Original subtitles

This is the city, Los Angeles, California.

I work here. I carry a badge.

The story you are about to see is true.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

- Hiya, Joe. - Hi.

Picked us up a Christmas tree.

You sure did.

Well, we don't have any decorations here,

but it sure brightens the place up.

Christmas cards, huh?

You're a little late, aren't ya?

Well, I was gonna send 'em out Monday,

but we had that stakeout.

You ought to get married, Joe.

- Yeah? - Only system.

Eileen does all this stuff for me,

mails cards, laundry. Only system.

Might help.

Boy, you've got quite a stack there.

Yeah, I ought to cut down the list.

- Look at this. Upholstery shop. - Yeah?

They send me a card every year.

I never get anything upholstered.

Eileen and I ought to go over our list,

cut off a few names.

Brought in your present. Want to open it now?

No, I'll wait.

I always open a couple the day before.

- Why? - Puts you in the spirit ahead of time.

Yeah, sure.

I hope it stays quiet.

I've got more shopping to do after we get off.

I finished mine.

What'd you get your girlfriend?

Stationery set, some paper, envelopes, leather binding.

Joe, you'll never learn.

- Now, what's the matter? - No woman wants a stationery set.

You get her something personal!

Well, it's got her initials on it.

No, no, no.

You want something more sentimental, romantic.

What'd you get Eileen?

Well, it's different in her case.

What'd you get your wife?

A sewing machine.

That's romantic.

Well, it is, in a way.

Why didn't you buy her a catcher's mitt?

Burglary-Auto Theft, Friday.

Yes. Yes, that's right.

No, you have the right department.

I see.

All right, Father, we'll be out.

No, you can tell us about it there.

Goodbye.

The old Mission Church out in San Fernando.

Why are they calling here?

That's Foothill Division territory. They'll handle it.

Well, we can make the preliminary.

We're not that busy. They've had a theft.

Collection money?

A statue of the Child Jesus.

Bill and I checked out of the office

and drove out to the San Fernando Mission Church.

It was an old church.

The padres from down in Mexico built it.

The devout Mexicans in the Valley

still attended services there.

We asked for Father Xavier Rojas,

who had telephoned us.

We were told he was inside.

We found Father Rojas up near the sanctuary.

He told us about the crypt.

It was a $70 duplication of the scene at Bethlehem.

The parishioners had taken up a collection for it

31 years ago.

It was put up every year on December 22nd

and taken down after the holy season.

It was beautiful,

except that one of the wise men had a chipped face,

a donkey was old and cracked,

and the infant Jesus was missing.

I'm sorry to bother you men.

That's all right, Father.

Especially now, the holiday season.

We cash our checks, Father.

Is there anything more you can tell us about the theft?

Well, I discovered the statue was missing

right after the 6:00 mass.

Did you say the 6?

Yes, I started over to the rectory,

and I stopped by the crypt.

Was the statue there before mass?

I don't know, but it was there last night.

- How late is the church open? - All night.

You leave it wide open, so any thief can walk in?

Particularly thieves, Sergeant.

You say it was there last night, Father?

How late?

10:00 or 11:00. We had confessions.

And no one saw it after that?

One of the altar boys, he says it may have been there.

He thinks it was.

Did he see it? Well, he's not sure.

- What's his name? - I have the schedule in the sacristy.

Right this way, please.

Here's the schedule.

You'll find the names for every mass there.

Thank you, Father.

Was there a big crowd at the 6:00 mass?

Not too many.

7's the big one, people on their way to work.

Did anyone stay after mass, did you notice?

Not especially.

I came back here, took off the vestments.

I suppose it was 10 or 15 minutes

before I went back in the church.

It was empty then?

No, people were coming in for the 7:00.

Are these the altar boys?

James Cornine and John Heffernan?

That's right. The Heffernan boy's the one

who mentioned it might have been there.

Did you check with the other priests, Father?

Before I called you,

and none of them knows anything about it.

Just for a check on the pawn shops,

how much is the statue worth?

In money?

Well, that's the point in pawn shops, Father.

Only a few dollars.

We could get a new one, but it wouldn't be the same.

We've had children in the parish.

They've grown up and married.

It's the only Jesus they know.

We understand.

And we've had children who died.

It was the only Jesus they knew.

So many of the people who come here are simple people.

They wouldn't understand, Sergeant.

It would be like changing the evening star.

We'll do our best, Father.

That's why it would mean so much to have it back

for the first mass on Christmas.

Well, that's not very long, Father.

Less than 24 hours.

Well, if anything turns up here,

you know where to get in touch with us.

Yes. It's sad, isn't it?

