The Streets of San Francisco (1972–1977): Season 2, Episode 19 - A String of Puppets - full transcript

( funky jazz theme playing )

ANNOUNCER:

ANNOUNCER:

ANNOUNCER:

( band playing “She's a Lady” )

JACKIE: ♪ If you've got a
woman You better not misuse her ♪

♪ You always treat
her With respect ♪

♪ You never do abuse her ♪

♪ And if you do
I'm warning you ♪

♪ You're surely gonna lose her ♪

♪ Treat her with respect ♪



♪ And she'll never
go away Yeah ♪

♪ Why don't you hear
what I say? Yeah ♪

♪ I said, There's one
thing You should see ♪

♪ The other side of
me Sure is another ♪

♪ My, my, my ♪

♪ And if you come
on Very strong ♪

♪ You're put where you belong ♪

♪ I warn you,
brother Yes, I do ♪

♪ Heck, because I'm a lady ♪

♪ Ooh, 'cause I'm a lady ♪

♪ My, my, my 'Cause I'm a lady ♪

♪ And I'm a lady all the time ♪

♪ Keep on grooving like a lady ♪

♪ Walk on by like a lady ♪



♪ And I'm a lady ♪

♪ And don't you
ever forget it Big boy ♪

Hoo!

( crowd applauding
and whistling )

Thank you.

Oh, you don't
have to be that kind,

but I'll take it, thank you.

Thank you, enjoy yourselves
and I'll be right back, okay?

Hey, big boy. Thanks.

Hi, how you doing?
You were great.

Thanks.

Yes. When's your next gig?

Uh, excuse me a minute.
I'll be right back, okay?

MAN 1: Sure. MAN 2: Stay cool.

JACKIE: Yeah, thanks.

Harry, where have you been?

Bob Mason's been
trying to call you all day.

How long it take
you to get packed?

What?

We gotta split.

What are you talking about?

I'm in trouble,
babe, big trouble.

What kind of trouble?

The worst.

I tried, babe, I
tried to go straight,

but they wouldn't let me.

Har... What is it, Harry?

( suspenseful theme playing )

Harry.

Harry, what is it?

Listen, we'll go to
Bob Mason right now.

He's always helped you.
I'm sure he'll just fix it.

He's always... Meet
you at the apartment.

Harry. Harry!

( action theme playing )

( phone ringing )

Homicide. Stone.

Yeah, this is Keller's
extension, but he's not in.

Can I take a message?

Lieutenant, this is
Harry Gates. Remember?

You and Keller busted
me once for robbery.

Harry Gates?

Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

I'm in trouble. What
kind of trouble?

Remember the jewel heist
over on Post Street last week?

Where the guard got killed?

Yeah, what about it?

I gotta talk to you.
They're gonna kill me.

Wait a minute now. Take it easy.

What do you gotta talk
about? Who's going to kill you?

Tubbs. Wilson Tubbs.

He was in on the job with me.

Where are you?

Corner of Vallejo and Davis.

Vallejo and Davis.

All right, just sit tight.

I'm coming right over.

( tires screeching )

( ominous theme playing )

( tires screech )

( dispatch radio chattering )

Like a bug.

Crushed him like a bug. Ah, ah.

Never saw anything like it.

Did you get a good
look at the driver?

Yeah.

When he went by,
that's when I got a look.

Real good.

Oh, that's the one
face I'll never forget.

Could you recognize
that face from a mug book?

If I live to be a hundred.

Mike, this is Harry
Gates' address.

What about the car?

Blue pickup.

Blue pickup. Uh-huh.

Check it out. It's
gotta be hot. Mm-hm.

He probably dumped
it not too far away.

See what you can get on
a Wilson Tubbs, will you,

and then put out
a teletype. Okay.

Thanks a lot.

( suspenseful theme playing )

( gasps )

Miss Sterling? I...

I'm terribly sorry, I didn't
mean to frighten you.

Lieutenant Stone.

Police?

That's right. What do you want?

I'd like to ask you a couple of
questions about Harry Gates.

The landlord tells me
he's staying here with you.

Yeah, that's right.
Is something wrong?

I'm afraid there is.

Uh, may we talk inside, please?

