Original subtitles

Lincoln X-ray Ida 4-8-3.

One-Adam-12. A 415... fight group

with chains and knives.

♪♪

Uh, gentlemen, pardon me. Sir?

Malloy and Reed, right?

Yes, sir. Is there something we can do for you?

Yes, indeed there is.

I especially want to talk to Officer Reed.

I'll wait inside. Oh, no, no. I want you to hear this, too.

Everything open and above board. Please stick around.

Well, we've got work to do.

Could you get to the point?

Good. That's what I like.

A no-nonsense approach to business.

Do you know who I am?

No, sir. Afraid not.

Very well. I'll lay it on the line.

Two weeks ago, you arrested my son for drunken driving.

William Erickson.

The name ring a bell? I remember.

Good. His case comes before the court tomorrow.

I understand you plan to appear against him.

You have to appear, is that correct?

Yes, sir. It was my arrest.

Very well. Now listen carefully, Reed.

I'm listening. Fine.

I'm about to make you a proposition,

a strictly business proposition, I assure you,

but one that might change the course of your life.

Well, I can just hear the wheels turning.

You're thinking, "Boy, that guy had nerve.

Offering us a bribe right in the middle of the police station."

You're reading my mind. Yeah, mine, too.

Well, gentlemen, you couldn't be farther off base.

That's why I wanted you here, Malloy, as a witness.

A witness to what? To a job offer...

at triple his present salary,

for Mr. Reed here.

Surprised, young man?

Well, I'd say that's a fair assumption.

Oh, there's no need for it.

Let's just say that I'm impressed

with the first person on earth

who's ever lowered the boom on my son.

Bill's a bum, a first-class bum.

I hope the judge throws the book at him.

Is that understood? I'm not sure.

Well, your testimony will determine that, I suppose.

To a large degree, yeah.

I see.

Now, tell me truthfully,

what shape was Bill in when you arrested him?

This case hasn't been adjudicated yet.

I'm not at liberty to discuss it.

Oh, that's good. That's fine.

For the first time in his life,

Bill actually knew what he was talking about.

You're my man. Your man for what?

Well, I'm a manufacturer. That Erickson.

Now, now do you know who I am?

Yes, sir.

Two of your factories are in the area we patrol.

That's what I wanted with you, Reed,

to head up the defense

in my new plant in the Northwest.

I've already got a job.

Thank you just the same, Mr. Erickson.

Your son must be pretty important to you, Mr. Erickson.

I told you, Bill's worthless, but he is my son.

Are you gonna be in court tomorrow, Mr. Erickson?

Of course.

But win, lose, or draw, the job offer still stands.

Sleep on it, then make up your mind.

The answer's "No."

Erickson will contact you again.

In the meantime, I'll pass this on to the Captain.

He may want to advise the District Attorney's office.

What Erickson doesn't realize

is that I can testify to the same thing Reed can.

That's what I mean.

When it occurs to him, or his lawyers tell him about it,

he'll be in touch again.

His son's got two priors, both 502s.

If he gets convicted of a third,

he'll go to jail.

It's pretty obvious what Erickson's trying to do.

I'm inclined to agree.

But on the basis of your statement,

the D.A. would be sticking his neck out

to issue a complaint charging attempted bribery.

I doubt if he'd consider it.

He covered his tracks pretty well, partner.

Yeah, he sure did.

Three times your salary. Not a bad offer, Reed.

You need an assistant?

I'm sorry, Lieutenant.

About what? Malloy's already applied for the job.

So I can't believe my eyes.

I look out front and here's this

big black limousine pulling up.

A guy I never saw before.

He gets out and walks in

like he's with the country club.

So when he starts asking me questions about you, Reed,

I figure he's a big shot from the police department.

What, did he introduce himself?

Yeah. "Mr. Erickson," he says.

Who is this guy? What's the deal?

Oh, he's a yacht salesman,

and we're thinking about getting one.

Sure. Sure you are.

Good morning, Duke.

Hi, Mr. Thomas.

More coffee? No, thanks.

Pass.

Could I speak to you fellows a minute?

Meet Pete Malloy, Jim Reed.

Mr. Thomas, he's an old customer of mine.

Old is quite correct, my friend.

Come on, you're just getting started good.

Hey, have a cup of coffee. It's on the house.

Thanks.

You look like a man

with something on his mind, Mr. Thomas.

Oh? How can you tell?

I don't know.

A policeman's instinct, I guess.

You wanna talk about it?

When I was a kid, I used to think if I had one wish

I'd want to know the place that I was going to die.

And then I wouldn't go there, don't you see?

You look pretty healthy to me.

We used to laugh about it, Irene and I.

