Tenspeed and Brown Shoe (1980): Season 1, Episode 5 - Savage Says: What Are Friends For? - full transcript
Stockbroker Marty Huckerman, an old friend of Lionel's, hires the agency to investigate two men who have threatened him after having him invest their money. When Marty turns up dead, the partners realize that Marty may have been laundering drug money for a motorcycle gang... and the gang wants their money back.
I ought to pop you two on principle.
How long you been interested
in motorcycles?
Fell down and broke his neck!
I'm Dr Quentin Farnsworth.
It doesn't have to be like that.
I am Detective Lieutenant
Elliot Germaine.
There's no point in having a fantasy
if it's ignored.
I am Benal Habasar.
I'm president of Whitney Investigations.
He is a murderer.
Giddy-giddy-gai.
- I don't like it.
- You like getting stiffed?
- No, that's not the point.
- Vickers should have paid us.
Keep that in mind. We did the job.
It's not like he can't pay.
It's one of the biggest retail stores
in town!
All I'm after is what we earned
and I'll get it. One way or the other.
- Nice.
- Nice. On a busy day too.
I still don't like it.
I should go in with you.
They owe the agency
for services rendered.
How many times were you here
trying to collect?
The number doesn't alter the situation.
- Do you want the money?
- Yes, I do. We need it.
- Let me collect!
- You'll scam.
Scam it? Lie?
He won't go for a scam.
I'm going to go in
and collect what is due.
- All I want from you is your tie.
- My tie? You have a tie.
I'm going to turn it
into accounts receivable.
We have accounts receivable.
What we want is a remittance.
- It's basic accounting.
- Whatever.
What I'll do is turn this tie
into our accounts payable.
Do me a favour. Curl up here with
Savage and leave the driving to us.
Don't slam the door like that, please.
Let's hope that movie company
doesn't block the alley none.
- There's a movie company?
- Yeah, they're unloading equipment.
- Excuse me.
- What do you mean?
- I'll be right back.
- Wait a minute!
No, no, gentlemen, please.
May I help you, sir?
My name is Stanley Vickers and you are?
Allow for introducing of self.
I am Benal Habasar, chief dresser of
Sheikh Abdul Dasin of Sheikdom Daboot.
Oh, yes, of course.
How may we help you, please?
His Royal Highness say unto me,
"Go find self royal clothes of western."
Yes, the sheikh wants
to wear western dress, yes?
Sheikh say he pay in dollar
but he say unto me,
"Banal, it is imperative I see first
and pay anon."
No problem. You take the clothes on
account. We'll square it all away later.
Do you have the sheikh's sizes?
This fortunate for sheikh and self
of same size.
Oh, very good.
It's all going to be very easy.
You see, all of these clothes over here
start at $1,000 and go up.
So cheap?
The District Attorney's office
declined to comment
on financial activities of the outlaw
motorcycle club, the Hell Hounds.
Sources say they funnel illegal funds
into legitimate enterprises.
This belongs
to your tailor shop downstairs.
Make sure they get it, will you?
Hey, Turner! How did you get in here?
Stop that man!
Call it account squared.
So long, sucker!
- I'm going, I'm going!
- Hurry up!
Vickers back there is loading up
his musket so you'd better step on it!
You're having a great time?
All I did was went in there, man,
and hit the man where it hurts.
- Got us a deal.
- You stole the clothes?
Watch your mouth!
I never steal anything.
I took back what he owed us in trade.
Did you get anything for me?
- Oh.
- Oh, what?
- Could I at least have my tie back?
- Yeah.
- It's shredded.
- It is, isn't it?
Hey, look at it this way.
You can always use this for a bookmark
or you can use it to hang a plant
or you can use it to hold back shutters
at our office or as a dust rag.
Like a maniac! A maniac!
That's for the Agency. They owe us
money. It's for your benefit.
Why do you think I do this stuff?
- Lionel, baby!
- Marty?!
Marty!
I hope you don't mind
my making myself at home, old buddy.
No!
This is E.L. Turner, my associate.
Marty.
- Oh, Mr Huckabee.
- No, Huckerman. Marty Huckerman.
- King of the Road.
- That's his father, Herman.
Former King. Dad went broke when
the bottom fell out of the RV market.
Former? Sorry to hear about that.
Yeah, me too. Always a sense of humour.
That's a genuine gift.
A real gift.
I can tell you that working with you
at the brokerage house,
it was the only thing
that kept me going.
You always had a good joke.
Remember what you put
in the water cooler?
Two Siamese fighting fish.
And that's not the best of it.
We went to a cocktail party,
one of the partner's accounts,
and Marty had these rubber peanuts!
Yeah.
- Are you OK?
- Yeah.
What's the matter?
Are you here for professional reasons?
Yes, I am.
That hat is fine for the surveillance.
Take it off now. Please, have a seat.
There. The whole resources of
the agency are at your disposal.
OK. About six weeks ago these two guys
came into the brokerage house.
Their names were Hoskins and Tully.
They wanted to invest
in the weekend money market.
They handed me a bag with $100,000
in negotiable securities.
Yeah?
Yeah?
E.L. I think maybe the Kafka case
could use a little brushing up.
Or you might see if the Baker account
has been serviced?
Yeah. You said something
about $100,000 in a suitcase?
Oh, yes, right.
I took the money from them Friday night
and I invested it over the weekend
and Monday I returned it to them,
along with their profits.
What kind of profits
are we talking about?
- I think a couple of hundred?
- Closer to 12,000. Less commission.
Nice, huh?
That sounds better.
E.L., this case is personal. Marty is
my oldest and dearest friend, OK?
I'm taking a shine to Marty here.
Go on, Marty. Go ahead.
I made the transaction twice for them,
the computer made a request
for more information on them.
There was an error
with their social security numbers...
Sounds like some hot dough could land
into the right pockets, catch my drift?
- Go ahead, Marty.
- I'm handling this! Go ahead.
That's about it except
when I requested more information...
they threatened me.
Threatened you?
Nothing I could get my hands on. Not,
"I'm going to beat you up," or anything.
Just innuendo, but, believe me,
it was very frightening.
And what do you want us to do?
I want you to follow these guys,
find out who they are.
Oh, yes. Then there is somebody else.
He's been hanging around
and following me and Tully and Hoskins.
Wait, somebody is following you
and those you want us to follow?
How extraordinary!
- What does he look like?
- What does he look like?
Well, he's a fat man and he kind of hops
when he walks.
- How fat?
- Fat. Over 300 pounds. Well over.
- Stands about yea?
- Yes.
- Yeah? Scar on the face?
- Yes.
- Sore feet?
- Yes.
- Squints when he looks at you?
- Yes.
- Always smiling?
- Yes.
- You know him?
- No.
Thank you. Sounds like this cop that
works out of Hollenbeck. Used to.
We'll check it out, OK?
Have you told anybody else this?
No, just you two.
- And Sylvia.
- Sylvia, of course. How is she?
She's fine, fine. Oh,
she loves that perfume you sent her.
- Orange Blossom.
- Yeah. She wears it all the time.
That was always her scent.
See you Monday at the brokerage house.
- Thank you, Mr Turner.
- Thank you. Appreciate it.
You'll say hello to Sylvia for me?
- I'll give her a big kiss for you.
- Good.
"Janette was not tall like a model but
tall like a glass of blended Scotch,
rich and smooth and with enough kick
to make you wonder
if you hadn't walked into
the back-end of the Hollywood bus.
OK, so maybe I'm a sucker
for a pretty face,
maybe Savage can fall into an open
grate just like the rest of mankind
but I didn't count on landing in County
General next to a wheezing fat man
who was getting his meals
in quart-sized bottles.
