The Streets of San Francisco (1972–1977): Season 2, Episode 23 - Death and the Favored Few - full transcript

Hello, Roger.

How's the game?

Fine, Terence.

Haven't seen the
Medusa, have you?

If you mean Etta, she's
probably somewhere,

staying out of your way.

Really, my dear? I don't think
you want to talk to me that way.

I don't think she wants
to talk to you at all.

That's not very
kind of you, Roger.

Or very wise, considering
what we both know about...

You struck me.



Oh, you're lucky
you're such a twerp.

Otherwise, I'd flatten
that nose of yours

so you couldn't poke it
in where it doesn't belong.

He actually slapped
me, Joseph. You saw.

A simple misunderstanding,
sir, I'm certain, nothing more.

- There will be more. A lot more.
- Not this evening, sir.

- Well, I have to see Etta.
- That won't be this evening either, sir.

Well, why not? Where is she?

Mr. Aubury, sir, you are
in no condition to speak

with anyone of
position at the moment.

Least of all, Etta Randolph.

All right, all right, Joseph,
you're a good man.

You know, that relic
from the Barbary Coast

doesn't know what
she has in you.



- My car.
- I think not.

I have a taxicab waiting
for you, Mr. Aubury.

It looked as though you
might be needing one.

Oh, that's very good of you.

I'll have your car delivered
in the morning, sir. Taxi.

1212 Adams, please.

Oh, no, no, no. What time is it?

- Precisely 13 minutes to 12, sir.
- Precisely?

Well, that's precisely
too early for me.

You take me to the Crown Room.

You tell Etta to call me
tomorrow at noon. Precisely.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Drive on.

You.

What do you think
you're doing here?

You have no right to be here.

- Hi.
- Morning, lieutenant.

- Yeah.
- Who is he?

Name's Terence
Aubury, publisher.

Terence Aubury.

- You know who found him?
- Inside, guy named Osborne.

He shares the apartment.

Any idea when it happened?

Neighbor thinks he
heard a shot about 2:30.

He said he thought it came from
the outside, a backfire or something.

The place is really torn apart
inside. Looks like a burglary.

You've got it all figured. So
why did you roust us out of bed?

Mike, I think a small
caliber. Thirty-two, maybe.

I'll check it.

Somebody was expecting him
as soon as he opened the door.

Mr. Osborne.

Lieutenant Stone, Homicide.

You found the body?

Yes.

Wanna tell me about it?

Well, I was out of town
this evening on business.

And when I came back...
What time was that?

Oh, about 3 or 3:15.

Anybody else have a key
besides you and Mr. Aubury?

Oh, no.

No one that I know of, no.

- No one at all, huh?
- No.

Thought I recognized his name.

This is Aubury's mag.

Favored Few,

Read this, you'll know
all there is to know

about San Francisco's
bluest bloods.

Or dirty laundry.

Editorial office is on Kearny.

Maybe we ought
to have it secured.

What do you think?
Scandal sheet?

Aubury comes in,
finds an intruder?

What do you make of this?

"Etta's at 10:00."

So who's Etta?

Well, there's only one Etta
I know in San Francisco.

Etta Morris Randolph.

She was maybe, oh, 16
when old John J. Randolph

found her in a chorus line.

One of those old places
on the Barbary Coast.

He was in his 60s.

And he died happy.

Yeah, well, I should hope so.

And she inherited a bundle.

A lot of money, that's right.

How come you know
so much about her?

I read the papers.

So do I.

Yeah, well, she's never been
too big in the sports page.

- Hello.
- Hello.

Can I help you?

Yes.

Are you Mrs. Randolph?

No. I'm Miss Randolph.

Oh, I beg your pardon.

That's all right. It
happens all the time.

If you want to see Granny,
you'll have to see Joseph.

And who is Joseph?

He is Granny's major-domo.

Joseph.

Joseph.

Yes, Miss Julia?

They want to see Granny.

Oh, I'm afraid
that's not possible.

Police?

This way, gentlemen.

If you'll wait right
here, I'll announce you.

