Ellery Queen (1975) s01e14 Episode Script

In a matter of seconds, this contender will take his last count.
Who killed him? Was it his sparring partner? Hogan's dead, and they're saying I did it! His manager? I had the bottle.
I made The Kid drink it.
His fiancée? We were going to be married after he won the championship.
The ring physician? I'm just a transplanted country doctor.
The gangster? How would you like to have your legs broke? Or was it someone else? Match wits with Ellery Queen and see if you can guess who done it.
Try to get a shot of Hogan shoving his mitt into the other guy's face.
We've got 1,000,000 shots like that on file.
We need 1,000,001.
[Flash goes off.]
Now, remember, Sam, Mr.
Anthony wants everything to go smooth.
Look, he didn't have to send you around here to tell me that.
Now, will you beat it before Flannigan sees you hanging around The Kid? Flannigan don't know me.
Flannigan knows everybody! Now get out of here before Frank Anthony reads your name in a Broadway column.
And believe me, he ain't gonna like that! Good-bye, Sam.
Hey, Kid, what are you training for? A championship bout or a dance marathon? Let's see some action! Sure, Flannigan.
Is this what you want? Ugh! What's the matter with you? You crazy? Come on, Joe.
Fight with me.
- What? - Come on! [Grunts and groans.]
Stop it! What are you doing? Don't stand there.
Take pictures! This is the good stuff! Cut it out, will you? What are you, drunk or something? Joey, make him stop, will you? What's going on? It looks like a fight.
Sam, can't you stop it? He won't listen to me.
[Grunts and groans.]
[Groans.]
[Indistinct chatter.]
"Sparring Pard K.
O.
's Kid in Ring Duel.
" Get away from him, will you? Come on, Kid.
Wake up.
You all right? Come on.
Get up, will you? Get up! [Coughs.]
[Flash goes off.]
What's the matter? Better get him to his dressing room, quick.
Eddie, give me a hand, will you? Come on! Give me a hand! That's right.
- Eddie, clear the room, will you? - Yeah.
Get out.
Give him some air.
Come on.
You, too.
Doc? He's dead, Sam.
Dead? He can't be.
- Kid! - No, listen.
Wait, Sam.
- Kid! - Sam! Sam! Did you hear what I said? He's dead.
Now, go get the police.
Go get them as fast as you can.
How is he? How is he? Hey, how is he? How's The Kid? I got to get to the phone, will you? Let me alone, will you? He's going to be all right, isn't he, Sam? Sam? No Hey, Joe.
Hey, Joe.
Hey, hold up! Skimmerhorn's Gym on 8th Avenue.
And hurry.
The Kid's dead.
[Crying.]
He's dead.
"Sparring Partner Hits and Runs.
" This is Flannigan.
Stop the presses! Sure you won't come along, son? Huh? N-No, no, thanks, Dad.
Might be interesting from a research point of view prizefighter gets killed while training for championship bout.
Some other time.
Well, if it ever happens again, I'll be sure to let you know.
Thanks, Dad.
You know, when you're working on a book, you're great company.
Of course, if I want conversation, I can always talk to the goldfish.
Oh, that's nice.
On second thought, the goldfish might make more sense.
Well, see you later.
Don't overdo it.
- Dad? - Yeah? Are you going somewhere? [Chuckles.]
Whatever gave you that idea? I swear I can't figure it out.
You got to believe me, Inspector.
The Kid was in great shape.
He was in perfect shape! Right, Doc? Go on.
Tell him.
Was The Kid in great shape? He checked out in all departments.
Yeah? Well, something went wrong.
It was so senseless.
Why were they fighting that way? Sam? Look, you know how these things are.
Somebody throws a punch, somebody got sore, and the first thing you know Somebody got killed.
You should have stopped it, Sam! I tried! Honest, I tried! Melinda, don't blame Sam.
It wasn't his fault.
The Kid wanted to trade punches with Joe Adams.
It got out of hand.
Please don't call him "The Kid.
" His name was Brad.
L-I didn't mean anything disrespectful.
Doc, what do you think killed him? Well, it's awfully hard to tell until after the autopsy.
I guess it was one of those hidden medical problems an aneurysm, maybe.
- Velie? - Yes, sir? Anything on that sparring partner of his, Joe Adams? Not yet, but the Harlem precinct's got his building staked out.
Well, that's fine if he goes home.
What if he's got somewhere else to go? Oh, that is just beautiful, Mrs.
Douglas.
Are you sure this is the new way they're wearing their hair this year? If it were any more stylish, you would look just like next year.
Well, I don't know.
Don't you think it might be a little too glamorous for me? It's perfect.
