Cannon (1971) s01e23 Episode Script

Uh, wait a minute.
Now, what are you doing here, boy? I, uh I work here.
I I was stencilling some crates and I guess I guess I fell asleep.
I didn't hear the bell.
Get over against that wall.
Look, my name is Terry Alexander and my brother owns the plant.
He's your boss.
Now, wait.
Now, watch it, boy.
Yes? My brother? Hold him there.
You're dumb.
You're not only a troublemaker, but you're a clumsy one, and if I did what I should, I'd have you thrown right back into jail again.
You're the one that should be thrown in jail.
Shut up and listen to me.
Not anymore! Oh! Hey! Hey! Hold it! Don't shoot! Let him go.
Where was he? He came down this aisle.
ANNOUNCER: Starring William Conrad.
With guest stars: Bradford Dillman, Carmen Matthews, David Birney, Dana Elcar.
ANNOUNCER: Lavender, caraway, thyme, chives, parsley, oregano, sweet marjoram, dill.
It's absolutely beautiful, Mr.
Cannon.
Here's something that might interest you.
Upland cress.
In any salad it is just beautiful.
Ah, I must tell you, Mr.
Cannon, when I came here I never thought it would be like this.
Yes, I know.
You expected one room in a cheap hotel, a cheap bottle of booze on the desk and a four-day-old half-eaten bologna sandwich, right? I'm sorry to disappoint you.
Won't you please sit down? Well, I I don't know if I can pay what Oh, don't worry about it.
Let's hear the problem first.
Well, I, uh I have two sons, Mr.
Cannon.
The younger son Terry, well, he's never found himself.
He He's wandered around a lot here and there.
Was he ever in bad trouble, Mrs.
Alexander? He did one foolish thing some years ago and they sent him away to He's, uh He's hotheaded.
He doesn't think of the consequences sometimes, like his father.
My husband died 20 years ago when the boys were children.
Is he on probation? Oh, something of the kind.
I don't understand those Yes, of course he's on probation.
But he's a wonderful boy, believe me.
Both my boys are.
May I get something for you, Mrs.
Alexander? Just a, uh A glass of water, please, Mr.
Cannon.
All right.
My, uh My older son Richard, well, he's a go-getter.
He took on a failing business and he just turned it right around.
Everything he touches works out.
Every girl he meets wants to marry him.
It's true.
I'm sure.
He, uh He's always tried to help Terry too.
He gave him a good job and then, oh, about ten days ago he told me that he caught Terry trying to take some merchandise out of the plant.
They had an argument and Terry ran away.
I haven't heard from him since.
Have you tried calling his friends? Well, he doesn't have many friends.
There's one that he used to talk about.
A Ben, a Ben Kendall, but lately I'm very worried, Mr.
Cannon.
If he doesn't report to the probation people the way he's supposed to, they'll come and Take it easy.
I I can't call the police, so So I got your name.
Help me, Mr.
Cannon.
Find him for me.
I just want to know if he's all right.
I I don't want him to do anything foolish.
I want him to do what he should do, or else they'll They'll take him away again.
Please.
Please.
All right.
Hello.
May I sit down? No other tables? Oh, there are a lot of other tables, except you're sitting at this one.
Uh, my name is Frank Cannon.
I'm Ben Kendall.
Hello, Ben.
You know, uh, I'm a private investigator and I've been hired by Terry Alexander's mother.
She'd like to know if, uh, he's all right.
Am I supposed to know? Well, you might.
You do know him, don't you? Well, suppose I told you he was okay? Well, then she might ask me if I saw that for myself and, uh, I don't know quite how to answer that.
Aw, look, man, why get me into this? You know, you just come on here like, uh, I'm just supposed to believe what you say.
I'm trying to keep a sincere tone in my voice, Ben.
Let me put it another way: Would you like to see Terry yanked back into prison? Okay.
Uh, I get a lot from vibrations.
I have to, you know.
I've had to for some time because, uh Well, anyway, it's sort of like whatever I can read with my skin.
So I'll tell you what, Mr.
Cannon.
I'll go a small distance with you.
That's fair enough.
But we'll make the shipping date.
Don't be concerned.
Please report that to Monsieur Toulo.
Come in, Mother.
Yes, we're stockpiling now, and the material is first grade.
Very well, we'll be in touch.
Mother, this is an associate, Mr.
Kruger.
How do you do? Why don't you make those calls about the upstate pickups? Good idea.
Excuse me.
Surely.
Ah, a little present.
I was passing the farmers' market and I remembered the time we went there and you saw those cookies and remarked about them, so Thank you.
Ah, how do you like my new suit? Is it a little short, do you think? No, no, it's fine.
I bought it with that extra check you sent me last month.
I'm glad.
Tell me, have you heard from our friend Terry recently? No.
Mother? No, I haven't, no.
But What? I I hired a private detective to find him.
Detective? Why didn't you tell me you were going to do that? A man by the name of Cannon, Frank Cannon.
