Original subtitles

I bet we don't have a witness.

We have one very good witness.

You. What'd you say?

You threatening me? Is there something you're not telling me here?

No. Well, he was mouthing off at the precinct. He said some stuff to me. Like

what? Nothing. The usual garbage. Christine, did this man threaten you

directly? He's not gonna touch me.

Because if he comes within three feet of me, I'll kill him.

Integrated amplifier with five-band equalizer, 100 watts per channel.

Does that sound fantastic?

Sounds expensive.

Oh, it's on sale, $850 on 14th Street. Christine, if you're asking me, $850 for

a stereo is expensive.

State of the art, Mary Beth.

Sign me in, will you? Yeah.

Look at this. There must be 600 people downtown who do nothing but write memos.

One thing about the police department, they stay in touch.

Retirement plan.

Credit union.

Uniform inspection.

Listen to this.

Stress reduction encounter group.

You love that?

That's this week.

What's a stress reduction encounter group?

Well, it says right here. It helps you deal with job-related stress of police

work.

Oh, well, thank you too much.

I'd rather go skiing.

Do you have the paperwork on the Mendoza collar?

They can't do this. Do what?

It's mandatory.

Oh, I saw that.

Apparently it's a pilot program they're developing citywide, all departments.

Well, I don't need someone telling me how to solve my problems, do you?

Well, there have been studies done to indicate that sharing your feelings

about your work with colleagues is a very effective way of dealing with job

-related stress.

When I'm stressed out, I jog.

Three miles, I'm spaghetti.

Talking about your feelings can't hurt you, Christine.

Good morning, sir.

Lieutenant, have you heard about this stress reduction encounter group?

Yeah, what about it? Well, we don't have to attend that, do we? Yeah, it's

mandatory. That's a very good idea, too, I think.

You do?

Oh, absolutely, Kathy, sure.

They started it a couple of years ago on a voluntary basis, and, uh...

I attended a few of them. I found them to be very helpful.

There it is.

Here. This is from downtown.

Seems we got a problem here.

Apparently you two have piled up an inordinate amount of overtime.

Oh, yeah.

Are they impressed?

They're worried.

It's fouling up the accounting system.

Well, what exactly are we supposed to do about this, sir? Well, you take the rest

of the day off today and a couple of three-day weekends, and everybody's

going to be happy.

Lieutenant, we have a very heavy caseload.

Look, I don't like this any more than you do, but you're screwing up the

computer, so get out of here, will you, the both of you. You mean go home, sir?

I don't care where you go, just as long as you sign out and disappear.

Yes, sir. Well, couldn't we work and not put in for it? I mean, it's ridiculous.

We're already here.

Cagney, what is wrong with a day off?

Go to the park, go to the movies, go to New Jersey. I don't care where you go,

just as long as you're not here today, because the New York City Police

Department cannot afford to have you here.

Okay? Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.

I don't understand this department sometimes.

I can think of worse things than a day off, Christine.

I'll get it.

Pulsary days off.

Pulsary group therapy.

So what are you going to do?

I don't know.

Maybe I'll clean out the closets.

I've been promising to do that for months.

Why don't you come with me to 14th Street? We'll go to the stereo sale.

No, thank you.

Very bad.

These sound systems can be very sexy.

Maybe spice up your marriage.

My marriage doesn't need spicing up. Thank you.

Think of it, Mary Beth.

Harvey comes home.

Johnny Mathis is on the stereo, oozing out 100 watts

per channel.

You slip into something casual.

And Johnny's voice melts down the last of Harvey's inhibitions.

I've been reading trashy books again, Christine.

Always worked for me.

No, no, no, no, we're all sold out, Ellen, but take a look over here.

Sweetheart, let me show you something.

The frequency response on this little number is so awesome, it'll curl your

toes.

Is that so? Yeah, and I can give you a good price.

Like 850?

Hey, babe, you look like an intelligent woman.

Let me level with you, all right?

You wouldn't have wanted the stereo in that air.

