Original subtitles

You ever wonder halfway through if you've really loaded that camera?

Always. Never forget?

Nope.

It's beautiful, isn't it?

Do you have any trouble getting a room here?

No.

I'm on the floor below.

I love this hotel.

I love this suite.

I love that view.

Must be pretty expensive.

It's worth it.

Spying pays well these days, huh?

How

much

will a thing like this bring in?

Well, not as much as you would think.

Now, of course, if I had your millions, if I owned a company like Rocket Camp,

well... John, you're primarily

a blackmailer and charming rather than a spy.

You're not particularly loyal to the communists, are you?

Well, no, not particularly, I suppose.

What I don't understand is why you deal with them at all.

I mean, why didn't you just blackmail me yourself for hard cash instead of

turning me into a traitor?

Oh, I never thought of it.

I'm not much of an independent businessman. I'd rather work for

And, uh, red espionage is, after all, a very stable, old -line concern, isn't

it?

Oh, um, he wanted me to ask you what you'd heard on your Project Hunter bid,

the way.

Well, you can tell them that... You can tell them

that I lost it.

Went to Norris Aircraft's new rocket division.

Oh. What's the matter? Don't you know anyone at Norris you can blackmail?

Yes, matter of fact, I do.

Problem is, he's nearly as highly placed as you are.

It'd be much harder for him to get the information.

Can we still do business on the new chemical developments?

Uh -uh.

We can't do business at all anymore.

Just about a minute to go.

Let's have the camera.

Mr. Zimmerman, what do you think is going to happen to you when I call the

and tell them about the girl you murdered?

Or about what you've been doing ever since?

What do you think will happen to you?

You're really that much of a gambler?

Yeah, I'm really that much of a gambler.

Well, let's have that camp.

The FBI.

A Quinn Martin production starring Ephraim Zimbalist Jr.

Also starring Philip Abbott, William Reynolds, with guest stars

Fritz Weaver, Richard Anderson,

Norman Fell, and special guest star Suzanne Plachette.

Tonight's episode, The Mercenary.

of Hugh Zimmerman in San Francisco on the night of April 14 was to be the

savage, puzzling act that would start the FBI on one of the most dangerous spy

hunts in modern history.

Though Zimmerman had received a top security clearance, certain classified

documents to which he had had access were now missing.

Well, has it been established that Zimmerman took the drawings himself?

I see.

No, his luggage has been searched. No sign of him.

Well, tell Durant I'll be in Los Angeles by Wednesday at the latest.

And ask him to try to set up an interview for me with Zimmerman's wife.

I'll be in Mr. Ward's office.

Oh, uh, Lou.

Here's a file on Zimmerman.

You know, it's bewildering. Here's a civic leader, a man who serves with

distinction in the Navy in World War II.

Have you heard anything from San Francisco?

I'm keeping a line open.

Bennett's at the hotel now.

Zimmerman's apparently been taking these weekend trips to San Francisco for the

past two or three months.

Each time he'd remove classified material on Saturday and return it

morning. And no one thought that was a bit odd?

Well, after all, he's the owner of the company. He designed most of the

equipment himself.

As far as the security guards are concerned, it was just homework.

wanted to play around with in his spare time.

Well, I've talked to everyone involved.

They're going to sidetrack Project Ghostbreaker until we can determine for

what happened to those drawings.

And we can thank God Zimmerman didn't get the Project Hunter bid.

That's something we can't sidetrack. Did he have a chance at it? No, very good

one. He was the prime developer on Ghostbreaker.

And Hunter's just a more sophisticated version of that.

More accurate.

They've added acquisition radar to the search rockets.

I understand they can determine 100 % the difference between a true nuclear

warhead and the junk the enemy might send up as decoy material.

Who got the final contract?

Norris. Southern California.

Which would lower Zimmerman's value to aspiring considerably, wouldn't it? And

raise Norris's.

How low their security at Norris?

Bennett's on your office line, Lou. It looks like they found the murder room.

Yes, I'm holding on.

You check the closet, Dave?

Yes, Inspector.

What have you got, Alan?

We located a maid who remembered seeing Zimmerman enter a room on the fifth

floor last night about 10 o 'clock.

Now, the occupant never officially checked out, but he was gone this

when the manager let us in.

There's obviously been a terrific fight here.

What was the occupant's name?

Raymond Hardesty.

No address.

