Original subtitles

This is Los Angeles, Our Lady the Queen

of the Angels as the Spaniards named

her, the fastest growing city in the

nation.

It's been called a bunch of suburbs in

search of a city and it's been called

the glamour capital of the world. A

Mecca for tourists,

a stopover for transients, a target for

gangsters, a haven for those fleeing

from winter, a home for the hardworking.

It is a city holding the hopes and

dreams of over 2 million people.

It sprawls out horizontally over 452

square miles of valleys and upland,

of foothills and beaches.

Because of that vast area and because of

a population made up of people from

every state in the union,

Los Angeles is the largest police beat

in the country

and one of the toughest.

We're going to take you into the city

hall where police headquarters are

located.

Here in communications are the ears and

voice of the police. The lights on the

complaint board flash 24 hours a day.

Citizens reporting a prowler, a lost

child, a man molesting a woman, an auto

accident, a wild party.

Spend an hour or two here and you will

think the whole city has gone berserk.

Minute by minute the orders go out to

the radio cars in the far-flung

divisions, Watts and Wilshire and West

Los Angeles, Hollywood and Highland Park

Heights in North Hollywood.

The work of the police, like that of

woman, is never done.

This is the case history of a killing

taken from the files of the detective

division.

The facts are told here as they

happened.

The story properly starts here in

Hollywood Division Headquarters at 1:00

of a June morning last year. Officer

Robert Rollins had finished his tour of

duty and signed out. It had been a tough

day. He'd be glad to get home. His wife

would be waiting up for him as she

always did.

Hey, fella.

Come here.

What were you doing back of that radio

shop? Just looking.

I was on my way home.

Live around here?

Yeah, a couple blocks down.

Let me see some identification. Sure.

Yeah, I guess I forgot my wallet.

I'm glad. I've got to see some

identification. How about my army

discharge? I got it right here.

Police Department operator 27.

I want to report the shooting of a

policeman.

Hold on, please.

Give me that again, please. I'm calling

to report the shooting of a policeman.

What's the address? 5057 State Street,

just west of Santa Monica.

Just a minute.

Receiving hospital, operator two.

Operator 27, 5057 State Street, 5057

State Street, an officer has been shot,

send an ambulance. All units, all units

in the vicinity of State Street, Santa

Monica Boulevard, proceed at once to

5057 State Street, 5057 State Street, an

officer shot, code three.

80K to Control One. Control One to 80K,

go ahead. This is Breen. Instruct

homicide to throw out a dragnet and pick

up all suspicious characters in the area

of the shooting.

Also notify Sergeants Marty Brennan and

Chuck Jones to report to me at the scene

of the crime.

Control One to 80K, roger.

I see. Well, what have you got so far?

Well, not much, Captain Breen. Couple of

cartridge cases.

Oh, Marty Chuck. Hi, Cap.

Eyewitnesses? Who was first on the scene

reported it? I was. I live here. I'm a

light sleeper, but my hearing is good

and my cat

Did the officer say anything before he

collapsed? Yeah, he gave a description

of the fella. He was

of the officer,

suspect is a white male American, age 26

or 27,

5 ft 10 or 11, 155 to 165 lb,

brown hair, regular features, pencil

mustache.

Repeat broadcast, all units.

Is that about it? Yes, sir, exactly. And

the officer kept saying, "He looked like

such a nice kid. He looked like such a

nice kid."

As if he couldn't believe what had

happened to him.

I see. Is that all? Yeah.

Thank you very much. Yeah, well,

anything else I can do, I'd be glad to

help you. We may call you. Get his name

and address, will you, Bob?

Is that Orville Checkley? Yeah, it's

okay, Cap.

Find anything? Nothing but some smudges

so far.

Found this in the glove compartment.

I think it's nitroglycerin.

Doesn't look quite right.

I'll check it down to the lab. Right.

Huh.

Open it up, Joe.

Okay, Captain. Try to.

Give me that bar, Frank.

Mhm.

Regular arsenal. Yeah, get a load of

that.

What is it? I don't know. It looks like

some kind of an electrical device.

United States Navy.

Either stolen or war surplus.

Send all this stuff down to the lab and

check the serial number on that Navy

equipment.

Yes, sir. Captain Breen.

