The Streets of San Francisco (1972–1977): Season 1, Episode 13 - A Trout in the Milk - full transcript

( funky theme playing )

ANNOUNCER: The
Streets of San Francisco.

A Quinn Martin production.

Starring Karl Malden.

Also starring Michael Douglas.

With guest stars
Roscoe Lee Brown...

Brenda Sykes... Carol Lawson...

Allen Emerson.

Tonight's episode:
"A Trout in the Milk."

( suspenseful theme playing )

MAN: Last night,
I dreamed a city



I blew apart the dew Of my mind

And there Floating on the mist

With bridges hung
from stars Was my city

It was a lovely place On
which to lay my sleepy head

A city to remember
long years After I'm dead

But memory, you say
Must die with death

It exits in concert
With our last breath

So how dream up a city

From the fragility Of
night-scheming futility

Without the ability to cry

At the dying of my night

Or to mourn At the
morn of my day Rejoice

[LAUGHING]

There is a pulse
to the dream It lives



I give it To you

[CHEERING]

Hello.

They love you.

It's not enough.

You called. Now I'm here.
So, what's so important?

You're with Robb
Evanhauer again.

Oh, come on, Yale.

A famous poet like you

must have more urgent
things on his agenda.

Genea, I'm not telling you
what to do with your life.

Then don't. Nobody has me
on an exclusive, least of all, you.

If Robb Evanhauer
meets my price...

You want me to believe
you're just modeling for him?

I quote you: "A
model model models."

Baby, Evanhauer
is the end of the line.

You have lived your
life, now let me live mine.

Not with Robb Evanhauer.

( laughs )

Something funny?

The two of you.

I tell him I'm coming
here, and he skies.

I tell you I'm going back,

and you go into
an all-time downer.

So why stay in the middle?

Because it beats
being out in the cold.

Ciao, Daddy.

Would you mind, Mr. Dancy?

What's your name? Melissa.

Melissa.

From the Greek.

It means "honey bee."

Did you know that,
Melissa? No, Mr. Dancy.

Go to Greece.

I loved it. You will too.

Give my regards to Aristotle.

He knew that poetry

is of graver
import than history.

Thank you. My pleasure.

MAN: Nobody tells me who I use.

Because she's good, that's why.

Try it, just go on and try it.

You're crazy if
you think you can.

( glass shattering,
man screaming )

( tires screeching )

( screaming )

( ominous theme playing )

( horn honking )

( siren wailing )

Lieutenant.

Hey, he got here
fast. Wings of Mercury.

Yeah, that stuff can poison you.

Is he dead? Not yet.

What have you got, Briles?

Well, his name is
Robb Evanhauer.

Painter, 28, single.

Eyewitness said it looked like
someone loaded him into a .45

and pulled the trigger, the
way he came out of that window.

KELLER: What have you got, Mike?

Earring, I guess.

Steve. Yeah.

See if you can
spot the rest of this.

Right.

I want this whole place brushed.

I don't care if there are
100 prints, I want them all.

KELLER: Mike.

Take a look at this.

The same. Yup.

I want copies of this.

Come here.

What do you think of that?

[WHISTLES]

That's assault with intent.

Or murder number two, if
Evanhauer doesn't make it.

Zaculovich.

Come here.

Now this is, uh,

probably the victim's,
the blood and the hair,

but nurse them all
for latents, will you?

So where do you wanna start?

Earrings.

Yeah.

Maybe Omar will
play with us. Could be.

Good luck, fellas.

( upbeat theme playing )

Omar.

I have a license, lieutenant.

I know you do,
Omar. Now, tell me.

Listen carefully.

Anybody else make
earrings like that?

Well, if they did, I'd
make something else.

You're doing very nice work,
Omar. This one's my favorite.

You have good taste.

Who's wearing it?

Them. Earrings come in pairs.

Ah, come on, Omar. Come on.

They are cash customers, man.
They don't give me their names.

I want this one, Omar.
Come on, now, boy.

Very pretty girl.
I've never seen her.

She's wearing your earring.

She has taste too.

Who bought it and when?

Lieutenant, I do a
volume business, man.

