heard Moore got busted.

I laid back,
moved a little slow,

just to play it safe.

Hey, but Billy had
to tell Mr. Danner

about the delay,

and it made them
both very nervous.

Now they want explanations.

Billy has my phone number.

All he had to do
was call and ask,

Yeah, but Billy isn't interested

in your number anymore.

He has other interests,

like trying to keep
Mr. Danner happy,

Well, you tell Mr. Danner

I was protecting
his property today.

Well, I'll pass
that thought along.

While you're at it,
ask him about Joanne.

Hey, you keep asking
about that chick.

Why?

Because, man,

you won't give me
a straight answer.

Well, maybe I'm trying
to tell you something.

Forget her.

Connie, she was my friend.

I care about her.

If you care about yourself,

you'll forget her.

You'll live longer.

Now, get in.

Beautiful.

Just beautiful.

I can hardly believe
I finally have it.

Look at it, Billy.

See what it took me
nine years of my life

and $212,000 to attain.

That's a lot of money
for a piece of paper.

Hawaiian Missionary, 1859.

Only two are
known to exist still

in the entire world,

and now...

I have one of them.

And who has the other one?

Oh, the museum.

Now...

what is it about these two,

O'Brien and Rafferty?

They been fishing
around the street

for the past week,

making bigger and bigger buys,

and they got busted with
Eddie Moore yesterday.

And back on the street already?

Well, it seems they
have some clout,

both on the street
and with the heat.

How'd they get to Connie?

Through Cheryl.

Cheryl.

That girl had an
interesting day.

Disappeared for a while

with a quarter million in junk,

and then connects
with these two?

It's either quick thinking or...

You think the one thing

has something to
do with the other?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Watch them.

If they're just trying
to hustle a buck,

we'll do business with them,

but if they're too ambitious...

Well, Billy, you know what to do

with people who
are too ambitious...

or cops...

or girls...

who bring us cops.

Have I ever let you
down, Mr. Danner?

Not yet, Billy.

Not yet.

He's all right. He's deaf.

We want a full kilo this time.

Well, ain't we coming
up in the world?

How much?

That depends.

You buying my crib?

We're still thinking about it.

Fine.

You do that.

Take all the time you need,

but that much smack
is going to cost you

65 big ones.

65?

You know,

you just tacked
on an extra 5000,

and for that, you might as well

throw in your stable too.

I would have, I could have,

but now I ain't.

Well, I'll tell you something.

You can take your kilo

and you can take your women

and you can stuff it.

You're pushing it, Connie.

You can take it or shake it.

You've got a deal.

We're on.

You know something?

What?

I think you hurt his feelings.

Huggy Bear.

Hey, what's happening, captain?

Oh, I thought I might
see Rafferty and O'Brien.

Who?

Starsky and Hutch.

Hey, captain,

what you doing down here?

Trying to be ethnic?

Huggy, please.

Look, if I order
something to eat,

you promise to
stay out of right?

You name it, captain,
and I'll lay it on you.

Okay, bring me a
bowl of won ton soup.

One won ton
soup, s'il vous plait,

tout suite.

Does he really
have won ton soup?

Do you really eat won ton soup?

Diane,

run down to the Chinese place

and get me a little
won ton soup to go,

okay?

Come on, captain.

$15,000 more.

Can't you make an exception?

It's not up to me.

If you want that
kind of flash money,

we've got to bring in the Feds.

Oh, come on, captain.

We let Drug Enforcement in,

and they're going to
want to do it their way.

I can't help that.

That's where the extra money

comes from.

What do you think?

I'm against it.

Okay, we go with the 50,

We'll call for the college boys

when and if we need them.

You're going to short
a dealer 15 grand?

That's asking for trouble.

Well, it'll light a fire

under Danner, anyway,

huh?

Your order.

Well, you, uh...

serve won ton soup.

We aim to please,

everything from
chitlins to Chinese.

Now, remember,

any trouble and
you hit the deck.

Yeah.

This stuff ain't as
good as the last bag.

Naturally.

You pay more, you get less.

Isn't that the way
your head works?

Hey, ain't nobody
twisting your arm.

Appears to me you are.

So, take a walk.

Deal.

You're short.

That's funny. I
don't feel short.

Do I look short?

No, I think he's talking
about the money, Raf.

Hey, what are you
clowns trying to pull?

Just consider that
payment in full, Connie.

Oh, will you look at that?

Bet I can shoot
farther with this.

You guys don't come up

with another 15 big ones,

something's going
to come over you

like a sack full of snakes.

Hey, he means it.

You two agreed to 65.

