The Streets of San Francisco (1972–1977): Season 1, Episode 3 - 45 Minutes from Home - full transcript
A businessman who flew in from Los Angeles (the time it takes to fly from L.A. to S.F. is the source of the title) for a convention meets a woman at the convention center and agrees to join her on her houseboat in nearby Sausalito. They get into an argument and he winds up striking her on the head and fleeing. The woman's boyfriend gets home, gets into an argument with her and again bashes her on the head, killing her. The businessman is the prime suspect in the murder because he was seen arriving at and then fleeing the crime scene.
( funky jazz theme playing )
ANNOUNCER: The
Streets of San Francisco.
A Quinn Martin production.
Starring Karl Malden.
Also starring Michael Douglas.
With guest stars William Windom,
Jacqueline Scott, Jo Ann Harris,
Stephen Oliver.
Tonight's episode: "45
Minutes From Home."
( mellow theme playing )
You, uh, going
across the bridge?
Huh?
Are you going across the bridge?
Oh. Uh, yes.
Good.
Uh...?
( horns honking )
It's green.
Turn right.
First time?
What?
Across the bridge.
Uh, yes.
Welcome to the Golden Gate.
Total length, one and
seven-tenths miles.
Height of the
tower, 846 feet, Oh.
With a vehicular capacity
of 283,000 per 24-hour day. Wow.
Total cost, $35 million.
MAN: How do you know all that?
I used to work a bus.
UPAC. Unified what... postmen?
No, pharmaceuticals.
The AC stands for,
uh... Annual convention.
It shows, huh?
Pharmaceutics. What's
that? Drugs and stuff like that?
Yes.
And you're a... salesman.
Twenty years with the same firm.
Twenty years?
You've been doing
that all my life?
Heh-heh. What a drag.
Mind? No.
( music plays on radio )
L.A.
Yes. How could you...?
And I'll bet you've been married
to the same woman all your life.
That's right. Twenty-two years.
Two kids. A boy and a girl.
No, just one. A girl.
She's a lot like
you, actually. Karen.
You look. I'll steer.
All right.
The architect and chief
engineer was Joseph B. Strauss,
a specialist in long-span
bridges, and a poet.
( radio blaring )
( music stops )
You know, there's something
funky about a houseboat,
don't you think?
Funky?
You know, real.
Coming?
Here.
Well?
Heh. I... I don't
think I'd better.
I... I do have a-a noon
meeting that I should...
Well, it's up to you.
Come on up. There's
nothing happening down there.
Tell me, what, uh...?
What sort of knitting
do you call this?
Macramé. I do it.
And the pottery?
A friend.
Oh.
I'm Lita. And you?
( clears throat )
G-garver. Tom Garver.
Mr. Tom Garver.
Do you, uh, smoke grass?
Oh, I guess not.
Well, there's a first time
for everything, isn't there?
Heh, heh, heh.
Match?
Mm.
Never mind. We're tripping
anyway, aren't we, Mr. Garver?
What is this?
What are you doing?
Something you've
always wanted to do, right?
You just wouldn't
do it on your own turf,
with your wife and daughter
somewhere around the corner.
Ah.
Lita, please stop.
But you wanna know
what it's like, don't you?
That's why you picked me up.
I didn't pick...
Now you tell me you're
just not like all the rest.
You tell your daughter
you should do one thing,
and then you do another.
You know what'd be funny?
If right now, your daughter
was with some other old man.
And I do mean old,
Mr. Tom Garver.
You should see yourself
with that trust-me smile
and that raunchy
little mind of yours.
You're a hypocrite.
Yes, you're a
hypocrite. A hypocrite.
Can you hear me? A
hypocrite! A hypocrite!
Lita?
( motorcycle approaches )
( suspenseful theme playing )
( engine sputtering )
( gasping )
Brett?
Who did it?
Oh, my head. Ah.
Who was it this time?
I'm bleeding.
What was his name?
Huh? Oh, I don't know.
Um, Garver or something.
Hey, Brett, would you get
me a towel or something?
Garver.
What was his first name?
I'm bleeding!
What was it?!
Tom.
Tom!
Now would you get me
something for my head?
Tom Garver.
Brett, please.
Ahh!
You got another tea
besides oolong or ja...?
No, Mike, come on.
I just checked out.
So did someone in Marin County.
We got a 904. They
need assistance.
( speaking
indistinctly in Chinese )
What did you tell her?
I just told her that
your wife and kids
were getting tired
waiting for the wonton.
Mike.
Hey, Mike.
Lieutenant Stone?
Mr. Wade?
Right.
Inspector Keller. Hi.
What have we got?
The coroner's inside now.
A witness says he thinks the
suspect headed for Golden Gate,
and, uh, that's
your jurisdiction.
Who's the witness?
Name's Wilson. Brett
Wilson. Lives here.
Is he the guy that
found the body?
Yeah. Pretty shook up by it too.
Living together quite a while.
Anyway, could be a waltz.
He says he saw the killer.
Well, maybe we'd better see him.
( shutter clicks )
Doctor, Lieutenant
Stone and Inspector Keller.
San Francisco Homicide.
How do you do?
Two blows.
One at the back of the head,
another by the right temple.
I'll need an
autopsy to establish
precise cause of death.
This how the body was found?
Nothing's been moved.
Somebody had a little party.
STONE: This the weapon?
WADE: Looks like.
Mr. Wilson, the sergeant said
you were the one that found her.
That's right.
Is that L-I-T-A?
Yeah. Lita Brewer.
How long did you know her?
A year, maybe.
I met her in the city.
Like, she needed
a roof, you know?
She was a nice chick. We, uh...
We grooved together for a while.
But, uh, wow, man.
Like, I don't know, like,
maybe I'm responsible.
I don't understand.
What do you mean?
There's a lot of
chicks in the city.
I just didn't have all that
much time to give to her.
You know how it is.
And I guess she
needed somebody to just
groove with her and nobody else.
Maybe she went out and
met some kind of a weirdo,
because I wasn't around.
You said you met her in the
city. Is she from the Bay Area?
Idaho.
Somewhere around,
uh... What is it, Pocatello?
