Original subtitles

Barnaby Jones, a Quinn Martin production.

Starring Buddy Ebsen. Also starring Lee Merriweather.

Mark Schera.

With guest stars Bernard Barrow, Andrew Parks,

John Getz.

Tonight's episode, The Scapegoat.

I never want to see you again.

A guy has a couple of drinks, and the only living saint in California has him

down for a lush.

How about a nightcap?

Nightcap?

It's a lucky thing for you. My parents are out of town. Otherwise, Dad would

break your neck.

Junie, you don't mean this stuff about not seeing me again. Yes, I do now. Come

on. Oh, gotcha.

Oh, scratched me.

It's just a little scratch.

Julie!

Hey!

Come on, Julie!

I love you.

Nothing in the morning.

Julie, what the devil are you doing here?

In flagrante delicto, they say in law school.

Caught in the act.

Didn't Walt come home with you?

Walt? Well, he just left.

Are you going to tell me what you're doing here?

Well, you know, me and my practical jokes, I figured I'd slip in ahead of

Loverboy and throw a scare into him.

Figured he'd swear off the bottle for good.

Well, you sure scared me. My heart nearly stopped.

I'm sorry, hon.

Figured we'd all get a good laugh out of it, but I guess I arrived too late.

Wow. Between two goofballs like you and Walt, a girl could end up just...

Dewey.

What's going on?

Wow.

Look at that. We better check out the rest of the house, June. Looks like

somebody's been breaking in.

Oh, Dewey.

It's you, isn't it?

You've stolen Dad's coins.

Hey, come on, June.

No, it's true. Look at yourself.

It's that stardust you're on, that coke.

Okay.

Okay, I'll put them back. How's that?

Throwing your life away like this? Teeling like a common thief.

Look, I said I'd put them back.

I'll pay for the glass. Isn't that enough?

Okay, Dewey.

Sure, I'll... I'll swear nothing happened.

You're gonna blow it all for me, aren't you?

You're gonna get me thrown in prison.

No.

put me in jail.

I'll die.

Good week.

Hi, Dad.

I thought you'd be home studying.

Don't you have that property law exam coming up, buddy?

Yeah, Dad. I thought a little walk would clear the cobwebs.

Jump in.

I'll drive you home.

I'll tell you the truth, Walt. I don't like being in the middle between you and

June. It's just going to make things worse. She respects you. She'll listen

you. All right, but if I blow it, don't blame your attorney. Just tell her that

I know what kind of a dummy I've been, all right? And I promise I'll stay off

the booze as long as I live.

Maybe the bell doesn't work.

Why are you making all that racket?

It's only 8 o 'clock in the morning. You know, some people like to sleep in on

Sundays. Look, June and I are supposed to go sailing with some of the gang this

morning. Could you tell her I'm waiting?

And tell her that J .R. is with me?

J .R.? Sure.

All right, Mrs. Dalton, thank you. If you think of anything else, give me a

call. You can go ahead.

Hi, Gordon.

Well, I've heard of lawyers chasing ambulances, but don't you think jogging

clothes are a little too much?

Well, I live just around the corner.

Who was that?

June Nelson.

Do you know her?

Her father's one of my best friends.

What happened?

Well, the way it looks now, she surprised a burglar last night robbing

father's gold coin collection.

We just hadn't had that fight.

If I'd stayed with her, I don't know either.

Walt, there's nothing else you can do here. Come on, let's go.

Mr. Eldridge.

Just a couple more questions before you go, if you don't mind.

I'm tired of these questions. Can I go home?

Lieutenant, give him a break. He was in love with her. This isn't exactly fun

and games for me either, J .R.

We haven't been able to find any sign of a break -in.

You're sure Miss Nelson locked the door behind you after you left last night?

Yes.

I tried to get back in.

If I hadn't, maybe she'd be alive right now. Take it easy, Walt.

Just one other little thing here.

Mrs. Dalton, the housekeeper...

says that you and Miss Nelson were having a few problems.

Fights about your drinking too much.

Seems she told Mrs. Dalton that she was actually afraid of how violent you get

sometimes when you're drunk.

I could deck you for what you're thinking.