We found these in the weeds over by the

radio store. Mhm.

What have you got? A pair of cloth

gloves, Captain. Well, he thought of

everything, didn't he?

All right, give them to one of the

technicians. Yes, sir.

Marty, you and Chuck come along with me.

Let's go downtown and see what they

picked up in the dragnet. Right.

You know him, Marty?

Yeah.

I know his wife, too.

Ever since high school.

Captain, I wish you'd let Chuck and me

handle this case.

All right.

I don't want any dead heroes.

I just want the man who shot Rollins.

The suspects began to arrive at

headquarters in droves. The police

tossed every motel and hotel and many

private homes in a 4-square mile area

around the scene of the shooting. Every

available radio car and patrolman and

detective was out on the dragnet. The

strings were being drawn tighter and

tighter.

Many a man returning from a date or a

late party or a poker game surprisingly

found himself in a squad car, its siren

screaming as it brought him to the

detective bureau.

The dragnet gathered in some strange

fish and many ordinary ones.

All the rest of that night the

detectives probed, needled, questioned,

quizzed.

Everything was checked. Fingerprints,

names, addresses, stories.

Every fish in the net was examined.

Most of them thrown back into the sea,

not worth keeping.

Except a few parole violators and

slightly shady characters whose stories

needed a lot of verifying. I wasn't

prowling, no cards. Just taking a walk,

you know, getting in condition.

running when the radio car picked you

up.

Yeah.

Maybe that's why the guys call me

Punchy. He's got a point there. Two

felony convictions, no want, no warrant.

He's on parole. Book him violation of

parole. Let's have the next one, Joe.

What were you doing in that vacant lot?

The vacant lot?

Lot?

What were you doing in it at that time

of night?

You say your name is Ralph Henderson. So

what?

Well, you know, it's a funny thing,

Ralph. There's a guy around this town

that's been wearing your fingerprints.

Only his name is Pete Hannon.

Okay.

So I'm dead.

So what's one more confession in my

life?

Now you're talking, Hannon.

Okay, Hannon.

Hello, Harry. What have we got here? Oh,

some robbery suspects.

Candidates for San Quentin.

Handsome here is the big shot. He runs

the outfit.

Have a gander at his record.

Car theft, escape from reform school,

robbery, assault with a deadly weapon.

Not bad.

Look at the heater we found on him.

German Luger, fully loaded.

Redhead here tried to carve up one of

the arresting officers with this pretty

toy.

Nice boys. By dawn many minor

wrongdoings had been uncovered and a few

incipient felonies. The checking of the

suspects had been thorough, painstaking

and tedious.

But all the work was for nothing. The

man who had shot Officer Rollins was not

among them. He remained no more than a

description, a shadow of a man,

mysterious, elusive, deadly, hidden away

somewhere in the vast city.

As for Rollins himself, he couldn't

help.

He was in a coma at Receiving Hospital.

Mrs. Rollins waited out the long, tense

hours while her husband fought to live.

Many another officer's wife had so

waited. Many another will.

The word came

shortly after sundown.

A white male American, 26 or 7,

5 ft 10 or 11,

155 to 165 lb,

brown hair, regular features, pencil

mustache.

This was no frightened fugitive.

What went on in his mind?

Why had he set his hand against his

fellow men?

Taken the life of another, of a

stranger, of a man who was merely doing

his duty.

He must have some plan, some goal that

called for sudden death to anyone who

got in his way.

Good morning, boys. Morning, Lee.

Hi, Professor.

I thought this was safe-cracker soup.

You going to drink it, Harold?

I'm really a nice guy.

Stick around, I'll prove it.

Come over here.

Hold this for me, Willie, check.

Thank you.

Now, if you'll hand me that hammer,

Marty.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Nitroglycerin. I didn't ask for a

collection of fingers, just

fingerprints.

All those nice fingerprints on the car

belong to the man it was stolen from,

Cap.

Nothing on the guns or pick locks, not

even an interesting smudge.

The gloves.

Common type, worn by undertakers.

I'll check on them, they won't show

anything.

What did your scientific test show?

Couple of little things.

Tool identification on these pick locks.

I got one under the scope, you want to

take a look? Yeah.

Take a look.

I see.

Well, it seems to tie the tool up with

the lock.

