The Streets of San Francisco (1972) s02e10 Episode Script

It's hot already.
Open a window.
No.
Don't bother.
Come out.
Okay, okay.
- O'Brien, right? - DA's office? - That's right.
- Look, I just wanted to say-- - Keep it moving.
- Look, I just wanted to tell him that-- Take it up.
I'm glad that part's over with.
Getting you here safely was our biggest concern.
Mine too.
Don't worry.
We've taken every precaution to protect your identity as a witness.
No, no, no.
Open the door.
Open that door.
- Come on.
- Come on, hurry up.
Get him.
Come on, get him.
Shooting on the third floor.
Suspect moving to the west wing.
Clear the door.
Come on.
Let's go.
You! Seal off the building.
Every level! I want that hit man brought in.
You're on this until he's found, Mike.
- I'll call the chief.
- There's an APB out on him now.
Description's pretty vague, though, for a guy who fired point-blank.
How'd he get in the building? This place is supposed to be tight.
Psychology.
- Came in as a victim.
- What? He just walked in, told the officer at the lobby desk he'd been fleeced in a phony franchise deal and wanted to complain.
They sent him up to bunco.
How'd he get a gun in? I guess we're gonna have to find him to find out.
Cahill was the one witness I needed to make my case against Al Lyman.
Lyman.
That's prostitutions, right? - The whole West Coast operations.
- Cahill work for Lyman? No, he was just a smalltime pimp who got mad when the organization moved into his territory.
The thing is, he was mad enough to talk.
Who else did he talk to, Jerry? Nobody but me.
How do you know? He was hiding in Oakland with his girlfriend, too scared to move once he decided to testify.
Who was handling this for the department? Vice.
Lieutenant Bondini.
You know him? Yeah, for about 20 years.
I'll talk to him.
Mike.
Find that hit man, I can still make my case.
From what we put together, lieutenant, person most likely to benefit from Cahill's death is Al Lyman.
Were you the only two working this case? When it came to Cahill, yeah.
There were the inspectors that brought him in, Riggs and Holeck, but we kept this thing tighter than skin.
Anybody else who would want Cahill dead besides Lyman? Oh, John Benning and Tony Peloso, but Lyman seems to be top man in all the coast operations.
If Cahill was gonna talk, he'd name the big names.
You mean, nobody knew what Cahill was gonna say? I said we kept it tight.
Cahill made his deal with O'Brien.
And he wasn't gonna say anything to anybody till they got in here.
He did have a girlfriend in Oakland.
Nita Vaughn.
That's right.
You know her, don't you, Drea? Yeah, she was still working when I first came on Vice.
She was one of Cahill's girls.
Okay.
Steve, you check out that woman.
I'll talk to Riggs and Holeck.
Maybe there's something they overlooked in their report.
Why don't you take McCormick with you? She might be able to talk to that lady a lot easier.
Sure.
Drea? Okay.
Lieutenant.
Yes? Are you Miss Vaughn? Yes.
Can we come in, please? Yeah.
Something's happened to Martin.
He's dead.
Oh, God, no.
I'm sorry.
I thought the department had already called.
I knew it.
I knew it.
I told him to let it go.
But he insisted on talking to your DA.
Miss Vaughn do you remember me? Yes, I think so.
Vice Bureau, wasn't it? Not much of an introduction.
Miss Vaughn it's important that you give us all the information you can.
Who might have known when Martin was going in to testify.
I'm sorry.
No one.
No one knew.
He made all the arrangements with the district attorney's office.
He didn't even tell me when he was going in.
I realize this is bad timing but if we're to find out - who killed him-- - I'm positive.
Martin was very careful.
Like I said, he didn't even tell me.
I couldn't let slip what I didn't know.
No one knew, I swear.
You know, this description isn't worth 2 cents.
Come on.
What do you want? You're being shot.
Don't take time to see color guy's eyes are.
You're supposed to be trained.
To see more than average guy in the street.
Now, what did you see? Lieutenant, Dan's right.
It was so unexpected.
I had my head down, trying to light a cigarette.
