T.J. Hooker (1982) s03e02 Episode Script

1 (dramatic music) (rock music) Here you go again A victim of love But time and love don't always agree And it wasn't too long 'Til she was slipping free Slipping free Now you know so well What only your heart can tell 'Cause baby when the tables get turned You love and you learn You said you had cards that you needed to play But the game didn't work The hand got away And I can see what's going on in your mind But boy it's too late 'cause you're all out of time I won't wait in line Now you know so well What only a heart can tell 'Cause baby when the table gets turned You love and you learn You learn You love and you learn (audience applauding) - Boy, were you good.
- Oh! - You were so good! You're a hit, you're a definite hit.
- Oh, is this real? Is this me? I feel so lucky to be here.
- Luck has nothing to do with it.
Your family would've been so proud of you.
- You're my family, Hooker.
And the applause belongs to you because you're the one who got me here.
- Hey, let's get one thing straight, you got yourself here.
- Come on, Hooker, I'd still be mainlining if it wasn't for you.
- Bonnie, I've put a lot of people on the drug program.
Not all of them have been able to hack it, you did.
You're clean, you're gonna stay clean.
And you did it yourself, all I did was point you.
- And you got Stacy to take me in until I got it all together.
Hey, I hope she's gonna be able to drop by before the night's out.
- Yeah, she's on duty right now.
But she and Corrigan are gonna come by for the second set.
- I'll be watching for them.
You know, it's funny, but three days ago I couldn't even get a job at The Pleasure Palace.
- The Boulevard, it's no place for you, kid.
That's where your troubles started.
- Yeah, I know.
- Shouldn't you get some rest for the next set? - Don't tell me, let me guess.
You've gotta run, right? - I've gotta run.
- I never can get you pinned down.
- I'm in training for the Olympics.
- Mm-hmm.
- I'll call you tomorrow.
- Okay, bye.
(slow dramatic music) - You make a sound and it's all over.
(elevator bell chimes) - What are you doing? Where are you taking me? - Shh! Now you keep quiet.
And you keep moving.
(suspenseful music) - [Bonnie.]
I don't want to go with you.
I don't know you! Let me go! - [Man.]
Just keep moving.
- [Bonnie.]
Stop, please, I don't want to go.
- Bonnie! - Hooker! (tires screeching) (gunshot) (tires screeching) (gunshot) (gunshots) (gunshots) - Hold it! Out of the car.
Move! (gunshots) - What's wrong? You got her didn't you? - Yeah, but the cops got Hanniman.
- Damn! Did you give her the injection? - Yeah! I'll help you get her in the ambulance.
(police radio) - What went down, Hooker? - Kidnapping.
I got one of them, one of them got away with the victim.
Stacy, the victim was Bonnie McCall.
- What? - Bonnie? Why Bonnie? - I can't say.
Everything went down so fast.
I couldn't get a lock on what the story was.
- I don't know whether you find trouble or it finds you, Hooker.
- Well, as it says in the manual, Lieutenant, we're always on duty.
- Yeah.
They say you got a make on the body.
- Earl Hanniman.
I busted him a few years ago.
He works with a carbon copy loser name of Carl Malek.
He and Malek have been a team since they went to reform school.
I'd bet my pension it was Malek who got away.
- I'll look into it.
And you know the girl who was kidnapped? - Yeah.
I know her.
- She didn't have any money.
There's no family to ask for ransom.
She just has a younger sister in Jersey.
She's alone out here.
- She was also very pretty.
Maybe the idea was-- - Rape? No, I don't think so.
It isn't in Hanniman's rap sheet nor in Malek's.
- Then why did they grab her? - I'll let you know when I find out.
- Drummer? - Yeah.
- Don't forget to follow up on Malek.
- I told you I'd look into it, Hooker.
I'll look into it.
- It's wrong, Hooker.
Bonnie's been through so much.
Now this? - It isn't over for Bonnie, Stacy.
We'll see to that.
- I told you before, Dobbs, the timing of these runs is critical.
The flight plans I have to file don't allow for much leeway.
- I'm sorry, we had trouble on the way.
- Look, I just barely have enough time to drop off the girl and get back before Operations figures out I made a detour.
- We all take chances, Peterson.
And we're all getting fat too.
- Another wind-up toy, huh? She's pretty.
