Original subtitles

Are you ready to order the rest of your dinner now?

This is the beluga?

Yes, sir. Is there something wrong?

I'd be happy to bring you another serving.

Without compliments.

No.

I'll have the check, thank you.

Is Michael Eichler internet?

I believe he's in the bar, sir.

They're strong -arming us again about the linen service prices.

In L .A. and Phoenix, too. I don't think we have any choice but to pay them.

Excuse me. My name is Paul Costa, Mr. Eichler. Unified Oil retained me as a

consultant to evaluate your restaurants.

Oh, Costa. Of course.

Nobody told me to expect you.

This is my manager, Jan Reynolds.

How do you do, Miss Reynolds?

Excuse me. I have to get back up front.

Actually, this is my second meal here.

But I kept my trip intentionally quiet because I wanted to... To your liking.

Quite frankly, Mr. Eichler, I found some very troubling irregularities.

They may be criminally actionable.

Of course, I'm forced to report all of this to the corporate attorneys.

You're nothing but a bloody damn company patsy. And the next thing you'll tell

me is they're going to reconsider their offer.

I'll be... Preparing my report tomorrow. And I'd like to include your comments

on some of the particulars I've noticed. And if you'd like to discuss this

calmly, you call me at my hotel.

Sherry Palms, room 11. I've been holding several messages for you.

Hello?

No more restaurant cases.

I refuse to sit in the meat locker again for five days counting steaks. My

bursitis twists me up like a pretzel. All right, no more meat lockers.

This is strictly out front work. Besides, I hear the food is good. Oh,

Remember the all -you -can -eat case? I had no idea that was all you could eat.

You'll never be able to look another macaroni salad in the face. No more

restaurant cases.

Are you for lunch?

Yes, please.

Are you Donna Kendall?

Yes, I am. Hi.

Rick and A .J. Simon? Hi. Got a message you wanted to see us? Oh, hello.

It's nice to finally meet you.

I wanted to buy you lunch. How's your macaroni salad?

Well, we've got a great pasta salad.

I love restaurant cases. I love them.

Thank you.

Well, what are we looking at here? We've been around this block before.

Steak rustlers, silverware nappers.

My partner was murdered.

Was Paul Costa the kind of man who made enemies?

Sure, every Thursday.

He could be pretty scathing in his column, but you know the byline.

Uh, Paul Costa a la carte.

He was a major food and wine critic.

I knew that.

He was a perfectionist and very opinionated.

But I sure am going to miss him. You said he was murdered.

What did the police say?

That they were sorry.

She never saw him drunk. No one ever did.

Well, how well did she know him? She was partners in a restaurant for two years.

I think she knew him pretty well.

You better reopen the books on this one, Tom. No accident.

The coroner pegged the guy's blood alcohol level at .16.

That's drunk.

Then the guy took the header into a coffee table. That's dead. He was alone

his room and nobody saw him all night. That's an accident.

That's too easy.

What's wrong with easy?

You guys gotta be nuts to come down here. The old man's still burning over

customer you barred last year. Oh, come on. You trying to tell me he's still

holding on to a petty grudge for all this time?

We brought the guy back in one piece.

Okay, two pieces. Big deal.

May we look at the celebrity rack, Mort?

Fancy food guy, Costa?

Nothing for you there?

As a favor, you see, I was a fan.

Yeah, I've read his stuff for years.

Yep. Guy must have drunk his way through half the Napa Valley last night.

Any other unusual marks?

Any sign of drugs?

Napa Valley. Are you saying he was drinking wine?

Oh, yeah. We found some in his mouth.

Good, dry red wine.

Tannic. Good -ass. California wine. Are you sure?

Reasonably. Sure.

Why? Because Paul Costa was a French wine snob.

He was despised by the California vintners.

He literally wouldn't be caught dead with a mouthful of California wine.

Stop. Probably already cleaned it.

Technical desk.

On the meantime.

You know what's weird?

What? The people who check in here right after this will never know that just

before they were here, there was a dead body right there.

That's weird.

Hey.

What? Got a hair.

Were you over here earlier?

It's blonde.

It's a long shot, but it's about all we got.

A slightly balding older woman.

Mr. Costa was alone.

