Original subtitles

Thank you.

I'll get you, you hear me?

You are dead, you little punk!

You are stoned! Cool!

This is the first time in over a decade that an American president... Hey,

what are you doing?

Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for. The finalists in

this year's Miss Hard Hat competition.

Leading off from E .G.'s Hardware in Imperial Beach, Miss Jack Hammer. Check

that definition, John.

Miss Hammer's hobbies include macrame and full -contact kickboxing.

Our second finalist, representing Ace Construction in El Cajon, Stand Back

for Miss Pneumatic Winch. Obviously, a lot of work went into the construction

that body.

Finalist number three hails from Normal Heights Block and Tackle, Miss Brenda

Bulldozer. She was last year's world champ in bikini arm wrestling, and you

see why.

Rounding out our final four, and I do mean...

Miss Heavy Equipment. That's her, Miss Heavy Equipment.

Rick, for God's sake, the president was about to dress the United Nations on

nuclear disarmament.

A .J., I got a 50 -buck bet on this with town.

He picked Brenda Bulldozer. But the judges have chosen.

And the happy woman will wear the construction... Please, Miss Heavy

please, please, please. 50 bucks is not worth a heart attack. It's not the

money, A .J., it's beating town.

You are behaving like a two -year -old. Oh, don't you understand, AJ? Think of

the humiliation when talent has to reach into his miserly pocket and actually

have to fork over 50 bucks.

Do you mind if we watch the president now? Go right ahead. Who's stopping you?

can't wait until tomorrow. I just can't wait.

Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States.

Okay, once again.

You never saw his face. You only saw his hands.

That's right. That's what I said. I only saw his hands.

Can you describe them?

How do you describe a hand?

Each one of them had five fingers.

Don't fight me on this. I'm trying to catch your dad's killer.

I just knew it was going to happen. I just knew it.

I'm sorry, Lewis.

I really am.

But I need your help.

His hands were black.

I told you that. They were black and they were very strong.

Nixon, down in the office.

He's in there interrogating a kid.

What kid?

Not a Channel 3 news reporter, Charles R. Peoples. No, I don't watch the news.

just watch beauty contests. He was murdered last night.

For real?

Actually, right in front of the sun.

Oh, jeez. I've been talking to him for hours.

What do you care? Send me to Hendricks Hall.

Lewis! There's no skin off your nose.

I told you, Hendricks Hall is a placement facility.

It's a death trap.

You don't have any relatives here. There's no place else for you to go.

Call Temple.

I can stay with Temple.

I have been trying to. She's on assignment.

And even if I could find her, it wouldn't make any difference. The law

can't keep you unless you're related.

The law says? What about me? If I go to Hendricks Hall, I'm dead meat. I'm

history. The guy that killed Dad will kill me, too.

Nixon will take you there and check out the whole security system, won't you,

Nixon? Yes, sir.

And in the meantime, I'll try and find your aunt.

Good luck.

All you have to do is try Detroit, Chicago, and New York.

Come on, son, I'll take you. I'll make sure it's nice and safe. Sure you will.

You don't care if I get killed any more than he does.

Remember that bet we had?

This hard hat?

Um, what do you say we just forget the whole thing, A .J., and I'll buy you

lunch?

Thanks, guys. No appetite.

You know, that kid's father was killed last night.

Yeah, Nixon told us.

Charles Peoples.

And the macho investigative reporter kept sticking his nose in and sticking

nose in, and finally somebody bit it off.

How'd it happen?

Choked to death.

He was meeting an informant, doing an expose on Maynard Press.

Oh, the fight promoter?

Yeah. According to Lewis, his dad was doing a five -part expose, claiming that

Press was hyping a phony contender right into a middleweight championship fight.

Oh, yeah, that would be Fisherman Farrell.

Well, he's a middleweight. He's a local.

He's fighting for the championship next month, and it's being promoted by Manor

Press. Nixon said the kids saw the murder.

He didn't actually see it.

He arrived right after it happened.

The killer almost got him, too.

No wonder he's so shook up.

Yeah, I don't know. I feel like... I mean, I have to send him to a city

facility, but at the same time, I'd like to kick him in the rear end.

He's exactly like his old man.

I mean, he won't listen to one thing, not one thing you tell him.

Thanks, Officer Nixon.

I really appreciate this.

That's okay, son.

Just don't take too long. I won't.

Yeah, sure, Brown.

I understand.

I'll bring every tape that I can find.

Okay. All right, bye -bye.

Lewis.

My daddy.

I know. I'm sorry, baby.

I killed him, Temple.

I know.

I know, baby.

I killed him because he wouldn't stop.

He never stopped.