Is that your wife's name, Irene?

These keys, I want you to use them.

Sir?

Uh, one is the key to the front door

of the rooming house.

That one.

The other's a key to a room.

Room 209. That's where Irene is.

Poor Irene.

She should never have gone to room 209.

Why is that, Mr. Thomas?

Because that's where she died.

When did she die?

About 15 minutes ago.

I strangled her.

Can't we go in there?

I'd like to be with her as long as I can.

I'm sorry, Mr. Thomas.

Hi, Reed.

Better make it official.

I called you before we discovered the body.

I thought she might still be alive.

Why did you do it?

She could have married anybody in the whole county,

and she chose me.

How long had your wife been sick?

I worked, and I worked hard,

but I never seemed to get anywhere.

All of a sudden,

we were old, the both of us.

Strangulation from the looks of it.

Yeah, I know.

Her name's Thomas, Irene Thomas.

The old boy's wife?

He really must have had it in for her.

I wonder what made him do it?

Because she asked me to, that's why.

Your wife asked you to kill her, Mr. Thomas?

For the last ten years I've watched her suffer.

The medicine didn't help anymore.

This morning, it was worse than ever.

I sat in there and held her hand.

She prayed to die.

Finally, I offered to help.

She smiled.

The first time in weeks.

I asked her if she really meant it.

She nodded her head.

I leaned down and kissed her and...

then I did it as fast as I could.

Here's your DOA slip.

Thank you.

Yeah... you're welcome.

You better call Homicide.

She had dignity.

She had it in life

and she deserved it in death.

I did all I could to help her find it.

One-Adam-12, One-Adam-12, see the man. A 484 report.

8260 Alban Street, at the factory.

Well, Malloy and Reed.

I guess I got lucky, didn't I?

Not really,

since this is part of the area we patrol.

You reported a theft, Mr. Erickson.

Oh, yes, yes.

It was one of those small portable bars.

One of the keg type. You know, about like so.

Are you familiar with that type?

Yes, sir.

On the way in,

we were admiring your security system.

I'm surprised that a thief managed to penetrate.

Well, so am I, frankly.

But the fact remains, gentlemen, that the bar,

which contains several bottles of expensive liquor,

was stolen from this very office.

What was the value

of the objects taken, Mr. Erickson?

Oh, several hundred dollars

I should say, at least that.

Has the thought occurred to you

that the thief might be an employee?

That's the first thing I thought of, naturally.

As a matter of fact, I'll be disappointed

if it works out any other way.

Your security?

Precisely.

An employee is bad enough,

but better that than to think

that some outsider could penetrate these premises.

You see, gentlemen,

we do a lot of classified work here,

a fact that I hope that both of you

will have an opportunity to learn

for yourselves very soon. Both of us?

I've been thinking, Malloy.

It was wrong of me to offer Reed a job

without agreeing to employ you also.

After all, you're partners.

I see.

I'm curious, Reed.

When I left the station this morning,

did you brief your superiors right away?

Sir?

It was fairly obvious

that you thought I was trying to offer you a bribe.

If you're the man I think you are,

then you reported it immediately.

I'd hate to disappoint you.

You haven't,

and I don't think you will in the future.

But I repeat,

win, lose, or draw in court tomorrow,

the job offer still stands.

That also goes for you, too, Malloy.

Thank you very much.

By the way, my son's in a meeting.

He'll be sorry he missed you.

That's all right, Mr. Erickson.

We've already met.

Yes, well, about the theft,

my secretary has all the information,

and if you'll just stop on your way out at her desk,

she'll be glad to fill you in

with the details.

Thank you for coming in, gentlemen.

Yeah. We'll see you in court, Mr. Erickson. Yes.

Bring us some coffee, huh? Yeah, sure.

Good morning, counselor.

Hi, Malloy, Reed.

What's the deal?

Light case load this morning?

Never happen.

Since when do you guys have time for coffee before you go to court?

We don't, but I'm taking it anyway.

Hey, Duke, make it three!

You're handling the Erickson case, aren't you?

Yeah, among a dozen others today.

Oh, incidentally, I got a call from a Williams

in the D.A.'s office this morning.

He wired me in on the attempted bribe.

Wants me to let him know

if Erickson makes another pitch to you guys.

Does Williams think he can make a case against Erickson?

Not yet, but it'll be interesting to see if he tries again today.

Hey, mind if I join you? Yeah, sit down.

Tom Stark of the city attorney's office, Duke Dukowski.

Hi, counselor. Duke.

Well, I guess you guys are going to court this morning.

In about an hour.

Hey, did you ever get a chance to talk to Mr. Thomas?

Yeah, last night.