He seemed very sympathetic.
Of course he was, to your money.
No, no, he seemed to understand how it is sometimes between brothers.
Do you have his card? Yes.
I'm sorry, Richard.
I did what I thought was right.
He's wild and foolish, but, well, he's as much my son as you are.
Yes.
Excuse me, Mother, I just remembered something.
All right, all right, thank you.
Private detective looking for my brother.
Get some people onto him.
You worried? Don't you always worry about a brother? So my mother hired you.
So what? I'm a big boy now.
You can tell her I'm okay, period.
What about your parole situation? Listen, my parole situation is nobody's lousy business.
Certainly not yours.
Tell her I I'm not due to report until next week.
Nothing to worry, okay? If you say so.
Come on.
Hey, Alexander, we'd like to talk to you.
What do you want? We can't talk here.
Listen, I know who sent you Ben, get out of here! All right, what's this all about? Now, come on, spill it.
I don't like bruising my knuckles for nothing.
I guess you're not working for him, are you? For who? My brother.
Right, Richard, who's got all the wheels working for him.
Who my mother thinks is so terrific.
You wanna know what he does, huh? You wanna know what he really does? I want to know what you're talking about.
Now, come on.
That casting business of his is nothing.
It's just a front.
My brother Richard collects all kinds of arms.
Guns, mines, bombs.
And he sells them to anyone for cash on the line.
Gangsters, countries who can't get arms legally, private armies.
Anyone who wants to blow something up.
He's got it all taped.
He's been doing it for years.
How do you know this? Because I saw it.
Yeah, I know, you wanna know why I don't go to the cops.
He's threatened to send me back to jail more than once.
He could do it too.
That's why he had me fired off the job.
He said you were stealing from him.
Yeah, I was.
I was stealing a look at some grenades.
Hand grenades that he got from a government armory somewhere.
You check that out.
Go ahead, you check it out, and you tell my mother that.
I don't understand.
How could he say those things about Richard? You tell me, Mrs.
Alexander.
I'll check into it and get back to you.
Mr.
Cannon, I'm Dick Alexander.
Yes, I would have guessed.
What's that, uh, brother of mine been up to this time? My mother called me too.
He's obviously upset her again.
You know, Mr.
Cannon, it takes a supreme act of will not to put my brother either back in prison or into an institution, believe me.
I didn't say that I bought your brother's story, Mr.
Alexander.
All his life he's been jealous of me, done very destructive things.
Consult your local psychiatrist for reasons.
By the way, uh, two men jumped him just as I was leaving him, and strangely enough You won't believe this.
one of them had a paycheck in his pocket from your company.
Yes, of course.
I've told people who know Terry that if they run into him accidentally anyplace, they're to convince him that I want to see him for his own good.
Ah.
Well, they used very direct arguments, I must say.
They almost got to me.
I'm afraid that subtlety is not a strong suit at our plant.
Well, I still would like very much to see him and straighten this out for my mother's sake.
So I think I'll take over her obligation.
I'd like you to try to locate Terry wherever he is now, even if it takes you to the other coast.
I'll pick up the tab, and I won't even argue with whatever you quote.
No dice.
I don't think that we understand each other Oh, forgive me, sir.
What you don't understand is that I am one of the world's fine understanders, but unfortunately, I'm going to have to report all of this to the police.
I'd suggest you don't do that.
This is a family matter.
Ha-ha.
Uh, let me try to explain my situation this way, if I may.
You see, I happen to be a licensed private investigator.
Now, if I don't report everything I see about illegal weapons, why, you know that they might take my license away from me? You wouldn't want that, would you? Don't give me any of your children's games, Mr.
Cannon.
You go to the police with this story, and I can assure you of one thing.
You'll end up a very sorry private detective.
If you end up one at all.
Look out! That was a little too close.
Wasn't it? It's a good thing there was someone here to warn you this time.
You're right.
Subtlety is not one of your strong suits.
That is a fully automatic Russian submachine gun, lieutenant.
The PPSh-41.
Great muzzle velocity, and a collector's item.
It's fully deactivated, of course, and legally registered.
It can't fire.
It's all strictly legal, like everything else in here.
Anything in the warehouse? Radiator frames, car parts.
Didn't see any arms or ammunition.
Well Mr.
Alexander, all I can say is, I'm sorry.
Mistakes do happen.
The only mistake you made was letting him know we were coming.
Stay out of this, Frank.
I gather you two know each other.
That has nothing to do with it.
Lieutenant, may I tell you what this is really about? Bill, would you come in here, please, with Mr.
Connors? Just yesterday, in connection with all of this, Mr.
Cannon came over.
I met him outside, but he insisted that we go into my office to talk privately.
I've never been in this room in my life before, Sam.
Let Mr.
Alexander talk.
Ah, Mr.
Penski and Mr.
Connors.
They were in the next office there when Mr.
Cannon made his pitch.
For five thousand dollars he'd forget what my brother had accused me of.