This yours?
No, I never saw it before.
Maybe it was his, huh?
You know, the guy who, uh...
Oh, man.
You said you saw
him run to the car.
What kind of car did he have?
A convertible.
Uh, new. Dark blue, maybe black.
Did you happen to
see his license number?
No, but I got a
good look at his face.
Like, he had a hard time
getting his car
started, you know?
And, uh, I got his name.
What's that?
I'm sorry. I forgot.
It's all been such a nightmare.
But, uh, Lita told me
right before she died.
Never mind all that.
What's the name?
Garver. Tom Garver.
WOMAN ( over PA ): Telephone
call for Mr. Russell Rankin.
Mr. Russell Rankin, telephone.
Hey, Russ. Yeah?
It's for you. Telephone.
Thank you.
Ahem. Hello?
Uh, yes, m... My name is Rankin.
I understand you
have a call for me.
Russ? Hi.
Hello, Emily.
I've been trying to reach
you for about two hours.
I know, honey. I-I've been busy.
Listen, uh, this is really a
silly thing to bother you with,
but, um, the washing
machine's leaking again.
The man says it's the boot.
It's gonna cost $32 to fix it.
Now, is that all right?
What?
Well, the washing machine.
I know it's a lot, but...
Oh, sweetheart, that's
fine. Don't worry about it.
Well, listen. I knew it was
a dumb reason to call, but...
No, it isn't dumb at
all. I'm glad you called.
I was just thinking about you.
You were? Mm-hm.
You know, it's funny.
The jets make it just
45 minutes from home.
It seems so far.
Emily...
I love you.
Hm. I think I better send you
away from home more often.
Uh, look, honey,
I've got to run along.
The, ahem... The
noon conference.
Take care of yourself, okay?
Yes. I will. You too, huh?
Bye-bye.
Bye.
As soon as they're all here,
we'll start with
McGalway's pep talk.
All right, Bud. Very good.
Hello. I'm John Collins,
secretary of the convention.
I don't think that I've
met you gentlemen.
We're looking for a
Garver. A Tom Garver.
Oh, yes, certainly.
That's Tom over there.
Not hard to find him in this
crowd with those clothes.
Ha, ha, ha.
Excuse me, are you,
uh, with the convention?
No, we're with the city.
Oh, isn't that nice?
Uh, Bud? Very good, Bud.
Mr. Garver?
Yeah. What can I do for you?
Can I talk to you for a minute?
Oh, later, huh?
No, I have never been to
any houseboat in Sausalito.
No, I have never known
any girl named Lita.
Mr. Garver, we're
as anxious as you are
to get this cleared up.
You know, a witness told us
that the victim identified
you by name before she died.
What am I, the only
Tom Garver in the world?
The only one registered
at the TowneHouse.
So?
You were at the hotel all
morning. Can you prove that?
Look, I don't see why I should
have to be proving anything.
I thought... Who were you with?
I'd rather not say.
Any special reason why?
Yeah. It's nobody's
business why. That's why.
Number one, you have
the right to remain silent.
Number two, anything you say...
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute, now.
I was with our vice president
in charge of sales,
Mr. MacElwaite.
I was makin' a move
on another guy's territory.
What? You guys have been
around. You know how it is.
It's gonna have to be verified.
Well, isn't there
some other way?
That gentleman
with the lieutenant.
You sure?
Garver's older. At least 40.
This is your lucky
day, Mr. Garver.
I don't usually buy
drinks for anyone.
What now, lieutenant?
Just keep looking.
How tall did you say he was?
Well, like I said,
I couldn't tell.
He was in the, uh,
car when I saw him.
About 40, huh?
Over, maybe, like
most of these guys.
Can you describe his face?
How do you describe
a man's face?
Well, you're an
artist, aren't you?
Like, I throw clay, man.
Don't worry, if he's
here, I'll know him.
MAN ( over TV ): And
was found not guilty
by Superior Court
Judge Harold Lauritzen.
Earlier today in Marin County,
the body of young Lita Brewer
was discovered
aboard a houseboat
in the artists' colony marina
known as the floating
city near Sausalito.
San Francisco
Homicide detectives
are cooperating with
Marin County authorities,
who gave this report
to newsman Cliff...
That's what we came up here
to get away from, old buddy.
Terrible things going
on in the world today.
It's full of a lot of sick
people, you know that?
Yeah. What do think
keeps us in business? Heh.
Well, I carry a revolver.
McCABE: You're kidding.
Everywhere I go. It's in
my suitcase right now.
Boom Boom Collins.
Y-you mean to say you
can still buy those things?
Oh, sure you can,
but you have to register them.
Takes three days. They
fingerprint you and everything.
Hey, Russ, you can't leave now.
You're the host. I just
remembered I, uh...
I've got to check in a car.
You... You guys go ahead.
I believe the actual count is
267 people in the convention.
They're all from out
of town, of course.
Could we have a list of
all the names, please?
Certainly, lieutenant.
It'll take a moment.
STONE: We'll wait.
Excuse me, fellas,
but I gotta fall by the
men's room, okay?
We'll be right here.
Great.
Uh, I picked this car up at
the airport, but the starter's bad.
I hope you weren't
inconvenienced.
If you'll fill out a new form,
please, I'll see what we have.
Okay.
WILSON: Hi, there.
( tense theme playing )
"Mr. Rankin."
Russell L. Rankin.
I don't suppose you'd tell me
why you need
this list, lieutenant.
No. Confidential.
Two hundred and
sixty-seven possibilities.
Any one of them could
have used Garver's name.
Or any one of the
employees here,
or anyone sitting in the
bar, listening to a name.
Hey, man. Uh, like,
I just remembered.
I've got something on
for tonight with a chick.
It's getting kinda late.
Mike?
Don't get lost. Okay.
Good.
Well, I mean, you know, like,
if it's anything important,
like I said, I do wanna help.
No, no. We
understand. Thank you.
Good.
Now, he doesn't seem
to be too broken up
over his girl's death, does he?
Well, that was just one
of his girls, remember?
I mean, he didn't have
that much time for her.
