Remington Steele (1982) s04e15 Episode Script

This is getting ridiculous.
- Dad's cracked.
- Look! Don't lose him, Fred.
- He faked me out.
- Don't lose any sleep over it, Mildred.
You're not the only one of us to underestimate him.
He's out of his mind.
Is there a problem, Officer? Ninety miles an hour? At 3:00 in the morning? He told the police he thought it was an ambulance behind him and he was just trying to get out of the way.
Commendable explanation.
Not to mention original.
Why were the police chasing him in the first place? A burglar alarm went off in the neighborhood.
They saw Dad speeding away and thought that he was involved.
- It turned out to be a false alarm.
- Then what was he doing? Well, as I said, he's been acting very strangely lately.
Do you remember when this strange behavior first began, Miss Cooper? Six months ago- It was the day his best friend, Chuck Surdez died when his private plane crashed.
It was really quite a blow to my dad.
- He hasn't been the same since.
- In what way? He's disappeared for days at a time.
He- He withdrew all his savings.
He bought that sports car.
Well, he's practically bankrupted himself.
You think there might be a woman involved? It's not as if there aren't any gold diggers out there.
I know, and my dad's an easy target.
But why else would he be doing this? Uh, there could be another explanation, Miss Cooper.
At the risk of sounding insensitive, uh- Well, uh, a man of his advanced years, he could well be- Senile.
I know.
I know that.
You don't know how difficult things would be for me.
I- I would have to put him into a nursing home.
I don't know what else I could do.
How can we help you, Miss Cooper? What I thought was, if you could just follow him find out why he's doing some of these things find out if he is being taken by somebody.
If you could just- If you could just find out what's going on.
Fascinating assignment, Laura.
I don't know if I can stand much more excitement.
I have to admit, it's been a little tedious so far.
Mm-hmm.
A rip-roaring Gray Panthers get-together followed by a bingo party, his mid-day nap and now the checkers championship of Venice Beach.
Face it.
The man's a perfectly normal He's on the move.
Trust me, Laura.
There's no hurry.
Really.
You were saying? What's he doing in a tux? What's he doing in a limo? Getting away from us.
- Exciting enough for you? - Oh, yes.
Oh, yes.
You lost him? A 70-year-old man? What'd he do, outrun you? Never mind that, Mildred.
I want you to call up Starbrite Limousine and find out where license number "Brite 7" was heading.
Brite 7.
Gotcha.
- And have Fred meet us at Mr.
Steele's in an hour.
- You got it.
What's Johnny doing in a swanky place like this? - In all likelihood, gambling.
- Gambling? Bedard's is one of the few private clubs in town which offers a backroom casino for those in the know.
Backroom casino? Now, how would you know- Forget I even asked.
Over there.
Hi.
- Johnny seems to be doing fairly well.
- Who? The gray-haired gentleman.
Oh, you mean Jack Craig.
- Jack Craig.
- Mm-hmm.
Oh, yes.
Of course.
Mmm.
I must have him confused with someone else.
Bets, gentlemen? What do you say, $3,000? Too rich for my blood.
Got something cooking over there, Jack? I'll, uh, see your three, and I'll bump it three more.
That's 3,000 to you, sir.
Called.
- Cards? - Two cards.
Two for me.
- Does he come here often? - Who? The distinguished gentleman on the right.
Jack? Yeah.
He and Geoffrey have been playing a high-stakes poker game with each other for over a month now.
- He must be loaded.
- Worth millions easily.
Dabbles in foreign investments from what I gather.
Geoffrey, what do you say we add $5,000 to the pot? Let's make it even more interesting, shall we? Your five.
Fifteen more.
Well, so you finally got a hand you can feel proud of.
Well, we only live once.
I call.
What do you got? Three deuces.
Ouch.
No, can't beat you.
You win, Geoffrey.
Congratulations.
Cash me in, would you? I still can't understand whatJohnny was doing at that casino in the first place.
I still can't understand why he folded with four kings.
Well, either his gambling skills leave something to be desired or else he's playing a game all his own.
It doesn't make any sense.
I mean, where'd he get all the money? I think we can definitely rule out Social Security.
And why is he pretending to be this Jack Craig character? Why the charade? Perhaps his daughter's right.
Perhaps Johnny isn't playing with a full deck after all.
Perhaps.
He's obviously turned in for the evening.
I suggest we do the same thing and get a fresh start in the morning.
- Look! - What? - Insomnia? - Don't lose him, Fred.
- Well, that settles it.
- What? He's out of his mind.
Well, that's it.
I have no other choice.