Well, what is it?
Is he in trouble?

Tell me what it is.

He's dead.

Here, let me help you.

Oh, God.

About an hour ago,
Harry called for help.

He was dead before
I could talk to him.

Now you tell me,
what was he into?

He obviously had
something somebody wanted.

He was frightened.

He came to the club and
asked me to go away with him.

What club was that?

The Yellow Brick Road.

I work there, you know.

Harry played the horn.

It doesn't make any sense.

None of it makes any sense.

Harry was going straight.

We had a chance.

Mason got him a job.

Mason who?

His parole officer.

He was... He liked Harry.

He was the only one who really
cared about him besides me.

Now, when you talked
to him, what did he say?

( sobbing )

What did he say?

He said he was
trying to go straight,

but they... They
just wouldn't let him.

They? Who are they?

I don't know.

Listen to me, dear.

Does the name Wilson
Tubbs mean anything to you?

No. Harry never mentioned him?

No. You're sure, Wilson Tubbs?

Think.

No. No.

Nothing.

I'm sorry.

I can't believe this.

Every time you
guys get jammed up,

you roust up some poor con,

take him down,
throw him in a lineup...

Sit down.

( sighs )

Everyone's always picking
on you, aren't they, Tubbs?

What have we got here?
“Possession of drugs,

“attempted rape, armed robbery,

assault with a deadly
weapon, armed robbery.”

For the second time, huh?

Possession of drugs again.

“Resisting arrest.”

I wanna call my lawyer.

Call him.

Pfft. Listen, what are we
getting so upset for? All right?

Now, how long have
you known Harry Gates?

Who?

Harry Gates.

Never heard of him. Who is he?

He was murdered last night.

Well, that must have
been a bummer for Harry,

but you can't hang that on me.

Do you own a blue pickup?

No.

You weren't driving
one last night?

( chuckles )

What's this all about?

A blue pickup gunned him down.

So?

So a witness identified
you as the driver.

Where were you
last night at 11:00?

Home.

All night? Yeah.

Anybody with you?

No, no.

Wait, wait, wait a
minute, what time?

Eleven.

Yeah.

Yeah, somebody
was with me at 11:00.

Who?

My PO.

How's that?

My parole officer.

You can check it out.
His name is Bob Mason.

Bob Mason?

Hey, look, Mason, what
are you leaning on me...?

Mickey, you know
it's a violation of parole

to change addresses
without letting me know.

All right, I forgot.

So don't forget.

I told you, this
is my ball park,

we play by my rules.

Now, we'll talk about this

tomorrow morning
in my office, 9:00.

I'm not gonna be
finished here at 9:00.

Mickey, you won't
ever be finished here.

That's why you're here.

Now, you tell Tom Schollen,
you'll be back about 10.

Nine o'clock. My office.

And you don't show... All right.

Can I go back to
work now, Mason?

So paint.

Bob Mason? Well, yeah.

Mike Stone.

Got a minute?

Oh, yeah, lieutenant.

( chuckles )

I think he got the message.

I don't know.

I don't think they're
any different on my end

than they are on yours.
You give them an inch

and they'll just
run away from you.

What can I do for you?

A con named Wilson
Tubbs. Do you know him?

I wish I didn't. Yeah, why?

Murder.

A man named Harry Gates.

Oh, well, Harry was
one of my boys too.

You mean Tubbs killed Gates?

Looks that way.

How did it happen?

He was gunned
down by a pickup truck.

Did Tubbs know Gates?

Not that I know of,

but he could
have. I'll find out.

Any idea what Gates was in to?

Well, he did time
for safe-cracking,

but he was not in that now.

I'd know about it.

Well, what about Tubbs?

Well, he's no prize, but murder?
That's a little out of his line.

Anybody see it happen?

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we have an
eyewitness. But you know what?

Tubbs said that he was with
you at the time it happened.

Well, what time was that?

Eleven o'clock last night.

( laughs )

Yeah, uh, he was with me.

Woke me out of a sound sleep.

Wanted to get married
to an ex-hooker.

These guys know the rules.

I don't know, it just seems
like maybe your eyewitness

wasn't seeing so good.

Yeah, I guess. Thanks.