- That's what they want, that's what they get.
(grunts) (pop music on car radio) - Well, I appreciate your cooperation.
(knocking at door) Come in.
If you think of anything else that might help us, please contact me at the precinct, the number I gave you.
Yes.
Thank you very much.
- How long you been on that thing? I've been trying to get you.
I wanted to know whether I should pick you up for work or not.
- The answer is yes.
I've been on that thing for two hours.
Talked to Bonnie's sister in New Jersey, the employees, both shifts, at the club she worked at, the manager there, the guy who owns the apartment building, anybody I could think of.
- Still looking for a reason why she was taken, huh? - I'm trying to find if she rubbed anybody the wrong way.
Had a flake of a boyfriend, a kook on her case, anything.
Nothing, zip.
There's no reason for anybody to have kidnapped her.
- I know.
It just doesn't add up.
- It doesn't add up to justice, either.
She finally climbed the mountain.
She was standing in the sunlight.
- Maybe we're overlooking something.
When I couldn't get through to you, I called the precinct.
Got Corrigan.
He was looking through Hanniman's effects.
- And? - Well, maybe it's nothing, but he found out that Hanniman worked at a club on the Boulevard, The Pleasure Palace.
- The Pleasure Palace? When I talked to Bonnie last night, she said something about The Pleasure Palace.
That's right, she looked for a job there a few days ago.
- Maybe that's where Hanniman spotted her.
- The Boulevard.
Four girls disappeared from there last spring.
The cases are still open.
(knocking at door) - Here's your game of Scrabble, Hooker.
I waited up for you last night so we could play, but when you didn't come home I played solitaire.
- You played solitaire Scrabble? - Yeah, that way I don't lose points for spelling.
- Just, uh, put it anywhere, sweetheart.
This is my partner, Vince Romano.
- Hi.
Listen, Hooker, do you have a pot I could borrow? - A pot, she wants a pot.
Let's see.
- You new in the neighborhood? - Yeah, I live next door with my roommate, Dawn.
- Dawn, huh? What do you girls do for a living? - They're brain surgeons, Romano.
Here you are.
Here's your pot.
- Thanks, Hooker.
Bye! - Bye.
What was that? - A pot, she's going to cook something in it.
Those four girls that disappeared.
There was a white slavery angle on it.
But Vice let it drop because it didn't fit the usual pattern.
- Which is? - Ads appear in a newspaper, asking for girls who can sing and dance and are willing to perform overseas.
Then when they get there-- - They're grabbed and that's the last anyone hears from them.
- You got it.
The girls who are grabbed in Buenos Aires or Tokyo I can't do anything about.
But when they're taken off of my streets, like Bonnie, that's different and I'm damn well gonna put a stop to it.
- Hooker, are you suggesting that that's what happened to Bonnie McCall? White slavery? - You got a better suggestion? What about The Pleasure Palace? Did detectives check that out? - Yes, they checked it out and the manager, one Lorraine Daggett said yes, Hanniman had worked there as a part-time bartender, but as for Bonnie McCall, she never heard of her.
- That doesn't track with what Bonnie told me.
She went in there looking for a job.
She even filled in an application.
- Well, your Bonnie may have had a little problem with the truth, Hooker.
- I don't think so.
- No, well you see, I pulled her file and she's been busted three times.
Twice for possession and once for solicitation.
- File's old news.
I put her in a drug program.
She was getting her act together, she wouldn't lie.
- Somebody's not telling the truth.
- I gave you a name last night.
Carl Malek.
- Yeah.
- Known associate of Hanniman's.
- Yeah, well you called that one wrong, too, Hooker.
I ran it down.
Malek is doing time in Florida.
(door slamming) - Drummer is crowing.
The computer has Malek in prison in Florida.
- You buy that? - I still think it was Malek in the car with Bonnie.
- If you're right, Malek might have been seen at The Pleasure Palace where his buddy Hanniman worked.
- But how do we find out? I mean, they don't exactly open up to cops in joints like that.
- What about one of us going in there undercover? - No, Drummer would never go for it.
- Well, let's hit the street.
See if we can pick up a lead out there.
- I know that look.
Don't do it, Stacy.
Don't go in there on your own.
- I'll do whatever it takes to find Bonnie.