Thank you.

Not bad.

If you like this sort of thing.

Hi, Mommy.

My mother's not feeling well.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Granny doesn't usually
have visitors before noon.

If she yells, just don't
pay any attention.

We won't.

The madam will see you now.

Thanks for the tip.

Come in, boys.

Joseph, you lied to me.

They're beautiful.

I love policemen.

What's your problem?

This is Lieutenant Stone, madam.

- Lieutenant.
- And...

I'm Inspector Keller.

Well, things are
looking up at city hall.

Thank you, Joseph.

Oh, just a second.

- You were at the party last night?
- Yes, sir.

Then I think you'd better stay.

I assure you, it was
a very orderly bash.

I'm sure it was.

But what happened to one of
your guests afterwards wasn't.

We understand a
Mr. Terence Aubury was invited.

Not hardly.

I wouldn't invite that
little worm to my funeral.

But he was here.

Insufferably.

He suffered a little
himself last night.

He's in the morgue this morning.

Terence is dead?

That's right.

Joseph, lace my tomato juice.

That sort of news
calls for a celebration.

Well, it sounds like the two
of you were not very close.

That's no secret.

But I didn't kill
the little weasel.

Nobody said he was killed.

Of course somebody killed
him, and long overdue too.

Well, then, maybe
you can give us a name.

I can give you a whole list.

Joseph, where's my
copy of the social register?

Just like that, huh?

You'd better believe it, baby.

Terence Aubury was
the bottom of the barrel.

No.

That dreary little cipher made his
living off other people's miseries.

Blackmail?

That's how he kept that
yellow rag of his alive.

He'd find something
unprintable about somebody

and then offer not to print it

if they'd buy a couple
of hundred subscriptions.

Did he ever try
to blackmail you?

He tried.

He threatened to
reveal my lurid past.

Sure, I was a chorus girl,

and no better than I
should have been either.

But what he didn't know
is I was proud of my past.

Still am.

So I sent him a
magnum of champagne.

I told him to go
ahead and print it.

He never forgave me.

But he never messed
with me again either.

So you don't know who did it.

No clues, no leads, no
grubby little fingerprints?

No nothing.

By any chance, do you know
what time he left your party?

I haven't the foggiest notion.

Mr. Aubury left at approximately
a quarter of 12, madam.

I called a taxi for him.

Is that when the party ended?

I'd be in lots better shape
this morning if it had.

What time did we close
the place down, Joseph?

The last guest left
about 3:00, madam.

Terence Aubury left
at a quarter to 12?

Are you sure he left all
that free liquor so early?

He had overindulged,
madam. As usual.

I thought it best.

You asked him to leave?

Well... What, did
something happen?

It was nothing, really.

Why don't you tell us anyhow?

He had a slight altercation
with Mr. Maxwell.

- With Roger?
- Yes, madam.

They had words. Mr. Maxwell
slapped him. That was all.

Good for him.

I didn't think old
Roger had it in him.

Is that the
Mr. Maxwell who's...?

Head of the Merchant Bank.

And a real softie.
He wouldn't kill a fly.

Someone apparently did.

Do you happen to have
the guest list from last night?

Joseph will give it to you.

Anything else, boys?

Oh, we'll keep in
touch if there is.

Anytime. Like I said,
I love policemen.

Here are the lists, lieutenant.

Two hundred and twenty
of the very best people.

Joseph, how many of
these people would you say

bought subscriptions
the hard way?

I'd say about half, sir.

He was busy, wasn't he?

Well, even the very best
people have their little secrets.

Yeah, well, maybe this time,
he came up with something

that wasn't so little.

You check out
Aubury's last stand?

Randolph said he went
directly to the Crown Room.

Seven or eight drinks later, he
caught a cab, went directly home,

arriving at 2:30.

No trouble en route.

What about the car?

Parking attendant
delivered it this morning.

Keys were in it all night.

Which means anybody
could have borrowed it,

driven it to Aubury's,
killed him, then came back.

Which means we
still got 220 suspects.

Two hundred and nineteen. I
checked out Aubury's roommate.