See you.

( suspenseful theme playing )

Mike, you're talking about
maybe the best parole officer

in the whole department.

A man I worked
with for 15 years.

Now, Bob Mason may be
hard and he may be tough,

but he's straightened out
more lives than anybody I know.

He's what the whole
parole system is about.

All right.

( sighs )

Look, let me put a
few things together

and you see if they
add up, all right?

Mason was Harry Gates' PO.

He was also Tubbs' PO.

Now, we know Harry Gates
was in on that Post Street heist,

because he told
us he was in on it.

He also thought that
Tubbs was going to kill him.

Now, we have a witness
who saw him do it.

Except that Mason claims

that he was with Tubbs
at the time of the murder.

What are you getting at, Mike?

What I'm trying to
get at is that we have

a lot of unsolved jewel
robberies on our hands.

Including that
Post Street heist.

And if Mason is lying...

It's obvious, isn't it?

He could figure in
on the whole thing.

No, Mike, you're
way off on this one.

Well, won't be the
first time, will it?

You wanna put an undercover
man on a parole officer? No.

Rudy.

Harry Gates was a torch man.

If they wanna
continue the operation,

they're gonna have to
have somebody replace him.

Who'd you have in mind?

( upbeat theme playing )

Home is the king of
the downhill racers.

Now, what is this, huh? A
one-man welcoming committee?

I just thought you'd
appreciate this gentle touch.

Oh, come on, Mike, I just
got here. What's going on?

Boy, oh, boy.

You really are a suspicious
character, you know that?

Here I come all the way across
town just to wish you a hello,

and what do I get?

Did you really?

Yes.

Well, thank you. Thank
you, I appreciate it.

Well, how was Lake Tahoe?

Beautiful, just beautiful.

Beautiful, a lot of snow?
A lot of snow, yeah.

Well, some people
know how to live.

Maybe I'll get you on
skis one of these days.

Oh, yeah. That'll
be the day. Heh-heh.

Say, what did you
do? Forget your razor?

No, just wanted to
see how it looked.

But don't worry,
it's coming off.

Looks pretty good.
How long before it fills in?

Oh, probably about ten days.
A couple of weeks, maybe.

Well, how would you like
to have another ten days off?

What?

Well, that's what
you said, isn't it?

A couple of weeks, ten days.

Also it'll give you enough time
to learn how to handle a torch.

A torch?

All right, what torch?
What's going on, Mike?

How about that horn
of yours, you still got it?

Yeah, I got it.

The one you used
to play in college?

Yeah. Yeah, I got it.

What was that
number I used to like?

Uh... Uh, come on,
what was...? Um...

“Stormy... ” No,
uh, “Close to Me”?

“Close to You.”

Yeah, “Close to You.”

You could have played
with any band, you know.

You were really good.

I knew it. I just knew it.

Dragged yourself across town.

Look, listen.

I need you, buddy boy.

As undercover?

Mm-hm.

We'll be working with Robbery.

Come on, let's dig
out that horn, huh?

I'll tell you about it. Ah,
you're something else.

Come on, let's go.

♪ Close to me ♪

( Keller sighs )

( mellow theme playing )

Uh, send in Lou Felton, please.

( knocking on door )

Come in.

MASON: Lou Felton? Yes, sir.

I'm Bob Mason.

I'll be your parole
officer. How do you do?

How was your trip up here?

Well, I don't know. I
slept most of the way.

Why this city?

Well, I wanted a change.

Frisco always appealed to me.

Well, if you're planning
to stay, it's not “Frisco.”

It's San Francisco.

Well, why is that? Tradition.

And the natives
are mighty touchy.

Thank you for the tip.

Robbery, huh? One to five.

You use a torch?

Yes, sir, I did.

And drugs.

But you volunteered for the
drug rehabilitation program

at the prison and,
uh, kicked the habit?

Yes, sir.

MASON: Good.

You stay off the drugs,
all the rest is downhill.

I sure hope so, I'm tired of
swimming against the current.

You have time to read
your parole regulations?

Yes, sir, I did.

Any questions?

No, sir.

Well, you can drop the “sir.”

And I'm only gonna
tell you this once.

