Original subtitles

I think you're Dr. Mangrum's a quack. You might find yourself liable for negligence, criminal negligence.

Have a diary that has everything in it, I mean everything. Now wouldn't the authorities be interested in that?

It's locked.

No it's not, there's nobody in there.

Meet me at the fruit stand near the Pacific Coast Highway in 20 minutes, you got that?

Hold it! Police!

Papa? Papa? What happened? What's going on?

Your father and Mrs. Wayne decided to go shopping, Mr. Johnson. The wrong time, the wrong place.

We had to get something to eat.

And Mr. Johnson, your father has had a...

Just wait a minute, just who are you?

This is Dr. Mangrum. He's the medical director of our senior citizens home.

When the police called I asked him to come down to the station with me. He was gracious enough to do so.

Jefferson, get me a bar of candy.

You see what I mean? She's not getting enough to eat at that place. They're just not feeding her right.

Oh now Mr. Johnson, you old rascal. You know that's not true. You ought not to make up those wild stories.

I wonder if I'll charge you against this place.

Mrs. Wayne is a diabetic. Her diet has to be very carefully controlled, particularly carbohydrate intake.

Now, boy, darling, she has a sweet tooth. She feels deprived.

Oh, that's a lie, and you know it.

I can certainly understand your father's sympathies, Mr. Johnson, but we can't let his misguided concern interfere with sound medical practice now, can we?

Are you going to let them take us back there?

Oh, Papa. Is everything all straightened up here, Lieutenant?

Mrs. Farber spoke with the store owner. There won't be any charges.

Thank you, Mrs. Farber. I appreciate all the trouble you've gone through.

Oh, no, no, no. Think nothing of it. These dear people are like my own family.

You're no family of mine. I've got no family left.

Good night, Mr. Johnson.

Good night. Excuse me.

Papa, I'll see you tomorrow.

Papa?

What do you think?

I think they wanted a little attention.

Come on, Spence. I'll buy you a cup of coffee.

Harry, I'm sorry I dragged you down here, but I thought it was going to be a big problem with the bail and all.

I get it.

You know, I've been in that garage 10 to 12 hours a day and I just can't take care of myself.

You know what? He even wandered away from the house a couple of times.

And he has high blood pressure besides, so he has to be looked after all the time.

Don't criticize yourself too much.

I know, but the man is 78 years old and has never had more than a speeding ticket.

And then he does something crazy like this. It just makes sense.

You think something's wrong at this place, Harry?

I mean, you read a lot of bad things in the newspapers.

Well, I'll go down there with you if you want me to.

I really would appreciate that, Harry.

Because ever since my wife died, I've been having all kinds of problems.

I never realized that she took care of just about everything.

Spence was always better with machinery than he was with people.

I guess that's why he became a mechanic.

Me, I was always better at anything after a good night's sleep.

Harry!

What are you doing up at 6 o'clock in the morning?

I'm going to the bathroom.

I'll be right back.

Harry!

What are you doing up at 6 o'clock in the morning?

I'm going to the bathroom.

I'll be right back.

Harry!

Harry!

Harry!

Harry!

You've got to help me, Harry.

I don't have any milk.

It's important.

Well, after I've had my coffee.

You kids want some coffee?

Thank you for your generous offer.

But my sisters and I have something of greater importance to discuss.

What?

Harry, this is Kim and Su Ling and May.

And this is Mr. Orwell, the man I told you about.

Come here. I want to talk to you.

I want to talk to you.

What's going on?

I just got back from Hong Kong.

Yeah, I know. When you left, you were single. You didn't have any kids.

Remember me telling you about my friend Nguyen Le in Hong Kong?

No.

Yes, you do.

No?

Well, these are her nieces and nephews.

You see, since their mother died, they've been living in Hong Kong with Nguyen Le.

And their father came to Los Angeles to open up a business.

And I promised her I'd see that they got here safely to him.

Our father has vanished.

He wasn't at the airport to meet the plane.

Maybe he got stuck in traffic.

