The Sniper (1952) Movie Script
Well, what I want to know, honey,
is what are you gonna do now?
I'm gonna be happy for a change.
After all, he ain't the only man in the world.
There's plenty of good fish in the sea,
I always say.
Besides, I was getting kind of sick of him.
It's time I run into somebody new.
- I want to go home. I want to go home.
- You always want to go home.
Say, why don't you watch
where you're going?
You might have hurt this lady.
Come on. Young fool.
- Glad you liked it.
- Do you work every day?
- Sure.
- Be here tomorrow?
- Of course. Always.
- Good night, then.
Good night, Millie.
- I'll see you tomorrow.
- Okay.
I want to get the state prison at Huntsburg.
No. No. I don't know the number.
- She always drink two malts?
- Oh, let her. It's good for business.
- Your business. Monkey business.
- What?
- Sandy, what's the matter?
- Just a minute.
- Can I have some change, please?
- Why, certainly.
- All right.
- Sandy, I didn't do anything.
- Not yet you didn't do anything.
- I was just waiting...
Hello, this is Mr. Edward Miller.
I'd like to speak to Dr. Gillette, please.
It's very important.
What?
Two weeks? Well, what's his number there?
But I've got to reach him. I told you,
it's very important. It's a matter of life or...
Well, listen.
There must be a phone near where he is.
Well, can't you...
Well, can you please tell me if...
All right. All right. All right!
I guess, I do. But you make me so mad.
- Did you get your party?
- Didn't get his party.
Do you know how much coffee
I've had today? Seventeen cups.
The Brazilians ought to give me a medal.
What is it?
Second-degree burns.
Chadwick's in with him.
- Here's his card.
- Edward Burnside. Well, the name fits.
Right hand. Electric stove.
Yeah, friend, a man's got no business
fooling around with stoves.
They're strictly a woman's business.
You're not married?
- No.
- You're missing a big deal, friend.
So you get married.
So your wife does all the cooking.
So she's the one that gets burned.
So what happens?
So she comes and cries on your shoulder,
and you pat her head
and give her a kiss or two.
Yeah, that's living. Keep your hand still.
Next day she tells you to climb on a ladder
and clean out the closet,
and you fall and break a leg. I don't know.
They got you coming and going.
- Everything all right?
- Just finished.
You'll have to sign this, Mr. Burnside.
Your left hand will do.
- Can I see you a minute outside, Chad?
- Sure.
You notice anything funny about...
Outside of the fact that
he did it on purpose, no.
- You think it was self-inflicted?
- Look, to get a second degree like that,
he'd have had to hold his hand on a burner
a couple of seconds, at least.
Sure it was self-inflicted.
Give me a minute, will you?
Mr. Burnside, I want to ask you a question.
Were you ever in a mental hospital?
- Only when I was imprisoned.
- Prison?
- In the psycho ward. But they let me go.
- Why?
My sentence was up. Dr. Gillette wanted
to keep me, but they let me go.
- What'd you go up for?
- I...
I hit someone, a girl.
- Why?
- I don't know.
- How do you feel now?
- Not right. I don't feel right.
You gonna keep me here?
I don't know.
Stay where you are for a minute, will you?
- Well?
- I'm gonna send him upstairs.
- You crazy?
- Not as crazy as he is.
He'll make five loopies you've sent
up in the past two weeks.
- Where are the rest of them now?
- That's not my fault.
Look, forget it. They'll only wrap him up in a
cold sheet, keep him around for three days,
then give him back to the Indians.
Besides, we've got some more business.
All right, boys, full house coming in.
One stretcher. One warm.
Great. Let's go, Chad.
Okay, friend, you can go now.
A little room, Mac. A little room.
Listen, don't you think
this is a funny way to get hurt?
- Sure, friend.
- Don't...
- Aren't you away yet, Miller?
- I will be in a minute.
- It's not easy with this hand.
- You sure you can drive?
- Don't worry, I can drive.
- I don't worry. The company worries.
And just remember, if you have an accident,
you're responsible.
- Who is it?
- Cleaner.
All right, Eddie.
- Hello, Eddie.
- Hello, Miss Darr.
I was hoping you'd get here earlier. Just put
them in on the bed. I'll hang them up later.
- What have you been doing?
- What?
- Your hand, you've hurt it.
- I was playing ball yesterday.
- I got spiked in a ball game.
- I didn't know you were a ball player.
- I'm a lot of things.
- Man of many talents.
- Yeah. Yeah, I guess so.
- I never seem to know a man like that.
- Are you going someplace?
- Not unless I get this down.
- Well, here, here. Let me give you a hand.
- Thanks.
Eddie, you're sweet. Just put it on the bed.
Actually, I'm only going away
for a couple of days with a friend of mine.
That's why I was hoping
you'd get here earlier, Eddie.
- I want you to do me a favor, will you?
- Well, if it's something I can.
Well, it's this dress. I tried it on
to see if it was okay this morning,
and then I noticed this stain.
I want to wear it when I go away, Eddie.
Do you think Alpine could do a rush job on
it for me and get it back to me by tomorrow?
Well, I don't know.
I'll have to ask one of the men.
- What kind of a stain is it?
- Brandy. At least, I think it's brandy.
There was this drunk the other night,
and I forgot about it.
He must have spilled something,
and I didn't...
- I'll get one of the men to do it.
- Eddie, you're wonderful.
Tell you what. You go in the kitchen and get
a beer out of the icebox, and I'll slip this off.
All right.
There's an opener right there by the bottles.
Find it all right?
Yes, I found it, Miss Darr.
I'm sorry. I forgot about your hand.
I see you got it opened all right.
Yeah, sure. It was easy.
I didn't know baseball was
such a dangerous game.
- Well, anybody can get hurt anytime.
- You're so right, Eddie.
Not just in games, either. Is it hot out?
I haven't been out yet.
- No, it's nice.
- But you're sweating.
- Am I? I didn't know.
- Well, the beer will cool you off.
Excuse me.
What is it? Al?
What are you doing up so early?
Sure. Come on up.
That's my friend. He's coming up.
Eddie, would you mind finishing
your beer out on the back porch?
Al's just like every other trumpet player.
He's jealous.
I wouldn't want him to get any ideas.
And I'll expect the dress tomorrow.
You're a darling, Eddie.
Anyone down there?
Gets better every time.
Play it again, Jeannie girl.
Listen, that's five times
I've played it for you already.
- People might want to hear something else.
- No. They ain't listening.
I'm the only one that's listening.
Play it again, Jeannie girl.
- Pete?
- What's the matter, Jeannie?
- Do you want to run off with me?
- It's this man.
Five times I've played a song for him,
and now he wants to hear it again.
What's the matter?
You know only one song?
Jeannie knows lots of songs.
Let her play and you'll hear a million songs.
I only want to hear this song.
But maybe somebody else
wants to hear something else.
Maybe I want to hear something else.
Listen, I've been paying for this.
I bought nine drinks here tonight.
Maybe nine drinks are too many for you.
Maybe you better go home.
Hey, you can't do that to me.
I just did it. Now, are you going to leave
quiet or do you need a little help?
All right. But you'll be sorry.
Nobody's making a fool out of me.
- Nice fellow.
- You ought to be used to it by now.
I never get used to it. Jeannie. Play me
something. Play me Plaisir d'amour.
So you can go off in a corner and cry?
With that song and the way business is,
I cry right out in public.
Are you sure you don't want me
to get you a cab?
Walking's the only exercise I get these days.
But I don't like you out alone
like this at night.
What makes you think I'm alone?
After all, I'm leaving early.
How do you know I don't have someone
waiting for me around the corner?
- I wish it was me. Good night, Jeannie.
- Good night, Pete.
I almost seen it.
I just finished looking out the window,
and I went back into the kitchen
to take a pill, and I heard this backfire,
and I waited a minute
and I thought to myself
it's a funny kind of a backfire.
I never heard a backfire like that before.
So I went back to the window
and looked and she was laying there,
- and this fellow was bending over her.
- What fellow?
Pete, there. The fellow that owns the bar.
He come running out, I guess.
Look. They're going to take another picture.
- Okay.
- Where's Lieutenant Kafka?
- Inside, him and Ferris both.
- Ask him if he's all through out here.
- We'd like to take off.
- Okay.
They want to know
if they can remove the body, Lieutenant.
Did you get your pictures?
- Yes, sir.
- All right.
How about one with
the sheet off, Lieutenant?
- Just one, that's all.
- Not a chance.
Why not? What's the matter?
Listen, food's too expensive to spoil
people's appetite for breakfast.
I wouldn't want a dead girl on my front page.
You've got one anyway.
I don't like dead girls on the front page
or anywhere else.
Should have been with me last night.
You wouldn't have liked
a couple of live ones.
I had a lot of trouble last night.
You're gonna have a lot of trouble tonight,
too. Get over there to that building.
Start from the roof and check
every apartment that fronts on the street.
I'll be inside seeing what they got to say.
- Right.
- Okay. Break it up. Show's over.
Yes, sir. All right, let's go, boys. Break it up.
All right. Go home. Go home!
Well, you see,
I live across the street over there.
Go across the street.
That little girl shouldn't be out
this time of night.
- I'm her mother.
- Well, that makes her a lucky kid.
Come on, home, please. Go home. Go home!
- I still say we were cheated in that game.
- It's just a game.
- I don't care how it came out.
- Fill her up.
Well, I care how it came out.
I had some money bet on the game.
Hey, Mac, you seen that play
on the television tonight, didn't you?
Twenty-five.
The one at second
that all that rhubarb was about?
You know, in the fourth
where they thumbed Parsons out.
- It's what he deserved.
- Are you smiling at me?
- No, I'm smiling at everybody.
- Business good today?
- I'm not a businessman.
- This is what businessmen carry around.
- I'm an engineer.
- On the railroads?
No. I build things.
You know, bridges and things.
I just got back from Hawaii today.
I was building a bridge in Hawaii.
That's why I'm smiling at everybody.
I'm glad to be home.
It sure is great to be stateside again.
What do you want? A drink?
No, no. I got one back there. That how
you hurt your hand, building the bridge?
Oh, that. No, that was on the boat coming
back. They were shooting skeet on the boat.
Gun went off by mistake,
and I got a few slugs in my hand.
Poor kid. You know, I like you.
You got a nice face. Poor kid.
- What was the name of the bridge?
- The Burnside Bridge.
- What was the name of the river?
- It wasn't on a river.
It was between two islands. Five miles long.
Nobody ever built a bridge that long.
That's crazy.
- What was the name of the islands?
- Hawaii and Burnside Island.
I never heard of a Burnside Island.
