Kojak (1973) s01e16 Episode Script
Eighteen Hours of Fear
Could you get my overnight bag for me? No, we can get that later.
You know he'll be here any minute.
You promised me midnight.
Now what held you up? Couldn't help it.
A tanker overturned on the parkway.
Traffic was backed up.
Yeah, well, you shouldn't have waited so long.
A few minutes one way or another.
How much difference could it make? It makes all the difference in the world.
[Grinding.]
That's good.
That's got it.
- So the trip went okay, right? - State police stopped me once.
To tell me the road ahead was icy.
One of them signed my cast.
[Sighs.]
- Ooh.
- [Knocking.]
Okay, there's Cherneff.
Hey, into the bedroom, okay? And don't make a sound.
Here.
You take one of those with you.
Go on.
Go on.
Alex, why? Because, honey, if you only got one trip to the well, you've gotta take a long drink.
[Door Closes.]
You said 12:00.
Punctuality is a fetish with me.
- Looks okay.
- It looks okay? Hey, that's mother's own, straight from the Canadian mint.
One plate.
Bills have two sides, Alexander.
Even Canadian.
That's what I wanted to talk to you about.
I had some extra expenses.
You wouldn't be dumb enough to try tojack the price up on me.
Look, this isn't my action.
I get held up at the Canadian end.
My couriers got in trouble, and I had to make a couple ofbuy-offs.
You can't expect me to absorb all the increase, Cherneff.
- I'll come up empty.
- Well, that's your headache.
We had a firm deal.
I am not gonna go back to Majeski and tell him I need more bread.
Why not? All he has to do is run off a couple of more bills.
Don't clown around with me, Fairbanks.
There's a limit to how many of these we can push on the street at once.
You know better than that.
Now give me that plate.
I don't have it, man.
It's not here.
Oh, no? That little green job parked outside with the ski rack on top You think I don't know who that belongs to? That's right, baby.
Before I get into bed with somebody, I make it a point to check 'em out.
Now are you gonna go in that room and get that plate off ofher, or am I? Hard or easy, Fairbanks.
Get it.
[Gasps.]
[Tires Screech.]
[Siren Wailing.]
[Police Radio, Indistinct.]
[Siren Continues Wailing.]
[Police Radio, Indistinct.]
- How dead when you got here? - Three, maybe four minutes.
Name's, uh, Fairbanks.
Alex.
He's an artist.
Oh? How can you tell? Open on a night like this? What are you thinking, Lieutenant? What would you rather be doing on a rainy, cold night? [Horns Honking.]
Okay, well, if you turn up anything useful, uh You'll be the first one to know, Lieutenant.
Sure, I'll be the first one to know.
And I hear this loud crash, and I look out the window, and it's the fire escape ladder.
And there's this man jumpin' off it, chasin' her down the alley toward the street.
Chasing her? Chasing who? The girl who brought down the ladder in the first place.
What's the matter? There somethin' wrong with my English? Can you describe these two people for me? Well, the girl, uh I think I might know her if I saw her again.
But the man, nothing.
A turned-up overcoat, checked.
Uh, and he was tall.
Lieutenant.
I know, Agajanian.
You got a bulletin for me? He's dead, right? Shot, once, fairly close range.
And, yes, he's dead.
Well, that's all for now.
With luck, tomorrow you'll receive a slug in good condition.
I'll light a candle.
That looks like it hasn't even been walked around the block.
Well, maybe it's a surrealistic.
[Engine Sputtering.]
[Horn Honks.]
dd[Piano.]
Good evening, ma'am.
Can I help you, please? A Dubonnet on the rocks, please.
What do you mean nobody answers? Somebody gotta answer.
Yeah? Well, it's Monday night in California too, isn't it? Nobody goes out in Encino on Monday night, especially my wife.
On Tuesday morning, it's her turn for the carpool.
Yeah.
Okay, okay.
I'll try again in a half hour.
dd[Piano Continues.]
First we see a girl drive up, and a man comes down to help her up the stairs.
I think it was him.
A few minutes later, another car arrives.
- A man gets out and goes upstairs.
- What about a description? [Chuckles.]
Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn't really paying a lot of attention.
But I'll try.
Um, he was tall.
And he was wearing a plaid overcoat.
I remember that much.
And the girl? Blonde.
Mmm, Well, ski pants anyway.
You know, flared at the bottoms.
- Yeah, they're nice.
- And there was a ski rack on the roof of the car.
What kind of car? Green compact.
Maybe foreign.
- Wow.
- [Chuckling.]
With a ski rack on the roof, huh? Yeah.
What are you waitin' for? Put it on the radio.
There can't be that many cars out that late at night with that description, right? Right, Lieutenant.
Okay, what happened next? Nothing.
Well, for about five minutes anyway.
Then the girl runs around the corner, jumps into her car and takes off.
And right behind her is the man in the overcoat.
He takes off too.
Armus! Yeah.
I heard her.
He took off after her in what, miss? - Um, a Continental.
- All right.
Blue.
And it looked fairly new.
New blue Continental.
I got it.
Yeah.
With a checked raincoat in the back of the seat, right? Yeah.
You're puttin' that on the radio too? Right, right, right.
Beautiful.
Uh, I know you said, miss, that, uh that he came down to help the blonde up the stairs, right? Right.
That wouldn't have been because maybe she had a cast on her ankle, would it? That's right! My boyfriend and me, we figured she must have wiped out skiing.
- But - But she left here running.
Yeah.
Didn't your mama ever tell you about necking on the cold stairs? No.
Oh.
[Officers Chattering.]
Come here.
You see this? Yes.