Osborne. He was in
Sacramento like he said.

What about Maxwell, the slapper?

Well, I was just
gonna go to see him.

Do you know that he sits on
the boards of five companies?

Yeah, take a look.

Here it is, five companies.

Steve, why don't you go to
Terence Aubury's editorial office

and see what you can find?

- Any special names?
- Yeah.

Somebody who can afford to
pay $50,000 in a cleaning bill.

You got his bank account?

Here.

Five months, five deposits.

Each one $10,000 in cash.

Over and above
the normal deposit.

Maybe 50 grand would be
worth killing for. What do you say?

Five monthly withdrawals
of $5,000 each.

He's a big spender
or he's got a partner.

What do you think? Double-cross?

I'm beginning to think there
are more reasons to kill Aubury

than we have suspects.

Oh, listen, I put a
lock on that door.

Here's the key.

- There.
- Okay, I'll see you.

Yeah.

Oh, it's your set.

- Mr. Maxwell?
- Yes.

- Lieutenant Stone?
- That's right.

My wife, Louise.
Louise, Lieutenant Stone.

- Hello.
- He works for the police department.

I assume this has to
do with Terence Aubury.

Yes, it does.

And I understand that last night

the two of you had
something going on there.

Well, I slapped him in the
face, if that's what you mean.

I should have decked him.

Now, if that little scum
wants to press charges...

No, no, no, he won't
be doing that. He's dead.

Dead?

Someone shot him last night.

Oh, my God.

Killed him?

But why?

Well, I was hoping you could
tell me. Why did you slap him?

Well, according to
your book, lieutenant,

he was drunk and disorderly.

According to mine, he
was completely out of line.

Did he try to sell you a
block of subscriptions?

Now, look, Stone.

I don't intend to answer
any more questions.

You can speak to my
attorneys if you like.

Roger.

I think, under the circumstances,
we owe the lieutenant the truth.

- I was buying the subscriptions.
- Oh, Louise.

It was our one and
only separate vacation.

Two years ago.

A beach boy in Barbados.

It seemed a small price to pay
to keep a cheap moment private.

So why the slap?

Well, I told you, he'd
been coming on real strong.

He asked us if we'd
seen Mrs. Randolph,

and we told him no, we
hadn't seen her all evening.

Then he grabbed my arm, I
slapped him. It's as simple as that.

You hadn't seen Mrs. Randolph?

No. She was upstairs, I suppose.

Poor Joanna wasn't feeling well.

- Poor Joanna?
- That's her daughter.

She hasn't been right
since her marriage.

A bad one.

She married her chauffeur.

Marriages like that
are complete disasters.

It's better to go to Barbados,

especially if you're involved
with somebody like Reed.

- Reed?
- John Reed. Her husband.

If Joanna is sick, it's
only because of him.

What do you mean, sick?

Well, I don't mean to gossip.

Well, there has
been talk of drugs,

but nobody seems to
know the whole story.

Except Joanna.

And her mother.

And maybe Terence Aubury.

Lieutenant, my husband
didn't kill Terence,

and neither did Joanna.

And as for Etta,

well, she might call him
out and horsewhip him,

but she wouldn't
waste a good bullet.

Okay.

Okay, thank you very much.
I'm sorry I interrupted your game.

- Goodbye.
- No problem.

Inspectors 81 to Headquarters.

Inspectors 81,
Ten-four. Any messages?

Inspectors 81, we've been advised
Inspector Keller has been injured

and is at Central Emergency,

- Will you respond?
- Ten-four, I'm on my way.

Okay, to your right.

Okay, you can get up now.

- Is he all right, doc?
- Yeah, a few cuts and a bruised ego.

If I were you, I'd take
it easy for a day or so.

Well, I think you should
tell that to the lieutenant.

I learned one thing in the Army. I
never tell anything to lieutenants.

- I'm telling you.
- Okay.

- See you later.
- All right, thanks a lot, doc.

He's right, you don't look too
good. Come on, I'll drive you home.

- Give me that.
- Thank you.