I knew this was going to happen someday.

I knew I'd be all alone.

I'd let you stay with me honestly, honey.

But if Brown found out... Why can't I get anybody

to understand I can't go to Hendricks Hall?

If I go to Hendricks Hall, I'll be stone cold dead.

The town is not going to like this. The town is not going to find out about this

because if town finds out about this, we'll all be swinging from the nearest

yardarm. Oh, thanks. That's real reassuring.

Lewis, this is Mr. Simon.

A .J., hi.

Hi.

Now, just so everything's on the up and up, this is the bargain that we made.

Lewis stays here until the funeral or until the police find the man who killed

his father. And in exchange for your generosity, he agrees to the following.

Number one, he will obey you at all times.

Number two, he not so much a step's foot out on that porch.

And three, no phone calls to anyone for any reason whatsoever.

Agreed?

Agreed. Did I come to the right place or did I just hear the welcome aboard

speech for Devil's Island?

You heard Lewis's bargain to keep from going to Hendricks Hall.

Hope you made the right choice.

Rick Simon.

I, uh, Lewis Peeples. I had no choice.

I've got to take some of your father's tapes over to Brown.

He's probably wondering where I am right now. I will be over to see you just as

soon as I can.

Well...

Melissa.

We're real sorry about what happened.

If there's anything we can do to help... No, it's too late.

I was too late.

If I had got there just a couple minutes sooner, I could have saved him.

You don't know that for sure.

I could have done something.

Lois, what you're going through is...

Something that happens to a lot of people. They blame themselves for things

they are absolutely not responsible for.

You guys are PIs, right?

Well, we like to think so.

Then help me find out who killed my dad.

Oh, Lewis, we can't do that. Come on, my dad was going to broadcast a full

report on that crook Maynard Press.

Whoa, slow down.

Maynard Press is a showman and he's a loudmouth.

That doesn't mean he's a crook.

My dad had a lot of evidence. For one thing, Press was an ex -con. He went to

prison under another name.

Uh, wait a minute. You gotta help me.

Listen, if I can find my dad's evidence, and then all three of us put our heads

together... Oh, no, time out.

Now, there is absolutely nothing in our agreement that says anything about our

interfering with the San Diego Police Department case, not even in the fine

print.

Okay, forget it.

What do you care? You're probably the type of P .I .s that live off sleazy

divorces. You wouldn't know a real case if it hit you smack in the face.

Look, you guys, when you write about this tremendous event, I'd like to see a

little more print about the fact that I brought it right here to San Diego.

I mean, I bypassed the Big Apple.

Vegas, and the Astrodome in Houston.

Now, I think I get a little recognition for that, don't you? After all, who

knows, someday I might decide to run for public office.

Right, Eddie?

Talk to you, Mr. Preston.

Oh, excuse me, gentlemen. I think we have an enterprising gendarme here who

would like a couple of free tickets to a title party.

I'm afraid you're a little late, Lieutenant.

All the good zeeps are gone.

Some of your top brass beat you to it.

Purser, are you aware the reporter from Channel 3 was murdered last night?

Oh, yeah, yeah. What's his name?

Peoples. I saw that in the paper.

I haven't run all of his tape yet. He was doing an expose on you.

He accuses you of promoting a phony contender by fixing several key fights.

Would you like to tell fisherman Floyd Farrell he's a phony contender?

Before you get too melodramatic here, I'd like to call your attention to the

fact that I ran you.

I know you were in prison with the A .K .A. of Martin Fraser.

Three years for fraud and criminal conspiracy.

Hey!

Hold it, everybody.

I want you all to hear this.

We have a flatfoot flugie here who's saying I fix fights.

Now, has anyone at any time, drunk or sober, ever seen me fix a fight?

Big shot.

That's all you get from me.

Any more questions, you call my lawyer.

He's in the yellow pages.

Under truth, honor, and justice.

I'm sorry, but you're late, fellas. Do you have any more questions you want to

ask me?

Here we go, Lewis.

Mushrooms, onions, pepperoni, and sausage.

Mom, that looks just delicious.

Oh, why don't you stay and have some?

They can't. They have to go steal a car.

We are not stealing a car.

What we're doing is taking it back from a person who refuses to make payments to

the legal owner, which in this case happens to be the bank.

It's called repossession.

Great. You'll do that for a couple of measly bucks, but you won't help me

a murderer.

Think police department, Lewis. Think police department.

Yeah, sure. They give parking tickets and you guys do repos.

Why don't you two run along?

Lewis and I are going to pig out and then watch some TV.

Thank you, Mom. You are a saint.

Well, at least somebody in this family has a little class.