It's a small unit profit,

but a tremendous overturn.

Why, in the last quarter alone,

I must have dealt
with 16 or 17 clients.

Look, honestly, I
haven't seen her.

Sit down, will you, Omar,
you're flirting with a nosebleed.

They're not gonna
go along with us.

One might. Who's that?

Savinu.

SAVINU: If Evanhauer dies,

it'll be the greatest
contribution to art

since the invention
of the frame.

Savinu, you're an impressionist.

Oh, you like that, huh?

All he can afford are mug shots.

How about this?

Evanhauer garbage.
No, the model.

Genea.

Last name.

Oh, come on,
lieutenant. Think back.

When did you ever bother
to ask them their last names?

She ever model for you?

Just on that one,
but not now, man.

Now it's top dollar.

From Evanhauer?

A little hanky-panky
there, maybe.

You know, you could
save us a lot of time

making the grand tour
of the model agencies.

Okay, fellas.

It's just that I hate
fingering someone

who benched Mr. Robb Evanhauer.

Paint yourself
some crocodile tears.

[SCOFFS]

Dancy.

Yale Courtland Dancy?

They were living
under the same roof.

Well, 30 seconds
is all I need, doctor.

Okay, I'll wait for your call.

Is it Evanhauer?

Coma. Dancy?

He's still not home,

but he's got two shows
at the Balladeer tonight.

[BASS PLAYING PENSIVE MELODY]

We all met at the summit

And agreed we'd arrived

But at the gate They
asked me who I was

I said "I am the
Loch Ness monster

"A Scottish wetback" A
Mexican plum pudding

A dam in the river
Of convention"

I said to him "I'm a
cheater who prospered

"A cog in the system
"A Chinese smorgasbord

A man who delivers dissension"

I said "I'm a negative thinker

"Of that I am positive

"A killer who couldn't
A killer who wouldn't

"A man who deserved
Your attention"

( applause )

( laughing )

Got it, baby.

I see you're back again, pretty.

Joey, lace me one
eggnog, please.

You know, in 1964, Mr. Dancy,

I hitchhiked from Berkeley
to listen to you right here.

A dash of masochism
blighted your youth.

I was a primitive performer
in those days, my friend.

No, no, you were
good, even then.

You were quite a spellbinder.

[CHUCKLES]

The Wicked Witch
of the North Beach

would offer you one, but...

Lieutenant Stone,
Inspector Keller.

We're looking for
Genea, Mr. Dancy.

What's a Genea?

The sign outside says
you do two shows tonight.

I sure hate to see you
miss the second one.

1440 Fremont.

1440 Fremont.

I thank you.

My pleasure.

Mike.

Now, that was a joint he
was smoking, wasn't it?

Looked like one,
smelled like one.

Well, now, are you,
uh, finally getting

a little soft in your old age?

Why didn't you bust him?

For what?

Possession of oregano?

Get out of here.

( mysterious theme playing )

1440 Fremont.

1440 Fremont. Yeah.

KELLER: It's a Chinese
laundry. STONE: I see, I see.

It's a Chinese hand
laundry. [LAUGHS]

Like the oregano, it's a
put-on. We've been had.

I know, I know we've
been had, but why?

( mysterious theme playing )

Where's Dancy? He split.

What time is the second show?

Well, there ain't gonna be one.

Uh, can you guys keep it down?

I don't wanna lose
the rest of the house.

Well, where is he now?

Well, I'm not sure.

You better get sure.

( mysterious theme playing )

( doorbell rings )

Come in, Lieutenant
Stone, Inspector Keller.

I trust the grim

and nerve-wracking
aspects of your profession

haven't dulled your
sense of humor, my friends.

There's much to be said
for Chinese laundries.

And oregano.

The Van Gogh is upside down.

I spend a good deal
of time on my head.

Can I offer you anything?

Information, of course,

but maybe something reckless.

Five minutes' worth,

where three human
beings might just sit down

and salve the ills of the world.

Mr. Dancy, it's been
a very, very long day.

Did Evanhauer fall
or was he pushed?

We never mentioned Evanhauer.