I want to know where it was made, how long it was worn, foot size, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
[Chattering Continues.]
- How tall are you? - Six.
Six? You mind standin' up? [Muttering Greek.]
All right, what's that? - Looks like a pocket of some kind.
- Yeah, but what for? - I don't know.
- Why don't you take some pictures? There's a lot of graffiti on that thing.
Who knows? From that collection of autographs, we might come up with a killer.
Or another victim.
That's what I like about you, Prince.
- Your unflagging optimism.
- Agh! All right, Armus? Yeah.
The chick went skiing, right? Right.
Where? Placid's closed.
Vermont, New Hampshire They had a thaw.
So where? Sun Valley.
Uh, within driving distance, if you don't mind.
All right, got it.
All right, give me a choice.
Column A.
The chick took Fairbanks off and outdistanced the second man.
Column B The second man iced the victim, the fluff witnessed it, and she ran for the tulips.
- I'd take column B.
- Sure.
If he had tried to apprehend the killer, he'd have reported it to the police whether he caught her or not.
Okay, hot shot.
And what if both of them were in too deep to involve the cops? - Too deep into what? - Into what, Stavros? Up the front stairs with a cast on her leg, out the back window without it.
You want to have a cast removed, where do you go? To Picasso? There was somethin' in the cast.
I can't stand it.
I mean, from a yard full of crabgrass a geranium.
Bartender? Yes, ma'am.
Could I help you? Can I have my check, please? Certainly.
[Chattering.]
[Cash Register Dings.]
Four, five, 10.
Thank you.
Another drink, bartender.
Yes, sir.
Operator, help me, please You wouldn't be dumb enough to try to call the heat, would you? You're in this up to your bangs, baby.
Smuggling hot plates is a federal rap.
That's 15 years of folding laundry in Atlanta.
How does that grab you? Let's you and me take a little walk.
Maybe we can work something out.
I'll call her again.
If she isn't home this time, back to the manufacturer.
Hey, hey.
You're hurtin' the little lady.
Look, this is private, so bug off! It's private? Now it's not private anymore.
You gonna let the little lady go, or maybe you wanna step outside? [Laughs.]
That was fun.
Thank you.
Anytime.
Can I buy you a drink? No, you see, l Sure.
Why not? [Kojak.]
Come on.
It's gotta be there.
Fifty-eight names in Fairbanks's address book, and no Peggy whatever? No.
Got a Phyllis.
Got a Penelope.
Would you believe a Prunella? No Peggy.
Good news? Comme ci, comme ça.
Ballistics reports the slug came from a.
38.
No known antecedents.
About the cast, you were right.
She couldn't have worn it more than two days on the outside.
A scab won't heal in two days, let alone a broken bone.
Yeah? And what about the pocket on the cast? They got any idea what she was smuggling in? Rectangular, three-by-six, quarter of an inch thick.
- Cigarette case? - Did they do any good on the fire escape? - Maggie's drawers.
- What did you say? Well, they managed to lift a few smudges, I guess, but, uh Maggie's drawers.
Maggie.
Maggie Margaret? Margaret.
That's short for Peggy, right? Ain't that a nickname? Right.
Sir, you've been sitting here for over an hour now.
Are you a guest of this hotel? Then I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to move along.
[Laughing.]
So the next thing I know, he comes over to the room and he sells sells me the watch.
Sorry, folks.
I gotta ask you to drink up.
It's closing time.
Wait a minute.
It's 2:00.
What kind of a joint is this? I thought the bars closed at 4:00 in Gotham City.
Well, some of them do, sir.
All right.
I'll sign it.
Room 416, and this is for you.
Thank you very much, sir.
What about him? What if he's out there? What if he's waiting? Oh, him.
So what if he is? I would just rather not have another scene.
That's all.
You don't know him.
He can be really ugly when he's been drinking.
You can't stay here.
Why not? You have a room, don't you? Yeah.
[Chuckles.]
Good night.
Good night.
Yeah? Who is it? What do you want? Miss Farrell? Miss Peggy Farrell? Not home.
Oh, well, you must be Bettina James? Well, I'm, uh, Lieutenant Kojak, Manhattan South Detective.
Uh, can I come in? Uh, well, I can't open it until I close it first.
Oh.
Can I trust you? [Slides Foot.]
Thank you.
Oh, I took a sleeping pill at midnight.
What time is it? It's a little after 2:00.
Oh! You mind if I smoke? No, fine, fine.
Does your girlfriend, Peggy Farrell, pose for an artist named Alex Fairbanks? I guess she poses for him.
He's her boyfriend.
And does she have a green compact car with a with a ski rack on the roof? That's right, '74 Toyota, green Did she have an accident? Well, Alex Fairbanks was murdered earlier today, and we have reason to believe that your roomie, Miss Farrell, was involved.
Oh, no, no! You're wrong! Not Peggy! She's not even in the city.
She's still up in Canada.
She drove up with some friends to go skiing.
She's not due back until Sunday.
Where in Canada? Uh, a lodge outside ofToronto.
Um, oh, let me think.
Um, a leaf, a leaf.
The Maple Leaf! Yeah, the Maple Leaf! Well, if she should show up, you will let us know, huh? Okay.
She seemed to be leveling.
What do you think? Yeah, I think we oughta put a plant on the place.
Peggy, uh, could show up.
Bettina could start her sleepwalking routine.
We could save ourselves a plethora of surprises.
What the hell is "plethora"? Follow me.
We'll get a library card.
Yes? Miss James? Uh-huh.
Police again.
I have one more question.
[Snoring.]
[Clattering.]