Mr.

Simon, this is delicious.

You are a radical cook.

Well, thank you.

It's the ice cream twins.

I'm chocolate.

And I, of course, am vanilla.

Where's the little monster?

He thought we'd get off to a fresh start here.

Mom, what's wrong?

You were watching TV and I drifted off. When I woke up, he was gone.

That lousy little... You know what they charge for this stuff now.

This is nearly six bucks for a quart of hand packed.

It's my fault.

Mom, he broke his word to us.

And we did him a favor and he broke his word.

He's been through something horrible. Why don't you think we bought him the

cream?

And I think the terrible thing is that he left town.

Why?

He took $40 out of my purse.

This is really nice of you guys.

Hand -packed ice cream costs a fortune these days.

Six bucks a quart.

So, what do you want?

Want? Want.

Want. That's what we said, want.

Uh... Well, uh... Well, actually, we... We want you to hear our confession.

Bless us, Lieutenant, for we have sinned.

You've got Lewis Peoples. I know all about it. You do? Of course I do. Temple

told me.

None of you can keep anything from me, you know that.

Why aren't you reading us the riot act?

Well, if you want to know the truth, I'm glad he's not in Hendricks Hall. Of

course, if anybody puts me on the stand, I'll deny I know anything about it.

Actually, John, you might just get that chance.

What do you mean? What are you talking about?

Lewis ran away.

What? He ran away.

How could you have done that?

We didn't. He did.

You're supposed to be professionals. The only reason I didn't put out an APB is

because I knew you had him.

So get your lazy butts out of here and start looking.

Why are you yelling at us? You lost him before we did. Yeah.

Hit the bricks.

I don't want to see your warm bodies in here again unless you have Lewis

Peoples. Now, is there anything about that message that isn't clear?

Oh, Lord, support us all the day long until the evening comes and the shadows

lengthen and the busy world is hushed and the fever of life is over and our

is done.

Then, Lord, in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging, a holy rest, and peace

at last.

Will you all join me in the Lord's Prayer?

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debt.

Hey, Lewis, 40 bucks.

What 40 bucks?

The money you took out of Mom's purse.

That is a feeling, Lewis.

I needed some walking around money.

Well, 40 bucks should pay for quite a lot of shoe leather.

Hey, I had to eat, okay?

Last time I saw you, you were doing a pretty good job on Mom's pizza. Hey, all

right.

I had to buy my dad some flowers.

What's the big deal?

All you had to do was ask. We'd have paid.

We know what you're going through.

Nobody knows what I'm going through.

All he's trying to say is that he was just about your age when our father

I guess we both did some crazy things, too.

Oh, great. Now you're saying I'm crazy.

That's not what he meant.

Well, Brown thinks my dad's crazy.

You guys think I'm crazy.

Father like son.

We don't think that, and neither does Brown.

Well, I know Brown told you a lot of bad things about my dad.

I'll tell you what Brown said about your dad.

He said he pushed too hard and he took dangerous chances.

You can either admire someone for something like that or you can think

stupid, but it's not for me to judge.

I gotta go to the bathroom.

As soon as we get home.

Look, you guys better get it through your thick skulls that nothing, I mean

nothing, is gonna stop me from finding my dad's killer.

Even if you won't help. Hey, how are we supposed to help if we don't have one

single shred of evidence?

Wrong, wrong.

Wrong. I told you my dad had evidence, and it's right here in this book.

You guys are fantastic.

Don't get carried away.

We said we would look at your father's book.

L -O -O -K.

Look.

It's just initials and dates.

Are you sure this has to do with the expose he was doing on press?

Positive. That's why I went back home. I didn't run away. I went to get my dad's

notebook. There's something that keeps popping up. We've got SSG in here.

And that must be Southside Jim. And it's for half the fighters in the city

train. Let's see.

SSG.

BH.

FF. JT.

These must be people you talk to about press.

Well, FF is obvious. That's a fisherman fowl.

BH.

It appears on just about every page.

BH mean anything to you?

No, nothing.

But I can sure find out.

How?

Uh, by snooping around the south side gym.

Not too smart, are you, kid? Oh, come on, guys. We may be sitting on major

evidence here.

Somebody's got to check it out.

I refer you once again to the San Diego Police Department.

You want to blow it?

You want to screw up the only chance we may have?

Let an undercover cop go in there.

They'll be on to him before he takes two steps inside the building.

You guys want me, I'll feed my horse.

What the hell do you think you're

doing?

Gonna un -stink the stink in this place.

Gonna repair this relic you should have dumped 20 years ago.

What are you talking about? There ain't nothing wrong with it. Oh, yeah?