Come on, lieutenant. The
word's all over North Beach.

Genea's your prime suspect.

All we wanna do is
talk to her, Mr. Dancy.

Dancy, if I make it rhyme,

will you understand that
the sooner we locate this girl,

the better off she is?

Poets don't rhyme much anymore.

I don't even know
if they reason.

The game's over. I know it.

But I don't think
you'll find her just now.

Not until she sorts things
out for her own satisfaction.

We'll look.

Does she work?

City of Paris.

Never misses a day.

( elegant music playing )

Sorry you had to wait so long.

Police, right?

Uh... yeah.

Jungle Grapevine.

It's the first time in ages

we had to show
the entire collection.

I hope you weren't bored.

No, no, no, not
at all, you see...

Well, actually
this is the first time

I've ever been to one of these.

Really? See anything you liked?

Leading and tasteless.

No wonder models have
the wrong kind of reputation.

That's all right.

Did you have to go to
school to learn this job?

Profession. Paying a lot better

than a graduate medical
student makes his first few years.

You look a lot better than
any medical student I've seen.

Thank you. And I don't
even know your name.

I'm Inspector Keller.

Inspector what Keller?

Steven.

I like Steven better.

Uh...

I've never heard the
name Genea before.

My father invented it.
He has a way with words.

Now, wait a minute.

Is your father Yale
Courtland Dancy?

You didn't know?

No, no.

Well, daughter is the one
word that seems to have eluded

the most extensive vocabulary
in the seven Western states.

But here I am babbling away
when you have the pressures

of a great metropolis
on your mind.

Yeah, yeah, well,
we'd like to talk to you

about an artist named
Robb Evanhauer.

Somebody told me he
fell out of his window.

Right. We think you
might be able to help us.

Sure. Anything. Downtown?

Please. Let's go.

Oh, Steve, you rattle me.

I'm strictly old
tops and blue jeans.

Give me a few minutes to
render unto Paris what is Paris'.

Go ahead. I'll meet
you here. You better.

Excuse me. Dr. Ford.
I've been thinking.

If, uh, there are
better facilities,

specialists you
would want to call in,

anything at all
that would help...

It's too late.

What?

I'm sorry.

( ominous theme playing )

Hey, Joe.

Joe.

You have a patient
named Robb Evanhauer.

I just told the lady,

from the amount
of blood that he lost,

skull fracture, internal
hemorrhaging...

He's dead? Yeah.

Excuse me, Mike.

Excuse me, uh...

are you related
to Mr. Evanhauer?

No.

I was just a friend.

Well, could you tell me

how I could get in
touch with his family?

No, I'm sorry. I couldn't.

Look, is this important?

I'm Lieutenant Stone,
San Francisco Police.

We may ask for an autopsy.

Well, then, it
wasn't an accident?

That's what we're
trying to find out.

Joe. Excuse me.

Joe. What was
the cause of death?

Well, off of what I've
seen, I'd say, uh, the fall.

But it could have been
a blow to the head.

Either way, homicide.

You'll want an autopsy, then.

Well, as soon as we
can get permission.

Say, that lady,

has she been here all the time?

I think so.

Who is she?

Well, she, uh, said
she was a friend.

From the turnout,
he didn't have many.

Thanks, Joe.

( mysterious theme playing )

( suspenseful theme playing )

Where's she? Where's the girl?

Chinese laundry
again. I lost her.

Oh, how? She psyched me out.

Oh, psyched you out.

She made such a number on
me, you're not gonna believe.

We'll find her, Mike, she's
only an assault suspect.

You're wrong. Evanhauer
just died. We're into murder.

Well, I got something.
Her last name's Dancy.

Genea Dancy?

Right. Ingenuity
runs in that family.

Well, let's see if she can
outwit an APB. Come on.

( action theme playing )

You know, Mike,

I'm sorry, but I don't see
her as a murder suspect.

She's really charmed you,
huh? Now, look. Wait a minute.

Evanhauer was a
hotheaded, lousy artist, right?

Owed a lot of people money.

Big in the ladies' department.
A brawler when he drank.

I'm telling you, half the phone
directory was out to get him.