All of a sudden, someone's blasting through the door with a magnum.
Magnum? That's not in this report.
What caliber? A .
357.
It had to be.
It cracked like a whip.
Which hand did he use? Right or left? Left.
L-- I think.
Yes, it was his left.
Okay, what else? He wore a wig when he made the shot.
What was the color of his hair when he escaped? Sandy blond.
A little bit longer than average.
Height, weight, age? It says here you hit him in the shoulder.
- Where in the shoulder? - Shoulder blade.
Right side.
- How bad? - It should've ripped him up good.
He could be losing a lot of blood.
All right.
I put out alert to all hospitals and doctors.
Now, that's what you should've done.
Probably won't do any good but he may get desperate.
She didn't ask how he died.
Well, could be she knew.
I didn't read her that way.
You ever work Vice? Couple of weeks.
Yeah.
Black and whites to Homicide inspector just like that, right? - It's a long story, Drea.
- Didn't take long.
We've only been out - of the Academy three years.
- I know, I know.
The department doesn't move women as fast as men, right? That's the understatement of the year, inspector.
The Air Force gave me a commission, right? I was a captain.
You know the only way I'll get any rank in the department? At a desk.
Fingerprints, forgery.
Maybe one of the lab jobs.
- It's exciting, huh? - But the times are changing.
Rip Van Winkles of the world are waking up.
You know, there's actually some male chauvinist pigs who know women can do more than type or take shorthand? Oh, come on.
That's great for tomorrow, what about today? Today we got another battle to fight, okay? Okay.
You think she was lying, huh? She sold herself for money.
Why not sell him? I don't know.
She said she loved him.
Wonder how many men she said that to.
It's no great loss if she talked.
They take care of each other that way.
Sure saves us a lot of trouble.
You're getting hard, you know that? I work with a guy day and night looking at the bottom for 30 years and he doesn't even come up with things like that.
- Think they're worth saving? - I don't think that's your choice.
I don't think that badge would be worth anything if people felt the way you do.
Okay, okay.
Let's just say Cahill didn't tell the woman he was living with when they were bringing him in.
Now, you know, of course, that-- O'Brien sure didn't.
The only people who benefit from Cahill's death are the organizations, so it had to be a hit man.
Oh, it had to be a professional.
There's no doubt about that.
But I keep bumping into one question all the time.
How did they know which elevator and when? - Had to be very well-timed.
- That's right.
Somebody knew the exact time that Cahill was being brought in.
And who was that somebody? Somebody inside the organization? Then? There's only one answer, buddy boy.
Someone in the department.
A security leak in the department is the chief's business.
My concern is to get that hit man in here alive so he can testify on who hired him to knock off Cahill.
Stands to reason if you don't plug up that security leak, you may never get him in here alive.
Four people had that information.
- Bondini-- - No way.
You prejudging, Mike? I thought you didn't indulge? I don't.
But you've got two better suspects.
Riggs and Holeck.
They knew to the minute where they were gonna be.
And this Holeck-- He's had a lot of funny little lapses along the way.
What about McCormick? - I can't see it.
- How come? From what I know of her, she's not the type.
She's not, huh? For the record, all right? We were in the same class at the academy.
Okay, how about off the record? We went out a couple of times.
Knowing you, that's gotta mean you know her a lot better than you're letting on.
Come on, now.
Come on.
Is there anything to say she could've pulled the plug on Cahill? No.
Look.
Mike, she had a rough time when she was a kid.
No folks, had a younger sister to bring up.
She was looking towards the department as a home.
She may be little uptight about not being promoted as fast as the men but she wouldn't destroy anything that means that much to her, no.
Okay.
Yank all their files anyway.
Give them to Intelligence.
You can work on internal security, Mike.
But I want you on the Cahill homicide first.
Okay.
The way I see it, we need three things.
First, a stakeout on Lyman's house.
Now, he's the man who gained most when Cahill was scrubbed.
Second, the hit man.
He took a bullet.
And if he doesn't get help, he could be in trouble.
- Third-- - Find out who sold out.