Your husband will think you're a brand-new woman.
[Laughs.]
When he gets the bill, he'll know it's the same old me.
[Laughter continues.]
What do you think about my bangs? Would you excuse me, please, Mrs.
Douglas? Oh, surely.
If you came to take me to dinner, forget it.
I have already had a ham sandwich from the drugstore.
I'm famous.
Joe, what happened? You can read.
I killed him.
I didn't know I hit him that hard.
Then why did you run? Because I'm the one that hit him.
And nobody's gonna believe what really happened in that ring.
It's so crazy, I almost don't believe it myself.
They can't blame you for a ring accident.
It didn't come across like a ring accident.
I have to get out of town.
You're not the first person in the world ever to get into trouble.
There was a customer of mine once, everybody thought she'd killed the man she worked for.
But somebody helped her, and I wrote his name down.
If I can just find it Why do I keep so much junk? Forget it.
No lawyer's gonna get me out of this.
Who's talking about a lawyer? This was somebody who knows how to get to the truth.
What's this guy? Some kind of cop? No.
A private detective? No, he writes books.
He does what? Oh, yes, I remember that case.
And I remember you, too, Miss Ogden.
You helped me convince my dad that no woman would deliberately go out in the rain after she had her hair done.
I know it doesn't sound like very much, but it helped to break the case.
I'm sorry.
Have we met? This is my friend, Joe Adams.
How do you do, Mr.
Adams? Joe Adams.
Joe? Ellery.
Doesn't my name mean anything to you? No.
Should it? [Gasps.]
Joe was Kid Hogan's sparring partner.
Hogan's dead, and they're saying I did it! Well, you didn't have any reason to kill him, did you? No! Now, wait.
Not so fast, baby.
Oh, then there was a reason? Some people might think so.
You see, I started out to be a serious boxer, not just a sparring partner.
I went all out to win and was doing pretty good until they matched me with Kid Hogan.
You weren't ready for that fight.
Probably not.
I was an amateur, just getting my feet wet.
Kid Hogan was already on his way.
He needed a fight, and they set someone else, and he got sick.
Hogan knocked me down four times in the first three rounds.
And I was dumb enough to get up and come back for some more.
Why didn't they stop it? They did, finally.
They had to carry Joe out on a stretcher.
End of a ring career.
The Kid made me look so bad, I couldn't get a match after that.
You But you see what I mean? Some people might think I was carrying that grudge all this time, waiting to get back at him.
[Grumbles something.]
Well, what's odd is why you became The Kid's sparring partner.
Well, a man's got to live.
And it's only temporary.
- Tell him about the school, Joe.
- You see [Phone rings.]
Excuse me.
Hello? Ellery, remember my telling you about that prizefighter who was killed in the ring? Yeah, Dad, it's starting to come back to me.
Well, this is right up your alley, darndest thing I ever heard of.
Just got the medical examiner's report.
Kid Hogan wasn't killed by a blow.
You didn't kill him.
It wasn't a blow.
You hear that? Yeah, l-I heard it.
Let me ask you a question.
What did kill him? He was poisoned.
Poisoned? My son tells me you want to make a statement, Mr.
Adams.
That's right.
Of his own free will, Inspector.
Now, you're off the hook, as far as causing his death with your hands.
I know, but it's on my mind.
And maybe now that I'm not accused of anything, it won't be so hard to believe.
You know that fight Kid Hogan was supposed to have with the champ? They wanted him to throw it.
The championship bout.
They? Who's they? Who's ever in charge of the rackets these days.
They wanted to be sure the champ would win.
Guess The Kid was looking too good, so they got to him.
How? Put the word out.
Phone call in the right place, an enforcer shows up, somebody whispers to somebody.
Anyway, The Kid knew he was supposed to lose.
Let me ask you something, Joe.
What would they do if he refused? They'd have killed him.
Made it look like an accident, probably.
The Kid was gonna take a dive? That's the trouble.
The Kid thought he could take the champ.
He wanted to win.
And he was willing to risk his life for it? You got to understand he was only gonna get one crack at the title.
If he lost it, he was on his way down.
That's why he didn't tell his manager or anybody that he broke his hand.
He broke his hand? When? About three days ago.
The medical examiner's report showed he had a hairline fracture of the right wrist.
Well, then, why didn't he just tell those gangsters that he couldn't fight with a broken wrist? They'd have made him fight, knowing he was gonna lose for sure.
That's why he cooked up that phony slugging match with me.
We weren't sore at each other.
It was rigged.
I was supposed to make him look bad in front of that newspaper man so his manager would have to have him checked out by a doctor.
Oh, if the doctor found out about the fracture, it would get in the newspapers, and the fight would have to be postponed.
