Tucker's Witch (1982–1983): Season 1, Episode 3 - The Corpse Who Knew Too Much - full transcript
After an attempt on her husband's life, Debbie Shears leads Rick and Amanda on an investigation that reveals Debbie's husband has an entirely different life than previously known.
- Come on in, the door's open.
- What a day.
- Good morning.
- Oh, good morning, what a day.
- Good morning, Mother.
- Good morning.
- What's the news?
- It's lousy, the Angels cost
me 10 bucks against Toronto.
- Oh terrific, is the toast ready yet?
- Ready.
- Thank you, wonder witch.
- It was really nothing.
- Oh, the bluejays are fantastic.
- Oh, two unearned
runs in the ninth, big deal.
- I mean the birds.
They are battling the sparrows over food.
- They get mean when they're hungry.
- Lucky I'm a light sleeper.
- And uh, your wife at this time?
- She was in the shower.
It, it was so unreal.
I, I step into the kitchen doorway,
and this milkman points a gun at me.
- Show me where he was.
- I just don't understand why
anyone would want to hurt us.
- At least your safe, you know?
- Mrs. Shears, your husband's
going to have to come on downtown.
- Um.
- It's okay, I'll go with you.
- I don't understand
any of this, Larry.
- I found some cereal.
- Terrific, Tucker, with that
vital piece of detection,
we can wrap up our investigation.
What uh, what can you tell
me about your neighbor?
- He's a quiet guy, doesn't say much.
- He gets his point across.
Oh uh, my men aren't getting
in your way, are they?
- Oh no, they've been perfect gentlemen.
- Oh, good, good.
I'll put nice, little
notes in their files.
Go on, get outta here, will ya?
- Honey, I'm gonna stay with Debbie.
She's pretty shaken up.
- Okay, I'll go protect the
interest of Casualty Life,
and watch that bozo with
the phony back brace.
See ya.
- Well, we have no ID on the milkman yet.
Are you sure you never saw him before?
- I'm sure.
- Mr. Shears, can you think of any reason
why somebody would want to kill you?
- Like I told you,
Lieutenant, I have no idea.
- Your average citizen, right?
I mean, you're a regular
guy, a wife, a job,
with a nine millimeter
automatic in the night table.
- Oh, thanks for being here, Amanda.
- Ah, don't mention it.
- You're about
the only friend I have.
Well, you know, we don't go out much.
- Hey, you're not supposed
to, you're newlyweds.
- No, it's not like that.
Did you ever have the feeling
that something's wrong,
only you can't really
figure out what it is?
- Daily, what's bothering you?
- I'm not sure.
It's just that lately
Larry's, he's been so distant.
- Well, have you talked to him about it?
- I can't get through to him.
Oh, Amanda, I am really scared.
I feel like my marriage is ending,
and it hasn't even started.
Oh, honey.
- It's okay, it's okay,
it's okay, it's all right.
Listen, wait here a minute.
I'm gonna call the office, okay?
- Okay.
- Um, I'll be right back.
I'm just gonna get a quick
drink of water, okay?
- Yeah.
- Mr. George, Larry Shears,
I'm at the police station.
- Are you in trouble?
- No trouble, I nearly got
killed this morning is all.
- What happened?
- What happened is I blew some guy away,
and now I got the cops
and these two private
detectives nosing around.
- Don't worry, we'll take care of it.
I can be there in 10 minutes.
- You've been taking care of it.
That's why I'm worried.
Deb, I have to go to the office.
- What honey, you nearly got killed,
and you're going into work?
- I'm sorry, hon, I
have to, it's an audit.
Look, look, we'll talk
later, I promise, all right?
I'll be home early.
Okay?
- Yeah.
- Thanks for all your help, Amanda.
- Don't mention it.
- I spent a whole day at the beach
watching that bozo with
the phony back brace,
and all he did was lay there
like a lizard on a rock, it's frustrating.
- Watching him or all those bikinis?
- Oh, who has time for that?
I was working.
- Oh, yeah, well, I hate
to see you frustrated.
- Mm.
- You know, I'm worried about Debbie.
She's afraid she's losing Larry.
- Hmm, oh, she almost
lost him for good today.
- I know.
- Is Debbie a good housekeeper?
- You could eat off her floor.
- Yeah, if you like cereal.
- Hmm?
- Ah.
- Well, the whole thing
over there was weird.
I think Larry is lying through his teeth.
- Is that another one of your flashes?
Honey, it's none of our business.
- Right, you're right,
it's none of our business.
He sure did act weird at
the police station though.
- You know what gets me?
- What?
- I don't see how he could've
shot that milkman from the doorway.
- Look, let's forget it.
The police have it.
- Yeah.
Maybe we oughta stop over there tomorrow.
- Just to say hello.
- Yeah.
- When I do this, what do you think of?
- My shirts, did you remember
to pick up my shirts?
- No, I was too busy.
- Gee, now I have nothing to wear.
- Perfect.
- I knew there was something
strange about that milkman.
The truck usually stops
at our house first.
- Sounds like he knew
right where he was going.
- Hello.
- Exactly.
- Debbie, what's wrong?
We'll be right over.
Larry never came home last night.
- Bye, Ellen.
Larry Shears, please.
- He's
away from his desk.
- Ask for Mr. George.
- Who is Mr. George?
Ah, yeah, may I speak
to Mr. George, please?
- Ah, Mr. George
is away from his desk also.
- Mr. George is out.
Do I care that Mr. George is out?
- I have a feeling you will later.
- Uh, no, uh, no message.
Debbie, what do you know
about Amalgamated Leasing?
- Ah, they lease office equipment.
Larry doesn't talk about it much.
He hardly ever even goes to work.
Well, he's a tax consultant on retainer.
- Why do I keep coming
back to this receipt?
Flowers for Doris Lancaster?
- She was a friend of Larry's.
She worked in the Dallas office I think.
He sent her flowers when
she died in a car crash.
- Where is Larry's office?
- I have it written down somewhere.
I never went there.
Actually, I never had any reason to go.
- I'm gonna go check the other rooms.
- Debbie, help me out a little bit.
Tell me about Larry.
- Oh, he was born in Oxnard.
Kind of a rough childhood.
He was a loner.
We were alike like that.
You won't believe this and don't laugh.
- I won't.