I can be the nicest guy
you'll ever wanna meet,

or I can fill your life with
misery, it's up to you.

You keep your nose
clean, we'll get along fine.

But you step out
of line just once...

No, no. No, I paid my dues. I
don't want any more trouble.

You know anybody
in San Francisco?

Not a soul, no.

Also says you're
a musician, huh?

Yeah. Yeah, I lay
down a little horn

now and then when
I can find a gig, yeah.

Well, I'll have to keep
my eye open for that.

In the meantime,
you have to eat.

You got any
objection to hard work?

Heh-heh. No, sir.

Oop. Sorry about
that. I sure don't.

Well, I think I've got
just the thing for you.

It'll help you stay clean.

( suspenseful theme playing )

Hey, Tubbs.

Yeah?

Lou Felton. Hi.

MASON: You think
you could find him a job?

You ever work one
of these rigs before?

No, but I pumped
gas when I was a kid.

Well, that's close enough.

Hey, uh, you got any
room at your place?

Yeah, I can fix him up.

Scotty!

Come here.

Mr. Mason. Scotty.

His name's Lou Felton. Hi.

Get him his gear, get him going.

Come on.

Mr. Mason.

Felton, good luck.

If you have any problems,
you know how to reach me.

Thank you.

You make him?

No, where did he do his time?

Arizona.

I'll check him out. Do.

He's a torch.

Dynamite.

Come on, move it down.

Move it. Here we go, here we go.

Tubbs. Yeah?

Did you tell him?

No, man. I told you, forget it.

Look, man, I don't wanna be tied

to what happened to
Harry and that guard.

Hey, man, I'm not
trying to muscle anybody.

I just want out.

Look, you're out when
the man says you're out.

Or else I'm back in
the slam, is that it?

There's only one
way to find out.

You know, I could blow
the whistle on somebody.

Who'd listen?

You're a con, lover.

You ever hear of a con
being believed about anything?

Besides, what do you know
for sure about anything?

I know it's Mason.

Ooh.

( chuckles )

You don't wanna
say that to anybody.

That's right.

So you better let me out.

Okay, you're out.

( ominous theme playing )

Will you file these?

Mike, uh, did you hear
anything from Steve yet?

Yep, he's got a job at
the Pacific Car Wash.

Art, answer those
calls, will you?

Well, any rumbles?
Nope, not yet.

Oh. What about that girl
that Gates was going with?

Does Mike that think that

she knows any more
than she's let on?

He doesn't know yet.
He's gonna see her tonight.

Come on, close the
door and sit down.

What about Mason?

Clean as a whistle.

No debts.

He's been living in the
same place for 23 years.

Doesn't play around.

( chuckles )

Goes to church every Sunday.

And on his vacation,

he goes to the police camp
for underprivileged kids.

There isn't a mark
against him in 27 years.

Come on. Come
on, sit down, will you?

Yeah, yeah. I will, I will.

Uh, what about his family life?

Well, he lost his wife
last year. No children.

And the word I got is
that he took it pretty hard.

Wanted to quit the department.

He didn't, though.

Instead, he buried
himself in his work.

What are you thinking?

We've gone through this
before, haven't we, Rudy?

A man loses his wife,
goes off the deep end,

doesn't know what to do.

Wonders if maybe
another job, more money,

and maybe his wife
would still be alive.

Yep.

If I remember, those
were some of the questions

you asked yourself
when you lost Helen.

That's right.

Could be that Mason and I just
came up with different answers.

( piano playing “Hey Jude” )

JACKIE: ♪ Hey Jude,
don't make it sad ♪

♪ Take your sad song
And make it better ♪

♪ Remember to let
her Into your heart ♪

♪ Then you can start
To make it better ♪

♪ Better, better ♪

( crowd applauding
and cheering )

Thank you. Have fun.

( speaking indistinctly )

Lou Felton.

The waiter says you
were a friend of Harry's.

Well, we, uh... We did a
little time together, yeah.

A lot of people
did time with Harry.

Some time or another.

And Harry was a loser. Are you?

( chuckles )

Now, do I look like a loser?

Come on, let me buy you a drink.

Okay.

Hey, Fred, give me
the usual, please.