And even if he had company, I wouldn't be talking with you about her. Or him.

Or whatever.

The Sherry Palms respects the privacy of its guests.

That's nice.

But this guest is dead.

We respect them dead or alive.

Okay. I can understand that.

However... We are representing his business.

Jay, there are some times when you can actually feel the game turning your way.

Is it turning our way? The guy on the desk tonight is known around the hotel

Shaky Jake.

Okay, 837.

Okay, sir. Thank you.

Like a room with a double bed, please? Certainly, sir. Could you just fill this

out for us, please?

Okay, and if you could put that in your safe.

Surely. Hey, I got two words for you. Excuse me? Hot water.

I beg your pardon? Hot water.

None. Zero. You turn the little knob, marked H.

Nada.

There hasn't been any hot water in the bridal suite since this morning.

Now, the little woman and I are on our second honeymoon. The last thing we want

to do is take a cold shower. I understand that. Is there no hot water

hotel? None. I've heard of it. I have called every hour on the hour.

I'm tired of complaining about this.

Now, as I said, my wife and I are on our second honeymoon.

We have saved for three years for this trip.

Three years we have saved for the bridal suite. Three. No, no, no, no, sir.

Please, please. If you'd just let me check this gentleman in. That's what

have been saying to me all day. One moment, sir. We'll get right on it, sir.

We're working on it, sir. One moment. Just like that. It's happening as we

speak. I've heard it all before.

I sympathize. I am out on my feet. Cold shower will pick you right up.

Yeah.

This place should have gone Cabo San Lucas to begin with.

It's nice down there. Yeah, it is. Hey!

Hello, it is.

I'm getting a little woman. We're packing our duds and getting out of

you understand me? I'm tired of waiting.

Are you all right?

Uh...

Finish. Relax. Just take it easy and try to stay calm.

Oh, gosh.

Oh, wait a minute.

My life's flashing before my eyes.

I don't know.

Where?

Down at my senior prom.

Oh, come in here.

Water.

Water. Water.

This man needs to see a doctor immediately.

Look, come here. There's a doctor on call. No, no, no. I'm going to take him

bed. Okay.

Come on. Let's go.

Let's go.

That's it. Easy.

I'll call your wife, sir, for you. No, no. No, no. Just see to the hot water.

She's waiting there in the tub.

My hair is curly. I couldn't even get this stuff straight if I wanted to.

It's okay.

I mean, that hair could belong to somebody who was in the room before

could have come from a chambermaid. We don't know. It's all right.

I found some notes for an article that he was doing on dining out in San Diego.

The duck was crisp.

Unfortunately, it was crisp inside, not outside.

I've got... It's also a chain of expensive restaurants.

There's one here in town.

That makes some sense.

Do you have anything about Nouvelle in that article?

much ado about nothing um oh on dave and then he's got a question

mark and then astronomy paul would check it if he was skeptical about something

anybody know cody dexter supplies into the uh pierre blanca foothills is that

where he grows his mushrooms somewhere up there paul wrote that he keeps moving

around he's a fanatic about protecting his secret growing grounds all over the

place

I see why thefts come from all over the country, apart from this guy.

I wouldn't eat that if I were you.

You're liable to see God or die, ma 'am.

Dexter Cody?

Cody Dexter?

You're talking to him.

Uh, we're private investigators.

We want to talk to you about Paul Kosta.

But he was just here a few days ago.

He didn't happen to come up here with a blonde woman by any chance, did he?

No.

He always stopped by. Trumpets are death. That's what we call black

chanterelles. I'm the only supplier in the whole Southwest.

$14 a pound.

He didn't happen to say who else he was going to visit on this trip, did he? No.

But you could ask someone over at Unified Oil in Irvine.

An oil company?

They took him on as a consultant for something.

He was asking me about my customers. Nothing specific.

Just wanted to know what... It tripled my business.

Of course, it tripled the raids by thieves, too.

So I had to scatter a few sucker toadstools around.

Aren't you afraid of making a slight error?

Me?

Why, I know these little babies like my own children.

Here, take that home with you.

That's a mushroom, mister.

Yeah,

that's a mushroom.

Uh, there's one other thing that we could, uh... I understand that this

is about Paul Custer.