- Okay, but we met at a
miniature golf course in Encino.
We did, we did.
- You said that he's
been kind of distant lately.
Is there anything troubling
him that you can think of?
- Well, he
didn't sleep very well,
but then he never did.
- What is this?
- Oh, it's Larry's gate pass.
I guess you'll need that
if you're gonna check out his office.
- Does a church steeple
mean anything to you?
- No, we were married in a courthouse.
- Come on.
- Everything's shipshape.
- Oh, I wish it was.
I haven't felt like cleaning much at all.
- Oh hey, don't worry.
We'll check out the office
and call you later, okay?
- Okay, Rick, I'd like to
pay you for your trouble.
- Uh, oh, it's no trouble at all.
That's what neighbors are for.
I just found a cereal box
with two bullet holes in it.
I think I better pass the word on to Fisk.
- Do you think Larry lied to
the police about the shooting?
- Maybe, maybe he knew
the milkman was coming,
and maybe he shot the milkman
through the cereal box.
- Or maybe he just hated
that brand of cereal.
You know, there's something else.
When I touched that card,
I got a flash of an old
steeple in a cemetery.
- Oh, swell, that's all they need.
- There's more, I saw a tombstone.
It had Larry's name on it.
- Terrific, that's a
real cheerful intuition
you got going there.
- You know, I think we
should drive to Oxnard.
- Oxnard?
- To see if there's anyone
left who remembers Larry.
I really think he's leading a double life.
- Honey, let's just investigate
one life at a time, all right?
I think we're gonna find some
leads at Amalgamated Leasing.
- Don't count on it.
- Why?
- We're here.
- Hello, hello!
- It's uh, it's a deadbolt.
I have trouble with deadbolts.
The office.
- Well, whoever it is that's
in there knows we're here.
- Whoever it is that's in there
is as frightened as we are.
- We, we're not frightened.
- Then why are you
skulking along the wall?
- Practice, I skulk to stay in shape.
- Yeah.
Rick, maybe it's Larry?
Larry, Larry, it's Rick and Amanda.
- Maybe it's not Larry.
- Okay, kick it in.
Well, I'll have Marcia
check out the building.
At least we have something to go on.
- Right.
We got a guy we can't find
who works for a company
that doesn't exist.
- Where to now?
- I got a few questions for a dead man.
Thank you, Lieutenant.
Fisk just got a report on this milkman.
- Yeah?
- His name is Tony the Ferret Landis.
He's a hitman for the mob out of Miami.
- The mob?
- Yeah.
- Great, there goes the neighborhood.
- Yo, Stucky.
- Hi, Rick.
- Oh uh, Stucky, this is
my wife, Amanda, Stucky.
- How do you do?
- Where's the 10 bucks
you owe me from Toronto?
- Oh, the patron saint of patience, huh?
Stucky, you got anything
on that John Doe milkman?
- Um, preliminary autopsy.
Uh uh, three bucks a copy.
You know the rules.
- Stucky, I don't want it framed.
I just wanna look at it, thanks.
- What does it say.
- It says here Larry is a hell of a shot.
Stucky, can I see the body?
I wanna check the angle of entry.
- Yeah, come on.
Who do you like this weekend,
the Angels or Boston?
- Boston.
- Angels, did you get a flash?
- No, my mom's from Boston.
- Would you like a beer?
Soda, egg salad, I got a
very good deal on egg salad.
- Stucky, the milkman.
- All right.
Here's your boy, number 34.
- Debbie?
Debbie, Debbie, are you home?
It's me, Amanda.
Debbie?
Debbie?
- Amanda.
- Hi, Debbie, I was looking for you.
- How did you get in?
- The door was open.
- Oh, I was sure I locked it.
Isn't Rick with you?
- Ah no, he's checking
on an insurance claim.
- So uh, what did you guys find out?
- Well, Larry's office is gone.
The building was totally empty,
and the guy who was posing as a milkman
is a hitman for the mob.
I know.
- No.
- Come on, we'll sit down.
Look, we haven't given up
and neither should you, okay?
Rick's looking into Larry's
background right now.
We've got Marcia tracking down
every lead we can think of,
but we need your help.
If there's anything else,
anything you can remember
Larry saying about his work.
- I was getting worried about you.
You know, that Tucker
woman can be trouble.
- If she gets in the way,
Sturgis, we'll take care of her.
How's the reception?
- It's weak.
- You know how you've been saying
that he's so distant lately?
- Uh huh.
- I can not help feeling
it has something to do
with Doris Lancaster.
Does that make any sense to you?
- I don't know.
I keep wondering that myself.
After she died, Larry
couldn't sleep at all.
Maybe she was an old
girlfriend, or maybe not so old.
Amanda, do you think Larry's still alive?
- Don't worry, we're gonna find him.
It's okay, I see it, baby, I see it.
How can we be sure this
is Larry Shear's mother?
- We can't, but her name matches the name
on the birth certificate.
- She may not wanna talk to us.
- Relax, parents love me, they trust me.
- Mother didn't trust you.
She said you were after only one thing.
- I got it too.
- Yes.
- Mrs. Shears, Mrs. Leona Shears?
- That's right, who are you?
- I'm a friend of your
son, Mrs. Shears, Larry.
- Is this some kind of a joke?
Get out of here, get out!
- Maybe it was the wrong Mrs. Shears.
- The wrong Leona Shears, no, no way.
- Rick, look, the steeple, stop!
It's just like the one I imagined.
- Well great, we've got plenty of time
to check out your visions, why not?
- Rick, I found Larry.
- Guess who's over there?
Doris Lancaster, the other
woman who got killed in Dallas.
- The one that he sent flowers to.
- Yeah, only he was a little late.
She died in 1950.
- The warehouse is a dead end.
Amalgamated Leasing rents it.
They pay on time and they pay by mail.
- They also like to hire people
who've been dead for 30 years.
- Yeah, I heard of hiring the handicapped,
but this is ridiculous.
- Did you get anything else on Shears?
What about that degree from Arizona?
- They never heard of him.
So now, if Larry really
isn't Larry, who is he,
and why is the mob after him?
- Maybe he double-crossed the mob.
Maybe he's part of a big
international gambling cartel,
then he took the money and ran.
He might even have a bank
account in Switzerland.
- Where do you get this stuff.
Does it come out of your head,
or is it all those late
night movies or what?