Now, if that microscope could only tell

us who did it.

I'm working on that.

No, only an amateur would carry that

liquid dynamite in the car. This boy's

no amateur.

Took the precaution of desensitizing it,

so it'll take normal shock. Took a lot

of other precautions, too. No

fingerprints, no identification, nothing

definite

except the scientific.

Knows electricity.

Is inventive. Yeah.

And happy on the trigger.

This is Captain Breen. Get me Captain

Stevens of burglary, will you?

I hate to disappoint you, Lee, but I

think you've come up with something.

Uh hello, Steve.

How are you?

Did your daughter's marriage come off

all right?

Good.

Look, Steve, on those burglaries of

electrical equipment lately,

were there any where pick locks were

used to gain entry?

Good.

Well, let me know if there's another

report of one, will you?

I've got an idea the Rollins killer may

be tied in with those.

Fine. And uh give my regards to the

newlyweds, too.

So long, Steve.

Well,

what are you waiting for? You've got a

job, haven't you? Get going.

Yeah, let's go, Junior.

Hold this for me, Willie.

Thanks.

And so with no fingerprints and only a

vague description to go by, Sergeant

Brennan turned to the modus operandi

file. A criminal, like any human being,

has his own habit patterns, unconscious

traits that can lead to his downfall.

Yeah, Junior.

List the burglars who used pick locks

for entry. Oh, great. This narrows it

down to just a couple of hundred

suspects in this area. Give me a match,

Willie.

Well, it might be so bad.

This guy's improved on the system. Maybe

he's left his trademark on some other

job.

Well, here we go, legging it all over

town asking a million questions. What

you're paid for, isn't it? Am I paid to

associate with you, too, Junior?

You could do worse.

Not this year. Come on.

Car 12, car 1 2.

In the 10,000 block on Mississippi.

A 39415 disturbance.

Car 80K, code one.

All units. On the broadcast of the

suspect arrested in the shooting of

Patrolman Rollins.

Cancel the cancellation. Suspect

released from custody.

Hello. Mr. Martin, you'll find Mr.

Reeves in the machine shop.

Hello, Roy. Glad to see you.

Hello, Mr. Reeves. Hi. I was hoping

you'd drop in. I wanted to thank you for

showing us how to handle that repair

job.

Hello. Come on.

Well, what have we got this time?

A silograph.

I have plenty of these around, Roy.

Not like this one.

Yes, I see.

I suppose as usual, you've added your

own improvements.

You know, it seems wrong that a man of

your talent should bother consigning

equipment for rental.

I'd like to see you devote yourself

entirely to experimental electronics.

It'll come one day.

Out of a place like this. Well, why

wait?

I've got a pretty good setup here.

You'd have modern equipment to work

with. A lab.

And my confidence.

Thanks, Mr. Reeves.

I have other plans.

But Roy, you can't tell where it'll

lead.

Might even work your way around to a

percentage of the business.

I like it this way.

You just rent out my equipment.

All right, Roy. All right.

But if you should change your mind.

I'm not likely to change my mind.

I suppose you want me to set this up for

rental, too.

Mr. Reeves.

You've already got five pieces of my

equipment. And you'd like to know what

results I've had from the rental so far,

huh?

Well, I can't say as I blame you.

I think you'll find this satisfactory.

Satisfactory.

Goodbye, Mr. Reeves. And you'll come

back again soon, won't you?

Sure.

Oh, incidentally.

How's that television projector coming

along? The one you said would reflect a

12-ft image. Still working on it.

I just wanted you to know I've already

set up a rental on it.

In fact, I think they'd like to buy.

It'll come pretty high. Oh.

Money's no consideration with this

customer.

Tell him he can pick it up tomorrow.

I thought you said it wasn't finished

yet.

It'll be finished.

It uses an image fixer and then projects

by ordinary incandescent.

Roy.

This is the best television projector

I've ever seen.

Let's hope that your customer thinks so.

He will.

Yes?

Send him right in, Charlotte.

There, you see, our customer is here.

Begging for the privilege of buying.

Better be running along. I'm not much

good at business. Oh, but Roy, he'll

want to congratulate you.

Just see that the price is right.

All right, Roy. I'll get you a good

deal.

So long. See you.

Well, Mr. Dunning, come in.