I said what? And if I didn't pay you the money, you had friends in the police department who would make my life miserable for me, disrupt my business with constant searches, cost me more money You say you have witnesses to this? The door was open.
They heard it all.
Oh, come on, Sam, it's a lie, and they're witnesses to a lie.
That guy's one of the two that attacked Terry Alexander in the park.
Now, just hold it.
Mr.
Alexander, are you going to prefer charges? Not at this time.
I have a business to run.
If Mr.
Cannon has sense enough to stop this harassment, fine.
If not, the charge will be extortion.
You believe that? I know garbage when I hear it.
But he's a tough cookie to play pick-up sticks with.
I don't wanna play with him, Sam.
But if he had illegal weapons in there, I want to find out where he moved them to.
You're licensed, Frank.
Don't fool around with him.
No, I want more, bigger stuff.
You got connections? There it is, on that barge anchored out there.
Stowed up in that trailer, huh? Yeah, that's what they say.
What kind of stuff? All kinds.
Bazookas, even rockets.
That's what they say.
Who says? Guys.
Guys who work at that kind of business.
But you don't know for a fact that there are weapons on that barge.
It could be just talk.
Well, it's the kind of talk that could get you killed.
And as long as he keeps sending her those checks, my mother thinks he can't do anything wrong.
Me, I'm the drifter, bad kid brother with a probation hanging over his head.
And he's the one that's sending out guns and bombs, blowing up people, crippling them and I guess I'd better deliver a couple of these rackets, kind of overdoing Ow Anyway.
Ben, I'm sorry, I put it there before.
That's That's okay, man, no problem, it's okay.
Here.
Thanks.
I'll see you later, Mr.
Cannon.
Yeah, Ben.
Yeah, take it easy.
Okay.
He's a terrific guy.
We, uh, sort of grew up together.
He hasn't always been sightless? No.
Do you have anything to do with that? No.
At least not the way you think.
We did some crazy things together.
We got involved with a guy who thought he was a mastermind, had great plans for blowing up a bank vault.
That's the job that put you away? No, we never even got into that.
But Ben, uh He went to pick up a package for this guy, and it blew up.
Killed one kid.
Ben was lucky to get away with just Just the loss of his eyes.
Yeah, I get the picture.
Do you? The guy that he picked up the package for was selling just like my brother.
You know what he did when he found out what happened? He laughed.
He said, "Plastic explosives aren't supposed to do that.
It's a good thing I got my money up front.
" He laughed.
I've seen you looking at me, Mr.
Cannon, trying to figure out what's up, why I'm so hot to stop Dick.
Well, now you know.
Look, let's get practical for a minute, huh? There's a barge in the middle of the channel at San Pedro that just may be full of your brother's weapons.
I say just may, because I don't have any evidence, and the police won't go into this because of what happened at your brother's plant.
But there's gotta be somebody working for your brother who knows what's on that barge.
Ah, Dick's got all the angles covered.
Everyone that works for him is on parole from prison.
They either do what he says, or he sends them back.
If we could just break that barge, we could bust open the whole case, maybe.
Just one man.
One man, that's all we need to put some pressure on.
Wait a minute.
There is one guy.
He hates what he's into, and he'd love to get out, I know he would.
Listen, let me see him, I'll get to him, and I'll talk- No, no, you just tell me who he is, I'll get to him.
Now, I know you mean well, but you just have a habit of jumping into things too hard.
Not this car, that one.
Sorry.
Uh I had to say Not thisI'd testify against you.
I had no choice.
I want you to identify a barge for me.
I don't know about any barge.
Then we'll go have a talk with Lieutenant Avakian.
I I can't go near the police.
I spent nine years in prison.
Penski, you either play ball, or I'll see that you get another nine, and you'd better believe that.
No, I'm clean.
Except for what you're doing there, huh? You know, legally, you're as guilty as Alexander is, and they could put you in the slammer for the rest of your life.
Now let's go.
Either to the waterfront or the police.
You make the pick, get in.
I want you to take a good look at that barge, the one with the trailer on it, and then you tell me.
What barge? Why the All right, where is it? Where did they take it? Look, I told you in the first place, I don't know anything about barges.
Now, I went along with you.
Now you gotta leave me alone, leave me alone! I don't want any more trouble.
Hello? Mr.
Cannon? I must see you.
It's urgent, please.
I'll be right over, Mrs.
Alexander.
Not here, no.
Meet me at a restaurant, Robaire's, do you know where that is? Yes.
Is, uh Is 7:00 all right? I'll be there.
Thank you.
Goodbye.
Good evening, I'm Frank Cannon.
Oh, yes, Mr.
Cannon, your party's waiting upstairs.
Upstairs? Thank you.
What do you want? We'd like to talk to you, Mr.
Cannon.
No, no! Don't! Call the police! I saw the whole thing.
He threw him down there, that man with the gun.
He's trying to kill him! Somebody call the police!