What about the corporation papers?
- Zippo.
- They used to shoot people
that delivered news like that.
God, I never seen so many
clues that add up to nothing.
Tucker and Tucker.
Yeah, Pee Wee, that's great.
I'll be right there.
You know the guy with
the phony back brace?
Well, he just left his
house with a tennis racket.
- Who's Pee Wee?
- Pee Wee's the kid I
got watching the house.
- You got a kid for a snitch?
- Yeah, it's great.
Five bucks a day,
and he guards my wheels while
I'm in the neighborhood, bye.
- Ah, the van you asked
about, it's another dead end.
Plates registered to Amalgamated.
- Great, great.
- Hello?
- Debbie.
- Larry, where are you?
Are you all right?
- I'm fine, I'm uh, I'm in a motel.
- I wanna see you.
- No, it's, it's too dangerous.
- I don't care.
Larry, I have to know what's going on.
- All right, listen,
remember where we met?
- Yeah.
- I'll be across from the windmill.
- Okay, I can be there in an hour.
Larry, I love you.
- I love you too, baby.
- Okay.
- Well, now all we have to do
is wait for her to lead us to Shears.
- That won't be necessary, Sturgis.
I'll take it from here.
- Mother!
- Yes?
- Oh, the poor thing.
It's not dying, is it?
- No, it's drunk.
- Drunk?
- Hmm, he gorged himself on old apricots.
You know the ones beginning to ferment?
Then he got drunk and
fell out of the tree.
Don't laugh, it's very serious.
He could be eaten.
The canyon is full of
drunk bluejays, yes, yes.
I just try to keep them
safe until they can fly.
- Do you give them little ice packs too?
- Oh.
That looks like Debbie.
- She looks like she's in trouble.
See you later.
- Be careful.
- It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.
- Oh God, Larry.
- It's all right.
- Oh Larry, I was so worried.
Larry, what's wrong?
- It's all right, I got
involved with the wrong people.
- Debbie and Larry, run!
- Amanda!
- At least I saw him, Rick.
Boy, I got a real good look at him too.
- He must've been from the mob.
You could've been killed.
- I know, I was there.
- You never should've gone there alone.
- There was no time to call you.
I knew the van following
Debbie was a phony,
and I couldn't risk losing them.
It was a judgment call.
- Exactly, and all I'm saying
is you used poor judgment.
- Since when is your
judgment so infallible?
Rick, we've been over
this a hundred times.
We share the work.
We share the danger.
- You're right, you're right.
I do trust you.
I also happen to love you
and I worry about you.
I'm an old-fashioned guy, it's dumb.
- No, it isn't.
- I hate problems.
- It won't happen again.
I, I promise, Mr. Harmony.
- My friend, I am not paying you
a hundred thousand dollars for promises.
I'm paying you for results.
- You'll get your money's worth.
I took care of that Lancaster woman.
- I know, that's why
you're getting a chance
to redeem yourself,
but if you fail this time,
our personnel director
is personally gonna fire
you, right, Mr. Carter?
Do we understand each other?
- Hi, hon.
- Hi.
- Hmm, want some apple?
- Oh no, thanks, I'm fine.
- Mm, great.
- Ooh, somebody wanna
tell me about this bird?
- Oh uh, that's uh, uh, a bluejay.
He's very--
- Sick, very sick.
- Drunk.
- Drunk?
- On apricots.
- Old apricots.
- Right, sure.
- Really.
- It's true, it's true, hello.
Oh yeah, Marcia, go ahead.
Okay, thanks.
She traced Amalgamated's number.
- Yeah.
- Not to the warehouse at all.
To this address in Westwood.
- Let's check it out, bye, Ellen.
- Bye.
- Bye, Mom.
Amalgamated Leasing here?
In the Federal Building.
- Well, I'm surprised
it's not a phone booth.
It looks like Shears is
working with the Feds.
Now the question is which Feds.
- Maybe it's the FBI.
- Sure, the CIA or the
IRS, the Federal Marshals.
Could even be the Post Office.
It could be any one of
a dozen other agencies.
- Hello?
We'll be right over, thank you.
We're due at the morgue.
- So, you found the milkman, huh, Fisk?
- Very funny.
- Hi, Stuck.
- I uh, I got the guy who's
been after your client.
Stucky, would you open 38?
- You're sure this guy's
really in here, huh, Stucky?
I mean he didn't take a walk too, did he?
- Oh, he's here all
right, see for yourself.
- What did you do, bolt him to the slab?
- He was stabbed to death, there.
- Know him?
- Rick, that's the man I saw
in the van watching Debbie.
- What is he, another
wiseguy from the syndicate?
- Very close, his name is Sturgis.
He's with the FBI.
- What?
- Where did you find him?
- In a ditch with your
clients address on him,
and a gun with a silencer.
Ballistics is trying
to match it to a bullet
we dug out at the miniature golf course.
- But this man was not at the golf course,
and the gun that I heard go
off definitely had no silencer.
- Real good, Fisk, I uh, I
think you're getting closer.
Stucky, try no to lose this one, huh?
- Diane Lanksterbeck.
- Who's Diane Lanksterbeck?
- Doris Lancaster.
- Ah!
- She testified in a trial
against Sal Harmony in New Jersey.
That's Harmony now and a man
who does not appear to be his best friend.
- That's Larry, you found Larry.
- Rick, you were right.
I checked and Doris's body was shipped
to a mortuary in New Jersey.
- And there were no
Lancaster's at the funeral.
- You got it, lots of
Lanksterbeck's though.
- Where did you find that tape?
- I contacted one of the
relatives from the guest list.
They filled me in on the trial.
- That's great, what do you think, huh?
Let's go, it's time to make
a federal case out of this.
- See ya.
- Yeah.
- Larry Shears and Miss
Lancaster were the key witnesses
in an FBI investigation
of organized crime.
Actually, they were are big
guns in the Sal Harmony trial.
- So in return for their cooperation,
Doris is dead and Larry's
running for his life?
- Well, as protected witness
they were given new identities.
Doris Lancaster went to live in Dallas.
Larry came to L.A.
- Great protection and the mob
obviously found them anyway.
- Yes, send him in.
You were right.
There was a problem,
but with Sturgis dead,
we plugged the leak in the program.
Now we've gotta find Mr. Shears
in order to give him a new identity
and guarantee his safety.