But you didn't actually see the accident happen? Uh-huh.
Well, thank you very much, Mr.
Waverly.
You've been extremely helpful.
I just spoke to Waverly, one of the dudes Peggy Farrell drove up with.
Seems she was alone on the slope when the alleged mishap occurred.
She suddenly shows up at the lodge with her leg in a cast yesterday afternoon.
Halfhour later, she's on her way back to the States.
Yeah, well, to fit a cast, you gotta know what you're doing.
You don't go to a mechanic for a thing like that.
All right.
Find out how many doctors live in the vicinity of the lodge, okay? Because if I'm right, one of those doctors is gonna lose his shingle.
And then make a liaison with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The Royal Canadian [Laughs.]
You know, every time I say that, I think of Nelson Eddy on top of a white mountain singing that song, uh, "Rose Marie, I love you.
" - What's that chick's name? - I don't know.
Jeannette MacDonald.
Oh, yeah.
Well, anyway, send them all the pieces.
They want in on this, okay? Let 'em work it out themselves.
You gotta be kidding.
Gotta be a broad, right? You know what time it is? I know what time it is.
But my grandson doesn't.
My daughter and her husband want to go to Vegas for their anniversary.
Only who's to babysit, right? I'll tell you who's to babysit.
Okay, so my wife and me, we make a deal.
Lillian will take the first feeding.
I'll take the second, then Lillian you know, like that figuring this way, we'll each catch a little shut-eye.
Sound pretty good so far? Four o'clock in the morning, little Desmond is still on his 2:00 feeding, and I'm pacing and pacing I paced a hole right into the carpet.
And I'm promising Desmond an Oxford education, a seat on the stock exchange, his own private plane, ifhe'll only burp for me.
Do I know what time it is? I haven't even been to bed yet.
I hear you caught a homicide.
Yeah.
You should've promised him a badge.
Here.
That's all we caught.
Take a look at this.
See if you can make any sense out of it.
In a cast? That's a new wrinkle.
Three-by-six by a quarter of an inch.
Money? They'd have to be big bills, and hot at that, otherwise why smuggle 'em? Just declare 'em.
Maybe you're wasting your time.
Maybe she won't even come here.
She'll come.
Where is she gonna go? She doesn't know the law's wise to her yet.
She certainly doesn't know I'm here.
So she'll come.
What are you gonna do to her? [Snoring Continues.]
Hello, Betts? It's Peggy.
Listen, Betts, I'm in a lot of trouble.
I've gotta get out of town, far away and fast.
I've run out of money.
Can you loan me some? How much? As much as you can scrape together.
I'll get it back to you somehow.
I promise.
- Of course.
You know I will.
- Oh, thank you.
I'll never forget it.
Can you bring it to me? - Can't you come here? - No, no.
Listen to me.
I can't explain now.
Just trust me.
I'd do the same for you.
You know I would.
Um "Meet me at the little bridge over Central Park Pond.
" Betts, thanks a million.
You've saved my life.
[Snoring Continues.]
Uh, thank you.
[Man On Phone, Indistinct.]
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Uh, thank you, Inspector MacGregor.
Oh, yes.
Yes.
Thank you.
Oh, yes.
The moment anything develops, we'll keep in touch.
Thank you, Inspector MacGregor.
[Mutters.]
Grandpa? Grandpa? You wanna know what Peggy Farrell smuggled in and what got Fairbanks all of a sudden dead? Huh? You ready? The Royal Canadian Mint's out two $20 plates.
Ah, tell them Gimbel's is having a dinnerware sale.
That was Pier 96.
They've got the car.
It was impounded and towed away from a passenger zone in front of the Royale Hotel.
Interesting? Fascinating.
That means that our girl Peggy that not necessarily Alex was her only boyfriend, right? - We could call her roomie and find out.
- Okay, pronto, por favor.
Be my guest.
- Or maybe it was Macy's.
- [Laughing.]
[Dialing Phone.]
[Phone Ringing.]
[Ringing Continues.]
And you kept your eyes on the place and never took them off, right? - Right, Lieutenant.
Word of honor.
- And nobody came in? Nobody.
Right, Saperstein? Nobody.
- And nobody came out? - Well, out.
- What does that mean? - One guy, yeah.
One guy what? Come out, got in a car and drove off.
A big, blue car.
Continental, maybe.
- What did he look like, Stavros? - We couldn't see his face, Lieutenant.
There was no light across the street not enough anyway.
- How long ago was that? - Twenty minutes maybe.
- We goofed, huh? - No.
I did.
I figured all he wanted to do was ice a murder witness.
- No, he wanted more.
- Like what, Lieutenant? Those missing plates.
Peggy must still have them on her.
And once he gets his hands on those, she's finished too.
Hey, Lieutenant? There's a piece of paper in her hand.
Well, what is it? Shouldn't we wait for Forensic to get here? Hey, that killer's got a 20-minute head start on us.
How many homicides do you need? And you wanna wait for Forensic? Give it to me! [Siren Wailing.]
[Siren Wailing.]
[Siren Continues Wailing.]
[Police Radio, Indistinct.]
Okay, contact Econo Rent.
I want a name.
Unless I'm mistaken, there's a dead girl in the neighborhood.
I hope to God I'm wrong, but spread out and let's take a look.
Lieutenant, I not only got you a name.
I got you a highly significant address.
Oh, no! The name, Crocker.
Give me the damn name.
[Phone Ringing.]
Hello? Yes, thank you, operator.
Thank you.
[Groaning.]
[Sighs.]
Room service? [Siren Wailing.]
[Knocks.]