- You know, Hooker, I'm a little worried about Stacy.
She's still pretty shook up about Bonnie.
- Yeah.
When things really got tough for Bonnie in the early stages of her drug rehab, she and Stacy were like sisters.
Bonnie said it herself, if it wasn't for Stacy, she'd never have made it.
- She's not gonna feel better until we find Bonnie.
When we do, I hope it's not too late.
(funky rock music) - All right, now.
When you fill out this application, don't leave any of the questions blank, okay? - Okay.
- You can fill it out over there.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- I'm Stacy.
- I'm Shirley.
- I guess you're applying for a job, too.
- Mmm.
One look and I can see you don't belong here any more than I do.
- Times are tough.
- I want you to understand, Dobbs.
I didn't fly up here just to see you.
I'm making other contacts.
- You didn't like the girl I sent you last night? - Oh, on the contrary.
She was beautiful.
But she was the first girl you've sent me in months.
And that won't do.
See, I have customers all over the world and I need a steady supply of girls.
- I can get what you want and when you want it.
- Well, I hope you are right.
For your sake.
Just understand, Dobbs, if the girls don't arrive as ordered I shall go elsewhere and then you and I are finished.
Hasta luego, amigo.
(jazzy music) - Troubles? - Good luck.
- Good luck to you, too.
- Not from what I see.
What I see is prime stuff ready to be packaged and shipped.
- I heard what you did yesterday.
Look, I know how you feel about Bonnie, but going to The Pleasure Palace was just too risky.
- Risky and thoughtless.
We were worried about you.
- Thanks, Tight Lips.
Okay, Hooker, I read you and I know you're right but as dumb as it was, something did happen.
- Like what? - The manager offered me a job.
I start tonight.
- You gotta be crazy.
- Well, wait a minute.
It just might be our only way to go.
- Hooker, I know Stacy's good, but she's not ready for something like this.
- She could be if we did it right.
- You mean put a wire on her? - And stay glued to her.
- Now you're talking.
There's just one hitch.
We have to trade apartments.
- Trade apartments? - Well, when I filled out the application, I couldn't put down my phone number and address.
Everyone in the building knows I'm a police officer.
- So you gave them my place? - Well, sure.
No one's there permanently except for you and I figured the motel manager can play along with us.
- Stacy, I've got to hand it to you, you have got guts.
- What's the big deal? I've done undercover work before.
- I mean about staying in Hooker's crummy pad.
That has got to be the supreme sacrifice.
Of course, there is Claudia and Dawn.
- Claudia and Dawn? - Claudia and Dawn? - Never mind.
You're too young to hear what he's thinking.
I'll run this undercover thing by Drummer.
He won't approve of it, but Maybe he'll look the other way.
- What makes you think so? - I got him over a barrel.
The lab listed a partial palm print from the dash of Bonnie's car.
It belongs to Malek.
- You ready to roll? - Just about.
Stacy's getting dressed.
It took us a while to get the equipment from the precinct.
- Hooker, what happened with Drummer when you told him we had definite proof that Malek was in town? - He didn't want to buy it, even with the palm print and he hung tight until I put a call in to the prison in Florida.
- That must have been beautiful.
How did the computer blow it? - Ah, a computer's only as good as what you pump into it and nobody bothered to tell it that Malek had been transferred to a medical facility.
And then somebody else dropped the ball when he was transferred from there.
Let's double check the transmission.
Make sure it works.
- Stacy, we're running a test.
Say something.
- One, two, three, testing.
Oh, Hooker, the window in here.
If you want to open it, you have to jiggle the latch.
And about the plants, make sure they all get enough water and don't forget to talk to them at least once a day.
They like that.
- I always get tongue tied when I talk to a Philodendron.
- Oh, one other thing.
There's a big guy with blonde hair.
Let him in.
He's using my shower until his gets fixed.
- George? George is using her shower? - What's taking her so long, her costume's only this big.
- Yeah? (silently mouthing) - Ta-da! Anything you want me to do at your place, Hooker? - Oh, you don't have to water dirt.
In your eyes There's a fire In my heart There's desire You're just another guy who's looking for love You're just another guy who can't get enough Well, he's just looking for a one night stand Are you ready to prove You're just a man You're just another guy that's looking for love You're just another guy that can't get enough But if you're looking for a one night stand Are you ready to prove You're just another guy who's looking for love You're just another guy that can't get enough Are you just looking for a one night stand Are you ready to prove you're just a man - Stacy's already in solid with the boss.