No, no. It was hours ago.

I called his house. I called the place where he works.

I don't know what to do.

Mr. Orwell, Miss Ingle ensures us that you are an excellent private investigator.

Please find our father.

Then I'll do what I can.

Of course, Mr. Orwell. We will retain your services at your customary fee.

I waived my fee and I told Kim I'd check into it as soon as possible the next day.

But for the time being, the problems of young people would have to take second place to the problems of old people.

Oh, Mr. Johnson. I'm so sorry. My son called you, but you were already gone.

I'm afraid your father isn't feeling too well.

And Dr. Mangrum left strict orders he was not to be disturbed. I'm sorry.

Mrs. Farber, what do you mean he's not feeling too good? What's wrong with him?

Nothing, I'm sure. Nothing serious. You know, all the excitement last night.

Didn't I see you at the police station?

Here I am.

Mrs. Farber, I just want to know what's wrong with my father.

Excuse me, I wouldn't be too upset, Mr. Johnson. That episode last night was quite common acting out type behavior.

Old people frequently try to draw attention to real or imagined ills by outrageous actions.

In your father's case, I'm sure he was simply venting residual resentment at having been placed in the home.

On the other hand, he was unconsciously, I am sure, trying to cause guilt, feelings, and you. Now that we must not let him do.

Hey, Doctor, he's getting worse. Worse? What do you mean worse? I think he's slipping into a coma.

Call an ambulance. Tell them to hurry. They're right there, Horace.

Dr. Mangrum? Mrs. Farber, what are they talking about? What are they talking about?

They're bad. You've got to do something.

Papa? You've got to help us. They're bad, Spencer.

Papa. Lord knows they're bad.

They're killing me for what I did. And they're going to kill her, too.

Papa, Papa, what are you talking about? You take care of Mrs. Wayne.

You promise you'll take care of Mrs. Wayne.

Papa.

Why is it taking so long, Harry? What's going on in there?

Take it easy, Spencer. You're going to end up in there with him.

You know, I never should have put him into that nursing home at the beginning of that. I had to nurse or something.

All right, you had to do it. He was talking strange in the ambulance.

Here's the doctor. How is he?

Your father's had a swivel hemorrhage, Mr. Johnson. Well, how bad is it?

Well, we won't know the extent of the damage until we've had time for an X-ray examination of the cranial blood vessels.

But he will be all right.

Your father is an old man, Mr. Johnson. That fact does not support an optimistic prognosis.

On the other hand, he is receiving the very best possible medical attention.

Whatever can be done is being done.

You'll have to excuse me now, Mr. Johnson. Believe me, about the only thing you can do now is wait.

I'm sorry. I'll be in touch.

Mr. Orwell.

You know, I don't know whether it's the Southern Axis or what. I have no confidence in him or that home.

I'll tell you what, if it'll make you feel any better, I'll check on them.

I'd appreciate it, Harry, because I wouldn't know where to start.

I started with the state board of medical examiners who verified that Dr. Mangrum was duly licensed to practice medicine.

The state nursing home administration told me to check with the county inspectors on this for any specifics regarding the Farber nursing home.

I'm sorry, Mr. Orwell. We simply cannot turn over our files to anyone who comes in off the street.

Well, I want you to turn over the files to me. I want to look at the Farber file right here in your office.

No, I'm sorry. You can't do that.

Why not?

Because the Farber file isn't here. None of the nursing home files are here. They're all over the Lawler committee.

What's that?

State Senator Lawler's Committee on Care for the Aged.

Why did you tell me that in the first place?

I wanted you to know that even if the files were here, you could look at them.

Mr. Carter, I find your testimony incredible.

Now, you are a trained inspector, and you expect us to believe that in 11 trips to the Sunset Home,

you failed to find one violation that an untrained journalist found when she first walked through the door.

Now, a sleepwalker could have done better than that.

The witness is excused. Hearing is recessed until 2 o'clock this afternoon.

Senator, my name's Harry Orwell. I'm a private investigator.