All those islands got Hawaiian names,
like Cocowakahiki and stuff like that.
Are you kidding me?
- I said what I said.
- I think you're kidding me.
I think you're pulling my leg. Probably got
that hand caught in a wringer or something.
- Hey, where are you going?
- Back where they don't pull my leg.
I should have stayed where I was.
Coming. Coming.
Hello. Who wants him?
Just a minute.
Mr. Miller!
Mr. Miller?
Mr. Miller? Mr. Miller?
Mr. Miller, are you in there?
What is it?
You're still there. It's the cleaners.
It's late and they want to know if you're sick.
- Are you sick?
- No, no. I'm all right.
I guess I must have overslept.
Tell them I'll be there as quick as I can.
Ain't like you, Mr. Miller.
- When did you start keeping bankers hours?
- I overslept.
Listen, Miller, the only one who can
oversleep here is Mr. Alpine.
I don't care which way you cut it,
you're still an errand boy.
- Don't ever forget that.
- It won't happen again.
That's right.
Hey, Eddie. Good thing you came in late.
I got jammed up.
- Here's that special you ordered.
- Swell.
Yeah. Yeah. Wait a minute.
I'll write that down. Got it. Thanks.
- Where you been?
- Barber's.
- Yeah, you look neat.
- You don't.
- No, I guess I need a shave.
- What difference does it make?
- You're married.
- My wife is visiting her mother.
- Shave.
- Ballistics just called.
That casing you found on the roof,
it's from an M1 carbine.
The cartridge is called a.30 caliber M1.
- That's the only gun it will fit.
- Gives it an Army slant, huh?
Listen, every GI who can
pinches one of these when he gets out.
There must be 10,000 of them
kicking around.
There are also a couple million men
in the Army.
Well, there's one civilian you can scratch,
the guy she had the beef with in the bar.
They found him
in the drunk tank this morning.
He was loaded, went on to another joint,
passed out. He's in the clear.
No word from the boyfriend yet.
He'll probably turn up
as soon as he reads the papers.
From what I know about musicians,
they're not that neat
when they decide to get rid of their dames.
Look, there's a pile of letters over there
by the phone. Run through them, will you?
- What's all the excitement?
- A girl evidently got killed last night.
That's why all the cops.
A fellow killed her right in the street.
- What fellow?
- They haven't caught him yet.
- It was a fellow, all right.
- Well, you wait.
- It will turn out to be her boyfriend.
- Mark my words, it always does.
Yes, it's getting so nowadays
you can't trust these men.
- Yeah.
- It's getting so you can't trust women, either.
Andy Solmes.
Does that name mean anything to you?
Yeah. He owns the Mariposa.
Hey, wait a minute.
Wasn't he picked up about a year ago
on narcotics charges, charges dismissed?
That's the one. His name's in here.
We'll check on him.
Hello? No, this is Sergeant Ferris.
Yeah. Yeah. I'll tell him.
Well, it looks like the boyfriend
read the morning papers.
Turned himself in,
and it looks like he's got an alibi.
Figured he would.
Well, we might as well get downtown
and see what he's got to say. Come on.
All I know is that we had lunch yesterday.
We were going to go out of town tomorrow.
That's all I know.
We didn't fight or anything, honest.
- I was going to see her...
- Look, Al,
for the tenth time, get it through your head,
we know you didn't do it.
We've had you checked.
You got an air-tight alibi,
but the fact remains that somebody did it,
and we think that maybe
you can give us a lead.
- Did she know any soldiers? Any officers?
- Not while I knew her. She only seen me.
- Are you sure?
- Why shouldn't I be?
- What's soldiers got to do with it?
- How about Solmes?
- How about Andy Solmes?
- Who's he?
- She had his name in her book.
- I don't know him.
- She did.
- Not while I knew her.
She only seen me.
Very well, then,
why were you going out of town?
- Got it. Here you go.
- Thanks, mister.
It's all your fault. Why don't you
leave us alone and go play your own game?
- Mr. Miller. Awful late for you.
- I ate out. I don't feel very well.
Do you hear that, Assa? He don't feel well.
Isn't that too bad?
- What's the trouble? Stomach?
- No. No. It's my hand. I burned it cooking.
What a shame. Assa, do you see that?
He burned his hand cooking.
I'm trying to get Assa
to catch some mice in the cellar.
He ought to earn his keep
just like all the rest of us.
Shouldn't you, you naughty boy?
You'll have to be careful, Mr. Miller.
I do think mothers should teach boys
to cook just as well as girls.
My mother never taught me anything.
No, you don't. You've got to work, too.
Everybody's got to work in this world.
All right, let's settle down.
I suppose you all know
why I've called you in here.
In case you don't...
Pretty, isn't it?
So, that's how it is.
And before we know it,
everybody who's got a telephone
is gonna be on our necks.
"What are you doing about it?"
They're gonna ask.
What are you doing about it?
It's a good question.
What are we doing about it?
That's right. Nothing.
And until today,
there wasn't much we could do about it.
I don't expect you to find
a drop of water in a rainstorm.
But this morning, this was brought in.
Here's what it says. Quote,
"To the police. Stop me.
"Find me and stop me.
I'm going to do it again." Unquote.
And it's written on the top of a box
of.30 M1 ammunition,
the same kind that killed
both of these dames.
Where'd it come from?
Mailman got it in a box at 7th and Sanes.
Turned it in to the central post office.
- And they brought it down here.
- Any fingerprints?
Thousands. Everybody
except the postmaster general.
But at least it shows us
the type of man we're up against.
Now, I don't have to tell you
how much I dislike it.
This guy's probably been
saving up for this for years.
Now we got to get him and get him quick.
If we don't,
every other loopy in town's
gonna jump on the bandwagon,
and we'll find ourselves knee-deep
in a slaughter house.
It's happened before, it can happen again.
Frank, both of these have been your babies.
Got you up a tree.
- Way up on the top branches.
- Well, before you fall out,
check the files for every registered
sex offender of this type.
And pay particular attention to those
who have recently done time.
How about checking with the Army
on stolen carbines?
Yeah. We can do that, too. Especially in
regards to... What do they call them?
Section Eights. I'm checking with the FBI
and the police association
to find out if they've had
any other cases just like this.
Wasn't there a series
in New York like this once?
Maybe. We'll find out.
I think there was. They never caught the guy.
- Could be the same one.
- That was a long time ago.
All right. All right. So that was New York,
this is here. That's why I've called you in.
We've got to do something before we all
find ourselves pounding beats again.
Now, get out and round up
a bunch of these people,
rapists, defilers, peeping Toms, etcetera,
everybody we've got
this kind of a record on.
Bring them in. Let's talk to them.
Find out where they've been,
what they've been doing lately.
Let the newspapers know we're not
sitting around with our feet on the desk.
If we're in the dark,
it's our business, nobody else's.
- All right, now, get out and earn your money.
- What money?
Got them all sorted?
As well as I can. First time I ever did this.
Well, now we'll see what goes.
All right, first three.
Tinman, Eureka, Debiaci.
George Tinman, Peter Eureka, Tony Debiaci.
Walk over there and get a spot.
Face front. Keep your hands to your sides.
All right. Settle down.
Quiet.
First man here is George Tinman.
Three charges against him.
1946, 1949 and 1950.
What kind of charges, George?
You heard me.
- They said I was looking in their windows.
- They said? Who? The girls?
Looks like they recognized you
all three times.
How could they tell? It was dark.
Keep your hands at your side.
What you been doing lately, George?
I'm a... I'm a swimming instructor.
Do you take your spy glass
to work with you?
No, sir.
That's right.
It would rust underwater, wouldn't it?
How about rifles?
Did you ever shoot fish in a barrel?
I never shot a gun in my life.
I'm glad, George. I wouldn't want you
to get into any bad habits.
Second man is Peter Eureka.
Peter's a letter writer.
Not a very nice one, either.
He writes to strange women, and
he's frightened a lot of them pretty badly.
How about that, Pete, don't you like women?
Never been married?
- Three times.
- Three times.
Why'd all these happy homes break up?
Did you spend all your wives'
household money for stamps?
- I did the breaking up.
- Yeah. I guess you probably did.
You know, Pete, I read somewhere
that the pen is mightier than the sword.
- How about that? Did you ever try a sword?
- I never had a sword.
What about a rifle? I guess maybe
you thought a rifle was the best thing of all.
- I never shot anybody.
- Not even maybe an odd wife or two?
I never shot anybody.
And what about Eureka?
What does that mean?
Every day I hear somebody yell, "Eureka!"
They talking about you, Pete?
I don't know what it means.
That's too bad.
I thought I was gonna get to find out.
You're wasting your time, Andy.
It's none of these men.
- There's a lot more coming.
- It won't be any of those, either.
You're the police psychiatrist.
Suppose you turn up the guy we want.
What makes you so sure, Doctor?
- It's my job.
- And this is ours.
Next man is Anthony Debiaci.
Ant, put your hands at your side
and keep them there.
Anthony Debiaci.
Tony's a rapist, two-time loser.
We had him in last week on the same charge
and couldn't make it stick.
That woman just picked me out.
I never saw her before.
Still saying it, huh, Tony?
Well, maybe she did make a mistake.
Soured you on women.
Turned you into a real killer.
Is that what it did?
- You can't pin anything on me this time.
- Not even a rose?
What a shame.
What have you been doing lately, Tony?
- Minding my own business.
- What business is that?
- I got a job. I make deliveries.
- Get you into a lot of houses?
I do my job.
Yeah, I'll bet you do.
All right, you three can go now.
- I'll see you later, Andy.
- Leaving already?
- We got a dozen more to run through.
- You still won't find the man you want.
See you, Captain.
- He's a great help.
- Keep your shirt on. He knows his job.
Yeah, but does he know ours?
Next is Dan Wormel.
Dan's a tough guy with small animals.
- Kafka?
- Hello, Doc.
- Meeting somebody?
- No.
- Come on, sit down.
- Thank you.
- Hello, Lieutenant.
- Hiya, Tom.
- Get me an order of tomato beef, will you?
- Sure thing.
Dig in.
- I didn't know you liked Chinese food.
- It's good and it's cheap.
They're not breaking their arms
paying us, you know.
You can say that again.
Me, I just happen to like it.
Been eating it ever since I can remember.
It's funny I've never seen you in here.
Well, I eat here a lot,
but half the time I'm out in left field.
- Find your man in the show up?
- Are you kidding?
Just asking.
You know,
this sniper thing is driving me crazy.
There's some things I understand
and some things I don't.
If a guy blows his top
and sticks a knife into somebody,
on the spur of the moment, that is,
I understand it, so does the law.