If that's to make up the bed, will you come back later? Hotel security, Mr.
Tatum.
Can I talk to you a minute? Yeah, sure.
Yeah? Hey, wait a minute.
Get on the wall.
Hey, just a minute.
Spread 'em! Hey! More.
I think you got More! You got the wrong room, pal! My name is Lloyd Tatum.
I'm from Encino, California.
I'm with Wyler Computers.
I didn't do anything.
What is he doing? I didn't do anything.
Honest! Hey, now wait a minute! What the hell is this all about? Well, Mr.
Tatum, it's about murder.
Three of them.
Here, let me read you your rights.
"When a" Here, you read it.
"You have the right to remain silent.
If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
" And, uh, you've never seen this girl before? - Never! - Uh-huh.
Look, uh, if you were so juiced, how can you be that positive? L I can't be.
But if I saw her, I don't recall it.
Must have been other people in the room.
Maybe they can jog your memory.
The bartender.
If he served the both of you drinks, don't you think he'd remember? Wouldn't you say? Yeah.
There was a girl.
A blonde.
She tried to pick me up.
I might've bought her a drink.
I don't know.
I mean, I was alone.
I was just killin' time.
There wasn't any harm in that.
- She didn't go up to the room with you? - No! Absolutely not! Well, how do you explain your car being in her possession? Come on.
Well, the parking stub.
I had that on me.
Maybe I dropped it in the bar.
Maybe she picked my pocket or s-something.
Yeah, but the bar closes at 2.
00 a.
m.
She was seen walking into your hotel garage after 5:00.
Come on, huh? Can you tell us what happened during those three hours? I can't.
I don't know.
Okay.
Well, waltz him around the desk a couple of times, huh? Loosen him up.
All right, Lloyd.
Yeah? He's lying.
Sure, but he's not the slob we're after.
I mean, look at his bona fides.
Yeah, right.
Oh, you've changed, Frank.
No, a computer salesman from Southern California with a wife, two kids and a split-level in Encino? If he's entirely innocent, why won't he tell us the truth? Yeah, okay.
You go home to Lillian, okay? You tell her that you're gonna spend three hours with a buxom, stacked blonde in a motel room, right? Let me know what she's gonna tell you.
Before or after she hits me with the kitchen stove? Uh-huh.
Got a call from Montreal.
Inspector MacGregor.
They picked up the doctor who made the cast.
He's singing like he's auditioning for the Met.
He makes the Fairbanks connection, but who Fairbanks was peddling the plates to, MacGregor doesn't know.
- End of communiqué.
- He thinks he's tired.
I take off one of my stockings, and I'd kill him with it.
Ugh.
Homicide, mister.
Don't you know what that means? Hey, look, I'm gonna spell it out for you, mister.
You are hindering justice, and that can be a very, very heavy rap.
Now, look.
I've got three unsolved homicides on my hands.
I haven't been to bed for 24 hours, and I'm also in a very, very ugly mood.
Now, I understand how you feel about your wife finding out about Peggy Farrell.
We've all been in that same jackpot.
But you just think of how she's gonna feel when you start writin' her from Dannemora! I'm gonna give you 10 seconds.
And then after that, hey, it's outta my hands.
I'm gonna have to book you.
[Sighs.]
Okay.
She came to my room.
- Did she spend the night? - Yes.
All right, what did you two, you know, talk about? We didn't talk, Lieutenant.
You gotta believe me.
I was bombed! All right, I buy that.
I mean earlier, at the bar.
What brought you two together? I came to her rescue.
Oh? How do you mean? Some guy was givin' her a hard time, and I broke it up.
I told him to get lost.
- Kinda tall with a checkered overcoat? - I think so.
- And if I showed you some mug shots, would you be able to pick out his face? - Possibly, yes.
That's him.
That's him.
There's no doubt about it.
Maury Cherneff.
Okay.
So now we know who the blue Continental belongs to.
All right, get the, uh the plate number from the state tax and put it on the radio.
You want him picked up? Well, I'd prefer him six foot under, but I'll settle for a pick-up.
Okay.
If you don't need me anymore, may I go? Release him.
Now look, uh, you'll have to stay in town, you know? We need you to testify before the grand jury.
And, uh, I can't make any promises, but if I can, I'll try to keep it out of the West Coast papers.
I'd appreciate that, Lieutenant.
I mean, you stub your toe, you gotta expect some scuff marks, huh? She came to me out of fear.
I went to her in loneliness.
Looks like I got the best of the bargain, huh? I'm still alive.
[Phone Rings.]
Uh, I was wondering if Mr.
Tatum returned yet? Oh, no? Uh, could I have his room number, please? Lieutenant? Lieutenant? Hmm? They spotted Cherneff's car.
- And where's Cherneff? - There's no sign of him.
All right, tell them to sit on it.
He'll show up.
Okay.
Where is the car parked? It's in front of the Hotel Royale.
[Door Closes.]
All right, Crocker! Get Saperstein and Tracy, okay? And tell them to meet us at the Hotel Royale.
We may need some backup.
For the paper.
[Siren Wailing.]
Inside! Don't even stop to think about it.
[Siren Continues Wailing.]
- [Grunts.]
- All right, where's that plate? Would you believe me when I tell you I don't know what you're talking about! You keep saying that, I'm gonna blow your brains [Knocking.]
- Who is it? - Room service.
Your breakfast, sir.
When did you have time to order breakfast? In the lobby on the way up.
- Get rid of him.
- That's all right.
Leave it outside! You'll have to sign for the check, sir.
All right.
Saperstein! Yeah? Call an ambulance.
Right.
Three people died for that? Welcome to the Empire State, Mr.