Yes, well, the question is, uh, what was a gourmet writer doing working for an

oil company?

I am prepared to cooperate with you within reason, of course.

But I want to make one thing perfectly clear.

If you in any way publicly associate the unfortunate death of Paul Costa with

unified oil, we will sue you and your children for generations to come.

Okay, fine. We all know the shape of the table. Can we get on with it now?

What was Paul Costa doing for you in San Diego?

Well, we were in sensitive negotiations for a chain of restaurants.

He was seeing to it that our money would be well spent.

Which chain?

I am not at liberty to disclose that while negotiations continue by mutual

agreement with the present owner.

But, aside from not telling you the name, I have no restriction on your

question. In return, I would like to know any information in his

notes that might pertain to the work he was doing for us.

We got this list of restaurants from Mushroom Supplier.

Is your place down there?

Hey, uh, we have some of his notes about a restaurant called Nouvelle.

No comment.

Thank you.

Okay.

What did Costa have to say about these, uh, unnamed restaurants?

Unfortunately, he died before he could tell us anything.

Anything interesting in his notes?

Well, the only thing that we can tell you at this point is that Nouvelle...

It's making money hands over fist.

I don't care who your boss's relatives are. At these prices, the quality of

linens had better improve or I... Yes,

8 .30 will be fine.

Hold it, please.

I want him out of here. Now.

Get your things together. I'll have your check ready.

Heavens. So has Michelangelo put in a few spare hours on the ceiling?

Excuse me.

Would you like a tie?

You sell ties?

We give loan outs.

We do have a dress code here. Actually, we weren't planning to stay for dinner.

No, I was just introduced to him briefly in the bar.

Henry, check on 17.

Are you pleased that they're complaining about the supply?

You're with the police.

We're private investigators. We've been retained by his partner at La Bella

Donna. Yes, I've met her.

Look, boys, this is a very busy time for me.

Did you see Costa again later that evening?

No.

You weren't in his hotel room?

I think you'd better leave.

I'll call you if I need a tie.

He's got real trouble.

Two private investigators know I was in his room.

I didn't want to be involved in this the first place.

How can you eat pancreas?

Sweetbreads. And I like them.

You didn't have to eat them. I had to watch you eat them. I had to watch you

slurping up spaghetti noodles.

Would anybody like any more coffee? No, thank you. No.

Look, guys, I've got to run.

I've got an all -night stakeout downtown. I want to check on my boys.

I'll tell you what you need from Jan Reynolds.

A strand of her hair.

If it matches the one you found in the hotel, then we got something to talk to

her about.

Sounds like fun. How can you get that?

We'll get it.

You guys only know the restaurant business from the front door. I know who

in the back.

Like the maitre d' who got their training on the docks of Marseille.

And the friendly food suppliers from the syndicate.

Don't be fooled by the asparagus.

Please be careful.

Please.

Please.

Can I give you a ride anywhere?

Um, no. I think I'd better stay here and take care of some loose ends.

Okay.

You get some rest, all right?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Bye.

LaBella Donna. Donna speaking.

This is Jan Reynolds.

I'm manager of the novelle.

Yes?

I must talk to you alone.

It's about Paul Costa. I'm just you.

I'll leave the kitchen door open.

Jan?

Jan Reynolds, are you here?

What are you doing?

The lover's triangle. It happens all the time. Then your case already has fallen

apart.

Donna's relationship with Costa was strictly professional.

Tell him, Donna.

Jealousy. There was no possessiveness.

We worked together for a long time. It was just a natural, simple progression

our friendship.

And you met him two years ago?

Yes, he pulled me out of a tiny kitchen in a country inn outside of Escondido.

Said I was one of California's great chefs.

He staked me to my dream.

I didn't kill her.

What's Eichler's story?

He was with your friend from Unified all night until a message from Jan brought

him back to the restaurant.

The night Costa was killed?

Eichler amidst seeing Costa. Now, Costa wasn't going to give a good report to

Nivelle. Wait a minute. You don't kill someone because they don't like your

food. If you're talking about a price tag in the millions, you do.

Maybe. Put yourself in the buyer's place.

I mean, what if they kept the restaurant serving lousy food?