The old boy's feeling pretty rocky.

What are you talking about, the mercy killing?

Yeah, Duke's an old friend of the suspect's.

What do you think, counselor?

Any chance a jury might let him go?

I doubt it.

Killing for mercy is something

society's not quite ready to accept.

The old boy's the most gentle guy I've ever known.

Yeah, gentle enough to strangle his wife.

Sure, because he loved her.

Duke, how old is Mr. Thomas?

Pushing 80, I guess.

So they give him life in prison.

Yeah. Yeah, I see what you mean.

He could be out in no time.

Here they come.

They go first class, don't they?

Yeah, it looks that way.

That's their lawyer with them.

His name is Edwards.

I wanna talk to him before we go in.

Wait for me, will you?

Well, good morning, gentlemen.

Good morning, Mr. Erickson.

You remember Mr. Reed and Mr. Malloy?

Yes, sir, indeed I do.

How are you fellows? Fine, thanks.

Mr. Erickson.

Well, I see everyone's in civvies today.

What's the deal?

It's our day off. Oh, that's too bad.

Do you get paid extra when you

go into court on your day off?

Yeah, time and a half.

Good, glad to hear it. You deserve it.

Well, what do you think of our new security people?

I'm delighted with them.

Maybe we can get together next week sometime for dinner,

sit down and, uh, talk over some ideas for the new plant.

You'll love the Northwest. Great country.

Fishing, hunting, plenty of time to relax.

You play golf, of course.

No, sir. I used to caddy.

Oh, well, we'll have to get you started.

Bill here's a seven handicapper.

He's a good instructor, too.

Have you busting par in nothing flat.

Hey, we've got about ten minutes.

We better get a move on.

Well, nice seeing you, Mr. Erickson.

Nice seeing you.

Uh, everything all right?

Feel okay?

Yeah, fine. Never felt better.

Good, good. See you later.

Yeah.

How'd it go?

Well, Erickson's still coming on strong.

How strong? That depends.

What's par for attempted bribery? I wish I knew.

What did you want to talk to their lawyer about?

I asked him to agree to a stipulation.

I told that you're both gonna testify to the same thing.

So we agreed that only one of you had to take the stand.

Me. Right.

Officer Reed, would you mind telling us exactly

how may field sobriety tests you've conducted

since you first became a member

of the Los Angeles Police Department?

Well, in conjunction with my partner,

three or four dozen, I suppose.

No, you misunderstood me.

I didn't mean in conjunction with your partner.

I mean tests that you've personally conducted.

Tests that resulted in conclusions

arrived at by you alone.

One.

Really? Only one?

Yes, sir, the test I administered to Mr. Erickson.

Well, now, that's, uh, very interesting.

Tell me, Officer Reed,

why, in this particular occasion,

were you allowed to conduct this test alone?

My partner wanted to see how I'd handle the situation.

Oh?

A sort of on-the-job training program,

is that right?

No, sir, as a check on the training

I'd already received.

I see.

What is your status

with the police department, Mr. Reed?

Are you a policeman or a trainee?

I'm a probationary policeman.

Which means that you've been with the department

for less than one year?

Yes, sir, that's correct.

Now on the day that you arrested Mr. Erickson,

your partner decided that you were finally ready

to conduct your first field sobriety test.

Did he make that statement? No, sir.

Did he make this statement:

"Take him, Reed, but be careful?"

Yes, sir.

He was referring to conclusions

I might arrive at by observing

Mr. Erickson when he got out of his car.

I see.

And how did Mr. Erickson act, Officer Reed?

Did he stagger? Fall? Lurch?

No, he didn't stagger or fall.

Did he lurch? No, sir.

He just walked precisely as you told him to do

from his car to the sidewalk.

Isn't that what happened?

Yes, sir. He walked like a man on a tightrope.

A man on a tightrope. A well-balanced man.

No, sir, a man about to fall off.

A judgment call, I presume?

Yes, sir.

And what did your judgment tell you about the, uh,

appearance of Mr. Erickson at that time?

Was his shirttail out? His tie askew?

No, sir.

But he looked drunk to you? Why?

His eyes were bloodshot and watery.

His face was flush, speech slurred.

When he dropped his wallet,

he swayed when he bent over to pick it up.

All in your best judgment, right?

No, sir, that was an observation.

What did you do then, Officer Reed,

on that memorable first occasion?

I administered the first part of the field sobriety test.

Mr. Erickson was unable to walk a straight line.

I asked him to hold his arms out,

tilt his head back and touch the tip of his nose.

In attempting to do so,

Mr. Erickson lost his balance

and nearly fell.

Leading you to conclude what, Officer Reed?

