This is my boss, Jonathan Hart. A self-made millionaire.
He's quite a guy.
This is Mrs. H. She's gorgeous.
What a terrific lady!
By the way, my name is Max.
I take care of them, which ain't easy...
'cause their hobby is murder.
And I always thought she was a natural blonde.
She only has white wine before dinner.
A case of white wine before dinner.
-You know, we're off to Vail next weekend. -I didn't think you'd like to ski.
Darling, my instructor likes to ski. I like to opérez ski.
He had it wrapped in tinfoil and taped to his fist.
-The customs found it anyway. -Now, that's really the pits.
Yeah, it'd be easier to smuggle diamonds.
Where are you and Jonathan going tonight?
The Save the Condor benefit at the Chandler's.
-I've already done four heads for that party. -Really?
I'm leaving now, Barry.
We still on for tonight?
You know me. I can never refuse dinner and a show.
Well, you have to make the dinner, honey.
I've never seen her around here before. Is she a new one?
Just a little girl from San Antone.
-Nice kid. -Sure.
-Her daddy is in oil. -Oh?
And you better be careful he doesn't boil you in it.
I'm sorry, ZsaZsa, but Barry is booked solid.
I know, dear.
Everyone in here is trying to save the condor tonight.
Well--
All right, maybe he can come to your house after we close.
But I'll have to call and confirm.
I understood that, ZsaZsa. My first husband was Hungarian.
Mrs. Hutchins, it's only Tuesday at 1:00.
-You're Wednesday at 2:00. -I know, Sophie.
There's just something I forgot to let Barry have...
last time I was here. It'll only take a minute.
I don't suppose Mrs. Hart will mind.
You know, you're incredible, Barry. No wonder the women find you irresistible.
Barry, watch out!
-What happened, Sophie? -She started shooting at Barry.
-Jennifer? -I'm over here, darling.
I don't know. This woman came in and she started to shoot up the place.
-Are you all right? -Can you find my other earring?
-Darling, are you all right? -I'm fine.
Boy, when I said come and pick me up, I didn't think it would be off the floor.
-Sweetheart. -Barry.
-Barry? -Over here.
-Are you all right? -Yeah.
I guess she didn't like the way I did her hair last time.
Who is "she"?
Sally Hutchins.
-You're gonna have to call the police. -No, don't call the police.
Look, Sally's a good person...
and whatever it was that pushed her to do this...
she's gotta be one tortured lady.
But, Barry, she tried to kill you.
Yeah, well, she didn't.
And I'm just glad you weren't hurt.
So, look, excuse me, I gotta get this place cleaned up.
Darling.
The condor is gonna be extinct by the time we get there.
I'm sorry, darling.
It's just that I've never had a .45-caliber frizz before.
After we feather the condor's nest...
what do you say we come home and feather our own?
What a good idea.
-You know something? -What?
I know Barry has got a great reputation, but I love it when you do your own hair.
You know something? I do, too.
It's just that he's always so nice to me about how I look...
and concerned if I have anything special to do. I just feel...
it's my obligation to check in with him every once in a while.
He ought to pay you.
-You can't buy that kind of advertising. -He's really a very nice person.
That's why I was so shocked about what happened today.
Did you believe him this afternoon?
Frankly, no. Did you?
Well, not unless he's protecting the lady for some personal reason.
-You mean an affair? -Could be.
I don't know. She wasn't really his type.
-Darling, can you check this out? -Yeah.
You have heard of unrequited love?
No, not really.
-You know what I mean. -Yes, I do.
But all the girls in the shop talk...
and they told me that he's really very up-front with all his ladies.
I don't think he'd let anything get that far.
What's this?
I must have picked it up when I was looking for my earring.
That certainly isn't an earring.
That looks like something you'd find in a hair dryer.
Or something.
I can imagine what today must have been like for you.
Sort of like the Alamo, right?
I'll be okay.
I heard what happened to your place. I just wanted to drop by and talk.