Does have a pretty good temper, doesn't he?

Like I said, he was in love with her, Lieutenant.

Yeah.

Be with you in a minute, Gordon.

Mr. Lasseter?

J .R. Jones.

Dewey introduced us when you were giving your lecture on the McNaughton rule.

Oh, yes, I remember.

Excuse me. Walt, wait a minute.

Dewey, get up.

It's a panic, Dad. It's Sunday.

Dewey.

June Nelson's dead.

June? Dead?

What are you talking about?

She was murdered.

By a burglar who broke into the house last night and stole Ben Nelson's gold

coin collection.

Oh, no.

It's awful.

Police say it happened about one o 'clock this morning.

Just about the time I picked you up outside the Nelson house.

Yeah, you'd, uh... You'd have thought that when I was passing by the place, I

would have noticed something.

No. You weren't just passing the house. You were just leaving it.

Leaving it?

What do you mean, leaving it?

Where is it?

Where are you hiding it?

Hiding what?

Speedballs. The gold dust.

The coke.

Whatever the hell you call that poison that's turned you into someone I don't

even know anymore.

I told you, I wasn't snorting coke anymore.

Didn't I swear to you I would never use that junk again tonight?

Yeah, just like you swore you'd stop stealing the brave and the rotten stuff.

Swore you'd stop breaking into houses.

Swore.

In the memory of your mother.

You think... You think that I killed June?

Oh, please, Dewey, no more lies.

Dad, June and I grew up together.

How could you think that about me?

Believe me, Dad.

Please.

I had to put it to you. I had to find out.

Okay.

Well, you better get dressed.

Ben and Al and Nelson are coming back from New York this afternoon.

What is that?

Oh, my God.

Now, wait a minute, Daddy. It's not what you think it is.

Except by Nelson.

Those coins are mine.

I got them from a guy last night.

Liar.

I didn't mean to kill her.

I was only trying to stop her from calling the police.

That's all.

I panicked.

I swear, Dad, I didn't mean to hurt her.

Oh, Dewey.

What am I going to do?

Help me, please. Help me.

I don't know how.

You'll think of a way, Dad.

You always do.

Jimmy, do you think that the insurance company is going to want you to stay

in San Diego longer than two days on that warehouse fire? Not unless I find

evidence of arson.

Well, Jedediah, you look like a fella who didn't do too well in his

property law examination.

I did okay, I guess.

Doesn't look as though you've had much sleep. Cramming for the exam?

No, I was up half the night with Walt.

June's death really put him away.

Well, listen, why don't you go on home? Sack out. I can hold down the fort here.

Barnaby Jones, investigations.

That's a good idea. I think I will.

Uh, just a second, please, chair.

It's Walt Eldridge. He's down at police headquarters.

Walt, what's up?

Okay, sure. I'll be right over.

Goodbye.

They just picked up Walt for questioning. He wants me to be there.

No offense, Jedediah, but don't you think he'd be better off with a full

-fledged lawyer?

Come on, Barnaby walks a long way from needing a lawyer.

Besides, half a lawyer's better than none.

We haven't had time for a comparison test yet, but Mr.

Eldridge himself admits that the skin and blood particles found under Miss

Nelson's nails probably belong to him.

So June scratched me. So what? Lieutenant, it's not even established

and June argued a bit.

They were just lover's quarrels, you know.

J .R., you're in here on a pass because you're his friend.

Just as soon hear it from him.

When I left June, she was alive.

That's all I know.

What if I have another burglary theory?

Well, it's possible, you know. Just possible those gold coins were stolen to

make it look.

Like a burglary.

That's a lie!

Take it easy, Walt.

That temper of yours is not helping me any. You know that?

Sorry, I just don't have... Come on out there.

What is your interest in this case, Mr. Lester? Have you been retained by the

Eldridge boy?

Come on, Gordon, give us a break. Gentlemen, gentlemen, just give me a few

minutes and I'd be glad to answer all the questions you want to throw at me.

What are you doing here, Gordon?

Well, my son Dewey tells me one of his classmates might need some legal advice.

Finding him in your clutches, John, apparently he does.