I have to put him in a home.
Miss Cooper, in all fairness your father may not be as unstable as you think.
How else do you explain his crazy behavior? You saw it yourselves.
Dad's cracked.
There's no other possible explanation.
We're merely suggesting that, uh, there is, um method to his madness.
I don't understand what you're saying.
Well, there may be a certain pattern to his actions.
We just have to figure out what it is.
Remington Steele Investigations.
He's leaving.
I'm on his tail.
- Good.
Keep us posted.
- You got it.
This is really confusing to me.
First you tell me about all the batty things that my father's done.
Then you turn around and tell me that you think he may be perfectly normal.
How am I supposed to know what's going on? - How am I supposed to know what he's up to? - Yes, yes, yes.
Miss Cooper, it would make it easier for us to answer that if you would, uh, let us into his flat.
Hmm? He's lived here 10 years, ever since Mom died.
Dad devoted his entire life to the air force- became a brigadier general before finally retiring.
Is this really the Distinguished Flying Cross? Mm-hmm.
Ike himself awarded that to my dad.
His entire squadron got one.
Your father was a real hero.
Well, he'd never admit to it.
You know, according to him, he was just "doing his job.
" - What, uh- - That's his old squadron there.
Believe it or not, the men who are still left meet once a month and fly those beat-up old planes.
It's a little too often for my tastes.
That's Chuck Surdez- Dad's friend I was telling you about.
- The man who died in the plane crash.
- Mm-hmm.
- This fellow here looks a little like a young- - Duncan Harlow.
This really is Duncan Harlow? In fact, Duncan got the idea for his airfreight service from flying with Chuck and Dad during the war.
Flying aces.
- Flying Aces Air Freight.
- Mm-hmm.
- Miss Holt, a moment.
- Excuse me.
What's all this? I suspect all this explains Johnny's impulsive jaunt into the wild blue yonder.
Here.
Have a look at these.
Photographs of theJ.
Murphy Museum.
Every conceivable angle has been covered.
The museum? Why? Now have a look at these.
What are they? Aerial photographs- heat-sensitive photographs actually- taken at five-minute intervals.
Very sophisticated.
Oh, my.
What I could have accomplished with half of this equipment.
Boggles the mind.
What would Johnny want with these? It appears he was tracking the movements of the red blotches.
- Security guards? - That's my guess.
The museum.
Timed photographs.
Security guards? Johnny's planning a heist.
You know, I hate to see anybody ruin a perfectly beautiful day like today by following an old man all over town.
Well- I don't know what you're talking about.
I just came here to see this movie.
That's all.
Well, how about that? So did I.
- Let's go.
I'll pay.
- No.
I couldn't go to the movie.
I- Oh, well, not with a perfect stranger.
Well, let's get better acquainted.
My name is Johnny Cooper.
Mildred Krebs.
Mildred, pleased to meet you.
Two, please.
You know, Johnny, I'm not saying I was following you.
But if I was- and it's a big if- what would have tipped you off? Oh.
Thank you.
Well, Mildred, I'm no expert.
But if you're asking I think that maybe what you're wearing is a little too bright.
You know? Like you'd wanna blend in a little more.
- Good point.
- It looks pretty on you though.
Ah.
Thanks.
Oh.
I haven't been to a matinee in years.
Oh, how's this? Huh, Johnny? Is this too close, Johnny? Johnny? That's my daughter in that cab.
I've been looking for her for 30 years.
Let's not lose her now, okay? It appears he's concentrating on only one of the wings.
I still can't believeJohnny's planning to rob theJ.
Murphy Museum.
A picture's worth a thousand words, Laura.
And these are all synonyms for a burglary.
But what could possibly be his motive? Going in Style.
George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg.
Warner Bros.
, 1979.
Three senior citizens, bored with their golden years plot to rob a bank purely for the excitement of it all.
- Were they successful? - Uh, yes and no.
Um, they robbed the bank.
However, um two of the three eventually died from the excitement of it all.
Johnny had better hope life doesn't imitate art.
Yes, well, perhaps we should pay a visit to the museum see whatJohnny is after, eh? Hmm? I'm always in the mood for a little art appreciation.
- Are you? - Mm-mm-mm.
- Where's Johnny, Mildred? - I lost him, boss.
What did he do, outrun you? Touché.
He faked me out.
I didn't think an old geezer like that would put the moves on me like he did.
Well, don't lose any sleep over it, Mildred.
You're not the only one of us to underestimate him.
We'll be back.
Plans have changed.
We're on tonight.
This case is getting more bizarre by the minute.
I don't get it.