It's a piece of junk.

I'm telling you.

Trust me. How much is this one? Well, I don't have the exact numbers on it. Hey,

you look like an intelligent man.

Take a guess. Let's see. You're going to want the 10-band equalizer, a cassette

deck, at least 100 watts per channel. Or a fan that said maybe you're looking at

$2,400, $2,500.

Tops, out the door.

You always get people in here for an $850 ad and sell them something for $2

,500. Hey, babe, I told you. We're sold out of the one you want. Come over. Let

me show you this, baby.

Hey, sweetheart, where are you going? It's a good...

I said drop it.

Slide it over to me slowly.

Farther.

Slowly.

I hope this encounter group doesn't get touchy-feely. Hey, I hear they do it in

the nude in California.

Fortunately, this is New York.

I do 100 push-ups every morning. You're a wonderful person.

Hey, little guy.

You lost?

Let's check you for ID.

What's that dog doing here?

Just wanted to entertain you. Who does he belong to? I don't know.

He's down in college.

Well, call a pound.

Have him come pick my... Pound?

Hey, come on, Lieutenant. You know what they'll do to him at the pound.

Let me try to find him a home.

I'd take him, but my building doesn't allow pets.

Just make sure he's gone by the end of the day. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.

Have a seat.

I said sit down.

Your

family

know what you do for a living?

Name? I asked for your name.

I thought you said I had the right to remain silent.

I'm not asking for a biography. I just want your name and address.

How would you like to spend the rest of your life missing some major parts of

your anatomy?

What'd you say?

Are you

threatening me?

Well, I wouldn't do that to a police officer. That's illegal, isn't it?

Look,

you want to give me your name now?

I'll throw you in the tank. We'll go over this again tomorrow. I really don't

give a damn. So what's it gonna be?

Charlie?

Stokes.

Spell.

S.

T.

O.

K.

E.

S.

Stokes, Stokes, Stokes. Here it is. Darryl Stokes.

He was arraigned yesterday afternoon.

Bail set at $5,000.

That's all?

For a sleaze like that? Come on.

Well, you know how the game's played, detective.

I asked the court to set bail at half a million.

The defense says send him home on his own recognizance because he's such a

nice guy.

And the judge comes up with something in between.

Well, I wouldn't call $5,000 somewhere in between.

So the judge was in a hurry to play golf. Or maybe you're not good at

playing the game. Hey, look, don't come in here and... Feldberg, I... I need you

to go back into court and ask for a higher bail.

$5,000 is pretty standard for a case like this.

Did you look at his yellow sheet?

Come on, armed robbery, attempted rape?

Yeah, no convictions, cases dropped before trial.

Yeah, right. And I talked to the investigating officers on those cases.

They think Stokes has been intimidating witnesses into refusing to testify.

Hell, he...

Threatened me in the precinct.

All right, all right.

How am I supposed to know that?

You know, it makes me wonder, though, if you're so concerned about this case, how

come you weren't at the arraignment?

Judge Comiskey's chambers, please. I need to talk to his clerk.

So where were you?

My lieutenant sent me home.

I've been pulling too much overtime.

You're kidding.

Hello, Elliot.

Todd Feldberg from the DA's office.

Hanging in there. Listen, I need to petition for an increase in bail on a

Daryl Stokes.

Yeah, I'll hold.

So what are you doing?

Bucking for sergeant? Or are you just a glutton for work?

What was that?

Well, he's a lucky man.

Yeah.

See you around, Elliot.

Well, Cagney, this conversation can now be classified as academic.

I beg your pardon?

Stokes posted an hour ago.

He's out of our hands until his court date.

You believe these witness statements?

News vendor says she didn't see anything.

Street worker says he saw nothing.

Here you go. This one's great.

What stabbed me? I was reading my horoscope.

We got no witnesses.

I'm telling you, Mary Beth, the victim had charged admission.

We could have paid his hospital bill. We have seven witnesses we haven't even

talked to.

Not to mention the fact that you can ID Stokes.