- How's that? - In so short a time, men learn to steal.

- Yes, but consider us, Father. - Us?

If some of them didn't, you and I'd be out of work.

10:50 a.m. We notified Pawn Shop Detail.

We gave them a description of the missing object,

the approximate time and place of the theft.

A few minutes later, Bill and I checked out the two altar boys.

The first one, James Cornine,

said that he knew nothing about it.

After mass, he'd gone out the sacristy door

and come straight home for breakfast.

The second one, John Heffernan, was not home.

His father said he had a part-time job.

He'd have him get in touch with us after lunch.

By 11:30 a.m., we'd run out of book procedure.

We had a man to find.

Our only clue: he'd been to church.

Caught me in the middle of a big chess match.

- Where's your partner? - Up in San Jose.

- We've been playing for years. - I see.

No, just two or three months on this one.

What I meant was we've been playing different matches for years.

I see.

You know, we do it through the mail.

I send him a move, and then he sends me one.

Must keep you on your toes.

Ah, except during the holidays.

Mail gets all fiddled up. That's no good.

I guess not.

Slows things down. That's no good.

I like to catch him off-guard.

Are you Mr. Flavin?

How'd you know? We never met.

Your name's on the window.

Oh, yeah.

Mr. Flavin, we checked the other two religious stores

in this neighborhood. They're closed.

This is the best one anyway. 50% European items.

We're checking the stores around the Mission Church.

For what?

Statue of the Child Jesus.

Do you have one we could look at?

Sure. I know what you want.

I've got just what you're looking for right down here.

No, sir, a larger one.

You don't want a larger one unless it's for a church.

That's where you want a larger one.

Could we see it, please?

I guess.

It's not my due to butt in,

but unless you live in a big place,

this is gonna make your living room all akilter.

Yes, sir. Do most of the people

who go to the Mission Church trade here?

A good many of them, especially the kids.

- Why kids? - More religious.

Check on it yourself.

See if kids aren't more religious than you.

Might be so.

That's what's wrong with the world!

No, I don't mean you're wrong with it, everybody.

Yes, sir. I wonder if we could stick to the point, Mr. Flavin.

Sure. A lot of people from the Mission Church come in here.

Do people ever come in and sell back a religious article?

Like a prayer book or rosaries?

Yes, sir.

- Secondhand, you mean? - Yes, sir.

Not since I ever been around. It's silly.

Why?

People don't have religious articles

so they can get rid of them.

They have them so they can have 'em.

But if a man had a statue and wanted to sell it,

he'd come to a place like this.

Sure, but he wouldn't want to sell it.

He would, if it was stolen.

No, sir!

If a man was to steal a statue,

he'd be crazy or something like that.

The only place he'd want to go is where crazy people are.

You may be right, Mr. Flavin.

I don't know what you fellas are looking for,

but if it's somebody who stole a statue,

he's crazy, and you won't find him.

You won't find him as long as you live,

or in a million years.

That should cover it.

We continued to check religious stores

as far out as the town of San Fernando.

We asked the same questions.

The owners gave us the same answers,

but none of them were as encouraging as Mr. Flavin.

Bill and I had lunch and reported back to the office.

It was 1:30 p.m.

Friday, Gannon, I just checked for you in the cafeteria.

We've been on that theft out at the mission.

Well, we may get some action on that Bel Air jewel heist.

They locate Patterson?

They think he's on a bus coming down from Sacramento.

That means Bakersfield detectives.

We'll wait and see.

Are one of you fellas Sergeant Friday?

That's right, son.

I'm John Heffernan.

My father said you wanted to see me.

You didn't have to come in.

A phone call would've worked.

Sit down, son.

Ah, my father said to get on over.

He says any kid that uses phones is lazy.

We want to ask you about this morning.

Did you serve 6:00 mass?

Yes, sir. I'm senior boy, so I get the 6.

You're senior, and you take the early trick?

Yes, sir. That way, if you receive communion,

you get to have breakfast sooner.

Father Rojas says you think

the statue was there before mass.

I didn't look, but I have a feeling it was there.

A feeling?

You know, how you have a feeling about something,

but you're not sure.

Did you stay around long after mass?

I put out the candles, hung up my surplus.

How long would that take?

About five minutes, maybe.

Did any of the people at mass stay on?

Some of them always do, especially ladies.

Oh?

Well, maybe they don't finish in time,

or else they start new prayers.

I don't know.

When you left, there was still some women there?

No, sir. That was at first.

After I went back to the sacristy,

there was just this one man. What man?

Well he comes to 6:00 all the time.

- Do you know his name? - No, sir, but he works out near the Mission,

you know, miniature golf place.