FRED: Here you go. Thank you.

Hey, neither did Harry.

What?

Look like a loser.

( sighs )

You know, mister,
I'm 28 years old,

and the only man I really
ever loved just got burned.

And the sands are running out.

Now, the only place
I really wanna be

is in the center of a winner's
circle. Can you dig it?

( sighs )

Lady, I had a bad day.

I didn't come here to
catch your headache.

I don't think I like
you, Lou Felton.

( laughs )

Well, I knew we had
something in common, then.

Well, in my own girlish way,

I was only trying
to say I'm sorry.

Look at that.

Yeah, that's the first smile
I've seen out of you yet.

Well, it won't
happen again. Yeah?

Well, in my, uh, boyish
way, I'm just trying to tell you

that's an awful nice
sound you lay down.

You're probably tone-deaf.

No, I'm not, but, uh, I
think your horn player is.

Do you play?

Yeah, I play a little bit, yeah.

Wanna sit in?

( sighs )

Sure, yeah. Okay, come on.

Hey, Jay.

Jay, why don't you take a break
and, uh, lend Lou your horn?

Thank you. Thanks.

What about, uh, “Close to You”?

It's good for us. It's good.

( band playing “Close To You” )

♪ Why do birds ♪

( playing slowly )

♪ Suddenly appear? ♪

( playing unsteadily )

♪ Every time ♪

( playing off-key )

♪ You are near ♪

♪ Just like me ♪

( trumpet squeaks
) ( band stops )

( piano resumes )

You better take it back.
Thank you, anyway.

Hey, yeah. I'll catch you later.

Hit it, fellas.

( band playing “Close to Me” )

♪ Just like me ♪

♪ They long to be ♪

♪ Close to you ♪

KELLER: I'm telling
you, I didn't believe it.

First off, I thought it
was the horn, right?

JACKIE: Right.
KELLER: Then I said,

maybe it's the moustache.
See, I haven't had it too long.

Ha-ha! Maybe it was.

Oh, I'll tell you, that
was something else.

That was cool. I don't know.

Hey, how well did you know him?

Harry? Yeah.

Like I said, we went
to the same school.

But he never graduated.

He was still in the life.

How do you know that?

Well, I don't know
for sure, but I think

before he got killed,
uh, he pulled a job.

He kept talking about
going out of the country,

going to South America.
That takes bread.

So, what do you think happened?

Well, I figure...

I figured he got greedy, tried
to double-cross them and...

Did you ever tell
anybody? The cops?

Are you kidding?

Ta-da. This is it.

Uh-huh.

Hey, thanks for the bus ride.

No, no. My pleasure.

No, my pleasure.

Looks like it's gonna
rain. Is it? Ha-ha.

Funny, I don't see
a cloud in the sky.

Yeah.

Good night.

Good night.

( suspenseful theme playing )

( engine starts )

TUBBS: Hey. ( whistles )

Uh, Lou.

Hey, Tubbs.

Fantastic.

Hey, I thought it was you.

Thank you, man. I appreciate it.

A beer?

All right. Yeah.

Hey, uh, something
I wanted to ask you.

Uh... oh, yeah.

Where did you say
you did your time?

Arizona.

Oh, yeah, Arizona.

Hey, I got a buddy of
mine in town right now,

did time there too.

Listen, the three of
us should get together.

Throw a couple of
beers down, huh?

Sure, sounds good, yeah.

( suspenseful theme playing )

( ominous theme playing )

( engine starts )

Hey.

Take it easy, will you?

We get paid by the
hour, not by the car.

Us cons gotta stick together.

Yeah. Scotty, what's
the skinny here, anyway?

I thought it was
a parole violation

for ex-cons to associate.

It just goes down that way.

What? Mason doesn't mind?

No, he's a stand-up guy.

He give you the old speech

about how he could be the worst
guy you ever knew or the nicest?

Yeah, yeah, he read
me the whole act, yeah.

Well, it's true. He
deals them straight up.

Just don't cross him.

TUBBS: Hey.

What you guys gonna do,
stand around jawing all day?

Hey, I was just taking a break.

Break?

You wanna break,
I'll give you a break.