The desk clerk's giving Hardesty's description to an agent now.

Wonder if the Bureau would send an artist out here.

He'll be on the next plane.

Bennett, this is Arthur Ward.

Yes, Mr. Ward.

Before we commit ourselves too strongly to a search for Hottestee, we've got to

make certain that was actually the room Zimmerman fell from.

Well, we're working on that now, Mr. Ward.

There are definite signs of a struggle here.

There are no clear latent prints so far, but the window is open and the frame

seems to be scratched.

By Zimmerman?

Well, that would be my guess. We found bits of paint under his fingernails.

send them along to the lab for comparison with the paint from the

No way it could have been suicide.

No, sir.

Whoever made those marks was trying his best to hang on, to save himself.

Just a minute.

From the closet?

Yes, Inspector. We just found a photograph in the closet.

This room had been thoroughly cleaned before Hardesty came in, so it may well

something he dropped.

Who was the picture of?

Well, it's a wedding photo.

Date on the bottom is 1928.

There's nothing at all on the back.

No photographer's name?

No, nothing.

Well, send it along with the paint samples.

We'll see if the documents section can raise anything.

Put every man you can spare on this, Alan. I'll be flying out to the coast

this week. If you get anything at all on Hardesty, you can reach me at the L .A.

office. Yes, sir.

Dave, send this to the Bureau right away.

Oh, John.

Look, he loves me.

John.

How much?

125. That includes all his shots, papers.

Oh, John, that really isn't so bad.

Please, I've got to have him.

Oh, absolutely.

Absolutely. What were you making all those gritty faces about?

I thought I lost something.

A photograph.

Probably left it in my other suit. It's not really important.

I'll write it up. Yeah, and before you do that, how much is our little bushy

-tailed friend here?

Ten -fifty, with the cage.

Kind of reminds me of me.

Add him in with the other, will you? Mm -hmm.

See the chipmunk?

See? Julie, wait in the car for me, will you? I'll be right out.

Okay.

Come on, little sweetie.

No, John.

Everybody was a little disturbed about Zimmerman's murder.

He was threatening to blow the whole operation. I had to do something.

Anyway, I got the film.

Where's my money?

Now, there's no doubt in the world that they've been compromised, is there?

You're lucky we're paying you at all.

But, Mike, I've got to have more money.

My creditors are howling like wolves out there.

Cut down on your expenses. You live too high anyway.

Maybe I'm trying to sell my product in the wrong marketplace.

Maybe I ought to try to find some new buyers for Project Hunter.

Come here, John.

I want to show you something.

What?

are on our side.

Do you understand me?

You're committed.

We bought you.

Mike!

When are you going to deliver Hunter to us, sir? Soon, Mike! Soon!

Oh, Mrs. Zimmerman, you were here.

She'll be right down.

Thank you.

The local office made the appointment. We didn't expect you this early.

We just got back from the funeral.

Would you like a drink or something?

No, please don't bother.

Were you at the service?

No.

So final.

made a fool of myself, I couldn't stop crying.

You and Mr. Zimmerman were close friends, Mr. Fillmore?

Oh, yes, we were friends.

They didn't go by when we weren't yelling at each other.

But I tell you, I love that man like a brother.

We're shipmates. We're rivals in business. We... in other areas, too.

Ray?

How are you feeling?

Oh, about 139 years old.

Dr. Erskine, Mr. Tobey, this is Mrs. Zimmerman.

Gentlemen.

Mrs. Zimmerman, I want to thank you for consenting to see us.

Won't you sit down?

I knew there would be an investigation when the police called.

I suppose the FBI wants to know why a man who was the head of a company with

many government contracts would commit suicide.

He didn't commit suicide. He couldn't. He wouldn't. It was an accident.

Oh, Charlie, that's the one thing it couldn't be.

You've known Hugh for five years. Have you ever known him to cut himself

or trip or even speed?

No.

He was the most controlled man I ever met.

Except for... Except for what, Mrs. Zimmerman?

Had he been under any particular pressure for the past two or three

No, no particular pressure.

Well, we didn't want to detain you anymore at a time like this. You've been

kind.

Is that all?

That's all for now.

If you should remember anything, if you think might help us, perhaps you'd be

kind enough to call me at the FBI office in town.

Help you?

Help you do what? It's all over.

He's dead.

If Hugh killed himself, it's nobody's business but his.

Except possibly the people responsible for his death.