( imitating Brett ): Well,
like, you know how it is, man.
No, tell me sometime.
Heh, heh, heh.
Well, right now, we've got
267 names to run through R&I
and a lot more to learn about
Lita Brewer and Brett Wilson.
Come on.
( sighs )
( knocking on door )
Yes?
MAN: Mr. Rankin?
Who is it?
Telegram.
Just stick it under
the door, please.
I'm sorry, sir. I
need your signature.
( suspenseful theme playing )
( door closes )
Why did you do it, Rankin?
Was it because
she laughed at you
when you tried to kiss her, huh?
Or maybe when you
made your move on her?
And she let you make
that move, didn't she?
It was an accident.
I didn't mean to...
Get up.
Get up, and be a man.
( gasps )
You can't do it, can ya?
Please, listen. You
must understand...
First time you saw
her, I'll bet you thought,
"Maybe this time,
I can make it."
Huh?
What happened?
( yelling ): What happened?
Ah.
I see.
Yeah, I know.
I know.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
You must believe that.
Believe it?
( laughs )
I believe it, man.
( laughs )
Yeah, I-I believe it.
Um, what are you going to do?
Nothing, man. I'm
not gonna do anything.
You are.
What do you want?
Not much.
Say, uh...
a grand?
A thousand dollars?
I haven't got it.
You'll get it for me, won't ya?
And you bring it by the
houseboat tomorrow.
But how can I raise that kind of
money? I can't let anyone know.
That's the big problem
with secrets, Mr. Rankin.
Somebody always knows.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Thataway, chicky baby, thataway.
Here we go, and you just...
You just keep 'em coming, yeah?
All right, now, listen,
after a little dinner,
maybe you can show me
what this town's all about, huh?
Tom?
Russ.
Like you to meet an
old friend of the family.
Sit down, sit down.
Maybe she's got a sister.
Tom, I'm... Ahem.
I'm a little short.
I thought maybe you
could help me out.
Me? Well, what about your
long-time buddies, Russ, babe?
Oh, I tried them.
They can't swing it.
Tom, this is very
important to me.
Well, I'm sure it must be, Russ,
but I'm not very big for favors.
You see, my philosophy is...
I know what your
philosophy is, Tom.
That's why I thought
maybe you could handle it.
You've had your eye on
my territory for a long time.
That's very observant, Russ.
Well, it could
be that I'm willing
to part with a piece of it.
For what?
One thousand dollars.
One thousand dollars. For what?
Well, let's say 10 percent.
Sorry.
It's worth five times as
much. You know that.
Oh, yeah, I know that, Russ.
But why should I pay for it?
MacElwaite's gonna give it
to me someday soon anyway,
and you know that.
Excuse me.
( knock on door )
Oh, hi, Russ. Come on in.
You know, I can't
find any X297s.
You wouldn't happen to
have some, would you?
To tell you the truth,
Johnny, I don't carry 'em.
I just, uh, take
orders. Ah, ha, ha, ha.
That's funny. That's a good one.
Why is it every time
I'm away from home,
my throat suffers
something awful?
Well, anyway, enough of
that. What's on your mind?
In a word, I...
I did come by to
put the arm on ya.
A financial bind?
Well, they, uh, ought to have
a pill for that too, huh? Ha.
They certainly should,
because what I need is $1,000.
Wow.
To tell you the truth, I'm
just about tapped myself.
But, listen, with
your record last year,
maybe the VP in charge
of sales would help you out.
Uh, stick around. I'll just be
one minute. Wait for me now.
Oh, listen, don't worry
about it, John. It'll keep.
What was that?
Ahem. I say, it'll keep.
Don't worry about it, Johnny.
Oh.
( shower water running )
( Johnny singing )
( elevator dings )
Well.
The people you
meet in hotel corridors.
( chuckles )
Now say, "Hello, Emily."
( monotone ): Hello, Emily.
( playing lively
Renaissance music )
Then you did know her.
Huh? Did I say that? Yeah.
Yeah, I knew her.
She was a cool chick.
The word I got was that she
and her old man
Brett were really tight.
Guess I heard wrong, huh?
Look, she's dead, okay?
I thought you were a
humanitarian, Robert.
Aren't we all diminished
by another person's death?
Okay.
I said I knew Lita.
Nobody knew Lita.
Cool?
Man, she was cold.
Like dry ice.
You know, touch and get burned.
Now, if she was tight
with this guy Wilson,
it was one of the
best-kept secrets
since the Pentagon Papers.
Maybe she's better off.
I know that's a
terrible thing to say,
but life's not much without...
Well, without someone
who can love you.
I guess it's rough being lonely.
If not being loved
means being lonely.
Oh, Lita had lots of...
I don't know what
you'd call them.
Like walking shadows, maybe.
Brief candles.
( both laugh )
Shakespeare, not mine. Heh.
What you're saying is that
Brett and Lita were not in love.
I suppose there are
other things besides sex.
I think Brett finds release
in the pottery he makes.
I hope so.
Do you mean...?
I mean, we all
have our problems.
And his are just pretty rough
when you look the way he does.
Like don't judge a book...?
Something like that.
( streetcar bell clanging )
Thank you.
And if I wanna get those
photographs enlarged,
I can call you at
this number here?
Thank you. Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Well, I think I got the
short end of the stick.
Where are you
parked? Up the block.
Let's see. Forget it.
Oh, come on.
It can't be that serious.
She's got her own
darkroom, too, I'll bet.
If I find out, I'll let you
know. Give me that.
What did you get from R&I?
Well, all I can say is
United Pharmaceutical
has 267 men with
A-one backgrounds.
What about Pocatello?
Two arrests, no convictions.
Let me guess,
suspicion of possession.
That's not a guess,
and you know it.
She a head?
Yeah, a little grass
maybe, not much.
She's not into any hard stuff.
But the big thing that I
learned about Lita Brewer
is she's not the score
we all thought she was.
Oh, she turned on
a lot of guys, all right,
but she turned them off better.
You mean a tease? Yeah.
She'd meet a guy, pick
him up, take him home,
get him going, and then
turn that poor guy right off.
He'd get mad and smack her.