Isn't it a beauty?

It's a beauty, all right. You like it? I

certainly do like it.

You see, it's mine.

What do you mean? Let me have the

police.

I built it. Spent years on it.

Why, you must be crazy. Roy built this

machine himself. Your friend's a crook,

Paul. You've been taken in. Hello.

Give me the burglary detail.

Dear Jim.

Regarding your inquiry on a 38 caliber

Smith & Wesson revolver. Oh, come in,

boys.

Burglary detail just sent this report

through. It's a man named Dunning

reports tracing a stolen television

projector to the

Reeves Electronics Lab.

Think it's a tie-in with the Rollins

case? Well, take a look at this fellow

Reeves and see what gives.

I'll notify Burglary we're following up

on it. Right. Come on, Junior.

What else did he place with you for

rental? Oh, a number of things. Uh

Oh, war surplus that he bought on his

veteran's rating. Was this more of his

equipment?

Yes. Yes, he left it here on

consignment.

I'm sure that Roy can explain

everything. Well, maybe he can, Mr.

Reeves, if you'll tell us where he

lives. But I don't know.

Mr. Martin's on the phone, sir.

I'd better talk to him. I think so, Mr.

Reeves.

I'll take it in the superintendent's

office.

Tell him that you sold the set and his

money's waiting for him here. Find out

what time he's coming by.

Put Mr. Martin on.

Hello, Roy.

Uh yes. Yes, I've sold it.

Your money is waiting here for you.

Yes, I'll be working late tonight. What

time will you be by?

First thing in the morning.

Well, maybe you better come in tonight,

Roy. A couple of things I want cleared

up.

Like what?

Oh.

Technical things.

Besides, I don't like to leave the money

in the plant overnight.

How about 8:30?

Fine. Fine.

I'll see you then.

I'll leave the front door unlocked.

He'll be here at 8:30.

Well, I'll just run along home and get

some dinner.

Uh

we'd like you to stay, too, Mr. Reeves.

Why? For company. You want to cooperate,

don't you, Mr. Reeves? Certainly. Good.

Oh, you just wait in your office. We'll

be around.

Very well.

This way, gentlemen.

Reeves.

That you, Roy?

Go outside and block that alley door.

Where are you, Roy?

Who's in here?

No one.

I'm alone.

Come on in. I've got your money for you.

Bring it out here.

All right.

Just a minute.

No.

None of them even looks like Roy Martin.

He had such a

fine face.

Didn't keep him from carrying a gun.

How didn't you know that?

No, I didn't.

I told you all I know. All he ever told

me. What about his friends? Didn't he

have a girl?

No. No, I don't think so.

He had no interest in anything but

electronics.

Where'd he pick up the subject?

Books, magazines.

Mostly from the signal core. He was

attached to a radar unit.

Get a teletype over to the war

department. It might help.

Yes. Ready on your call, receiving

hospital, Captain Breen.

Hello. Uh this is Captain Breen.

What is the latest report on Sergeant

Jones?

I see.

Well, let me know if there's any change,

will you?

Thanks.

Chuck's in pretty bad shape, Marty.

He's paralyzed.

May never walk again.

Oh, I'm sorry.

It's funny that Martin showed up at 7:00

when he told you he wouldn't be there at

8:30. I don't know why.

Except he was always unpredictable.

I'll tell you why. Because you warned

him. That's why he came early. That's

why he came in the back way.

But you heard me tell him the front door

would be open.

And the key to let him in the back way?

He must have had one made.

Why don't you tell us the truth, Marty?

Now look, Paul.

You can make it a lot easier for us to

believe your story if you'll just give

us some facts.

Something that might help us.

I told you all I know.

I've been gullible, all right, letting

him make a fool of me.

But

I'd do anything to make up for what he

did to Detective Jones.

Sure. Sure, you would.

You can go now.

Oh, thanks.

Thanks.

My friends, they vouch for my character.

That's good. We'll call you if we need

you. Thank you very much.

I think he's telling the truth, Marty. I

think he's just gullible like he said.

What about the stolen stuff he was

trying to peddle for Marty? We'll use it

for bait.

Maybe Marty will come back for it. Then

we can ask him.

Here.

Nevertheless, I want a 24-hour tail put

on Reeves and I want a watch on his home

and his factory. Right.