Well, if you're looking for a position, Mr. Orwell, I'm sorry, but the staff is completely...

I don't want a job.

Well, if you have information for the committee, I'd appreciate you giving it to counsel.

I'd like to look at the file in the Farber nursing home. I was told your committee has it.

Yes, we have all the county files, but my staff is working on them constantly.

I can't make them available to anyone at this time.

Well, could you tell me if there was a question raised about the operation of the home?

Well, all I can tell you is that Mrs. Farber has been subpoenaed to appear before this committee.

Now, if the committee has any findings to report, they'll be released to the media.

We have an enormous job here, and we can make this information available to private individuals.

Now, if you'll excuse me, Mr. Orwell, I have a luncheon engagement.

If there were any points to be scored, Senator Loller was going to score them himself.

I guess I couldn't blame him. He couldn't expose corruption in the nursing home industry...

without being a senator, and he couldn't be a senator without being elected.

Any news about your father?

No, nothing yet, Harry. I keep calling every half hour, but there's been no change.

You find out anything?

Not that much.

You know, when my father gets out of the hospital, I'm going to bring him back home and try again.

There's this woman I know that will take care of him during the daytime.

I can't pay her too much, but she's willing to do it.

You know, there's a state senate committee on the care of the agent.

Mrs. Farber has been subpoenaed, among others.

If there's anything wrong out there, Senator Loller will find out about it.

Spencer's garage.

Right, I'm Spencer Johnson.

My father's dead, Harry.

I really messed up this last day, Sidney.

Well, don't feel sorry for yourself.

I want to hire you, Harry.

Hire me to do what?

I want you to find out why my father died.

He had high blood pressure, Spencer.

He had high blood pressure for 20 years, and that was controlled by medicine.

I want to find out why that medicine stopped working.

Spencer was 78 years old.

I want to find out if he was getting decent care at home, too.

The Loller committee is going to investigate...

Harry, don't tell me about committees. I want to know for myself.

It's worth whatever it's going to cost.

It's not going to cost you anything.

Listen, I'm nobody's mechanic for nothing.

And I don't intend for you to be my investigator for nothing.

Now, what's your usual charge?

Forget it.

Harry.

It's $100 a day in expenses.

I can make that up in your car in no time.

Yes, Dr. Mangrum was on our staff for eight months.

Yeah, why did he leave?

Our association was terminated by mutual agreement.

You mean you asked him to leave and he agreed to go?

Something like that.

Why, why?

Well, our insurance carrier advised us to dismiss him.

Malpractice suits?

Three. All very big and all requiring sizable out-of-court settlements.

Dr. Mangrum started out as medical director of a large hospital in Atlanta.

His next step was down to the staff of a smaller hospital in Los Angeles.

After being fired from that position, he went to work at a clinic in Long Beach.

May I talk to you?

It depends about what?

About Dr. Mangrum. My name's Harry Orwell.

Mr. Orwell, why should I tell you anything?

Because my feet hurt.

What?

My feet hurt.

There's a podiatrist down the hall. Would you like to make an appointment?

I would rather you had pity on me and talk to me about Dr. Mangrum because my feet hurt.

Mr. Orwell, my feet hurt all day, every day.

Well, ask me a question and I'll be glad to answer it.

Dr. Mangrum was fired.

Why?

There were some items missing from the pharmaceutical inventory under his control.

Any charges made?

No. The clerk who was the main witness against the doctor refused to testify.

Is he still here?

No.

Do you remember his name?

Horace Ball.

Is he black?

How do you know that?

My feet hurt. I'm very intuitive. May I borrow your phone?

Feel free to use the telephone.

Harper home.

I'd like to speak to Horace Ball.

I'm sorry. It's his day off.

Well, I'm a friend of his and I lost track of him and I'm sending out some wedding invitations and I thought maybe you could give me his home address.

Sure. Hold on.

It's 1039 Banner Street.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Who's that?

I don't know.