I'll give you the same
break Driscoll got.

Get back on the car.

All right. All right.

Guy comes on kind
of strong, doesn't he?

He blows hot and cold.

Who's Driscoll?

The guy that got
hurt a while back.

You know, the day
you started, remember?

The guy had the accident, yeah.

Yeah, well, that's
what Tubbs says.

It was no accident that
he got bounced back

into the slam.

( sighs )

What do you mean? Huh?

What do you mean?

Ain't nothing.

Driscoll one of Mason's boys?

Yeah.

It sure sounds like Tubbs
and Mason are awful tight, huh?

Well, what do you think?

( sighs )

If that was your rehearsal,

I'm gonna be sure
and catch your act.

Thank you.

Hey, uh, fellas.

Excuse me.

I'll see you tonight.

Take care.

Hey, Mr. Mason,
tell me something.

Hey, uh, Mr. Mason, what
went wrong? Was it me?

No.

You're not to
blame for anything.

I wish I could believe that.

Believe it.

I've known a lot of Harrys
and tried to help them.

But the reason most
of them never make it

is they're always
looking for an edge.

A way to take advantage
of somebody like you or me.

If you let them,
they'll hurt you.

After a while, you just
learn to protect yourself.

What, by not caring?

If I had a dollar for every time

I got burnt by a con
I really tried to help,

I'd be a rich man.

A bit of advice, okay?

Stay out of rehabilitation.

It ain't worth the price.

So why do you stay in it?

Because I'm dumb.

Because I don't
know anything else.

Look, I hate post mortems,
but if you ever find out

who got to Harry and
why, let me know, will you?

You can call me

day or night.

( engine starts )

( key clunks )

( mysterious theme playing )

Play someplace else.
You're lousy, dude.

Hey, you gotta remember
little Chico, man.

He was in the
same time you were.

If you ever had to get a fix,
he was the guy you had to see.

He's the man I didn't wanna see.

Now, what do I want with
getting strung out in the joint for?

Yeah, I know what you mean.

I kicked the habit
myself in stir.

Yeah? Yeah.

I didn't have to
worry about dying.

I already done that in Soledad.

How about another
round? Yeah, sure.

Hey, hold it, we're drinking
on Tubbs. Right, Tubbs?

Right. Irish.

You know, it seems like there's
gotta be somebody you hung with

that was still around
from when I was in.

I didn't hang out with anybody.

I just kept my nose clean,
if you know what I mean.

All right, everybody,
hug the bar. Everybody.

What's the matter with
you? You hard of hearing?

What are you grabbing
at me for? I'm clean.

More tracks than
the Santa Fe railroad.

KELLER: You got cause, man?

Cause? I'm gonna give you cause.

Get your hands off of me.

What is this, man? Quit it!

Where have you been?

We've been with
you all the time.

I didn't see you.

That means I'm doing a good job.

How about this Hall?
He shaking you down?

He's working at it,
yeah. Got anything?

Yeah. Name, Ben Driscoll.

He had some kind
of fight with Tubbs.

Next thing you know, he's
back in jail, violation of parole.

Mason his PO too?
That's right, yeah.

Anything else? No, not yet.

How about the girl?

Oh, yeah, she's
straight like you thought.

Good. Okay.

Well, which side
do you want it on?

What?

Yeah. Which side
do you want it on?

No, no, no. They only
do that in the movies.

Oh, they got it from
us. Come on, come on.

( train bell ringing )

( mysterious theme playing )

( chuckles )

That's coming up
pretty good now. Ha-ha.

Hey, maybe you should
have laid one on that dude.

Yeah, sure, I should have
hit the cop. That's real smart.

You want another round? Oh, man.

No, not for me, I gotta hit it.

But what after Lou
went through here,

I'd say, uh,

you're hanging in some
pretty good company.

See you around, kid.

Sometime maybe. I don't
know about this town, though.

Hey, come on, hang in there.

You'll get a scam.

This town might be just
what you're looking for.

Take care of him, Tubbs. Yo.

See you. Hey, take care, man.

Sounds like he knows
something I don't.

You got some action going?

Could be. You interested?

Nope. No, I've had
enough hard times already.

Yeah, well, I guess
washing cars is your style.