That's right.
What went wrong? How'd they find out what you were up to? I don't know.
Only me and him knew.
I was doing him a favor.
[Door opens.]
Inspector, can I see you a second? Excuse me.
Yeah, Velie? They found the source of the poison a swill bottle.
What? You know, that's the bottle that boxers use between rounds for rinsing out their mouths? Well, it was loaded with poison.
Thanks, Velie.
Keep this under your hat.
I want this piece of information to be strictly confidential.
Yes, sir.
They told me it was on this floor.
No.
Yeah, this must be it, Dad.
FLANNIGAN: Take an item on the Hogan case, Vera "This reporter learned from a confidential source that the contender, Kid Hogan, died shortly after taking a healthy swig from his poisoned water bottle.
" Are you sure "healthy" is the right word, F.
F? Strike that.
"The question hangs in the air like the breeze from a right hook.
Who killed Kid Hogan, the youngster who might have gone on to become world's champion? This reporter would like an answer, NYPD, PDQ.
" I'm sorry.
Mr.
Flannigan doesn't see anyone without an appointment when he's working on his column.
Oh, he doesn't, does he? It's okay, Vera.
These gentlemen are friends of mine.
In a pig's eye.
Now, I want some answers, and I want them fast.
Where'd you get that information? Sorry, Inspector, my lips are sealed.
Hiya, Junior.
Hiya.
This is police business, Flannigan.
I want the name of your informer in my department.
No can do.
If you don't give me the straight dope right this second, I'm gonna haul you down for questioning.
Now, I mean it! Now, hold it, Inspector.
You can't bully a newspaperman.
He's right, Dad.
I'm trying to keep the lid on a piece of information that could lead us straight to the killer.
I'm not gonna let any 3-cent, yellow rag-peddler mess it up.
Take that down.
I may want to use it in court.
You know, Junior, your pop's as batty as the Carlsbad Caverns if he thinks I'm gonna lose a scoop like this.
Well, actually, it may not be a scoop by the time it's in the Gazette.
Why not? Why not? Dad, you'll want to play fair by giving the same information to the other newspapers.
Matter of fact, you may have more to give them.
Come on, Inspector.
You're not holding out on Flannigan after all the support my column's given to the boys in blue, the cop on the beat, New York's finest? Oh, cut it out, Flannigan.
You're breaking my heart.
Well, I don't see why a deal can't be worked out.
- A deal? - What kind of a deal? If Flannigan agrees not to use the item on the poisoned water bottle, you'll give him a break in any new developments in the case.
What do you say? Mitt me.
Mitt him.
The last time I shook hands on a deal, I was buying a used 1937 Willys.
The engine fell out.
[Snaps his fingers.]
Gimme.
[Paper rips.]
There goes a headline story.
How did you know I had it? Actually, we didn't.
We came here to look at some pictures.
Here's a couple more.
Is this everything? All the usable stuff.
Now, those are the last of the fight shots.
The rest of the stuff I took in the gym before the real action started.
Let's see it.
What are you looking for, Inspector? Anything I can find.
I wasn't there when Hogan was killed, but the camera was.
Wait a minute.
Wait.
Who's the girl? That's Melinda Sanford.
She was sweet on The Kid.
Well, thanks, Dave.
Oh, I'm sorry there wasn't anything helpful.
Well, now that you struck out with the press photos, what's your next play? Well, there's several areas we could look into.
For instance - Dad? - Huh? You lose something? Yeah, I guess I left my pipe inside.
Excuse me.
I'd like to see those pictures again, Dave.
Oh, sure.
I'll take this one.
Did you find your pipe? I just remembered I left it at my desk.
When did you start smoking a pipe? I don't smoke it, just hold it.
In these troubled times, it's nice to have something solid to hang onto.
How am I doing, Doc? How long have you had these headaches, Eddie? Off and on, three, four days a week, maybe.
Are they getting worse? No, no, no, no, no, I'm okay.
I feel great.
You got to keep working to get in shape, you know? Sure, you're gonna be fine.
Gotta work hard.
That's the secret.
Work, work.
That's the secret.
Let me make a suggestion you better pace yourself, Eddie.
You don't have to work all the time.
No, no, no, that's the only way to get in shape.
That's the only way.
All these young kids coming up and passing me by.
I ain't reached my prime yet.
I got to keep working.
I got to work, work bam! I'm gonna get in shape, shape, shape.
Dr.
Sanford.
Inspector Queen.
Hello.
My son, Ellery.
How do you do? How do you do, Doctor? Could you tell me where Sam Hatter is? Well, he's here.
I don't know where he's got to.