-Mr. Micklin, I don't want to talk to you now. -I wanna talk. Now.
Get rid of the girl. Get rid of her.
Look, I got a business meeting. Kind of unexpected.
-I'll wait up for you. -No, don't lose any sleep.
Sally Hutchins was your latest client, wasn't she?
How much did you put the screws to her for, Micklin?
Now, don't lose your charm. Now, you're famous for that.
I'm about to lose my patience is what I'm about to lose.
That'd be losing your head.
You bring new meaning to the word "thug," you know that?
Barry, now you're really being rude.
That's not charming at all. But no matter.
How many spoilt kids really respect their godparents?
Now, you take some fatherly advice.
You don't call the police, and you don't call the insurance company.
They ask too many questions.
I'm sick and tired of you telling me what to do.
You should listen to your elders, Barry.
Otherwise, you may wind up choking on your charm.
This is Mrs. Hutchins. What's that?
I don't sound like myself? Well, I'm not myself.
Is my husband still in the conference?
I see.
Well, would you give him a message?
Would you just tell him that I hope we could drive to the beach...
and talk like we used to do?
And one more thing.
Will you tell him I'm sorry, really sorry.
Morning, Max.
Isn't it a beautiful day, Max? We ran two miles.
Beautiful day. You can't prove it by me.
Hey, Max. I haven't seen you look like that...
since you killed a bottle of sake on Japanese New Year.
I couldn't be impolite to my host.
Anyway, last night was no celebration.
What happened?
While you two were doing your bit for the Audubon Society.
I got in a little game with some birds of my feather.
Poker?
They poked me.
Don't worry, Max, you'll win it back next time.
Won't be any next time. The guy who won big...
got a big job with some prince from Norway.
My dough is on the noon flight to Oslo.
I'll get it.
Who is it?
I'd like to see Mr. and Mrs. Hart. It's Sophie Green.
I'm sorry I didn't call first.
Sophie Green's at the gate.
Tell her to come on up.
Come on up.
-Shall I pour? -Yes.
-Black? -Please.
The reason I came is that I really am terribly worried about Barry.
Call it motherly instinct.
And I don't know exactly what or why...
but he seems to be like in quicksand.
-Can you be a little more specific? -I wish I could.
Every time I ask him, he shuts me up.
Do you know anything about Barry's relationship with this Sally Hutchins?
He is just her hairstylist.
There's no chance that they might be having an affair?
As much chance as there is of the Dodgers going back to Brooklyn.
-You're sure of that? -Look, I go back 10 years with Barry.
He loves women, but he does draw the line at married ones.
Married?
Sally Hutchins is married?
He's an industrialist named Martin Hutchins.
You know, she really is a very lovely lady.
You mean she was a very lovely lady. Look at this.
What?
Oh, dear God.
Oh, the poor woman.
Poor Barry.
Barry, look, why do you pay for this out of your pocket?
You have insurance. Why don't you let them pick up the tab?
I just don't understand you. What are you doing to yourself?
Sophie, you worry too much. Just let me run my shop my way.
Listen, return all the calls. The shop's gonna reopen on Saturday.
If there's any urgents for tonight, I'll make house calls.
Okay, Doctor. You must have some bedside manner.
Hi, he's all yours.
Here, you take care of this stuff.
Hey, what are you two doing here?
-We just wanted to see how you were. -I'm fine.
But it took God even seven days to get it together.
And that wasn't out of pocket.
Sophie's a worrier.
You know, she does have a point, though. I mean, most people would have...
the insurance company pick up a tab like this.
Have you thought about that?
I get special deals from my suppliers. All this stuff's first-class...
high-quality equipment.
The insurance companies never cover replacements completely.
So I found I do better if I write off costs as improvements.
You heard about Sally Hutchins, didn't you?
Yeah. I was stunned.
But after what happened here, she was really in bad shape.
Do you have any idea why she was so angry when she came here?
None.
Aren't you even interested?