Beats making
license plates. Mm-hm.

Well, you just
buy another round.

I gotta make a phone call.

Look, man, I told you,
I don't know nothing.

I heard you knew too much.
That's why you got busted up.

It was an accident.

Mm-hm. You slipped.

That's right.

If it was an accident,

they would've sent
you to the hospital,

and not down here.

That was another slip. Mm-hm.

Pretty big coincidence,
I'll tell you that.

The way it goes sometimes.

Yeah, I guess you're right.

I guess that depends on

who your friends
are too, doesn't it?

Driscoll, come here.

You really wanna get
back in that wagon?

Well, I'm gonna
tell you what I want.

I want Bob Mason.

I didn't hear that.

Wait a minute.

What are you afraid of?

Listen, lieutenant,
I'm going back

and serve the balance
of my sentence.

In a year and
a half, I'll be out.

After that, I don't
want any more trouble.

Driscoll, now, listen to me.

Together we can put him away.

Oh, you got to be jiving.

Who's gonna take my
word against the man?

I'm a con, and I'm black.

Now, that's the
bottom of the barrel.

If you want Mason, good luck.

But you, you stay away from me.

( dramatic theme playing )

( suspenseful theme playing )

A man's home is his castle.

Just a routine check,

like it says in the
parole conditions.

Yeah, I must have
missed that part.

Maybe you ought
to read them again.

Well, you're clean.
You disappointed?

Oh, stow it, Felton. Someone
tell you I was holding?

Like I said, a routine
check. Sure, sure.

You wanna talk,
we'll talk on your time.

Tomorrow morning, my office.
I got a job. You remember?

Your job is to do
what I tell you to do,

and don't you forget it.

And don't forget
tomorrow morning.

I wouldn't want you to miss
your first progress report.

Hey, looks like you
had some company.

It was Mason.

No kidding.

You knew he was
here, didn't you?

Well, he's one man you
can't keep out of your life.

Phone call you made at the
bar. That was to him, right?

Well, now, why would I
do that? Come on, Tubbs.

What the hell is going
on? Don't you jam me!

( exhales )

Just relax.

( chuckles )

He didn't find anything, did he?

I mean, if he did...

I mean, just one
little stick of grass,

and you'd be punching
plates for a long time.

You know what I mean?

That's a real neat box.

Why are you backing
me into it, huh?

Because you're a torch
and I need a specialist.

You got 12 other guys in
this town you could use.

Why me, huh?

That's right. But
you're family, Felton.

Don't you understand?

You're family.

( sighs )

Jewelry store. Friday
morning, before it opens.

Where?

I don't know.

And you're not sure if
Mason is the architect?

No, but he's gotta be.

I mean, Mike, it's the
old carrot and the club.

The con won't play,
Tubbs sets him up,

and Mason sends
him back to the joint.

Buddy boy, I'm
pulling the plug. What?

Too many things
can go wrong. Mike.

No, no, no.

Listen, how do I know
if you can tie in Mason?

I'll be there when
he cuts the pie.

Mike, think of this.

Mason is not any criminal.
He's part of the system.

And if he's rotten,

what chance do we have of
turning the corner with any con?

All right.

But if anything goes
wrong... I mean, anything.

You bail out, understood?

Understood.

( dramatic theme playing )

( mysterious theme playing )

Lou, come on. He's
gonna open in a half hour.

Wait a minute. Kill it. Kill it!

( sirens approaching )

What's that? Oh,
you blew it, man.

They switched alarms. I
must have hit the bypass.

TUBBS: Finish it.
KELLER: Forget it. No way.

TUBBS: Finish it!

Look, Tubbs, they're on us.

The skylight. Come on.

( dramatic theme playing )

( mysterious theme playing )

HARRY: ( on
recording ): Hello, babe.

I hope you never
have to listen to this,

but I was in on a robbery
over on Post Street.

This isn't a cop-out, but
they forced me to go along

and a guard was killed.

I didn't do it.

A guy named Wilson
Tubbs pulled the trigger.

While he was
getting rid of the body,

I grabbed the diamonds.

Jackie, whatever happens,

I want you to have the diamonds.

They're in this case.