Motive? Crime of passion.

Somebody lost their cool

and rammed that plaster abstract
right through Evanhauer's skull.

Somebody but not
Genea Dancy. Aw, Mike.

Let's just say, all right,

that I'm taking a
chapter out of your book,

you call it a hunch,
instinct, anything you want,

but I don't think she did it.

Okay, buddy boy, let's
say it was somebody else.

I still wanna know why she ran.

Yeah.

Four-ten. Not in.

You the manager? I'm
the keeper of the peace.

Good. That makes three of us.

That don't say search warrant.

That says search warrant.

Ain't locked. Never is.

Sea of tranquility.

She ran, but not here.

What about the luggage?

Looks like it's all here.

Look for the earring.

Corrigan covered
every inch of her studio.

Didn't find a thing.

I think whoever had it
dumped it in the bay.

Call in. Get us a
stakeout. Right.

Hi, this is Keller. Is
Hassejian there, please?

Do you want some advice? What?

Stick to mug shots.

Hi, Norm.

Listen, we're at 410
Filbert, apartment 960.

It's leased by Genea Dancy.

Female, black, age 22.

Put a stakeout on
it for us, will you?

Right. Thanks a lot.

What?

Well, that car
wasn't there before.

Read the license.

C-A-S-S-E-Y.

Mm-hmm. Cassey.

Well, is that
something important?

I don't know.

Come on, let's find Dancy.

( bells tolling melodically )

Pigeons on the grass, alas.

Have faith, they'll come.

You both look like
you lost something.

We have. Your daughter.

I lost her first.

Evanhauer died.

I heard.

STONE: Find her, Dancy.

Find her before we do.

The hours you keep, and
all those bad neighborhoods.

I worry about you.

What did you get
on that stakeout?

Last report, no
sign of the lady.

You got a Rembrandt van
Savinu in the outer lobby.

He was supposed
to be here at 2:00.

It's 3 now.

Tell him he's late
and send him in.

You never asked me, lieutenant.

I mean, it's no secret.

Some of the best
people have records.

Fourteen plain drunk,

seven D & D, three assaults,

and two of those assaults
were on Robb Evanhauer.

I told you, he's
a lousy painter.

Was a lousy painter.

STONE: He died a few hours ago.

I'll sketch him some flowers.

Where were you when Evanhauer
went through the window?

Where you found me.

KELLER: People didn't
see you there until later.

SAVINU: Maybe I slept in.

Can you prove that?

Luckily, yeah.

Maybe you were trying
to thin out the competition.

Now, look, lieutenant,
don't try to...

Hold on to your easel, Savinu,

and just give us the
names to work on.

What names?

People he was seeing, artists,

models, somebody who
owed him money, anything.

I told you, I only knew
the guy from brawls in bars.

That's where I heard names.

You know, conquests.

He was the type who put a notch

in his easel every
time he scored.

Shh.

Names.

Irene, Vicki, Genea,
Lois, Cassandra,

Michael.

That was a girl named Michael.

Uh, I don't know,
man, that's all I know.

That's all. Thank you, Savinu.

Stay in town, and please,

please now, don't drip
any paint on our sidewalks.

Oh, I, uh, thought this
might be a friendly call, so I...

Well, it's kind of a gift.

We can't take gifts.

Then throw it away.

( Stone laughing )

How did you know I
wanted to see you?

I'm the seventh son
of a seventh daughter.

Surveillance on Dancy
says he's still moving.

Okay. We're rolling.
Ha, ha, ha. I love it.

HASSEJIAN: Yeah. You laugh.

In New Guinea, pig is sacred.

I'm retiring to New Guinea.

Well, before you retire,

will you please
check this through?

Yeah, DMV? Sergeant
Hassejian, San Francisco Homicide.

I need the make on
a personalized plate.

Yeah.

C-A-S-S-E-Y.

That's right, Cassey.

( wind chimes tinkling )

Whenever I gave your
mother a hard time,

I always found her here.

I remember.

You miss her?

Yes.

But I'm glad she's not
here to see me now.

Poor Mama.

I had no right to either of you.

