Original subtitles

Tony, didn't you just watch that on TV the other night?

For the millionth time.

I love it, but I can never make sense of the plot, so I figured I'd clear it up

once and for all.

Hey, Gumshoe, we got some missing birds of our own.

The lovebirds I gave you for our anniversary.

What are you talking about? They're right where they always... Well, don't

worry, they'll turn up.

You never liked them.

What are you talking about? I love them, the little ceramic things.

Your porcelain, Tony. They're hand -painted porcelain. I'm crazy about

I'll look for them tonight.

I'd look for them right now, but I gotta stop by the courthouse on the way in.

Yeah. I can see you're in a real hurry.

I just wanted to finish the chapter.

Admit it. You don't care what happened to them. I care. I'll look.

Tonight.

The law has been clear on this since 1967.

Cass versus the United States. This was a motel room, not a residence.

My client had legal possession of the room. For Fourth Amendment purposes, it

was his residence.

I agree, Miss Peterson.

The evidence is inadmissible.

Your Honor, without the drugs, we have no case.

Then I guess you have no case.

The defendant is to be released immediately. Court is adjourned.

I'm sorry, Tony.

I let you down.

It's a tough case.

This guy will screw up again. We'll get him.

Congratulations, Brenda.

Another blow for justice?

Just doing my job like you do yours. Your job's nothing like mine.

I'll be right back.

Her name's Maureen Franklin.

She's been beating up pretty bad.

Says she was raped by that guy over there.

I found him in an alleyway hiding a block from my house.

She's ID'd him.

He denies everything.

Now I can get a lawyer if I want, right?

Why waste time?

We already have a semen sample. Lawyer or no lawyer.

We're going to get a sample of your blood. We're going to run a DNA test.

It's very reliable.

More so than fingerprints.

But you're no dummy. You already know that. Hey, look.

I never denied I was with her.

I must have misunderstood.

Yeah.

But it wasn't rape.

She wanted it.

She was beaten up.

Some women like it that way.

You know.

She called 9 -1 -1 hysterical.

You were found hiding a block from her place. Now, how's that going to look in

court? Look, I want a lawyer.

That's your right, but you get a lawyer, I can't help you anymore. Help?

Is this what you call helping me?

Yeah, I do.

Because if this goes to trial, you're going to have to sit in front of a jury.

A jury with women on it.

Maureen tells her story and points you out.

Well, you're a smart guy. You tell me what's going to happen.

You're saying... You're saying I could get a lighter sentence if I confess.

I'm saying it's possible.

So?

What do you think?

Are you going to run for mayor?

Maybe. We don't know. It's still in the planning stage. See, I need a slogan.

I'm thinking B .B., B .B. Gunn, take aim on crime.

No, no, no.

You're right.

Because that's too corny. Besides, a BB gun is a toy, and you don't want to

fight crime with a toy.

But no, no, no, no. You're right. It's business hours. We should stick to

business.

Okay.

Down to business.

John Mullins pleaded innocent to the rape.

Why, he confessed.

Changed his mind. His lawyer's going to be here any second to plea bargain.

His lawyer? Let me guess. Yep.

Brenda Peterson.

I swear that woman has battery acid in the veins.

Tony?

Mind if I sit?

Well, I guess Alex told you Mr. Mullins changed his plea. Too bad he can't

change the victim's testimony.

That's my job.

By cutting her to ribbons on the stand.

I'll have to attack the confession, which means cutting you to ribbons as

Well, you can try.

You don't like me, do you? I don't like the way you keep getting sleazeballs put

back on the street.

Mullins admitted this rape. He has a history of assaulting women that dates

back... Sorry to break the news, but the Constitution guarantees a fair trial,

even for people that Tony Scali thinks are sleazeballs.

Attacking rape victims? That's your idea of fair? A criminal defendant has the

entire weight of the government against him. The only thing on his side is me.

My idea of fair is whatever it takes.

As you may have guessed, Brenda, there's not going to be a deal on this one.

Well, I tried.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm due at the garage.

Battery acid's a little low.

How's Sam Spade doing?

Well, he's in big trouble, sweetheart, but I think he can handle it.

Did you find the lovebird?