When I fall for a girl I don't mess
around, I did it all the way.
I knew she was in danger,
I knew she was crying my name.
Somewhere was my beautiful six-foot
loser, my filly without a bridle,
my long, lean dream and I was
on the third floor of County General
wondering if the tubes in my arms
meant I was heading for the garden."
Sylvia?
What's wrong? You're crying.
Sit down. Let me get you something.
Coffee? No, no. Brandy, brandy.
Why don't I have any?
- It's OK.
- I'll get you something.
- Ginger ale! I have ginger ale!
- That will be fine. Thank you.
I walked up and down the street for the
last hour. I didn't want to bother you.
And I shouldn't.
Of course you should.
Who else except me?
Not that it's any bother.
- Oh! I'm sorry!
- Don't worry about it.
It's Marty, isn't it?
Something's happened to him.
Yes. I mean, I don't know.
I saw him this afternoon.
He told me. You know Marty.
You've been such a good friend
to both of us.
You know he is bright.
He has that wonderful sense of humour.
We were just talking
about that this afternoon.
- I love him, Lionel.
- I know you do.
I don't know how to fight this or how
to fight this terrible change in him.
Since his father's bankruptcy
he's been obsessed with money.
He's terrified of being robbed.
He's slipping away into some fantasy.
Men carrying bags
full of negotiable securities?!
You don't think there's any truth
to this story?
I know there isn't.
Didn't you see the change in him today?
Don't you remember what he was like
when you worked together?
You'd come to dinner almost every
Sunday, just the three of us.
We'd sit up half the night and talk...
and laugh.
- We'll laugh again, Sylvia!
- I don't know, Lionel.
I try to talk to him about it but his
stories keep getting more outrageous.
Now he thinks he was being followed.
A fat man.
He bought a guard dog
that attacks on command.
I don't want to live
with something like that!
Remember the silver service
my mother gave us when we married?
Yes, of course.
Marty buried it in the backyard.
Place settings for ten.
- I don't know what to do.
- Nothing.
You, me, everybody.
We do absolutely nothing.
There's no point in having a fantasy
if everybody ignores it.
If we don't encourage him
he'll probably give up.
- Do you think so?
- It's worth a try.
Thank you, Lionel.
You're such a good friend.
Yeah, well...
Orange Blossom.
Ginger ale.
Alright. Give me one and 3/8.
Good morning, Mr Huckerman.
Good morning.
What's wrong?
Nothing. Nothing is wrong.
- Are you nervous about something?
- No.
You're sweating.
No, really. It's alright.
I'll bet it's what we told him.
Is that it? Listen, that wasn't
personal. This is just business, OK?
Sure. I'll get your money.
Hey, Sam.
Checking your stack, Bill?
Mr Streeter, Julian Streeter,
please answer line 1.
It's not in the vault.
Look, I'm tired of telling you,
no whoopee cushions and practical jokes
on the floor of the brokerage house!
I made a transaction on Friday and
deposited a Gladstone bag in the vault.
There's no bag in the vault.
I know! I know, I looked.
But there was one there.
It's on your Friday afternoon log.
I placed it there myself.
Listen, Marty,
I never liked your frat house humour
but if this isn't a gag,
if you've got some kind of problem.
I have customers waiting for it!
It's not in the vault.
- Shall we get Mr Brown out here?
- No!
You two guys,
you're never going to believe this.
Hey! Help!
I've got this one.
I've got this one right here.
Number 12 coming in! Here you are.
This is terrific! Terrific!
What's going on here?
What's happening, man?
I don't know you. What are you doing?
Bring him in, Joe.
I really don't have to go in there.
Labouring under a misapprehension here.
I'm not who you think I am.
Whoever your quarrel is with,
it's not me. I swear, not me.
You see, I'm Dr Quentin Farnsworth,
parapsychology department,
Duke University.
My first time here in Los Angeles.
Can't wait to see Disneyland.
Well, I'm here conducting
a field study in telekinesis, ESP.
Really? I'm surprised
you didn't see this coming.
Huh?
You had better have
a very good explanation
for your extraordinary behaviour here.
You're Turner.
We're here to repo the wardrobe.
- You're from Vickers?
- This guy is smart.
- You need help with the buttons?
- OK. Alright, wait.
Let's get something straight, alright?
Let's not get kinky here, OK?
I am not this character
you are looking for.
I am Detective Lt Germaine.
Now I know there is some superficial
resemblance between he and I.
If you look closely...
You're not looking.
I'm 2 inches taller, about 10 lb heavier
and obviously more handsome.
What goes on down here with this
character is department business
and if you keep interfering I'm going
to make sure you do county time.
- Now, you got that?!
- You got that, Joe?
- I got it.
- We got it. We want the pants too.
Come on, man! The shoes
and socks are mine, you know.
So is the hat. We want you to have it.
A little souvenir.
I don't know if you noticed, but
they're repaving over by Vickers.
You show your face in that store again
and we're going to macadamise you.
Make you a permanent resident
of Beverly Hills.
"Mark Savage
is in real trouble this time.
He had his back to the wall and
it was getting ready to fall on him.
A fist came
hurling out of the darkness
and smashed into his belly
like a load of wet cement."
Good morning, Lionel.
Good morning.
Oh, I overslept.
Oversleep, you? My, my...
That's my trenchcoat. Why are you
wearing it? It looks ridiculous on you.
- Doesn't it, though?
- Are you angry about something?
Angry? Why should I be angry?
On a beautiful Monday morning like this?
Sun shining,
birds singing in the trees...
Where the hell were you?!
Why weren't you there?!
Marty is your friend not mine!
I called you after Sylvia left.
Your phone was disconnected.
- You couldn't leave a message?
- I left messages all over.
I left messages when Sylvia left...
That's the second time
you mention Sylvia.
Huckerman's wife? The lady you had
a thing for? Is she here?
She's not here,
she is married to my best friend.
I happen to respect her a great deal.
She is kind, the most fragile...
I hope not too fragile
because we've got some bad news for her.
If he acts strange
it's his paranoid delusion.
We cancelled the surveillance.
He doesn't need us,
he needs a psychiatrist
and I've got a plan.
I hope you got a plan to work on
the 2 delusions who picked him up
and dragged him
out of his office today.
What? This is terrible. Poor Sylvia.
She will take this hard
with her loyalty and sensitivity.
I've never known
anyone close in sensitivity.
Why would anyone want to kidnap Marty?
They got Marty
but they left the Gladstone bag.
Something's happened to the securities.
They took him instead.
Wait, we must warn Sylvia.
They may be coming to her next.
I'll get dressed.
We'll get right over there.
Hurry it up.
I'd like to get home and change.
I know I said that you look ridiculous
but is really the time
to be thinking about your appearance?
I don't know. Sylvia is your friend,
not mine. Do you think she'll like it?
You'll change, you'll change.
Close it, close it.
Let me handle this. Sylvia is a very
delicate woman and I don't mean weak.
She has tremendous spirit and
an inner strength but she's...
- Delicate.
- That's right.
Yes, it's that sensitivity.
It can be a burden sometimes.
- Is that sarcasm?
- Would I make sarcasm...?
- Lionel.
- Sylvia.
- This is E.L. Turner, my associate.
- Hello. I'm E.L. Turner. His associate.
How do you do?
What are you doing here, Lionel?
- It would be better if we went inside.
- What'd be better?
Lionel, it's Marty, isn't it?
Is something wrong?
Answer me, Lionel!
The main thing is we all remain calm.
You see how calm E.L. is?
We all stay that calm.