- That's what we're counting on.
Maybe the boss, one of the waitresses, even one of the customers will drop a confidence on her and give us a lead.
You're just another guy that's looking for love You're just another guy who can't get enough Are you just looking for a one night stand Are you ready to prove you're just a man You're just a man Oh, oh, just a man Oh, you're a man (audience applauding) - All right! (rock music) - Hey, sweetheart! Come here, we need a refill.
- Coming right up.
Got a look at the files.
Bonnie's application wasn't in there.
- We know she made one out.
- So did the girl I met yesterday.
Hers wasn't there either.
- I don't like the sound of that.
- Neither do I.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
What do you mean I can't have Stacy? - Dobbs, we agreed.
We'd never take a girl who worked here.
We can't have any trails leading back to this place, to us.
- Look, I could get a lot of bucks for her.
She's special.
- Look, I've got a sweet arrangement here.
The pay is steady, the owner's out of state and I've got a free hand.
And for you, this is the ideal setup for screening talent as long as we keep playing it safe.
- No, we've gotta make an exception.
I've gotta deliver.
Now, give me Stacy's application, I'm gonna check her out.
- Another strike out.
Nobody seems to have seen Malek.
- It's a big city, a lot of people to talk to.
There's somebody who might help us.
Hey, Richie! - Hey, man! Get your hands off me, man, it's all right! I didn't do nothing! - Why are you running? - Because you look like my old lady, Hooker.
- Oh, that's funny.
That's really funny.
- You got a real smart mouth, wiseguy.
- And you got a real ugly partner, but I ain't gonna hold it against you.
(laughter) - Let's see how funny you are without an audience.
- Hey, man! Don't be beating on me, man! Do go beating on me, man! I got a lawyer! Hey, take it easy, Hooker.
Let's not get carried away, pal.
- That was for that "old lady" line, pal.
- Detective Richie Pace, my partner Vince Romano.
Administrative Vice.
- Nice to meet you.
- I heard, Hooker, you're looking for Carl Malek in connection with the Bonnie McCall grab.
- Yeah.
- Can't help you.
There's nothing out in the street.
Not word one on Malek.
What are you going for? - White slavery.
But different M.
O.
- And maybe a tie-in with the four ladies who disappeared a while ago.
- I'll dig in to see what I can find.
- Dig fast, Richie.
I don't want Bonnie to end up a case on the shelf like the other four.
- Got you.
(tapping at door) - Who is it? - Virgil Dobbs from The Pleasure Palace.
I want to talk to you about your application.
- I don't understand, I'm already on the job.
- If you want to stay on the job, I'd open the door and talk to me.
Look, sweetie, it's our policy to verify the backgrounds of our employees.
All this stuff yours? - Uh, yeah, I'm a collector.
I never throw anything out.
- I caught your number last night.
You've danced before, haven't you? - From Miami to here.
Like the song says, I was "born free.
" - I notice you're from Florida.
That's where I hail from.
- Oh, really, whereabouts? - Oh, you wouldn't know, it's a little town outside the Everglades, Cayville.
You know for somebody who was born free, you've got an awful lot of stuff here.
- Uh, look, Mr.
Dobbs, I have a problem.
A guy who hit on me at the club is on his way over and if you're here when he comes, I blow a hundred bucks.
You dig? - Okay, I'll talk to you later about this up at the club.
- [Dispatch.]
Four Adam Thirty, Detective Richie Pace reports a Carl Malek located living at 845 West Fifth Street.
- Four Adam Thirty, that's a roger.
- All right, Richie! I knew you'd come through for us.
Malek's taste in cars is usually fast and stolen.
I'll check with the manager, you start running these license plate numbers.
Start with that Corvette.
(intense music) Hold it, Malek! (gunshots) - Romano! Cut him off! (tires screeching) (intense music) (sirens blaring) Romano! Throw a couple rounds into the dumpster! - Hey, hold it, hold it! - Throw your gun down.
Come on out.
Assume the position.
Where is Bonnie McCall? - I never heard of her.
- Well you're gonna hear of her, dirtbag, for the rest of the day.