He's taking this thing very hard.
Incidentally, have you seen the examiner's report on the The Kid's death? Was it an aneurysm? It hasn't been made public yet, but we'll let you know.
Doctor, is that professional curiosity? No, it's personal interest.
I knew him pretty well.
Doctor, I understand you have a daughter named Melinda? That's right, yes.
Well, I'd like to talk to her, if I may.
Could you tell me where she is? Well, she's here, in his dressing room.
She's collecting his personal effects.
Excuse me, Miss Sanford? I'm sorry to bother you.
My name is Ellery Queen.
I believe you met my dad? Yes.
I gave this to Brad.
I stitched his name on it for him.
You were very close? Close? Yes, you could say that.
Well, obviously this is a bad time for questions.
I'll come back another time.
No, I'd rather talk.
Please, what would you like to know, Mr.
Queen? Well, what I'd like to know is how he broke his wrist.
Well, I didn't know he did.
I'm surprised at that.
Now, you say you were very close.
You didn't know? Well, I was out of town for a while.
I just got back yesterday.
I didn't even have a chance to talk to him.
- How long were you gone? - A couple of weeks.
All this training I felt like I needed a change of scenery.
Atlantic City.
Except it isn't so nice when you're alone.
Well, I'm sure you talked on the telephone.
Yes, nearly every day.
I guess the reason why he didn't tell me about his wrist was because he didn't want me to worry.
You never think of a fighter as being sensitive and considerate.
Brad was.
Except in the ring.
Why do you say that? I'm talking about the Joey Adams fight.
That was awful.
Brad was sorry about it afterwards, and he made up for it.
He hired Joe as his sparring partner.
He didn't have to.
That's true.
You see, you didn't know Brad.
He was a street kid.
He had to fight for everything he wanted.
[Exhales.]
Well, he sure chose the right profession.
No, it chose him.
Sam Hatter was in a bar one night, and he saw Brad flatten a pair of tough guys, like the movies.
Sam made a boxer out of him, and he nearly got to be the world's champion.
We were going to be married after he won the championship.
We were going to announce it at the victory party.
Well, that's one good reason for wanting to win.
Of course he wanted to.
Did anyone think he didn't? No.
And some people could have found that very disappointing.
Recognize anybody, Sam? In case you forgot, the fella you're talking to in the picture is Maddie O'Neill.
He's a muscle man for a mobster named Frank Anthony.
That ring a bell? Well, Anthony owns a percentage of a lot of fighters around town.
Question does he own a piece of Kid Hogan? Think hard, Sam.
Well, I couldn't help it.
He kept after me, see How much? A quarter.
Did he pay much for it, Sam? It wasn't the money.
It was the pressure he put on me.
It was the pressure! What did The Kid say when you told him Anthony wanted him to take a dive against the champ? How did you know that? Did he tell you to go jump in the lake? Is that why Anthony sent O'Neill? To make sure he didn't get away with it? [Breathes hard.]
It was the punches he took.
It was murder, plain and simple.
And now The Kid will never get a chance to beat the champ, will he? What do you mean Inspector Queen took one of the pictures? Why didn't you tell me that before? Well, you brought him in.
L-I thought it was okay.
Which one? Which one did he choose? I don't know.
Well, find out fast, and if you can't make me a print of it, buy yourself a pony.
Why a pony? Because you're gonna be out on the street taking kiddie pictures! Out! Vera! [Sighs.]
You're a good secretary.
Tell me again what did that creep want on the phone? He wouldn't give his name.
He just said, "Tell Flannigan Joseph Simpson goes to the Manhattan Pharmaceutical College.
" Who's Joseph Simpson? He didn't say.
Creep.
So, Inspector Queen was gonna give me a break on all new developments, huh? Vera, can you keep your hands off my body long enough to phone that college? What was it? Manhattan Pharmaceutical.
Yeah.
Dad, what did you find out about Frank Anthony? Parking violations mostly.
No arrests, no convictions.
What about O'Neill? Now, that's a different story.
He was not convicted of four counts of assault and attempted murder.
Somehow, the witnesses couldn't identify him after somebody scared them to death.
Mm-hmm.
Dad, your coffee's worse than mine.
This is your coffee.
I heated up what was left over from breakfast.
Well, I heated it up from last night's leftovers, and I'm not really sure it was fresh then.
[Doorbell rings.]
Excuse me.
Oh, hi, Velie.
You're just in time for a cup of coffee.
No, thanks, Maestro.
I think the Inspector ought to see this right away.
Oh, yeah.
Dad? Yes, Ellery, what is it? Early bird edition of tomorrow morning's Gazette.
Flannigan.