You fire it up. All right?

Damn thing was okay yesterday.

Yeah? I got a work warning. It's signed by BH. You BH?

No, I'm MGR.

I manage this place.

And I didn't put in no service calls.

Yeah, well, you ought to call somebody who does heart transplants because I'm

telling you this baby is terminal.

Hey, uh, you want to put that thing out until I get some air circulating around

in here?

That's it.

That's it.

Come on.

Come on.

Shorten up. Shorten up. There you go. There you go.

Hey, you been here long? You remember everybody here? Hell yes.

Can't you tell? I'm a friendly guy.

Hey, kid, you need a saner?

Hey, who's that guy over there in the heavy bag?

Oh, just some guy in from Denver.

Wants to make a couple of bucks for him.

Well, then, why don't we provide him with an opportunity?

Oh, yeah.

Thanks.

Thank you.

And get out.

We don't train ballerinas here.

We train prize fighters.

I thought you were a hot shot boxer.

I told you in plain English I got set up.

What a butt.

Guy must have had half the padding out of his glove.

Not done right.

He's a bum. I could take him any day of the week if he weren't wearing two ounce

gloves. That's not so much gloves.

It's, uh...

What was in the gloves?

Plaster of Paris.

Very hard, very painful.

I've heard of hands of stone, but that's ridiculous.

So much for your sparring partner from Denver routine.

Oh, yeah, I suppose Rick the repairman did better, huh? It only takes about two

minutes for anyone to figure out you can't even fix a flat tire.

In that two minutes, I'm usually brilliant. Ha!

As an example, B .H.

B stands for Bobby, H stands for Hob.

Bobby Hobbs.

Rick, you are... Come here, come here.

Almost of human intelligence.

Bobby Hobbs was a middleweight contender.

Two years ago, he fought an unknown from the docks, a kid named Fisherman

Farrell. He got knocked out with Fisherman's first big win. But the point

Fisherman Farrell didn't have any business being in the ring with Bobby

I think it's time for a strategy meeting.

Say what?

Oh, well.

Well, the kid from Denver is finished and Rick, the repairman, can't work

So the next move must be mine.

Lewis.

If you so much as step one inch outside this office.

You will be in Hendricks Hall so fast it'll make your head spin.

I'm talking about the express route, pal.

It won't even include the pleasure of stopping by to insult Lieutenant Brown.

Now, is any portion of this message penetrating the granite up here?

I think we're making a mistake.

Okay, if Hobbit doesn't show up by half past, we'll see if we can dig up an

address. You know I'm talking about Lewis.

He doesn't belong with us, and I honestly don't think we're doing him any

favors. He's had a pretty rough day.

Buried is dead. There may not be anybody else.

No.

He should be with his peers.

He should be with his peers in a protected environment where he can be

by professional counselors.

A .J., the counselors at Hendricks Hall aren't like the counselors from summer

camp. Look, I don't feel any better about it than... That's him.

Well,

well, Mr. Potter Room.

I want to talk to you for a minute about Charles Peebles.

How are you?

Well, you can say we're on loan from Channel 3.

We know that Charles Peebles talked to you about Maynard Press.

Get away from me. Hey, walk to us someplace else, all right? Get out of

Leave me alone.

Like hound dogs, pal. We're going to follow you everywhere.

Dammit, get away from me. First it's Salvatore, now Peebles. It's not going

be me next.

Look, Bobby.

Bobby! I saw you fight fisherman Floyd Farrell, and you could have taken him

any time.

Oh.

Oh.

Doesn't seem to be your day, does it?

Yeah, it is.

It is.

doing here?

Oh, the guys thought it might be a good idea if I look at some of my dad's

tapes. The last time I talked to the guys, they told me that you took off

$40 of their mother's money.

Oh, that's been resolved.

I see.

So how come you weren't at the funeral?

I was. It was the guys.

But we were laying low. We were looking for suspects.

Why do I get the impression that you're lying through your teeth?

Oh, I was there. I was there.

Hiding.

I was afraid to be sent to detention.

I wish I could have been with you.

Well, he was with me.

Dad.

I'm sure he was.

You know, I hated him, Temple.

I mean, I really hated him.

I just knew he was always going to leave me.

All my life I heard people telling him, don't do dangerous things. Don't do such

stupid things.

But not a thing anybody said mattered.

So here I am alone.

Honey, we're working on that.

We're trying to find your aunt.

You know, even at the funeral, he wasn't worried about me.

He was worried about finishing this damn report.

Louis, sometimes in situations like... No, I heard him, and I made a promise. I

said, Dad, I'll finish it. I'll finish the report for you. Then we're even.

We're square.