- Oh, man.
- Here.

- You're okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine.

- You sure?
- I'm sure.

Okay. Easy, easy.

- Nothing bothers you?
- No, nothing.

Okay, now tell me what happened.

- You wanna hear it step by step?
- Step by step.

Okay, I go up to
Aubury's office.

I find the lock on the
door has been broken.

So I bop on in, and what do I
find? A fire in the wastebasket.

I go to put it out, somebody
hits me over the head.

By the time I get it together,
the guy's halfway down to his car.

- Did you get a good look at him?
- Yeah, a good shot of his tailpipes.

- Good driver?
- Professional.

Like a chauffeur, maybe.

- You got somebody in mind?
- Yeah.

Come on, let's check
out Aubury's files.

I got a hunch.
Come on, let's go.

Look under the R's.

For Randolph?

For Reed.

It's the only one
that's not there.

Bingo.

John Reed.

Recognize him?

- Could be.
- "John Vincent Reed."

He's married to, or was, to
Mrs. Randolph's daughter.

Before that, he was her
chauffeur, and before that,

a professional stock-car racer.

Aubury kept a complete
file. How about this?

"Convicted: possession
of narcotics, Phoenix, 1961.

Arrested: same offence,
Seattle, '64 and '65.

And one for suspicion of sale
and distribution, '68. No conviction."

Sounds like a real junkie.

Well, that fits too.
Here's the Randolph file.

It's been cleaned out,
but there's a few notes.

One of a little girl.

"Julia Reed, born 4-13-66.
Saint Mary's Hospital."

Heroin addiction.

Mother was addicted
while she was carrying.

Yep.

- Anything else?
- Something about legal papers.

"Draw legal
complaint, hold for file."

Call Narco, see if they can
come up with Reed's address.

And then find out who
did Aubury's legal work.

And I'm gonna take

Mrs. Etta Morris Randolph.

I could shoot the eyebrows
out of a gnat when I was 15.

And I still can.

I believe you.

Look, lieutenant,

I was sweet and charming
with you this morning.

But then, you were in my parlor.
Now you're in my trophy room.

So, what do you want?

I wanna talk to your daughter.

- Sorry, she's ill.
- I know that.

And I know how ill she's been.

You have been busy, haven't you?

Pretty busy.

For instance, I know
that five months ago,

you cashed in $50,000
worth of securities.

And every month since then,

you've been withdrawing
$10,000 in cash.

May I ask why?

I needed pocket money.

Oh, that's an awful
lot of pocket money.

Depends on the kind
of pants you're wearing.

Yeah, I guess you've
got something there.

Aubury's been
blackmailing you, hasn't he?

You've been paying him off

to keep your daughter's
addiction out of his dirty mail.

You know, I keep trying
to like you, lieutenant.

But you're making
it very difficult.

Well, then, maybe I'd better go
to your daughter and talk to her.

No.

Mrs. Randolph, I'm
investigating a murder.

I heard that this morning.

I hadn't heard you
suspected my daughter.

I could go for a subpoena.

I see.

All right.

Last night, while some
nice civic-minded citizen

was killing Terence Aubury,

my daughter was
under a doctor's care.

His name is Anthony
Carson, if you'd care to verify it.

I may do that.

And where were you last night?

You know, I could have you
fired for even asking that question.

That still doesn't answer it.

No. And I don't intend to.

Joseph.

Stay out of my affairs, lieutenant,
or I might just have your badge.

Is that understood?

Yes, ma'am.

Now you understand me.

I don't work for you.

I work for all the people in
the city of San Francisco.

And right now, my job is to find
out who killed Terence Aubury.

If you don't wanna
help me, that's fine.

But don't fight me.

Because there's no way you win.

Lieutenant.

I was gonna have Joseph show you,
but I think you know where you can go.

Excuse me.

- I'm looking for Joe Reed.
- He's not here.

- Do you know when he'll be back?
- Who knows?

But he works here, doesn't he?

Yeah, when he's not stoned.

You know where I can find him?

Wherever he can get a fix. The
guy was looking bad when he left.