You mean you're here to represent Walt?

If that's all right with you, son.

Even if I needed a lawyer, Mr. Lassiter, I couldn't afford you.

Justice is served, Walt, not fought.

It's a little like killing a fly with a sledgehammer, isn't it, Gordon?

I haven't even charged Walt with anything yet.

It's that yet we have to eliminate from your thinking, John.

Mind if I have a private chat with my client?

I'm not holding him. He's free to leave.

I'd like J .R. to be in on this, okay?

Absolutely.

Two lawyers are better than one.

Lieutenant, I think you better start looking for that burglar again.

We've got the best defense attorney in the country on our side now.

Mr. Lasseter, hello.

I hope you don't mind us dropping by this late.

Not at all. Come on in.

Hello, Mr. Lasseter.

I'm Nancy Bracken. I met you at Dewey's New Year's Eve party. Right, yeah. Well,

Dewey's in the study.

Hi, Dewey.

Nancy. Isn't it just awful about June?

Actually, Mr. Lasseter, we're here to see you.

It'll only take a minute, but it's pretty important.

All right.

Should we step in there?

Sure, thank you.

are what's this all about uh it's about walt's temper yes i've already cautioned

walt the police think he might have killed june in a drunken fit of anger

sir i think we can uh take the heat off walt by completely disproving that

theory oh how with nancy's help she can tell the police that uh june was always

threatening to leave walt and each time they just get back together again except

the last time it can be effectively argued not if we can establish a long

-standing pattern of behavior Nancy?

It's true, Mr. Lasseter.

Oh, June would tell Walt she'd never see him again, things like that.

And they'd split up for a few days.

Then one of them would pick up the phone and they were right back together

again. You see?

I mean, why would the threat of a split turn Walt into a killer when each time

things would turn out okay?

The point's well taken.

Nancy.

I gather you knew June well.

We were best friends.

Well, did she tell you that she and Walt fought? Not just verbally.

I mean physically.

You mean like a punch -out?

Yes, I'm thinking of a recent incident Walt told me about.

Just a few weeks ago, Joan got jealous of a girl Walt was flirting with.

Did she tell you she threw a beer glass at him?

Yeah, sure.

But throwing isn't like hitting. But the threat of violence is the herald of

violence to come.

Wouldn't you say?

I don't know what you mean.

Didn't June say she got so angry at Walt that night she asked another boy to

drive her home?

Yes. Now, hold on, Mr. Lasseter.

Nancy's on our side.

Well, we'll see about that.

Now, Nancy, in your own words, tell us what happened next.

Walt got mad, too.

And he told her to get out of the car. And she said no, that they were through.

Now.

What did June tell you Walt said to that?

That he'd break her neck if she ever left.

But he didn't mean it. He was always... That's enough.

Now, wait a minute. You can't dismiss a good character witness like that.

Let her testify to Walt's attitude at the time and his tone of voice. He said

would break her neck. Now, that's all a police or a jury, if it should ever come

to trial, would have to hear.

His attitude, his tone of voice.

Irrelevant. All right, okay. I'll try and dig something else up.

Oh, don't misunderstand me, JR.

I'm used to working with my own investigators.

Professionals who don't waste time developing leads that go nowhere.

So, I'll try to dig up something else for you to do.

Thank you for your help, Mr. Lasseter.

Do we?

We'll find our way out.

I'll be in touch, JR.

You're sure he's just not answering his phone? I mean, you see his car around

anyway. No, I think he's probably over at JR's.

Well, so if you hear anyone coming.

Did she get a look at you? I don't think so.

Let's get out of here.

Holy...

Colonel, what happened? I don't know, Mr. Smithers. I put my money in, I turn

on, and boom, I get April showers.

What's this?

Hey,

that looks like gold.

Eight $20 double eagles.

Who could they belong to?

This guy I read about in the papers.

He had eight of these.

Operator, get me the police.

Well, Barnaby, I hate to drag you all the way up here from San Diego, but I

don't quite know how to handle a living legend like Gordon Lasseter.

Here's another case of you being ticked off at Lasseter for pushing your side.

Well, I hope it is just my ego, if only for Walt's sake.