Not exactly.

Did you look?

Not exactly.

Well, you better find him soon, big boy, or you're going to be in big trouble.

It's a big town.

My town.

It was late at night.

Or at least I thought it was. My watch had stopped years before.

I was alone in my office and behind in my bills when...

Tony Scali, P .I.? One look and I knew.

Whatever it said on the driver's license, the name was... Trouble.

Rachel Trouble.

She walked across a room the way a room should be walked across.

Have a seat.

I need help.

I need help so very badly.

She was good.

She was very good.

Seems to be the trouble. Trouble?

The Eastbridge lovebird. They disappeared from my home.

Find them and you'll receive a reward.

And my... Eternal gratitude.

This is my partner.

Polly, this is... Trouble. Better look, Summer.

The Eastbridge lovebirds.

A lot of blood's been shed over these babies.

A lot of men smarter than me have been killed looking for them. Want to see

you can find out?

Sure.

Thank you, Mr. Cash.

I wasn't sure you'd help me.

Yeah.

Who's going to help me?

Trouble?

No.

you Mr.

Mullins from the school where you teach, correct?

Only in passing.

Only in passing? You asked him in when he rang your doorbell at 10 .30 at

He said he came to deliver some exams I'd left in my classroom.

Couldn't you have taken the exams without asking him in?

I was being polite.

Are you always that polite to strangers at 10 .30 at night?

He wasn't a stranger. He was a man you saw daily and asked into your apartment

late at night.

Did you tell him that you found him attractive?

He asked me if I liked his haircut.

And you wanted to be polite.

A minute later, you took off your sweater.

Just being polite?

I would talk.

So it would seem.

Object. You know better than that, Miss Peterson.

You think I wanted that animal to attack me? What matters is what you led Mr.

Mullins to think.

Make her stop.

Sit down.

You bastard.

You're not going to get away with this. Balaam, remove that man from the

courtroom. I'm going to be waiting for you.

Ladies and gentlemen, you will ignore that outburst. No further questions for

Miss Franklin. What kind of trial is this? He's guilty, not Marie. I request

protection for my client. He's been publicly threatened.

After he's in jail, I'll make sure a guard passes by his cell once a day.

Peterson.

Yes, Your Honor.

The defense calls Anthony J. Scali to the stand.

Do you swear that the testimony you're about to give is the truth, the whole

truth, and nothing but the truth?

I do.

How long have you been a policeman, Mr. Scali?

About 20 years.

And you're a lawyer as well, correct?

That's right.

And despite all that knowledge and experience, you're unaware of a

right to counsel?

I'm well aware of it.

Then why did you deny it to Mr. Mullins?

I didn't.

I have a transcript right here.

Mullins, I can get a lawyer if I want to, right?

Scali, why waste any more time?

He didn't actually ask for a lawyer.

Very clever. But a minute later, he did ask for one. In terms even you couldn't

miss. I said he could have one.

But if he did, you'd stop helping him. Isn't that what you said?

Something like that.

How long were you in that room with him, Commissioner?

Four hours.

Did he have anything to eat or drink?

He didn't ask for anything.

Did he talk to anyone besides you? See anyone but you?

No.

In other words, you were his whole world. A world that could disappear if

exercised his basic constitutional right to call a lawyer. A bit manipulative,

wouldn't you say?

Doesn't mean the confession was false.

But it makes it more likely, doesn't it? Not in this case.

It's like the Green Bay Packers under Lombardi.

You know what's coming, but you still can't stop it. You did better than most.

I've seen her reduce grown men to tears. She actually asked me to assign

protection to Mullins.

You know, Brenda's got brass nerves.

How bad do you think things are going?

Well, the boyfriend's threat didn't help much.

I'll tell you, with Brenda, you know, she could make Mullins look like he was

the victim.

You see, you don't know. You never know what the jury's thinking.

They're not thinking anything now, or at any rate, it doesn't matter.

John Mullins was just found dead in an alley near his apartment.

Murdered.

Too bad, isn't it? What, loans?

Too bad someone didn't do it sooner. Save the state the cost of starting up a

trial. Hiya,

boss. We were just gathering evidence so we can solve this crime just like we

would any other.