You stay out of this.

You got a fair price, boy.

Take it or shake it.

Well, how'd I do?

Couldn't be better.

You looked just scared enough.

Don't kid yourself. I was.

We all were.

I think it's about time
for the lady to bow out.

Don't you think, Starsk?

Good idea.

You mean this is all
you want me to do?

We just needed your help.

You don't have to bleed for us.

You two really are straight.

Yeah. How about that?

Well, in a kinky kind of way.

Connie doesn't
know where you live,

does he?

No, we don't socialize.

Well, we don't think
he's going to bother you,

but just in case you want
to get in touch with us,

we're going to give you
Huggy Bear's number.

Huggy Bear's?

What are you two
going to do now?

We're going to lock up the smack

and then we're going to wait

for the explosion.

You really think

you caused enough trouble
to get Danner's attention?

If we haven't, we will.

Thank you.

That's all, Shockley.

I won't need you any more today.

Thanks, Mr. Danner.

So, Billy, how do you read this?

Well, according to Connie,

these two punks ripped him off

for about 15 big ones,

and you know that's
not going to put them

on the top of
Connie's hit parade.

Now, I've been doing
some checking around,

and I can't find out
much about them,

but then, with all
this new money

coming out of Texas, it's, uh...

It's hard to trace.

I figure they're just
a couple of nobodies.

Nobodies don't
pull stunts like that,

and your girlfriend,

she should watch the
company she keeps.

She's not my girl, Mr. Danner.

She's just...

one of the group.

I mean,

I may have given
her a few strokes

to keep her in our pocket.

Yes, but is she in
our pockets, Billy?

I mean, if she's
bringing us trouble...

Well, if she is, Mr. Danner,

I'll straighten her out.

That's good, Billy.

I wouldn't want to lose my faith

in your ability to
handle the personnel.

I'll take care of
it, Mr. Danner.

I'm sure you will, Billy.

I know you will.

Egg shells in the coffee?

You didn't learn
that in the big city.

I did too.

Philadelphia, P.A.

Oh.

Yeah, this is
Detective Hutchinson.

Give me Dobey, please.

What you really want to know

is how did a nice girl like me

get into a mess
like this, right?

What I really want to know is,

you got any milk?

Oh.

Why didn't you ask?

It's on the side
of the door. Oh.

Now, tell me about the mess.

What happened is,

I came out here to be somebody,

but I didn't know who or how,

so I started looking
for shortcuts.

I met a guy named
Billy Harkness.

Pretty Billy Harkness?

That's Danner's number one boy.

Yeah, Pretty Billy Harkness.

I really thought I loved him,

and he said, "Sure, baby,

and if you love me,
will you do me a favor..."

"And carry this paper
bag full of heroin?"

I loved him,

so I didn't look
inside the paper bag

till it was too late.

By that time, I was out of love,

and dealing for
Danner's organization.

Why didn't you walk?

I had a friend.

My roommate, Joanne Stockwood.

She went the same
route with Harkness,

only worse.

The needle.

That whole rotten scene.

She ended up in
one of Danner's cribs.

Is this the girl?

Pretty lady.

Really.

She was a good friend too.

The only one I had.

Had?

She's gone, disappeared.

When?

Four weeks ago.

She wanted out and she said so.

So, to keep from
disappearing yourself,

you do as you're told, right?

You get scared enough,
you do anything, almost.

Can we keep this picture?

Sure.

Do you think you could find her?

We can try.

Hey, I'd really appreciate that.

Oh, Dobey wants
to see us right away.

Well, Starsk, put it down.

Rain check on the coffee?

Yeah.

Maybe I'll even bake a cake.

Keep it locked.

Talk to you later.

Thanks.

So what does Dobey want?

Well, the Drug Enforcement boys

want to meet us

before they'll give
us any flash money.

Oh, well, is this
a formal affair,

or will this zoot
suit suit them?

It's going to be fun, Blanche.

Billy...

Hello, darling.

Give up the lady,

but you ought never
give up the key.

What do you want, Billy?

No more, Billy.

No more.

No, please, Billy...

I've got to talk to
Huggy about that.

What?

It's illegal to take
one of those things

out of a market.

Relax.

Take away his only
means of transportation.

Still ought to
give him a ticket.

What for?

Illegal parking.

He doesn't have to park there.

That thing doesn't
even have an engine.

What difference does that make?

You got pain on the brain.

Carter, this is Hutch.

How do you do? Hi.

That's Starsky.

How are you?

Carter's with the Federal
Drug Enforcement.

Hear you need some flash money.