That's all there is to it. After I, uh, left June that night, I came straight

home sacked out.

What about two Wednesdays ago?

The night of the 17th between 7 and 9.

Remember what you were doing then?

Wednesday.

I have a night class in logic on Wednesdays, 7 .30 to 10.

Yeah, I take the morning class. What about Monday the 2nd, about 10 .30 in

morning?

Like today, I guess.

I was either cleaning the pool or taking out the garbage.

What do those times have to do with anything?

According to the insurance reports, there were some other burglaries in

neighborhood on those days.

The idea is to pinpoint whether or not it was the same burglar.

And if it is, you are home free, my friend.

Mr. Eldridge, placing you under arrest for suspicion of murder and the death of

June Nelson.

John, you sound as sure yourself as a man who's read tomorrow's newspaper.

Maybe.

These were found hidden downstairs in the laundry room.

That's crazy.

Mr. Eldridge, you have the right to remain silent.

If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be

against you in a court of law.

You have the right to speak to an attorney and to have an attorney present

during questioning.

How'd it go?

Not bad if you end up saving the taxpayers the cost of a trial.

You mean he wanted you to plead guilty?

You've got to be kidding.

I told him no way.

I've got to go for broke.

All right, Elvis.

Let's go.

Oh, what's the story, boy? I mean, Lester certainly didn't build up a

by giving up without a fight.

Maybe working for nothing has lost its charm.

Yeah, well, I'm not going to throw in the towel.

So why don't we go over to Walt's apartment building and check that

story? You go ahead.

I'm going to see if my friends in robbery have anything on those

the Nelson neighborhood.

Okay, see you later.

Beautiful. B -U -T -O.

Me or the dive?

Well, Cindy...

Diving is not one field in which I am an expert.

Oh, hi. You already know my name.

Uh, that makes you an expert in picking up girls, then, huh?

Tell the fellas, uh, you can't win them all. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait

a minute.

I'm not trying to pick you up honest.

Adding insult to injury, huh? Bet you make a lot of friends that way.

Look, my name is J .R. Jones. Your manager pointed you out to me, and I

want to ask you a couple of questions about the guys you saw in the garage

night. Why? You a cop?

No, I'm not a cop. I'm a friend of Walt Eldridge.

Oh.

Walt's arrest have anything to do with this? It might.

Do you remember what the guys looked like?

Well, there were two of them.

I didn't see much of the one who hid in the laundry room.

And the other, I just got a quick flash of him ducking behind a car.

Tall, short, fair, dark, what?

Kind of medium height.

Nice build.

Fair -haired.

Could have been 22, 26.

Do you think you could identify him if you saw him again?

It's pretty dark. I don't know.

Maybe.

Thank you, Cindy. I appreciate it. I know Walt does, too.

Hey.

Don't go away thinking you have to lose them all, either.

Never entered my mind.

Hey, dude.

Where's your old man? I want to talk to him.

My old man?

What's so funny?

My old man.

What are you laughing about?

Don't you know Gordon Lasseter is a god?

You don't refer to God as your old man.

You don't just talk to him. You kneel there at his shrine and worship him.

Dewey, what are you on?

I guess I must have sopped up a little too much beer at lunch.

Dad'll be home in a little while.

What's it about?

Did he tell you that Walt's been busted?

Yeah, yeah, those coins.

Dumb, wasn't he, leaving evidence like that around his own apartment house?

I see.

You two already haven't tried and convicted, huh?

Hey, now, wait a minute.

Walt's my friend, too.

But those were the coins from the Nelson house.

There's no doubt about that, is there?

Which means that whoever killed June probably knew Walt, too, and knew that

make a terrific patsy.

Frame?

Why?

If it's just some burglar, why would he go to all the trouble of hanging it on

Walt?

Well, I don't think we're dealing with an ordinary burglar here.

I think this is the same guy who's been ripping off this neighborhood for the

past couple of months. Somebody who knows his victims personally.

Now, I figure that June must have come in on him, recognized him, so he killed

her. And then to take the heat off of himself, he framed Walt.

Wow.

If you could only prove that.