Read him his rights.
- 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.
- You resisted arrest.
You ran and you took shots at officers of the law.
- Hey, man, I just spent three lousy years at the Florida State prison that's why I boogied.
- That's not why.
You ran because of what you did to Bonnie McCall, Malek.
- I told you, I never heard of her.
- That's funny, because somehow your prints appeared in her car.
- You're kidding.
Now, wait a minute.
Bonnie, yeah, that was her name.
I picked her up like a week ago in some joint.
Now, that was a one night stand, I forgot all about that.
- The only one night stand you had with Bonnie McCall is when you snatched her from Misty's and put her out of circulation.
- Are you calling me a killer? - I'm calling you a white slaver! You shipped Bonnie out of the country.
- Well, you been smoking swamp weed, Hooker.
- But you didn't do it alone because you haven't got the brains, you haven't got the connections.
Who's the honcho? You give him to us, help us get Bonnie back, it'll go a lot easier on you.
- That swamp weed really getting to you.
Yes, I've seen it with a lot of guys back home in Pahokee.
As soon as your head clears, then you're gonna know that I didn't grab Bonnie or anybody else.
- Malek, you had your chance, you should've taken it.
Because now I'm gonna bury you and whoever is in this with you.
- Now, just a minute, Hooker.
I'm not finished with this suspect.
- I am.
- You wasted your breath on him.
- That's what he thinks.
- You found something out? - I think Stacy did this morning.
Let's see where we are with it.
Did you hear back on our inquiries at Cayville? - Yeah, just came in.
According to the local police, Virgil Dobbs was born there, all right, but he's been gone a long time.
I also heard back from NCIC and they've got nothing on him.
- Southern Florida.
When I was in the Marine Corps, I spent one long, hot summer down there at Homestead.
- The Air Force base? - They sent us there for paratroop training.
Anyway, Cayville, where Virgil Dobbs grew up.
And look what's three miles upstream.
- Pahokee? What's Pahokee? - Where Malek comes from.
- That's too much of a coincidence for me.
Call up the files on the four girls that were missing this spring.
If I remember right, in two of those cases, Vice came up with the same prints, never identified.
- Yeah, but they couldn't be Malek's, I mean, he was in prison last spring.
- Virgil Dobbs wasn't.
You're a dancer Paying your dues every day You're a dancer Dancing your life away You're a dancer Only alive when you're on You're a dancer You're only as good as your song I can see that you've got all of the moves on the floor Let's get home tonight so I can see a few dances more - Yes, Sun Ambulance, this is Doctor Sprogg.
I'm gonna need an ambulance tomorrow to transport a patient to Pacific Medical Airlift.
Five o'clock sharp.
No, same location.
Oh, and by the way, can I have that driver I use? Dobbs, yeah, that's it.
All right, thank you, sir.
- You're going ahead with Stacy? - I have to.
- What about Malek and the cops? - Don't worry about him, he'll keep his mouth shut.
He's a good old boy.
You're a dancer Only alive when you're on You're a dancer You're only as good as your song When the music's on you're living your life through a song There's another one just waiting It's still growing strong You're a dancer Just dancing your life away (audience applauding) - Is that for Dobbs? - Yeah, his fourth tonight.
- Let me take it to him, I want to make some points with him.
- Good luck.
- She's making her move, Hooker.
(knocking at door) - I hope I didn't keep you waiting, Mr.
Dobbs.
- Some things are worth waiting for.
- Let me know when you need a refill.
- Oh, this will be all right for this evening.
I'll see you.
Tomorrow.
- All right.
- Dobbs' prints are on the glass in the office.
I think he's about to leave.
- Hold on a second.
Corrigan, this is for you.
When Dobbs leaves, you move in.
We'll do our thing.
Let's dance in the dark I'll be your man, I'll be your shining star Come take my hand, let's dance in the dark I lose myself inside you when I look in your eyes My temperature is rising and it feels so nice Never get enough of your tender touch And when I see you move I just want it so much I want you now, tomorrow's too late Don't make me wait Come take my hand, let's dance in the dark I'll be your man, be your shining star - Hey! (tables clattering) - [Lorraine.]
Oh, come on fellas! Let's not break the place up! Come on, fellas! Come on, now, let's be friendly.
Come on, fellas! Come on, now.