- What is it, for God's sakes?
- Your husband has been kidnapped.
- That was brutal. Absolutely brutal.
- The lady wants to know the truth.
- I warned you.
- I saw the men who kidnapped him.
I can give the police a description.
That is something at least.
And E.L. knows who the fat man is.
We believe that all this has to do
with the negotiable securities.
It was all true? The securities,
the men threatening Marty?
Brandy, I'll get you some brandy.
- Do you have any brandy?
- Don't get me anything, please.
May I make a suggestion here?
This should go to the cops.
It's getting out of hand.
I think he's right. I'm afraid
this thing got away from us little.
Call them, please. The phone is there.
If only I'd believed him.
I was so convinced that it was
some sort of diseased imagination.
A fantasy!
Marty!
I knew it was going to be alright!
Trouble is over.
Marty!
Marty?
Marty!
Oh my...! He's bleeding.
Marty?! Marty!
Lionel.
- He's bleeding.
- He's dead.
OK, I'll finish up here with Mr Whitman
and make sure the lab boys
don't leave too much of a mess.
I don't need
any more personnel complaints.
My name is Whitney,
I'm a private detective.
I'm Lieutenant Blitz, Mr Whitney
and I'm a detective too.
How is Syl... Mrs Huckerman?
She had a case of the whim-whams.
They had to give her a pill.
- Headache? Probably tension.
- No, sinus.
Do you mind answering
a couple of questions, Mr Whitney?
Not at all. I always cooperate.
What do you want to know?
I want to know why I've got a PI
mixed up in a homicide.
I've already explained that
to your associate.
I was an extremely close personal
friend of the... victim.
How about his wife?
Close friend of hers too?
Of course.
How close is close?
I realise that you have
to suspect everybody
but if imply that Syl... Mrs Huckerman
and I were romantically involved...
She's a nice little package, Mr Whitney.
Might be kind of fun to unwrap?
With all due respect,
that's a disgusting thing to say.
Mrs Huckerman's husband just died!
Poor Marty. I'm glad he couldn't
hear that. What a rotten way to go.
They are all rotten, Mr Whitney.
Tell me some more about the wife.
I think not, Lieutenant.
What I have to say about Mrs Huckerman
couldn't possibly interest you
unless you'd like to know more about
her decency and many fine qualities.
This may shock you, but I've got
17 years with the Department
and, well, motive, plus opportunity,
equals spouse.
I teach a course on it,
Thursday afternoons at the Academy.
I understand that
but you're way out of line.
How did you get
the blood stains on your clothes?
That must have happened
when I found the body.
Tell me about it.
Well, I met Marty Huckerman when
I first came to Ray, Johnson and Smith
in, I think it was '73.
He was, well, he had a sense of humour.
That's what I remember about him most.
We sat next to each other...
How come there aren't TV stations here?
No people here from the TV station.
Always got people from the TV station.
They said that Huckerman fell down and
broke his neck. Is that what happened?
Sid, get out of the flowerbed,
will you?!
Blitz doesn't want any more
181s this month.
One of the neighbours lives down the
block, knows everybody's business.
He said Huckerman fell down and broke
his neck. Fell down and broke his neck!
You're gonna show me something
from your police report different,
otherwise I'll go along with him.
Want some coffee?
I've got a fresh pot of coffee on.
Want some doughnuts?
I've got doughnuts.
That would be alright.
- How do you want it?
- Two creams and sugar.
Low fat, huh?
When I couldn't find a pulse
or any other vital signs
I returned to the house
and called the police.
Would you like to hear it again?
No. I would not like to hear it again.
You come by my office tomorrow.
You can sign your statement.
If you have any further evidence
I expect you to produce it immediately.
Certainly. Am I free to go now?
- Yes, go. Go!
- Thank you, sir.
Go.
Anybody got an aspirin?
OK, it's all over, folks.
Let's break it up.
Let's go home.
Come on, everybody home. Let's go.
You were going to get me a coffee.
I forgot to ask you
what kind of doughnuts you want.
I got jelly,
I've got chocolate doughnuts,
I've got some raisin doughnuts
and cinnamon things.
- Which?
- Chocolate.
I almost forgot the doughnuts.
I knew this guy once,
worked in the fraud division.
He was a cop, I think. I asked
him, "Do you want a doughnut?"
He take the whole box!
The fool eat the whole box.
Now, he must have weighed 350 lb.
Looked like a doughnut.
You're laughing because you know him.
Red hair, bad feet, all smiles.
- You know him?
- Sounds like Eddie Dugan.
No, that ain't him.
We used to call him 'Chops' all the time
because his false teeth were so tight
he couldn't stop smiling.
Chops, that's him! Chops, yeah!
He's still working in fraud?
- Oh, no, no. He retired a while back.
- Retired?
Last I heard he was gumshoeing
down on Main Street.
- Main Street?
- Mm-hm.
- Where you going?
- Get your coffee.
- Two sugars.
- Low fat.
Dugan?
We don't have any right to walk in
and start searching.
That's invasion of privacy.
There's nobody here.
How can we invade their privacy?
Check the desk.
His desk is like something right
out of a Mark Savage book. Look at this.
An almost empty bottle of bourbon,
pocketknife, a broken plastic handle...
a coffee mug, plastic...
One copy of "Detective Digest"...
A stamp with some numbers on it,
a green... flashlight...
Cards, an American flag,
an enormous safety pin...
Brown wooden box,
little roll of dimes...
Excuse me, Caruso.
Playing cards...
A rabbit's foot keychain with a rusty
key and a fingernail clipper on it.
Flashbulb...
Meet Chops Dugan.
- What you doing?
- Calling the police.
No, bad move. You'll never explain two
stiffs in one day to Lieutenant Blitz.
I wish you wouldn't call Marty a stiff.
I'm sorry. Trust me on this one.
He'll slap us into a cell so hard
we'll bounce! Let's get out of here!
We can't leave him there like that.
- Ought we put him back in the closet?
- We ought to get out of here.
- What are you doing?
- There's a trail of blood stains.
It's blood. Don't let it bother you.
Just step over it. Come on!
Blood leads from the closet
to this office.
- It's locked.
- It's locked.
- That's why they're called
'connecting doors'.
What are you doing?
- I just disconnected it.
- I noticed. Let's go.
Let's take a look.
- It's a dark room.
- Yes, it is a dark room.
Mr Dugan must have been developing
those pictures just before he died.
- They're in the wash.
- Let's look.
Grab the negatives, we can look at
them in the same order they were taken.
Pictures of a motorcycle gang.
It's not just a gang,
they're the Hell Hounds.
Really?
How do you figure that Dugan gets mixed
up with an outfit like this?
He didn't get mixed up with them.
These pictures were taken from hiding.
Yeah, that's a good place to start.
This is an very significant lead.
They must figure
prominently in what's going on.
How do you figure that?
Mr Dugan shot a whole roll of film.
Only the last four shots of Sylvia.
Sylvia Huckerman?
Yes. She always was photogenic.
She could have been an actress or model.
Before she married she got many offers.
People would come up
to her in restaurants.
She could have graced the cover
of any fashion magazine.
Well, right now she's beside the Hell
Hounds. How do you figure that?
He had her under surveillance.
Something to do with Marty.
So Dugan took these pictures
the night she came to visit you.
- Whose house is this?
- A friend's.
- Sylvia has always had many friends.
- OK. Alright.
She leaves here to visit you.
She leaves you and goes back here.
Who is she visiting?
We can ask. She's very direct and open.
I don't think we should disturb her
with something like this now.
No, no. Of course.
There was a name on the mailbox.