Well, there was a girl in the garage last night who says she saw somebody in

laundry. My hunch, it was the guy who planted the coins.

Are you saying she actually saw him do it? No.

No, but she said there was another guy with him.

And there's a chance she can recognize him.

And if he turns out to be our neighborhood burglar, you know the rest.

But it's so dark in that garage, especially near the elevator.

How could she have gotten such a good look at him?

Well, she said she saw enough to know that he was mid -twenties, medium

Fair? How did you know it was dark by the elevator?

Well, I... I drove over to Seawald a couple of nights ago and parked there.

Maybe one of the lights was out.

I gotta go.

J .R., you should have told me you were coming by.

What's up?

Well, I think Dewey will fill you in, Mr. Lasseter.

Why was J .R. here?

I think he knows.

Knows what?

That I had something to do with it.

You're flying again.

How can you know anything when you're like this?

Famous lack of intuition, that's how.

That girl in the garage last night, she pointed him straight at me, and now he's

going to keep digging until he has it all.

First June at Walt's, now Young Jones.

Once it starts, there's no end to it, is there?

J .R.? He's left us no alternative, has he?

Barnaby, all of the victims of the burglaries in June's neighborhood were

friends of the Lassiters. Now, I'm telling you, Dewey is our man.

He's got to know the layout of all of those homes.

Oh, boy.

Before you go galloping off on that horse, let's see that you've got a

under you.

All right.

Exhibit A.

Dewey telling me that he had too much beer is baloney because I checked with a

guy at school and he backs me up that he's been snorting coke and a lot of it.

know it.

Lassiter is a rich man.

You're going to find it hard to convince people that Dewey is going around

committing all these robberies to get money.

Yeah, but Betty, you are talking about money.

I am talking about money.

Like maybe a thousand dollar a week cocaine habit.

Now hear me out, just hear me out.

Exhibit B.

Lassiter telling Walt to cop a plea for what?

The coins were found in Walt's building.

Circumstantial, Betty. Any good lawyer could neutralize evidence like that in a

minute, and Lasseter is the best.

Speculation.

Now, most people are not going to accept the notion that Lasseter's doing it to

protect Dewey. Why not?

What better way to save his son than to pin it on Walt?

It's a very interesting theory, but there's nothing in it we can show the

police. All right.

That's where that old solid gold watch of yours comes in, Barnaby.

Are you speaking about my grandfather's gold watch?

Look, I figured that Dewey had to have a fence for all the stuff that he's been

ripping off from those houses.

And I've been asking around. I've got this line on a guy who deals exclusively

in the unique kind of collector's items that were stolen. Are you suggesting

that we use my grandfather's watch for bait?

J .R., it's an heirloom.

All right, all right, all right. It was just an idea.

You know, I figured that the only way we could force Dewey's hand and get the

evidence was to connect him to the burglaries through his fence.

I hardly think that this sundial of mine here would impress anybody.

Senator, I'm willing to make many sacrifices in the interests of justice,

losing this watch is not one of them.

Barnaby, I promise you, I... I promise you that I will take care of this.

And if I don't, you can count on one thing.

I'll kill myself.

Thank you.

That's a beauty.

Yeah, chariot of the gods.

It's 32 ,000 bucks, and you know what?

They throw in a set of tools.

That's what they tell me.

Easy Eddie is the classiest guy in town, only deals in top -quality merchandise.

That's what they tell who?

J .R. Jones.

You know, I can see they're right.

You're a man of taste and discernment.

My papa always told me, watch your pocket, boy, the minute they start

nice things about you.

Who is this day that's bouncing off with all those honeyed words?

Guy I know at school.

What do you think?

Handsome timepiece indeed.

Uh -huh.

They tell me it's worth over $3 ,000.

And this is just a small example of the kind of items I can supply.

Who sent you, my man?

I can't really say, I promise.

Well, then I would say you're involved in highly illegal activities of which I

want no part.

Beat it. All right, okay. Dewey Lasseter.

He told me that you deal merchandise with Coke.

Dewey Lasseter.

No, I'm afraid he's not an acquaintance of mine.

Look, I don't need anything right now, but I'm telling you in a couple of days

I'm going to really be hurting bad.