It's second degree.
And if a guy decides to knock off his wife
and spend six months
figuring out how to do it,
I understand that, too.
That's first degree.
- But this thing I don't get.
- You will.
- Will what?
- Get him.
Sure. After he's shot down 30 or 40 dames.
- By that time, I'll be back pounding a beat.
- No, it won't take that long.
Though I'll tell you one thing.
You won't get him by running show ups
like the one I saw.
Look, Doc, those show ups
pay off more than you think.
Not in a case like this.
Look, Kafka, let me tell you something
about these people.
Anderson calls them nuts.
Psychiatrists use $10 words,
but whatever you call them,
they run to a pattern and they don't overlap.
They're all in...
In little water-tight compartments.
Well, so are most criminals, for that matter.
If you have an armed robbery, you don't
waste time rounding up pickpockets.
- Sure. That's right.
- It's the same thing in this case.
Now, you had a peeping Tom
in the show up.
All right. Now peeping Toms
don't kill women. They stick to peeping.
Rapists don't write poison pen letters.
Obscene letter writers don't commit rape.
All criminal types and especially
sex offenders stay in their own grooves.
So, if you keep dragging
everyone in the book into a show up,
- you're just wasting your time.
- Okay. What type are we gonna look for?
I'd look for somebody who's been getting
tough with women from the very beginning.
Maybe he started small, slugging them
on a dark street or something like that.
But whatever he did,
it'd be a crime of violence.
- That you can be sure of.
- Cute kid.
- Very.
- How'd he get that way?
Could be one of a thousand reasons.
Maybe some woman did something mean
to him when he was a kid.
He may not even remember what it was,
but something in here remembers.
Perhaps it was his mother.
Usually is in these cases.
Whoever it was, it was probably
a brunette in her late 20s.
Of course, it doesn't matter now.
He's past the stage
where he could have been talked out of it.
And whoever it was,
he's killing her over and over again.
What's the matter?
I guess I better stick to a fork.
He's killing her over and over again.
He's been doing it in his mind for years.
Now that he started doing it for real,
he's gonna keep right on doing it.
- For how long?
- As long as he doesn't get caught.
And as long as his cartridges last.
Nelson is running to third.
The ball bounces off the left-field wall.
A quick pick up, but Nelson is streaking
for home plate. He's safe.
Jackson holds it up at second.
What a ball game this is!
And you say this will be a costume ball,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick? What will the motif be?
Well, it's American history, but before 1900.
No costume after 1900.
That sounds wonderful.
Will it include Indians?
I hope it will include hundreds of Indians.
- I love Indians, too.
- After all, Indians are part of our history, too.
Indeed they are,
and a very important part, too.
Well, tell me, Mrs. Fitzpatrick,
where will the public be able to buy tickets
for this charity ball given for the benefit
of Saint Stephen's Hospital Guild?
Well, they can buy them
at the Women's Civic League.
Or those wishing to come
can write me directly at my home.
It's 380 Kendel Drive. They're $10 apiece,
and we just hope that everybody
who can come will come.
I'm sure they will.
Well, thank you so much,
Mrs. Warren Fitzpatrick,
for this clear picture of the activities
of the Women's Civic League.
Now, look. You can't block the door like that.
People want to come in and out.
I wish I talked to Dr. Kent before.
Might have saved us a lot of time
and a lot of trouble.
- We've still got a lot of trouble.
- Come on. Come on.
We're a lot further along.
We know one thing.
These psychiatric offenders don't overlap.
Get him. Okay, so they don't overlap,
- but we still got a lot of them.
- What's the matter with you?
- You had a fight with your girl?
- Yeah.
She doesn't like the kind of hours
I've been keeping lately.
Hey, here's one that might fit the pattern.
He's out on parole now.
He's had one, two, three, six convictions.
Likes to use a club.
Six convictions? That probably means
he's gotten away with 12 others.
Man, you're just overflowing
with information tonight.
I sure am.
Here's a guy who had his first conviction for
cracking a girl's skull with a baseball bat.
She must have struck him out
and he got mad.
What'd he do then?
Go on to bigger and better things?
That's right. Bigger and better things.
Three suspicions of assaults against women.
One assault where
there was no suspicion at all.
He got an 18-month stretch for that one.
I think we'll look into Mr. Miller.
- Tom Kafka?
- Yeah.
Just came over the Teletype.
They want you out there.
- Out where?
- 380 Kendel Drive.
There's been another murder.
Looks like the sniper again.
- What's the name?
- Warren Fitzpatrick.
It was Mrs. Fitzpatrick that was killed.
Warren Fitzpatrick?
That will blow the lid off.
What do you mean will blow the lid off?
It's already blown it.
Come on, let's go.
- What's going on?
- They killed someone.
- Where?
- In that driveway over there.
The nurse was down in the kitchen
getting herself a glass of milk
when she heard the shot.
She called us right after.
There's a chance
we might nail the guy this time.
The section's full of prowl cars.
We know. We saw half a dozen of them
on the way up here.
- You know what this will mean?
- Let's not talk about it.
- I wouldn't want to be in your shoes.
- They'd hurt your feet anyway.
- Where's her husband?
- Fitzpatrick? Beats me.
Downtown somewheres.
They're trying to find him.
This looks like him now.
- Where are the children?
- Upstairs, Mr. Fitzpatrick. They're asleep.
How long is it going on?
What are you doing about it?
We're doing everything we can,
Mr. Fitzpatrick. I'm very sorry.
What are you doing about it?
What are you going to do about it?
Listen, the whole city's gone crazy.
I come to work this morning on the streetcar
and everybody's reading the newspaper,
all about the sniper, even talking about it,
you know, people who never
talk to each other any other time.
Yeah. I leave my joint this morning,
I hear my wife lock the door.
She never locked the door before.
She's one scared dame.
- How about you? You scared?
- For her or for me?
For her.
He's just killing dames, the paper says.
So this week he's killing dames,
so next week it's guys with one leg
or false teeth or something.
Or maybe guys who work in cleaning plants.
You better stay home nights, Joey.
Maybe he's got his eye on you.
No, just dames, the paper says.
Listen, if he wants to get in touch with me,
I'll give him the addresses of two,
maybe three.
- Dames never done me any good.
- You should have heard my wife at breakfast.
Why, you'd think she'd expect me
to go out and catch him myself.
Somebody better catch him.
Cops ain't doing any good.
There's an editorial in the paper.
Papers are plenty sore at the cops.
Papers! What do they know?
Scream till they get the guy
and then when they have the trial,
why, they cry in their beer because
the guy's probably innocent after all.
Take a dame that's on trial for murder.
Unless she's got two heads,
why, they think she's beautiful.
If I get my hands on the guy,
they wouldn't have to worry about no trial.
- Yeah? What would you do to him?
- He wouldn't die quick, I'll tell you that.
Mr. Lydell, I'm sure no one
regrets any more than I do
the outrages perpetrated on these women.
Mrs. Fitzpatrick, in particular,
was a very good friend of mine...
Mr. Mayor, this isn't a personal matter.
The people of this city are alarmed
and frightened.
There's a maniac loose
and the police seem helpless.
That's why we've asked for this conference.
We want to know why such
a state of affairs can continue.
Chief?
As far as the people
being frightened goes, Mr. Lydell,
maybe your newspaper
has something to do with it.
My newspaper merely reports the news.
It doesn't make it.
It slants the news. It exploits hysteria.
That doesn't solve your problem.
You still haven't caught the man.
Most killers are caught because of motive.
There's no motive here.
Murder itself can be a motive.
We're short foot patrolmen, Mr. Harper.
If you want to volunteer,
I'm sure we can find a place for you.
I'm efficient at my job.
Evidently your men aren't efficient at theirs.
I agree. The police have shown themselves
unimaginative and...
- Now, hold on, Mr. Weiss...
- Just a moment, gentlemen.
Mr. Weiss, I'm not trying
to defend my administration,
but I seem to remember
that two years ago when we tried
to get the police budget increased,
your group fought us tooth and nail.
Taxes are high enough as it is.
And as far as that goes, we're getting
very little value for the taxes we do pay.
Mr. Lydell, please. I think we're
going at this thing like little children.
Lieutenant Kafka here has been on the case
since the beginning.
Perhaps, if we can continue
meeting reasonably,
with his giving us a sketch
of what has happened to date, we might...
We know what's happened up to date.
What we want to know is
what's going to happen from now on.
We want this man caught and caught quick.
And punished. Punished. Punished.
Well, if everyone's going to sound off,
I guess I might as well get in the act.
You mention punishment, Mr. Lydell.
Just what sort of punishment
did you have in mind?
The sort the man's crimes deserve.
He ought to be killed
the way a mad dog is killed.
- That's right.
- Absolutely.
Or put in the insane asylum.
Do you know the legal definition of insanity?
- No.
- I'll tell you.
It's based on an old English law,
a law passed
when they were still burning witches.
An insane person, according to the law,
must not be able to tell the difference
between right and wrong.
Well, obviously, this man doesn't know
the difference between right and wrong.
Don't be too sure of that.
You see, Mr. Stonecroft, there are
hundreds of thousands of sex offenders
walking American streets at this moment
who could be the sniper or worse.
But only 1% of them are legally insane.
1%, Mr. Stonecroft.
Now what will we do with the other 99?
Never mind the other 99.
Let's get back to the matter in hand.
- The madman who's loose with a rifle.
- Carbine.
Get back to him, Mr. Lydell?
I've never left him.
And I'll tell you something.
When this man is caught, you'll find he has
a record dating back to when he was a kid.
Believe me,
he's been in the hands of the police before.
Thirty days for one thing,
60 days for another.
And I'll tell you something else.
If his first act had led to treatment
instead of jail,
three women wouldn't be lying dead today.
The fact remains
three women are lying dead today.
- And the killer's still loose.
- Yes, loose because of us.
And a killer because of us.
And the horrible thing about it is
we may be sitting here six months from now
or three months from now
on another case just like it.
Gentlemen, the city is frightened,
and when cities get frightened,
they rear up on their hind legs
and strike out at something, anything.
This time we have a chance not to strike out
blindly, but to act with reason.
This time we can do something.
You all have weight and power,
not only in the city, but in the state.
Put your weight behind
getting a new law passed.
Let every socially dangerous sex offender,
as soon as he is caught for his first offense,
be committed to a mental institution,
and there he can be cured
or put away indefinitely.
- I think...
- What is this you think?
Who cares what you think?
The important thing to think about
is three dead women,
not coddling the man who killed them.
Look, I'm thinking of the hundreds of women
who will be dead if something isn't done.