You can keep those.

Okay, Cap.

And now the killer changed his tactics,

his modus operandi.

It would baffle the police. They always

expected burglars to remain burglars,

not go in for stick-ups. They'd never

tie this up with him.

Now wearing a variety of disguises,

coming and going like a shadow, ready to

kill if cornered, he struck the bottle

stores in a one-man blitz that had the

robbery detail dizzy.

The killer, always resourceful, always

thinking along lines that would baffle

his hunters, had discovered an ideal

avenue of escape. Under Los Angeles is a

vast and intricate system of huge storm

drains built to siphon off the flash

floods of the rainy season.

Many of the tunnels are large enough for

two cars to drive abreast.

Here was 700 miles of hidden highways,

ideal for the use of someone who needed

to hurry from place to place without

being seen,

ideal as a hiding place for guns and

supplies in case of emergency.

What is it, Lee? Well, the reason I

asked you to come over is I think I've

hit on something. An identification? No,

not quite, but a tie-up.

Now,

these are the shells from the gun that

killed Rollins.

These were fired in the liquor store

hold-up in which the bandit got away.

And these were fired at Chuck.

Now, as you know, every ejector, even in

guns of the same model and caliber, is

different.

Each one leaves its own markings on the

cartridge casing.

Now look at these fine striations,

this deep gouge.

The same on all three.

Mhm.

In other words, the man who killed

Rollins,

the man who shot at Jones and Brennan,

the stick-up who was hitting the liquor

stores, are all the same man. Right.

All we need to know is what that man

looks like.

Get me Chandler and robbery, will you?

I've got an idea about that.

Also, it'll give us a chance to see if

Reeves is on the level with us.

Uh Steve.

Reeves.

About those blitz hold-ups you're on.

Round up all the victims and have them

down here tonight, will you?

Oh, it's just a little scheme.

Thanks, Steve.

Hm, that's good.

Now, let's get another one of the same

type, only this time thin it out a

little, huh? Right. All right, Lee,

how's it coming? You ready for tonight?

We'll be ready.

Think it'll work?

It should.

Where'd you get the idea?

From a kidnapping case in Chicago.

But I thought these slides might be an

improvement over the method they used.

Could be. Captain thinks so.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. May

I have your attention for a moment,

please?

You've all been asked to sit in on a

little experiment tonight.

We're going to try to build a picture of

a face.

A face of a man who's cunning,

resourceful, and deadly.

He's a man who killed a police officer.

Now, some of you he held up at the point

of a gun.

You may have seen his face, remembered

something about it.

And we want you to tell us

exactly what you remember.

Whether it's his hair, eyes, nose, or

mouth.

And we're going to try to put those

pieces together

so that they add up into a picture of

the face of the man we want.

Now, you can see how we're depending on

you.

Lights.

Now, first, we're going to concentrate

on the type of hair our man had.

And if the picture looks anything like

his hair, I want you to speak right up.

All right, the first slide, Lee.

His hair had waves in it.

Well-groomed. That's the idea, Miss

Smith.

Is that any closer?

Mm, no. It It was parted on the side.

Oh, that's more like it. Except it was

thicker.

Oh, that's very close.

Yes, that's the way his forehead looked.

It was broad and high.

All right, hold that slide.

Now, the next series of slides we'll

take into account his eyes.

Oh, 1 minute, please. Wait. 1 minute.

His eyes were a little like that.

Maybe a little smaller.

Like beads.

Go on, Lee.

Now. Now you've got it.

All right, hold that slide, Lee.

Anyone else?

That looks like him, only a little

madder.

He had a patch over one eye when he come

into my dive at my place of business.

I remember noticing that the one showing

was blue. Well, the guy that stuck me up

had on horn-rimmed glasses. He was

wearing a band-aid across his nose when

he knocked me over.

Mhm.

All right, hold that, Lee.

Now, so much for the eyes.

Go ahead.

Señor Capitán. Yes, Miss Montalvo.

I

¿Cómo se dice en inglés? This is fine,

señorita. Ah, qué bien.

En este bandido, la nariz fue chata.

Como aquella.

Pero un poco más chata y más ancha.

Like that, Captain, but uh more snub,

wider. Try another one, Lee.