Tatum.
Nice family.
Go home.
You know he'll be here any minute.
You promised me midnight.
Now what held you up? Couldn't help it.
A tanker overturned on the parkway.
Traffic was backed up.
Yeah, well, you shouldn't have waited so long.
A few minutes one way or another.
How much difference could it make? It makes all the difference in the world.
[Grinding.]
That's good.
That's got it.
- So the trip went okay, right? - State police stopped me once.
To tell me the road ahead was icy.
One of them signed my cast.
[Sighs.]
- Ooh.
- [Knocking.]
Okay, there's Cherneff.
Hey, into the bedroom, okay? And don't make a sound.
Here.
You take one of those with you.
Go on.
Go on.
Alex, why? Because, honey, if you only got one trip to the well, you've gotta take a long drink.
[Door Closes.]
You said 12:00.
Punctuality is a fetish with me.
- Looks okay.
- It looks okay? Hey, that's mother's own, straight from the Canadian mint.
One plate.
Bills have two sides, Alexander.
Even Canadian.
That's what I wanted to talk to you about.
I had some extra expenses.
You wouldn't be dumb enough to try tojack the price up on me.
Look, this isn't my action.
I get held up at the Canadian end.
My couriers got in trouble, and I had to make a couple ofbuy-offs.
You can't expect me to absorb all the increase, Cherneff.
- I'll come up empty.
- Well, that's your headache.
We had a firm deal.
I am not gonna go back to Majeski and tell him I need more bread.
Why not? All he has to do is run off a couple of more bills.
Don't clown around with me, Fairbanks.
There's a limit to how many of these we can push on the street at once.
You know better than that.
Now give me that plate.
I don't have it, man.
It's not here.
Oh, no? That little green job parked outside with the ski rack on top You think I don't know who that belongs to? That's right, baby.
Before I get into bed with somebody, I make it a point to check 'em out.
Now are you gonna go in that room and get that plate off ofher, or am I? Hard or easy, Fairbanks.
Get it.
[Gasps.]
[Tires Screech.]
[Siren Wailing.]
[Police Radio, Indistinct.]
[Siren Continues Wailing.]
[Police Radio, Indistinct.]
- How dead when you got here? - Three, maybe four minutes.
Name's, uh, Fairbanks.
Alex.
He's an artist.
Oh? How can you tell? Open on a night like this? What are you thinking, Lieutenant? What would you rather be doing on a rainy, cold night? [Horns Honking.]
Okay, well, if you turn up anything useful, uh You'll be the first one to know, Lieutenant.
Sure, I'll be the first one to know.
And I hear this loud crash, and I look out the window, and it's the fire escape ladder.
And there's this man jumpin' off it, chasin' her down the alley toward the street.
Chasing her? Chasing who? The girl who brought down the ladder in the first place.
What's the matter? There somethin' wrong with my English? Can you describe these two people for me? Well, the girl, uh I think I might know her if I saw her again.
But the man, nothing.
A turned-up overcoat, checked.
Uh, and he was tall.
Lieutenant.
I know, Agajanian.
You got a bulletin for me? He's dead, right? Shot, once, fairly close range.
And, yes, he's dead.
Well, that's all for now.
With luck, tomorrow you'll receive a slug in good condition.
I'll light a candle.
That looks like it hasn't even been walked around the block.
Well, maybe it's a surrealistic.
[Engine Sputtering.]
[Horn Honks.]
dd[Piano.]
Good evening, ma'am.
Can I help you, please? A Dubonnet on the rocks, please.
What do you mean nobody answers? Somebody gotta answer.
Yeah? Well, it's Monday night in California too, isn't it? Nobody goes out in Encino on Monday night, especially my wife.
On Tuesday morning, it's her turn for the carpool.
Yeah.
Okay, okay.
I'll try again in a half hour.
dd[Piano Continues.]
First we see a girl drive up, and a man comes down to help her up the stairs.
I think it was him.
A few minutes later, another car arrives.
- A man gets out and goes upstairs.
- What about a description? [Chuckles.]
Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn't really paying a lot of attention.
But I'll try.
Um, he was tall.
And he was wearing a plaid overcoat.
I remember that much.
And the girl? Blonde.
Mmm, Well, ski pants anyway.
You know, flared at the bottoms.
- Yeah, they're nice.
- And there was a ski rack on the roof of the car.
What kind of car? Green compact.
Maybe foreign.
- Wow.
- [Chuckling.]
With a ski rack on the roof, huh? Yeah.
What are you waitin' for? Put it on the radio.
There can't be that many cars out that late at night with that description, right? Right, Lieutenant.
Okay, what happened next? Nothing.
Well, for about five minutes anyway.
Then the girl runs around the corner, jumps into her car and takes off.
And right behind her is the man in the overcoat.
He takes off too.
Armus! Yeah.
I heard her.
He took off after her in what, miss? - Um, a Continental.
- All right.
Blue.
And it looked fairly new.
New blue Continental.
I got it.
Yeah.
With a checked raincoat in the back of the seat, right? Yeah.
You're puttin' that on the radio too? Right, right, right.
Beautiful.
Uh, I know you said, miss, that, uh that he came down to help the blonde up the stairs, right? Right.
That wouldn't have been because maybe she had a cast on her ankle, would it? That's right! My boyfriend and me, we figured she must have wiped out skiing.
- But - But she left here running.
Yeah.
Didn't your mama ever tell you about necking on the cold stairs? No.
Oh.
[Officers Chattering.]
Come here.
You see this? Yes.
I want to know where it was made, how long it was worn, foot size, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
[Chattering Continues.]