They're making big bucks. Now that's what they care about.

All right.

Mr.

and Mrs. Carmen Pansioni?

Yes.

Mr. and Mrs. Panzione, you are the grand prize winners in Waiter's Magazine

sweepstakes. But they don't even subscribe. You do now. That's one of the

prizes. What else have we won?

Sparky, tell these nice people what else they've won. Thank you, Bobo.

It's the answer to your dreams, lucky people.

It's romance, adventure, excitement.

It's every married couple's wish.

It's...

to send you, Mr. and Mrs. Carmen Fancioni, on an all -expenses -paid trip

to the Magic Kingdom completely paid for, and two first -class bus fares to

Anaheim. Now you'd better hurry up and get changed because you're leaving

tonight! Tonight?

But I have to go to work.

No, no, it's all been worked out with Mr. Eichler. He only expects you to be

back next weekend and bring him Tinkerbell's autograph.

Oh, the Tinkerbell's autograph.

Oh, sure. Go ahead.

I didn't know his mother -in -law was so ill. Yes, they called from Naples at

five this morning.

I thought Carmine's mother -in -law was from Florence.

Thank God she survived the trip to the hospital in Naples.

Carmen wouldn't leave until I promised to fill in for him.

I haven't done this for years, of course, but how could I refuse?

Then you're not a waiter, good day. No, I teach waiters.

The Roosevelt Waiters Academy in Chula Vista.

Well, Mr. Roosevelt, you just might do.

Are you familiar with the dishes we serve here?

Aguillette de Canard or Saint -Emilion, for example?

Sliced piece of duckling, cooked to the pink, served in red wine sauce, made

from Saint -Emilion.

Yes, that's it.

Sebastian, this is Mr. Roosevelt.

He's filling in for Carmine birthday.

Imbecile! I hope you never pick up a salmon before.

We've been on a tin can.

You pick it up.

You don't play basketball with it.

You'll learn to tolerate Sebastian.

He's brilliant, but he's not the easiest man in the world to work with.

I've survived for eight years now.

Oh, bravo.

So another new man to cause me problems, eh?

Sebastian will answer any questions you might have about the menu.

Over the wine list, if there's anything unfamiliar, ask me.

Very good.

Everybody.

Can I have your attention, please?

I have a very important announcement to make.

This morning, I signed an agreement to sell Nouvelle to some very good people

Unified Oil.

Now, nothing changes.

Your jobs are all secure.

I've agreed to stay on as an active consultant and host to make sure that

everything runs just as smoothly as it always has.

My only regret is that we won't have my good friend, Jan Reynolds, here to help

us.

I know you all join me in mourning her tragic death.

Thank you.

There's table four. They're in no hurry.

Table seven's ready for their main course.

And they will get it when it's properly done.

What?

Excuse me.

Take these to the back room.

I didn't have much time to keep an eye on you, Roselle. Everything go all

Most satisfactory, sir. Good, good.

I've been looking at.

Well, we're serving black chanterelles for dinner tonight, but I don't think

these are chanterelles.

Isn't Cody Dexter the only supplier in the Southwest?

Yeah, my new built chain ain't on his list. Something the matter?

No, just cleaning up here. That's all. Excuse me. Don't get on you.

Pardon me.

I took the liberty of checking the produce, sir. I always advise my waiters

stay on top of produce quality.

Well, that's Sebastian's purview here. Why don't we let him worry about that?

Quite so.

Excuse me.

Cody!

Watch where you're stepping.

Sorry, Basil. Where are you?

Hi. Hi.

Uh, we were going over the list of your customers in San Diego.

Nouvelle isn't on that list.

That's because I don't sell to them.

Well, except they served black chanterelles for dinner last night.

They did?

Well, I'd sure as hell like to see them.

Oh.

Well, they're calling these black chanterelles, huh? Yes, sir.

Well, let me tell you boys something.

These are laboratory rats.

Born and bred in chemicals.

Mass -produced.

You can bet I wouldn't take one of them home to Mama.

So it's a cheap substitute.

It's cheap.

It ain't no substitute.

Well, I just... Will I... How did he do

that?

Tried to put $14 mushrooms on the menu and then use... the kind you can buy for

a buck a pound.