Como aquella. Casi la misma. She says

that's about it.

Thank you very much, Miss Montalvo.

Get Reeves.

Are there any more comments? That's

pretty close, all right. Pretty close.

Perfect. All right. Now, we'll start on

the mouth and chin.

The next series, Lee.

I think his lower lip stuck out more.

The mouth was thin and mean, like it

never laughed.

Go ahead.

Something like that, but thicker lips.

There. That's it. That's him.

All right, I'll hold that right there,

Lee.

Oh, come in, Mr. Reeves.

Good evening, Captain.

Did you ever see that face before?

Why, it's Roy.

Except for the hair being a little

lighter and the eyebrows heavier,

it's Roy.

You're sure?

I'm positive. I'd know him anywhere.

Lee, I want to retouch the photograph.

Now, lighten the hair and give more body

to the eyebrows. Right.

Lights.

That's all. Thank you very much. You've

been a great help. It's positively

amazing how you found out what he looks

like. Well, we're looking for an amazing

criminal, Mrs. Johnson.

Thank you and good night.

Good night, Captain.

And so the face of the unknown killer,

built up from fragments of evidence, was

sent out all over the country.

To chiefs of police, to sheriffs, to

county constables, and county jailers.

To the wardens of prisons.

To all postmasters and postal

inspectors.

To the agents of the Treasury

Department.

To the FBI.

They showed that picture to the inmates

of jails and prisons. To men with a wide

acquaintance among the cat burglars and

the violence boys. Informers and con men

and sharpshooters were quizzed. Those on

the fringe of crime and those deep in

the rackets.

Many wanted to help.

Nobody could.

No one in the underworld recognized that

mysterious face.

He was as unknown as if he had lived in

the 16th century.

Reeves.

Roy.

Listen carefully, Reeves.

Control yourself.

I know you're alone in the house.

Act like you're alone.

Cops are watching every move you make.

Police here?

They got you staked out like a muskrat

hide, and watching you around the clock.

Here at your plant, tailing your car.

Sit in that chair.

Don't look up, and don't answer me.

All right.

The glance at the books.

Pick one of them.

Okay.

Now, that's the book you want to read

before you go to bed.

Now,

get up and turn off the lamp.

Come here.

Come here.

Go in the den.

Follow us, Bibs, tight.

I got away from them.

What do the cops know about me?

Not very much, Roy.

No fingerprints. They haven't even got a

picture of you. They're trying to make

one.

How much cash you got in the house?

None. I never keep any cash in the

house. It isn't good business.

I suppose you think it was good business

letting me walk into that trap. No, Roy.

No. Don't do anything you'll regret.

Now, listen to me.

It isn't too late. Give yourself up.

Come to your senses before you kill

someone else.

What do you mean, someone else?

What do you mean? Nothing.

The two officers, they said one of them

might die.

He's still alive, isn't he?

Reeves?

I never thought you'd stooge for the

police.

You almost got me killed. Roy, you know

the police are right outside. You'd

never get away with it.

That's right.

Now, you're being sensible.

You know this money here?

Where is it? Don't worry.

I'll get it.

It's not enough.

Stuff you got of mine is worth

thousands.

I'll get more.

Get it. Keep it handy. I'll be back next

week and next month, but get it and have

it ready. Just give me time.

Oh!

Look.

I don't want policemen outside my house

following me around.

That's what made Roy suspicious.

I'm leaving in the morning.

I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you,

Paul.

Unfortunately, you're our bait.

I won't do it.

I've done enough.

Look, no one's done enough

until we find this killer.

I asked you to keep a sharp lookout on

this house, Marty. I did.

Two of the best undercover men in the

department were assigned here. Then keep

Marty from getting in.

What's the matter? You're tired?

You got any idea how long you've been on

this case, Marty?

Months.

Long enough to have come up with

something by this time.

You know any more about the Rollins

killer than you knew the first week?

Yeah.

He's about the toughest nut I've ever

had to crack.

That's what I told the chief when he

called me in this afternoon wanting to

know why the case hadn't been broken.

Look, Captain.

Rollins was a friend of mine.

So was Chuck.

I've got a bigger stake in this than the

chief knows.

I'm doing everything I can.

I'm afraid it's not enough, Marty.

Maybe you're too close to it to see it

clearly.