Right.
That's the third thing.
Now, I know it's tough to get a tap now but we do need one on Lyman's house.
I already talked to the attorney general.
- Thank you.
- Man.
You must want him bad.
He's been living off of human misery for the past 15 years and never even been close to a court.
I want him.
O'Brien.
Yes, when? They'll be right on it.
They just found the getaway car.
It was dumped down by the Cow Palace.
I'll cover that with Holeck.
Steve, you take the first stakeout shift on Lyman's house.
Right.
Use Vince Bondini.
Holeck and Bondini? If they're involved, why take them? Stone's axioms, Chapter 2, Verse 1.
Question subject face to face, he'll clam.
Ask time of day, you'll learn a lot more what he thinks about than the weather.
What's the matter? Kicking yourself all over the block for fouling up this morning? - All over the peninsula.
- You should.
I know.
We were up so tight all the way in.
I just let down when we got inside the elevator.
Who would have thought? Inside police headquarters? That's just what they were counting on.
I know.
Wonder what he's gonna buy out now? He's been to every men's store in town.
- He's got the bread, that's for sure.
- Yeah.
I bet what he just spent in those stores would pay my wife's hospital bills in one piece.
Wife's been sick? She's been in and out.
It's over a year now.
She's got cancer.
Sorry.
Yeah.
But she's got a chance.
They're all, you know, hopeful at the hospital.
But it costs.
A lot, you know? I know.
- What've you got? - Couple set of partial prints.
Mostly smudged.
I don't know if we can make anything out of it, but look at this.
Checks out with Riggs' idea that he hit him high in the shoulder.
Yeah, looks like he lost a lot of blood.
More than he can afford too.
Cullen.
I need a doctor.
Ain't gonna make it out of town like this.
Look, I'm a driver.
Don't know anything about getting doctors.
Learn.
- I'll get Lyman.
- No.
Why not? We ate a big fat canary, dude.
That means that the DA's gonna be burned good.
He's gonna have an ear on Lyman's phone.
Wow, what do you want me to do? You go and find a way in that house.
If-- If they're on the phone, they'll be on the house, too, won't they? You got it.
- How--? - There's a way.
Now you go find it.
Yeah, sure.
Right away.
You know the worst part of stakeouts? No, what's that? Paper cups.
Stone wants you to report back to headquarters, Steve.
I'll take over from here.
Well, that kind of makes up for paper cups.
Holeck seems like a nice guy who just happened to let his guard down too soon.
That's a pretty casual reading for a guy that does not usually make casual readings.
He's mad at himself.
Unless he's a better actor than I think, all he's guilty of is a mistake.
Well, what about Riggs? No way.
Intelligence says that he's been a model cop for 17 years.
Picked up 19 citations for bravery during that time.
Listen.
Didn't you say that Andrea McCormick was in the same class with you at the academy? - Yeah.
- How did she finish? She was right up there.
Probably in the top ten.
Not bad.
Say, how about you? How did you finish? I made it through.
I mean, that's all anybody's ever asked, right? Well, I'm asking now.
Yeah? Why is that? - What? - What are you doing, Mike? Just passing the time of day? No, I was just gonna try to cover up any blind spots you might have, buddy boy.
Something you knew about her once.
Forgot maybe? I know how you feel about people you like.
Like you do about Bondini? Yeah.
Something like that, I guess.
Did you know about his wife? What? Cancer.
She's gonna make it through but the doctor payments have been heavy.
Are you trying to say that he's so hard up for money he could be on the take? I'm just laying down a fact.
But one piece of information would take care of a lot of payments.
No.
No, no, no.
He's been a straight cop too long.
A lot of straight cops have been bent, Mike.
I know, I know.
Catch a man when he's down and you can get any of us.
No, no, no.
Not Vince Bondini.
He wouldn't let himself get into that kind of predicament.
You're sure? No.
Company.
How bad is he? Until he gets a doctor to fix him up, I don't think he's gonna be able to leave town, Mr.
Lyman.
Waste him.
He did the job.
Past tense.
That's over.
Larwin's hurt.