Then you can rest, and I can figure all about you.

Oh, come on, Temple. Help me use this stuff. I found these tapes in my dad's

office.

I swear, I've got this thing solved.

I know what Charles' people stumbled onto during his expose, and I know why

was killed.

I've seen these tapes a dozen times, and no lightning bolt struck me.

Oh, well, we got a whole new method down.

From now on, any time we're stuck on a case, I'm just going to have somebody

smack A .J. in the jaw.

Can't you find a thing about the managers?

Give me a break. I'm trying here.

I think it's somewhere up in here. Let me see. Let me go back.

Yeah, about right there.

What I find hard to believe is that in this day and age, with all the publicity

and media coverage, fighters are still willing to throw fights.

Are you kidding?

More publicity, bigger the game.

I'll bet you $1 ,000 that's Bobby Hobb. For enough money, anybody would do

anything. I really question that.

We have, and always will have, I hope, athletes with unimpeachable integrity.

Look, if you can't buy them, you're scared.

And if that don't work, the easiest way to fix a fight is to get to somebody's

manager. There, that's it.

Just before Bobby Hobbs hit me, he mentioned the name Salvatore.

Nick Salvatore used to be Hobbs' manager.

Now, let's go back two years.

About two weeks.

Before Bobby Hobbs was to fight Fisherman Farrell, I just happened to

article in the paper.

Nick Salvatore was murdered.

Supposedly, he walked into his apartment and interrupted a robbery in progress.

I think the files are still open on that one.

Do you know how he was murdered?

Are you serious?

You know how many murders we've had since then? I remember.

He was choked to death, just like Charles Peoples.

Here's the info, lieutenant.

Sorry it took so long. Thank you.

Hey, you're right, AJ.

Nicholas Salvatore was Bobby Hobbs' manager.

According to this, he was murdered exactly, let's see, 12 days before the

-Farrell fight.

It was listed as a robbery homicide.

Garner's report concludes death by strangulation.

Well, you're going to need another smack on the jaw or you've got enough juice

to keep going.

Press used muscle.

Killing Salvatore, either on purpose or by accident. In either case, it was

enough to convince Bobby to change his mind.

Well, I think I'm going to pick up Mr. Hobbs.

And while I'm at it, I think I might have another little talk with Mr. Press.

Did you know his lawyer was looked in the yellow pages?

Truth, honor, and justice.

Ah, you're welcome, pal.

Mind if I use your phone?

Go right ahead, Rick.

The person you are, it won't even be a toll call.

It's just me all over.

Who are you calling?

Lewis.

No answer.

Why am I not surprised?

Temple's on line three for lieutenant.

She says she'll talk to one of you.

Temple, hi, Rick.

Are you sure?

All right, we'll be right over there.

Lewis has been at the station looking at tapes. He says he thinks he knows who

the sponsor killer is.

Simple. It's the note right there.

Just the way I found it when I came back from the newsroom.

I feel terrible. I shouldn't have left him alone for a minute.

I think I know who killed Dad.

Temple, this is it.

Prickle.

Oh, what do you know, A .J.? It's the plaster caster who worked you over at

gym. Temple, give Tom a call. Tell him we'll be at the Southside Gym.

Let's be.

He's okay.

You looking for something, kid?

I remember saying I was going to kill you, but I never figured you was going

make it this easy.

Who's that guy for?

Listen, Cinderella, I thought I told you to stay out of it.

Freeze! Right there!

Shoot! And you kill this kid!

I don't care! Shoot him! Shoot him! It's him! He killed my father! Kill him!

Now, the next one's going to go right in your kneecap.

And then when you drop Lewis, which I guarantee you will, I'm gonna have a lot

of fun deciding between your wishbone and your bellybutton.

Okay, wild man, let's talk a deal.

Glad to.

Okay, don't you try something funny, too.

Rick, call time.

Glad to.

I don't want to be a sore loser about this.

But if he wins, kill him.

I don't think that's going to be necessary.

Time.

Let's go find a phone.

I've got a feeling this guy has a lot he wants to tell Lieutenant Brown about

Maynard Preff.

Hell, you don't look bad.

I'm his big brother.

When we were kids, we couldn't afford a punching bag, so he used to do this to

me twice a week just to stay in shape.

Well, it's over, Dad.

The press is in jail.

The man who did this to you is in jail.

The story is finished.

Maybe you can rest now.

No more running around. No more taking chances.

Because I know where you are.

They don't have crime.

Corruption and all those things that just made you so mad.

So it's over, Dad.

And I'm okay.

I just wanted to say that to you because I miss you.

I really miss you.

And I'm very proud to be your son.