Not the poisoned water bottle? And that ain't all.
Listen to this.
"This reporter learned that Inspector Richard Queen of homicide released the most likely suspect.
I refer to none other than Joe Adams.
" "The Kid's sparring partner, whose own hopes for a boxing career were smashed in the ring by Kid Hogan.
Adams is a registered student at the Manhattan Pharmaceutical College under his real moniker, Joseph A.
Simpson.
" Oh, I knew they were gonna find out.
You should have told them, Joe! No, baby, I should have run when I had the chance.
I'll be in touch as soon as I can.
Hello, Joe.
You must have some good reason for not telling us, Joe.
I'd like to hear about it.
When I heard I hadn't killed The Kid in the ring, I felt good.
But when I heard he was poisoned, well, I didn't want to be back on the hook.
So you kept still about studying to be a pharmacist, working with all those drugs poisons.
That's the only thing I didn't tell you.
Well, that was plenty.
Worst thing was reading about it in the newspaper.
Well, I sure didn't tell Flannigan.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.
Things don't look good, Joe.
Would you like to break clean, get it over with? - Are you asking me to confess? - Yeah.
To killing The Kid with poison? You had access.
You had motive.
So that makes me the killer? It's been a long, hard day, Joe.
I'd like to go home and go to bed.
Yeah, so would I! So, how about letting me out of here? 'Cause I'll tell you right now, Inspector I didn't kill anybody! Okay, Joe.
Velie, take him down to his cell.
Let's go, Joe.
We had a deal, Flannigan, or did you forget? I didn't forget it.
You did.
You said you weren't going to print anything about that poisoned water bottle.
And you said you were gonna give me a break on all new developments.
Well, what about this? Well, what about the picture you took from the Gazette photo lab? That wasn't a development.
That was a lead.
I wasn't gonna let you look over my shoulder while I investigated a case.
And if you'd kept me informed, I could have told you that Joe Adams, alias Joe Simpson, was Joe College.
Could you tell me more about the man who phoned in the tip? Oh, my secretary took the call.
No name.
What difference does it make who gave him the tip? Well, it could have been the killer.
The killer is behind bars, Ellery.
Why would Joe Adams phone in with a tip that led to his own capture? I didn't say Joe made the call.
- You said the killer - I didn't say Joe was the killer.
He's under arrest.
He knew all about those poisons because of that school he went to.
He knew he was gonna spar with Hogan, and so he poisoned the water bottle in advance.
A lot of people knew they were gonna spar.
He's the only one who knew he was gonna knock Hogan out and that somebody would use that water to revive him.
Now, whether you like it or not, we've got Joe Adams dead to rights.
And that's a development.
[Doorbell rings.]
May I see you for a minute, Mr.
Queen? Oh, yeah, sure.
Hi, Corrine.
Come on in.
L-I caught you in the middle of your work, didn't I? No, no, I've been working on this all morning, and it still doesn't make any sense.
Like Joe's arrest.
Here.
I know the police are gonna be asking questions at Joe's college.
That's the name of the instructor that knows him best.
Ask him what Joe's like.
Ask him if he thinks Joe could have murdered somebody.
He shouldn't be in that jail.
Well, they do have a case against him.
They had help.
Somebody wants him framed.
Who? I don't know.
But it's got to be somebody who wants to hide his own motives, and they've got them.
Even Melinda Sanford.
I could tell you about her.
But she was gonna marry Kid Hogan.
You've heard about a girl being dragged to the altar.
Ever heard about one being punched all the way? Hogan hit her? Joe told me.
Her eye was puffed out to here.
Her cheek was bruised.
Her lip was swollen.
Hogan must have really worked her over good.
Why? Because he wasn't a very nice man, to put it mildly.
Or did everybody forget to mention that? Do you know where Joe saw Melinda when she looked like that? At the bus station.
She was going away for a while so everybody couldn't see what her boyfriend had done to her.
Why she did come back to him? She must have loved him.
Wasn't she afraid that he'd hit her again sometime? Probably, but that's the merry-go-round she was on.
She's off it now because he's dead.
Mr.
Queen? Yes? Your car is waiting, Mr.
Queen.
My car? Yes, the one that's going to take you were you're going.
Where am I going? You'll know when you get there.
You're O'Neill! I recognize you from your picture.
That reminds me I have to call my da dad.
Get in the car.
Well, I guess I could always call him when I come back.
I am coming back, aren't I? Move.
All right, boys, go on in the house and grab yourself some milk and cookies.
Nice of you to come and see me, Mr.
Queen.
Can I get you anything? Wine, booze, a glass of milk? No.
Thanks.
Nice place you got here.