Well, just in case I run into someone who might be interested, where can I

you?

555 -9134. You can call me anytime.

If you got a pen, I'll write it down for you. Won't be necessary. Got it. Have a

nice day.

You too.

I'll get it.

Hey, Turkey, you know why they call me Easy Eddie?

Because I ain't.

What do you want?

Man, what the hell are you doing spreading my name around?

I don't know what you're talking about.

Yeah, well, some dude dropped by looking to deal. Says you gave him the word.

Who was it?

I don't know. He knows you from school. J .R. Jones, he said.

No, it's a setup. Stay away from him.

What's that?

Hold on.

It's a fence I've been dealing with.

Says J .R.'s been to see him, wants to do business with him.

I told you he was on to me. Dad, what are we going to do? All right, just calm

down.

Tell this fence he's got to do something for you. I can't. Do it.

Tell him he'll take a fall, and hard, unless he does exactly what I say.

Hello, Eddie.

Listen, we'll take care of it.

But there's something you've got to do.

J .R.'s not... Stupid.

He knows Eddie will check him out with me, and the minute Eddie calls him back,

he'll know he's being set up.

I've already anticipated that.

But the police, they'll be waiting.

I don't think they want to scare you off until he's sure you've taken the bait.

I figure there'll be just enough time to do what has to be done.

Well, you have to do it without me. I'm not going.

I anticipated that, too.

All right, I'll handle it myself.

It's just like... I always have.

Yeah, you take care of it for me.

After all, I'm only a mere human being. I'm not perfect like you.

I never asked you to be. Sure you did.

You wanted me to act like you. You wanted me to dress like you. You wanted

be as smart as you.

I couldn't even decide what I wanted to be. I had to be a lawyer just like you.

I never wanted to be a lawyer.

Look, after this is over, we'll talk.

Yeah.

Sure, we'll talk.

Well, there's the boys' camp, Warnaby.

Must be where Eddie set up the meat.

What do you think it's going to be, Barnaby? Dewey, his father, both of

is Eddie going to check me out again?

Well, that's the thing about clever people.

When they're desperate, you never know what to expect.

Here, your tape recorder's loaded. All you have to do is turn it on, see?

Yeah, okay.

Now give me a half a minute, and then go on around.

Eddie?

Nobody around here.

Looks like we're going to have to do some heavy leaning on your friend E .G.

Eddie. Let's go.

Well, it was a long shot anyway.

That front seat was not forward when I left the car.

Looks like you may have a chance to get something on your tape recorder after

all.

I'll cover you from the other side of the car.

Get in, JR.

You gonna take us for a little drive?

I'm disappointed, Mr. Lasseter. I thought it would be Dewey. It should

been.

Unfortunately, he can't handle his own mistakes.

Which was killing June.

And yours is trying to cover up for him.

He's my son.

I'm doing what I have to.

Get in.

Last letter. Get out and stop him. I don't want to have to shoot your son.

Think I can't do it, huh?

Well, I'll show you.

I'll do it, Dad. You'll see. I'll make you proud of me. Stop him right now.

Dewey. No.

Don't shoot.

Get out of the way, Dad.

Oh, no. Dewey.

It's all over, Dewey.

It is?

It's great.

Came through for you, huh, Dad?

Made you proud of me, huh?

Isn't that what you wanted, Dad?

To be proud of me?

No, checking out of jail.

The thing that still got me shaken up is seeing the great Gordon Lasseter being

booked and fingerprinted along with Dewey. Well, if you think that's

wait till you see the great Gordon Lasseter in court trying to defend

along with Dewey.

That may be Mr.

Lasseter's ultimate mistake.

How's that?

Well, if it's true that a man treating himself as a fool for a doctor, same

thing might be true of lawyers.

Thanks again, J .R.

Mr. Jones?

Walt, we'll see you in class.

Oh, Jedediah, how about some dinner?

On me.

Ah, Barnaby, I'll tell you the truth. I just this minute made other plans for

dinner. So if you'd like to join us, Cindy and I will be having pizza.

No, you go ahead, Jedediah.

I don't want to steal your girl.

Thanks, boss.