Johnny and Duncan Harlow are old war buddies.
It would appear their camaraderie may be a tad tainted.
- Do you really think he plans to steal his friend's paintings? Why don't we askJohnny himself? This is getting ridiculous.
It's certainly curious.
Although, with Johnny, that seems to be par for the course.
We must be nearly Where's he going, Fresno? Well, one thing's for certain.
As long as we're on his tail he can't be breaking into the museum.
Joseph Williams with the rebound.
Shoots again.
No good.
Battle underneath for the ball.
Marcus MacGraw comes away with it but the referee rules he stepped on the line.
So the Big Blue gets the ball back.
Clifford King, the big center is having a horrible- moves across the center line.
Sets the play called in by the bench.
He's ready.
He passes off- Nevado with the ball, guarded by Bartlett, to the top of the key- Something's definitely off here.
- He's heading back to L.
A.
? - Not without an explanation, he's not.
All right, mate.
Enough of the wild goose chase.
Nice night for a drive, isn't it? Come on.
Is there a problem? Well, that's quite a tale.
Either of you care for a little lemon in your tea? Never mind about the tea, Johnny.
We know you robbed the museum.
Well, assuming- for the sake of argument- that you're right how would you go about proving it? First, we tell the police about your long-standing relationship with Duncan Harlow your obviously estranged friend.
Estranged? Why, Duncan and I have been best buddies for more than four decades.
Then we show them your- shall we say unusual- array of museum photographs.
Architectural photography.
Always been a hobby of mine, you know.
- Partial to the heat-sensitive variety, are we? - I like the colors.
Nevertheless, we could compile quite a curious list of coincidences for the authorities to examine.
But we felt the quickest way to get to the heart of the matter would be to pay a visit to Duncan Harlow himself.
Yes.
We thought, um, the three of us might get together saunter over to Duncan's and see what he thinks of our little story, huh? Mr.
Harlow undoubtedly is not in the highest of spirits at the moment but a visit from one of his best buddies just might cheer him up.
Interested, Johnny? No.
No, I'm sorry.
I can't do that.
You kids are pretty good.
We're listening.
All right.
Let me tell you a story.
This was a well-planned, well-executed operation, Geoffrey.
But what I don't understand, Mr.
Harlow, why it was only your collection they struck.
Well, someone's out to get me.
No question about it.
And that someone also knew that I was desperate for cash and that those paintings represented my final source of capital.
Couldn't you take out a loan or two? Keep the vultures away until we can recover the paintings.
Don't be naive, Geoffrey.
I need millions, not thousands.
Besides, those thefts have effectively placed me on the brink of financial ruin.
- So, what do we do now? - We reopen the operation.
- But, Mr.
Harlow- - We reopen it! And where do we find buyers in time to do us any good? Well, what about that old guy you've been playing cards with? Jack Craig.
Right.
- Hey, I could probably arrange a meeting with him tonight.
- Do it, right away.
It'll buy me some time to find out who has his gunsights aimed in my direction.
And then I'm gonna have to blow him outta the sky before he does the same to me.
You've never seen a better fighter pilot than Duncan Harlow.
He saved my hide many a time during the war.
After looking at your assortment of medals, Johnny I'd hasten to add that you saved your share of hides as well.
Well, no more than Uncle Sam was paying me to do.
Chuck Surdez felt the same way about it.
No.
Duncan was the only glory seeker in the squadron.
And there's no denying he was the best pilot out of all of us.
From what I can understand, he built up Flying Aces Air Freight largely off the publicity from his war exploits.
You mean the squadron's exploits.
You see, once Duncan found out how profitable it was to be a hero he just took the ball and ran with it.
And that's fine up to a point, but, you see Duncan's insatiable need for money completely corrupted his sense of morality.
What makes you say that? Because he killed Chuck Surdez.
There's not too many of the squadron boys left anymore.
And those of us who can try to have a little ceremony for those who move on.
Tomorrow, we pay tribute to Lowell.
Poor Lowell.
He was 76.
Battled a long illness.
You were saying Chuck worked for Harlow's company? Yes, since the war ended.
Sit down.
About six months ago, I ran into Chuck.
And he said that he had learned something awful.
It seems that Duncan had stolen medical supplies from the air force and sold them on the black market.
Apparently, he had corrupted a young supply sergeant into setting it all up.
But why would a man as wealthy as Harlow want to get mixed up in something like that? To save his business.
Competition was fierce.
He'd overextended himself, gotten careless.
He needed the cash.
Owning an airfreight company would undoubtedly make it easy for him to distribute the supplies.