He's a liability now.
Okay? Yeah, well-- I mean-- I've done some driving for the organization, but I never-- Don't give me that, Cullen.
You wanna move up.
That's why you got hold of the information on Cahill for us.
Yeah.
Well, yeah.
I have a contact at the department but-- It's not murder.
Cahill's dead.
So's Larwin.
That's a pretty fast repair.
Maybe it was just a tube.
Or a contact.
I'm gonna follow him.
Just leave the house? I'd rather take a chance on a wild-goose chase than miss a possible lead.
Call headquarters.
Get a backup unit here.
What if they don't get here in time? - I'll take that responsibility.
Call in.
- Yes, sir.
Inspectors 351 to headquarters.
- What'd he say? - He'll send a doctor.
May take a while, maybe an hour or more.
Anything else? No.
He did say he was worried about your being hurt so bad.
Yeah? Get against that wall.
Hey, wait a minute.
Move.
I'm a driver, man.
I'm just a driver.
I don't want any of your action.
- Come on.
Please.
- Yeah.
- You sure? - Yes.
Drea! How bad is he? He's dead.
Drea thought we should stay on stakeout but I've seen them lost too many times.
I just had a hunch he was the contact.
Well, sometimes an old beat cop's instincts pays off, I guess.
Say, you say you saw this other man face to face? And you couldn't stop him? Sorry, Mike.
It all just happened so fast.
- I've never been in a situation like that.
- I know you must be upset, but do you think you could give a full description to the police artist? Now? If you feel like it.
I'm sorry, Mike.
I just can't.
Okay.
You get some rest.
Vince and I will finish up.
Give it tomorrow morning.
- I'll take her home, Mike.
- Yes, go ahead.
Now even the hit man can't testify as to who leaked the information.
Presuming there was a leak.
Bondini was pretty hot about following that repair truck, wasn't he? You don't suspect Lieutenant Bondini? Just was clever the way the truck led right to the hit man, that's all.
Oh, that's a dead end, Steve.
Wouldn't sell out the department any more than he'd sell his wife and kids.
You sound like Mike.
Who does he figure? I don't know.
I really don't know.
He just-- He doesn't like the idea of it being Bondini, that's all.
And you don't like the idea of its being me? No.
But there is a distinct possibility, right? We sure have come a long way since The Conspiracy, haven't we? Conspiracy? I didn't think you'd remember.
It was that funky little place you took me to the first time we went out.
Oh, yeah.
How'd you pull a name like that out of the air? I don't know.
Listen, you wanna go someplace for a while? Hopefully better than The Conspiracy? Just thought maybe you'd like to talk with someone.
Thanks.
Maybe some other time.
Okay? Okay.
You're sure you don't want any company? No, thanks.
I'm kind of tired.
I'd like to be alone for a while.
Good night.
It's our truck, all right.
But I don't know how they got it off the lot.
- What time do you close up? - Five.
All the trucks are left in here.
And I lock this gate myself.
Someone must've known the combination.
When was the last time you changed it? Couple of years, anyway.
Listen, I'd like a list of all people who worked for you the last two, two and a half years.
We get big turnover in this business, lieutenant.
- That's gonna be some list.
- Then you better get on it, Mr.
Sabian.
Drea! Why didn't you call? Oh, it's no big deal.
I just thought I'd drop by.
What you doing? Is--? Is Ted home? No, he's got a job with strange hours.
You know how it is.
Having a job at all seems kind of strange, doesn't it? Don't, Drea.
That's great, you know.
The only family you have and it's a hassle every time you see each other.
I can't wait for the baby.
It's gonna be different.
Liza.
Sorry.
Oh, my God.
I gotta grow up, I guess.
I gotta stop acting like a martyr and a mother and realize I'm just a big sister that keeps acting like a big-- Jerk.
Yeah, you're never gonna like Ted.
But I love you.
I can't wait for that kid either.
Drea, if you could just see Ted the way I do-- I mean, if you could've just seen me when he found me.
That's all over.
That'll never be over.
I can't ever forget what it was like to-- Selling myself.