We need your help.
Ah, this is the man in charge
of the internal investigation.
Rick and Amanda Tucker, Mr. George Fowler.
- Hi, welcome aboard.
- It's you.
- I believe we're already acquainted.
We share a passion for miniature golf.
- Excuse me, Mr. Fowler,
but you did try to kill me, didn't you?
- What?
- Things are not always
what they seem, Mrs. Tucker.
I have a meeting, but Mr.
Fowler does have an explanation.
- Won't you sit down?
- Just wait a minute.
- Do you mind if I do?
You saw me all right,
but you missed seeing Agent Sturgis
behind the Shears ready to kill them.
- But why did you shoot at me?
- I'm sorry about that,
but I honestly thought
you were an accomplice
sent by Sturgis.
- How did you happen to show up
at the miniature golf course?
- I knew someone on the
inside was responsible
for leaking information
about protected witnesses.
I suspected Agent Sturgis for some time.
- Well, we just saw your prime suspect
on a slab at the morgue.
- You are thorough, aren't you?
- Then who killed Sturgis?
- My guess is the syndicate.
- Oh, they probably knew
you were on to them.
- That's the way I figure it.
It's uh, it's also why I shut
down Amalgamated Leasing.
- But Sturgis never fired a shot.
I'd have heard it.
- He used a silencer.
- Had to, a pro wouldn't take any chances.
- All right, then who
took the milkman's body?
- Um, I did.
I had no choice.
You see, I just couldn't
leave an assassins body
lying around, waiting to be identified.
- Someone might ask too many questions.
- Someone did anyway.
Good work.
- Amanda, it makes sense to me.
- I guess.
- No doubt, Sturgis will be replaced,
but I can't protect Larry
Shears unless I can find him.
For that I need your help.
- That's fair enough.
Larry's safety is all we care about.
- Great, I knew I could count on you two.
- I don't know.
I mean maybe I'm crazy,
but I could've sworn he
was trying to kill me.
- He was, Fowler's the murderer.
He was lying through his teeth.
- Well then, what were you doing up there?
- When you were at the golf course,
you didn't aim a gun at Fowler, did you?
- No.
- Uh huh, so what's his problem.
He's a pro, he would've ignored you.
He would've nailed Sturgis
if Sturgis was really at the golf course.
He knew you weren't an accomplice.
- Oh Rick, let's nail him.
- Hold it, hold it, hold it, honey.
Knowing he's a murderer and proving it
are two different things.
We're playing with the big
kids here, huh, the FBI.
- I wonder if Fowler bought our act.
- I wouldn't bet my life on it.
This watch is broken.
The crystal's shattered.
It stopped at 4:15.
- You know, I've been
doing this a long time.
I actually noticed that,
but it isn't enough to
fix the time of death.
- What did the coroner's report say?
- Autopsy said he died
between four and five o'clock.
- What time was the
shootout at the golf course?
- A little after six.
Sturgis could not have
been at the golf course.
- Not unless he can play in pain.
- You are a lovely, lovely man.
- It is such a relief to know
that Larry's not a criminal.
- Criminal, he's a hero.
Took guts to testify against the mob.
Now, have you thought where
you'd like to live next?
- Oh, no, I, I don't care
as long as I'm with Larry.
- You do realize it means a
whole new identity as well,
and that means that you won't be able
to call your family, friends, anyone.
- Mr. Fowler, will we ever really be safe?
- Of course, you'll be safe and free
for the rest of your lives.
- Hello?
- Deb.
- Larry, oh, Larry, thank God.
Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine.
- Larry, listen, it's safe.
They got the man who tried to kill you.
It was a federal agent.
- Are you sure?
- I'm sure, Larry, we can
start a whole new life.
It's all set.
Larry, Larry, you want
me to come and get you?
- I'm okay, I'm on my way, Debbie.
I'm coming home.
I love you.
- I love you too.
See you soon.
- Hello?
- Amanda, it's Debbie.
I just heard from Larry.
He's coming home right now.
Are you sure it's gonna be safe?
- Yeah, okay, Debbie, just sit tight.
It'll be fine, bye.
Wake up, tiger, it's time for work.
- I just had a dream
that the guy in the phony
back brace was chasing me.
Time for work?
What're we doing, moonlighting as bakers?
- Let's go, Larry's on his way home.
- Hi, Larry, how are you?
- How are you?
- Hi, how are you?
- Good to see you, hi, Deb.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Bye!
- Bye bye.
- See ya!
- Goodbye.
- Bye bye.
- Freeze, drop it!
- Mr. Fowler, we've been expecting you.
- You're making a mistake.
- Oh, let me guess, huh?
You came here to save Larry again.
Boy, you're a real one man
calvary, aren't you, Fowler?
- I suggest you tell me where Larry is.
I didn't come alone.
- Ooh, you're bluffing.
He is bluffing right?
- There is something
out there, Rick, but--
- It's the cat again.
Tell me it's the cat.
- Don't move.
- I could've sworn he was bluffing.
- Where are they?
- Lieutenant Fisk should
be coming about now,
shouldn't he, honey?
- He should be.
I don't know what's keeping him.
- Now, you're the one that's bluffing.
- Oh yeah, come on in, Lieutenant!
- Freeze, police, move and you're dead.
Did you finish with them yet?
- I was just gonna gift wrap them for you.
That's for shooting at my wife, ow.
What took you so long?
- It's Saturday night.
Sunset Boulevard was
stacked bumper to bumper.
Get outta here.
Nice job, kids.
I like the way you pulled it all together.
Of course, I knew something was up
when we found out that
the milkman was a hitman,
and then of course when the Feds
started putting the heat on us
about staying away from
the case, well, that, uh.
- You know, I was just thinking
about Debbie and Larry.
- Mm hmm.
- If you could have a whole
new identity, who would you be?
- Hmm, I would be the
Countess Uba Kosloff.
- What?
- Yeah, she's a famous countess in exile.
- Honey, a
countess is such a cliche.
- Oh, well, who would you be?
- Mm, I would be Dirk Hunter,
corporate trading riding
the trade winds to Tahiti.
- Tahiti would be nice actually.
Oh, secluded coves, white sandy beaches,
hundred foot waterfalls, coconut palms.
- Maidens, lots of maidens.
- You had to say that, didn't you?