Ah, a fortress.
For my own protection.
For instance Did you know that right now there's a machine gun pointed straight at your heart? No.
No, l-l-I didn't know that.
Oh, it's okay, okay.
Just don't make any sudden moves.
- Suppose I have to sneeze.
- Oh, don't reach for a hankie.
- I'll I'll I'll remember that.
- Good, good.
Mr.
Queen He didn't kill Kid Hogan.
Who didn't kill Kid Hogan? Joe Adams, Simpson.
You know who I mean.
He didn't do it.
How do you know? [Exhales.]
I had more reason to knock off Kid Hogan than Joey did.
Well, did you? Correct me if I'm out of line, but did you kill Kid Hogan? No! [Laughs.]
Poison ain't my style.
Oh Yeah.
It is out of line.
I'm sorry.
I I would have settled for a couple of broken legs.
[Chuckles.]
How about a broken wrist? Oh, yeah, yeah.
I heard all about that dance that The Kid and Joey put on up at the gym.
Smart.
But not too smart.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be dead.
What did they tell you in that college about Joey? They told me his tuition was being paid for by an anonymous benefactor.
They didn't say it was you.
So, how'd you know? Well, you're obviously interested in Joey's welfare.
Yeah.
I didn't want to see him take a bum rap.
No, thank you.
Eat something.
Yes, all right.
Well, how do you happen to be putting him through school? [Laughs.]
I was coming out of the gym one day, and a couple of creeps started blasting at me from a car.
Now, Joey was right behind me, and he saw them first, so he pushed me out of the way.
I owed him for that.
So, I checked around to find out what he wanted out of life.
Then I had this college give him that scholarship.
He never knew it was from me.
Mr.
Anthony, did you ever read "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens? No.
But I had a piece of a fighter once named Charlie Dickerson featherweight, especially between the ears.
It's a different fellow.
Mr.
Queen, how would you like to have your legs broke? No, l-I don't think I'd like that.
Then get Joey off the hook.
Well, I've already got him partway off the hook.
Now, I found out that he could not have gotten the poison from that pharmaceutical college.
- Yeah? How come? - There's none missing.
He could have got it somewheres else.
Well, that's why he's partly on the hook.
Well, I really should be calling my dad.
Hey! I told you No sudden moves.
I forgot.
He forgot.
[Laughs.]
You got a lot of moxie, kid.
I like your style.
INSPECTOR: This better be good.
- FLANNIGAN: Trust Flannigan.
- INSPECTOR: I wish I could.
ELLERY: He's trying to make amends, Dad, I think.
FLANNIGAN: Right-a-rooney, junior.
I'm giving you a sneak preview of my latest scoop.
ELLERY: Very considerate.
INSPECTOR: What kind of a scoop? FLANNIGAN: Page 1, with all the trimmings.
Sam? Sam Hatter? Just the man I wanted to see.
Take it easy, Rocky.
Will you autograph this for me, please? I've already seen this.
What's going on, Inspector? Okay, so you found out which picture I took from the Gazette.
Anthony's enforcer and Kid Hogan's manager the fix was in.
That's old news, Flannigan.
Hogan didn't want to throw that fight.
He wanted to win.
Or maybe he was holding out for more moola.
Now, the truth, Sam.
Wasn't your boy selling out to Anthony for a higher price and cutting you out of the deal? No.
Then how come you spiked his swill bottle with bye-bye juice? You know, I had Dave print up all the shots he took in the gym, even the fuzzy ones.
But this one's clear enough.
Behold the swill bottle in Sam's hand.
How about it, Sam? Look The Kid was acting kind of crazy, so I thought maybe he was on the booze.
L-I was just tasting it that's all.
It was poisoned, Sam.
If you tasted it, why aren't you dead? [Grunts.]
Stop him! Let me go, will you? "Manager Manages Murder.
" This is Flannigan.
Stop the presses! Miss Ogden? Where's Joe? Right here, baby.
Oh, come on.
It's okay.
I'm out.
Tell her, Inspector.
Joe's been released.
We're holding someone else.
You see? You were wrong about Joe.
The police do occasionally make mistakes.
That's why we have courts.
The man was just doing his job.
I'm not sure that's good enough.
Would it help any if I said I'm sorry? - Not a whole lot.
- Hey, baby! But it is better than nothing.
Hey, Eddie, why don't you give me a shot at that bag? When I'm through with it.
When you gonna get through? When I say so.
Look, you've been slapping that thing around for about an hour.
Why don't you give me a crack at it? I said I ain't through.
You don't know, but you been through a long time.
What? I said you been through a long time, old man.
Oh, you! [Grunts.]