We got a victim that can testify. What's the big deal? We got a dead man case

here. I just hope it's not a case where the victim doesn't want to press

charges. Not everybody in the city of New York doesn't want to get involved,

Christine. No, just eight high witnesses to a stabbing in broad daylight.

Cynical. Cynical.

You go funny over the damnedest cases.

You saved my life.

That's good.

How are you feeling?

I'm okay, I guess. The doctor says next week I should be out enjoying the

swinging singles life.

He didn't have to say where he could find you, did he?

Mr. Gelband, do you mind telling us what happened?

Well, there's not much to tell. This guy just pulled a knife and told me to give

him my wallet.

Did you?

Yeah, I didn't want any trouble.

And then what?

Well, I...

I only had five bucks, and the guy starts ranting and raving. The next

thing I know, I'm stabbed.

Mr. Gelbin, we're going to need you to testify.

All right.

Whatever I can do to get this guy off the streets, right?

Well, so we certainly appreciate your attitude.

Mr. Gelbin, you get some rest, and we'll talk to you later.

All right.

Listen, if Daryl Stokes should try and contact you or intimidate you in any

way, I'd like you to call me immediately.

It's a dead bank case. Okay, you're right. Stop gloating.

We've broken down the squad into small groups of people who work closely

together. You all know each other well.

What you can't say out there, you're free to say in here. There's no rank in

this room.

What is important to know is that there's nothing wrong with talking about

your problems.

Nothing wrong with having problems. It doesn't make you any less a person or

any less a cop.

Now, for starters, why don't you tell me what a typical day in this precinct is

like?

It looks like attending this group is going to be more stressful than your

job.

So who'd like to start?

Bird? Why don't you begin?

My day is... We

usually, uh... Well, I usually start

my day... I get a jelly donut, usually, from the

little place across the street.

That's first.

I have a good jelly donut there.

Everything is very fresh, especially the custard.

The custard is good, too.

I have a good cherry tart, too. Oh, I'm sorry.

It's not my turn to talk, right? Oh, no, Mary Beth, it's okay.

The idea is to talk whenever you have something to say.

Well... Um...

That's all I really had to say.

Anyone else have anything they'd like to talk about?

Yeah.

I've got something I want to get off my chest for a long time now.

Yes, Victor.

I think Barry Manilow is an underrated performer.

I mean, maybe he's not hip or highbrow, but he sings the songs the whole

world sings.

I used to like Victor Moon.

Now, there's a voice.

I don't understand why you're so gung-ho about this group encounter thing.

I wouldn't say I was gung-ho.

I just think it's a good idea, that's all.

It's not healthy for us to keep our feelings all bottled up.

I thought you shared your feelings with me, Mary Beth.

I do, huh?

Yeah, well, it seems to me if you got a problem, you should talk to me about it.

Oh, honey, there's nothing wrong with talking about what I'm going through

with people that are going through the same thing. You understand that, right?

Yeah, yeah, I guess.

Just gonna be talking about police work then, right?

I don't know if it'll only be about that.

Wait.

You're going to be talking about me and the kids?

That could come up, yeah.

Oh, no, Mary Beth, I don't want you talking about me in front of strangers.

They're the people I work with, Harv. They're not strangers.

Well, to you, but to me, they're strangers, Mary Beth. There are certain

things between a husband and a wife that should not be talked about in front of

other people.

Like what?

What do you mean, like what?

Like what?

Like our sex life.

Why don't I want to talk to anybody about our sex life? Well, that's exactly

my point.

Well, what's so funny?

Maybe I should tell him about that time we went to the Halloween party,

remember? You dressed up like a frog.

Remember when we got home?

I was very tired, Mary Beth.

Oh, you were so tired. It was too tired to change out of his costume. But not

too tired to hop over my side of the bed, right?

I don't think that's funny.

Cough. What?

Ribbit.

Ribbit.

Ribbit.

Ribbit, ribbit.

I just got a call from the hospital.