- Well, you'd be there too.
- Oh yeah, what makes you so sure?
- Because every corporate
trader needs his countess.
- His maiden.
- What a day.
- Good morning.
- Oh, good morning, what a day.
- Good morning, Mother.
- Good morning.
- What's the news?
- It's lousy, the Angels cost
me 10 bucks against Toronto.
- Oh terrific, is the toast ready yet?
- Ready.
- Thank you, wonder witch.
- It was really nothing.
- Oh, the bluejays are fantastic.
- Oh, two unearned
runs in the ninth, big deal.
- I mean the birds.
They are battling the sparrows over food.
- They get mean when they're hungry.
- Lucky I'm a light sleeper.
- And uh, your wife at this time?
- She was in the shower.
It, it was so unreal.
I, I step into the kitchen doorway,
and this milkman points a gun at me.
- Show me where he was.
- I just don't understand why
anyone would want to hurt us.
- At least your safe, you know?
- Mrs. Shears, your husband's
going to have to come on downtown.
- Um.
- It's okay, I'll go with you.
- I don't understand
any of this, Larry.
- I found some cereal.
- Terrific, Tucker, with that
vital piece of detection,
we can wrap up our investigation.
What uh, what can you tell
me about your neighbor?
- He's a quiet guy, doesn't say much.
- He gets his point across.
Oh uh, my men aren't getting
in your way, are they?
- Oh no, they've been perfect gentlemen.
- Oh, good, good.
I'll put nice, little
notes in their files.
Go on, get outta here, will ya?
- Honey, I'm gonna stay with Debbie.
She's pretty shaken up.
- Okay, I'll go protect the
interest of Casualty Life,
and watch that bozo with
the phony back brace.
See ya.
- Well, we have no ID on the milkman yet.
Are you sure you never saw him before?
- I'm sure.
- Mr. Shears, can you think of any reason
why somebody would want to kill you?
- Like I told you,
Lieutenant, I have no idea.
- Your average citizen, right?
I mean, you're a regular
guy, a wife, a job,
with a nine millimeter
automatic in the night table.
- Oh, thanks for being here, Amanda.
- Ah, don't mention it.
- You're about
the only friend I have.
Well, you know, we don't go out much.
- Hey, you're not supposed
to, you're newlyweds.
- No, it's not like that.
Did you ever have the feeling
that something's wrong,
only you can't really
figure out what it is?
- Daily, what's bothering you?
- I'm not sure.
It's just that lately
Larry's, he's been so distant.
- Well, have you talked to him about it?
- I can't get through to him.
Oh, Amanda, I am really scared.
I feel like my marriage is ending,
and it hasn't even started.
Oh, honey.
- It's okay, it's okay,
it's okay, it's all right.
Listen, wait here a minute.
I'm gonna call the office, okay?
- Okay.
- Um, I'll be right back.
I'm just gonna get a quick
drink of water, okay?
- Yeah.
- Mr. George, Larry Shears,
I'm at the police station.
- Are you in trouble?
- No trouble, I nearly got
killed this morning is all.
- What happened?
- What happened is I blew some guy away,
and now I got the cops
and these two private
detectives nosing around.
- Don't worry, we'll take care of it.
I can be there in 10 minutes.
- You've been taking care of it.
That's why I'm worried.
Deb, I have to go to the office.
- What honey, you nearly got killed,
and you're going into work?
- I'm sorry, hon, I
have to, it's an audit.
Look, look, we'll talk
later, I promise, all right?
I'll be home early.
Okay?
- Yeah.
- Thanks for all your help, Amanda.
- Don't mention it.
- I spent a whole day at the beach
watching that bozo with
the phony back brace,
and all he did was lay there
like a lizard on a rock, it's frustrating.
- Watching him or all those bikinis?
- Oh, who has time for that?
I was working.
- Oh, yeah, well, I hate
to see you frustrated.
- Mm.
- You know, I'm worried about Debbie.
She's afraid she's losing Larry.
- Hmm, oh, she almost
lost him for good today.
- I know.
- Is Debbie a good housekeeper?
- You could eat off her floor.
- Yeah, if you like cereal.
- Hmm?
- Ah.
- Well, the whole thing
over there was weird.
I think Larry is lying through his teeth.
- Is that another one of your flashes?
Honey, it's none of our business.
- Right, you're right,
it's none of our business.
He sure did act weird at
the police station though.
- You know what gets me?
- What?
- I don't see how he could've
shot that milkman from the doorway.
- Look, let's forget it.
The police have it.
- Yeah.
Maybe we oughta stop over there tomorrow.
- Just to say hello.
- Yeah.
- When I do this, what do you think of?
- My shirts, did you remember
to pick up my shirts?
- No, I was too busy.
- Gee, now I have nothing to wear.
- Perfect.
- I knew there was something
strange about that milkman.
The truck usually stops
at our house first.
- Sounds like he knew
right where he was going.
- Hello.
- Exactly.
- Debbie, what's wrong?
We'll be right over.
Larry never came home last night.
- Bye, Ellen.
Larry Shears, please.
- He's
away from his desk.
- Ask for Mr. George.
- Who is Mr. George?
Ah, yeah, may I speak
to Mr. George, please?
- Ah, Mr. George
is away from his desk also.
- Mr. George is out.
Do I care that Mr. George is out?
- I have a feeling you will later.
- Uh, no, uh, no message.
Debbie, what do you know
about Amalgamated Leasing?
- Ah, they lease office equipment.
Larry doesn't talk about it much.
He hardly ever even goes to work.
Well, he's a tax consultant on retainer.
- Why do I keep coming
back to this receipt?
Flowers for Doris Lancaster?
- She was a friend of Larry's.
She worked in the Dallas office I think.
He sent her flowers when
she died in a car crash.
- Where is Larry's office?
- I have it written down somewhere.
I never went there.
Actually, I never had any reason to go.
- I'm gonna go check the other rooms.
- Debbie, help me out a little bit.
Tell me about Larry.
- Oh, he was born in Oxnard.
Kind of a rough childhood.
He was a loner.
We were alike like that.
You won't believe this and don't laugh.
- I won't.
- Okay, but we met at a
miniature golf course in Encino.
We did, we did.
- You said that he's
been kind of distant lately.
Is there anything troubling
him that you can think of?