Thank you for all the help.

Hey, nothing against you.

But the guy tried to turn
my sister on, you know?

I don't have much
to do with him.

Okay, if he comes on by,
give me a call, will you?

Sure.

Is she still on drugs?

No.

So, what happened last night?

Lieutenant, one answer does
not necessarily lead to another.

You know I'm not at liberty
to discuss my patients.

I know. I know that.

She's such a lovely girl too.

But I've got a murder to solve.

If I have to pull her in to give
her to the DA, I'm gonna do that.

Now, can she take the pressure?

No, she's not that stable.

Lieutenant, she is not involved.

I put her under sedation
last night at 8:00.

She would have been
sound asleep by midnight.

Did you bandage her wrist?

I happened to see
her this morning.

Her left arm was bandaged.

Doc.

I can smell suicide.

All right, lieutenant.

Then you also know how
emotionally weak she still is.

And how she could be
harmed with any more pressure.

What I don't know is
what set her off last night.

And what I'm thinking
might involve murder.

Joanna.

Mother, I have to talk to John.

You are not going anywhere.

And certainly not
anywhere near John Reed.

Don't you understand?

He wants Julia. He wants
to take her away from me.

No, he doesn't. He wants money.

- Now, come on, give me your coat.
- No.

I have to see him. If
he files the papers...

But he won't.

That was all Terence's idea.

Darling, believe me.

They cannot hurt you
anymore. It's all over.

What do you mean?

That's not important right now.
What's important is for you to get well.

I want you to come upstairs
and lie down. Doctor said...

You bought them off.

You paid them what they wanted.

Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so
ashamed about everything.

I was afraid you
weren't going to do it.

Honey,

some people you never pay off.

Especially people
like Terence Aubury.

A leech like that,

once he gets hold of
you, he never lets go.

You didn't pay them?

No. And you won't
have to either.

Mother, I can't fight
like you. Not in court.

Yes, you can.

In court, in the street. In
the gutter, if you have to.

Did you call the police?

Is that why they were here?

Terence Aubury
was killed last night.

The police thought I might
know something about it.

Killed?

Yes.

So you see, you won't
have to worry anymore.

How did he die?

He deserved to die.
Let's leave it at that.

- Madam.
- Yes, Joseph, what is it?

Mr. Reed, madam,
in the music room.

Get out of my house.

Hey, hey, take
it easy, will you?

I just came by to see my
little girl. Where is she?

At school, where she belongs.

Why don't you go back
to wherever you belong?

Hey, wait a minute, she's my daughter,
you know. I got a right to visit her.

You sold all your rights.

No, no, no, I don't think so.

As a matter of fact, I wanted to
talk to you about that because...

Hello, Joe.

Goodbye, Joe. Goodbye.

- John.
- Let me handle this, Joanna.

Hey, now, just wait a minute,
okay? Before you blast off, okay?

Now, I know what
you're thinking.

But I had nothing to do with
these papers and that is gospel.

You're a bloody liar.

Okay, look. Okay.

I sold Aubury some bad
news and we split the action.

But, I mean, hey, look,
I got a need, you know.

I mean, hey, Jo, you
know how it is. I mean...

Look, as far as I'm concerned,
there's nothing wrong with the old deal.

I'll still keep quiet,
I promise I will.

The old deal is dead,
and so will you be

if you ever try to squeeze
another penny out of us.

I mean it, Reed. Now, get out.

Hey, baby. Hey, look, look.

Hey, baby, I owe the man, baby.

I mean, I can't talk
to her, you can, and...

Hey, look, baby, I owe
the man, you know.

I need help. I need help.

You always will, Johnny.

Do you want me
to use these, huh?

Is that what you want?
You want me to use these?

You do what you have
to do. And so will I.

I'm gonna use these.
That's what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna use them.

May I help you?

Well, I sure hope so.

I understand your firm
handles the legal work

for a Mr. Terence
Aubury, a publisher.

Yes, The Favored Few,
That would be Mr. Osborne.

- Osborne.
- Yes, Edmund Osborne.