Mm-hmm.

About a quarter of a million.

Ooh, that's a lot of green.

You want the big fish,

you've got to have the big bait.

We'll have to be in on it.

Okay.

We'll let you know
when it goes down.

Okay.

I'll send the money
over to your office.

You call me when
you make a move.

You got it.

You're frowning.

He's frowning.

Maybe he thinks

we're going to stick
him with the bill.

You gave in to him too easily.

Oh, come on, cap.

Just 'cause we're dressed funny

doesn't mean
we're not nice guys.

Look, O'Brien, Rafferty...

I'm Rafferty. He's O'Brien.

If I give you

a quarter of a million
dollars of the Feds' money,

you best not get cute with them.

How's it going with the girl?

Oh, she did fine, captain,

really fine,

but I think we ought to take her

into protective custody.

I'll pass that along.

Oh...

Where's that picture?

Would you put out a
missing person's on this girl?

Who is she?

Name's Joanne Stockwood.

She was Cheryl's roommate,

also one of Danner's girls,

till she started to hassle them.

You saying Danner
had her killed?

It's possible.

I'll see what I can do.

Starsky.

Hmm?

Do you know a good dry cleaner?

What?

We're about to get dirty.

Oh, boy.

Nobody said it was
going to be easy.

Hutch? What?

You think they made us?

I don't know,

but either way,

Danner's going to hear about it.

You thinking the
same thing I am?

Yeah.

Maybe we ought to get
Cheryl out of her place

before Connie decides
to lean on her too.

Clear.

Cheryl?

No, go away.

Nothing happened. Go away.

I can't talk to you anymore.

No, no.

Shh. It's all right.

It's all right.

Was it Connie?

He couldn't have been
two places at one time.

I'll get the washcloth.

Come on, take it easy.

It's okay. It's okay.

Anything broken?

Harkness?

No. No.

Harkness.

Harkness.

Ow...

Shh.

Please, he'll kill me.

I can't talk to you anymore.

I can't testify.

You've come this far.

No, no, I can't.

Just arrest me or whatever.

I can't talk to you anymore.

Shh.

I can't.

Cheryl...

Cheryl, listen,

if we tell that to the D.A.

you're right back
where you started from.

We can't let you blow this one.

She could stay at my place.

That's right.

No...

We're going to get
you to a doctor, huh?

He'll give you a
clean bill of health.

What's going on here?

Harkness, you're a mean man.

What are you
doing here, O'Brien?

I'm Rafferty.

He's O'Brien.

Hi, fella.

Harkness...

you beat up that girl.

Now she won't talk to us.

We're very upset.

What do you want from me, man?

We want to stay in business,

but since you
don't want that girl

to handle our action,

we decided to
come directly to you.

Have I stated it correctly?

Yeah, but I think

you should also explain
to Mr. Harkness here

that we're going to be angry

if he refuses.

Oh, yeah.

We will be very angry.

How much do you want?

Five kilos.

Five kilos?

We're going to pay a
quarter of a million for it,

but we want to deal with Danner.

Uh, that's out. That's out.

Nobody talks to Danner.

That's the rule.

Well, break the rule.

Bring Danner.

Tell him we're prepared

to handle five kilos a week.

All right, I'll...
I'll bring him.

Where?

Uh, warehouse.

Fifth and Mountain View.

10:00 tomorrow morning.

You've got a deal, Pretty Billy.

Hey.

That's for the girl.

Don't you ever touch her again,

you hear?

Well, I guess Dobey and
the Feds aren't going to show.

You did tell them Fifth
and Mountain View.

Oh, fudge.

You didn't give them
the wrong address...

I told them Fifth and Hill View.

There's nothing
there but a taco stand.

I know.

You're going to
get us both killed.

Got your gun?

No.

Good.

I don't see Danner.

Do you?

Nope.

Hey, Pretty Billy.

Hey, man.

Brought the stuff.
Where's Danner?

What's going on?

Shoot him!

Fifth and Hill View.

You know what's at
Fifth and Hill View?

A taco stand.

Dobey, you knew they
were going to stiff us.

Hill View, Mountain View.

It's a natural mistake.

Natural? Sure.

I want my quarter-million back.

We still need it.

Okay.

Set it up and then call me.

I'll bring it with me.

Go on, give it to him.

It's your money.

It's all there.

Okay, geniuses.

Where do we go from here?

Well, Danner doesn't
have Harkness

to run interference for him.

So we'll have to deal
with him personally.

I don't think so.

Danner ain't going to let you

anywhere near him.

Wait a minute.

Harkness was killed
because he was stupid.