Now, listen, Mr. Harper, just...
Just let me give you an example.
A few years ago a man named Albert Fish
was executed in New York
for the murder of a child.
A judge of the state supreme court
estimated that this man
had undoubtedly killed at least 15 others.
Now, he was executed for one,
but 16 were dead.
And this is not an isolated case.
It happens everywhere.
Perhaps not every day,
but much, much too often.
So, I repeat, pass a law.
Put these people away
when they're first caught.
And those who can be cured, will be cured.
And those who can't, well,
at least they'll never get out to try it again.
If you can get a law like this passed,
you could start a ball rolling
all across this country.
Get a law like that passed
and this meeting could be a milestone.
Where's the money coming from
for an institution like that?
Taxes.
- Well, that would have to be a state matter.
- I can hear the governor screaming already.
When I saw Dr. Kent come in,
I had a feeling this meeting would eventually
come down to psychiatric mumbo jumbo,
and I wasn't wrong. It has.
So we're right back where we started.
There's a crazy man loose in the streets
and the police are too busy
passing the buck to catch him.
Well, Mr. Mayor and Mr. Chief of Police
and Mr. Psychiatrist, let this sink in.
Unless he's caught very, very soon,
this administration is going to find itself
shaken right off its foundations.
Planning to make a political football
out of it?
Call it anything you like.
Gentlemen, thank you
for giving us your time.
Well, it's still sitting right in my lap,
and all I have to do is catch him.
Sure. You'll catch him and they'll kill him
and everybody will forget about it.
That is, until the next one comes along,
and it'll start all over again.
- Where'd he go?
- Back this way.
Drop that gun. Make sure I hear it hit.
I ought to beat your brains out.
What's the matter with you, Rivers?
This gun hasn't been fired in years.
The hammer doesn't work,
and there's no firing pin.
Look, Lieutenant, the way things are today,
you jump first, then ask the questions.
I saw the gun, I brought him in.
- Where'd you get this, son?
- It used to belong to my father.
- What were you doing up on the roof?
- Nothing.
Well, you were up there pointing this.
You think that's nothing?
- I didn't hurt anybody.
- No, and you're not going to.
Okay, Rivers, take him out and let him go.
If your father wants his gun,
you tell him it's down here.
Go ahead and keep the gun.
You think I care about the gun?
I know where there's plenty of guns
and plenty of bullets, too.
You think there's only one guy
in this town that doesn't like people?
There's millions of them,
and I know who they are.
They can get me
all the guns and bullets I want.
You can't kick me around...
Take him over to the city hospital
and see what they think in the psycho ward.
- But you just said...
- It doesn't matter what I just said.
What does matter is
that I just got an idea about him.
I don't want to be looking for him
in a couple of years when he's got a real gun
or maybe an ax. Go ahead.
- Gonna have a nice weekend, Miller?
- Yeah, I guess so. I don't know.
I want you to do something for me
before you come back on Monday.
- Think you can?
- What?
Change that bandage.
- I can't change it.
- Then find someone who can. It's filthy.
We can't have our drivers going around
with things like that on their hands.
I don't want to see it on your hand Monday.
This way, Lieutenant.
- Is it the sniper?
- Sure, it's the sniper.
- One side, please. Let us through.
- Hey, how many does that make, four?
Why don't you do something?
Earn your money.
They're always there after it happens.
Getting so you can't even go to a park
on a Sunday.
Some police force.
- How long ago did it happen?
- About 15 minutes ago.
- You got here fast enough.
- Where did the shot come from?
Where did the shot come from?
I don't know. We were just walking, and
she said, "Let's sit down," and she sat down
and I was about to sit down myself when...
Look around, Joe,
and see what you can find.
Right.
Can you think of anybody
that you've had any trouble with lately?
- Anybody mad at her?
- No. She got along fine with everybody.
I never seen her fight with anyone,
except me once in a while.
Everybody liked Sandy.
- Hey, I found the shell.
- Put that down, you idiot!
What's the matter with you? You crazy?
- Sorry, I forgot.
- You forgot...
Hey. Be careful.
I know a 10-year-old kid who can do
better than that with his left hand.
If they're all like you,
I might just as well go to sleep.
Three balls for nine. Nine for a quarter.
Let's see you knock her in the water.
Say, you look like a pitcher.
How about you there?
Nine. Nine it is.
Hey, Don, he looks like a pitcher,
an empty pitcher.
- Yep, I might just as well go to sleep.
- Maybe you need a basketball, Mac.
He's pitching for...
Pretty lucky.
Offhand I can think of three ball clubs
that can use this guy.
Did you ever see anything like that?
Are you sure, Doctor?
Nobody with a burned hand, say,
in the past two weeks?
Not even a woman? I see.
Well, thank you, Doctor. I'm sorry to have
disturbed you at this hour of the night.
Goodbye. Oh, boy,
how many does that make?
I don't know. I lost count.
Well, the next one's Shipley.
Harold Shipley. Eldemont Fall, 1919.
You take over for a while.
I'll be talking to doctors in my sleep.
Not that I'll be getting any sleep.
- Teletypes, Lieutenant.
- Thank you.
Hello, can I talk to Dr. Shipley, please?
Sergeant Ferris, Homicide.
Police Department. What?
I'm sorry to hear that.
Who's handling his practice?
Yeah, I see.
Well, thanks very much.
I'm sorry I disturbed you.
Dr. Shipley's been sick himself for months.
Dr. Holiday is handling his practice,
and we have talked to Dr. Holiday.
- Anything in the Teletypes?
- No. Just the usual.
Somebody had a target in his backyard.
Some dame thinks
the sniper's been spying on her.
Some other dame says a guy's been
throwing baseballs at her,
which is funny because that's her job,
having baseballs thrown at her.
Some man wants us to... Baseballs?
- Where you going?
- File room.
Homicide. Sergeant Ferris. Hiya, Scott.
Where are you?
What? No kidding.
Hey, that's great. Yeah, we'll be right over.
Hey, Frank, they found out
where they put on the bandage.
- No kidding.
- That's what I said. Come on, huh?
What have you got there?
I don't know yet, but maybe
it's the guy they put the bandage on.
That's the one. That's not the name he gave.
- Burnside he called himself.
- He called himself Edward, though.
- How about the address?
- That will be a phony.
And the one under the name of Miller
will be out of date.
He's probably moved five times
since he registered.
- How did he act when he was here?
- As I remember, sort of strange.
I tried to talk, you know, cheerfully,
but he wasn't buying any.
We thought of sending him up to Psycho,
but something came up...
- There was a very bad accident case came in.
- That's right. That's what it was.
Wait a minute. There was something
he said to me at the end.
He said... What was it?
Yes. He said, "Don't you think
this is a funny way to get hurt?"
Or something like that.
I was so busy, I didn't pay any attention.
I guess maybe he wanted to stop himself.
Maybe he wanted to stop himself for years.
Maybe nobody else paid any attention either.
They better get this nut.
Next thing you know
he'll be coming right into your house.
- I think it's horrible. Who'd he kill this time?
- Girl walking in the park with her boyfriend.
But he left a bandage behind him.
Maybe that's clue enough for them.
I certainly hope so.
Wherever you go these days
that's all people talk about.
You can say that again.
Did you say a bandage?
Yeah. They found it on a bush
right by the cartridge case.
- What kind of a bandage?
- Wait a minute.
Yeah, here it is.
"Police laboratory technicians report that
the bandage is from a man's right hand,
"evidently covering a bad burn. They also..."
Operator, give me
the police department, please.
- Are you sure you got the place surrounded?
- He can get in, but he won't get out.
- Is he often late?
- Is he?
Maybe three times
in the last couple of weeks, Mr. Alpine.
But I warned him. I told him if it happened...
- Do you know his number?
- Yes, I know it.
Call his place
and see if he's left for work yet.
- Yes, sir.
- Tell me, Lieutenant,
do you think you can keep the name
of the establishment out of this?
It will be very bad for business, very bad.
Don't talk to me about that, Mr. Alpine.
Talk to the reporters.
There must be some way...
Hello, this is the Alpine Cleaners and Dyers.
Has Eddie Miller left for work yet?
What? I see. Thank you.
He left half an hour ago.
He ought to be here by now.
- How many men you got out there, Joe?
- I don't know. Maybe 15, 20.
Where is he? Why isn't he here?
What's keeping him this time?
Marsha, wait a minute.
Hey, the sniper! Hey, the sniper!
Hey! Hey, over there! The sniper! Hey! Hey!
Over there! The sniper! The sniper!
He's got a gun! Look out! The sniper!
Look out! Hey!
Hey! Somebody look!
Hey, look! Up here! Hey, the sniper!
Here on the roof!
Why did you have to do that?
I didn't kill her.
You can see I didn't kill her.
Why do you have to yell like that?
Hey!
... and requests that any citizen
who knows of any man
who has had a badly burned right hand
within the past two weeks
to report him to the police immediately.
He may be the sniper.
I repeat, he may be the sniper.
We know that this man...
Burned hands, snipers,
I don't know what the world's coming to.
Do you, Assa?
Why, Mr. Miller,
what brings you home from work at this...
- You can't go down there.
- Well, we want to see what's going on.
- There's nothing to see.
- Come on, handsome.
You heard me.
- What's up? What's going on?
- Nothing we need you for. Stay back.
They got the sniper up there.
He lives up this street.
I hope they kill him.
Get somebody into that school up there.
Tell them to keep those kids inside.
Right.
- Hi, Frank. Where you been?
- Scene of the crime.
- Looks like we missed it.
- Yeah. Well, we won't miss him this time.
Which house?
That one with the shades drawn.
He's holed up in his room there.
You know, some solid citizens
are gonna get their brains blown out
if they don't pull their heads in.
- Not that they got any brains to begin with.
- Why don't you tell them?
I'm waiting for the sound truck.
Have you sent any of our men
into the house?
- No. I figure on using tear gas.
- I'll go in.
- Don't be foolish, Frank.
- Why not?
Come on, Joe, let's try the back.
Minx, Flaherty. Lieutenant Kafka's
going in the back way. Follow him.
Eddie. We've got you surrounded.
We'll give you five minutes
to come out with your hands up.
Eddie, you're surrounded.
We'll give you five minutes
to come out with your hands up.
This is Inspector Anderson speaking.
Will the people please
get their heads out of their windows?
I repeat. Get your heads out of the windows.
There may be shooting here.
All right, Eddie, four and a half minutes.
Four and a half minutes, Eddie.
Miller? You coming out, Miller?
This is the police, Miller.
Come out with your hands up.
Take it easy.