To support a habit.
Hating every minute, hating every lousy day.
And I don't blame you for not being there, I really don't.
I was the one who kept running away.
Kept finding new ways to get into trouble.
But Ted did pull me out and he put me back together.
And I love you.
Vince.
Steve.
Anything yet? Not yet.
What's that? Close the door.
People who might be tied in with Bondini.
Beautiful.
Out there he's checking suspects, in here, he's a possible suspect himself.
That's right.
So far, no matchup as far as we can see.
Yeah, come in.
Yeah, ballistics report on those slugs in your hit man, lieutenant.
Thanks, Tony.
Well, what? - What does it say? - Three bullets.
One that Riggs put in his shoulder like you thought.
One in the leg and one right through the heart.
- Who killed him? - Well, according to this report, Andrea McCormick.
She get lucky or is she that good? She was one of the best with a handgun.
There it is.
Right here.
About a year ago, a guy named Ted Cullen worked for the Ajax TV Repair Company as a truck driver.
He worked a couple of months and quit.
Here is Andrea McCormick's personnel file.
Next of kin, sister, Mrs.
Theodore Cullen.
Okay, it ties.
But that isn't proof that she was the leak.
- Pick her up.
- No.
- I want this Cullen.
- Wait a minute, now.
We've got an officer out there who's using a shield to hide behind.
- She sold information.
- I know what you've got, Mike.
And I know what you feel like doing about it.
But right now, that's a family matter.
She can't do any more to hurt anybody.
This guy Cullen can make my case.
Right.
He could tie him to Lyman's trail.
Yeah, it's a weaker link than his contract killer but it's still a link.
You haul your police woman in here and rake her over the coals, her brother-in-law hears about it and splits.
Okay, okay.
We'll hold off on McCormick.
Keep me posted.
Right.
Sorry, buddy boy.
It just can't be Drea.
It just doesn't figure.
Sometimes it doesn't figure no matter how you cut it.
Just goes with being human.
- Want some more coffee? - No, thanks, I'm fine, hon.
Okay.
Hi.
I didn't expect you so early.
Well, there's gotta be a reason, right? Oh, no.
Not another trip.
Yeah, I gotta go to San Diego.
Hi, Drea.
Ted.
Listen, we just finished dinner.
- I'll heat some up for you.
- No, I don't have time.
The plane leaves in an hour.
Could you throw some things in a bag for me? Not much.
I'll only be a couple of days.
Hey, I thought they had some kind of discount for wives on business trips.
No, my wife stays put until that baby's born.
Okay? Come on.
Okay.
What do they know? Come on, what gives? Anybody get a make on me? No, no, you're safe.
Once you got past me, you were safe.
I wasn't sure there for a second.
Neither was I.
What about Larwin? He's dead.
Good.
Good? Good? I killed a man because you lied to me.
You set me up.
Gambling debts, huh, Ted? You couldn't pay and my sister was gonna nurse a cripple for the rest of her life if I didn't help some way.
Some little tip, some little piece of information.
So who's hurt? I thought you were against pimps and prostitutes.
What's the deal? Have you changed your mind all of a sudden? But you knew what was going to happen.
You knew.
Okay, okay, l-- I knew, but it's all done now.
It's over with.
Now, you're all right.
I'm all right.
Liza's all right.
Who else counts? Oh, you're a real bag of snakes, you know that? I don't know how she can stand you.
Yeah.
You wouldn't know anything about that kind of chemistry, officer.
Drea.
Just don't be cute, Drea.
We've got a lot more keeping us together than Liza from here on out.
Now here's the phone number where I can be reached.
- You find out anything, you call.
- I wouldn't help you.
You will keep your mouth shut, won't you? Because I'm really in kind of a cruncher now.
And you know what having that baby means to Liza.
And how difficult it could be for her if she had to raise it on her own.
Maybe they'd both be better off.
Well, why? Why don't you just ask her that? Look.
There's no sweat.
Like I said, it's all done and it's over.
I have never been arrested, there's no picture of me that's gonna get around.