You don't know? What do you mean you don't know? You give out all sorts of information and you don't even know who to?

Well, he just wanted Horace's address. What's the big deal?

The big deal is your big mouth.

Ma, what are you getting so excited about?

Nothing. I'm not excited. It's nothing.

Hey, I'm looking for a guy named Horace Ball. You know where I can find him?

Yeah, I know.

Where?

I said I know. Didn't say I was going to tell you.

Who's that lady I saw you with last night?

What are you talking about?

I want to play straight for you. I thought maybe you could work that into your act.

Hello, Horace.

This guy's looking for you.

We met at the Farber home.

We didn't meet. We were just there at the same time.

I'd like to talk to you about Dr. Mangrum.

It's my day off.

It's my day off.

It's a nice car.

I didn't know you were in the car business.

I'm a private detective.

I'm a physical therapist.

You come up in the world.

Now what's that supposed to mean?

Last I heard you were a clerk.

Come on, Horace. We're late.

Why didn't you testify against Dr. Mangrum?

Goodbye, Mr. Orwell.

Dr. Mangrum speaking.

Are you awake, Courtney?

Yeah. Of course I'm awake.

There's a private investigator named Orwell been asking questions about you.

Be very careful.

I don't want you to cause any embarrassment to the organization.

Yes, I understand.

Good.

I wasn't having much luck with Dr. Mangrum at the Farber nursing home,

but I did manage to locate Kim's father.

His name was Chang Lee, and he was in jail on the charge of grand theft auto.

How are the children?

They're concerned for you, but otherwise they're fine.

Sue's got a couple of days off, so they're well taken care of.

I'm not a criminal, Mr. Orwell.

This is all a mistake.

I'm sure the police will realize that and release me.

Well, tell me what happened. Maybe I can help you.

When I received the cable from my sister saying that the children would be arriving with Miss Ingham,

I realized I didn't have a satisfactory means of transportation.

So you went out and stole a car.

No, Mr. Orwell. I picked up the newspaper and looked under used cars.

I did not have a lot of money to spend.

There was an ad that caught my eye because the car was priced below comparable cars.

I telephoned and asked if I could look at it.

Where?

At Mr. Chesson's house.

Mr. Chesson?

The gentleman who sold me the car.

Why does he live?

134 Benson Drive.

And then what happened?

The car was in excellent condition. I bought it.

Did you get the pink slip?

Pink slip?

Yeah, proof of ownership and transfer of title.

I do not know of such things. I know I had the car and Mr. Chesson had my money.

And then as I was driving to the airport for the reunion with my family, I was arrested.

It doesn't check out. There is no Mr. Chesson.

134 Benson Drive is an empty house that has been up for sale for six months.

There is no registration, no pink slip, no bill of sale.

The vehicle identification number has been filed off and he has temporary phony license tax.

That sounds very professional.

Orwell, there's nothing you can do.

Where can I buy a stolen car?

So you finally decided to get rid of my nemesis.

No, I haven't decided that.

Then why do you want a stolen car?

I want a stolen car. I want to find a guy who sold an innocent man a stolen car.

Harry, that's big business and you can be in a lot of trouble.

Where do I start?

With the want ads.

What?

They almost always deal in cash.

Yeah.

You find anything about Mangum?

Yeah, and all of it's bad, so I guess we have to expect the worst.

There's only one way you're going to find out what caused the death of your father.

What's that?

You're going to have to have the body exhumed.

Get an autopsy done by a private pathologist.

An autopsy is something I want to think about tonight.

Do you want me to take her in?

I really wish you would.

Okay.

Mr. Orwell, I did not come out here all the way to the beach because I like the sea air.

What I would like is for you to explain that exhumation order.

Why do you have to open up the grave, Mr. Orwell?

Why the autopsy?

Because I think you're Dr. Mangrum's a quack.

How can you say such a thing?

Well, over the last few years, he's had about a half a dozen successful malpractice suits filed against him.

Two state medical associations have censured him.

Is that true, Mom?