A nurse went into Martin Gilband's room this morning and found him gone.

Did anyone see him leave?

No, you better go check his apartment out, see what you can find.

I don't think we're going to see Martin Gilband around while Stokes is loose.

I bet we don't have a witness.

We have one very good witness.

You.

Marty came home about one o'clock in the morning.

Are you sure of the time? Oh, positive.

I was watching Wait Until Dark.

You know, Richard Crenna and Jack Wesson were trying to warn Audrey Hepburn about

that maniac Alan Arkin.

that's when I heard the noise in the hall.

What noise, ma'am?

Well, I tried to wake my husband first, because he was asleep next to me on the

couch. I mean, it's like that every night, every single night. I don't care

what the movie, a spy movie, a tearjerker, cowboys and Indians.

Ten minutes into it, he's out cold.

And about the noise, ma'am? Oh, well, I knew Marty was in the hospital, so I

thought someone might be robbing his place.

So I looked in the peephole, but it was only Marty walking into his apartment.

Boy, they sure let him out of the hospital soon, don't they, these days?

Listen, Audrey Hepburn is blind in this picture, see?

I remember the picture.

About the noise.

Well, it was just the slamming of a door.

But by then, Audrey had already knifed Alan, so I figured I was safe.

I walked to the door, keeping one eye on the TV, of course. Oh, of course.

And when I opened the door, Alan lunged at Audrey.

I let out such a scream that my husband fell off the couch.

I guess I scared poor Marty to death because he just picked up his suitcase

and left.

You should have seen the look on Audrey Hepburn's face. Was he alone, Mrs.

Antonell? Who?

Mr. Gilband.

Oh.

He's scared, Mary Beth.

He is scared and he's running.

I think Stokes got to him.

Who else?

It's M.O., isn't it?

Stokes calls Gilband up at the hospital and says if he doesn't keep his mouth

shut, he'll cut him up to ribbons, or words to that effect.

Kill band runs.

Stokes is a pretty scary guy.

What do you mean scary?

Well, he's about six foot two, weighs about 200 pounds, and he doesn't have a

particularly pleasant personality.

Is there something you're not telling me here?

No. Well, he was mouthing off at the precinct. He said some stuff to me. Like

what? Nothing. The usual garbage. Christine, did this man threaten you

directly?

You cannot take every threat seriously.

Christine, you cannot pretend that this is... I haven't got time for this kind

of argument.

This man is suspected of harassing witnesses.

You're going to be protected until I know differently, like it or not.

Lieutenant, please. There's no more discussion, please. You take the squad

car, you drop her home tonight. I'll have two men waiting outside her lot.

Happy to, sir.

Hello?

No, I'm sorry, there's no one here by that name.

Yeah, well, next time use the phone book.

Did you dial right?

What?

Oh, Mark, I'm sorry. No, I thought it was the wrong number.

What?

Oh, it's just been sort of a rough day. Yeah.

And tonight?

I'd love to, but... No, the place is a mess now, and I'm in the middle of

redecorating. Yeah.

The truth is, Mark, I'm just... I'm not for company tonight.

Yeah, another time would be great.

Okay, yeah. Okay, bye.

When we hear from him, we'll certainly let you know.

Okay.

Thank you, Mrs. Gelban.

Don't let the dog in.

Sorry, sir.

We just got off the phone with Vaughn Gelban's parents. They haven't heard

from him since Christmas.

We're checking all transportation that left the city. Not necessary anymore.

I just got a call from the medical examiner.

The old man's body was found in an alley this morning.

We got an APB out on Stokes now.

Homicide squad's handling the investigation, and they'll let us know

anything they find.

In the meantime, I suggest that you concentrate on making your case against

Stokes stick, because if we can't tie this murder to Stokes, then all we got

to put him away with is your case.

And I assure you, the DA is going to want a lot more than your testimony.

What we need is more witnesses.

Well, uniforms have taken all the witnesses' statements, and nobody saw

anything. Go on back out there. Keep on interviewing.