And if you think that's
weird, there's something else.
Keep rolling, buddy boy.
Keep rolling. Brett Wilson.
Now, he said she couldn't
get enough of him, right?
You mean groovy Brett.
Right, groovy Brett. Yeah.
Well, it turns out he ain't
as equipped as he looks.
You mean there's
doubt about that?
Yeah, according
to the grapevine.
You mean that this...
All this he-man stuff,
that's just a front
for something?
He's impotent, Mike.
You're kidding.
I'm serious. I'm telling
you, the guy is impotent.
Impotent? Yeah.
This isn't any medical opinion,
but it came from where
you always told me
to find the truth.
In the streets, I know.
And according to
the coroner's report,
she had one blow to
the back of the head
and one to the right temple.
Yeah.
Did you happen to notice
which hand Wilson favors?
No.
Well, maybe we'd
better find out.
You know, there's
something else.
Somebody still
used Garver's name.
Maybe Wilson isn't too
anxious for us to find him.
Maybe, or maybe he just doesn't
want his problem publicized.
Yeah, we'd better have
a little more than maybes.
But we've got something else.
It didn't seem too
important before.
We had an eyewitness report
and that deathbed identification.
We got the convertible.
The convertible, yeah.
Dark-colored convertible.
Say, if it was one of our 267
solid citizens behind the wheel,
there's only one of two places.
You're right. The
hotel or the airport.
You're driving.
( dramatic theme playing )
Russ?
Huh?
Are you angry with me?
No, of course not.
Then what is it?
Oh. Ahem. It's
just that I have to...
I have to go out for a...
For a little while, that's all.
No, that's not all.
Do you think I can share
your life for over 20 years
and not know when
something's wrong? Huh.
There's... There's
nothing... Ahem.
There's nothing
really wrong, Emily.
Is it the sales report?
I mean, is it because your
last-quarter sales were down?
Well, honey, that
wasn't your fault.
I mean, did you tell them that?
I mean, nobody could
have worked any...
I mean, you did
everything that...
Well, they're not going to take
your territory away, are they?
I don't really know, Emily.
Did Tom Garver go to
the vice president again?
Did he go to see MacElwaite?
Uh, ahem. Something
like that, I think.
I've got to go out now, Emily,
but I will be back in an hour.
Well, listen, you tell him
that... Mr. MacElwaite.
You tell him that Garver has
been phoning your accounts.
No, I'm serious. You're
too good a man for that.
You let them know
what's going on, okay?
Because you're a great husband
and you're a terrific father,
and you're the
world's best salesman.
So you go and tell
that to Mr. MacElwaite.
Russ?
That is no concern of yours.
That's no concern of mine?
Oh, my God. Tell
me what's going on.
Honey.
Honey, listen to me. No, no.
Honey, honey.
It's all right. No.
Come over here,
just for a minute.
Come here, please.
Now listen to me.
What's the matter?
How many times...?
How many times have
you and I seen those kids
hitchhiking on Sunset Boulevard?
Youngsters. Karen's age.
Well, I stopped and gave
one of them a lift the other day.
She lives on the other side
of the bridge in a houseboat,
and she asked
me to drop her off.
We got this information
from your airport office.
They told us that a Mr. Russell
Rankin checked out a car there
and then turned it
in here yesterday.
Yes, sir. He was having
some trouble with it.
We gave him another one.
Was the trouble
with the starter?
Yes, sir. It was the starter.
Thank you.
Someone saw me.
There was a man
who knew I was there.
And he came here
to the... To the room.
He wanted money
not to tell the police.
So that... That's
why I got the pistol.
To frighten him.
Just to frighten him.
No, no, listen.
We'll go to the police,
because it wasn't murder.
It was an accident.
But you see, Emily,
I can't prove that.
( sniffs )
She's dead.
( sighs )
Russ?
Oh.
( tires squeal )
Well, I'd like to see
Mr. Rankin, please.
Oh, um...
Come in.
I was, uh...
I was just trying
to call somebody.
I didn't know who, but...
There was this man who saw it,
and he came to Russell
and he asked him for money.
He came where, ma'am?
Uh, here. Uh, at the hotel.
But where is your husband now?
I don't know.
He said something about a
houseboat, but I-I don't know.
And you've got to
find him, because...
I mean, he's not that way.
He's not like that at all.
He's not like what?
Uh, he's... He's...
He's got a gun.
Stay here.
But, please, don't hurt him.
I mean, what happened
before was an accident.
I mean, he told me
that. He's not a killer!
( suspenseful theme playing )
( siren blares )
Go ahead and shoot.
Maybe you'd be doing me a favor.
Why didn't you go to the police?
What would it buy?
One thousand dollars.
Is that the price
you put on love?
Love?
( scoffs )
I'll tell you about
her kind of love.
She took everything I had, man.
Everything that I
could possibly give her.
And then she
brought them up here,
to home, the home
that I gave her.
And she did it again
and again and again.
And she made sure
that I knew about it.
Mr. Rankin?
I, uh, just left your
wife, Mr. Rankin.
She told us what happened.
That's him.
Now, that's the guy
that I... That I saw,
the one that said he was Garver.
Mr. Rankin.
Mr. Rankin, we know
it was an accident.
Say, you...
You don't handle guns
very much, do you?
STONE: That one you've got
there is a borrowed gun, isn't it?
What kind is that one,
Mr. Rankin? Is it a...?
Yeah, looks like a .32 caliber.
It's a neat little weapon.
But you know, if...
If you wanna show it to someone,
that's not the way to do it.
You see...
it could go off.
He tried to kill me!
That's not what I saw.
Did you see...? No.
Well, we'll hold
'em both for Wade.
It's his jurisdiction.
Uh-uh, man.
Now, it's him. I saw him do it.
How many times you
see him at the hotel?
All right, turn around.
Put your hands on that table.
Spread your feet apart...
( dramatic theme playing )
Mike!
Wilson.
You stay here.
Steve!
Get around on the dock!
STONE: Wilson!
Don't make us drag
the bottom later.
( sober theme playing )
Buddy boy.
KELLER: "U.S.P.P.D."