Thank you again.

What'd you make of Fillmore?

You mean beside being in love with her?

Loyal, sympathetic, old friend of Zimmerman's? How old?

Well... He said they'd been shipmates.

Zimmerman left the Navy in 1946.

Yet Mrs. Zimmerman said Fillmore had only known her husband five years.

Who was lying?

I'll ask the Bureau to start a file review on Fillmore as soon as possible.

Oh, congratulations.

Yeah, gorgeous, gorgeous. Like a two -ton truck.

It was beautiful.

Because you tried.

You didn't giggle and go all to pieces because I asked you to dance.

You did your best.

And that's beautiful.

Well, it was fun. It was fun.

Hey, John, haven't we been deserted?

Isn't anybody else coming to this party?

Yeah, I'm beginning to wonder myself.

Oh, who needs them?

What do you do, Mr. Haney?

He makes rockets.

Rockets? What, you mean like fireworks?

Well, in a way, I... What I really like to do is sail. I have this boat down at

Newport, and I take the wife and kids down there every weekend, and we sail

to Catalina. Just horse around.

Ken, I didn't know you were a skipper.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

You know, as a matter of fact, I just put a down payment on a real beauty, a

-foot catch.

I am quitting this rat race.

I'm going to take my family to Hawaii.

Fantastic.

But you're kidding.

No, no, no.

Next month, I get my 25 -year pin.

Now, I am leaving Norris the day after the presentation.

Can I envy you? I really do.

Sometimes I think I would give up my right arm to get out of this town.

Well, maybe just one more deal.

You got a big one coming up?

Oh.

Very big.

Very big.

Well, that's it, then.

You pull it off, grab the money, and run.

I'll help you. Hey, I'll tell you what let's do.

Let's form Rat Racers Anonymous. When you feel yourself slipping, just call

You mean try to call you. Ever since you started work on Project Hunter, it's

been like... What's the matter?

How'd you know about Project Hunter?

Well, Norris got the contracts all over town.

Look, I'm really getting worried. I think I better check to see where

went. I get it now.

You're going to split and leave me here with Matt and Harry, huh?

Now you got it.

I'll be right back.

Don't hurry, pal.

Oh, hurry.

Apart from the unidentified latent print, which the identification division

found, there was nothing on the front.

Nothing significant about the blow -ups, but ultraviolet light brought out a

very faded imprint on the back.

Allison.

Excuse me.

Document section?

Yes, just a moment.

Your call to Los Angeles is ready, Mr. Ward.

Thanks.

Ward.

Oh, good. Put him on.

Hello, Lewis?

Yes, Art.

Lewis, I hate to put any more pressure on you than I have to, but it makes me

feel right at home, Art.

How's the Zimmerman case coming along?

Well, we're clearing away the deadwood.

I've talked to most of the key people at Rocket Chem, and I'm more and more

convinced that Zimmerman would never have acted out of basic disloyalty. You

think it was blackmail?

Maybe.

Anything on Charles Fillmore?

Nothing derogatory in the files.

He was never in the Navy, though, if you still think that's important.

Well, I think the lie's important.

When was Ghost Breaker started?

Five years ago.

You suppose Fillmore and Hardesty could be the same man?

It's a possibility.

Say, we finally picked up something on that photograph they found in Hardesty's

hotel room.

It was made at the Allison Photo Studio, Grove City, California.

Well, that's certainly something we should look into.

Thanks, Art.

Just came in from San Francisco.

Is this Hardesty?

From a description by the desk clerk at the hotel.

There's one question, at least.

Fillmore wasn't hard to see.

There's nobody home, go away.

Listen, Ken, I called your office.

I reminded them your wife and kids were getting back today.

I told them you'd check in after you picked up the family at the airport.

What time is it?

9 .30.

Have I been here since...

Forget it. She's gone.

Oh, boy.

John,

I don't know what to say.

I apologize.

I really want to thank you for covering for me at the office, John. Forget it. I

mean, if there's anything I could ever do for you... You mean that?

Just name it.

Project Hunter?

What?

I'd like to see the specification sheets on Project Hunter.

Yeah, I bet you would.

Think you could get them to me this afternoon?

Look, John, I'm really not with it.

Now, I wish you wouldn't try and pull a subtle gag like this on a guy with a

hangover.

How many years have you been married, Ken?

Hmm?

Want me to play the tapes for you?