- How tall are you? - Six.
Six? You mind standin' up? [Muttering Greek.]
All right, what's that? - Looks like a pocket of some kind.
- Yeah, but what for? - I don't know.
- Why don't you take some pictures? There's a lot of graffiti on that thing.
Who knows? From that collection of autographs, we might come up with a killer.
Or another victim.
That's what I like about you, Prince.
- Your unflagging optimism.
- Agh! All right, Armus? Yeah.
The chick went skiing, right? Right.
Where? Placid's closed.
Vermont, New Hampshire They had a thaw.
So where? Sun Valley.
Uh, within driving distance, if you don't mind.
All right, got it.
All right, give me a choice.
Column A.
The chick took Fairbanks off and outdistanced the second man.
Column B The second man iced the victim, the fluff witnessed it, and she ran for the tulips.
- I'd take column B.
- Sure.
If he had tried to apprehend the killer, he'd have reported it to the police whether he caught her or not.
Okay, hot shot.
And what if both of them were in too deep to involve the cops? - Too deep into what? - Into what, Stavros? Up the front stairs with a cast on her leg, out the back window without it.
You want to have a cast removed, where do you go? To Picasso? There was somethin' in the cast.
I can't stand it.
I mean, from a yard full of crabgrass a geranium.
Bartender? Yes, ma'am.
Could I help you? Can I have my check, please? Certainly.
[Chattering.]
[Cash Register Dings.]
Four, five, 10.
Thank you.
Another drink, bartender.
Yes, sir.
Operator, help me, please You wouldn't be dumb enough to try to call the heat, would you? You're in this up to your bangs, baby.
Smuggling hot plates is a federal rap.
That's 15 years of folding laundry in Atlanta.
How does that grab you? Let's you and me take a little walk.
Maybe we can work something out.
I'll call her again.
If she isn't home this time, back to the manufacturer.
Hey, hey.
You're hurtin' the little lady.
Look, this is private, so bug off! It's private? Now it's not private anymore.
You gonna let the little lady go, or maybe you wanna step outside? [Laughs.]
That was fun.
Thank you.
Anytime.
Can I buy you a drink? No, you see, l Sure.
Why not? [Kojak.]
Come on.
It's gotta be there.
Fifty-eight names in Fairbanks's address book, and no Peggy whatever? No.
Got a Phyllis.
Got a Penelope.
Would you believe a Prunella? No Peggy.
Good news? Comme ci, comme ça.
Ballistics reports the slug came from a.
38.
No known antecedents.
About the cast, you were right.
She couldn't have worn it more than two days on the outside.
A scab won't heal in two days, let alone a broken bone.
Yeah? And what about the pocket on the cast? They got any idea what she was smuggling in? Rectangular, three-by-six, quarter of an inch thick.
- Cigarette case? - Did they do any good on the fire escape? - Maggie's drawers.
- What did you say? Well, they managed to lift a few smudges, I guess, but, uh Maggie's drawers.
Maggie.
Maggie Margaret? Margaret.
That's short for Peggy, right? Ain't that a nickname? Right.
Sir, you've been sitting here for over an hour now.
Are you a guest of this hotel? Then I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to move along.
[Laughing.]
So the next thing I know, he comes over to the room and he sells sells me the watch.
Sorry, folks.
I gotta ask you to drink up.
It's closing time.
Wait a minute.
It's 2:00.
What kind of a joint is this? I thought the bars closed at 4:00 in Gotham City.
Well, some of them do, sir.
All right.
I'll sign it.
Room 416, and this is for you.
Thank you very much, sir.
What about him? What if he's out there? What if he's waiting? Oh, him.
So what if he is? I would just rather not have another scene.
That's all.
You don't know him.
He can be really ugly when he's been drinking.
You can't stay here.
Why not? You have a room, don't you? Yeah.
[Chuckles.]
Good night.
Good night.
Yeah? Who is it? What do you want? Miss Farrell? Miss Peggy Farrell? Not home.
Oh, well, you must be Bettina James? Well, I'm, uh, Lieutenant Kojak, Manhattan South Detective.
Uh, can I come in? Uh, well, I can't open it until I close it first.
Oh.
Can I trust you? [Slides Foot.]
Thank you.
Oh, I took a sleeping pill at midnight.
What time is it? It's a little after 2:00.
Oh! You mind if I smoke? No, fine, fine.
Does your girlfriend, Peggy Farrell, pose for an artist named Alex Fairbanks? I guess she poses for him.
He's her boyfriend.
And does she have a green compact car with a with a ski rack on the roof? That's right, '74 Toyota, green Did she have an accident? Well, Alex Fairbanks was murdered earlier today, and we have reason to believe that your roomie, Miss Farrell, was involved.
Oh, no, no! You're wrong! Not Peggy! She's not even in the city.
She's still up in Canada.
She drove up with some friends to go skiing.
She's not due back until Sunday.
Where in Canada? Uh, a lodge outside ofToronto.
Um, oh, let me think.
Um, a leaf, a leaf.
The Maple Leaf! Yeah, the Maple Leaf! Well, if she should show up, you will let us know, huh? Okay.
She seemed to be leveling.
What do you think? Yeah, I think we oughta put a plant on the place.
Peggy, uh, could show up.
Bettina could start her sleepwalking routine.
We could save ourselves a plethora of surprises.
What the hell is "plethora"? Follow me.
We'll get a library card.
Yes? Miss James? Uh-huh.
Police again.
I have one more question.
[Snoring.]
[Clattering.]
But you didn't actually see the accident happen? Uh-huh.
Well, thank you very much, Mr.