Well, this is the first I've heard about it.

It's the truth.

Excuse me, Mr. Orwell, but because you say it's the truth doesn't make it absolutely true.

Do you know what I mean?

I can prove it.

Then I suggest you put your residence in care of another doctor.

Well, why so fast? That's not fair to him.

I'm turning my information over to the Lawler Committee.

You might find yourself liable for negligence, criminal negligence.

I don't understand.

Dr. Mangrum is the medical director of other nursing homes besides ours.

He is?

Well, at least six that I know of.

And he came with such good recommendations.

Yeah, who recommended him?

A friend.

Who?

An associate, a business associate.

Operator, this is Mobile, KG 62114.

Would you get me 232-4699?

Yeah, hello.

Listen carefully, I haven't very long to talk.

I work for the Farber Nursing Home and I found out some information about Dr. Mangrum that you'd like to know.

You meet me at the fruit stand on Point Dumay Road near the Pacific Coast Highway in 20 minutes.

You got that?

And you bring 50 bucks with you.

No, no, no, make that 100.

Well, the steered linkage is screwed up so it could have happened the way he says.

But you don't believe it, do you, sir?

Don't put words into his mouth.

I was set up.

Oh, you're paranoid.

I talked to the company dispatcher.

This truck makes this run ten times a day with the same load.

The driver just lost control, that's all.

What happened to the guy in the back seat?

He was driving the same thing he was driving.

Oh, I see.

He was driving the same thing he was driving.

I don't believe it.

You don't believe it?

I don't believe it.

Oh, I can't believe it.

I can't believe it.

I can't believe it.

I can't believe it.

I can't believe it.

I can't believe it.

I just lost control.

What happened to the guy?

Maybe a mystery caller got scared.

Maybe he didn't want to show up with so many police cars.

I know the way he feels about the police cars.

Please do not involve me in traffic accidents.

I have better things to do with my time.

Robert!

Let me know if I say anything too technical for you to understand,

or if I get too graphic for comfort.

Mr. Johnson, my examination has raised some serious questions

about the treatment your father was receiving.

What kind of questions, doctor?

Well, for one thing, according to you,

your father had been receiving medication

for his high blood pressure for years.

Mr. Orwell told me Dr. Mangrum prescribed hydrolozine

in one of the diuretics of the chlorothiazide family.

I found no evidence of either medication in the body.

You mean Mangrum wasn't giving him the medicine?

I didn't say that.

The patient may simply not have taken the drugs given him.

No, no, no, that's crazy.

My father was a fanatic for taking his medicine.

If he got it, he would have taken it.

If he didn't get it, he would have just torn that place apart.

Then I can't explain my findings.

Maybe he was taking what he thought was medicine.

Doesn't make sense. Why would a doctor give...

Is there anything else, doctor?

Yes, there is one more thing.

I believe your father was malnourished at the time of his death.

There were definite signs of a protein-deficient diet.

That's a pretty ugly autopsy report.

Can you move on?

Wow! A 78-year-old man dies under circumstances

that can be legally explained in half a dozen ways,

including senile self-destruction.

And you want to know if I can act on it?

Yes.

Orwell, my job is the investigation of crime.

Hey, Dr. Mangrum is a dangerous incompetent,

and you've got to do something about it.

He's got dozens of old people in his care.

This is not the State Board of Medical Examiners

or the County Health Department. My hands are tied.

I do not license doctors or inspect nursing homes.

Orwell, you are in the wrong office.

All right, I'm sorry.

But I can't help feeling the way he does.

He's black, Mangrum's white. He's a mechanic, Mangrum's a doctor.

He's poor, he thinks Mangrum is rich.

What is he going to think except the worst?

Hey, wait a minute.

Mangrum!

Operator, give me the police.

Mangrum!

This is the Farber home for the agent.

Some man just came breaking in here.

Mr. Johnson, what are you doing here?

I'm looking for Mangrum.

Dr. Mangrum is no longer associated

with the Farber home for senior citizens.

What are you talking about?