Maybe needs a fresh team, a new

viewpoint.

I think you better take a couple of

weeks off, Marty.

Starting tomorrow.

Anything you say, Captain.

Hi, ya, Marty. Hi, Chuck. Meet Mr.

Cannon, my new bodyguard.

He's the one I've been telling you

about. Oh, you mean the one with the

steel trap brain? How do you do? Hello.

Say, this guy been behaving? After a

fashion. See, she takes me out in my

go-cart, puts me to bed, wakes me up,

dresses me. You're perfectly capable of

dressing yourself now, Mr. Jones.

I'll be back in a few minutes.

Well, how's it been going, Junior?

Well,

pretty good, Chuck. Pretty good.

Is that why you're off the case?

How'd you know? Breen was in to see me

this morning. Oh.

Suppose he also told you they put a new

team on the case. He told me everything.

Yeah. Let's see what his new boys dig

up. Well, maybe they'll examine the

facts of the case a little more

carefully.

What facts?

That our man's sharp, that he's

intelligent, works alone,

that he has no record, never leaves a

fingerprint, knows every move we make?

Sure, a plenty of facts, only they add

up to nothing. Sure, forget it. You got

yourself a 10-day vacation. Go on down

to the beach, get a suntan.

By the time you get back, the case will

be broken.

Isn't that what you want?

You know better than that. All I know is

what I hear. You sit there batting your

gums about how the old man let you down.

Maybe he's trying to wake you up.

He's got a funny way of showing it.

There you go, flying off the handle.

Always taking things for granted. I wish

I could get up and boot some sense into

you.

He knew what this case meant to me. He

still does. That's why he's trying to

get you mad enough to do something about

it.

You don't really figure that's his idea,

do you? I know it is.

It's a tough case, Chuck.

Not an angle, nothing to go on.

You'd know what I meant if you were out

working with me. I have been working

with you.

That's all I've had to do lately, just

sit around studying what little facts we

have, trying to figure out who he might

be.

You know the kind of a guy we're up

against then.

I tell you, Chuck, this guy's a genius

the way he operates.

It's as if you were right there with us

every time you go out after a lead. Oh,

sure. Breen's been tipping him off just

to make you look bad. They almost like

that.

The way he beats us to the punch every

time. There's your angle.

You just hit it on the head, but you

don't see it. Look, start adding. One,

he's unknown to the underworld. Two, he

beats you to the punch, right?

And three, it's almost as if he were

with you. Isn't that what you said?

Yeah. Now, tie that up with a lot of

other little things, like the fact that

he uses a police gun and the accuracy of

the shooting.

Anybody could buy a police gun, and the

army could have taught him how to shoot.

Yeah, but who taught him how the police

operate?

I know what you're driving at, Chuck,

but

but a cop?

Those things happen.

Yeah.

Now, if I were still on the case, I'd

start with our own department first,

then Santa Monica, Culver City, Burbank,

Pasadena. See you later, Junior. Hey.

Don't let him out of your sight, Peter.

That was the first time in years he's

used his head.

But you got a pin of every mug we take.

We always send LA a copy, Sergeant. It's

personnel photos I want. You mean of our

boys?

That's Rollins killer, isn't it? That's

right.

You've checked your own department. We

did that first.

And so the tedious quest went on.

Sergeant Brennan wore out his shoes and

his patience going from police station

to police station, checking photos until

his eyes were blurry.

For police work is not all glamour and

excitement and glory.

There are days and days of routine,

of tedious probing,

of tireless searching,

fruitless days, days where nothing goes

right, when it seems as if no one could

ever think his way through the maze of

baffling trails a criminal leaves.

But the answer to that is persistence

and the hope that sooner or later

something will turn up,

some tiny lead that can grow into a warm

trail and point to the cracking of a

tough case.

Well, that does it, boys.

Can't say I'm sorry you didn't find him

in here.

I'd hate to think it was a cop.

Doesn't seem to be anybody.

Just a lot of pieces of a face that

never existed.

Do you mind if I see that again?

Sure, frame it.

Put it on your dresser.

Wait a minute.

He wasn't a cop.

He was a radio technician right here in

our dispatch office.

What did you say? I'm saying he worked

here in '42.

Well, come on, give. I remember the kid.