I wonder what that one means.
I don't think I wanna find out.
What, we got something here?
Well, I figure, if you can say
"a wife with kids" in Chinese,
you can say "single with
Sunday night off" in English.
Who gave you Sunday night off?
Come on, Confucius.
Come on.
( funky jazz theme playing )
ANNOUNCER: The
Streets of San Francisco.
A Quinn Martin production.
Starring Karl Malden.
Also starring Michael Douglas.
With guest stars William Windom,
Jacqueline Scott, Jo Ann Harris,
Stephen Oliver.
Tonight's episode: "45
Minutes From Home."
( mellow theme playing )
You, uh, going
across the bridge?
Huh?
Are you going across the bridge?
Oh. Uh, yes.
Good.
Uh...?
( horns honking )
It's green.
Turn right.
First time?
What?
Across the bridge.
Uh, yes.
Welcome to the Golden Gate.
Total length, one and
seven-tenths miles.
Height of the
tower, 846 feet, Oh.
With a vehicular capacity
of 283,000 per 24-hour day. Wow.
Total cost, $35 million.
MAN: How do you know all that?
I used to work a bus.
UPAC. Unified what... postmen?
No, pharmaceuticals.
The AC stands for,
uh... Annual convention.
It shows, huh?
Pharmaceutics. What's
that? Drugs and stuff like that?
Yes.
And you're a... salesman.
Twenty years with the same firm.
Twenty years?
You've been doing
that all my life?
Heh-heh. What a drag.
Mind? No.
( music plays on radio )
L.A.
Yes. How could you...?
And I'll bet you've been married
to the same woman all your life.
That's right. Twenty-two years.
Two kids. A boy and a girl.
No, just one. A girl.
She's a lot like
you, actually. Karen.
You look. I'll steer.
All right.
The architect and chief
engineer was Joseph B. Strauss,
a specialist in long-span
bridges, and a poet.
( radio blaring )
( music stops )
You know, there's something
funky about a houseboat,
don't you think?
Funky?
You know, real.
Coming?
Here.
Well?
Heh. I... I don't
think I'd better.
I... I do have a-a noon
meeting that I should...
Well, it's up to you.
Come on up. There's
nothing happening down there.
Tell me, what, uh...?
What sort of knitting
do you call this?
Macramé. I do it.
And the pottery?
A friend.
Oh.
I'm Lita. And you?
( clears throat )
G-garver. Tom Garver.
Mr. Tom Garver.
Do you, uh, smoke grass?
Oh, I guess not.
Well, there's a first time
for everything, isn't there?
Heh, heh, heh.
Match?
Mm.
Never mind. We're tripping
anyway, aren't we, Mr. Garver?
What is this?
What are you doing?
Something you've
always wanted to do, right?
You just wouldn't
do it on your own turf,
with your wife and daughter
somewhere around the corner.
Ah.
Lita, please stop.
But you wanna know
what it's like, don't you?
That's why you picked me up.
I didn't pick...
Now you tell me you're
just not like all the rest.
You tell your daughter
you should do one thing,
and then you do another.
You know what'd be funny?
If right now, your daughter
was with some other old man.
And I do mean old,
Mr. Tom Garver.
You should see yourself
with that trust-me smile
and that raunchy
little mind of yours.
You're a hypocrite.
Yes, you're a
hypocrite. A hypocrite.
Can you hear me? A
hypocrite! A hypocrite!
Lita?
( motorcycle approaches )
( suspenseful theme playing )
( engine sputtering )
( gasping )
Brett?
Who did it?
Oh, my head. Ah.
Who was it this time?
I'm bleeding.
What was his name?
Huh? Oh, I don't know.
Um, Garver or something.
Hey, Brett, would you get
me a towel or something?
Garver.
What was his first name?
I'm bleeding!
What was it?!
Tom.
Tom!
Now would you get me
something for my head?
Tom Garver.
Brett, please.
Ahh!
You got another tea
besides oolong or ja...?
No, Mike, come on.
I just checked out.
So did someone in Marin County.
We got a 904. They
need assistance.
( speaking
indistinctly in Chinese )
What did you tell her?
I just told her that
your wife and kids
were getting tired
waiting for the wonton.
Mike.
Hey, Mike.
Lieutenant Stone?
Mr. Wade?
Right.
Inspector Keller. Hi.
What have we got?
The coroner's inside now.
A witness says he thinks the
suspect headed for Golden Gate,
and, uh, that's
your jurisdiction.
Who's the witness?
Name's Wilson. Brett
Wilson. Lives here.
Is he the guy that
found the body?
Yeah. Pretty shook up by it too.
Living together quite a while.
Anyway, could be a waltz.
He says he saw the killer.
Well, maybe we'd better see him.
( shutter clicks )
Doctor, Lieutenant
Stone and Inspector Keller.
San Francisco Homicide.
How do you do?
Two blows.
One at the back of the head,
another by the right temple.
I'll need an
autopsy to establish
precise cause of death.
This how the body was found?
Nothing's been moved.
Somebody had a little party.
STONE: This the weapon?
WADE: Looks like.
Mr. Wilson, the sergeant said
you were the one that found her.
That's right.
Is that L-I-T-A?
Yeah. Lita Brewer.
How long did you know her?
A year, maybe.
I met her in the city.
Like, she needed
a roof, you know?
She was a nice chick. We, uh...
We grooved together for a while.
But, uh, wow, man.
Like, I don't know, like,
maybe I'm responsible.
I don't understand.
What do you mean?
There's a lot of
chicks in the city.
I just didn't have all that
much time to give to her.
You know how it is.
And I guess she
needed somebody to just
groove with her and nobody else.
Maybe she went out and
met some kind of a weirdo,
because I wasn't around.
You said you met her in the
city. Is she from the Bay Area?
Idaho.
Somewhere around,
uh... What is it, Pocatello?
This yours?
No, I never saw it before.
Maybe it was his, huh?
You know, the guy who, uh...
Oh, man.
You said you saw
him run to the car.
What kind of car did he have?
A convertible.
Uh, new. Dark blue, maybe black.
Did you happen to
see his license number?