Somebody might change their minds.

Yes, sir.

Lieutenant, shouldn't somebody notify Gell-Bent's parents? No, that's a good

idea. You do that, Lacey.

Yes, sir.

Sitting is good, too.

Did you see the stabbing that happened here Tuesday around 1130?

I said, did you happen to see the stabbing?

Happened here Tuesday around 11.30.

No.

Oh.

Thank you.

Let me understand this. A man is being stabbed less than 30 feet away from you.

Now, surely you remember hearing or seeing something.

Things like that happen all the time. I don't pay any attention. I mind my own

business.

I guess if it was you being robbed, you'd be singing another tune, huh?

You want a paper? No.

It's like it never happened.

How about you?

Always amazes me the effort people take to avoid getting involved.

We wouldn't be going through this at all if they hadn't let him out on bail in

the first place.

One of the most stressful aspects of police work is the inability to turn the

job off once you get home.

Let's talk about that tonight.

Mark, you want to start?

Some nights I get home and I look at Lauren, that's my daughter, and I get

angry that she's going to grow up in the world I just left.

I almost want to quit and move to Colorado.

I know what you mean.

First time I had pictures taken of my daughter, I called them mugshots.

Coleman, I didn't even know you had a daughter.

You never asked.

Her name's Betty.

She's retarded.

She goes to a special school.

I'm sorry.

No need to be.

She's a lot happier than a lot of kids I've seen.

I love to party.

But I hardly get invited anymore.

People start smoking dope or something.

I gotta leave.

What am I gonna do about my friends?

I gave up going to parties a long time ago.

It's hard for me to be around people who aren't cops.

When my daughter was little, she wanted me to wear my uniform all the time.

Watching TV on my day off.

When she was old enough to understand what a policeman does, she didn't want

me to wear the uniform at all.

Claudia tells everyone not to call when I'm working.

It scares her to hear the phone ring when I'm not there.

It's crazy, isn't it? No, half is the same thing.

I mean, we have this understanding that if I'm on stakeout or something late at

night, I never tell him when I'm coming home, you know, so that he won't wait up

all night, which he does anyway.

Chris?

You said very little since we began these sessions.

Maybe you'd like to add something to this.

No, not really.

No one's going to force you to say anything if you don't want to.

Fine.

and i are working on a very frustrating case right now it um none of the

witnesses want to get involved you know usual um and we think maybe the suspect

is is watching christine it's no big deal that can be very frightening i'll

tell you what it is the drag every time i turn around i got somebody watching me

perp or cops it's doing a number on my social life are you

sure that's all you feel about

People who've experienced that type of thing often talk of feeling invaded.

Even raped.

Well, not me.

So don't worry.

Because he's not going to touch me.

Because if he comes within three feet of me, I'll kill him.

I swear to you, I'll kill him.

Because nobody does that to me.

Nobody.

It's me, Petrie.

Was it Stokes?

You okay?

Yeah, I'm fine. Was it Stokes? Petrie.

He's gone.

Well, how the hell did he get past you anyway?

I'm sorry.

Sorry, too.

Come on, we'll walk you back down.

Hey, look at this.

Looks like he's been here awhile.

Turn out there's someone here to see it.

Ralph!

So this dog belongs to you, huh?

Yep. Sit, Ralph.

You know, you could have lost him for good.

He was outside the candy store when I went in to buy some comics.

When I came out, he was gone.

If he was wearing dog tags, we could have called you.

Now you make sure you get him a tag.

Because this dog is your responsibility.

You know, he can't take care of himself.

That's why he needs you.

Maybe next time you won't be so lucky. You understand me?

He should be wearing a collar, too.

Does he have a collar?

Don't suppose he has a leash, either.

I didn't think so.

Why don't you take this one?

Thanks.

Matter of fact, why don't you take the whole bag?

There's a rubber bone in there and some, uh... Yeah, fire hydrant and some dog

treats.

Thanks. Don't mention it.

You make sure you take good care of that dog. You got it?

Got it.