- Well, he
didn't sleep very well,
but then he never did.
- What is this?
- Oh, it's Larry's gate pass.
I guess you'll need that
if you're gonna check out his office.
- Does a church steeple
mean anything to you?
- No, we were married in a courthouse.
- Come on.
- Everything's shipshape.
- Oh, I wish it was.
I haven't felt like cleaning much at all.
- Oh hey, don't worry.
We'll check out the office
and call you later, okay?
- Okay, Rick, I'd like to
pay you for your trouble.
- Uh, oh, it's no trouble at all.
That's what neighbors are for.
I just found a cereal box
with two bullet holes in it.
I think I better pass the word on to Fisk.
- Do you think Larry lied to
the police about the shooting?
- Maybe, maybe he knew
the milkman was coming,
and maybe he shot the milkman
through the cereal box.
- Or maybe he just hated
that brand of cereal.
You know, there's something else.
When I touched that card,
I got a flash of an old
steeple in a cemetery.
- Oh, swell, that's all they need.
- There's more, I saw a tombstone.
It had Larry's name on it.
- Terrific, that's a
real cheerful intuition
you got going there.
- You know, I think we
should drive to Oxnard.
- Oxnard?
- To see if there's anyone
left who remembers Larry.
I really think he's leading a double life.
- Honey, let's just investigate
one life at a time, all right?
I think we're gonna find some
leads at Amalgamated Leasing.
- Don't count on it.
- Why?
- We're here.
- Hello, hello!
- It's uh, it's a deadbolt.
I have trouble with deadbolts.
The office.
- Well, whoever it is that's
in there knows we're here.
- Whoever it is that's in there
is as frightened as we are.
- We, we're not frightened.
- Then why are you
skulking along the wall?
- Practice, I skulk to stay in shape.
- Yeah.
Rick, maybe it's Larry?
Larry, Larry, it's Rick and Amanda.
- Maybe it's not Larry.
- Okay, kick it in.
Well, I'll have Marcia
check out the building.
At least we have something to go on.
- Right.
We got a guy we can't find
who works for a company
that doesn't exist.
- Where to now?
- I got a few questions for a dead man.
Thank you, Lieutenant.
Fisk just got a report on this milkman.
- Yeah?
- His name is Tony the Ferret Landis.
He's a hitman for the mob out of Miami.
- The mob?
- Yeah.
- Great, there goes the neighborhood.
- Yo, Stucky.
- Hi, Rick.
- Oh uh, Stucky, this is
my wife, Amanda, Stucky.
- How do you do?
- Where's the 10 bucks
you owe me from Toronto?
- Oh, the patron saint of patience, huh?
Stucky, you got anything
on that John Doe milkman?
- Um, preliminary autopsy.
Uh uh, three bucks a copy.
You know the rules.
- Stucky, I don't want it framed.
I just wanna look at it, thanks.
- What does it say.
- It says here Larry is a hell of a shot.
Stucky, can I see the body?
I wanna check the angle of entry.
- Yeah, come on.
Who do you like this weekend,
the Angels or Boston?
- Boston.
- Angels, did you get a flash?
- No, my mom's from Boston.
- Would you like a beer?
Soda, egg salad, I got a
very good deal on egg salad.
- Stucky, the milkman.
- All right.
Here's your boy, number 34.
- Debbie?
Debbie, Debbie, are you home?
It's me, Amanda.
Debbie?
Debbie?
- Amanda.
- Hi, Debbie, I was looking for you.
- How did you get in?
- The door was open.
- Oh, I was sure I locked it.
Isn't Rick with you?
- Ah no, he's checking
on an insurance claim.
- So uh, what did you guys find out?
- Well, Larry's office is gone.
The building was totally empty,
and the guy who was posing as a milkman
is a hitman for the mob.
I know.
- No.
- Come on, we'll sit down.
Look, we haven't given up
and neither should you, okay?
Rick's looking into Larry's
background right now.
We've got Marcia tracking down
every lead we can think of,
but we need your help.
If there's anything else,
anything you can remember
Larry saying about his work.
- I was getting worried about you.
You know, that Tucker
woman can be trouble.
- If she gets in the way,
Sturgis, we'll take care of her.
How's the reception?
- It's weak.
- You know how you've been saying
that he's so distant lately?
- Uh huh.
- I can not help feeling
it has something to do
with Doris Lancaster.
Does that make any sense to you?
- I don't know.
I keep wondering that myself.
After she died, Larry
couldn't sleep at all.
Maybe she was an old
girlfriend, or maybe not so old.
Amanda, do you think Larry's still alive?
- Don't worry, we're gonna find him.
It's okay, I see it, baby, I see it.
How can we be sure this
is Larry Shear's mother?
- We can't, but her name matches the name
on the birth certificate.
- She may not wanna talk to us.
- Relax, parents love me, they trust me.
- Mother didn't trust you.
She said you were after only one thing.
- I got it too.
- Yes.
- Mrs. Shears, Mrs. Leona Shears?
- That's right, who are you?
- I'm a friend of your
son, Mrs. Shears, Larry.
- Is this some kind of a joke?
Get out of here, get out!
- Maybe it was the wrong Mrs. Shears.
- The wrong Leona Shears, no, no way.
- Rick, look, the steeple, stop!
It's just like the one I imagined.
- Well great, we've got plenty of time
to check out your visions, why not?
- Rick, I found Larry.
- Guess who's over there?
Doris Lancaster, the other
woman who got killed in Dallas.
- The one that he sent flowers to.
- Yeah, only he was a little late.
She died in 1950.
- The warehouse is a dead end.
Amalgamated Leasing rents it.
They pay on time and they pay by mail.
- They also like to hire people
who've been dead for 30 years.
- Yeah, I heard of hiring the handicapped,
but this is ridiculous.
- Did you get anything else on Shears?
What about that degree from Arizona?
- They never heard of him.
So now, if Larry really
isn't Larry, who is he,
and why is the mob after him?
- Maybe he double-crossed the mob.
Maybe he's part of a big
international gambling cartel,
then he took the money and ran.
He might even have a bank
account in Switzerland.
- Where do you get this stuff.
Does it come out of your head,
or is it all those late
night movies or what?
What about the corporation papers?
- Zippo.
- They used to shoot people
that delivered news like that.
God, I never seen so many
clues that add up to nothing.