Yeah, yeah.

They shot him execution style.

Professional job. Maybe.

But I'll bet there's a long list of people, professional and amateur, would

happy to see this guy dead.

Starting with Maureen Franklin's boyfriend.

And including Maureen herself.

We can't rule it out.

Well, now you can rule it out. They were at a friend's house the

whole evening.

Could the friend be covering for him? There was a party. A dozen people saw

them. Maybe they hired someone else to do it.

I'll check it out.

Surveillance, and I'll tap the phones.

Let's assume for now they're both in the clear. Mullins has a history.

Publicity from this trial might have brought back some old enemies.

I'll look into it.

Yeah? Brenda Peterson, to see the boss.

What's she doing here?

Filing a lawsuit on behalf of John Mullen's estate against the city, the

department, and you.

This is ridiculous.

He was threatened.

I requested protection. You refused.

It was obvious you had no great liking for Mr. Mulligan. You can't sue for

insufficient liking.

I can if it led to dereliction of duty, which placed him at risk.

Congratulations.

I didn't think you could find any more ways of abusing the system. But you did.

I think we've established I'm not the only one capable of abusing the system.

Let me ask you something.

Suppose you were raped and a lawyer used every trick in the book to get the guy

off. How would you feel? Terrible.

But I try to keep in mind the basis for our legal system. The only way to

guarantee a defense for the innocent is to provide one for the guilty. Now, let

me ask you a question.

Suppose you were accused of a crime.

What kind of lawyer would you want? One who was fair or one who used every trick

in the book to defend you?

Paulie traced the birds to an antique shop on the south side.

I didn't like the looks of the neighborhood.

But I liked the looks of the dame in my arms, so I decided to take my chances.

So, Miss Trouble hired the famous Tony Scali. Tell me, did she pay you in money

or cheap promise?

Did you bring the birds? You bring the bread? I brought the broad. Not too

bright. I brought a brute.

Forgive me, sir.

I must ask you to raise your hands. Give me a piece, sir.

No dough. So, this was your game.

Take the money and keep the birds, too. Well, it didn't work, so you're going to

have to deal.

You're hardly in a position to bargain, sir.

I pull this trigger, you cease to exist.

So do your chances of finding the birds.

Pardon my words, sir.

You are a character. You really are.

But I really must insist.

I'll do the insisting here, Buster. Now, I want those birds. We don't have them.

But we can get them for the right price. Come, son.

Be reasonable.

Have a hot toddy.

Talk to Soma.

Well, you know how to cool off a hot drink, don't you, Mr. Scali? Just put

lips together and blow.

What a distinctive perfume.

Eau de rat.

Enough sweet talk.

How much for the birds?

Tony, are you all right?

Phones. Somebody get...

Scali, you better get down here right away. You find something?

You could say that.

Nothing fancy, just your typical bomb in the mailbox.

This contact completes the circuit. Two seconds later, you're fertilizing the

lawn.

Why didn't it go off?

Moisture from the sprinkler system shorted the detonator. So if I'd come

hour earlier before the sprinklers. Like I said, Judge, fertilizer.

We'll protect you from whoever set this up. I'm going to send a man home with

you tonight.

Who'd do something like this?

Obviously someone who wasn't happy about the Mullins case.

First Mullins, then you.

Let's go.

Get the bomb inside.

Step away.

Move away.

Come on, Dexter.

Congratulations. You may have won 10 million bucks.

Well, better safe than sorry.

Thanks, Dominic.

I'm surprised you're bothered, given our relationship.

Well, just trying to avoid another lawsuit.

Wouldn't have been enough of me left to file one.

Look, we're protecting Judge Foley. I'll assign a team to you as well.

You should stay in your house for a couple of days. I've got too much to do.

We're talking about your life here. I've received death threats before. If you

want to know, I average one a month.

You should report them. Most of them are from cranks. Well, this guy's for real.

At least avoid public buildings. I work in public buildings. Look, I appreciate

your concern, but... No!

I'm fine. I'm fine.

The guy came and went through the back door. Cut the deadbolt over there.

How's she doing?

She stared the grim reaper right in the face.