All right, guys, that's enough now.
Let's play nice, guys, okay? - All right, all right.
- All right.
Next time watch it.
- Give me a beer! - Hong came through.
Dobbs' latents taken off the glass match those of the previously unidentified prints from the other cases.
- You were right, Hooker.
Dobbs is our man.
- All the way.
We have him linked to the disappearance of three of the girls, I guarantee he connects to all five.
- Stacy should be heading for The Pleasure Palace about now.
- I don't want her going there.
(suspenseful music) (phone ringing) (muffled shout) (sirens blaring) - Corrigan, you stay here in case Dobbs or Stacy show up.
- Right.
- Where's Stacy? - You two? Cops? - Where's Stacy? - I don't know.
She didn't show.
- You're in big trouble, lady.
Stacy's a policewoman.
- I haven't done anything.
- Yes, you have.
You and Dobbs are running a white slavery ring.
- You're crazy.
- Guess again.
Your other associate, Malek, finally buckled.
He gave us the whole scam.
Bonnie McCall, the four girls who disappeared last spring, now Stacy.
If you don't start talking fast, you'll pay as big a price as Dobbs and Malek.
- Dobbs set up the whole thing.
All I did was point out prospects.
- Get Corrigan in here.
- Where did Dobbs take Stacy? - He works at Sun Ambulance.
It's not far from here.
On Taylor, near Bradman.
- Take her in, book her.
You and I'll head to Sun Ambulance.
- You better pray my partner's okay, lady.
(groans) - Oh, no, no, no, no, shhh.
Don't fight the drug, baby.
By the time you wake up, you'll be in Mexico and from there who knows what garden spot you'll be off to.
You know, you're a special one, angel.
I'm almost gonna miss you.
(engine starting) (sirens blaring) (tires screeching) - Where's Virgil Dobbs? - On a call.
Transporting a patient to Pacific Medical Airlift at Baker Field.
Should be there any minute, you want me to try and reach him? - No, give me the phone number.
(sirens blaring) - We got clearance? - Yeah.
(phone ringing) - I'll take it.
Pacific Med Air.
- This is the police.
Sergeant Hooker speaking.
Has the Sun Ambulance arrived yet? - Uh, no, not yet, sir.
- All right, this is an emergency.
Listen carefully: That plane is not to take off.
When the ambulance arrives, tell the driver nothing.
Load the patient and stall.
We're on our way.
- Okay, Sergeant.
Hey, there's been a change in plans.
I'm going with you.
- It's your party.
(suspenseful music) (sirens blaring) - There's the entrance! No sign of our backup.
Dispatch said two units would meet us there.
- Can't wait.
(suspenseful music) That's the plane we want and I told them not to let it take off.
Ever played tag with a jet? - No, but we're playing chicken.
We could end up a hood ornament on that thing.
(gun cocking) - Keep going.
- I got 5,000 pounds of fuel on this baby, I'm not frying my carcass for you unless you think you can fly it.
(tires screeching) (gunshots) - Dobbs! Hold it! (gunshots) (gunshots) - Freeze! (gunshot) - I'm hurt.
- You better hope we get five young women back or you're just beginning to hurt.
- Oh, baby! I know you've been lonely, but I'm back now.
- Hooker, look what you did.
You were supposed to talk to Stacy's plants.
- I did, honest.
Philodendron's don't like cop stories.
- What's the word from the State Department? - Good news, they found Bonnie in Mexico.
- Is she okay? - Physically, yes, emotionally, she's gonna need a little help.
- I don't think you'll have to ask for volunteers.
- The name I squeezed out of Dobbs, his Mexican connection, Mendez, State Department got the Federales down there to jump all over him.
- He talked? - He spilled his list of customers and Interpol's moving in.
- What about the other girls, any hope of finding them? - Keep your fingers crossed.
(knocking at door) - I'll get it.
- I'll get-- No, no you get it.
- No, you get it.
- Uh, we'll-- - Excuse me? Aren't we polite? Meanwhile, there's a guy out there with our pizza and it's getting ice cold.
- Hi, George.
- I don't believe it.
I don't believe you've been letting this guy come in and disrupt your life, Hooker, use your shower.
- It's not so bad.
In an hour his girlfriend comes through and she looks like Claudia.
(upbeat music)