Original subtitles

And it was one of those afternoons.

The crossword puzzle annoyed me.

I didn't feel like working on the boat and the fog was getting ready.

I could feel it coming in my back.

The seagull's scream didn't tell me anything. I had no premonition.

I had no picture in my mind of Andre Tannio fighting for a life in the water.

Not then, and not hours later when it actually happened.

How is the Coast Guard, Admiral?

Her boat must have broken up on the rocks.

They're listing your wife as lost at sea, presumably drowned.

No, they're wrong.

That is from your boat, isn't it?

A lucky lady.

They think your wife, her body, will wash up in a day or so.

The way the currents move, you can't be exactly sure.

They simply don't understand.

She couldn't have drowned.

She was a magnificent swimmer.

When we were stationed in the Mediterranean,

she swam four, five miles a day.

I'm sorry, Admiral, there's no other explanation.

There has to be another explanation.

When the boat hit the rocks, maybe Andrea was thrown violently against something.

Possibly even knocked out.

The shock of the cold water revived her.

She swam away from the wreck.

She got her bearings and then she headed for shore.

She could be wandering around now, dazed, even injured.

I want you to find her.

I'm afraid this won't be a police matter for another 48 hours.

Unless, of course, you believe there may have been foul play.

I have no reason.

And I'm sorry, Admiral, there's nothing more we can do for you at this time.

When the Admiral's lawyer called me, the first

thing I did was check with the Coast Guard.

A retired military man with a missing wife wasn't exactly news.

Well, anyone with a missing wife isn't exactly news.

But I tried to keep an open mind.

I'm sorry to have kept you waiting.

I have a lot of memories.

Well, the world was simple then.

There was good, there was evil.

I have some photographs of my wife.

How long were you married?

Andrea and I were married 18 years ago.

It's been a perfect 18 years.

Perfect?

She's kind.

She's supportive.

And she's concerned.

Really concerned.

About me.

I was told your wife's an experienced sailor.

Yes, extremely.

And that there were no small craft warnings out.

And visibility was unlimited until late afternoon.

Well, that makes for a very unusual accident.

Well, no one knows the exact time it happened.

She could have run into a pocket of fog.

And there's always the possibility of the unusual when you're alone in a boat.

Well, we don't know that.

I mean, there might have been somebody with her.

No.

She was alone.

Was your wife an unhappy woman?

What are you getting at?

Nothing.

I mean, was she upset recently?

Was she depressed?

Was she...

Despondent?

Despondent.

If you knew my wife, the possibility of her

taking her own life would not even occur to you.

Well, I was wondering if she thought as highly of your marriage as you.

What are you, Mr. Orwell?

A marriage counselor?

I told my attorney to find a private investigator.

You see, I handled a missing wife case about a year ago from your attorney.

It turns out she wasn't missing at all.

She was hiding.

Just waiting for some sign of affection from her husband.

When the private investigator came along, that was me.

That's all she wanted.

That was a symbol for her husband's caring.

I didn't like that.

Don't like to be used.

I don't spend my money on symbols, Mr. Orwell.

My wife is missing.

She's not just another picture.

Something to pin old memories to.

Can you understand?

She's the only real thing in my life.

Without her, I...

Can you understand?

Yes, sir.

But I can't ignore reality.

Coast Guard has a pretty exact picture of what must have happened.

Now, when you're dealing with people or the sea, Mr. Orwell, nothing is ever exact.

There are a thousand odd reasons for someone

to be missing, and only one of them is death.

According to the admiral, Andrea Tannehill spent most of her afternoons at the club.

Playing bridge, gossiping, maybe drinking a little.

Well, just being alive gets lonely sometimes.

For some people, it starts hurting at three in the morning.

And for some, it's three in the afternoon.

Hi.

Andrea Tannehill.

I read about her in the paper.

White wine on the rocks, a splash of soda.

Regular customer.

You a policeman?

No, I used to be. I'm self-employed.

Well, then, I got work to do.

Did she ever leave with a man?

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

Catchy.

If you want to know about her personal life, why don't you ask Mrs. Lucas?