No, but I got a
good look at his face.
Like, he had a hard time
getting his car
started, you know?
And, uh, I got his name.
What's that?
I'm sorry. I forgot.
It's all been such a nightmare.
But, uh, Lita told me
right before she died.
Never mind all that.
What's the name?
Garver. Tom Garver.
WOMAN ( over PA ): Telephone
call for Mr. Russell Rankin.
Mr. Russell Rankin, telephone.
Hey, Russ. Yeah?
It's for you. Telephone.
Thank you.
Ahem. Hello?
Uh, yes, m... My name is Rankin.
I understand you
have a call for me.
Russ? Hi.
Hello, Emily.
I've been trying to reach
you for about two hours.
I know, honey. I-I've been busy.
Listen, uh, this is really a
silly thing to bother you with,
but, um, the washing
machine's leaking again.
The man says it's the boot.
It's gonna cost $32 to fix it.
Now, is that all right?
What?
Well, the washing machine.
I know it's a lot, but...
Oh, sweetheart, that's
fine. Don't worry about it.
Well, listen. I knew it was
a dumb reason to call, but...
No, it isn't dumb at
all. I'm glad you called.
I was just thinking about you.
You were? Mm-hm.
You know, it's funny.
The jets make it just
45 minutes from home.
It seems so far.
Emily...
I love you.
Hm. I think I better send you
away from home more often.
Uh, look, honey,
I've got to run along.
The, ahem... The
noon conference.
Take care of yourself, okay?
Yes. I will. You too, huh?
Bye-bye.
Bye.
As soon as they're all here,
we'll start with
McGalway's pep talk.
All right, Bud. Very good.
Hello. I'm John Collins,
secretary of the convention.
I don't think that I've
met you gentlemen.
We're looking for a
Garver. A Tom Garver.
Oh, yes, certainly.
That's Tom over there.
Not hard to find him in this
crowd with those clothes.
Ha, ha, ha.
Excuse me, are you,
uh, with the convention?
No, we're with the city.
Oh, isn't that nice?
Uh, Bud? Very good, Bud.
Mr. Garver?
Yeah. What can I do for you?
Can I talk to you for a minute?
Oh, later, huh?
No, I have never been to
any houseboat in Sausalito.
No, I have never known
any girl named Lita.
Mr. Garver, we're
as anxious as you are
to get this cleared up.
You know, a witness told us
that the victim identified
you by name before she died.
What am I, the only
Tom Garver in the world?
The only one registered
at the TowneHouse.
So?
You were at the hotel all
morning. Can you prove that?
Look, I don't see why I should
have to be proving anything.
I thought... Who were you with?
I'd rather not say.
Any special reason why?
Yeah. It's nobody's
business why. That's why.
Number one, you have
the right to remain silent.
Number two, anything you say...
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute, now.
I was with our vice president
in charge of sales,
Mr. MacElwaite.
I was makin' a move
on another guy's territory.
What? You guys have been
around. You know how it is.
It's gonna have to be verified.
Well, isn't there
some other way?
That gentleman
with the lieutenant.
You sure?
Garver's older. At least 40.
This is your lucky
day, Mr. Garver.
I don't usually buy
drinks for anyone.
What now, lieutenant?
Just keep looking.
How tall did you say he was?
Well, like I said,
I couldn't tell.
He was in the, uh,
car when I saw him.
About 40, huh?
Over, maybe, like
most of these guys.
Can you describe his face?
How do you describe
a man's face?
Well, you're an
artist, aren't you?
Like, I throw clay, man.
Don't worry, if he's
here, I'll know him.
MAN ( over TV ): And
was found not guilty
by Superior Court
Judge Harold Lauritzen.
Earlier today in Marin County,
the body of young Lita Brewer
was discovered
aboard a houseboat
in the artists' colony marina
known as the floating
city near Sausalito.
San Francisco
Homicide detectives
are cooperating with
Marin County authorities,
who gave this report
to newsman Cliff...
That's what we came up here
to get away from, old buddy.
Terrible things going
on in the world today.
It's full of a lot of sick
people, you know that?
Yeah. What do think
keeps us in business? Heh.
Well, I carry a revolver.
McCABE: You're kidding.
Everywhere I go. It's in
my suitcase right now.
Boom Boom Collins.
Y-you mean to say you
can still buy those things?
Oh, sure you can,
but you have to register them.
Takes three days. They
fingerprint you and everything.
Hey, Russ, you can't leave now.
You're the host. I just
remembered I, uh...
I've got to check in a car.
You... You guys go ahead.
I believe the actual count is
267 people in the convention.
They're all from out
of town, of course.
Could we have a list of
all the names, please?
Certainly, lieutenant.
It'll take a moment.
STONE: We'll wait.
Excuse me, fellas,
but I gotta fall by the
men's room, okay?
We'll be right here.
Great.
Uh, I picked this car up at
the airport, but the starter's bad.
I hope you weren't
inconvenienced.
If you'll fill out a new form,
please, I'll see what we have.
Okay.
WILSON: Hi, there.
( tense theme playing )
"Mr. Rankin."
Russell L. Rankin.
I don't suppose you'd tell me
why you need
this list, lieutenant.
No. Confidential.
Two hundred and
sixty-seven possibilities.
Any one of them could
have used Garver's name.
Or any one of the
employees here,
or anyone sitting in the
bar, listening to a name.
Hey, man. Uh, like,
I just remembered.
I've got something on
for tonight with a chick.
It's getting kinda late.
Mike?
Don't get lost. Okay.
Good.
Well, I mean, you know, like,
if it's anything important,
like I said, I do wanna help.
No, no. We
understand. Thank you.
Good.
Now, he doesn't seem
to be too broken up
over his girl's death, does he?
Well, that was just one
of his girls, remember?
I mean, he didn't have
that much time for her.
( imitating Brett ): Well,
like, you know how it is, man.
No, tell me sometime.
Heh, heh, heh.
Well, right now, we've got
267 names to run through R&I
and a lot more to learn about
Lita Brewer and Brett Wilson.
Come on.
( sighs )
( knocking on door )
Yes?