Probably scared the old guy senseless.

Look, I'm bringing in Maureen Franklin and her boyfriend again. I doubt they're

involved, but we'll give it another shot.

What about some of Mullen's previous victims?

No suspects so far.

I did find out he was arrested as a minor.

Records are sealed. We can't even tell what the beef was.

How old?

Sixteen.

No, no, no, no, no, no. I can't let you in here. I don't care.

What was high school?

You know, ask around.

A kid like that teaches all of them.

I'm looking for something important. Hold on, hold on. Is there a problem?

I need to find something.

You know you can't interfere with the gathering of evidence.

Here it is.

Damn.

And you and your father?

Brenda has parents?

Who'd have thought?

The man in the photograph, you didn't recognize him?

Her father? No. Did you? Yeah.

It's Eugene Peterson.

I didn't make the connection before.

Back in 75 or something. Commissioner.

I'll have round -the -clock protection.

It's a bet.

What?

I wonder if some of your men would...

Well, be all that anxious.

My men will do their jobs, I promise you.

But if it'll make you feel any better, I'll take a shift myself.

Thank you.

Well, I debriefed the jury from the Mullins case in five hours. Good night.

That horrible woman spiked your drink.

Let me clear your head.

Not so fast, sweet cake.

Maybe I don't need it cleared.

Maybe I'm seeing things just fine. Tony, no. I'm on the level. Then why didn't

you pass out, too? I did. I just woke up first.

Please, you have to believe me.

I thought you were glad to see me.

It's just a pistol in your pocket.

Come out here, you.

What the guns are like you doing here?

Where's the team?

I don't talk with Aaron Boyd. You'll talk to me and like it.

You're too young to be packing.

A candy bar?

And there's more where that came from. I don't take bribes. You're grounded for

a week.

Oh, the party just keeps getting bigger.

Who are you?

My name is of no importance, but the statuettes are important, and he knows

where they are.

She has already killed two men to get them back.

It's self -defense.

Both times.

You're lying!

If I killed anyone, they had it coming.

Everyone has it coming, Toots. Some just get it earlier than others. And you are

both going to get it right now if you don't hand over the Eastbridge

Holly!

What happened?

It was... a game.

It's a coffee, would you?

Thank you for coming.

Although the trial was cut short, I'm very interested in your thoughts and

impressions. Please be blunt.

I'm a lawyer. I have to think again.

Samantha, I thought you were wonderful.

Very professional.

But personal, too, like you cared about your client and about what we thought.

Well, thank you, Anne.

Martin. I noticed that you weren't, um...

wearing a wedding ring, and I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner

sometime.

I'm very flattered, Martin, but I never mix business with pleasure.

I gave it a shot.

I worked on the block at Crestdale Construction, and if you ever change

mind, give me a call.

I have to be honest. I didn't think much of him. He seemed a little hostile.

Contemptuous, if you really want my opinion.

Don't they teach common courtesy at the police academy?

Look, this is a court of law, not a popularity contest.

And it's not the dating game either.

You're right, he is hostile.

You can't seriously believe we had anything to do with these explosions.

Come on.

You had the motive. You threatened Mullins in public.

We didn't do it.

You hire anyone?

Steve works in a shoe store. We don't know the first thing about hiring

How's it going?

Ronnie's doing a nice job.

But either these two are innocent or they belong on Broadway.

What's that?

Just expenses.

$1 .65 lunch expense.

And that was overpriced. It's from the cafeteria at Lincoln High, John Mullen's

alma mater.

Now I know why the dropout rate's so high. It's the meatloaf.

Did any of Mullen's teachers remember him? Oh, several.

He wasn't a good student. Didn't play sports.

When it came to abusing girls, this kid was a natural.

There's one case in particular everybody seems to remember.

Her name is Robin Swanson. She was in Mullen's class.

She was 15 when Mullen raped her.

She dropped out of school right after the trial. Hasn't been seen since.

Here it is.

Place looks more like a prison than a house.

Hello. Are you Robin Swope?

I'm Police Commissioner Scali. We'd like to ask you a few questions.

My brother's not at home.

Well, we'd like to talk to you.

Please? Alright.

This won't take long.