Check it out.
Streeter. It says Streeter.
- Streeter?
- J. Streeter.
There is almost an entire page
of Streeters.
We'll never find it.
It'd take us a week to check it out.
What are you doing?
"Julian Streeter, 3140 Lapaloma Place."
Come on.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
That is Mr Dugan's.
You stole his address book?
You are trying to plunder
his client list?
That's like taking pennies
from a dead man's eyes.
Where he' s gone he will not need it!
What I need from you is
some Savage logic.
Savage logic. OK.
Well?
I'm thinking. We have a pretty mixed
bag. I mean, who is Julian Streeter?
What was Dugan's interest
in Sylvia and the Hell Hounds?
Chop was an operator.
He probably dealt himself in.
On what?
The Hell Hounds are in the dope racket.
Maybe Marty was investing their money?
Come on!
Marty wouldn't take dope money.
Anybody capable of putting Siamese
fighting fish into a water cooler...
You didn't know him,
how he made people laugh.
- How he kept me going.
- Alright, buddy. OK. Alright.
The money had to come from someplace.
All I'm saying is...
Alright. Cool it.
Everybody just cool it.
Can I help you, gentlemen?
I ought to pop you on general principle.
Oh, let's not get hasty, OK?
We have a lot in common here.
I've always loved chopper hawks.
There's nothing more beautiful
than 50 bikes terrorising the highway.
Man, it's beautiful!
The only thing we've got in common
is a health and welfare fund.
Wait, I have five dollars.
You want to shut him up?
I like this guy.
Where's our money? 100 grand that
your pal ripped off of Roy and Arnold.
Mr Hoskins and Mr Tully?
Yes, Our former president
and treasurer.
They used our funds to pick up
some sugar on the side with your friend.
We wouldn't have known
except he tried to go south.
Go south? Marty?
If you had ever had the good fortune
to know Marty
you would know how absurd that is.
He was honourable. The last thing he
would do was fool around with money.
It was the last thing.
Arnold and Roy said.
I always believe what a man says
just before he takes the big slide.
Come on. Let's get out of here.
- Beanie?
- Yeah.
You drive the car with them.
Make sure they don't do anything stupid.
Watch the grease! The grease!
Where you going to take us?
We have no idea where the money is.
You have my word on that.
So how long have you been
interested in motorcycles?
- I'll meet you round the back!
- OK!
Come on! Get up!
- Mac wants you in the back.
- What?
- He wants you in the back.
- Who are you?
It's my first day. I'll take your tray.
What table you serving?
- I'm on 14.
- Where's 14?
- Over there.
- Where?
- There.
- You'd better go.
- He's pretty mad, man.
- With me?
I dunno! It's my first day.
Get off my back!
How are you folks? Nice day, isn't it?
You look lovely. Just lovely.
I'll be with you when I get this tray
down. How are you, sir, ma'am?
Now, king crab? Oh, sorry about that.
- Nobody had the king crab.
- Nobody?
You picked up the wrong order.
It is a clam chowder, it's a shrimp
Louie and it's a diet plate.
Didn't you read the sign outside that
says "All-you-can-eat for $9.98"?
You're not going to take it?
People come a long way
to have the special.
Try it. You don't like it
I'll bring you something else.
I want what I ordered.
You're not even our waiter.
I know I don't look like
your waiter but...
Excuse me, ma'am.
Try the king crab.
What's that? That's not what Joe
ordered. He's the diet plate.
I'm required to warn you, gentlemen,
that I'm highly skilled in martial arts.
My body is a lethal instrument
and to save yourselves severe injury
you must put that down and retreat.
It's clear. Come on.
- Where have you been?
- Around.
We have to find Sylvia.
If she's not home we'll try Streeter's.
Somebody had better talk to Sylvia!
There's Streeter's house.
Let's pull up in front.
Why do you stop here?
It's the next corner.
Does everything have to be San Juan
hill with you? Come on.
Come on, come on.
Put him on your bike there.
That's what I was afraid of, the grease
monkeys getting here before us.
That's the guy that Marty was talking
to at the brokerage house. His boss.
Before the ugly brothers came up.
That explains why Marty
couldn't return the bag to the two men.
Julian Streeter had it.
There's your thief, E.L.
I told you he wouldn't have had
any part in this.
Doesn't look like it's going to do
Streeter much good either.
How many lives have been ruined
by that bag?
- Now I know what blood money is.
- It spins. Come on.
Are they coming?
- I don't see them.
- Good!
- I see them! I see them!
- Alright, alright!
- Hold on, just hold on!
- Faster!
- It's the cops!
- Get out of here! Go!
He's got my bag. Give me that!
He's got my bag!
Arrest that man, officer.
My name is Whitney.
I'm president of Whitney Investigations,
and that man is a murderer!
He's lying! He's got my bag!
Oh, Lionel, you startled me.
I was just looking for a match.
You don't smoke!
Did I say match?
I was looking for a pencil.
I needed to write you a note.
What were you going to say in the note?
That you were sorry?
What are you talking about, Lionel?
What are you doing?
I was crazy about you.
I bet you didn't know.
I didn't let it show.
You were my friend Marty's wife.
I felt guilty but couldn't help it.
Lieutenant Blitz, please.
Would you leave a message for him?
This is Whitney and I have something
he's looked for in the Huckerman case.
Tell him that he was right about those
statistics. He'll know what I mean.
He teaches classes on it at the Academy.
I'll be waiting for him in my office.
Why are you looking at me like that,
Lionel?
I'm wondering how long a sentence
they will give you.
With a good lawyer and some breaks
you might be out of prison in two years.
Don't, Lionel.
Don't even joke about a thing like that.
You set him up. When did it start?
When his father went bankrupt?
When his fortune dried up, you started
looking for better prospects?
You didn't have to look any farther
than Marty's boss, Streeter.
You're good, Sylvia. Real good.
It's mainly your eyes, I think.
That little throb you get in your
voice when you sound frightened.
You're making a terrible mistake.
You found out about Mr Hoskins and
Mr Tully and the bag and told Streeter.
You hired Dugan to check things out
to know when it was safe to make a move.
I've never even seen Dugan in my life!
But he saw you and when you
and your boyfriend hit the jackpot
Dugan figured he'd pick up the nickels.
You're making it sound so ugly.
It wasn't like that! I wanted to...
Please. It doesn't have to be like that!
You can have it all,
the money, me. Please!
It's no good, Sylvia.
The police are on their way.
Please, don't, Lionel! Please!
Good evening, officer. You'll be taking
Mrs Huckerman to Lieutenant Blitz.
Yes, sir.
You may as well take this bag
while you're at it. That's your motive.
Goodbye, Lionel.
Lionel, please, don't!
Lionel, please don't!
- Come on now. Just relax.
- Please help me! Please!
I didn't know they were sending in
a backup unit.
They're not. Different case.
Accident report.
I see. Come on.
Now if we could get your side
of the story, Mr Whitney.
Hey, what do you think of my uniform?
I scammed it while
they were booking the Hell Hounds.
What's going on, buddy?
I had to turn her in, E.L.
You turned in the security money?
I couldn't trust you
to hold onto the bag?
Never belonged to us.
It belonged
to whoever held onto that bag!
I know that you're disappointed but
I had to do what I thought was right.
The possibility of making any money out
of this case never occurred to me.
Marty was my friend and they killed him.
And Sylvia let it happen.
Yeah, I know. At least I got my suit
back from Vickers.
It's the hardest thing I've ever
had to do, turning her in.
You know what I did?
Buddy, listen to this.
I go down and I tell them
that I am from the DA's office
and that we're going to prosecute E.L.