Could you describe him?

Well, sort of medium.

He was wearing a suit that didn't match.

Didn't match?

You know, different pants than coat.

How about his age?

Well, he was pretty old.

Take a guess.

About 40, maybe.

There was nothing particular about him.

Then why'd you notice him?

Ah, I'd seen him before... And the bundle, I guess.

- The bundle? - Out in front.

I saw him when he was coming out.

He had this bundle, and then he almost dropped it.

How large a bundle?

It's hard to say.

Come on, son. Was it large or small?

The size of the statue?

About that big, yes, sir.

We located the miniature golf course.

The suspect didn't work there anymore,

but we found out his name was Claude Stroup,

and we got his address.

2:25 p.m. We arrived at Stroup's address.

It was a hotel for men, mostly old men,

mostly down and outers.

It was called The Golden Dream.

Police officers. We're looking for Claude Stroup.

I hope Claude didn't get in any trouble.

So do we. Is he in?

No. He's got room 307.

You can check, if you'd like.

- We'll take your word. - Were you on this morning?

- Hm? - Did you have the early shift?

We don't have shifts. My uncle owns the place.

I'm the shift.

Did Stroup spend last night here?

Came in about 11:00.

When'd he leave this morning?

Around 6:00, maybe before.

- Did he come back after? - 8:00 or so, then left.

Supposed to be back at 10.

Then pulls this trick.

- What trick? - Our program.

He knows the other fellas need him.

Program?

Here at the hotel.

Every Christmas, we have a program,

put up a tree and sing.

They're mostly old fellas.

Singing like that makes them remember back

when they were kids.

Then Jimmy Finn comes on.

- Jimmy Finn? - He shares number 409.

His family once had a lot of money,

so he tells the fellas about it, stories about Christmas,

how they had this big log,

and his grandfather used to start it up,

and after dinner, everybody turned over his plate,

and there underneath

was a $20 gold piece, a brand new one.

When Stroup came in this morning, did he have a bundle?

- I didn't see him come in. - You said you saw him.

I saw him go out after, but not come in.

- When was that? - 8:00.

If you want to look for a bundle,

I could give you his key.

We don't have a warrant.

Oh, that's all right. I know about police.

It's all right with me.

- It's not with us. - I didn't mean that.

I just meant it was all right with me.

♪ Good King Wenceslas looked out on the feast of Stephen ♪

♪ When the snow lay round about ♪

♪ Deep and crisp and even ♪

♪ Brightly shone the moon that night ♪

♪ Though the frost was cruel ♪

♪ When a poor man came in sight ♪

♪ gathering... ♪

Excuse me, please.

♪ ...winter fuel ♪

This is their last rehearsal.

They've got most of the songs down pat.

- Sounds pretty good. - Yeah.

That's why it's a shame Claude isn't here.

He's tenor, and they need him to make it sound just right.

Does Stroup have a job?

No, sir. He used to have jobs.

Not much lately, though.

Did he say where he was going?

No, he should've. The fellas sure need him.

When he comes in, will you call us?

Sure. And not say anything to him?

That's right.

I hope it's nothing serious for Claude.

The fella's troubles ought to be over.

Troubles?

- Way back, wouldn't count now. - Tell us anyway.

It was something back where he used to live.

He robbed somebody or something.

- What else? - That's all.

It was a long time ago, way far back,

but he forgot it all, the robbing and everything.

- No, not quite. - Hm?

He remembered it this morning.

We ran Stroup's name through R & I.

If he'd been booked anywhere, we had no record of it,

at least not under that name.

4:15 p.m. Pawn Shop Detail reported back.

Up until that time, no object resembling the statue

of the Child Jesus had been turned in.

Patterson was on that Sacramento bus.

I thought Bakersfield detectives were gonna cover.

They did. They pulled him off the bus.

You two take a run up there and pick him up.

Well, that's over 100 miles, Skipper.

Oh, freeway most of the way.

You'll make it up and back under three hours.

- That will be after 6:00. - So?

We're still on that theft out at the San Fernando Mission.

What are you doing messing around out there?

That's Foothill Division. Let them handle it.

Well, we've carried it this far.

We'd kind of like to see it through.

What are you looking for?

A statue of the Child Jesus.

Somebody took it from the Nativity scene.

What is it, a $10, $15 chalk statue?

Since when does the price determine a case?

I realize it's a church statue,

but that doesn't give it priority.

Besides, Foothill's got some good men out there

that can turn a statue as fast as you two.

It's important to them, Captain.

Joe and I promised to get it back.

What have you got on it?

Well, nothing much so far.

Well, why are you so big-hearted?