Hey, Eddie! Let me go! Cut it out! Let me go! Rocky! - Let me go! - Rocky! Let me go! Let me go! Get out of here.
Go on.
This guy belongs in a zoo, Doc.
Oh, you should have let me take him.
Should have let me take him.
Hey, kid, I thought I told you to take it easy.
- I'm okay.
- You don't listen, do you? I'm okay.
It's these punks.
Think they know it all.
I can't stand the sight of them.
[Breathes hard.]
Hey, Doc, what's wrong with Eddie? Well, there's always something wrong with a boxer who starts to get headaches and double vision.
So, does he know? I'm not even sure, myself.
I'm no specialist, Mr.
Queen.
I'm just a transplanted country doctor who tries to keep these boys patched together.
I can't even stop them from winding up like Eddie.
Yeah, I heard him talking just now.
It's a bad business to get old in.
The youngsters pick him to pieces.
Did Kid Hogan pick on him? Hogan? Yes, I guess he did.
It would have been his idea of a good time.
Let me ask you something, Doc.
Would Eddie have responded the same way? Well, you'd get the same response if you waved a red flag in front of a bull.
[Chuckles.]
I get the idea you don't care much for the fight game.
Whoever called it a game? In a game, you have fun.
INSPECTOR: Ellery? Huh? What are you doing in the kitchen? Oh, I just heated up some coffee.
I hope it's today's or even this week's.
Well, Sam's in.
Joe's out.
That ought to make you happy.
Why wasn't Sam poisoned when he drank from the swill bottle? [Laughs.]
That's simple he didn't.
He was lying.
Mm Talk about swill.
I'm afraid Flannigan's beat us to the punch on this one.
I don't know, Dad.
I don't know.
It just doesn't make any sense.
Want me to take Sam out and put Joe back in? Pass the milk, will you? See, for a premeditated murder, there's just too much left to chance.
Oh, not at all.
Sam dropped the poison in the bottle, waited for his opportunity, forced Hogan to drink it.
What are you staring at me for? The milk.
Well, what about it? Is it sour? No, no, no, no.
Don't you realize what you did with it? Yeah, just poured it in my cup.
Yeah, but how? Like this.
How would you do it? Same way.
That's my point.
Boy, now I know who didn't kill Kid Hogan.
Who didn't kill him? I also know who did kill Kid Hogan.
Now, Flannigan's picture and the way my dad pours milk in the coffee gave me the answer.
Was it Joe Adams? Was it Sam Hatter? Was it Doc Sanford or Melinda Sanford? Or Eddie? Or was it somebody else? Now, bear in mind that the timing has a lot to do with it.
Yeah.
I'll tell you more about it at the gym.
Thanks, Velie.
Ellery, I guess you can begin.
Not yet, Dad.
There's still somebody missing.
Everybody you asked me to contact is here all the suspects, including Flannigan.
Who's left? O'Neill? How'd you know he was coming? I called his boss and asked for him.
How long have you known Frank Anthony? Not long.
Hi, Maddie.
Make yourself comfortable.
Velie, I'll need you up in the ring.
What about him, Maestro? Oh, take the cuffs off.
I'm sure he won't run.
- Thanks.
- You're welcome.
Folks, if you bear with me for just a second, I'd like to recreate the events that led up to the death of Kid Hogan.
Joe, I'm gonna need you up in the ring.
You play yourself, of course.
Velie, you're Kid Hogan.
Well, Maestro, I'm not in shape.
That's all right.
You don't have to really fight.
Just mix it up a little bit, fake it.
You know? Occupy some space.
I won't lay a hand on you.
Go ahead, Velie.
If it gets too tough, I'll throw in the towel.
Dad, the bottle? Now, according to the picture, the bottle was about here.
That right, Sam? That's right.
And in the ring, the contender and the sparring partner are having an exchange of words, part of a plan to make the onlookers believe the fight was for real.
You mean those two bozos weren't really slugging it out? Joe? Not till the end.
The Kid was faking it to make me look good.
It was all part of the buildup.
Well, let me in on the gag.
It was part of Hogan's plan to postpone the championship fight.
He had a broken wrist, and he had some friends who wanted to break some other bones.
Sam, where were you when they were sparring? I was all around the ring.
Sure, he had to get around the ring to get to the swill bottle so he could dump the poison in it.
Did you pick up the bottle? Yeah.
I told you that.
Would you pick it up, please? Flash you'll see the original photo in tomorrow's "Gazette.
" Proof positive.
Proof positive that Sam is telling the truth.
Look at the way he's holding the bottle.
In his right hand.
So what? He's right-handed.
He is.
You saw him working with the fighter.