Taylor and we need the suit as evidence
and you know, they fell...
I thought she was kind
and gentle and loyal.
And I loved her, E.L.
Hey, Lionel.
You'll always have Paris, kid.
How long you been interested
in motorcycles?
Fell down and broke his neck!
I'm Dr Quentin Farnsworth.
It doesn't have to be like that.
I am Detective Lieutenant
Elliot Germaine.
There's no point in having a fantasy
if it's ignored.
I am Benal Habasar.
I'm president of Whitney Investigations.
He is a murderer.
Giddy-giddy-gai.
- I don't like it.
- You like getting stiffed?
- No, that's not the point.
- Vickers should have paid us.
Keep that in mind. We did the job.
It's not like he can't pay.
It's one of the biggest retail stores
in town!
All I'm after is what we earned
and I'll get it. One way or the other.
- Nice.
- Nice. On a busy day too.
I still don't like it.
I should go in with you.
They owe the agency
for services rendered.
How many times were you here
trying to collect?
The number doesn't alter the situation.
- Do you want the money?
- Yes, I do. We need it.
- Let me collect!
- You'll scam.
Scam it? Lie?
He won't go for a scam.
I'm going to go in
and collect what is due.
- All I want from you is your tie.
- My tie? You have a tie.
I'm going to turn it
into accounts receivable.
We have accounts receivable.
What we want is a remittance.
- It's basic accounting.
- Whatever.
What I'll do is turn this tie
into our accounts payable.
Do me a favour. Curl up here with
Savage and leave the driving to us.
Don't slam the door like that, please.
Let's hope that movie company
doesn't block the alley none.
- There's a movie company?
- Yeah, they're unloading equipment.
- Excuse me.
- What do you mean?
- I'll be right back.
- Wait a minute!
No, no, gentlemen, please.
May I help you, sir?
My name is Stanley Vickers and you are?
Allow for introducing of self.
I am Benal Habasar, chief dresser of
Sheikh Abdul Dasin of Sheikdom Daboot.
Oh, yes, of course.
How may we help you, please?
His Royal Highness say unto me,
"Go find self royal clothes of western."
Yes, the sheikh wants
to wear western dress, yes?
Sheikh say he pay in dollar
but he say unto me,
"Banal, it is imperative I see first
and pay anon."
No problem. You take the clothes on
account. We'll square it all away later.
Do you have the sheikh's sizes?
This fortunate for sheikh and self
of same size.
Oh, very good.
It's all going to be very easy.
You see, all of these clothes over here
start at $1,000 and go up.
So cheap?
The District Attorney's office
declined to comment
on financial activities of the outlaw
motorcycle club, the Hell Hounds.
Sources say they funnel illegal funds
into legitimate enterprises.
This belongs
to your tailor shop downstairs.
Make sure they get it, will you?
Hey, Turner! How did you get in here?
Stop that man!
Call it account squared.
So long, sucker!
- I'm going, I'm going!
- Hurry up!
Vickers back there is loading up
his musket so you'd better step on it!
You're having a great time?
All I did was went in there, man,
and hit the man where it hurts.
- Got us a deal.
- You stole the clothes?
Watch your mouth!
I never steal anything.
I took back what he owed us in trade.
Did you get anything for me?
- Oh.
- Oh, what?
- Could I at least have my tie back?
- Yeah.
- It's shredded.
- It is, isn't it?
Hey, look at it this way.
You can always use this for a bookmark
or you can use it to hang a plant
or you can use it to hold back shutters
at our office or as a dust rag.
Like a maniac! A maniac!
That's for the Agency. They owe us
money. It's for your benefit.
Why do you think I do this stuff?
- Lionel, baby!
- Marty?!
Marty!
I hope you don't mind
my making myself at home, old buddy.
No!
This is E.L. Turner, my associate.
Marty.
- Oh, Mr Huckabee.
- No, Huckerman. Marty Huckerman.
- King of the Road.
- That's his father, Herman.
Former King. Dad went broke when
the bottom fell out of the RV market.
Former? Sorry to hear about that.
Yeah, me too. Always a sense of humour.
That's a genuine gift.
A real gift.
I can tell you that working with you
at the brokerage house,
it was the only thing
that kept me going.
You always had a good joke.
Remember what you put
in the water cooler?
Two Siamese fighting fish.
And that's not the best of it.
We went to a cocktail party,
one of the partner's accounts,
and Marty had these rubber peanuts!
Yeah.
- Are you OK?
- Yeah.
What's the matter?
Are you here for professional reasons?
Yes, I am.
That hat is fine for the surveillance.
Take it off now. Please, have a seat.
There. The whole resources of
the agency are at your disposal.
OK. About six weeks ago these two guys
came into the brokerage house.
Their names were Hoskins and Tully.
They wanted to invest
in the weekend money market.
They handed me a bag with $100,000
in negotiable securities.
Yeah?
Yeah?
E.L. I think maybe the Kafka case
could use a little brushing up.
Or you might see if the Baker account
has been serviced?
Yeah. You said something
about $100,000 in a suitcase?
Oh, yes, right.
I took the money from them Friday night
and I invested it over the weekend
and Monday I returned it to them,
along with their profits.
What kind of profits
are we talking about?
- I think a couple of hundred?
- Closer to 12,000. Less commission.
Nice, huh?
That sounds better.
E.L., this case is personal. Marty is
my oldest and dearest friend, OK?
I'm taking a shine to Marty here.
Go on, Marty. Go ahead.
I made the transaction twice for them,
the computer made a request
for more information on them.
There was an error
with their social security numbers...
Sounds like some hot dough could land
into the right pockets, catch my drift?
- Go ahead, Marty.
- I'm handling this! Go ahead.
That's about it except
when I requested more information...
they threatened me.
Threatened you?
Nothing I could get my hands on. Not,
"I'm going to beat you up," or anything.
Just innuendo, but, believe me,
it was very frightening.
And what do you want us to do?
I want you to follow these guys,
find out who they are.
Oh, yes. Then there is somebody else.
He's been hanging around
and following me and Tully and Hoskins.
Wait, somebody is following you
and those you want us to follow?
How extraordinary!
- What does he look like?
- What does he look like?
Well, he's a fat man and he kind of hops
when he walks.
- How fat?
- Fat. Over 300 pounds. Well over.
- Stands about yea?
- Yes.
- Yeah? Scar on the face?
- Yes.
- Sore feet?
- Yes.
- Squints when he looks at you?
- Yes.
- Always smiling?
- Yes.
- You know him?
- No.
Thank you. Sounds like this cop that
works out of Hollenbeck. Used to.
We'll check it out, OK?
Have you told anybody else this?
No, just you two.
- And Sylvia.
- Sylvia, of course. How is she?
She's fine, fine. Oh,
she loves that perfume you sent her.
- Orange Blossom.
- Yeah. She wears it all the time.
That was always her scent.
See you Monday at the brokerage house.
- Thank you, Mr Turner.
- Thank you. Appreciate it.
You'll say hello to Sylvia for me?
- I'll give her a big kiss for you.
- Good.
"Janette was not tall like a model but
tall like a glass of blended Scotch,
rich and smooth and with enough kick
to make you wonder
if you hadn't walked into
the back-end of the Hollywood bus.
OK, so maybe I'm a sucker
for a pretty face,
maybe Savage can fall into an open
grate just like the rest of mankind
but I didn't count on landing in County
General next to a wheezing fat man
who was getting his meals
in quart-sized bottles.
When I fall for a girl I don't mess
around, I did it all the way.
I knew she was in danger,
I knew she was crying my name.