MAN: Mr. Rankin?
Who is it?
Telegram.
Just stick it under
the door, please.
I'm sorry, sir. I
need your signature.
( suspenseful theme playing )
( door closes )
Why did you do it, Rankin?
Was it because
she laughed at you
when you tried to kiss her, huh?
Or maybe when you
made your move on her?
And she let you make
that move, didn't she?
It was an accident.
I didn't mean to...
Get up.
Get up, and be a man.
( gasps )
You can't do it, can ya?
Please, listen. You
must understand...
First time you saw
her, I'll bet you thought,
"Maybe this time,
I can make it."
Huh?
What happened?
( yelling ): What happened?
Ah.
I see.
Yeah, I know.
I know.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
You must believe that.
Believe it?
( laughs )
I believe it, man.
( laughs )
Yeah, I-I believe it.
Um, what are you going to do?
Nothing, man. I'm
not gonna do anything.
You are.
What do you want?
Not much.
Say, uh...
a grand?
A thousand dollars?
I haven't got it.
You'll get it for me, won't ya?
And you bring it by the
houseboat tomorrow.
But how can I raise that kind of
money? I can't let anyone know.
That's the big problem
with secrets, Mr. Rankin.
Somebody always knows.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Thataway, chicky baby, thataway.
Here we go, and you just...
You just keep 'em coming, yeah?
All right, now, listen,
after a little dinner,
maybe you can show me
what this town's all about, huh?
Tom?
Russ.
Like you to meet an
old friend of the family.
Sit down, sit down.
Maybe she's got a sister.
Tom, I'm... Ahem.
I'm a little short.
I thought maybe you
could help me out.
Me? Well, what about your
long-time buddies, Russ, babe?
Oh, I tried them.
They can't swing it.
Tom, this is very
important to me.
Well, I'm sure it must be, Russ,
but I'm not very big for favors.
You see, my philosophy is...
I know what your
philosophy is, Tom.
That's why I thought
maybe you could handle it.
You've had your eye on
my territory for a long time.
That's very observant, Russ.
Well, it could
be that I'm willing
to part with a piece of it.
For what?
One thousand dollars.
One thousand dollars. For what?
Well, let's say 10 percent.
Sorry.
It's worth five times as
much. You know that.
Oh, yeah, I know that, Russ.
But why should I pay for it?
MacElwaite's gonna give it
to me someday soon anyway,
and you know that.
Excuse me.
( knock on door )
Oh, hi, Russ. Come on in.
You know, I can't
find any X297s.
You wouldn't happen to
have some, would you?
To tell you the truth,
Johnny, I don't carry 'em.
I just, uh, take
orders. Ah, ha, ha, ha.
That's funny. That's a good one.
Why is it every time
I'm away from home,
my throat suffers
something awful?
Well, anyway, enough of
that. What's on your mind?
In a word, I...
I did come by to
put the arm on ya.
A financial bind?
Well, they, uh, ought to have
a pill for that too, huh? Ha.
They certainly should,
because what I need is $1,000.
Wow.
To tell you the truth, I'm
just about tapped myself.
But, listen, with
your record last year,
maybe the VP in charge
of sales would help you out.
Uh, stick around. I'll just be
one minute. Wait for me now.
Oh, listen, don't worry
about it, John. It'll keep.
What was that?
Ahem. I say, it'll keep.
Don't worry about it, Johnny.
Oh.
( shower water running )
( Johnny singing )
( elevator dings )
Well.
The people you
meet in hotel corridors.
( chuckles )
Now say, "Hello, Emily."
( monotone ): Hello, Emily.
( playing lively
Renaissance music )
Then you did know her.
Huh? Did I say that? Yeah.
Yeah, I knew her.
She was a cool chick.
The word I got was that she
and her old man
Brett were really tight.
Guess I heard wrong, huh?
Look, she's dead, okay?
I thought you were a
humanitarian, Robert.
Aren't we all diminished
by another person's death?
Okay.
I said I knew Lita.
Nobody knew Lita.
Cool?
Man, she was cold.
Like dry ice.
You know, touch and get burned.
Now, if she was tight
with this guy Wilson,
it was one of the
best-kept secrets
since the Pentagon Papers.
Maybe she's better off.
I know that's a
terrible thing to say,
but life's not much without...
Well, without someone
who can love you.
I guess it's rough being lonely.
If not being loved
means being lonely.
Oh, Lita had lots of...
I don't know what
you'd call them.
Like walking shadows, maybe.
Brief candles.
( both laugh )
Shakespeare, not mine. Heh.
What you're saying is that
Brett and Lita were not in love.
I suppose there are
other things besides sex.
I think Brett finds release
in the pottery he makes.
I hope so.
Do you mean...?
I mean, we all
have our problems.
And his are just pretty rough
when you look the way he does.
Like don't judge a book...?
Something like that.
( streetcar bell clanging )
Thank you.
And if I wanna get those
photographs enlarged,
I can call you at
this number here?
Thank you. Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Well, I think I got the
short end of the stick.
Where are you
parked? Up the block.
Let's see. Forget it.
Oh, come on.
It can't be that serious.
She's got her own
darkroom, too, I'll bet.
If I find out, I'll let you
know. Give me that.
What did you get from R&I?
Well, all I can say is
United Pharmaceutical
has 267 men with
A-one backgrounds.
What about Pocatello?
Two arrests, no convictions.
Let me guess,
suspicion of possession.
That's not a guess,
and you know it.
She a head?
Yeah, a little grass
maybe, not much.
She's not into any hard stuff.
But the big thing that I
learned about Lita Brewer
is she's not the score
we all thought she was.
Oh, she turned on
a lot of guys, all right,
but she turned them off better.
You mean a tease? Yeah.
She'd meet a guy, pick
him up, take him home,
get him going, and then
turn that poor guy right off.
He'd get mad and smack her.
And if you think that's
weird, there's something else.
Keep rolling, buddy boy.
Keep rolling. Brett Wilson.
Now, he said she couldn't
get enough of him, right?
You mean groovy Brett.
Right, groovy Brett. Yeah.
Well, it turns out he ain't
as equipped as he looks.