I fired him.

I checked on all those things Mr. Orwell told me about his past.

They were all true.

Mom, are you all right?

Of course I'm all right. Why shouldn't I be all right?

Well, this wild man came charging in here.

I called the police.

I thought he was going to kill somebody.

Yeah, I would have.

I'm sorry Mrs. Farber.

But if you see that doctor, you tell him to stay out of my sight.

Because if I see him, I'm going to make him pay for my father.

He's going to wish he was dead.

Dean, call the police back.

Tell them you made a mistake. They don't have to come.

I can't, I can't wait much longer.

I have to have a delivery and I have to have it today.

Now look, I'm getting sick here.

I know the indications.

If you don't provide for me, I'm going to have to take drastic steps.

And I mean drastic. I have a diary here.

I have a diary that has everything in it.

I mean everything.

Now wouldn't the authorities be interested in that?

God, you have to take care of me.

Calm down Courtney.

I'll take care of your needs.

I'll have someone over there very shortly.

You can relax Courtney.

Now look, that reference to my diary, that was not a threat.

I'm not a threatening man, you know that.

I don't complain, all I need is my little bond.

I don't object to my salary going back to you.

Now I'm not greedy, I'm not bitter.

My only request, well alright, yes.

I certainly do appreciate you taking care of this matter.

Have a pleasant day sir.

What are you doing here?

What are you doing here? You can't force your way into my apartment.

Doctor, my name is Harry Alwell.

We met at the hospital. I'd like to ask you some questions.

Why don't you sit down, have yourself a seat here Mr. Alwell.

If nothing else, I'm a believer in southern hospitality.

Unfortunately, I cannot furnish the usual refreshments.

You see my lard and my liquor cabinet are depleted at the moment.

However, what can I do for you my persistent friend?

You're a junkie aren't you, Duckett?

Oh my, what an ugly word.

Yes, I must prefer to say as De Quincey would that I have acquired the habit.

A devotee of the poppies bloom.

Who owns the nursing home?

You are a question addict Mr. Alwell.

Who do you really work for?

Have you read De Quincey Mr. Alwell?

Confessions of an English opium eater?

Oh, it's marvelous writing.

I've shared his dreams, his visions of heaven, and his glimpses of hell.

Is it Mrs. Farber?

Mrs. Farber, oh Mrs. Farber is a little dumpling.

Her addiction is money.

Well everyone has one, you know, one sort of addiction or another.

We're all slaves to our habits Mr. Alwell.

Mine happens to be illegal.

Where do you get the stuff Horace?

Mr. Ball.

Mr. Ball's like one of those hands.

He's like one of those cast iron stable boys we used to have on our lawns before they were considered gauche.

Those halcyon days before they scrambled the classes into an equality omelet.

Now there's a pity for you.

Why do you pay for your habits? You're a doctor, can't you get all you want?

Oh, I do not pay for my habits Mr. Alwell.

There's a benediction.

A gentle rain that washes away all of my cares.

Then what do you do with $150,000 a year income?

Where did you get that absurd figure?

From corporate records filed with the state.

I'm surprised at you Mr. Alwell.

There's no figure more fanciful than official documents, you're a grown man, you should know that by now.

You kick back your salary doctor.

Forgive me Mr. Alwell.

Our little chat is over, you're going to have to leave now.

You haven't told me who you work for.

Listen Mr. Alwell, if anything should happen to me and you want to know the whole splendid story, just read my copy of De Quincey.

Not any copy, just my copy.

Alright, where do I get it?

It's not available at this time. Mr. Alwell!

Oh, oh my God.

Dr. Mangrum was a very strange and pathetic man, a puppet on the strings of heroin.

But who was pulling the strings?

A cute reference to a copy of De Quincey's wasn't much help.

I've been looking for an ad for a stolen car.

If only stolen cars were legal, that would have been easy.

But it was hard to tell from a two door sedan, V8, auto, air, Lando, vinyl, roof, BS, PP, RNH, private party, if a car was stolen or not.