Somewhere was my beautiful six-foot
loser, my filly without a bridle,
my long, lean dream and I was
on the third floor of County General
wondering if the tubes in my arms
meant I was heading for the garden."
Sylvia?
What's wrong? You're crying.
Sit down. Let me get you something.
Coffee? No, no. Brandy, brandy.
Why don't I have any?
- It's OK.
- I'll get you something.
- Ginger ale! I have ginger ale!
- That will be fine. Thank you.
I walked up and down the street for the
last hour. I didn't want to bother you.
And I shouldn't.
Of course you should.
Who else except me?
Not that it's any bother.
- Oh! I'm sorry!
- Don't worry about it.
It's Marty, isn't it?
Something's happened to him.
Yes. I mean, I don't know.
I saw him this afternoon.
He told me. You know Marty.
You've been such a good friend
to both of us.
You know he is bright.
He has that wonderful sense of humour.
We were just talking
about that this afternoon.
- I love him, Lionel.
- I know you do.
I don't know how to fight this or how
to fight this terrible change in him.
Since his father's bankruptcy
he's been obsessed with money.
He's terrified of being robbed.
He's slipping away into some fantasy.
Men carrying bags
full of negotiable securities?!
You don't think there's any truth
to this story?
I know there isn't.
Didn't you see the change in him today?
Don't you remember what he was like
when you worked together?
You'd come to dinner almost every
Sunday, just the three of us.
We'd sit up half the night and talk...
and laugh.
- We'll laugh again, Sylvia!
- I don't know, Lionel.
I try to talk to him about it but his
stories keep getting more outrageous.
Now he thinks he was being followed.
A fat man.
He bought a guard dog
that attacks on command.
I don't want to live
with something like that!
Remember the silver service
my mother gave us when we married?
Yes, of course.
Marty buried it in the backyard.
Place settings for ten.
- I don't know what to do.
- Nothing.
You, me, everybody.
We do absolutely nothing.
There's no point in having a fantasy
if everybody ignores it.
If we don't encourage him
he'll probably give up.
- Do you think so?
- It's worth a try.
Thank you, Lionel.
You're such a good friend.
Yeah, well...
Orange Blossom.
Ginger ale.
Alright. Give me one and 3/8.
Good morning, Mr Huckerman.
Good morning.
What's wrong?
Nothing. Nothing is wrong.
- Are you nervous about something?
- No.
You're sweating.
No, really. It's alright.
I'll bet it's what we told him.
Is that it? Listen, that wasn't
personal. This is just business, OK?
Sure. I'll get your money.
Hey, Sam.
Checking your stack, Bill?
Mr Streeter, Julian Streeter,
please answer line 1.
It's not in the vault.
Look, I'm tired of telling you,
no whoopee cushions and practical jokes
on the floor of the brokerage house!
I made a transaction on Friday and
deposited a Gladstone bag in the vault.
There's no bag in the vault.
I know! I know, I looked.
But there was one there.
It's on your Friday afternoon log.
I placed it there myself.
Listen, Marty,
I never liked your frat house humour
but if this isn't a gag,
if you've got some kind of problem.
I have customers waiting for it!
It's not in the vault.
- Shall we get Mr Brown out here?
- No!
You two guys,
you're never going to believe this.
Hey! Help!
I've got this one.
I've got this one right here.
Number 12 coming in! Here you are.
This is terrific! Terrific!
What's going on here?
What's happening, man?
I don't know you. What are you doing?
Bring him in, Joe.
I really don't have to go in there.
Labouring under a misapprehension here.
I'm not who you think I am.
Whoever your quarrel is with,
it's not me. I swear, not me.
You see, I'm Dr Quentin Farnsworth,
parapsychology department,
Duke University.
My first time here in Los Angeles.
Can't wait to see Disneyland.
Well, I'm here conducting
a field study in telekinesis, ESP.
Really? I'm surprised
you didn't see this coming.
Huh?
You had better have
a very good explanation
for your extraordinary behaviour here.
You're Turner.
We're here to repo the wardrobe.
- You're from Vickers?
- This guy is smart.
- You need help with the buttons?
- OK. Alright, wait.
Let's get something straight, alright?
Let's not get kinky here, OK?
I am not this character
you are looking for.
I am Detective Lt Germaine.
Now I know there is some superficial
resemblance between he and I.
If you look closely...
You're not looking.
I'm 2 inches taller, about 10 lb heavier
and obviously more handsome.
What goes on down here with this
character is department business
and if you keep interfering I'm going
to make sure you do county time.
- Now, you got that?!
- You got that, Joe?
- I got it.
- We got it. We want the pants too.
Come on, man! The shoes
and socks are mine, you know.
So is the hat. We want you to have it.
A little souvenir.
I don't know if you noticed, but
they're repaving over by Vickers.
You show your face in that store again
and we're going to macadamise you.
Make you a permanent resident
of Beverly Hills.
"Mark Savage
is in real trouble this time.
He had his back to the wall and
it was getting ready to fall on him.
A fist came
hurling out of the darkness
and smashed into his belly
like a load of wet cement."
Good morning, Lionel.
Good morning.
Oh, I overslept.
Oversleep, you? My, my...
That's my trenchcoat. Why are you
wearing it? It looks ridiculous on you.
- Doesn't it, though?
- Are you angry about something?
Angry? Why should I be angry?
On a beautiful Monday morning like this?
Sun shining,
birds singing in the trees...
Where the hell were you?!
Why weren't you there?!
Marty is your friend not mine!
I called you after Sylvia left.
Your phone was disconnected.
- You couldn't leave a message?
- I left messages all over.
I left messages when Sylvia left...
That's the second time
you mention Sylvia.
Huckerman's wife? The lady you had
a thing for? Is she here?
She's not here,
she is married to my best friend.
I happen to respect her a great deal.
She is kind, the most fragile...
I hope not too fragile
because we've got some bad news for her.
If he acts strange
it's his paranoid delusion.
We cancelled the surveillance.
He doesn't need us,
he needs a psychiatrist
and I've got a plan.
I hope you got a plan to work on
the 2 delusions who picked him up
and dragged him
out of his office today.
What? This is terrible. Poor Sylvia.
She will take this hard
with her loyalty and sensitivity.
I've never known
anyone close in sensitivity.
Why would anyone want to kidnap Marty?
They got Marty
but they left the Gladstone bag.
Something's happened to the securities.
They took him instead.
Wait, we must warn Sylvia.
They may be coming to her next.
I'll get dressed.
We'll get right over there.
Hurry it up.
I'd like to get home and change.
I know I said that you look ridiculous
but is really the time
to be thinking about your appearance?
I don't know. Sylvia is your friend,
not mine. Do you think she'll like it?
You'll change, you'll change.
Close it, close it.
Let me handle this. Sylvia is a very
delicate woman and I don't mean weak.
She has tremendous spirit and
an inner strength but she's...
- Delicate.
- That's right.
Yes, it's that sensitivity.
It can be a burden sometimes.
- Is that sarcasm?
- Would I make sarcasm...?
- Lionel.
- Sylvia.
- This is E.L. Turner, my associate.
- Hello. I'm E.L. Turner. His associate.
How do you do?
What are you doing here, Lionel?
- It would be better if we went inside.
- What'd be better?
Lionel, it's Marty, isn't it?
Is something wrong?
Answer me, Lionel!
The main thing is we all remain calm.
You see how calm E.L. is?
We all stay that calm.
- What is it, for God's sakes?
- Your husband has been kidnapped.
- That was brutal. Absolutely brutal.
- The lady wants to know the truth.
- I warned you.
- I saw the men who kidnapped him.