They were friends.

Play a lot of bridge together?

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

Mrs. Lucas, I'm a private investigator.

How private?

Oh, Andrea.

Gone off for a few days, long enough to drive her husband crazy.

It's an old game. I always play it.

Did she play too?

You get paid by the day?

Yeah.

Day's almost over.

It is?

Somewhere in the world.

You're right.

May I?

Why not?

We've seen each other before.

Any port in a storm.

Keep back, okay?

Don't know yet, Harry.

About 100 yards offshore, rolling in with the tide.

One of the lifeguard towers spotted her.

I think you better have the Admiral come down to the morgue.

Right.

They want you down at the morgue.

They could be wrong.

That's not Andrea.

My instinct was absolutely correct.

My wife is alive.

Wandering someplace.

Manny?

Manny, take a look at this.

Quite a lady, Mrs. March.

If this is only part of her past, I'd say lady is the wrong word.

Any connection with Mrs. Tannehill?

Yeah, they were together that afternoon at the Sea Island Club.

The last time anybody can place Laura March alive, she was with Mrs. Tannehill.

At the marina.

Yeah, but nobody saw them go aboard the boat together.

No, but near it.

Broken neck, crushed windpipe.

Doesn't seem likely a woman could have done it.

No way, too much strength involved. It's got to be a man.

Check it out with the coroner.

Manny, what about the Admiral? You going to tell him about this other stuff?

Mr. Orwell is the private entrepreneur.

You know what I need, Doc?

Yeah, you already told me.

A back transplant.

Yes?

Oh, hi, Doc. I got to talk to Harry.

You want to talk to him here?

Yeah, why not?

Sure, be my guest.

How you feeling?

Fair.

It's better than bad.

Harry, we got the coroner's report and the floater's identity.

Report says death by strangulation.

Now, no marks of a weapon.

A rope.

Apparently human hands.

And that was broken.

Name is Laura March.

Husband's in the Orient.

Import, export.

We found a lot of pictures in her apartment.

Pictures all over the place.

Here's a file copy you want. Take a look.

The Admiral's wife.

And Laura March.

So they were friends.

Maybe they were both on the Tannehill boat.

We're checking them.

All right, all right.

Maybe I'll let you know if we find out.

You can do better than that, Manny.

I can do worse, too, Harry.

You know something? You ought to try me sometime.

In case I want some answers on this from you right now.

You got another copy of this for your files?

Yeah.

Oh.

Tray?

Yep.

Okay.

Well, now you're under the deal.

Well, come on. What have you got in the case?

Nothing.

Harry, you just said...

Never make an assumption without the facts.

Didn't they teach you that in the police academy?

Admiral.

Mr. Orwell.

The woman whose body floated up yesterday was named Laura March.

Did you know her?

No.

Well, from the police, it's obvious...

there were a lot of men in Laura March's life besides her husband.

Apparently, she had one affair after another.

Tennis pros, golf pros.

What's your point, Mr. Orwell?

I told you, I don't know the woman.

Apparently, your wife did.

Just what are you trying to imply?

Well, your wife is a very beautiful woman.

Really? Because she's beautiful and young?

You find it necessary to use your own neurotic imagination...

to construct some disgusting story.

It's cheap. I don't want to hear any more.

I'm sorry, Admiral. I mean it.

The facts, huh? Your wife is...

My wife is no longer your concern, Mr. Orwell.

You don't understand. Admiral Laura March was murdered.

Your wife...

I don't think you understand, Mr. Orwell.

You've been fired.

Getting fired didn't bother me nearly as much...

as the feeling that I'd hurt the Admiral without helping him.

But a man like that's hard to help without hurting.

The last of the gentlemen.

You know, they ought to stuff him and put him in the Smithsonian.

But I liked him, and I figured I owed him.

This time, it was on the house.

You're the pro here. That's right. Frank Hutchins.

Yeah, Harry Orwell, private investigator.

I ought to get back to the pro shop.

You just follow through, remember, to keep hitting them.

Just follow through.

Did you know Laura March?

Look, I already told the police all I know about that.