Agreed.

We're both older.

We're both wiser.

You want me to forgive
you for ignoring me?

All we have is each other.

What's the matter,
Yale? Getting old?

Getting lonely?

Afraid there'll be grandchildren
you won't even know about?

If my reasons for wanting
you back are selfish,

and I suppose they are,

all I can do is apologize
and promise amends.

Sorry, Daddy. No sale.

Genea.

Robb Evanhauer died.

Oh, no.

The law has been coming
on to me like you did it.

What do you think?

Where did you get that?

Your daughter asked
you a question, Dancy.

( ominous theme playing )

We'd like to hear the answer.

I saw it in Evanhauer's studio.

Just after...

Just after I launched
him through his window

into the gutter
where he belonged.

( funky theme playing )

KELLER: All right, Mr. Dancy.

You've waived your
right to an attorney.

The tape recorder is rolling.

State your name, please.

Yale Courtland Dancy.

Occupation?

Writer. Poet.

Two-bit philosopher.

And former father.

Were you acquainted with an
artist named Robb Evanhauer?

I was.

What was your
relationship to him?

He was my enemy.

As a man, as an artist,
as a suitor to my daughter.

And you were against
him seeing your daughter.

Of course. He was a crass
bumbler, whose brush went down

for the count every
time it hit the canvas.

Genea is royalty. A thing apart.

She is unique.

Like her father.

Me, lieutenant?

I'm a beam in God's radiance,

but my batteries
are running low.

Before the power
failure, Mr. Dancy,

in detail, describe the fight
you had with Evanhauer

on the day you claim
you went to his studio.

It began...

when I saw the
earrings on a table.

I'd bought them for Genea.

When he denied that
Genea had been there,

I picked them up and I
was waving them at him.

My proof that he was lying.

His hand reached
out after I hit him.

Clutching, he must
have grabbed one.

You're lying. No, I am not.

You took all the pieces,
put them together

and trumped up this story

just to protect Genea
because you know

she sent him
through that window.

That's the lie!

You're an intelligent man,

but you confess
without a lawyer?

Because I intend
to defend myself.

Against what? I'm
not holding you.

Get his daughter.

All right.

All right, I'll tell you.

I'll tell you how it happened.

Why it happened.

Evanhauer...

was, um... a dichotomous man,

parading his passions
on both sides of the street.

Unfortunately, I
caught him at it.

You're losing me, Dancy.

How clear do I have to make it?

Clearer than that.

Evanhauer and I...

had a homosexual relationship.

And, gentlemen, I swear
by all the fiber in my being

that if Genea learns of this,

I'll dedicate the rest of
my life to killing you both.

What about the earring?

Certain things should
be obvious, my friends,

like a trout in the milk.

The earring, Mr. Dancy.

I gave them to him.

Gentlemen, my
shame is not because

of my relationship.

It's because of my
deceit in concealing it.

If she'd known all along,

Genea would have
been more tolerant.

But for her to find out now,

she'd never forgive me.

And... she is all I have.

Art.

Book him.

Yale.

Yale, why?

Oh, Daddy.

Genea, it wasn't something
he planned. We're sure of that.

It just, uh... It happened.

It's almost like an accident.

You know something,
Steve Keller?

For a human being,
you're really a nice guy.

What did you get
on that Cassey plate?

Cassey for Cassandra.
Cassandra for Cassandra Lauritzen.

Cassandra Lauritzen for...
For Mr. Harold Lauritzen?

That's the one.

The judge's wife.

Why the courthouse?

Because I called the
home, and the maid said

Mrs. Lauritzen
was with the judge.

Now, wait a minute.
Wait... Wait just a minute.

Do we not already
have a confessed killer?

I pulled the file on Yale Dancy
while they were booking him.

Thirty-eight bookings on D & D.

He drinks and gets crazy.

Thirty-three of those
bookings were with women,

and the other five he was alone.

Now does that
spell queen to you?

No.

Yale Dancy is a Don Juan.

A Lothario, Romeo, and
one gosh darn good liar.

What about the earring?

Now you got me. That's
the one that bothers me.

That and...