I can give the police a description.
That is something at least.
And E.L. knows who the fat man is.
We believe that all this has to do
with the negotiable securities.
It was all true? The securities,
the men threatening Marty?
Brandy, I'll get you some brandy.
- Do you have any brandy?
- Don't get me anything, please.
May I make a suggestion here?
This should go to the cops.
It's getting out of hand.
I think he's right. I'm afraid
this thing got away from us little.
Call them, please. The phone is there.
If only I'd believed him.
I was so convinced that it was
some sort of diseased imagination.
A fantasy!
Marty!
I knew it was going to be alright!
Trouble is over.
Marty!
Marty?
Marty!
Oh my...! He's bleeding.
Marty?! Marty!
Lionel.
- He's bleeding.
- He's dead.
OK, I'll finish up here with Mr Whitman
and make sure the lab boys
don't leave too much of a mess.
I don't need
any more personnel complaints.
My name is Whitney,
I'm a private detective.
I'm Lieutenant Blitz, Mr Whitney
and I'm a detective too.
How is Syl... Mrs Huckerman?
She had a case of the whim-whams.
They had to give her a pill.
- Headache? Probably tension.
- No, sinus.
Do you mind answering
a couple of questions, Mr Whitney?
Not at all. I always cooperate.
What do you want to know?
I want to know why I've got a PI
mixed up in a homicide.
I've already explained that
to your associate.
I was an extremely close personal
friend of the... victim.
How about his wife?
Close friend of hers too?
Of course.
How close is close?
I realise that you have
to suspect everybody
but if imply that Syl... Mrs Huckerman
and I were romantically involved...
She's a nice little package, Mr Whitney.
Might be kind of fun to unwrap?
With all due respect,
that's a disgusting thing to say.
Mrs Huckerman's husband just died!
Poor Marty. I'm glad he couldn't
hear that. What a rotten way to go.
They are all rotten, Mr Whitney.
Tell me some more about the wife.
I think not, Lieutenant.
What I have to say about Mrs Huckerman
couldn't possibly interest you
unless you'd like to know more about
her decency and many fine qualities.
This may shock you, but I've got
17 years with the Department
and, well, motive, plus opportunity,
equals spouse.
I teach a course on it,
Thursday afternoons at the Academy.
I understand that
but you're way out of line.
How did you get
the blood stains on your clothes?
That must have happened
when I found the body.
Tell me about it.
Well, I met Marty Huckerman when
I first came to Ray, Johnson and Smith
in, I think it was '73.
He was, well, he had a sense of humour.
That's what I remember about him most.
We sat next to each other...
How come there aren't TV stations here?
No people here from the TV station.
Always got people from the TV station.
They said that Huckerman fell down and
broke his neck. Is that what happened?
Sid, get out of the flowerbed,
will you?!
Blitz doesn't want any more
181s this month.
One of the neighbours lives down the
block, knows everybody's business.
He said Huckerman fell down and broke
his neck. Fell down and broke his neck!
You're gonna show me something
from your police report different,
otherwise I'll go along with him.
Want some coffee?
I've got a fresh pot of coffee on.
Want some doughnuts?
I've got doughnuts.
That would be alright.
- How do you want it?
- Two creams and sugar.
Low fat, huh?
When I couldn't find a pulse
or any other vital signs
I returned to the house
and called the police.
Would you like to hear it again?
No. I would not like to hear it again.
You come by my office tomorrow.
You can sign your statement.
If you have any further evidence
I expect you to produce it immediately.
Certainly. Am I free to go now?
- Yes, go. Go!
- Thank you, sir.
Go.
Anybody got an aspirin?
OK, it's all over, folks.
Let's break it up.
Let's go home.
Come on, everybody home. Let's go.
You were going to get me a coffee.
I forgot to ask you
what kind of doughnuts you want.
I got jelly,
I've got chocolate doughnuts,
I've got some raisin doughnuts
and cinnamon things.
- Which?
- Chocolate.
I almost forgot the doughnuts.
I knew this guy once,
worked in the fraud division.
He was a cop, I think. I asked
him, "Do you want a doughnut?"
He take the whole box!
The fool eat the whole box.
Now, he must have weighed 350 lb.
Looked like a doughnut.
You're laughing because you know him.
Red hair, bad feet, all smiles.
- You know him?
- Sounds like Eddie Dugan.
No, that ain't him.
We used to call him 'Chops' all the time
because his false teeth were so tight
he couldn't stop smiling.
Chops, that's him! Chops, yeah!
He's still working in fraud?
- Oh, no, no. He retired a while back.
- Retired?
Last I heard he was gumshoeing
down on Main Street.
- Main Street?
- Mm-hm.
- Where you going?
- Get your coffee.
- Two sugars.
- Low fat.
Dugan?
We don't have any right to walk in
and start searching.
That's invasion of privacy.
There's nobody here.
How can we invade their privacy?
Check the desk.
His desk is like something right
out of a Mark Savage book. Look at this.
An almost empty bottle of bourbon,
pocketknife, a broken plastic handle...
a coffee mug, plastic...
One copy of "Detective Digest"...
A stamp with some numbers on it,
a green... flashlight...
Cards, an American flag,
an enormous safety pin...
Brown wooden box,
little roll of dimes...
Excuse me, Caruso.
Playing cards...
A rabbit's foot keychain with a rusty
key and a fingernail clipper on it.
Flashbulb...
Meet Chops Dugan.
- What you doing?
- Calling the police.
No, bad move. You'll never explain two
stiffs in one day to Lieutenant Blitz.
I wish you wouldn't call Marty a stiff.
I'm sorry. Trust me on this one.
He'll slap us into a cell so hard
we'll bounce! Let's get out of here!
We can't leave him there like that.
- Ought we put him back in the closet?
- We ought to get out of here.
- What are you doing?
- There's a trail of blood stains.
It's blood. Don't let it bother you.
Just step over it. Come on!
Blood leads from the closet
to this office.
- It's locked.
- It's locked.
- That's why they're called
'connecting doors'.
What are you doing?
- I just disconnected it.
- I noticed. Let's go.
Let's take a look.
- It's a dark room.
- Yes, it is a dark room.
Mr Dugan must have been developing
those pictures just before he died.
- They're in the wash.
- Let's look.
Grab the negatives, we can look at
them in the same order they were taken.
Pictures of a motorcycle gang.
It's not just a gang,
they're the Hell Hounds.
Really?
How do you figure that Dugan gets mixed
up with an outfit like this?
He didn't get mixed up with them.
These pictures were taken from hiding.
Yeah, that's a good place to start.
This is an very significant lead.
They must figure
prominently in what's going on.
How do you figure that?
Mr Dugan shot a whole roll of film.
Only the last four shots of Sylvia.
Sylvia Huckerman?
Yes. She always was photogenic.
She could have been an actress or model.
Before she married she got many offers.
People would come up
to her in restaurants.
She could have graced the cover
of any fashion magazine.
Well, right now she's beside the Hell
Hounds. How do you figure that?
He had her under surveillance.
Something to do with Marty.
So Dugan took these pictures
the night she came to visit you.
- Whose house is this?
- A friend's.
- Sylvia has always had many friends.
- OK. Alright.
She leaves here to visit you.
She leaves you and goes back here.
Who is she visiting?
We can ask. She's very direct and open.
I don't think we should disturb her
with something like this now.
No, no. Of course.
There was a name on the mailbox.
Check it out.
Streeter. It says Streeter.
- Streeter?
- J. Streeter.
There is almost an entire page
of Streeters.
We'll never find it.
It'd take us a week to check it out.
What are you doing?