All right, Eddie, let's go.
is what are you gonna do now?
I'm gonna be happy for a change.
After all, he ain't the only man in the world.
There's plenty of good fish in the sea,
I always say.
Besides, I was getting kind of sick of him.
It's time I run into somebody new.
- I want to go home. I want to go home.
- You always want to go home.
Say, why don't you watch
where you're going?
You might have hurt this lady.
Come on. Young fool.
- Glad you liked it.
- Do you work every day?
- Sure.
- Be here tomorrow?
- Of course. Always.
- Good night, then.
Good night, Millie.
- I'll see you tomorrow.
- Okay.
I want to get the state prison at Huntsburg.
No. No. I don't know the number.
- She always drink two malts?
- Oh, let her. It's good for business.
- Your business. Monkey business.
- What?
- Sandy, what's the matter?
- Just a minute.
- Can I have some change, please?
- Why, certainly.
- All right.
- Sandy, I didn't do anything.
- Not yet you didn't do anything.
- I was just waiting...
Hello, this is Mr. Edward Miller.
I'd like to speak to Dr. Gillette, please.
It's very important.
What?
Two weeks? Well, what's his number there?
But I've got to reach him. I told you,
it's very important. It's a matter of life or...
Well, listen.
There must be a phone near where he is.
Well, can't you...
Well, can you please tell me if...
All right. All right. All right!
I guess, I do. But you make me so mad.
- Did you get your party?
- Didn't get his party.
Do you know how much coffee
I've had today? Seventeen cups.
The Brazilians ought to give me a medal.
What is it?
Second-degree burns.
Chadwick's in with him.
- Here's his card.
- Edward Burnside. Well, the name fits.
Right hand. Electric stove.
Yeah, friend, a man's got no business
fooling around with stoves.
They're strictly a woman's business.
You're not married?
- No.
- You're missing a big deal, friend.
So you get married.
So your wife does all the cooking.
So she's the one that gets burned.
So what happens?
So she comes and cries on your shoulder,
and you pat her head
and give her a kiss or two.
Yeah, that's living. Keep your hand still.
Next day she tells you to climb on a ladder
and clean out the closet,
and you fall and break a leg. I don't know.
They got you coming and going.
- Everything all right?
- Just finished.
You'll have to sign this, Mr. Burnside.
Your left hand will do.
- Can I see you a minute outside, Chad?
- Sure.
You notice anything funny about...
Outside of the fact that
he did it on purpose, no.
- You think it was self-inflicted?
- Look, to get a second degree like that,
he'd have had to hold his hand on a burner
a couple of seconds, at least.
Sure it was self-inflicted.
Give me a minute, will you?
Mr. Burnside, I want to ask you a question.
Were you ever in a mental hospital?
- Only when I was imprisoned.
- Prison?
- In the psycho ward. But they let me go.
- Why?
My sentence was up. Dr. Gillette wanted
to keep me, but they let me go.
- What'd you go up for?
- I...
I hit someone, a girl.
- Why?
- I don't know.
- How do you feel now?
- Not right. I don't feel right.
You gonna keep me here?
I don't know.
Stay where you are for a minute, will you?
- Well?
- I'm gonna send him upstairs.
- You crazy?
- Not as crazy as he is.
He'll make five loopies you've sent
up in the past two weeks.
- Where are the rest of them now?
- That's not my fault.
Look, forget it. They'll only wrap him up in a
cold sheet, keep him around for three days,
then give him back to the Indians.
Besides, we've got some more business.
All right, boys, full house coming in.
One stretcher. One warm.
Great. Let's go, Chad.
Okay, friend, you can go now.
A little room, Mac. A little room.
Listen, don't you think
this is a funny way to get hurt?
- Sure, friend.
- Don't...
- Aren't you away yet, Miller?
- I will be in a minute.
- It's not easy with this hand.
- You sure you can drive?
- Don't worry, I can drive.
- I don't worry. The company worries.
And just remember, if you have an accident,
you're responsible.
- Who is it?
- Cleaner.
All right, Eddie.
- Hello, Eddie.
- Hello, Miss Darr.
I was hoping you'd get here earlier. Just put
them in on the bed. I'll hang them up later.
- What have you been doing?
- What?
- Your hand, you've hurt it.
- I was playing ball yesterday.
- I got spiked in a ball game.
- I didn't know you were a ball player.
- I'm a lot of things.
- Man of many talents.
- Yeah. Yeah, I guess so.
- I never seem to know a man like that.
- Are you going someplace?
- Not unless I get this down.
- Well, here, here. Let me give you a hand.
- Thanks.
Eddie, you're sweet. Just put it on the bed.
Actually, I'm only going away
for a couple of days with a friend of mine.
That's why I was hoping
you'd get here earlier, Eddie.
- I want you to do me a favor, will you?
- Well, if it's something I can.
Well, it's this dress. I tried it on
to see if it was okay this morning,
and then I noticed this stain.
I want to wear it when I go away, Eddie.
Do you think Alpine could do a rush job on
it for me and get it back to me by tomorrow?
Well, I don't know.
I'll have to ask one of the men.
- What kind of a stain is it?
- Brandy. At least, I think it's brandy.
There was this drunk the other night,
and I forgot about it.
He must have spilled something,
and I didn't...
- I'll get one of the men to do it.
- Eddie, you're wonderful.
Tell you what. You go in the kitchen and get
a beer out of the icebox, and I'll slip this off.
All right.
There's an opener right there by the bottles.
Find it all right?
Yes, I found it, Miss Darr.
I'm sorry. I forgot about your hand.
I see you got it opened all right.
Yeah, sure. It was easy.
I didn't know baseball was
such a dangerous game.
- Well, anybody can get hurt anytime.
- You're so right, Eddie.
Not just in games, either. Is it hot out?
I haven't been out yet.
- No, it's nice.
- But you're sweating.
- Am I? I didn't know.
- Well, the beer will cool you off.
Excuse me.
What is it? Al?
What are you doing up so early?
Sure. Come on up.
That's my friend. He's coming up.
Eddie, would you mind finishing
your beer out on the back porch?
Al's just like every other trumpet player.
He's jealous.
I wouldn't want him to get any ideas.
And I'll expect the dress tomorrow.
You're a darling, Eddie.
Anyone down there?
Gets better every time.
Play it again, Jeannie girl.
Listen, that's five times
I've played it for you already.
- People might want to hear something else.
- No. They ain't listening.
I'm the only one that's listening.
Play it again, Jeannie girl.
- Pete?
- What's the matter, Jeannie?
- Do you want to run off with me?
- It's this man.
Five times I've played a song for him,
and now he wants to hear it again.
What's the matter?
You know only one song?
Jeannie knows lots of songs.
Let her play and you'll hear a million songs.
I only want to hear this song.
But maybe somebody else
wants to hear something else.
Maybe I want to hear something else.
Listen, I've been paying for this.
I bought nine drinks here tonight.
Maybe nine drinks are too many for you.
Maybe you better go home.
Hey, you can't do that to me.
I just did it. Now, are you going to leave
quiet or do you need a little help?
All right. But you'll be sorry.
Nobody's making a fool out of me.
- Nice fellow.
- You ought to be used to it by now.
I never get used to it. Jeannie. Play me
something. Play me Plaisir d'amour.
So you can go off in a corner and cry?
With that song and the way business is,
I cry right out in public.
Are you sure you don't want me
to get you a cab?
Walking's the only exercise I get these days.
But I don't like you out alone
like this at night.
What makes you think I'm alone?
After all, I'm leaving early.
How do you know I don't have someone
waiting for me around the corner?
- I wish it was me. Good night, Jeannie.
- Good night, Pete.
I almost seen it.
I just finished looking out the window,
and I went back into the kitchen
to take a pill, and I heard this backfire,
and I waited a minute
and I thought to myself
it's a funny kind of a backfire.
I never heard a backfire like that before.
So I went back to the window
and looked and she was laying there,
- and this fellow was bending over her.
- What fellow?
Pete, there. The fellow that owns the bar.
He come running out, I guess.
Look. They're going to take another picture.
- Okay.
- Where's Lieutenant Kafka?
- Inside, him and Ferris both.
- Ask him if he's all through out here.
- We'd like to take off.
- Okay.
They want to know
if they can remove the body, Lieutenant.
Did you get your pictures?
- Yes, sir.
- All right.
How about one with
the sheet off, Lieutenant?
- Just one, that's all.
- Not a chance.
Why not? What's the matter?
Listen, food's too expensive to spoil
people's appetite for breakfast.
I wouldn't want a dead girl on my front page.
You've got one anyway.
I don't like dead girls on the front page
or anywhere else.
Should have been with me last night.
You wouldn't have liked
a couple of live ones.
I had a lot of trouble last night.
You're gonna have a lot of trouble tonight,
too. Get over there to that building.
Start from the roof and check
every apartment that fronts on the street.
I'll be inside seeing what they got to say.
- Right.
- Okay. Break it up. Show's over.
Yes, sir. All right, let's go, boys. Break it up.
All right. Go home. Go home!
Well, you see,
I live across the street over there.
Go across the street.
That little girl shouldn't be out
this time of night.
- I'm her mother.
- Well, that makes her a lucky kid.
Come on, home, please. Go home. Go home!
- I still say we were cheated in that game.
- It's just a game.
- I don't care how it came out.
- Fill her up.
Well, I care how it came out.
I had some money bet on the game.
Hey, Mac, you seen that play
on the television tonight, didn't you?
Twenty-five.
The one at second
that all that rhubarb was about?
You know, in the fourth
where they thumbed Parsons out.
- It's what he deserved.
- Are you smiling at me?
- No, I'm smiling at everybody.
- Business good today?
- I'm not a businessman.
- This is what businessmen carry around.
- I'm an engineer.
- On the railroads?
No. I build things.
You know, bridges and things.
I just got back from Hawaii today.
I was building a bridge in Hawaii.
That's why I'm smiling at everybody.
I'm glad to be home.
It sure is great to be stateside again.
What do you want? A drink?
No, no. I got one back there. That how
you hurt your hand, building the bridge?
Oh, that. No, that was on the boat coming
back. They were shooting skeet on the boat.
Gun went off by mistake,
and I got a few slugs in my hand.
Poor kid. You know, I like you.
You got a nice face. Poor kid.
- What was the name of the bridge?
- The Burnside Bridge.
- What was the name of the river?
- It wasn't on a river.
It was between two islands. Five miles long.
Nobody ever built a bridge that long.
That's crazy.
- What was the name of the islands?
- Hawaii and Burnside Island.
I never heard of a Burnside Island.