Burglary, Friday.

Yeah, right. No, don't say a thing.

Right.

Claude Stroup, he just walked into the hotel.

He looks like a good suspect.

He'll keep. You can run him down tomorrow.

No, sir. It'll be too late then.

They need it for mass first thing in the morning.

It's kind of a big thing for them, Captain.

I'm sorry. I can't juggle manpower around

so you can get a statue back.

If there's time later on, we'll do our best.

Yes, sir.

You'd better gas up and head for Bakersfield.

Yes, sir. Would you call Father Rojas

- out at the old Mission Church? - Why?

Tell him we're too busy to work on the statue.

But we'll do it later, tomorrow,

or whenever we get a chance.

Why can't you call him?

Well, we'd better get up to Bakersfield.

Like you said.

All right, I'll call him.

Gannon, Friday.

Yes, sir?

I can send Johnson and Miller up.

You might as well stay on that other thing.

Whatever you say, Captain.

4:43 p.m., we arrived at The Golden Dream Hotel.

The desk clerk was right.

Claude Stroup looked like a man

who'd had his troubles at bargain rates.

You Claude Stroup?

- Yes, sir. - Police officers.

I didn't do nothing against the law.

Honest, I didn't do nothing against it.

You haven't been accused.

We want to talk to you downtown.

No, sir, I'm not going! I'm not going anyplace,

and I'm not gonna talk to nobody!

You're half wrong already.

5:15 p.m. We took Stroup to the office.

On the way, we advised him of his rights.

He kept his word. He refused to talk.

6:05 p.m. Bill called Eileen,

told her he'd be a little late.

Stroup didn't move for a whole hour.

He sat and stared, but he didn't talk.

6:40 p.m. we got a final report from Pawn Shop Detail.

The shops were closed. There was no statue.

Stroup still hadn't talked.

Don't you ever want to go home, Stroup?

If I was to talk, you wouldn't let me go.

That depends on what you'd say.

I'd say it wrong. I wouldn't get home.

You won't this way, either.

I'd like to go. You can bet on that.

This is the seventh year we've had the program at the hotel,

and I never missed a one, not a single one.

Why don't you tell us what happened, Stroup?

How would I know you'd let me go?

You wouldn't.

Oh, I might as well anyway.

All right, what happened, from mass on?

Well, there was mass.

I came out, and I started down toward the hotel.

Back up.

I left my stuff at the hotel,

and then I picked up George's car.

I didn't steal it.

He said I could have it any time I wanted,

only this time I didn't ask him.

I just took it and started out.

I guess I should've asked, but I just didn't.

I went over to Grand Avenue for the Christmas bulbs,

you know, where this fella sells 'em secondhand.

It was coming out of that lot that I did it.

Did what?

The bumper must've caught the other car.

Didn't leave too big a dent, but there was this long scratch.

I got out, and I tried to wipe it off with my handkerchief.

You know, I spit on it like, only it didn't do no good.

I didn't think anybody saw it.

I don't know how you fellas found out about it.

I'll check traffic records.

Okay, Stroup. We didn't bring you down here

to talk about that.

- You didn't? - No.

There's a statue missing from the church,

a statue of the Child Jesus.

You mean I took it?

You took a bundle out of the church.

Yes, sir.

That was my other pants for the program tonight.

I had a place sewed up, and there was a button off.

You can check! But I wouldn't take a statue.

I don't think you would, either.

Thanks.

He's cleared traffic records.

Go on home.

For the program? You mean, it's all right?

Good night, Stroup.

Good night.

Merry Christmas.

- Where to? - Oh, I don't know.

We could stay and work on it tonight.

It wouldn't do any good, Joe.

We won't find it.

I don't think so.

No use kidding that priest, build his hopes up.

Might as well go tell him now.

Merry Christmas.

7:27 p.m. We arrived at the old Mission Church.

Bill told Father Rojas how it was,

that we couldn't get the statue back by morning,

but we'd keep trying during the week.

He said he understood.

We told him we had to get on.

Paquito?

Padre Rojas.

It's Paquito Mendoza.

He's a boy from the parish.

Well, ask him where he found it.

He says he didn't find it. He took it.

Why?

He says that all through the years,

he's prayed for a red wagon.

This year, he prayed to the Child Jesus.

He promised that if he got the red wagon,

the Child Jesus would have the first ride in it.

He wants to know if the devil will come and take him to hell.

That's your department, Father.

I don't understand how he got the wagon today.

Don't kids wait for Santa Claus anymore?

It's not from Santa Claus.

The firemen fix the old toys and give them to new children.

Paquito's family, they're poor.

Are they, Father?