"Julian Streeter, 3140 Lapaloma Place."
Come on.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
That is Mr Dugan's.
You stole his address book?
You are trying to plunder
his client list?
That's like taking pennies
from a dead man's eyes.
Where he' s gone he will not need it!
What I need from you is
some Savage logic.
Savage logic. OK.
Well?
I'm thinking. We have a pretty mixed
bag. I mean, who is Julian Streeter?
What was Dugan's interest
in Sylvia and the Hell Hounds?
Chop was an operator.
He probably dealt himself in.
On what?
The Hell Hounds are in the dope racket.
Maybe Marty was investing their money?
Come on!
Marty wouldn't take dope money.
Anybody capable of putting Siamese
fighting fish into a water cooler...
You didn't know him,
how he made people laugh.
- How he kept me going.
- Alright, buddy. OK. Alright.
The money had to come from someplace.
All I'm saying is...
Alright. Cool it.
Everybody just cool it.
Can I help you, gentlemen?
I ought to pop you on general principle.
Oh, let's not get hasty, OK?
We have a lot in common here.
I've always loved chopper hawks.
There's nothing more beautiful
than 50 bikes terrorising the highway.
Man, it's beautiful!
The only thing we've got in common
is a health and welfare fund.
Wait, I have five dollars.
You want to shut him up?
I like this guy.
Where's our money? 100 grand that
your pal ripped off of Roy and Arnold.
Mr Hoskins and Mr Tully?
Yes, Our former president
and treasurer.
They used our funds to pick up
some sugar on the side with your friend.
We wouldn't have known
except he tried to go south.
Go south? Marty?
If you had ever had the good fortune
to know Marty
you would know how absurd that is.
He was honourable. The last thing he
would do was fool around with money.
It was the last thing.
Arnold and Roy said.
I always believe what a man says
just before he takes the big slide.
Come on. Let's get out of here.
- Beanie?
- Yeah.
You drive the car with them.
Make sure they don't do anything stupid.
Watch the grease! The grease!
Where you going to take us?
We have no idea where the money is.
You have my word on that.
So how long have you been
interested in motorcycles?
- I'll meet you round the back!
- OK!
Come on! Get up!
- Mac wants you in the back.
- What?
- He wants you in the back.
- Who are you?
It's my first day. I'll take your tray.
What table you serving?
- I'm on 14.
- Where's 14?
- Over there.
- Where?
- There.
- You'd better go.
- He's pretty mad, man.
- With me?
I dunno! It's my first day.
Get off my back!
How are you folks? Nice day, isn't it?
You look lovely. Just lovely.
I'll be with you when I get this tray
down. How are you, sir, ma'am?
Now, king crab? Oh, sorry about that.
- Nobody had the king crab.
- Nobody?
You picked up the wrong order.
It is a clam chowder, it's a shrimp
Louie and it's a diet plate.
Didn't you read the sign outside that
says "All-you-can-eat for $9.98"?
You're not going to take it?
People come a long way
to have the special.
Try it. You don't like it
I'll bring you something else.
I want what I ordered.
You're not even our waiter.
I know I don't look like
your waiter but...
Excuse me, ma'am.
Try the king crab.
What's that? That's not what Joe
ordered. He's the diet plate.
I'm required to warn you, gentlemen,
that I'm highly skilled in martial arts.
My body is a lethal instrument
and to save yourselves severe injury
you must put that down and retreat.
It's clear. Come on.
- Where have you been?
- Around.
We have to find Sylvia.
If she's not home we'll try Streeter's.
Somebody had better talk to Sylvia!
There's Streeter's house.
Let's pull up in front.
Why do you stop here?
It's the next corner.
Does everything have to be San Juan
hill with you? Come on.
Come on, come on.
Put him on your bike there.
That's what I was afraid of, the grease
monkeys getting here before us.
That's the guy that Marty was talking
to at the brokerage house. His boss.
Before the ugly brothers came up.
That explains why Marty
couldn't return the bag to the two men.
Julian Streeter had it.
There's your thief, E.L.
I told you he wouldn't have had
any part in this.
Doesn't look like it's going to do
Streeter much good either.
How many lives have been ruined
by that bag?
- Now I know what blood money is.
- It spins. Come on.
Are they coming?
- I don't see them.
- Good!
- I see them! I see them!
- Alright, alright!
- Hold on, just hold on!
- Faster!
- It's the cops!
- Get out of here! Go!
He's got my bag. Give me that!
He's got my bag!
Arrest that man, officer.
My name is Whitney.
I'm president of Whitney Investigations,
and that man is a murderer!
He's lying! He's got my bag!
Oh, Lionel, you startled me.
I was just looking for a match.
You don't smoke!
Did I say match?
I was looking for a pencil.
I needed to write you a note.
What were you going to say in the note?
That you were sorry?
What are you talking about, Lionel?
What are you doing?
I was crazy about you.
I bet you didn't know.
I didn't let it show.
You were my friend Marty's wife.
I felt guilty but couldn't help it.
Lieutenant Blitz, please.
Would you leave a message for him?
This is Whitney and I have something
he's looked for in the Huckerman case.
Tell him that he was right about those
statistics. He'll know what I mean.
He teaches classes on it at the Academy.
I'll be waiting for him in my office.
Why are you looking at me like that,
Lionel?
I'm wondering how long a sentence
they will give you.
With a good lawyer and some breaks
you might be out of prison in two years.
Don't, Lionel.
Don't even joke about a thing like that.
You set him up. When did it start?
When his father went bankrupt?
When his fortune dried up, you started
looking for better prospects?
You didn't have to look any farther
than Marty's boss, Streeter.
You're good, Sylvia. Real good.
It's mainly your eyes, I think.
That little throb you get in your
voice when you sound frightened.
You're making a terrible mistake.
You found out about Mr Hoskins and
Mr Tully and the bag and told Streeter.
You hired Dugan to check things out
to know when it was safe to make a move.
I've never even seen Dugan in my life!
But he saw you and when you
and your boyfriend hit the jackpot
Dugan figured he'd pick up the nickels.
You're making it sound so ugly.
It wasn't like that! I wanted to...
Please. It doesn't have to be like that!
You can have it all,
the money, me. Please!
It's no good, Sylvia.
The police are on their way.
Please, don't, Lionel! Please!
Good evening, officer. You'll be taking
Mrs Huckerman to Lieutenant Blitz.
Yes, sir.
You may as well take this bag
while you're at it. That's your motive.
Goodbye, Lionel.
Lionel, please, don't!
Lionel, please don't!
- Come on now. Just relax.
- Please help me! Please!
I didn't know they were sending in
a backup unit.
They're not. Different case.
Accident report.
I see. Come on.
Now if we could get your side
of the story, Mr Whitney.
Hey, what do you think of my uniform?
I scammed it while
they were booking the Hell Hounds.
What's going on, buddy?
I had to turn her in, E.L.
You turned in the security money?
I couldn't trust you
to hold onto the bag?
Never belonged to us.
It belonged
to whoever held onto that bag!
I know that you're disappointed but
I had to do what I thought was right.
The possibility of making any money out
of this case never occurred to me.
Marty was my friend and they killed him.
And Sylvia let it happen.
Yeah, I know. At least I got my suit
back from Vickers.
It's the hardest thing I've ever
had to do, turning her in.
You know what I did?
Buddy, listen to this.
I go down and I tell them
that I am from the DA's office
and that we're going to prosecute E.L.
Taylor and we need the suit as evidence
and you know, they fell...
I thought she was kind
and gentle and loyal.
And I loved her, E.L.
Hey, Lionel.
You'll always have Paris, kid.