All those islands got Hawaiian names,
like Cocowakahiki and stuff like that.
Are you kidding me?
- I said what I said.
- I think you're kidding me.
I think you're pulling my leg. Probably got
that hand caught in a wringer or something.
- Hey, where are you going?
- Back where they don't pull my leg.
I should have stayed where I was.
Coming. Coming.
Hello. Who wants him?
Just a minute.
Mr. Miller!
Mr. Miller?
Mr. Miller? Mr. Miller?
Mr. Miller, are you in there?
What is it?
You're still there. It's the cleaners.
It's late and they want to know if you're sick.
- Are you sick?
- No, no. I'm all right.
I guess I must have overslept.
Tell them I'll be there as quick as I can.
Ain't like you, Mr. Miller.
- When did you start keeping bankers hours?
- I overslept.
Listen, Miller, the only one who can
oversleep here is Mr. Alpine.
I don't care which way you cut it,
you're still an errand boy.
- Don't ever forget that.
- It won't happen again.
That's right.
Hey, Eddie. Good thing you came in late.
I got jammed up.
- Here's that special you ordered.
- Swell.
Yeah. Yeah. Wait a minute.
I'll write that down. Got it. Thanks.
- Where you been?
- Barber's.
- Yeah, you look neat.
- You don't.
- No, I guess I need a shave.
- What difference does it make?
- You're married.
- My wife is visiting her mother.
- Shave.
- Ballistics just called.
That casing you found on the roof,
it's from an M1 carbine.
The cartridge is called a.30 caliber M1.
- That's the only gun it will fit.
- Gives it an Army slant, huh?
Listen, every GI who can
pinches one of these when he gets out.
There must be 10,000 of them
kicking around.
There are also a couple million men
in the Army.
Well, there's one civilian you can scratch,
the guy she had the beef with in the bar.
They found him
in the drunk tank this morning.
He was loaded, went on to another joint,
passed out. He's in the clear.
No word from the boyfriend yet.
He'll probably turn up
as soon as he reads the papers.
From what I know about musicians,
they're not that neat
when they decide to get rid of their dames.
Look, there's a pile of letters over there
by the phone. Run through them, will you?
- What's all the excitement?
- A girl evidently got killed last night.
That's why all the cops.
A fellow killed her right in the street.
- What fellow?
- They haven't caught him yet.
- It was a fellow, all right.
- Well, you wait.
- It will turn out to be her boyfriend.
- Mark my words, it always does.
Yes, it's getting so nowadays
you can't trust these men.
- Yeah.
- It's getting so you can't trust women, either.
Andy Solmes.
Does that name mean anything to you?
Yeah. He owns the Mariposa.
Hey, wait a minute.
Wasn't he picked up about a year ago
on narcotics charges, charges dismissed?
That's the one. His name's in here.
We'll check on him.
Hello? No, this is Sergeant Ferris.
Yeah. Yeah. I'll tell him.
Well, it looks like the boyfriend
read the morning papers.
Turned himself in,
and it looks like he's got an alibi.
Figured he would.
Well, we might as well get downtown
and see what he's got to say. Come on.
All I know is that we had lunch yesterday.
We were going to go out of town tomorrow.
That's all I know.
We didn't fight or anything, honest.
- I was going to see her...
- Look, Al,
for the tenth time, get it through your head,
we know you didn't do it.
We've had you checked.
You got an air-tight alibi,
but the fact remains that somebody did it,
and we think that maybe
you can give us a lead.
- Did she know any soldiers? Any officers?
- Not while I knew her. She only seen me.
- Are you sure?
- Why shouldn't I be?
- What's soldiers got to do with it?
- How about Solmes?
- How about Andy Solmes?
- Who's he?
- She had his name in her book.
- I don't know him.
- She did.
- Not while I knew her.
She only seen me.
Very well, then,
why were you going out of town?
- Got it. Here you go.
- Thanks, mister.
It's all your fault. Why don't you
leave us alone and go play your own game?
- Mr. Miller. Awful late for you.
- I ate out. I don't feel very well.
Do you hear that, Assa? He don't feel well.
Isn't that too bad?
- What's the trouble? Stomach?
- No. No. It's my hand. I burned it cooking.
What a shame. Assa, do you see that?
He burned his hand cooking.
I'm trying to get Assa
to catch some mice in the cellar.
He ought to earn his keep
just like all the rest of us.
Shouldn't you, you naughty boy?
You'll have to be careful, Mr. Miller.
I do think mothers should teach boys
to cook just as well as girls.
My mother never taught me anything.
No, you don't. You've got to work, too.
Everybody's got to work in this world.
All right, let's settle down.
I suppose you all know
why I've called you in here.
In case you don't...
Pretty, isn't it?
So, that's how it is.
And before we know it,
everybody who's got a telephone
is gonna be on our necks.
"What are you doing about it?"
They're gonna ask.
What are you doing about it?
It's a good question.
What are we doing about it?
That's right. Nothing.
And until today,
there wasn't much we could do about it.
I don't expect you to find
a drop of water in a rainstorm.
But this morning, this was brought in.
Here's what it says. Quote,
"To the police. Stop me.
"Find me and stop me.
I'm going to do it again." Unquote.
And it's written on the top of a box
of.30 M1 ammunition,
the same kind that killed
both of these dames.
Where'd it come from?
Mailman got it in a box at 7th and Sanes.
Turned it in to the central post office.
- And they brought it down here.
- Any fingerprints?
Thousands. Everybody
except the postmaster general.
But at least it shows us
the type of man we're up against.
Now, I don't have to tell you
how much I dislike it.
This guy's probably been
saving up for this for years.
Now we got to get him and get him quick.
If we don't,
every other loopy in town's
gonna jump on the bandwagon,
and we'll find ourselves knee-deep
in a slaughter house.
It's happened before, it can happen again.
Frank, both of these have been your babies.
Got you up a tree.
- Way up on the top branches.
- Well, before you fall out,
check the files for every registered
sex offender of this type.
And pay particular attention to those
who have recently done time.
How about checking with the Army
on stolen carbines?
Yeah. We can do that, too. Especially in
regards to... What do they call them?
Section Eights. I'm checking with the FBI
and the police association
to find out if they've had
any other cases just like this.
Wasn't there a series
in New York like this once?
Maybe. We'll find out.
I think there was. They never caught the guy.
- Could be the same one.
- That was a long time ago.
All right. All right. So that was New York,
this is here. That's why I've called you in.
We've got to do something before we all
find ourselves pounding beats again.
Now, get out and round up
a bunch of these people,
rapists, defilers, peeping Toms, etcetera,
everybody we've got
this kind of a record on.
Bring them in. Let's talk to them.
Find out where they've been,
what they've been doing lately.
Let the newspapers know we're not
sitting around with our feet on the desk.
If we're in the dark,
it's our business, nobody else's.
- All right, now, get out and earn your money.
- What money?
Got them all sorted?
As well as I can. First time I ever did this.
Well, now we'll see what goes.
All right, first three.
Tinman, Eureka, Debiaci.
George Tinman, Peter Eureka, Tony Debiaci.
Walk over there and get a spot.
Face front. Keep your hands to your sides.
All right. Settle down.
Quiet.
First man here is George Tinman.
Three charges against him.
1946, 1949 and 1950.
What kind of charges, George?
You heard me.
- They said I was looking in their windows.
- They said? Who? The girls?
Looks like they recognized you
all three times.
How could they tell? It was dark.
Keep your hands at your side.
What you been doing lately, George?
I'm a... I'm a swimming instructor.
Do you take your spy glass
to work with you?
No, sir.
That's right.
It would rust underwater, wouldn't it?
How about rifles?
Did you ever shoot fish in a barrel?
I never shot a gun in my life.
I'm glad, George. I wouldn't want you
to get into any bad habits.
Second man is Peter Eureka.
Peter's a letter writer.
Not a very nice one, either.
He writes to strange women, and
he's frightened a lot of them pretty badly.
How about that, Pete, don't you like women?
Never been married?
- Three times.
- Three times.
Why'd all these happy homes break up?
Did you spend all your wives'
household money for stamps?
- I did the breaking up.
- Yeah. I guess you probably did.
You know, Pete, I read somewhere
that the pen is mightier than the sword.
- How about that? Did you ever try a sword?
- I never had a sword.
What about a rifle? I guess maybe
you thought a rifle was the best thing of all.
- I never shot anybody.
- Not even maybe an odd wife or two?
I never shot anybody.
And what about Eureka?
What does that mean?
Every day I hear somebody yell, "Eureka!"
They talking about you, Pete?
I don't know what it means.
That's too bad.
I thought I was gonna get to find out.
You're wasting your time, Andy.
It's none of these men.
- There's a lot more coming.
- It won't be any of those, either.
You're the police psychiatrist.
Suppose you turn up the guy we want.
What makes you so sure, Doctor?
- It's my job.
- And this is ours.
Next man is Anthony Debiaci.
Ant, put your hands at your side
and keep them there.
Anthony Debiaci.
Tony's a rapist, two-time loser.
We had him in last week on the same charge
and couldn't make it stick.
That woman just picked me out.
I never saw her before.
Still saying it, huh, Tony?
Well, maybe she did make a mistake.
Soured you on women.
Turned you into a real killer.
Is that what it did?
- You can't pin anything on me this time.
- Not even a rose?
What a shame.
What have you been doing lately, Tony?
- Minding my own business.
- What business is that?
- I got a job. I make deliveries.
- Get you into a lot of houses?
I do my job.
Yeah, I'll bet you do.
All right, you three can go now.
- I'll see you later, Andy.
- Leaving already?
- We got a dozen more to run through.
- You still won't find the man you want.
See you, Captain.
- He's a great help.
- Keep your shirt on. He knows his job.
Yeah, but does he know ours?
Next is Dan Wormel.
Dan's a tough guy with small animals.
- Kafka?
- Hello, Doc.
- Meeting somebody?
- No.
- Come on, sit down.
- Thank you.
- Hello, Lieutenant.
- Hiya, Tom.
- Get me an order of tomato beef, will you?
- Sure thing.
Dig in.
- I didn't know you liked Chinese food.
- It's good and it's cheap.
They're not breaking their arms
paying us, you know.
You can say that again.
Me, I just happen to like it.
Been eating it ever since I can remember.
It's funny I've never seen you in here.
Well, I eat here a lot,
but half the time I'm out in left field.
- Find your man in the show up?
- Are you kidding?
Just asking.
You know,
this sniper thing is driving me crazy.
There's some things I understand
and some things I don't.
If a guy blows his top
and sticks a knife into somebody,
on the spur of the moment, that is,
I understand it, so does the law.