I don't care what you do.

My wife will believe me if I tell her it was all a set -up.

Yes, your wife will believe you, all right. But who's the jury going to

when Julie brings you into court?

I mean, that can be very costly business, Ken.

Even if you win, I mean, your house might go to both Hawaii.

Hello?

Yes, could you hold on a minute, please?

I'll give you the negatives and the tapes as soon as we conclude a deal.

Okay?

Yes, Charles.

John, I've called you half a dozen times. I was thinking of driving down to

beach, but I don't have your address.

Spalding Road, 41 -304.

Well, what's the problem?

It's Marie.

I think her husband told her things.

And if he did, what if she tells the FBI?

Wait a minute.

Tells him what?

She linked me to Zimmerman?

I don't know.

John, what are we going to do?

What are you thinking?

Did you ever see Frankenstein, Charlie?

The old movie, of course.

Remember the moment when the monster looks in the water and sees his

And he realizes for the first time that he is a monster?

John, what are you talking about?

Monsters, Charles.

Well, forget about monsters.

What if Marie goes to the FBI?

What do we do then?

What do you do then, Charles?

remember these two?

Good friends of mine, both of them.

Clara and Will Whiting. She was one of the hottest girls.

Do you know where either of them are now, Mr. Allison?

No, where both of them are. Grove Terrace. You're right. Smile.

Is that near here?

About five miles.

Take County Road number five north.

When you get to the main gate, has the caretaker to show you to the old section

there up on the hill.

This wouldn't be a cemetery.

Sure would. Where else do you think they'd be?

Will died in 31, Clara passed away in 36.

December. Never forget it, the way the boy took on, you know.

The boy?

Their son.

They only had one child.

He was six when Clara died.

They had a real hard time.

Depression.

Clara was always strange, but she got even odder after Will died.

She couldn't find work, but she always wanted to keep up appearances.

Wouldn't tell anybody that she was on relief.

Then one day the relief truck dumped a load of firewood in her front yard.

Everybody knew, but nobody cared.

And while the boy was carrying the wood into the cellar, Clara went up into the

attic and hanged herself.

Big smile.

The boy cried and screamed and said it was never going to happen to him.

He was going to have money and he didn't care how he made it.

What was the boy's name, sir?

John.

Would, uh... Would you look anything like this today in a drama?

Puttin' em in.

The next time you deliver junk to me, Johnny boy, instead of what I ask for,

I'll kill you.

Go on out.

And I want Hunter in this shop by tomorrow night.

This is Hunter.

He said it was Hunter.

You should have studied your physics in school.

What he gave you were radar circuits that were obsolete in 1950.

Mr. Allison at the photo shop recognized the drawing right away.

He said that Whiting had come back to Grove City this last year. He met him at

the cemetery.

He told Allison he was living in L .A. now.

Of course, the Bureau's already established the latents on the photos

prints on Whiting's service record.

Yes? A Mrs. Marie Zimmerman to see you, Inspector.

Ask her to come in.

Mrs. Zimmerman, good to see you again.

You remember Mr. Colby?

Won't you come in?

Would you care to sit here, Mrs. Zimmerman?

Yes.

You have a difficult office to get to.

Difficult?

Well, I don't mean to find. I found it right away.

I mean to enter.

I keep walking back and forth.

You asked me if my husband had been under any particular pressure these last

months.

Yes.

Well, he was half out of his mind.

He was being blackmailed.

Why didn't you tell us that before, Mrs. Zimmerman?

Well, he... He was dead and... I wanted his friends to remember him as

he was, a warm and wise man.

Do you know why he was being blackmailed?

Yes.

He told me last week before he went north.

He killed a girl.

What was the girl's name?

Julie Harper.

I was away and... Hugh met this man named Hardesty.

Hugh got drunk. There was a fight.

And he hit the girl.

And when he sobered up, Hardesty told him the girl was dead?

Oh, she was dead. He saw the body.

Well, I actually don't know the details, Mrs. Zimmerman, but this could be a

very old con game.

Were there tape recordings and photographs?

Yes, there usually are.

They don't often go so far as to act out a murder, but apparently they thought

it was necessary in your husband's case.

Then you mean he might not have been guilty of anything at all?

Did your husband ever tell you what arrangements he made to pay off the

blackmailer?

No, but I'm sure it took a great deal of money.

Could Charles Fillmore have been the one who introduced him to Hardesty?