Well,

he was sort of strange, never bothered

with anyone in the department, just kept

to himself.

He was in line for a promotion when he

was drafted.

Where was he living at the time?

I don't remember.

Try the dead files.

Never asked for his job back after the

war. I remember writing to him about it,

though. He was an excellent worker. Oh,

yeah, here we are.

Yeah, this is it.

Took a while before he answered, but

like he says in the letter, he wasn't

interested.

Mhm?

Postmark Hollywood.

No return address.

What do you want us to do? All the work?

Thanks a lot, Freddy.

And remember, he was a civilian

employee.

Well, how about it? Anybody recognize

him?

Not on my route.

I never saw him before.

Yeah, okay, fellas. Thanks very much.

I thought for a minute

No.

And yet, that face.

Wonder. Yeah?

Well, this may not mean anything, but he

looks like a guy that's on my route. He

never gets any mail, but I see him

around every all the time.

He lives in one of the courts. Where?

Come on, I'll show you.

It's not that easy.

What time does your route take you past

those courts?

About 9:00. Why?

Just thinking.

You got any chocolate milk? Sure have,

buddy.

Here you are. Thanks.

What's your partner?

Straight down back.

Second in the yellow.

Number seven.

Right.

Kind of warm today, huh?

Oh, it's not too bad for this time of

the year.

Good morning.

Morning. You're new on the route, aren't

you?

Yeah, I'm a substitute. What happened to

the other fellow?

Sick. Oh, what's the matter with him? I

don't know.

I catch everything. Hear about it on the

radio, next morning I've got it.

Too bad.

You aren't very social. The regular

fellow always stops and talks to me. I'm

sorry, lady. I'm a little late this

morning.

I was hoping maybe you could help me.

There's something very funny going on in

this court. Yeah? I was scared to go to

the police with it.

I thought maybe I might be poisoned.

What? Yeah.

I have a manager. She's a witch.

She's a what?

A witch. She put poison in my milk.

Oh, I see.

Look.

Switch the bottles when she isn't

looking, see?

Drink her milk.

Then you'll be safe, right?

Uh

I had a little accident. Got a mop, I'll

clean it up.

Bring the bill, I'll clean it up myself.

Okay, mister.

The place is called Bellevue Court. I

drew this to memory, but it's pretty

close. That's where he's hiding out,

right there.

You sure he's our man, Marty?

Captain, I couldn't go wrong on that

face. He's our man.

Now, there are five cottages in this

area, and two, number six and seven, in

the L at the end of the row.

Our man lives in number seven.

This building department plan will show

you the whole layout.

Bounded on three sides by Fuller, Santa

Monica, and Poinsettia.

Now, the court is partly surrounded by a

high wall.

Breen, homicide.

Glad you'll keep your eyes open till we

get there.

Morgan has just gone into his bungalow

alone.

Any questions?

All right, you all have your

instructions. Let's go.

Right on time.

Wait 5 minutes. Go around and block the

side entrance.

Keep your lights off.

He's loose. I want a radio car in a

hurry.

All units, all units in the vicinity of

Santa Monica and Fuller, the murder

suspect in the Rollins killing is at

large.

I want a map covering the storm drain

system in this area. Get it, meet me at

Venice and Garfield.

Jones, Miller, you stay here in case he

comes up for air.

I want a man at every other drain inlet

along this line.

Got to come up somewhere.

Come on, Marty, you're driving.

Keep this drain covered. He's liable to

pop out anywhere.

Why Venice and Garfield, Captain? It's

the main intersection of the system we

can hit. Not that way. 80K to control

one, clear frequency seven, this is an

emergency. Control one to all cars on

frequency seven, stand by. Control one

to 80K, go ahead. Notify homicide, send

the following to Venice and Garfield.

Four squads, battle lanterns,

gas masks, tear gas, urgent. This is a

code three. Control one to 80K, roger.

And he'll probably head down this main

drain to where it comes out at the Rio

Hondo. Ali, you take your squad and

cover that exit. Right. Keep all spare

radio cars cruising back and forth along

this main street. Watch the curb inlets.

We'll go in here.

Having any sign of him? No. We searched

every foot between here and the Rio

Hondo outlet.

Then he must be up ahead.

LET'S GO.

GAS GUN.