Homicide's report on Gelban turned out empty. There's nothing to tie Stokes to

this murder.

Guy sure knows how to play the game, doesn't he? All we got is your

testimony, Cagney. If that doesn't go down, Stokes walks.

Looks like last night's incident was pretty stupid.

He was on my roof, Lieutenant. I had to do something.

I wanted you to do something, then I wouldn't have put Petrie as Becky on

you. Well, I didn't feel like waiting around to get carved up. Yeah, so you

prefer making yourself visible.

Nice, easy target, right?

Hey, I'm a cop.

Not in this case. In this case, you're a witness.

And right now, Cagney, you're the only witness that we've got. So please try

and remember that.

What was that all about?

Don't tell me nothing.

Stokes was on my roof last night and he got away. There's nothing more to tell.

And you didn't call me.

It was late.

That never stopped you before.

Mary Beth, I just don't want to make a big deal out of this. The crazy who's

trying to kill you was on your roof and you don't want to make a big deal.

Thanks a lot, Christine.

Miss Becky and Petrie were there. They scared him away.

So, how long are you going to keep up the strong and silent routine?

Don't start, Mary Beth. Don't tell me don't start, Christine.

Mary Beth, I know what it is you want to say to me. You want to talk to me about

always being very closed up and that I should open up more and talk to

somebody, right?

Close.

Well, not everybody deals with their problems the way you do, Mary Beth. I am

not you.

I do not need to talk about everything.

What I need is to stop making this case any bigger than it has already become.

I am fine.

I am really okay.

What I need is to find this guy and go back to leading a normal life.

That's all.

Okay?

J.D., you got plans for dinner tonight?

So you'll have dinner with Lacey.

Where in LaGuardia did you get this one?

1957, in Greenpoint.

We are talking long shot here.

Oh, here they come.

Is that good chili or what?

I don't know. My taste buds are still in shock.

I told you, get the mild one.

You still like it, though, right?

I think it's the finest $2 chili in New York City.

How'd you find this place?

Well, Hoff found it. You know, he can sniff out good food like nobody's

business. I know, man.

Here, just a second.

Damn it!

Here, here, take this. You will leave, Dad.

Blouse. You sure you're all right? Yeah, I'm okay. Let me wash it off. Okay, just

take it easy now. Get up. I'm fine. Slowly.

Okay.

Okay. Damn.

Come here.

You sure you're going to be okay? Yeah, I'm fine.

All right, take it slow.

I'm going to call it in.

All right.

Good.

You have the right to remain silent.

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

held against you in a court of law.

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

questioning. If you cannot afford one and so choose, an attorney will be

appointed for you without charge before questioning. Do you understand those

rights as I have told them to you?

It was great. We set this guy up like you wouldn't believe.

Christine and I come out of this restaurant, and this guy tries to grab

for her pocketbook, and then he winds up hitting her. Really?

Yeah. That punch looked so good. He really hit me hard.

Where did you get this guy?

From Vice. They make the best crooks.

But she was wonderful.

She was wonderful. No, you weren't. You were wonderful.

She never batted an eye. She didn't miss a minute. She never gave it away. She

was spectacular. She was nothing else. I didn't do anything. It was all

LaGuardia. He thought it out. Let's hear it for LaGuardia!

LaGuardia!

You should have seen the look on Stokes' face when LaGuardia comes out of the

store.

He couldn't believe his eyes. A nice guy like me in the ladies' room.

kept seeing this face in my mind, you know, and I just waited.

There was nothing else I could do except wait.

And I felt very helpless.

It's like I lost all sense of, that I had no control.

He had taken that away from me.

You know, he had no right to invade my life the way he did.

Nobody... Nobody has that right. It's...

It's

my life.

It was... It was my life.

I hate... Feeling scared and I couldn't...

There wasn't anything I could do about it. I just... I can't stop thinking

about... About it and about him.

I just hate him for that. I just... I just want to...

Get the picture out of my mind and I need to...

I need to go on with my life.