But the only hint I had was that the price was cheap and the last line said cash only.

Hello?

I'm calling about the ad in the newspaper.

Yeah, it's a real beauty.

Can I come over and take a look at it?

Sure, why don't you come over to the house now?

Just drive around to the back.

Where's that?

134 Benson Drive.

134 Benson Drive?

Right. So long. See ya.

I called Trange and I told him what I'd found.

Well, I also asked him if I could borrow Sergeant Roberts.

Hi.

Hi. I'm Al Jason.

Are you the guy that called about the car?

Yeah, yeah, Harry, oh well.

Harry, I hate to part with it, but the little lady insists on a new one every two years.

I think she likes to change the color scheme of the house, which she also changes every two years.

You don't mind if my mechanic takes a look at it, do you?

No, go right ahead.

Looks okay to me.

Okay? Come on, it's in mint condition.

You just can't get anything on a trade-in these days.

The car business is so bad, the dealers can't afford to buy used ones.

I don't think he's gonna find anything wrong with it.

I never had any trouble with that car. It's just the wife's whim.

We already bought the new one.

She's out taking a spin in it right now.

Well, there's probably nothing wrong with it. I got the money.

Oh, gee, that's great.

Here, let me give you the pink slip.

Can I have a bill of sale?

Huh?

A bill of sale for taxes, just anything.

Well, if you want it.

Let me go in the car, I gotta get something to write on.

I don't know how you do it all well, but you're right.

Vehicle identification number's been filed off and the new one comes in.

Assume number?

That's it.

This is all I could find to write on.

I'm not used to this.

I'll bet you are.

Do you have the right to remain silent?

If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can.

I don't understand this at all.

Wait a minute, will you please?

Mangrum!

We got a call. There was a fight going on at the house.

The arresting officer found Johnson standing over the body.

His fingerprints were on the tire iron that killed Mangrum.

A few hours earlier, we got a complaint from the Farber nursing home

that Johnson had been there, threatening the doctor for allegedly causing the death of his father.

That's a lot of evidence all well.

It's all very convenient, isn't it?

Convenient phone calls, anonymous tips.

One murder and one near miss.

And how about Mangrum's house? Who messed that up, huh?

Who could have been putting up a fight?

In this condition, he couldn't whip a sack full of cats.

It did look like a thorough search.

Were you part of the lab team?

Yes, I was.

They didn't have him to find the confessions of an English opium eater by Thomas DeQuincy?

No, we didn't find him.

Well, I mean, the inventory isn't complete yet.

Confessions of an English opium eater?

I like the six-pence.

No! You are not his family. No.

He doesn't have a hell of a lot of family left.

All right. Ten minutes. No more all well. Ten minutes.

How are you feeling?

How would you feel?

Harry, Mangrum was dead when I got there.

How did your tire iron get there?

I just don't know.

And didn't you miss it at the garage?

Well, you don't miss anything like that until you need it.

You said you got a phone call?

Yeah, I got a phone call from a guy who had just quit Mrs. Farber's home.

And he said he had some information about Dr. Mangrum and how my father died.

And he gave me only 25 minutes to get there.

And I was only there about two minutes when the cops showed up.

Yeah, it's a professional frame.

Well, why would anyone want to frame me?

Well, you were convenient. It was a clean way to get rid of Dr. Mangrum.

Harry, you can get me out of this.

Yeah, I'll have to. You're the only mechanic that'll work on my car.

Oh, well. We checked on the truck driver. He tried to run you down. He has a record.

What time?

Two arrests per possession of cocaine. Nothing recent. Small quantities. Apparently he's a user.

Where did you live? What's your address?

Ocean Trailer Park, space 61.

If you're interested, his name is Jerry Cash.

You win some and you lose some.

I'd lost Jerry Cash, but I'd managed to find Chang Lee for his children.

Say you may get your money back from that Chisholm or Kravitz or whatever his name is.

The next time you go to buy a car, let Kim handle the negotiations.