Chuck was going to expose the whole ball of wax.
But then, the next day, he crashed his P-40.
The safety board said it was an accident, but I knew better.
It was Duncan.
Why didn't you notify the authorities? I had no proof.
Besides, Duncan closed down the operation to boot.
So, you stole Harlow's paintings for revenge.
No.
You see, when the black market money disappeared he had to rely on his own resources.
Well, that well was running dry.
So I decided to hurry it along a little bit.
- By stealing his art collection.
- Oh, not only that.
Chuck told me about Duncan's secret stash.
It seems that he had saved all of the profits from the black market and put them in a secret safe in his office.
That would certainly account for your race through the streets near Duncan's building.
Yes.
I was the decoy to lure the police away when the alarm went off.
Leaving your accomplices inside with all the time they liked to crack Harlow's safe.
Hey, you catch on fast.
And Harlow wouldn't be able to report the missing money because he'd have to say where he got it in the first place.
Well, that would explain why you've been able to afford everything.
Where does the casino fit in? Well, Duncan's right-hand man, Geoffrey Whittlesey, was a regular so I struck up a friendship with him passed myself off as a shady millionaire named Jack Craig and that I was very interested in acquiring an abundance of medical supplies.
But you folded with four kings in your hand.
That-That was a $30,000 pot you passed on.
You noticed that.
Well, I had to let the poor devil win some of the time.
Besides, it was good for my image to lose thousands of dollars without blinking an eye.
So your plan was to force Harlow back into starting up his medical-supply run.
With Jack Craig as the buyer.
And catch Duncan's hand in the cookie jar just like Chuck was planning to do.
Oh.
Oh, my hat's off to you, Johnny.
A brilliant plan.
Risky but brilliant.
I don't know how brilliant.
But it's the only chance anyone has to bring Duncan to justice and to account for Chuck's death.
Well there's the whole nine yards.
You gonna turn me in or let me go through with it? I can use some help, you know.
- Geoffrey.
- It was nice.
- He seems rather chipper.
- He should be.
He thinks he just made a two-million-dollar sale.
Oh, good.
The hook is baited.
- When do we make the exchange? - Tomorrow morning, 10:00.
Splendid.
Gives us time to review.
Mmm.
I have something important to attend to.
So we say farewell to another member of our squadron who, like the ones that went before him remains alive in our hearts and memories.
Here's to you, Lowell.
We'll miss you.
Well said, Johnny.
I'm sure Lowell would've been very pleased.
Good of you to come, Duncan.
I must say it was a bit of a surprise.
We all went through hell and back together.
We owe each other this much.
I guess you were out of town when Chuck Surdez died.
There were extenuating circumstances at the time.
You know him, Mr.
Harlow? Who? Oh, Johnny Cooper over there.
Mr.
Harlow, that's Jack Craig.
Ah, nothing quite like a well-planned sting, eh, Johnny? Duncan would split in two if he knew his own money was being used to expose his operation.
- Adds a nice little irony to it, doesn't it? - Yeah.
I only wish there was some way to prove he was a murderer.
- Better be moving on here.
- We'll be right up above you.
And don't worry about me.
I'm not exactly an amateur.
Just make sure you stay out of sight.
Jack, how are you? No complaints, Geoffrey.
- Are we in business? - Sure.
- Did you bring the money? - Did you bring the goods? Yeah.
They're in the truck.
But I'd, uh- I'd like to see the cash first.
Well, it's all there, Jack.
- Hey.
What gives? - Hands up, pops.
You're under arrest.
- Arrest? For what? - Conspiracy to purchase black market goods.
Federal offense.
Sorry, Johnny.
Steady, Laura.
Steady.
It won't doJohnny much good if we get arrested as well.
Easy.
"You have the right to remain silent.
"If you give up that right to remain silent anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
" Who would have thought when we were covering each other's butts over China we'd be after each other's now? Who would have thought there'd be such a damn good reason why? Poor old Johnny.
Still on his white horse trying to make the world good.
I remember when you felt the same way.
Long time ago, Johnny.
Everything was black and white then.
But the world has changed, Johnny leaving you and your ideals behind.
Right and wrong aren't so easily defined today.
Murder is wrong in any world.
I'm just trying to run a business, Johnny.
The world is really just one big marketplace now.
Well, as to Chuck you don't know that I killed him.
Oh, yes, I do, and you know I do.
That's the one thing that puzzles me- why you're letting me stay alive.
If you knew I was setting you up, why am I still standing here? Funny you should ask, Johnny.