It's second degree.
And if a guy decides to knock off his wife
and spend six months
figuring out how to do it,
I understand that, too.
That's first degree.
- But this thing I don't get.
- You will.
- Will what?
- Get him.
Sure. After he's shot down 30 or 40 dames.
- By that time, I'll be back pounding a beat.
- No, it won't take that long.
Though I'll tell you one thing.
You won't get him by running show ups
like the one I saw.
Look, Doc, those show ups
pay off more than you think.
Not in a case like this.
Look, Kafka, let me tell you something
about these people.
Anderson calls them nuts.
Psychiatrists use $10 words,
but whatever you call them,
they run to a pattern and they don't overlap.
They're all in...
In little water-tight compartments.
Well, so are most criminals, for that matter.
If you have an armed robbery, you don't
waste time rounding up pickpockets.
- Sure. That's right.
- It's the same thing in this case.
Now, you had a peeping Tom
in the show up.
All right. Now peeping Toms
don't kill women. They stick to peeping.
Rapists don't write poison pen letters.
Obscene letter writers don't commit rape.
All criminal types and especially
sex offenders stay in their own grooves.
So, if you keep dragging
everyone in the book into a show up,
- you're just wasting your time.
- Okay. What type are we gonna look for?
I'd look for somebody who's been getting
tough with women from the very beginning.
Maybe he started small, slugging them
on a dark street or something like that.
But whatever he did,
it'd be a crime of violence.
- That you can be sure of.
- Cute kid.
- Very.
- How'd he get that way?
Could be one of a thousand reasons.
Maybe some woman did something mean
to him when he was a kid.
He may not even remember what it was,
but something in here remembers.
Perhaps it was his mother.
Usually is in these cases.
Whoever it was, it was probably
a brunette in her late 20s.
Of course, it doesn't matter now.
He's past the stage
where he could have been talked out of it.
And whoever it was,
he's killing her over and over again.
What's the matter?
I guess I better stick to a fork.
He's killing her over and over again.
He's been doing it in his mind for years.
Now that he started doing it for real,
he's gonna keep right on doing it.
- For how long?
- As long as he doesn't get caught.
And as long as his cartridges last.
Nelson is running to third.
The ball bounces off the left-field wall.
A quick pick up, but Nelson is streaking
for home plate. He's safe.
Jackson holds it up at second.
What a ball game this is!
And you say this will be a costume ball,
Mrs. Fitzpatrick? What will the motif be?
Well, it's American history, but before 1900.
No costume after 1900.
That sounds wonderful.
Will it include Indians?
I hope it will include hundreds of Indians.
- I love Indians, too.
- After all, Indians are part of our history, too.
Indeed they are,
and a very important part, too.
Well, tell me, Mrs. Fitzpatrick,
where will the public be able to buy tickets
for this charity ball given for the benefit
of Saint Stephen's Hospital Guild?
Well, they can buy them
at the Women's Civic League.
Or those wishing to come
can write me directly at my home.
It's 380 Kendel Drive. They're $10 apiece,
and we just hope that everybody
who can come will come.
I'm sure they will.
Well, thank you so much,
Mrs. Warren Fitzpatrick,
for this clear picture of the activities
of the Women's Civic League.
Now, look. You can't block the door like that.
People want to come in and out.
I wish I talked to Dr. Kent before.
Might have saved us a lot of time
and a lot of trouble.
- We've still got a lot of trouble.
- Come on. Come on.
We're a lot further along.
We know one thing.
These psychiatric offenders don't overlap.
Get him. Okay, so they don't overlap,
- but we still got a lot of them.
- What's the matter with you?
- You had a fight with your girl?
- Yeah.
She doesn't like the kind of hours
I've been keeping lately.
Hey, here's one that might fit the pattern.
He's out on parole now.
He's had one, two, three, six convictions.
Likes to use a club.
Six convictions? That probably means
he's gotten away with 12 others.
Man, you're just overflowing
with information tonight.
I sure am.
Here's a guy who had his first conviction for
cracking a girl's skull with a baseball bat.
She must have struck him out
and he got mad.
What'd he do then?
Go on to bigger and better things?
That's right. Bigger and better things.
Three suspicions of assaults against women.
One assault where
there was no suspicion at all.
He got an 18-month stretch for that one.
I think we'll look into Mr. Miller.
- Tom Kafka?
- Yeah.
Just came over the Teletype.
They want you out there.
- Out where?
- 380 Kendel Drive.
There's been another murder.
Looks like the sniper again.
- What's the name?
- Warren Fitzpatrick.
It was Mrs. Fitzpatrick that was killed.
Warren Fitzpatrick?
That will blow the lid off.
What do you mean will blow the lid off?
It's already blown it.
Come on, let's go.
- What's going on?
- They killed someone.
- Where?
- In that driveway over there.
The nurse was down in the kitchen
getting herself a glass of milk
when she heard the shot.
She called us right after.
There's a chance
we might nail the guy this time.
The section's full of prowl cars.
We know. We saw half a dozen of them
on the way up here.
- You know what this will mean?
- Let's not talk about it.
- I wouldn't want to be in your shoes.
- They'd hurt your feet anyway.
- Where's her husband?
- Fitzpatrick? Beats me.
Downtown somewheres.
They're trying to find him.
This looks like him now.
- Where are the children?
- Upstairs, Mr. Fitzpatrick. They're asleep.
How long is it going on?
What are you doing about it?
We're doing everything we can,
Mr. Fitzpatrick. I'm very sorry.
What are you doing about it?
What are you going to do about it?
Listen, the whole city's gone crazy.
I come to work this morning on the streetcar
and everybody's reading the newspaper,
all about the sniper, even talking about it,
you know, people who never
talk to each other any other time.
Yeah. I leave my joint this morning,
I hear my wife lock the door.
She never locked the door before.
She's one scared dame.
- How about you? You scared?
- For her or for me?
For her.
He's just killing dames, the paper says.
So this week he's killing dames,
so next week it's guys with one leg
or false teeth or something.
Or maybe guys who work in cleaning plants.
You better stay home nights, Joey.
Maybe he's got his eye on you.
No, just dames, the paper says.
Listen, if he wants to get in touch with me,
I'll give him the addresses of two,
maybe three.
- Dames never done me any good.
- You should have heard my wife at breakfast.
Why, you'd think she'd expect me
to go out and catch him myself.
Somebody better catch him.
Cops ain't doing any good.
There's an editorial in the paper.
Papers are plenty sore at the cops.
Papers! What do they know?
Scream till they get the guy
and then when they have the trial,
why, they cry in their beer because
the guy's probably innocent after all.
Take a dame that's on trial for murder.
Unless she's got two heads,
why, they think she's beautiful.
If I get my hands on the guy,
they wouldn't have to worry about no trial.
- Yeah? What would you do to him?
- He wouldn't die quick, I'll tell you that.
Mr. Lydell, I'm sure no one
regrets any more than I do
the outrages perpetrated on these women.
Mrs. Fitzpatrick, in particular,
was a very good friend of mine...
Mr. Mayor, this isn't a personal matter.
The people of this city are alarmed
and frightened.
There's a maniac loose
and the police seem helpless.
That's why we've asked for this conference.
We want to know why such
a state of affairs can continue.
Chief?
As far as the people
being frightened goes, Mr. Lydell,
maybe your newspaper
has something to do with it.
My newspaper merely reports the news.
It doesn't make it.
It slants the news. It exploits hysteria.
That doesn't solve your problem.
You still haven't caught the man.
Most killers are caught because of motive.
There's no motive here.
Murder itself can be a motive.
We're short foot patrolmen, Mr. Harper.
If you want to volunteer,
I'm sure we can find a place for you.
I'm efficient at my job.
Evidently your men aren't efficient at theirs.
I agree. The police have shown themselves
unimaginative and...
- Now, hold on, Mr. Weiss...
- Just a moment, gentlemen.
Mr. Weiss, I'm not trying
to defend my administration,
but I seem to remember
that two years ago when we tried
to get the police budget increased,
your group fought us tooth and nail.
Taxes are high enough as it is.
And as far as that goes, we're getting
very little value for the taxes we do pay.
Mr. Lydell, please. I think we're
going at this thing like little children.
Lieutenant Kafka here has been on the case
since the beginning.
Perhaps, if we can continue
meeting reasonably,
with his giving us a sketch
of what has happened to date, we might...
We know what's happened up to date.
What we want to know is
what's going to happen from now on.
We want this man caught and caught quick.
And punished. Punished. Punished.
Well, if everyone's going to sound off,
I guess I might as well get in the act.
You mention punishment, Mr. Lydell.
Just what sort of punishment
did you have in mind?
The sort the man's crimes deserve.
He ought to be killed
the way a mad dog is killed.
- That's right.
- Absolutely.
Or put in the insane asylum.
Do you know the legal definition of insanity?
- No.
- I'll tell you.
It's based on an old English law,
a law passed
when they were still burning witches.
An insane person, according to the law,
must not be able to tell the difference
between right and wrong.
Well, obviously, this man doesn't know
the difference between right and wrong.
Don't be too sure of that.
You see, Mr. Stonecroft, there are
hundreds of thousands of sex offenders
walking American streets at this moment
who could be the sniper or worse.
But only 1% of them are legally insane.
1%, Mr. Stonecroft.
Now what will we do with the other 99?
Never mind the other 99.
Let's get back to the matter in hand.
- The madman who's loose with a rifle.
- Carbine.
Get back to him, Mr. Lydell?
I've never left him.
And I'll tell you something.
When this man is caught, you'll find he has
a record dating back to when he was a kid.
Believe me,
he's been in the hands of the police before.
Thirty days for one thing,
60 days for another.
And I'll tell you something else.
If his first act had led to treatment
instead of jail,
three women wouldn't be lying dead today.
The fact remains
three women are lying dead today.
- And the killer's still loose.
- Yes, loose because of us.
And a killer because of us.
And the horrible thing about it is
we may be sitting here six months from now
or three months from now
on another case just like it.
Gentlemen, the city is frightened,
and when cities get frightened,
they rear up on their hind legs
and strike out at something, anything.
This time we have a chance not to strike out
blindly, but to act with reason.
This time we can do something.
You all have weight and power,
not only in the city, but in the state.
Put your weight behind
getting a new law passed.
Let every socially dangerous sex offender,
as soon as he is caught for his first offense,
be committed to a mental institution,
and there he can be cured
or put away indefinitely.
- I think...
- What is this you think?
Who cares what you think?
The important thing to think about
is three dead women,
not coddling the man who killed them.
Look, I'm thinking of the hundreds of women
who will be dead if something isn't done.