Thank you, Mr. O'Gall.

Let's go home, Chirrut. The bus stops right by our door.

Oh, well, I've always felt you could use some vocational guidance.

Now is the perfect opportunity to consider camp counseling.

I mean, you're terrific with kids. There's the outdoors, all that exercise.

You remember what that is, Orwell?

What's the lab have on Jerry Cash?

Yeah, he OD'd on heroin. Whoever he made that buy from wanted to make sure it was his last.

The only leads I had left were Thomas DeQuincy and Mrs. Farber.

Thomas DeQuincy was dead and Mrs. Farber had a date with the Lawler Committee.

If there was any connection between the two, I hoped it might come out in her testimony.

Now, Mrs. Farber, are you in the nursing home business?

Well, why else would I be here?

Please don't answer questions with questions.

I beg your pardon. I will answer only with answers.

Thank you.

Now, Mrs. Farber, the committee's staff has discerned...

I would like to make a statement.

Now?

Right now.

Very well.

Um, the whole thing was the fault of that terrible, God rest his soul, Dr. Mangrand.

He was an actual dope fiend and a thief.

He stole drugs and even food.

And he charged the state for tests he'd never made.

And he did not take proper care of those dear old people.

He used to sit in his office and listen to music and read books.

He even went to sleep in there.

Is that your statement?

Yes. I wanted you to know the whole truth. I wanted to get it off my chest. So help me God.

Thank you.

Now, Mrs. Farber, since you've brought up Dr. Mangrand's name, can you tell us how you came to hire him?

He was recommended.

By whom?

I don't remember.

Was it the same person who financed the initial purchase of your business?

I don't recall.

Who did finance that purchase?

I, um, I... excuse me.

I can't answer that question.

Why not?

Because it might possibly tend to incriminate me.

Mrs. Farber may not have been giving much useful information to Senator Lawler, but she had given me the answer to one of my questions.

Where to find Thomas DeQuincy?

Jack!

Mr. Orwell, what are you doing here?

Well, I want to get into Dr. Mangrand's office.

I don't know if I can let you go in there.

I feel it's locked.

No, it's not. There's nobody in there.

You try.

Uh-huh.

Coolant?

What's going on here?

Is this what you're looking for, Mr. Orwell?

Yeah, that's it.

What's that?

That's Dr. Mangrand's stuff.

As they say, it's all in the book.

What's it called? The Confessions of an American Opium Eater?

You won't get a chance to read it.

Why don't you ask him who he works for?

All right, let's go out the back with the fellas. Come on, let's go.

Down the hall to the left, gentlemen. Down the hall.

Over there. Put your hands on the bread right here.

Jack, go check the alleyway.

I got Mr. Orwell.

Now!

Jack! Jack!

Come on, get up.

What's going on in here?

I just told the folks that dinner's going to be late.

Previous testimony has indicated that Mrs. Farber's role in your operations was that of a front merely.

According to Dr. Mangrand's diary, Mr. Brand, you diverted over $400,000 in prescription drugs from the rest homes under your control.

Is that true?

I refuse to answer on the grounds of possible self-incrimination.

That means that old people were given placebos or often no medication at all. Is that true?

I refuse to answer on the grounds of possible self-incrimination.

That failure to provide needed medication coupled with inadequate nutrition probably caused many premature deaths. Isn't that true, Mr. Brand?

I refuse to answer on the grounds of possible self-incrimination.

Mr. Brand, I fail to comprehend your callousness. Now, you have the ethics of a vulture, and to our deep shame, we have all played a part in providing you with victims to feed upon.

The witness is excused.

Matthew Brand?

Yes?

I am informed for your arrest on the charge of first-degree murder and the death of Dr. Courtney Mangrand.

Sergeant, your associate Horace Ball is giving a recital. It's a small but select audience from the district attorney's office, the attorney general's office, and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Let's go, sergeants.

Your father's still alive, Aaron?

Yeah, he lives in Florida.

When's the last time we talked?

We'll be right back.