Tucker and Tucker.
Yeah, Pee Wee, that's great.
I'll be right there.
You know the guy with
the phony back brace?
Well, he just left his
house with a tennis racket.
- Who's Pee Wee?
- Pee Wee's the kid I
got watching the house.
- You got a kid for a snitch?
- Yeah, it's great.
Five bucks a day,
and he guards my wheels while
I'm in the neighborhood, bye.
- Ah, the van you asked
about, it's another dead end.
Plates registered to Amalgamated.
- Great, great.
- Hello?
- Debbie.
- Larry, where are you?
Are you all right?
- I'm fine, I'm uh, I'm in a motel.
- I wanna see you.
- No, it's, it's too dangerous.
- I don't care.
Larry, I have to know what's going on.
- All right, listen,
remember where we met?
- Yeah.
- I'll be across from the windmill.
- Okay, I can be there in an hour.
Larry, I love you.
- I love you too, baby.
- Okay.
- Well, now all we have to do
is wait for her to lead us to Shears.
- That won't be necessary, Sturgis.
I'll take it from here.
- Mother!
- Yes?
- Oh, the poor thing.
It's not dying, is it?
- No, it's drunk.
- Drunk?
- Hmm, he gorged himself on old apricots.
You know the ones beginning to ferment?
Then he got drunk and
fell out of the tree.
Don't laugh, it's very serious.
He could be eaten.
The canyon is full of
drunk bluejays, yes, yes.
I just try to keep them
safe until they can fly.
- Do you give them little ice packs too?
- Oh.
That looks like Debbie.
- She looks like she's in trouble.
See you later.
- Be careful.
- It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.
- Oh God, Larry.
- It's all right.
- Oh Larry, I was so worried.
Larry, what's wrong?
- It's all right, I got
involved with the wrong people.
- Debbie and Larry, run!
- Amanda!
- At least I saw him, Rick.
Boy, I got a real good look at him too.
- He must've been from the mob.
You could've been killed.
- I know, I was there.
- You never should've gone there alone.
- There was no time to call you.
I knew the van following
Debbie was a phony,
and I couldn't risk losing them.
It was a judgment call.
- Exactly, and all I'm saying
is you used poor judgment.
- Since when is your
judgment so infallible?
Rick, we've been over
this a hundred times.
We share the work.
We share the danger.
- You're right, you're right.
I do trust you.
I also happen to love you
and I worry about you.
I'm an old-fashioned guy, it's dumb.
- No, it isn't.
- I hate problems.
- It won't happen again.
I, I promise, Mr. Harmony.
- My friend, I am not paying you
a hundred thousand dollars for promises.
I'm paying you for results.
- You'll get your money's worth.
I took care of that Lancaster woman.
- I know, that's why
you're getting a chance
to redeem yourself,
but if you fail this time,
our personnel director
is personally gonna fire
you, right, Mr. Carter?
Do we understand each other?
- Hi, hon.
- Hi.
- Hmm, want some apple?
- Oh no, thanks, I'm fine.
- Mm, great.
- Ooh, somebody wanna
tell me about this bird?
- Oh uh, that's uh, uh, a bluejay.
He's very--
- Sick, very sick.
- Drunk.
- Drunk?
- On apricots.
- Old apricots.
- Right, sure.
- Really.
- It's true, it's true, hello.
Oh yeah, Marcia, go ahead.
Okay, thanks.
She traced Amalgamated's number.
- Yeah.
- Not to the warehouse at all.
To this address in Westwood.
- Let's check it out, bye, Ellen.
- Bye.
- Bye, Mom.
Amalgamated Leasing here?
In the Federal Building.
- Well, I'm surprised
it's not a phone booth.
It looks like Shears is
working with the Feds.
Now the question is which Feds.
- Maybe it's the FBI.
- Sure, the CIA or the
IRS, the Federal Marshals.
Could even be the Post Office.
It could be any one of
a dozen other agencies.
- Hello?
We'll be right over, thank you.
We're due at the morgue.
- So, you found the milkman, huh, Fisk?
- Very funny.
- Hi, Stuck.
- I uh, I got the guy who's
been after your client.
Stucky, would you open 38?
- You're sure this guy's
really in here, huh, Stucky?
I mean he didn't take a walk too, did he?
- Oh, he's here all
right, see for yourself.
- What did you do, bolt him to the slab?
- He was stabbed to death, there.
- Know him?
- Rick, that's the man I saw
in the van watching Debbie.
- What is he, another
wiseguy from the syndicate?
- Very close, his name is Sturgis.
He's with the FBI.
- What?
- Where did you find him?
- In a ditch with your
clients address on him,
and a gun with a silencer.
Ballistics is trying
to match it to a bullet
we dug out at the miniature golf course.
- But this man was not at the golf course,
and the gun that I heard go
off definitely had no silencer.
- Real good, Fisk, I uh, I
think you're getting closer.
Stucky, try no to lose this one, huh?
- Diane Lanksterbeck.
- Who's Diane Lanksterbeck?
- Doris Lancaster.
- Ah!
- She testified in a trial
against Sal Harmony in New Jersey.
That's Harmony now and a man
who does not appear to be his best friend.
- That's Larry, you found Larry.
- Rick, you were right.
I checked and Doris's body was shipped
to a mortuary in New Jersey.
- And there were no
Lancaster's at the funeral.
- You got it, lots of
Lanksterbeck's though.
- Where did you find that tape?
- I contacted one of the
relatives from the guest list.
They filled me in on the trial.
- That's great, what do you think, huh?
Let's go, it's time to make
a federal case out of this.
- See ya.
- Yeah.
- Larry Shears and Miss
Lancaster were the key witnesses
in an FBI investigation
of organized crime.
Actually, they were are big
guns in the Sal Harmony trial.
- So in return for their cooperation,
Doris is dead and Larry's
running for his life?
- Well, as protected witness
they were given new identities.
Doris Lancaster went to live in Dallas.
Larry came to L.A.
- Great protection and the mob
obviously found them anyway.
- Yes, send him in.
You were right.
There was a problem,
but with Sturgis dead,
we plugged the leak in the program.
Now we've gotta find Mr. Shears
in order to give him a new identity
and guarantee his safety.
We need your help.
Ah, this is the man in charge
of the internal investigation.
Rick and Amanda Tucker, Mr. George Fowler.