Now, listen, Mr. Harper, just...
Just let me give you an example.
A few years ago a man named Albert Fish
was executed in New York
for the murder of a child.
A judge of the state supreme court
estimated that this man
had undoubtedly killed at least 15 others.
Now, he was executed for one,
but 16 were dead.
And this is not an isolated case.
It happens everywhere.
Perhaps not every day,
but much, much too often.
So, I repeat, pass a law.
Put these people away
when they're first caught.
And those who can be cured, will be cured.
And those who can't, well,
at least they'll never get out to try it again.
If you can get a law like this passed,
you could start a ball rolling
all across this country.
Get a law like that passed
and this meeting could be a milestone.
Where's the money coming from
for an institution like that?
Taxes.
- Well, that would have to be a state matter.
- I can hear the governor screaming already.
When I saw Dr. Kent come in,
I had a feeling this meeting would eventually
come down to psychiatric mumbo jumbo,
and I wasn't wrong. It has.
So we're right back where we started.
There's a crazy man loose in the streets
and the police are too busy
passing the buck to catch him.
Well, Mr. Mayor and Mr. Chief of Police
and Mr. Psychiatrist, let this sink in.
Unless he's caught very, very soon,
this administration is going to find itself
shaken right off its foundations.
Planning to make a political football
out of it?
Call it anything you like.
Gentlemen, thank you
for giving us your time.
Well, it's still sitting right in my lap,
and all I have to do is catch him.
Sure. You'll catch him and they'll kill him
and everybody will forget about it.
That is, until the next one comes along,
and it'll start all over again.
- Where'd he go?
- Back this way.
Drop that gun. Make sure I hear it hit.
I ought to beat your brains out.
What's the matter with you, Rivers?
This gun hasn't been fired in years.
The hammer doesn't work,
and there's no firing pin.
Look, Lieutenant, the way things are today,
you jump first, then ask the questions.
I saw the gun, I brought him in.
- Where'd you get this, son?
- It used to belong to my father.
- What were you doing up on the roof?
- Nothing.
Well, you were up there pointing this.
You think that's nothing?
- I didn't hurt anybody.
- No, and you're not going to.
Okay, Rivers, take him out and let him go.
If your father wants his gun,
you tell him it's down here.
Go ahead and keep the gun.
You think I care about the gun?
I know where there's plenty of guns
and plenty of bullets, too.
You think there's only one guy
in this town that doesn't like people?
There's millions of them,
and I know who they are.
They can get me
all the guns and bullets I want.
You can't kick me around...
Take him over to the city hospital
and see what they think in the psycho ward.
- But you just said...
- It doesn't matter what I just said.
What does matter is
that I just got an idea about him.
I don't want to be looking for him
in a couple of years when he's got a real gun
or maybe an ax. Go ahead.
- Gonna have a nice weekend, Miller?
- Yeah, I guess so. I don't know.
I want you to do something for me
before you come back on Monday.
- Think you can?
- What?
Change that bandage.
- I can't change it.
- Then find someone who can. It's filthy.
We can't have our drivers going around
with things like that on their hands.
I don't want to see it on your hand Monday.
This way, Lieutenant.
- Is it the sniper?
- Sure, it's the sniper.
- One side, please. Let us through.
- Hey, how many does that make, four?
Why don't you do something?
Earn your money.
They're always there after it happens.
Getting so you can't even go to a park
on a Sunday.
Some police force.
- How long ago did it happen?
- About 15 minutes ago.
- You got here fast enough.
- Where did the shot come from?
Where did the shot come from?
I don't know. We were just walking, and
she said, "Let's sit down," and she sat down
and I was about to sit down myself when...
Look around, Joe,
and see what you can find.
Right.
Can you think of anybody
that you've had any trouble with lately?
- Anybody mad at her?
- No. She got along fine with everybody.
I never seen her fight with anyone,
except me once in a while.
Everybody liked Sandy.
- Hey, I found the shell.
- Put that down, you idiot!
What's the matter with you? You crazy?
- Sorry, I forgot.
- You forgot...
Hey. Be careful.
I know a 10-year-old kid who can do
better than that with his left hand.
If they're all like you,
I might just as well go to sleep.
Three balls for nine. Nine for a quarter.
Let's see you knock her in the water.
Say, you look like a pitcher.
How about you there?
Nine. Nine it is.
Hey, Don, he looks like a pitcher,
an empty pitcher.
- Yep, I might just as well go to sleep.
- Maybe you need a basketball, Mac.
He's pitching for...
Pretty lucky.
Offhand I can think of three ball clubs
that can use this guy.
Did you ever see anything like that?
Are you sure, Doctor?
Nobody with a burned hand, say,
in the past two weeks?
Not even a woman? I see.
Well, thank you, Doctor. I'm sorry to have
disturbed you at this hour of the night.
Goodbye. Oh, boy,
how many does that make?
I don't know. I lost count.
Well, the next one's Shipley.
Harold Shipley. Eldemont Fall, 1919.
You take over for a while.
I'll be talking to doctors in my sleep.
Not that I'll be getting any sleep.
- Teletypes, Lieutenant.
- Thank you.
Hello, can I talk to Dr. Shipley, please?
Sergeant Ferris, Homicide.
Police Department. What?
I'm sorry to hear that.
Who's handling his practice?
Yeah, I see.
Well, thanks very much.
I'm sorry I disturbed you.
Dr. Shipley's been sick himself for months.
Dr. Holiday is handling his practice,
and we have talked to Dr. Holiday.
- Anything in the Teletypes?
- No. Just the usual.
Somebody had a target in his backyard.
Some dame thinks
the sniper's been spying on her.
Some other dame says a guy's been
throwing baseballs at her,
which is funny because that's her job,
having baseballs thrown at her.
Some man wants us to... Baseballs?
- Where you going?
- File room.
Homicide. Sergeant Ferris. Hiya, Scott.
Where are you?
What? No kidding.
Hey, that's great. Yeah, we'll be right over.
Hey, Frank, they found out
where they put on the bandage.
- No kidding.
- That's what I said. Come on, huh?
What have you got there?
I don't know yet, but maybe
it's the guy they put the bandage on.
That's the one. That's not the name he gave.
- Burnside he called himself.
- He called himself Edward, though.
- How about the address?
- That will be a phony.
And the one under the name of Miller
will be out of date.
He's probably moved five times
since he registered.
- How did he act when he was here?
- As I remember, sort of strange.
I tried to talk, you know, cheerfully,
but he wasn't buying any.
We thought of sending him up to Psycho,
but something came up...
- There was a very bad accident case came in.
- That's right. That's what it was.
Wait a minute. There was something
he said to me at the end.
He said... What was it?
Yes. He said, "Don't you think
this is a funny way to get hurt?"
Or something like that.
I was so busy, I didn't pay any attention.
I guess maybe he wanted to stop himself.
Maybe he wanted to stop himself for years.
Maybe nobody else paid any attention either.
They better get this nut.
Next thing you know
he'll be coming right into your house.
- I think it's horrible. Who'd he kill this time?
- Girl walking in the park with her boyfriend.
But he left a bandage behind him.
Maybe that's clue enough for them.
I certainly hope so.
Wherever you go these days
that's all people talk about.
You can say that again.
Did you say a bandage?
Yeah. They found it on a bush
right by the cartridge case.
- What kind of a bandage?
- Wait a minute.
Yeah, here it is.
"Police laboratory technicians report that
the bandage is from a man's right hand,
"evidently covering a bad burn. They also..."
Operator, give me
the police department, please.
- Are you sure you got the place surrounded?
- He can get in, but he won't get out.
- Is he often late?
- Is he?
Maybe three times
in the last couple of weeks, Mr. Alpine.
But I warned him. I told him if it happened...
- Do you know his number?
- Yes, I know it.
Call his place
and see if he's left for work yet.
- Yes, sir.
- Tell me, Lieutenant,
do you think you can keep the name
of the establishment out of this?
It will be very bad for business, very bad.
Don't talk to me about that, Mr. Alpine.
Talk to the reporters.
There must be some way...
Hello, this is the Alpine Cleaners and Dyers.
Has Eddie Miller left for work yet?
What? I see. Thank you.
He left half an hour ago.
He ought to be here by now.
- How many men you got out there, Joe?
- I don't know. Maybe 15, 20.
Where is he? Why isn't he here?
What's keeping him this time?
Marsha, wait a minute.
Hey, the sniper! Hey, the sniper!
Hey! Hey, over there! The sniper! Hey! Hey!
Over there! The sniper! The sniper!
He's got a gun! Look out! The sniper!
Look out! Hey!
Hey! Somebody look!
Hey, look! Up here! Hey, the sniper!
Here on the roof!
Why did you have to do that?
I didn't kill her.
You can see I didn't kill her.
Why do you have to yell like that?
Hey!
... and requests that any citizen
who knows of any man
who has had a badly burned right hand
within the past two weeks
to report him to the police immediately.
He may be the sniper.
I repeat, he may be the sniper.
We know that this man...
Burned hands, snipers,
I don't know what the world's coming to.
Do you, Assa?
Why, Mr. Miller,
what brings you home from work at this...
- You can't go down there.
- Well, we want to see what's going on.
- There's nothing to see.
- Come on, handsome.
You heard me.
- What's up? What's going on?
- Nothing we need you for. Stay back.
They got the sniper up there.
He lives up this street.
I hope they kill him.
Get somebody into that school up there.
Tell them to keep those kids inside.
Right.
- Hi, Frank. Where you been?
- Scene of the crime.
- Looks like we missed it.
- Yeah. Well, we won't miss him this time.
Which house?
That one with the shades drawn.
He's holed up in his room there.
You know, some solid citizens
are gonna get their brains blown out
if they don't pull their heads in.
- Not that they got any brains to begin with.
- Why don't you tell them?
I'm waiting for the sound truck.
Have you sent any of our men
into the house?
- No. I figure on using tear gas.
- I'll go in.
- Don't be foolish, Frank.
- Why not?
Come on, Joe, let's try the back.
Minx, Flaherty. Lieutenant Kafka's
going in the back way. Follow him.
Eddie. We've got you surrounded.
We'll give you five minutes
to come out with your hands up.
Eddie, you're surrounded.
We'll give you five minutes
to come out with your hands up.
This is Inspector Anderson speaking.
Will the people please
get their heads out of their windows?
I repeat. Get your heads out of the windows.
There may be shooting here.
All right, Eddie, four and a half minutes.
Four and a half minutes, Eddie.
Miller? You coming out, Miller?
This is the police, Miller.
Come out with your hands up.
Take it easy.
All right, Eddie, let's go.