You two are the greatest friends a guy could ever have...
and I appreciate what you're doing.
But just let me handle this, okay?
No, not over there.
Excuse me, this little creation is gonna take eight days.
Here, I'll take care of it.
You take care of that stuff.
Look, this stuff's gotta be ready by Saturday, okay?
That means all of this. Everything....
-What's the matter, darling? -I just have this funny feeling...
that Barry's not really in any position to ask for help.
I've got that same feeling. Hello, Max.
Listen, we'd like to have you keep an eye on Barry Saxon for us.
We wanna know who he sees and where he goes.
Sure thing, Mr. H.
Is there somewhere I can reach you if I get anything?
We're going to see Sally Hutchins' husband. We'll be home after that.
And, Max, we'll be cooking Italian tonight.
Que será, será.
I put a list of all the phone calls that came in this morning in your study.
I don't think any of them have to be answered right away...
except perhaps the one from Mrs. Hutchins' sister.
And then I'll just finish clearing out Mrs. Hutchins' desk before I leave.
Thanks for your help, Gail.
-Thank you. -Thank you very much.
Mr. Hutchins, Jonathan Hart.
-My wife, Jennifer. -How do you do?
-Thank you very much for seeing us. -It's all right.
This is Gail Davis. She was Sally's secretary.
-How do you do? -Hello.
How do you do?
Forgive me, I have some work to get back to.
We're very sorry about what happened to your wife.
Thank you.
I was just cutting some of these to take to Sally.
She loved them so much.
Tended them so carefully.
As if they were her children.
You said you were friends of Barry Saxon?
Well, actually, I've been a client of his for a number of years.
-We've grown to know him quite well. -He's very disturbed about what happened.
Sally was not a violent person.
She was one of the gentlest...
most dependable people you'd ever hope to meet.
Gail could tell you.
You know, she tried to call me last night.
I didn't get the message until after my conference was over.
Until it was too late.
Sally seemed strained recently.
Because, usually, I spent too many nights with my business...
not enough with her.
I have a lot of nights to think about that now.
Thanks very much, Mr. Hutchins.
Darling.
Right. Just keep making them nice and thin.
Leave it to me.
You know, in my early years, I was able to stretch a buck pretty far.
-How am I doing? -Great.
-Is this really the way the Italians do it? -I don't know.
But if it isn't, it should be.
What is this? An Italian laundry?
If you don't play the game, don't make the rules.
I play the game.
-How'd it go, Max? -I got plenty.
Guess who showed up at Barry's today?
Harold Micklin.
-The loan shark? -Teeth and all. He and Barry had a long talk.
Now, I don't understand that at all.
Barry's a very successful man. He has shops in New York, Dallas...
Palm Beach.
What would he be doing talking to a man like Micklin?
After Micklin pulled away...
his two goons went into the building right next door to Barry's.
I followed them, but I lost them inside.
I asked the maintenance man where they went.
He said they got an office on the second floor.
In Beverly Hills?
-Isn't that a little high rent for a loan shark? -That's what I thought.
Them two apes don't belong on that street.
They're there every day at 9:00, except Monday.
Monday.
Why Monday?
It must be a religious thing in the loan business.
Open Sunday, closed Monday.
Max, did you happen to get the superintendent's name?
Right here. He's there tomorrow morning at 8:00.
Alfred Carbona.
Alfredo, as in fettuccine.
Alfredo.
You see, Mr. Carbona...
Harold Micklin was the best man at our wedding.
We just flew into Los Angeles yesterday, and we'd like to surprise him.
-Harold loves a good joke. -Really?
I've never seen him laugh.
As a matter of fact, I've never even seen him smile.
-He saves it for very special friends. -Yes.
And we are really special.
We'd just like to wait in his office for a while.
-To surprise him. -I don't think he likes surprises.
-I could get in a lot of trouble. -Darling.
Mr. Carbona...
for you.
-Homemade pasta. -From our home.
-Fettuccine. -Alfredo, you said a mouthful.