Waverly.
You've been extremely helpful.
I just spoke to Waverly, one of the dudes Peggy Farrell drove up with.
Seems she was alone on the slope when the alleged mishap occurred.
She suddenly shows up at the lodge with her leg in a cast yesterday afternoon.
Halfhour later, she's on her way back to the States.
Yeah, well, to fit a cast, you gotta know what you're doing.
You don't go to a mechanic for a thing like that.
All right.
Find out how many doctors live in the vicinity of the lodge, okay? Because if I'm right, one of those doctors is gonna lose his shingle.
And then make a liaison with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The Royal Canadian [Laughs.]
You know, every time I say that, I think of Nelson Eddy on top of a white mountain singing that song, uh, "Rose Marie, I love you.
" - What's that chick's name? - I don't know.
Jeannette MacDonald.
Oh, yeah.
Well, anyway, send them all the pieces.
They want in on this, okay? Let 'em work it out themselves.
You gotta be kidding.
Gotta be a broad, right? You know what time it is? I know what time it is.
But my grandson doesn't.
My daughter and her husband want to go to Vegas for their anniversary.
Only who's to babysit, right? I'll tell you who's to babysit.
Okay, so my wife and me, we make a deal.
Lillian will take the first feeding.
I'll take the second, then Lillian you know, like that figuring this way, we'll each catch a little shut-eye.
Sound pretty good so far? Four o'clock in the morning, little Desmond is still on his 2:00 feeding, and I'm pacing and pacing I paced a hole right into the carpet.
And I'm promising Desmond an Oxford education, a seat on the stock exchange, his own private plane, ifhe'll only burp for me.
Do I know what time it is? I haven't even been to bed yet.
I hear you caught a homicide.
Yeah.
You should've promised him a badge.
Here.
That's all we caught.
Take a look at this.
See if you can make any sense out of it.
In a cast? That's a new wrinkle.
Three-by-six by a quarter of an inch.
Money? They'd have to be big bills, and hot at that, otherwise why smuggle 'em? Just declare 'em.
Maybe you're wasting your time.
Maybe she won't even come here.
She'll come.
Where is she gonna go? She doesn't know the law's wise to her yet.
She certainly doesn't know I'm here.
So she'll come.
What are you gonna do to her? [Snoring Continues.]
Hello, Betts? It's Peggy.
Listen, Betts, I'm in a lot of trouble.
I've gotta get out of town, far away and fast.
I've run out of money.
Can you loan me some? How much? As much as you can scrape together.
I'll get it back to you somehow.
I promise.
- Of course.
You know I will.
- Oh, thank you.
I'll never forget it.
Can you bring it to me? - Can't you come here? - No, no.
Listen to me.
I can't explain now.
Just trust me.
I'd do the same for you.
You know I would.
Um "Meet me at the little bridge over Central Park Pond.
" Betts, thanks a million.
You've saved my life.
[Snoring Continues.]
Uh, thank you.
[Man On Phone, Indistinct.]
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Uh, thank you, Inspector MacGregor.
Oh, yes.
Yes.
Thank you.
Oh, yes.
The moment anything develops, we'll keep in touch.
Thank you, Inspector MacGregor.
[Mutters.]
Grandpa? Grandpa? You wanna know what Peggy Farrell smuggled in and what got Fairbanks all of a sudden dead? Huh? You ready? The Royal Canadian Mint's out two $20 plates.
Ah, tell them Gimbel's is having a dinnerware sale.
That was Pier 96.
They've got the car.
It was impounded and towed away from a passenger zone in front of the Royale Hotel.
Interesting? Fascinating.
That means that our girl Peggy that not necessarily Alex was her only boyfriend, right? - We could call her roomie and find out.
- Okay, pronto, por favor.
Be my guest.
- Or maybe it was Macy's.
- [Laughing.]
[Dialing Phone.]
[Phone Ringing.]
[Ringing Continues.]
And you kept your eyes on the place and never took them off, right? - Right, Lieutenant.
Word of honor.
- And nobody came in? Nobody.
Right, Saperstein? Nobody.
- And nobody came out? - Well, out.
- What does that mean? - One guy, yeah.
One guy what? Come out, got in a car and drove off.
A big, blue car.
Continental, maybe.
- What did he look like, Stavros? - We couldn't see his face, Lieutenant.
There was no light across the street not enough anyway.
- How long ago was that? - Twenty minutes maybe.
- We goofed, huh? - No.
I did.
I figured all he wanted to do was ice a murder witness.
- No, he wanted more.
- Like what, Lieutenant? Those missing plates.
Peggy must still have them on her.
And once he gets his hands on those, she's finished too.
Hey, Lieutenant? There's a piece of paper in her hand.
Well, what is it? Shouldn't we wait for Forensic to get here? Hey, that killer's got a 20-minute head start on us.
How many homicides do you need? And you wanna wait for Forensic? Give it to me! [Siren Wailing.]
[Siren Wailing.]
[Siren Continues Wailing.]
[Police Radio, Indistinct.]
Okay, contact Econo Rent.
I want a name.
Unless I'm mistaken, there's a dead girl in the neighborhood.
I hope to God I'm wrong, but spread out and let's take a look.
Lieutenant, I not only got you a name.
I got you a highly significant address.
Oh, no! The name, Crocker.
Give me the damn name.
[Phone Ringing.]
Hello? Yes, thank you, operator.
Thank you.
[Groaning.]
[Sighs.]
Room service? [Siren Wailing.]
[Knocks.]
If that's to make up the bed, will you come back later? Hotel security, Mr.
Tatum.