Again So what? Which is why he would hold the bottle in his left hand if he was gonna pour poison with his right.
You always hold the thing you're gonna pour in your steady hand.
In Sam's case, his right hand.
Give me that! Well, I'll be.
So, Sam did what he said he did.
He tasted the water in the bottle to see if it was alcoholic.
It wasn't.
It wasn't poisoned, either, or Sam wouldn't be with us.
But it was poisoned.
The police lab said so.
But when was it poisoned? Before Hogan drank it, of course.
Melinda, where were you? I came into the gym, saw them fighting, and came down to ringside to speak with Sam.
Could you show me approximately where you were? If it'll help.
I was about here.
That's right.
After you tested the water bottle? Yeah.
Melinda, did you see him touch the bottle again? No, not until Brad had been knocked down.
Velie, Velie Would you assume the position, please? Well, I know one thing.
Joe didn't poison the water.
He was in the ring, right in plain sight.
Now, hold it, sister.
There was a lot of confusion after he decked Joe.
He could have come over and gotten the bottle then.
With boxing gloves? And where would he conceal the poison? Ellery, somebody poisoned that water.
Sam, what did you do? - I w I went in the ring.
- Would you climb in, please? Doc, where were you? Well, I guess I was in the ring, too, but, well, I'm no good at playacting.
That's okay.
What did you do? I I waved some smelling salts under his nose to help bring him to.
Sam? The water.
I had the bottle.
I made The Kid drink it.
But I was right here.
Nobody had touched the bottle up till then.
Unless you touched it.
Nobody was watching you! It would have been a cinch! Lucrezia Borgia of 1947! Just a minute! You can't talk that way to my daughter! She has nothing to do with it.
Nothing! Dr.
Sanford, what did you do next? Well, The Kid lost consciousness again.
I examined him.
His pulse was very weak.
Did he have any trouble breathing? What did you notice? I wasn't looking for poison symptoms, if that's what you're getting at.
The boy had been knocked out.
I ordered that he be taken to his dressing room.
Yeah, and we all went back.
You want us to do that again, too? No, the re-enactment's over.
Velie, you can get up.
What was this all about, Junior? What did you prove? The water was poisoned after Kid Hogan died.
Then when was Hogan poisoned? Sam, what happened in the dressing room? Was everybody there? No, I shooed them all out until it was just Doc and me and The Kid.
But you stayed? Yeah, yeah, until Doc told me The Kid was dead, and then he sent me to call the cops.
Leaving how many people in the room? Well, Doc and The Kid.
But The Kid was dead.
No, Sam.
He was stunned.
Doctor, how many different kinds of poison do you carry in that little black bag of yours? How did you know? It was the only time anybody was alone with The Kid.
If the poison didn't come from the bottle, it had to come from you.
Daddy, tell them it's a lie.
No, Melinda, I I've hurt enough people as it is.
You couldn't have killed Brad.
You knew I loved him.
That kind of love would have ruined you.
I know how he treated you.
You tried to hide it from me.
You went down to Atlantic City and stayed there until the bruises healed.
Being a doctor's daughter, you were smart enough to get a doctor to treat you so that the damage wouldn't be permanent.
You knew that? Yes.
You just happened to pick a doctor who knew me and recognized you.
He never let on to you.
Maybe he was bending his ethics a bit, but, as I say, he knew me.
He was a father, too.
So he gave me a call.
You never said anything.
I was waiting for you to say something.
I waited too long.
First thing you know, you were seeing Hogan again.
He was sorry he hurt me.
Mm-hmm.
- He told me so, Daddy.
- Mm.
I had to forgive him.
We were going to be married.
That's the thing I can't stomach! I told him to stay away from you.
He threatened to work me over if I didn't pay attention to my own business.
I couldn't let that man marry you! I couldn't let it happen! So, when I saw him lying on the dressing-room table, I just went ahead and did what I had to do.
Later on, I knew there had to be an autopsy, and they'd discover the poison, so I came back out here and slipped some into the water bottle before the police arrived to throw them off the track.
Then I was afraid that they'd suspect you, Melinda, and so I phoned the tip to Flannigan that Joe was a pharmacological student.
I helped him with his application.
Forgive me, Melinda.
I'm sorry.
Junior, just one question.
Why did you ask him here? To make sure Frank Anthony got the story right.
Yeah, you can never believe what you read in the Gazette.
[Laughter.]
My story My front-page column! "Flannigan Fingers Wrong Man.
" I got to get to a phone! This is Flannigan.
Stop the presses! No, I mean it.
You got to stop the presses! No, listen to me! Please stop the presses! Excuse me.
Excuse me.
May I? Be my guest.