He's handled Mr. Aubury's
affairs for years.

Well, could I talk
to him, please?

Well, he didn't come in today.
He said he wasn't feeling well.

- Perhaps I could find...
- No, that's okay, it's all right.

Thank you very much.

Get an ambulance!

Yeah, that's right, baby.

She's with me. She's...

She's having a great time too.

- Johnny.
- He's lying. Give me the phone.

Joseph, where's Julia?

Reed went to the school.

He told them that Julia was
staying with him this weekend.

- Oh, no.
- Reed.

Hello, Mama.

I thought you weren't
talking to me anymore.

You bring her back here at once.

No, no, no.

I don't come crawling to you
anymore. You come to me.

And this time, you bring
a whole different attitude

about what I am worth,

Or maybe next time my
daughter and me have a little visit,

she learns a lot more
about what her old man does.

And she learns
firsthand. You dig?

I'll kill you, Reed.

Hey, there's no need for
that kind of talk, Mama.

Oh, look, you know how
easy I am to buy, right?

So why don't you just bring
some money along instead

and write me off for good?

Say maybe

$100,000?

By 5:00.

Joanna knows where.

Otherwise,

I'm sure I'm gonna be seeing
a lot more of my little girl

than I have been lately.

Mother, what is it?

What is it?

Just a moment.

I think we'd better have
a talk inside. You too.

Not now, please.
You don't understand.

Lieutenant Stone.

I would advise you to stay out
of our affairs. I told you before...

We're gonna talk right now,
either here or downtown.

- Madam, I think it best...
- Joseph, be quiet.

Mother, we've got
less than an hour.

I'll give you five minutes.

It will take longer than five
minutes, Mrs. Randolph.

I want you to tell me everything
you know about John Reed.

Mother, tell him.

He's got Julia. He
wants $100,000.

We have to go pick it up
now and get it to him by 5:00.

What, he kidnapped her?

No, he is her father. She
wanted to go with him.

She'll wanna go with him
again and we can't stop her.

So you were gonna
give him the money?

We have no choice.

He's an addict, and
he always will be.

I don't want him around
my granddaughter.

Not after what he did to Joanna.

I don't want the same
thing to happen to her.

- Where were you gonna meet him?
- A park, near where we used to live.

McLaren Park.

Police. Hold it!

Look, I had a deal with
Aubury, right? It was sweet too.

Till his roommate got into it.

- Who's that, Osborne?
- Yeah.

He's the one who
drew up those papers

and put my name on it.

"Demanding custody of Julia

on the grounds her natural
mother, a heroin addict, was unfit."

Yeah, I had nothing
to do with those papers.

I didn't know nothing about them
until I found them in Aubury's office.

Yeah, what were you doing there?

Oh, come on, I mean, when I
read Aubury's name in the papers,

I figured I better get my
name out of his files. I mean...

Listen, I just wanted out of
the whole scam, you know.

So they cut you
out for $100,000?

That's right.

Tell me something.

How did they know they
could collect without you?

Oh, come on, that old dame.

I mean, she's
crazy about my kid.

She'd do anything.

You wanna know
who killed Aubury,

why don't you find out
where she was last night, huh?

His alibi checks.
Woman's name, address.

He was stoned out of his skull all
night. Even the neighbors complained.

Oh, you see that? I'm innocent.

I am innocent. Innocent.

- You are innocent.
- Yeah.

Do you know what, my friend?

I'm gonna nail you for everything
and anything you ever did.

Art, come in here.

Take him downstairs.

Hey, I didn't do nothing.

You're innocent. You're
innocent, I know that.

You ready for some
more bad news?

Yeah, what's that?

Coroner's report verifies

that Aubury was killed
with a.32-caliber automatic.

Now, I checked with
Gun Registration,

and Mrs. Randolph,
she owns a .32 caliber.

And she could shoot the eyes
out of a gnat when she was 15.

Nothing. Nothing.

I just can't see
her killing anybody.

Well, Aubury's
accounted for. He's dead.

Osborne was in Sacramento.