Well, since you put it that way.
Second floor, last door on the left.
But if you have a problem, I don't know you.
-Won't Harold be surprised to see us? -Yes.
Down there.
I'll get the tape recorder inside the trunk.
See you upstairs in a few minutes.
Rather Spartan, isn't it?
Yeah, downright austere.
Just the basic necessities: a reel-to-reel recorder and an aquarium.
Maybe they use that to reel in the fish.
-Hello. -Hello.
-What the hell are you doing in here? -Darling.
-Actually, we're with The Humane Society. -Yes.
And we were just checking to see if the piranha was being fed.
Look.
Hold it right there.
Run for it!
Jon!
Nowhere to go but up.
Come on, they went upstairs.
Nowhere to go but down.
Put the gun down.
All I can say is it's a heck of a way to get me into bed.
You have very inquisitive friends, Barry.
I had nothing to do with it.
Well, tell the Harts to stay away.
From you and from me.
I'll try and talk to them.
Barry.
Don't say anything you wouldn't want me to hear.
I'm a fellow who keeps his ear to the ground.
I want his phone book.
If he can't convince the Harts, we'll have to.
-A little lower, darling. -Pleasure.
I forgot how much I love the strength in your hands.
I thought you loved me for my strength of character.
Oh, well, that, too, but not necessarily in that order.
-That's the spot. -Right there?
Darling...
let's not jump off any more high buildings, please.
What is it?
It reminds me of when we used to play touch football.
This reminds you of when we used to play touch football?
Well, yeah. Only, it wasn't really touch football, was it?
You used to tackle me all the time. Even when I didn't have the ball.
What did the ref say?
There was no referee. It was in the living room.
Darling...
let me tell you something about touch football.
Touch football is for kids.
Now tackle, that's a contact sport.
And you know how I am about contact.
Contact.
-You noticed. -How could I help it?
You see, it's not that I really mind.
-But you never let me score. -Hey, darling.
-Scoring isn't everything. -Oh, yeah?
Oh, yeah.
Two-minute warning.
Max, it better be good.
Barry Saxon is here to see you.
-We'll be right down. -Okay.
And I know the two of you mean well, but it can only create a problem for me.
Guys like Micklin have a way of coming down around your shoulders.
Quite honestly, Barry, you really are baffling us.
You have a lot of well-heeled friends.
If you needed money, you could have asked any one of them for help.
Well, I'm not particularly interested in advertising my debts to my clients.
But Micklin's a hood.
And I'm certainly not interested in letting people know...
I've had dealings with him. Believe it or not, I still have some pride.
It's just that we'd like to see you stay in one piece.
So would I. So please stay out of all this.
I wouldn't want my business with Micklin to hurt anyone else.
Especially you.
I gotta go. Thanks, Jonathan. Don't bother seeing me to the door.
Bye.
Boy, is he frightened.
-He certainly is covering up something. -Yeah.
Micklin has to have his fishhooks in him pretty good.
How do we find out? We can't go back to that office.
No, we can't, because they've seen us.
What do we usually do when they've seen us?
You know what we usually do when they've seen us.
-We call on you-know-who. -I wonder where you-know-who is?
Max. Hey, Max!
-You hollered, Mr. H? -Yeah. You've heard of Micklin Enterprises?
Yeah. I heard it....
I want you to go down there and try to take a loan out for $2,000.
What's the matter? Your credit suddenly no good?
No, my credit's fine.
I'm just interested in knowing whether they're in the loan business...
or in the blackmail business.
-I'm practically there. -Thanks.
Now...
if we could just find out more about Sally Hutchins...
we might have something going for us.
Say, what about her private secretary?
-Gail Davis. -Gail Davis, that's right.
Well, they were supposed to be close.
Why don't I go see if she's listed.
-When did Mr. Hutchins leave for Europe? -Right after the funeral.
-And you're housesitting? -That's right.
He didn't want to go away and leave the place empty.
He just wanted to get away in a hurry.