And even with a description, you're the only one who can tie me to it.
If you ditch Liza, so help me, - because I don't care what they-- - You don't get anything, do you? For you it's got to be good and bad or black and white or it blows your mind.
I love her.
I love Liza.
I'm not gonna ditch her, not for anything.
But l'm not gonna spend the rest of my life scratching for a living like some dumb chicken.
There's no future in that.
With Lyman, I can be somebody, I can-- I can do things.
And I'm gonna do it.
- No matter what it costs to get there? - Right.
And don't you be so damn self-righteous after what you've done.
We all have a price.
But I thought I was doing something for Liza.
You used her.
No.
No, I used you.
So now all you have to do is stay cool.
And Liza stays happy.
And stop acting like some kind of saint.
You know what you are.
That's the building.
Apartment 3-D.
Watch yourself.
I'll keep you covered.
Yes? - Mrs.
Cullen? - Yes.
Is Ted home? No.
My name is Steve.
Ted told me to give him a call when I was in town.
- Know where I can find him? - No, not right now.
He's down in San Diego on a business trip.
San Diego.
- Okay.
Thank you very much.
- You're welcome.
Good night.
Says he went to San Diego.
We would have heard from the units at the airport if he had arrived there.
I think he lied.
She seems straight.
Like her sister? Maybe I'm having a little trouble reading women lately but the jury is still out on that one, too, okay? Okay.
Okay.
Sorry.
Everybody's got their weak spots.
I happen to have a couple of sore ones.
And hiding behind a badge is one of them.
What do you think, he's still in a hole? Yeah, and I think Andrea McCormick is the only one who can get him out.
O'Brien doesn't want her booked.
I know, I know.
I just wish O'Brien would get us a federal court order.
Or better yet, I wish somebody would take her to dinner.
Glad you changed your mind about seeing me anyway.
I'm glad you asked me.
- Inspector Keller? - Yes? There's a call for you at the reservation desk.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
I just finally got a break in that Cahill case.
Identified the driver.
- The driver? - Yeah.
The guy you saw at the house.
His name's Cullen.
Ted Cullen.
His old employer gave us a good description.
That's where he got the repair truck from.
There'll be an updated APB in 15 minutes.
That's good.
Would you excuse me, Steve? I want to go to the ladies' room.
Sure.
- Excuse me.
- Yes, madame? Is there another phone? Yes, there's a public phone in the powder room.
- Straight ahead.
- Thank you.
Should be any minute now.
Phone number is 555-2178.
- Yeah? - Ted? Drea.
I need an address.
Nothing to tie you, huh? How about being dumb enough to steal a truck from the place you used to work? No.
There's an APB out on you.
Full description.
They know who you are.
And it's just a matter of time before they tie you to me.
Listen to me.
Take Liza and get away from here.
You've gotta take her with you.
You'll never be able to come back for her.
Here, mister.
Get out of here.
What do you think you're doing? Get out of here.
I'll call the manager.
No.
No, it's all right.
The manager knows he's here.
Come on, Liza.
Hold it, Cullen.
Hold it, Cullen.
Okay, okay.
No more.
Don't-- Don't shoot.
Inspectors 81 to headquarters.
2149 Buena Vista is a Code 4.
Repeat, Code 4.
Suspect in custody.
Steve.
Move over, will you? All right, Bob, let's go.
- Steve Keller? - Yes.
- Inspector Steve Keller? - That's right.
- You're on your way to Drea's hearing? - Yes.
She asked if you'd mind not coming.
Well, I guess we don't have to, no.
Thanks.
What do you think will happen? She'll be dismissed from the department.
What about the rest? Well, she didn't know they were gonna kill Cahill, but they did.
That'll probably make her an accessory to murder.
But Larwin, he was armed, shot first, I guess she could prove self-defense.
But it's-- She'll be in a long time.
Yeah.
She's gonna need a lot of help when she gets out too.
All my life she tried to look after me.
I don't mind taking my turn.
I'd better go.
I guess she was thinking about you too, huh? Yeah.
Too bad she didn't think about them.