Joanna was sedated
and Reed was stoned.

I know. I know.

And that leaves
Etta Morris Randolph.

That will be all, Joseph.

I'd like him to stay.

I'm too tired to
argue, lieutenant.

And anyway, I've
learned it doesn't pay.

I suppose Reed
told you everything.

Yes, he did.

So how can I help?

- Mrs. Randolph, do you own a gun?
- Yes.

May we see it, please?

I haven't the slightest
idea where it is.

We have a search
warrant, Mrs. Randolph.

Then search.

And we also have a
warrant for your arrest.

For the murder of
Terence Aubury.

Lieutenant, you're
making a very big mistake.

Sorry, but I don't think so.

You love your granddaughter
very much, don't you?

Of course I do.

You just heard that Terence Aubury
was going to take her away from you.

No.

Not from her.

From me.

Because of my addiction.

Lieutenant, my mother
couldn't have killed anyone.

I know that because
she was with me.

Because I tried
to commit suicide.

Thank you, Joanna,
but they know that.

I don't think you could've known where
your mother was at 2:30 this morning.

Because a doctor
had put you to sleep.

Will you show us the gun now?

No.

- Why not?
- I destroyed it.

Mrs. Randolph.

I suggest you
call your attorney.

Why?

I killed Terence,
and I'm proud of it.

No, Morrie.

Shut up, Joe. Just shut up.

No.

She didn't kill him, lieutenant.

I did.

I just couldn't stand by to
watch you take your own life

because of that parasite Aubury.

I knew your mother wouldn't
pay him, and she was right.

But he had to be silenced, so...

So I shot him.

Joe.

Oh, Joe.

After all these years, why did
you have to pick a time like this

to start talking too much?

You know the
answer to that, Morrie.

Mr. Francis, you do know you
have the right to remain silent.

Thank you, inspector, I know
all that. Thank you very much.

How, Joseph?

Did you use his car?

Lieutenant, people like
me are hyper-visible.

We're always there.

So much so that even when
we're not, people think we are.

I knew he wasn't
going straight home.

So I knew I'd have plenty of
time to greet him when he arrived.

Did you mean to kill him?

I don't know that, really.

Perhaps I just meant scare him.

I only know that when he walked
through that door and started to talk,

I hated him so much, I just...

That's something the district
attorney will have to prove in court.

And he's gonna have
a devil of a time doing it.

They're not gonna
take you away from me.

Not ever.

They might, Morrie, they might.

But at least Julia's safe now.

I just wanted to keep
it all out of the papers.

I failed you, Morrie. I'm sorry.

Joe, in all these years you
have never failed me in anything.

Morrie.

Look, I've...

I think we should go.
I'm not one for scenes.

I'm sorry.

For 30 years, the darned
fool has refused to marry me.

He said it wouldn't look right.

If you don't think I'm gonna
put up one whale of a fight

for the man I love, you've
got another think coming.

You know what I think?

I think you're quite a woman.

- Steve.
- Yeah?

Someone left these at the
front desk for you and Mike.

What?

Okay.

Thanks a lot, Bill.

- Good night.
- Good night.

- Hey.
- What do you got?

I don't know. Here.

"Compliments of
Etta Morris Randolph."

- Wristwatch.
- Must have gotten one too.

It's got an inscription on it.

Oh, man.

Look at this.

- You seen my glasses anywhere?
- No.

I can't make it out.
Will you read it for me?

Yeah.

"To Lieutenant Michael Stone.

In appreciation of 23
years of faithful service."

Here, give me that.
Let me see that.

"To Inspector Steven Keller.

In appreciation of three
years of faithful service."

You know what one
of these jobbies costs?

Yeah, I know what they cost.

And they're going back.

Why? This isn't a bribe.

No, it's not a bribe.

It's a message.

What?

A message.

You've never seen a guy
receive a gold watch, have you?

In appreciation for
his faithful service?

- What, for retirement?
- That's right, retirement.

I'm not retiring.

Yeah, I know that.

But I think

Mrs. Etta Morris Randolph
is trying to tell us something.