How about Andrea Tannehill?

I gave her lessons.

After the lessons, did she leave with anybody?

Man, all you guys ask the same questions, don't you?

Police?

No, there was some other private investigator out here...

asking all about Andrea.

What was her name?

Mrs. Tannehill.

What was his name?

Didn't get his name.

What did he look like?

You know, a serve-and-rush-the-net type. Aggressive.

Be a little more specific.

Well, he was about six feet.

Late thirties.

Fair skin.

Gray hair.

Yes, I gave you a number a while ago.

In Phoenix.

Would you try it again, please?

Hello?

Hello?

Looking for me?

No.

I read about poor Laura.

You knew her?

Only casually.

But then that's the way I know everybody.

Sometimes that's a matter of choice.

Don't be so smug, Mr. Orwell.

What do you know about my choices?

You think I'd choose to have my husband gone half of his life...

running up his expense account on some young...

Do you think that I'm going to choose to turn 40?

You think that?

You're so damn smug.

I'm sorry.

I...

I didn't mean it, I...

Pass.

No, I'm sorry.

What do you want to know about Laura?

Was she a friend of Andrea Tannehill's?

Andrea had a lot of friends.

Just friends?

You mean men, don't you?

One man in particular.

That's none of your business.

Over here, Jordan.

You two know each other?

No.

Jordan Briggs, this is Harry Orwell.

Why don't you do my back?

See, he has his choices too.

You know?

What's that all about?

Just a private joke.

Private joke, private investigator.

How do you know that's what he does?

I've seen him around, asking questions.

You know, about that friend of yours, the one that's missing.

Andrea Tannehill.

What did you tell him?

Nothing much.

Why don't we talk about me?

It's a shame to waste all this in the sun.

They told me at the Navy Club,

I could probably find the Admiral at the Maritime Museum.

He was working on a history of the Battle of Midway.

I'll send you your check.

I'm not here for the money.

Admiral, sooner or later, you're going to have to face the truth.

Our woman's been murdered.

If your wife is still alive, she might be next.

Why? Because Laura March and Andrea were friends?

Because they knew the same people?

Not the same people, the same men.

The time for gentlemanly behavior is past.

You have to tell me about your wife, about the way she lives,

about the men she spends her afternoons with.

She spends her afternoons with me.

We both know that's not true.

There were no men.

Or one man, one particular man.

Andrea told me she was going to our boat that afternoon.

She had a decision to make.

Whether or not she was going to leave me.

What's his name?

That has nothing to do with him. It was a long time ago.

Come on, Admiral, I have to know his name.

If she tried to tell me about it,

I wouldn't listen.

I didn't want to know his name.

When I looked back,

the Admiral was still standing there in the museum,

coming apart inside.

There was something tragic about him,

like one of those characters in a Greek play.

A man who carried the seeds of his own destruction.

As for Andrea, I figured if there was one person

who would know the name of the man involved,

it would be Mrs. Lucas.

She didn't answer her phone,

so I took a chance in going to her apartment.

That's not your husband, is it?

You said he was gone.

I told you he's in Washington.

Or somewhere.

Maybe they'll go away.

Or maybe they won't.

Who is it?

Harry Orwell.

What do you want?

I just came out of the shower.

Well, now that you're out of the shower, may I come in?

Can't you come back later, some other time?

No, I have to talk to you.

About Andrea?

Yep.

Wait a minute, I'll put on a bathroom.

Who is it?

Oh, that investigator.

Orwell.

What's he want?

Oh, something about Andrea.

Don't worry, I'll get rid of him.

Well, I don't know what you think I can do for you.

Andrea had an affair, the Admiral told me.

So you're not protecting anyone, she told me.

That was over with, years and years ago.

I have to know his name.

Tom Fielding, okay?

Where does he live?

How is that important?

But if Andrea is still alive, she might be hiding there.

From what?

From whoever killed Laura March.

Well, he used to live on his boat at Marina West.

Let me see if I still have his...

Oh yeah, here.

Slip 38, Dock A, Marina West.

I got it, thanks a lot.