Danner knows we
didn't pull the trigger.

You ever think Danner might
have told Harkness to off you?

I don't think so.

Look, Carter didn't ever
get to that little meeting,

so there was no heat showing,

so Danner's got no
reason to make us as cops.

I think we can get him to deal.

I don't think so.

I think we're going to
have to change the bait

or something...

Okay, we change
the bait or something.

And by the way, that girl,

the one you gave
me that picture of.

Yeah, what about her?

Joanne Stockwood.

She washed up on
the beach yesterday.

Homicide?

Homicide, suicide.

It was an overdose of heroin.

We're going to need Cheryl Waite

to make a positive
identification.

Hey, sit down.

You okay?

Yeah.

You don't think she
OD'd by accident, do you?

Joanne was kicking it.

She was cutting
down a little every day.

It hurt like hell, but
she was doing it.

Danner knew it,

and he decided he couldn't
trust her anymore, huh?

Yeah, he knew,

and he had her killed.

You'll never be able
to prove it, will you?

As it stands,

we couldn't even
get a drug conviction.

It's just not fair.

No, it's not fair...

and it's not over, either.

Somehow, somewhere...

Cheryl...

we need something

to get Danner out into the open.

So we can deal with him.

There's got to be
something in his background.

Think back.

Something big,

something that
can bring him out.

Something to lure him out,

something that's more
important than money.

No.

The Hawaiian Missionary.

Who?

Yes?

Have you read the
story on page three

as we instructed you?

I've read it.

My friends

Mr. Rafferty and Mr. O'Brien

are prepared to give you

the Hawaiian Missionary

as a token of their good faith.

All you have to do

is complete the
deal for five kilos.

Tell them...

to be here in two hours.

We have a deal.

It's set.

Okay.

Now, here's the stamp.

If you lose it,

the museum gets our
paychecks for the next 20 years.

We'll take care of it.

Let's just hope

you can take care of Shockley.

Well, you're going to
have three or four hours

before his lawyer
can spring him.

That's our man Shockley.

Let's go get him.

You want my license, right?

Not really.

I want you.

Shockley?

What are you doing down here?

Mr. Goring,

I was just going to call you,

soon as they booked me.

Booked you for what?

Ah, some traffic thing.

They say I've got
an outstanding ticket.

I ain't never had
a ticket in my life.

Can you handle it?

I think so.

Wait outside.

Come on.

We're going in, captain.

Okay,

we're going to give you

five minutes.

Units two and three.

We're going to give them

five minutes

and then we're going in.

I believe you've all met,

or should I say collided?

We were just

ironing out our differences,

right, Connie?

They're not ironed
out yet, O'Brien.

Oh, no, no, I'm O'Brien.

This here's Rafferty.

I believe you gentlemen

have a token of
good faith for me?

Incredible.

Incredible.

Well, we figure

it's good business to
know as much as we can

about the people we're
doing business with.

You, uh...

do have the money?

If he knows how,

you might have him count it.

That's Shockley.

What the...

What's wrong? Who's that?

That guy can make
Hutch as a cop.

Units two and three.

Move in.

God stuff.

You buy a quarter million
a week, it'll stay good.

Mr. Danner...

I'm sorry I'm late.

Some jerk traffic...

Hey, he's a cop.

Where's the stamp?

Huh?

The stamp from the museum!

The stamp?

Uh, I don't know.

We've got to find the stamp.

I got it.

All right.

How about this?

Thank you.

Well, you all set?

I guess.

You water your plants?

Check.

How long you going to be gone?

Well, I talked to
Joanne's parents today,

and they want me
to stay for a while.

How about Philadelphia?

Philadelphia?

I'll touch base,

give old Ma and
Pa a hug and a kiss.

Here you go.

My, haven't we
come up in the world?

You guys...

If you ever get
back this way again,

I'll take you to a great
Chinese pizza joint.

Yeah, don't you listen to him.

Chinese pizza?

Mm-hmm.

Are you kidding?

Yeah, this Italian
friend of mine

meets this Chinese lady,

and they decide to
open a restaurant.

And wait till he
tells you the one

about his other
friend, who tried to mix

Irish coffee with chicken soup

and came up

with "Mother McCree's
Kosher Cure-All."

No, hey, come
on, really, really.

They bought this
old second-hand bus,

you know, real cheap

and they decided to
put tables and chairs in it.

They got a watercress
and anchovy pizza

that'll knock...

Watercress and anchovy?

Yeah, with sweet and sour sauce,

you know, mixed
with parmesan cheese,

and you don't even
need a reservation.