You mean there's
doubt about that?
Yeah, according
to the grapevine.
You mean that this...
All this he-man stuff,
that's just a front
for something?
He's impotent, Mike.
You're kidding.
I'm serious. I'm telling
you, the guy is impotent.
Impotent? Yeah.
This isn't any medical opinion,
but it came from where
you always told me
to find the truth.
In the streets, I know.
And according to
the coroner's report,
she had one blow to
the back of the head
and one to the right temple.
Yeah.
Did you happen to notice
which hand Wilson favors?
No.
Well, maybe we'd
better find out.
You know, there's
something else.
Somebody still
used Garver's name.
Maybe Wilson isn't too
anxious for us to find him.
Maybe, or maybe he just doesn't
want his problem publicized.
Yeah, we'd better have
a little more than maybes.
But we've got something else.
It didn't seem too
important before.
We had an eyewitness report
and that deathbed identification.
We got the convertible.
The convertible, yeah.
Dark-colored convertible.
Say, if it was one of our 267
solid citizens behind the wheel,
there's only one of two places.
You're right. The
hotel or the airport.
You're driving.
( dramatic theme playing )
Russ?
Huh?
Are you angry with me?
No, of course not.
Then what is it?
Oh. Ahem. It's
just that I have to...
I have to go out for a...
For a little while, that's all.
No, that's not all.
Do you think I can share
your life for over 20 years
and not know when
something's wrong? Huh.
There's... There's
nothing... Ahem.
There's nothing
really wrong, Emily.
Is it the sales report?
I mean, is it because your
last-quarter sales were down?
Well, honey, that
wasn't your fault.
I mean, did you tell them that?
I mean, nobody could
have worked any...
I mean, you did
everything that...
Well, they're not going to take
your territory away, are they?
I don't really know, Emily.
Did Tom Garver go to
the vice president again?
Did he go to see MacElwaite?
Uh, ahem. Something
like that, I think.
I've got to go out now, Emily,
but I will be back in an hour.
Well, listen, you tell him
that... Mr. MacElwaite.
You tell him that Garver has
been phoning your accounts.
No, I'm serious. You're
too good a man for that.
You let them know
what's going on, okay?
Because you're a great husband
and you're a terrific father,
and you're the
world's best salesman.
So you go and tell
that to Mr. MacElwaite.
Russ?
That is no concern of yours.
That's no concern of mine?
Oh, my God. Tell
me what's going on.
Honey.
Honey, listen to me. No, no.
Honey, honey.
It's all right. No.
Come over here,
just for a minute.
Come here, please.
Now listen to me.
What's the matter?
How many times...?
How many times have
you and I seen those kids
hitchhiking on Sunset Boulevard?
Youngsters. Karen's age.
Well, I stopped and gave
one of them a lift the other day.
She lives on the other side
of the bridge in a houseboat,
and she asked
me to drop her off.
We got this information
from your airport office.
They told us that a Mr. Russell
Rankin checked out a car there
and then turned it
in here yesterday.
Yes, sir. He was having
some trouble with it.
We gave him another one.
Was the trouble
with the starter?
Yes, sir. It was the starter.
Thank you.
Someone saw me.
There was a man
who knew I was there.
And he came here
to the... To the room.
He wanted money
not to tell the police.
So that... That's
why I got the pistol.
To frighten him.
Just to frighten him.
No, no, listen.
We'll go to the police,
because it wasn't murder.
It was an accident.
But you see, Emily,
I can't prove that.
( sniffs )
She's dead.
( sighs )
Russ?
Oh.
( tires squeal )
Well, I'd like to see
Mr. Rankin, please.
Oh, um...
Come in.
I was, uh...
I was just trying
to call somebody.
I didn't know who, but...
There was this man who saw it,
and he came to Russell
and he asked him for money.
He came where, ma'am?
Uh, here. Uh, at the hotel.
But where is your husband now?
I don't know.
He said something about a
houseboat, but I-I don't know.
And you've got to
find him, because...
I mean, he's not that way.
He's not like that at all.
He's not like what?
Uh, he's... He's...
He's got a gun.
Stay here.
But, please, don't hurt him.
I mean, what happened
before was an accident.
I mean, he told me
that. He's not a killer!
( suspenseful theme playing )
( siren blares )
Go ahead and shoot.
Maybe you'd be doing me a favor.
Why didn't you go to the police?
What would it buy?
One thousand dollars.
Is that the price
you put on love?
Love?
( scoffs )
I'll tell you about
her kind of love.
She took everything I had, man.
Everything that I
could possibly give her.
And then she
brought them up here,
to home, the home
that I gave her.
And she did it again
and again and again.
And she made sure
that I knew about it.
Mr. Rankin?
I, uh, just left your
wife, Mr. Rankin.
She told us what happened.
That's him.
Now, that's the guy
that I... That I saw,
the one that said he was Garver.
Mr. Rankin.
Mr. Rankin, we know
it was an accident.
Say, you...
You don't handle guns
very much, do you?
STONE: That one you've got
there is a borrowed gun, isn't it?
What kind is that one,
Mr. Rankin? Is it a...?
Yeah, looks like a .32 caliber.
It's a neat little weapon.
But you know, if...
If you wanna show it to someone,
that's not the way to do it.
You see...
it could go off.
He tried to kill me!
That's not what I saw.
Did you see...? No.
Well, we'll hold
'em both for Wade.
It's his jurisdiction.
Uh-uh, man.
Now, it's him. I saw him do it.
How many times you
see him at the hotel?
All right, turn around.
Put your hands on that table.
Spread your feet apart...
( dramatic theme playing )
Mike!
Wilson.
You stay here.
Steve!
Get around on the dock!
STONE: Wilson!
Don't make us drag
the bottom later.
( sober theme playing )
Buddy boy.
KELLER: "U.S.P.P.D."
I wonder what that one means.
I don't think I wanna find out.
What, we got something here?
Well, I figure, if you can say
"a wife with kids" in Chinese,
you can say "single with
Sunday night off" in English.
Who gave you Sunday night off?
Come on, Confucius.
Come on.
( funky jazz theme playing )