- Johnny, are you all right? - What's he doing here? Look, I don't know how he turned the tables, but he'll never make it stick.
- Don't worry.
- She's right, Johnny.
- This battle's far from over, mate.
- What is it with you two? Are you blind? Face facts.
Duncan has won.
It may not be right, but there you have it, okay? Okay.
It was a crazy idea to begin with.
I was in over my head, and I- Maybe my daughter was right.
Maybe I am getting senile.
- Uh, look, Johnny, let's just- - It's over.
Don't you understand? It's over.
Just leave me alone! All right.
All right.
We're certainly not going to stand around while he rots in jail on some trumped-up charges.
I doubt very seriously thatJohnny's gonna do much rotting.
What's that supposed to mean? Somehow I get the feeling Johnny just folded with four kings again.
The man is in jail.
It's going to take a hell of a lot more than an ace up his sleeve for him to get out.
Look, Laura, we're not talking about some senile old fool here.
We're talking about someone who masterminded a sophisticated sting to near perfection.
I guarantee you he's not gonna go through all that to lose at the very last moment.
Are you saying he acted that way to drive us away? I'm saying thatJohnny wants Duncan Harlow in the worst possible way and he'll do anything he has to do to nail him to the proverbial wall.
And Harlow will do anything he has to do to keepJohnny from succeeding.
I hire you two to help out my father, and what happens? - He gets thrown in jail! - I'm sorry.
She just- It's all right.
Let me explain, Miss Cooper.
I couldn't even imagine my poor father being in jail.
I rushed down to see how he was and what was going on.
And what do I find? I find he's been released.
- Released? - And the charges dropped.
I demand to know what is going on here.
Where is my father? That's impossible, isn't it? Unless the man who got him arrested arranged for his release as well.
- You mean Harlow? - It would explain his presence at the jail.
- Excuse me.
Mr.
Steele? - Why would he wantJohnny out? - What could he possibly want from him? - Miss Holt? - How about a room full of paintings? - Of course.
- Find the paintings and you'll find Johnny.
- Come on.
Don't look at me.
I just work here.
Where would Johnny hide the paintings? If you wereJohnny, where would you hide the paintings? It depends on what I'd want to do with them after I stole them.
Well, we know he didn't want to sell them.
All he wanted was to get them away from Harlow.
Which implies he'd merely want to store the lot of them.
Wait a minute.
Remember when you stole The Five Nudes of Cairo? Which time? Four years ago, with me, when you were being blackmailed.
- Oh, yes, the good old days.
- We were in the museum.
They caught me, but you got away.
- And you hid the painting- - Inside the museum.
Never hide a needle in a haystack- always with other needles.
The last place anyone thinks of looking.
And the best place for us to start.
If we can retrace how they broke in we should be able to find the paintings.
From the looks of these Johnny would have had to circumvent the alarm system at the monitoring station to start with.
Then it should be- - It should be over there somewhere.
- Yeah.
I'm impressed, Johnny.
I'd forgotten how innovative you always were.
Believe me, Duncan.
You haven't seen anything yet.
Just give me back my paintings, and we'll go our separate ways.
My Renoir.
! That's worth over a million dollars.
! - Stop right where you are.
- You don't know what you're doing.
- You're crazy! - Maybe I am.
But I know exactly what I'm doing.
Are you sure, Johnny? - Those medical supplies were meant for ailing people.
- Okay, let's start over here.
- Why did you do it, Duncan? - Don't be stupid, Johnny.
- Look.
- Don't make me do this.
It's not much different from the way you killed Chuck, hey, Duncan? You're gonna pay for it.
You're gonna pay for murder.
What's he doing? He's going to get himself killed.
That's exactly what he's planning on doing.
- What? - Johnny set this whole thing up.
He's so determined to prove that Harlow's a murderer he's willing to die for it- on videotape.
Over my dead body.
- I call your bluff, Duncan.
- Johnny, no! It's no use, Harlow.
! It's all on videotape.
! Uh! Hold on, Duncan.
I've got you.
Sorry, Johnny.
I fold.
We're not here to stand in judgment over the Duncan Harlow who died.
We'll leave that to a higher authority.
We're here to salute the Duncan Harlow who lived and dared in the skies over a darkened world.
Our trusted friend and greatest warrior- Here's to him.
- Oh.
- Sweetheart.
- Mmm.
- That was very nice, Johnny.
Mm-hmm.
I'm just glad it's you toasting him and not the other way around.
Oh, thanks to you two.
I'll never forget you.
If you don't mind, I think I'll take a little stroll by myself.
Your father's a very courageous man.
Yes, he certainly is.