Cassandra Lauritzen's car parked
in front of Genea's apartment.

Well, I don't see
any connection.

You never met Judge
Lauritzen's child bride, eh?

Nope.

Well, she's a very plain lady,

married to a guy old
enough to be her grandfather.

All right. Let's say
she's into charity work.

She goes to one
of these benefits,

meets a young,
good-looking painter.

He begins to hustle her.

And when she realizes
she's been hustled,

and sees Evanhauer with
somebody like Genea Dancy,

she hits him with the
first thing she can grab.

( sighs )

I don't know, Mike, I
think you're reaching.

Oh, no, no, no. It's beginning
to feel pretty good to me.

There's a lady with
something on her mind.

Something's
bothering her, all right.

Conscience, maybe.

Wanna get her now?

No, sir, not here.

If I'm wrong, I don't
wanna hear about it

right here in front
of the courthouse.

Okay.

( suspenseful theme playing )

Funny.

What?

They live in Pacific Heights,

and she's heading
for the Embarcadero.

Now?

No, no. Just hang with her.

You know, Mike, there's still
something you haven't told me.

What was she doing in
Genea's neighborhood yesterday?

Let's start with Dancy.

All right.

If he didn't kill Evanhauer,

where do you get the earring?

Well, we know it wasn't
from Genea's apartment.

Why not?

Because we were there.

So was C-A-S-S-E-Y.

The judge's wife.

And Dancy came later,

after, uh, Cassey left it
for someone else to find.

Stay with her.

Let's say that
it all fits, right?

Right.

She has the earring in her hand

when she cracks Evanhauer
over the head with that statue.

Now, what happened
to the earring?

Dumps it in the bay,

or plants it on the
girl she's jealous of.

Welcome back, buddy boy.

[LAUGHING]

Ferry Building.

Oh, man. Sorry.

Okay. She can't get far.

Come on, move it!

Hey, hold it.

( ominous theme playing )

Let me see.

"I can't excuse what
I did and neither...

But he blackmailed
me, forgive..."

Mike, she's going in the bay.

( suspenseful theme playing )

( horn blowing )

( horn blowing )

Go ahead, but take it easy.

Cassandra Lauritzen?

Leave me alone.

It's not gonna solve
anything, ma'am.

And maybe you ought to let
your husband know about this,

instead of judging yourself?

You had no right to take that.

KELLER: We would have
found out about it sooner or later.

This way, nobody else
has to know about it.

You can't bury what I did.

What I am.

I'm nothing to him now.

We met at the
hospital, remember?

( sobbing )

I didn't mean to do it.

I didn't mean to do it. I
didn't go there to kill him.

We know that.

( sobbing )

( funky theme playing )

Hi-ho, the merry-o
The charmer's in the cell

What does this mean?

What it means, Mr. Dancy,
is that we can prove

a woman killed Robb Evanhauer.

Do you have any idea
what you've accomplished

with this dreary and
dogged detection?

Do you?

No, sir. I don't.

Well, you've stripped
me of the one decent thing

I could do for my daughter.

You have erased the noble
gesture, nullified the act.

You put her in here
and so help me...

Okay, okay, Dancy.

You didn't do it.
She didn't do it.

Go home.

You hackneyed old ham.

You phony. You flagrant fraud.

I cried my eyes out,
thinking you'd be spending

the rest of your
life behind bars.

Now I find out you'll
only be leaning on them.

Uh, hold on. Have
a little respect.

After all, I'm a published
poet, I'm a man of letters.

Who's selling who
short? You're my father.

Come on.

They deserve each other.

Come on, they love
each other. Yeah.

It's obvious, like...

What was that line he said?

"A trout in the milk."
Beautiful. Really beautiful.

You like that line? Yeah.

Well, that ain't Dancy.

That's Thoreau.

Come on. Henry David Thoreau.

That's where Yale Courtland
Dancy stole that line.

You can't let this job
stifle your mind, buddy boy.

You gotta keep yourself free,

easy for cultural
pursuits, you know?

That's right.

Good reading, good music.

Bowling.

But you, that's all
you think of is women.

( funky theme playing )