I hardly think so.

I suppose Fillmore's been a great help to you since your husband's death.

Yes, he has.

He never lets me out of his sight.

Does he know you're here now?

No. I managed to sneak away just this once.

All right, Mrs. Zimmerman, thanks very much.

And, uh, please keep this conversation confidential.

Well, I only hope I've been able to help.

You have indeed.

You know, it's kind of like going to the dentist.

Less painful than you expect it to be.

Dispatcher to LA -14.

LA -14.

A 1968 dark green Ford Fairlane, California license TP -6612,

is registered to Charles Fillmore, Pacific Palisades. Thank you. LA -14

Hi, ma 'am. Hi, Charlie.

Where you been?

Out.

Uh, Charlie, would you know who introduced you to a man named Hardesty?

Well, as a matter of fact, uh, I did.

You?

How would you come to know a man like that?

Well, it's really a long story.

Look, come on inside. We'll talk about it, huh?

No more.

John, be reasonable.

I couldn't get near Hunter.

You had me backed into a corner.

What was I to do?

Well, I had to deliver something.

I was buying time.

Hello?

Mrs. Haney?

I swear I'll get it for you.

It's one o 'clock now.

You have one hour.

But it could take days or even weeks.

One hour.

John.

All he'd admit was that his name was Charles Byron Fillmore and that he was

American citizen.

Where's Mrs. Zimmerman now?

Uh, she's upstairs. Her neighbors were there.

And you weren't able to link Fillmore with John Whiting at all?

You wouldn't even admit to knowing Hardesty.

Although, uh, Mrs. Zimmerman said he introduced Hardesty to her husband.

Durant's gonna question him further at the hospital.

Right, thanks.

Uh, Tom, do you have a pencil?

Yeah, you find something?

I don't know.

Bye.

Bye, boy.

Give her that right statement she almost said.

Yeah,

evidently.

Fill more of the spy boy note.

It might be interesting to know who Sam is.

Does Whiting have a middle name?

Thomas. Any Sams turn up with the names of the rocket, Kim?

No. What about Norris?

Norris in Santa Monica, isn't it?

F -A -M, Santa Monica?

Say, Tom, look at the Ys.

They're different here than in the Byron.

Some people make fours that look like that.

S -P -4 -B -O -4?

That's worse.

What about the bees?

He's closed it here, and it's open in the nude.

Thirteen.

That's P4 -1304 Santa Monica.

Telephone.

Information. Yes, would you tell me, please, what exchange would be in Santa

Monica?

And, uh, where would a 774 exchange be located?

In Compton.

All right, thanks very much.

You know, Tom, it may be reaching, but there used to be a very exclusive part

Santa Monica on Spalding Road.

413 -04 Spalding Road?

It's worth a try.

41 ,000.

I got it.

L .A. 6 to L .A. 14.

L .A. 14.

Your hunch was correct, Inspector.

The subject has just come to the gate.

It's Whiting.

Right. We're about half a mile south of you. The U .S. attorney has authorized

his arrest.

Pick him up if he tries to leave.

Why can't I have the tapes and pictures now?

I kept my end of the bargain.

We've got them when these are verified.

L .A.

6 to L .A. 14.

Subject's headed your way in a beige, four -door Lincoln Continental.

License number ECN 620.

Yes, we see him.

Well, he said he would tell my wife and kids if I didn't get him the

specifications that he wanted.

And just what do these particular diagrams represent, Mr. Haney?

Oh, just a lot of nonsense that I made up.

I couldn't get to Hunter, and I knew that John wouldn't let me get away with

twice. I just thought that he might give me the pictures and the tapes before he

checked this latest stuff out.

Weren't you afraid he might come after you anyway?

Well, I was going to burn the pictures and tapes and then meet him head on.

Wouldn't it have been simpler just to have come to the FBI in the first place?

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir, it sure would.

All right, Mr. Haney, thank you very much. We'll have this typed up and you

sign it.

Whiting?

Sit down, Mr. Whiting.

So, where do we start?

Wherever you like.

Well, I had an unusually happy and easy childhood.

John Thomas Whiting, Charles Byron Fillmore, Michael Leroy Dane, and Julia

Hopper. were found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage and are now serving

sentences in a federal penitentiary.

State charges are pending against Whiting for the death of Hugh Zimmerman.

Prosecution of Kenna Paney was declined by the United States Attorney.