It's okay, he's gone.

Yes, I know.

I'm sorry.

It's okay.

Hey, Mrs. Tannehill!

Come on, Mrs. Tannehill, I know you're in there.

My name's Harry Orwell, I'm a private detective.

The Admiral sent me to find you.

Mrs. Tannehill.

You've got to believe me, they found Laura March's body.

She's been murdered.

If you were with her, you could end up the same way.

I'm here to help you.

Come on, take a look at my picture.

Here's my identification.

You've got to trust somebody sooner or later.

My husband is...

He's not an easy man to live with.

Who is?

The Admiral is not an easy man.

Period.

He expects everyone to be as strong as he is.

I am a disappointment to him.

How am I feeling?

It has nothing to do with this.

I had nowhere else to go.

I remember that...

Tom used to leave a key under the mat.

It's not very imaginative, is it?

The Admiral loves you very much.

I didn't leave my husband for Thomas Fielding.

I left Tom for my husband.

I was very young when I married the Admiral.

He was like a god to me.

He taught me to read books,

listen to music,

watch the sunset.

Everything. Everything I am.

And no, I owe to the Admiral.

And I am not worthy.

Do you have any idea what it's like every day of your life to feel unworthy?

Can we go back to the time you were on the boat?

Uh...

Well, there was Laura and a man.

I didn't know his name.

They, uh...

They made some drinks.

I went below to...

to lie down, I wanted to think.

I didn't mean to fall asleep.

But I'd been drinking too.

You weren't aware they'd taken the boat out.

When I woke up, I heard voices.

Loud voices.

What did they say?

I couldn't make it out.

It was just shouting.

And Laura screamed.

Then there was this terrible crashing sound.

I...

We'd hit something. I was thrown from the bunk.

And I rushed up on deck.

I couldn't see anything clearly. At first, there was heavy fog.

I saw Laura...

lying there.

Oh, I'll never forget the way she looked.

Her eyes, staring.

And that goes...

So you didn't...

see the man dive off?

No.

Oh, I looked out and there he was, swimming away.

I must have heard the boat breaking up because...

as he turned...

he turned and looked at me.

Saw me watching him.

Then?

He started swimming toward me.

Toward the boat.

I... I ran to the other side.

Just as it started going down, I dove off.

Oh, thank God for that fog.

What were you doing down there?

See the man kill Laura March.

But he thinks you did.

Can you identify him?

When I actually climbed...

finally climbed out of the water, I...

I rushed over to the pier, to the phone booth,

and started dialing for the police.

I saw the man again.

Walking on the pier, I...

Oh, God, I knew he wanted to kill me.

I panicked and I ran.

Okay, let's get you out of here.

Oh, no. No, I can't. I'm afraid.

Is our phone on board?

It's been disconnected.

All right, you stay there. I'll be right back.

I'm going to use the phone on the pier.

You hungry?

Here.

I hadn't thought about it.

Yeah, she's okay, a medic.

She's scared. She needs protection.

There's a squad car in your area, Harry.

They'll be there before you can hang up.

Thanks.

Mrs. Cunningham!

Mrs. Cunningham!

No! Let me go!

Oh, it was him!

It was him, the same man I saw.

He tried to kill me.

Hey.

Come on, I'll take you home.

Are you...

Are you really home?

Lieutenant Quinlan.

Now, Manny, this is Harry Orwell.

Listen, this is a very long shot,

but from the way she described him,

I think I met the guy with the Mrs. Lucas.

Her husband, I don't know. He's a businessman.

I don't know.

They live in the 300 block on Ocean Front Drive.

Yeah, I'll see you there.

How bad is she, Manny?

Watch that, she'll be okay.

MMO is lower marks,

and we got the name of the guy from her.

This is Lieutenant Quinlan

at the Delafrado Apartments.

You tell Sergeant Garber

to get over to the Sea Island Club.

There's a Jordan Briggs registered there.

You're a nice person, Manny.

Harry, your job's over.

Yeah, Briggs.

Arrest him if he's there.

Charge his attempted homicide.

All that. All that.