- Hi, welcome aboard.
- It's you.
- I believe we're already acquainted.
We share a passion for miniature golf.
- Excuse me, Mr. Fowler,
but you did try to kill me, didn't you?
- What?
- Things are not always
what they seem, Mrs. Tucker.
I have a meeting, but Mr.
Fowler does have an explanation.
- Won't you sit down?
- Just wait a minute.
- Do you mind if I do?
You saw me all right,
but you missed seeing Agent Sturgis
behind the Shears ready to kill them.
- But why did you shoot at me?
- I'm sorry about that,
but I honestly thought
you were an accomplice
sent by Sturgis.
- How did you happen to show up
at the miniature golf course?
- I knew someone on the
inside was responsible
for leaking information
about protected witnesses.
I suspected Agent Sturgis for some time.
- Well, we just saw your prime suspect
on a slab at the morgue.
- You are thorough, aren't you?
- Then who killed Sturgis?
- My guess is the syndicate.
- Oh, they probably knew
you were on to them.
- That's the way I figure it.
It's uh, it's also why I shut
down Amalgamated Leasing.
- But Sturgis never fired a shot.
I'd have heard it.
- He used a silencer.
- Had to, a pro wouldn't take any chances.
- All right, then who
took the milkman's body?
- Um, I did.
I had no choice.
You see, I just couldn't
leave an assassins body
lying around, waiting to be identified.
- Someone might ask too many questions.
- Someone did anyway.
Good work.
- Amanda, it makes sense to me.
- I guess.
- No doubt, Sturgis will be replaced,
but I can't protect Larry
Shears unless I can find him.
For that I need your help.
- That's fair enough.
Larry's safety is all we care about.
- Great, I knew I could count on you two.
- I don't know.
I mean maybe I'm crazy,
but I could've sworn he
was trying to kill me.
- He was, Fowler's the murderer.
He was lying through his teeth.
- Well then, what were you doing up there?
- When you were at the golf course,
you didn't aim a gun at Fowler, did you?
- No.
- Uh huh, so what's his problem.
He's a pro, he would've ignored you.
He would've nailed Sturgis
if Sturgis was really at the golf course.
He knew you weren't an accomplice.
- Oh Rick, let's nail him.
- Hold it, hold it, hold it, honey.
Knowing he's a murderer and proving it
are two different things.
We're playing with the big
kids here, huh, the FBI.
- I wonder if Fowler bought our act.
- I wouldn't bet my life on it.
This watch is broken.
The crystal's shattered.
It stopped at 4:15.
- You know, I've been
doing this a long time.
I actually noticed that,
but it isn't enough to
fix the time of death.
- What did the coroner's report say?
- Autopsy said he died
between four and five o'clock.
- What time was the
shootout at the golf course?
- A little after six.
Sturgis could not have
been at the golf course.
- Not unless he can play in pain.
- You are a lovely, lovely man.
- It is such a relief to know
that Larry's not a criminal.
- Criminal, he's a hero.
Took guts to testify against the mob.
Now, have you thought where
you'd like to live next?
- Oh, no, I, I don't care
as long as I'm with Larry.
- You do realize it means a
whole new identity as well,
and that means that you won't be able
to call your family, friends, anyone.
- Mr. Fowler, will we ever really be safe?
- Of course, you'll be safe and free
for the rest of your lives.
- Hello?
- Deb.
- Larry, oh, Larry, thank God.
Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine.
- Larry, listen, it's safe.
They got the man who tried to kill you.
It was a federal agent.
- Are you sure?
- I'm sure, Larry, we can
start a whole new life.
It's all set.
Larry, Larry, you want
me to come and get you?
- I'm okay, I'm on my way, Debbie.
I'm coming home.
I love you.
- I love you too.
See you soon.
- Hello?
- Amanda, it's Debbie.
I just heard from Larry.
He's coming home right now.
Are you sure it's gonna be safe?
- Yeah, okay, Debbie, just sit tight.
It'll be fine, bye.
Wake up, tiger, it's time for work.
- I just had a dream
that the guy in the phony
back brace was chasing me.
Time for work?
What're we doing, moonlighting as bakers?
- Let's go, Larry's on his way home.
- Hi, Larry, how are you?
- How are you?
- Hi, how are you?
- Good to see you, hi, Deb.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Bye!
- Bye bye.
- See ya!
- Goodbye.
- Bye bye.
- Freeze, drop it!
- Mr. Fowler, we've been expecting you.
- You're making a mistake.
- Oh, let me guess, huh?
You came here to save Larry again.
Boy, you're a real one man
calvary, aren't you, Fowler?
- I suggest you tell me where Larry is.
I didn't come alone.
- Ooh, you're bluffing.
He is bluffing right?
- There is something
out there, Rick, but--
- It's the cat again.
Tell me it's the cat.
- Don't move.
- I could've sworn he was bluffing.
- Where are they?
- Lieutenant Fisk should
be coming about now,
shouldn't he, honey?
- He should be.
I don't know what's keeping him.
- Now, you're the one that's bluffing.
- Oh yeah, come on in, Lieutenant!
- Freeze, police, move and you're dead.
Did you finish with them yet?
- I was just gonna gift wrap them for you.
That's for shooting at my wife, ow.
What took you so long?
- It's Saturday night.
Sunset Boulevard was
stacked bumper to bumper.
Get outta here.
Nice job, kids.
I like the way you pulled it all together.
Of course, I knew something was up
when we found out that
the milkman was a hitman,
and then of course when the Feds
started putting the heat on us
about staying away from
the case, well, that, uh.
- You know, I was just thinking
about Debbie and Larry.
- Mm hmm.
- If you could have a whole
new identity, who would you be?
- Hmm, I would be the
Countess Uba Kosloff.
- What?
- Yeah, she's a famous countess in exile.
- Honey, a
countess is such a cliche.
- Oh, well, who would you be?
- Mm, I would be Dirk Hunter,
corporate trading riding
the trade winds to Tahiti.
- Tahiti would be nice actually.
Oh, secluded coves, white sandy beaches,
hundred foot waterfalls, coconut palms.
- Maidens, lots of maidens.
- You had to say that, didn't you?
- Well, you'd be there too.
- Oh yeah, what makes you so sure?
- Because every corporate
trader needs his countess.
- His maiden.