He really blames himself, doesn't he?
He's taking it pretty hard.
But it wasn't entirely his fault.
-I think it was a whole series of things. -What sort of things?
Well, midlife crisis, for starters.
And, yes, her husband's neglect.
She had to do something about it, you know what I mean?
No, I don't think I do.
She told me there was a guy. Nothing serious, just a flirtatious weekend.
But afterwards, she had tremendous guilt about it.
Did she tell her husband?
She was afraid it would break up their marriage.
She still loved him.
It's such a shame.
In the last few weeks, she seemed even more preoccupied...
and tense than usual.
Did she ever say anything unusual or out of character?
No.
Come to think of it...
she wanted to sell a necklace.
A very expensive one that Mr. Hutchins had given her.
And she didn't want him to know about it.
-Did you ask her why? -Yes, she changed the subject.
Of course. Listen, business couldn't be better.
Yeah, it's open. Here's what I had in mind.
I....
What do you want?
Hey, them's are beautiful fish.
Look, let me call you back. Right.
Yeah.
My cousin Allie. Allie Carbona, the super, he sent me...
because I got into a financial dilemma.
-You gave at the track. -And a couple of other places.
The truth is I'm in a little bit of a financial bind.
-What do you want from me? -Two G's. $2,000.
-Look, Mr.... -Sal.
-You can call me Sal. -The point is I didn't call you at all.
But Allie says you're in the money-lending business...
-and I sure could use two G's real quick. -Now look, Mr. Sal.
I just deal in large sums of money with substantial collateral.
Collateral?
-You mean something behind a loan. -That's right.
In other words, I don't wanna have to repossess your mother...
if you know what I mean.
No problem. I got plenty of collateral.
I got a car. I got only one loan on a house.
Now, look, I told you, I just deal in large sums of money.
Now, if you don't mind, I'm a little busy here.
I understand. Well, nice meeting you, Mr. Micklin.
Can I take one of these brochures?
Go ahead.
One nice thing about fish, you don't gotta walk them.
Darling...
now why would Sally Hutchins sell her jewellery without her husband knowing?
-Maybe she's a secret gambler. -Maybe she's being blackmailed.
She was a very desperate woman.
-Anything for me? -Yeah, these are yours.
Your monthly statement from Barry's is in there.
Small world.
Let's hope it's a small bill, too.
Mr. H, I think you're right.
Micklin ain't in the loan business no more.
Oh, yeah? What did you find out?
I went down to the office like you told me, tried to negotiate a loan for two G's...
made believe I was somebody else. I offered to put up plenty of collateral.
And he himself, personally, turned me down cold.
Any reason why?
He said he wasn't interested in piffling amounts, just big numbers.
And get a load of this.
I glommed onto one of his brochures. He's got offices all over the country.
Beverly Hills, New York, Dallas, and Palm Beach.
Max.
Run those cities again?
Beverly Hills, New York, Dallas.
-Palm Beach? -Right.
Barry has salons in all those cities.
No kidding.
Darling, what's the area code for New York?
-212. -And the information?
-555-- -1212.
1212.
-Never remembers numbers. -Never.
Hello, Operator?
Could you get me the telephone number for Barry's Hotheads in Manhattan?
Thank you. And what's the address there?
Fifth Avenue.
And one more number, please, Micklin Enterprises.
That wouldn't happen to be on Fifth Avenue as well, would it?
It is. Thank you.
That's right. And I'd like to have their addresses in Dallas, too, please.
Right.
Thank you very much.
Yeah. Micklin Enterprises.
"M" for mob, "l-C-K" for icky, L-l-N.
In every single case, the salons and the Micklin addresses were side by side.
-What's the tie-up? -Darling.
Max, you remember you said that Micklin's was open every day but Monday?
-Yeah, that's right. -So are hairdressers.
And you remember what you thought was your earring?
That turned out to be a bugging device. I sent it out to a lab to be analysed.
So it really is blackmail.