We wanted to ask you about John Mullins.

Someone killed him a few days ago.

He's never going to bother you or anyone else again.

You live alone.

It's important. We need you to talk to us.

Have you ever been there?

No? They got the most beautiful sunsets there like that. The sky is bright red

and orange. You sit on the beach, feel like you're in heaven.

They have those white birds there, um... Egrets.

Right, egrets.

When was the last time you were outside, Robert?

Who takes care of you?

My brother.

Where does he work?

He's not in trouble, is he? No, no. We just want to ask him some questions.

He works at Crestdale Construction.

Crestdale, uh... His name isn't Martin, is it?

Martin Swope, white male, blonde hair, six feet, early 30s, and should be

considered armed and extremely dangerous.

Why the hell did they let this guy on a jury?

The records were sealed, so nobody could make the connection.

He probably thought it was fate that they picked him for the Mullins case.

Yeah, when it looks like Mullins is gonna walk, he goes berserk.

That's why I wanted to have dinner with Brenda. He wanted to kill her.

We gotta find her.

She told me she was having a meeting with Judge Foley. I'll tell them both.

Judge, it's Tony Scali.

Look! Just in time.

Court is now in session.

Come on!

Let's go, let's go.

Come on, come on, come on.

Over here, you're the defendant.

You too, lady. Come on, come on, come on, come on.

Look, Martin, this isn't going to solve anything. The only reason you're here is

for my protection.

You're meant to try any heroics and you're the first hostage I shoot in the

head.

Be quiet.

What's going on here? What's going on here is that if anybody else comes

that door, I'm going to start shooting people and we're going to all end up on

the front page of tomorrow morning's newspaper.

Get out of here!

Do as he says.

Ronnie, you've got a hostage situation.

They're all being held upstairs in courtroom seven. I want all access

Let's get a copy of the building plan so we can sneak a microphone through a

heating duct so we can hear what's going on in there. Go.

Once upon a time, I used to believe in the system until I watched people like

you thrash it.

Every day, criminals go free, and we ask ourselves, how can this happen?

What went wrong?

Well, somewhere along the line, people like you lost their way.

Today, I'm going to show you how the system is supposed to work.

So I call to the witness stand the defendant, Judge Earl Foley.

Raise your right hand. Raise it.

The truth, the whole truth.

Because you lie and you die.

I don't lie.

There are all kinds of lies, Judge.

Lies of commission, lies of omission.

You don't stand up for what's fair, for what's just. That's just a lie of

omission in my book.

I mean, why did you become a judge, anyway?

Didn't you have an appreciation, a love of justice?

Or was it because you just looked good in black?

What are you doing?

Just waiting for you to make a point.

Let's not keep the commissioner waiting. Let's get to the point, which in my

mind is obvious.

Fairness, justice, that's the point. People like you in black robes are

with seeing that fairness and justice carry the day.

You've hidden behind that black robe and you've ignored your responsibility,

Judge.

Never mind, let's hear it.

Boss, flip that through the vent.

Make any sense?

Makes sense.

I just don't know if I can do it.

Ronnie, take over. What do you want me to do?

Keep him alive.

So what I'm saying, you judges, is forget the robe and the gavel.

And you tell me, in your heart of hearts, was Sean Mullins guilty?

It's not up to me to... To what?

To judge.

Was he guilty?

I have a 12 -year -old daughter.

And I had a 15 -year -old sister, and Mullins raped her.

The judge gave him two years.

Two years.

Now, where's the justice in that? Come on, come on, it's not that complicated.

Where'd Paulie go?

Better get here soon. I don't like where this is headed.

I'm going to ask you one last time. Was Mullins guilty or was he innocent?

That's right.

And you just sat there and did nothing while this bitch put the woman that he

raped on the witness stand and destroyed her.

And you were going to give him two years.

You think I'm going to let that happen?

Sit there and watch his smirking face. It was like seeing him do it to my

all over again.

Guilty as charged.

Go back to your seat.

This guy's gone.

Can't wait around much longer.

You're incapable of telling the truth, so we'll just skip the oath.

Now, in your heart of hearts, providing, of course, you actually have one, was

Mullins guilty or was he innocent?