That Mr. Erickson

was under the influence of alcohol.

He was unable to safely operate a motor vehicle on a public street.

Can I give you fellows a lift someplace?

No, we've got my car. Thanks, anyway.

What do you think he'll get out of it, Mr. Stark?

Well, this is Erickson's third conviction

in less than seven years.

When the judge sees those two priors

on a probationary report,

he won't have much choice.

It's pretty well spelled out.

Six months in jail an a $1,000 fine.

Well, nice going, Officer Reed.

That was quite a performance.

Dad, please. Shut up.

And my the way, Reed,

that job that I talked to you about is filled.

Yours, too, Malloy. Yes, sir.

I have to apologize for my father, gentlemen.

May I speak with you both a moment?

Sure, go ahead.

Are you out of your mind? Go get in the car.

There's one thing

I want both of you people to understand.

I am not through by a long shot.

Yes, sir. Just remember that.

Mean talker, isn't he?

Yeah. Scared, partner?

Petrified.

Let's get something to eat, huh?

See you, counselor.

Morning, Lieutenant. Morning.

Lieutenant. Reed.

Well, Reed, from the looks of this,

you'll be with us a while. Sir?

Your report from yesterday.

I see where Erickson's withdrawn his offer of a job.

Yeah, Malloy's, too. We were crushed.

I just checked with the district attorney.

He says he still can't make a case for attempted bribery.

Well, I guess that's that.

Thought you'd like to know.

Yeah.

Well, partner, back to the old grind.

Lieutenant Moore.

Hold it just a minute!

Yes, sir. Would you repeat that, please?

I see.

Would you hold it just a moment, please?

Reed, grab a phone out there and trace this call.

What's up?

Bill Erickson's in a phone booth

somewhere in the downtown area.

He says he's gonna commit suicide.

Yes, sir. Right.

No, I'm gonna check it out.

He says he wants to talk to you or Reed.

Yes, ma'am. This is a police emergency.

The call's on extension five.

I'll hold. Yes, ma'am.

Of course, they're working today.

Yes, now here's the problem.

They've just left the station.

I'm going to do my best to find them,

but it may take a few minutes.

Can you tell if he's sober?

Yes, by radio.

I'll put it on the air immediately.

Sounds like he's been drinking.

Says he has a cyanide capsule

and as soon as he talk to you or Reed,

he's going to swallow it.

Well, keep stalling him. I got an idea.

Yes, ma'am, I'm still here. Would you please hurry?

Yes, ma'am.

She thinks it's gonna take a while.

What was the name of that bar that Erickson was driving away from

when we busted him on the 502?

Jack's something or other.

Jack's Beard at Ennyo and K Street.

Well, be reasonable, Mr. Erickson.

If you plan to kill yourself,

what difference does a few minutes

going to make one way or another?

Yeah, is this Jack?

I'm trying to locate Bill Erickson.

Has he been in this morning?

I see. But he's not there now, huh?

Okay, thanks very much.

He left the bar five minutes ago.

He couldn't get far in five minutes.

Look, you stay here. If you have to,

get on the phone with Erickson, keep him talking.

Right.

One-Adam-12, regarding the attempt suicide.

The telephone company reports the booth

is located at the northwest corner,

L and Ennyo Streets.

Excuse me, sir. Can I borrow your coat? It's an emergency.

Hey, what's the gag? It's no gag.

There's a man down the street in a phone booth

threatening to kill himself.

I'd like to stop him,

but if he sees my uniform, I might not get the chance.

Sure, why not?

Thank you.

Just wait here.

I'll get it back to you as soon as I can.

No, no, no!

All right, Bill, that's it.

Give it up.

Drop it! Give it to me!

I suppose he bribed you to do this, too.

No, sir.

So you got one lousy pill.

There's plenty more where that came from.

We've only got one problem.

You have, huh?

Keeping you away from 'em.

Lieutenant? Yeah, he's okay.

We're on our way in.

Let's go, Bill.

I can't believe it. My own son.

I kept telling him to lay off the booze,

and he wouldn't listen to me,

and now he's in a padded cell.

No, sir, he's in a psychiatric ward.

The boy needs help, Mr. Erickson.

I'll help him.

Wait till he gets out of there.

I'll ship him off to Timbuktu.

When you're finished with that report,

I want to check it.

Yes, sir.

Funny.

In that rooming house where Thomas killed his wife,

I felt bad, but not dirty.

Around Erickson, I feel crummy.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

You look at 'em,

one of them's kind, even...

even gentle, like Duke said.

The other one's a conniving egomaniac.

And which one is in jail?

The murderer.

Yeah.

Come on, let's get to work.

♪♪

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