All that. Everything upstairs.

All that.

Don't touch the phone when it's gifted, all right?

Hey, Garby.

What do you got?

What's this?

Just a picture of a woman.

An old shirt?

Nope.

Read that to me.

I haven't got my glasses.

Erwitt

Photographic Studios,

Phoenix, Arizona.

Hold on to it.

It's evidence.

Operator,

give me the code

for Phoenix, Arizona.

Grand Staff,

I'm with the District Attorney's Office.

Admiral Tannehill is expecting me.

Do you want me to sign my name?

No, that's okay, Mr. Grand Staff.

Operator, 904.

I got your number

from the Erwitt

Photographic Studio

in Phoenix.

I'm surprised he still travels

with that photo.

The divorce papers were filed.

Divorce? When?

Last week.

What were the grounds?

Irreconcilable differences.

Infidelity, Mr. Orwell.

Would you mind telling me

the name of the woman

and if she lives here?

Could be important.

You've got it all turned around.

I'm the one.

When did he find out?

I thought he knew all along

and just

let it happen.

Then one day he...

Hey,

do I have to discuss this?

No, no.

You've been very cooperative.

Thank you.

You'll be engaged

before long.

Can I help you?

Yes, I'm Louis Grandstaff,

District Attorney's Office.

I'm here to see Admiral Tannehill.

Weren't you on the Eckford case?

Oh, there must have been somebody else.

You know what they say about those cops,

we all look alike.

Admiral Tannehill,

Louis Grandstaff,

District Attorney's Office.

Won't you come in?

Oh, by the way,

Lieutenant Quinlan asked me

to tell you to report back to headquarters.

I think I better check down at the car.

Yes, Mr. Grandstaff.

What is it?

Well, actually,

it's Mrs. Tannehill I wanted to see.

Oh, she's resting right now.

Oh.

I'm sorry, but it is quite important.

Well,

just a moment, I'll see.

Oh, won't you sit down?

Hey.

What are we doing, Lieutenant Quinlan?

Yeah, I'm home.

I'll hold him.

Hey.

Can you get Manny Quinlan on this?

Yeah, he's coming right on.

Quinlan here.

Hi, Manny.

Harry Ower.

Listen, I got a line on Briggs.

I talked to his wife.

She left him for another guy

he filed for divorce.

I think we've got a very disturbed man in our hands.

How so?

Well, Laura Marge is a married woman.

Mrs. Lucas is a married woman.

It looks like every married woman

that says yes,

he wants to kill.

I think he's trying to kill his wife

over and over again.

I was dreaming.

That time at Cap D'Antin.

Do you remember?

We had that wonderful picnic

up in the hill by Vance.

What a lovely day that was.

Even though it rained.

We'll go there again, Andrea.

Maybe next time

it won't rain.

Would you like that?

I'm not sure.

Where are you, Manny?

An assistant DA

got stuck in front of his house.

I got the call on my way over there.

Yeah, Stan.

What's the matter?

He's upstairs.

What are you talking about?

I just let him in the Admirals' apartment.

Get me Edward.

I went out that last afternoon

because I had a decision to make

about us.

You know me well enough

to understand that

I can't even try

to influence you.

Come on inside, quick.

Hit it.

Not with your shoulder,

with your foot.

Ian, get a hold of her.

Get the cuffs on her.

Come on.

Come on, Ed.

Get the cuffs on her.

Come on.

Kipling,

I would never have suspected

you being interested

in the classics.

And it helps me

with the crossword puzzles.

That I would have suspected.

I stopped by your house.

Your next door neighbor

said I might find you here.

I have your check.

Sit down.

Here.

What do you have from Andrea?

She asked me to thank you.

Think you two will get back together?

It's up to her.

Well, it must be lonely

on Mount Olympus.

If you had ever been

deeply in love with a woman,

you wouldn't have to speculate.

I'm not speculating.

The tunneled and the shouting dies,

the captains and the kings depart.

Still stands that ancient sacrifice

and humble

and a contrite heart.

Good luck, Admiral.

Thanks for watching.

Thanks for watching.