By the time you threw chopping them and saucing them, I mean, I couldn't tell

the difference.

I still can't see killing somebody over mushrooms.

But it's not just the mushrooms. Costa had a question about the caviar, and

goes for 50 bucks an ounce.

You're right, A .J. You don't kill over mushrooms. Only over caviar.

No, wait a minute. Wait, look.

What if the whole menu is a fraud? They do. The waiters have instructions to

make it right.

Courtesy of Nouvelle.

Nobody I know turns down free food.

And you can fool all the people some of the time, some of the people all the

time, but I guess you can't fool somebody like Paula Foster.

Of course, I was about to blow it wide open.

A multi -million dollar restaurant chain goes down the drain. Now, that is

motive for murder.

Well, I guess what we've got to do now is list a few samples.

I'll have some, uh, finishing with hollandaise sauce, double -baked potato,

uh,

a chocolate souffle.

And, uh, waiter, do you have some sweet and light for my coffee?

Yes, of course, madam.

Thank you.

Well, I don't know. I don't think this is going to work. The air conditioner, I

can feel the draft already. Can you?

How about a table over there?

Of course.

Thank you.

Chocolate souffle.

Thank you.

Would you like to take a look at the menu, sir?

What are your specials tonight?

We have a grilled swordfish, sautéed in white wine, and served with a roquefort

cheese and chocolate sauce.

Stay on the conservative side.

Let's see, beluga caviar, Russian style and nibble on. Then I'll have the pasta

salad with the Spanish truffles.

Pasta. Then I'll have the fillet with the black chanterelles.

Chanterelles.

And if I may, sir, I would highly recommend pâté de foie gras.

Okay, put me down for one of those.

Pâté... Thank you.

And, um, since I'm on someone else's expense account, I think I should also

one of your better French wines.

One... Iced tea.

Water aerobics, Harvey.

I'm telling you, it's given me a completely new image of myself.

Harvey.

I could swear I just saw that man dump a bowl of caviar in his pocket.

You won't believe it, Harvey.

But since Martha's husband left her for that beach bunny, she's put on 20

pounds.

Goose liver.

He just put goose liver in his pocket, Harvey.

Can't stand it.

Waiter. Yes, madam.

Waiter.

That man over there?

Times. We're not supposed to notice.

If this is Beluga, then Nikita Khrushchev played third base for the

Cubs. I think they did have a Russian in the infield one year.

Look, you can see for yourself.

It should be round, same size.

Yeah, the color's off, too.

Caspian Sea, nyet. Is that the barber? Maybe.

This whole lunch tray's grade C, Lieutenant.

Thanks, Morton. Thank you very much.

Change your mind about desserts?

Lieutenant Brown, S .D., P .D.

I'm afraid I have to take you down to the station, Mr. Eichler.

What for? When?

Now.

You're making some kind of mistake.

You don't think so.

We can prove that you've been passing off low -quality food as top grade.

Paul Costa discovered it. It was enough to get him killed. I don't know what

you're talking about.

Yeah, we've heard that before. Let's go. Look, I don't know anything about a

food fraud.

I didn't know what Costa's report was going to say. We were going to meet

the next day.

I told Jan to ring him up and arrange a meeting.

Let's not make this embarrassing.

I'm a businessman. I built Nouvelle. I expanded it into three states. I sold it

for a profit, but I never had anything to do with the buying of food.

These two have been here. They can tell you it's the truth.

Everything was ordered by Sebastian.

You don't ever leave the kitchen in the middle of dinner service.

In your next job, if you ever get one, you remember that.

Don't do it.

Don't do it.

Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it.

Don't do it.

Don't do it.

Don't do it. Don't do it.

Don't do it.

Don't do it.

Don't do it.

They're gonna love you in the San Quentin Commissary.

Come on, get out of here.

Hi. If you order a hamburger in this place, you gotta specify cooked. Your

burger's coming. That's the lieutenant.

I'm in the mood for steak tartare.

How can anybody be in the mood for raw meat?

I'm always in the mood for raw meat after I make a collar.

Listen, guys. I just want to thank you all so much for what you've done.

Oh, shut up.

I really am grateful.

You get the feeling that you and I just left the table?

Yeah.