I believe...

Yet you defended him. Yes.

For the money. He had none.

For the publicity.

For the principle. What principle? He was guilty.

He was accused.

My job was to give him the best defense possible.

And how do you sleep at night? I sleep just fine.

Because I know that the system is based on rules and procedures and not on the

whims of men who talk about justice and hide behind guns.

And you think I like doing this? You think that I like being here?

You think I like doing this?

I'm here because of people like you.

Rules and procedures.

It's just one big scorecard with you people.

Winning and losing.

Well, this time... Look!

Hold it!

You said you were going to show us how the system is supposed to work.

Is this it?

Blowing away people without a defense?

If this is really going to be fair...

She should have some kind of representation.

Oh, and who's going to provide her with that?

Me.

What's she doing?

Dulling around.

Come on, Paulie, whatever you're doing, do it.

Tell me, Brenda.

Isn't it a fact that in our legal system, the guilty sometimes go free?

Sometimes. More than sometimes.

And sometimes the innocent are punished for no reason at all.

That's right.

And tell me, Brenda, in your own words, what happened to your father?

My father has nothing to do with... Answer the question.

Answer him, lady.

because it would be my extreme pleasure to find you in contempt of court.

I am not going to beg this creep for my life.

It's not just your life that's at stake here.

My father was a worker in a textile factory.

One day he was fired.

along with a hundred others.

My father spoke up.

The foreman... Go on.

The foreman hit him.

That night, some of the workers got drunk and broke into the foreman's

They... They beat him to death.

And your father?

He was arrested for the murder.

Found guilty and sentenced to life without parole.

Was he guilty?

No.

He was home with us when it happened.

The men who did it, they lied so that they could go free.

By the time the truth came out, it was too late.

My father died in prison.

And that's how you honor the memory of your father?

By defending scum like Mullins?

I honor my father's memory by defending anyone who needs a defense.

You just don't get it, do you?

You could have been with me, but no, you have to go work for the enemy.

Stand up.

You two, come on!

Get up, Judge.

Isn't that customary when sentence is about to be pronounced?

For your crimes, we the people sentence both of you to death.

Martin! Shut up!

Go away!

Martin, don't shoot. That's our last witness.

What witness?

You open that door, I'm going to shoot these people!

Martin!

Trust me.

Do this, please.

Get her out of here!

Martin.

They did this to you.

These are the people who made you hide out for all those years.

I'm here now.

I killed that guy.

I know.

Martin, these people, they have nothing to do with it.

Please, let them go from me.

Baby, we'll see him later.

One of my officers will take you home, okay?

Thank you.

John, take her home, please. Sure.

Robin, I've been thinking. We could make a credible case that your brother was

temporarily insane from the moment he saw John Mullins. Now, you have him,

me a call. I can find him some excellent representation.

Wait a minute.

You going to help this guy?

He was just about to blow your head off. I know, but he's still entitled to a

defense.

By the way, your cross -examination was immaterial, irrelevant, and had

absolutely no bearing on the case.

Want to join my firm?

The case of the Eastbridge lovebirds was a real brain buster. And busting my

brains always makes me tired.

Where I come from, they call it the big tired.

Where I come from, there's only one cure for the big tired.

Big sleep.

I couldn't have killed her. I was with you. Not while I was knocked out.

I'll deal with you later.

Right now.

We'll take it from here.

Not a chance. The birds are mine. They're mine.

No, mine.

No, mine.

It's mine.

They're mine.

Empty.

The bird's out there.

Which means your partner died for nothing.

Paulie didn't have a lot of brains.

Hey!

But he wouldn't have followed someone down a blind alley.

Not unless it was a dame.

Oh. He would have followed a dame.

Yeah. He was just dumb enough for that.

Turn her in!

Not her.

Her!

That's the fastest way.

You're under arrest.

Nice work.

See, Alex here is an undercover cop, an old friend of mine. We help each other

out from time to time.

The

boss.

The boss.

What?

Take it off the mantel and put it in with the toys.

How'd you figure that out?

Well, it's easy, sweetheart, when you're good, when you're very good.

I suppose you think you are, big boy.

You bet.

How about that kiss?