Can I talk to you a minute? Yeah, sure.
Yeah? Hey, wait a minute.
Get on the wall.
Hey, just a minute.
Spread 'em! Hey! More.
I think you got More! You got the wrong room, pal! My name is Lloyd Tatum.
I'm from Encino, California.
I'm with Wyler Computers.
I didn't do anything.
What is he doing? I didn't do anything.
Honest! Hey, now wait a minute! What the hell is this all about? Well, Mr.
Tatum, it's about murder.
Three of them.
Here, let me read you your rights.
"When a" Here, you read it.
"You have the right to remain silent.
If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
" And, uh, you've never seen this girl before? - Never! - Uh-huh.
Look, uh, if you were so juiced, how can you be that positive? L I can't be.
But if I saw her, I don't recall it.
Must have been other people in the room.
Maybe they can jog your memory.
The bartender.
If he served the both of you drinks, don't you think he'd remember? Wouldn't you say? Yeah.
There was a girl.
A blonde.
She tried to pick me up.
I might've bought her a drink.
I don't know.
I mean, I was alone.
I was just killin' time.
There wasn't any harm in that.
- She didn't go up to the room with you? - No! Absolutely not! Well, how do you explain your car being in her possession? Come on.
Well, the parking stub.
I had that on me.
Maybe I dropped it in the bar.
Maybe she picked my pocket or s-something.
Yeah, but the bar closes at 2.
00 a.
m.
She was seen walking into your hotel garage after 5:00.
Come on, huh? Can you tell us what happened during those three hours? I can't.
I don't know.
Okay.
Well, waltz him around the desk a couple of times, huh? Loosen him up.
All right, Lloyd.
Yeah? He's lying.
Sure, but he's not the slob we're after.
I mean, look at his bona fides.
Yeah, right.
Oh, you've changed, Frank.
No, a computer salesman from Southern California with a wife, two kids and a split-level in Encino? If he's entirely innocent, why won't he tell us the truth? Yeah, okay.
You go home to Lillian, okay? You tell her that you're gonna spend three hours with a buxom, stacked blonde in a motel room, right? Let me know what she's gonna tell you.
Before or after she hits me with the kitchen stove? Uh-huh.
Got a call from Montreal.
Inspector MacGregor.
They picked up the doctor who made the cast.
He's singing like he's auditioning for the Met.
He makes the Fairbanks connection, but who Fairbanks was peddling the plates to, MacGregor doesn't know.
- End of communiqué.
- He thinks he's tired.
I take off one of my stockings, and I'd kill him with it.
Ugh.
Homicide, mister.
Don't you know what that means? Hey, look, I'm gonna spell it out for you, mister.
You are hindering justice, and that can be a very, very heavy rap.
Now, look.
I've got three unsolved homicides on my hands.
I haven't been to bed for 24 hours, and I'm also in a very, very ugly mood.
Now, I understand how you feel about your wife finding out about Peggy Farrell.
We've all been in that same jackpot.
But you just think of how she's gonna feel when you start writin' her from Dannemora! I'm gonna give you 10 seconds.
And then after that, hey, it's outta my hands.
I'm gonna have to book you.
[Sighs.]
Okay.
She came to my room.
- Did she spend the night? - Yes.
All right, what did you two, you know, talk about? We didn't talk, Lieutenant.
You gotta believe me.
I was bombed! All right, I buy that.
I mean earlier, at the bar.
What brought you two together? I came to her rescue.
Oh? How do you mean? Some guy was givin' her a hard time, and I broke it up.
I told him to get lost.
- Kinda tall with a checkered overcoat? - I think so.
- And if I showed you some mug shots, would you be able to pick out his face? - Possibly, yes.
That's him.
That's him.
There's no doubt about it.
Maury Cherneff.
Okay.
So now we know who the blue Continental belongs to.
All right, get the, uh the plate number from the state tax and put it on the radio.
You want him picked up? Well, I'd prefer him six foot under, but I'll settle for a pick-up.
Okay.
If you don't need me anymore, may I go? Release him.
Now look, uh, you'll have to stay in town, you know? We need you to testify before the grand jury.
And, uh, I can't make any promises, but if I can, I'll try to keep it out of the West Coast papers.
I'd appreciate that, Lieutenant.
I mean, you stub your toe, you gotta expect some scuff marks, huh? She came to me out of fear.
I went to her in loneliness.
Looks like I got the best of the bargain, huh? I'm still alive.
[Phone Rings.]
Uh, I was wondering if Mr.
Tatum returned yet? Oh, no? Uh, could I have his room number, please? Lieutenant? Lieutenant? Hmm? They spotted Cherneff's car.
- And where's Cherneff? - There's no sign of him.
All right, tell them to sit on it.
He'll show up.
Okay.
Where is the car parked? It's in front of the Hotel Royale.
[Door Closes.]
All right, Crocker! Get Saperstein and Tracy, okay? And tell them to meet us at the Hotel Royale.
We may need some backup.
For the paper.
[Siren Wailing.]
Inside! Don't even stop to think about it.
[Siren Continues Wailing.]
- [Grunts.]
- All right, where's that plate? Would you believe me when I tell you I don't know what you're talking about! You keep saying that, I'm gonna blow your brains [Knocking.]
- Who is it? - Room service.
Your breakfast, sir.
When did you have time to order breakfast? In the lobby on the way up.
- Get rid of him.
- That's all right.
Leave it outside! You'll have to sign for the check, sir.
All right.
Saperstein! Yeah? Call an ambulance.
Right.
Three people died for that? Welcome to the Empire State, Mr.
Tatum.
Nice family.
Go home.