Under the lining.

( phone rings )

Hello.

Hello, Mr. Mason?

This is Jackie Sterling.

Harry's... Harry Gates' girl.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Sure,
Jackie, I remember you.

What can I do for you?

Could you come to
my place right now?

Yeah, sure, Jackie.
Uh, what is it?

I know who killed Harry and why.

( dramatic theme playing )

Yeah, well, I'll be right over.

Just, uh, stay
right where you are.

( dramatic theme playing )

Hey. Hey, where are you going?

Relax.

Right there, Scotty.

Just hold it right
there. Oh, wow.

Put them up. Let's
go, pull them up.

Oh, boy, heh, this is rich.

That's real rich.
Where's he going?

Hey, I don't know. To see Mason?

Hey, man. Come
on, slide out, let's go.

Slide out.

Come on. Let's go.

And she's got the rocks?

Yeah.

The only problem is, she
knows that you killed Harry.

Yeah, but she called you.

That's right. Let
me have your gun.

Don't you want me to hit her?

I'll do it.

You?

Harry's girl goes,

you're gonna be the
first one Stone picks up.

And I can't cover
for you anymore.

Yeah, yeah, you're right.

( dramatic theme playing )

( gun cocks )

Hey.

Like I said, I can't
give you another alibi,

but you're gonna give me one.

You're gonna help me
get out of this whole bag.

You killed the girl,

and you came over
here to push me into

telling another lie for you.

Only this time, I
stood up to you.

We struggled, I got your gun...

and it went off.

KELLER: All right,
now, don't stall me, man.

Now, where is he?
Hey, I don't know.

I don't know what
building he's in.

Let's move it.

SCOTTY: There.
There's Mason's car.

KELLER: Now, where's Tubbs?

I don't know. Let's go. Come on.

Let's move it. In here.

KELLER: Call an ambulance.

( gasping )

Where'd he go?

Girls' place.

What girl? Harry's girl? Yeah.

Operator, we need an
ambulance, 19 and Diamond.

Give me that.

Hello, operator,
this is an emergency.

Can I have the police
department, please?

HARRY ( on recording ): You know, I
really feel silly standing here all alone

talking into a
microphone like this,

but it's cheap
insurance, I guess.

This way, if it all
blows up in my face,

at least you'll have something.

And you'll know the truth.

I love you, Jackie.

( tires screech )

There's so much I wanna say,

but the most important
thing for you to know

is why all this happened.

Why I had to break
my word to you.

Why I couldn't say
no to these people.

( knock on door )

( tense theme playing )

Oh, come in.

Harry made a tape for me
and he left these diamonds.

There's more on the
tape, I just realized.

If I said no, I'd have been
shipped back to prison,

because the man
behind this whole thing

is my PO.

That's right, babe.

Bob Mason is
calling all the shots.

( stops tape )

( sirens wailing )

All right, make a
left, right here, on 3rd.

Yes, why don't
you just take all...

Take all the
diamonds and just go?

It's not that easy now.

( sirens approaching )

( tires screech )

( tense theme playing )

MASON: Hold it.

Or the lady gets it.

Now, all of you,

throw the hardware
on the bricks.

Now, back off. Move.

( sirens approaching )

( suspenseful theme playing )

Move.

You get in the car.

( siren wailing )

You all right?

Yeah, I'm all right.

( funky theme playing )

STONE: You look thinner, Frank.

DRISCOLL: Hey,
Stone. Lieutenant Stone?

Yeah.

Uh...

The review board got
some new evidence

on my case and cleared me.

You didn't have anything
to do with that, did you?

Me? Are you kidding, Driscoll?

You're a con. You're black.

You're the bottom of
the barrel, remember?

Why would I wanna help you?

Yeah. Hey, man, thanks.

What's with this
thanks? Heh-heh.

You're just a real
hard nose, aren't you?

Well, you gotta
keep up the image.

Oh. That reminds me,
I gotta file my report.

What report? Police brutality.

Are you kidding? Oh, come on.

I opened my hand. I did
that with my open my hand.

Forget it. The first
blemish on your record.

Oh, my friends
give me blemishes.

You better believe it.

( funky jazz theme playing )