What do you wanna bet that there's one of those in every one of Barry's salons.
And a reel-to-reel recording machine in every one of Micklin's offices?
-But what are they listening to? -Darling.
Who is it some women tell their deepest, darkest secrets to?
Okay. So now you know.
Except for one thing. Why?
Why?
-I've got a pretty nice place, don't I? -The best.
In my business, it's not just the styles you create.
It's the image, the atmosphere, the trappings, the whole thing.
And when I started off I wasn't exactly what you'd call 'bankable.
So you went to Micklin for a loan.
Yeah. It was innocent enough, at first.
Barry, you're one of the most successful businessmen in the country.
Why didn't you just pay him off?
'Cause I found out you don't just pay off people like Micklin.
I had to agree to every one of my salons being bugged.
It's a blackmail business.
Taking advantage of what women tell their hairdressers.
And Sally Hutchins was one victim who found out...
-where the information had come from. -Yeah.
I didn't know until the day she came in and shot up my place.
I've never known who they are. I never wanted to...
and I've never taken one penny of it.
I guess Sally thought I was the one who was blackmailing her.
Do you think the FBI should be called in on this?
Do you think they could get enough evidence?
No, no way.
None of his victims will come forward.
And he destroys the tapes as soon as he's heard them.
Why don't we give Micklin...
one last tape to play around with?
Who's gonna be blackmailed?
I'm gonna miss you, Barry.
A month in Paris will slip by as smooth as a....
I don't know. I just got back from a month in Spain.
It didn't slip by like a bottle of....
As a matter of fact, it was boring. All business.
Jonathan's really wheeling and dealing on both sides of the pond, isn't he?
If he's not careful, he might fall into that pond.
-What do you mean? -Well, confidentially...
Jonathan's playing a very dangerous game with money.
The authorities wouldn't be exactly thrilled, if you know what I mean?
Don't tell me Jonathan's sticking his fingers into his company's till?
He's up to his old tricks again.
Selling the same shares over and over again.
He just sold 10,000 to some investors abroad...
and he's doing the same thing here.
Jonathan could sell snow in Siberia.
I gotta hand it to him. As long as he doesn't get caught.
I'd like to meet the man who's a match for my Jonathan.
And so you shall, Mrs. Hart.
And so you shall.
I don't know. I sure hope this will work.
But I still wish we could just raid Micklin's office.
That would be great. Don't you think that would be great?
I don't think that would be such a good idea, Lt. Montgomery.
Yeah, you have a point.
After all, the only thing we'd be able to prove is that...
he's recording these conversations from the shop, right?
-That's right. -Right.
And the women being blackmailed aren't exactly ready to go public.
-Very good, Mrs. Hart. -Thank you.
Ready.
Hart residence.
Who may I say is calling?
Just one moment, please. Micklin.
Darling.
Yeah, this is Jonathan Hart.
Well, there must be some mistake.
If there is a misunderstanding, perhaps we can discuss it face to face...
-if that would help you out at all. -We have nothing to talk about, Mr. Hart.
Now, you will do the listening.
That is, unless you want me to call the authorities.
-No, that won't be necessary. Go ahead. -Good.
Now, at 5.30...
you will bring $100,000 in small bills...
to the La Brea tar pits.
Drop it on the bench facing the brontosaurus pool.
Not a nice man.
Not exactly a gentleman.
I don't know, Mr. Hart. What do you think?
Well, I'll tell you one thing.
Getting $100,000 together in small bills is no small order.
I'd have to agree with you.
You know, I never realized how heavy $100,000 could be.
Don't worry, darling.
The way the dollar is shrinking, it'll weigh less by the time we get there.
Think we ought to call Barry and tell him we're okay?
Yeah, sure.
LA Mobile?
Barry's Hotheads.
Yes, just a minute.
Barry, it's Jonathan Hart.
Jonathan.
Great.
Look, I'm on my last customer. I'll wait here. And Jonathan, thanks.
Thank Jennifer.
She's the one that always said you're a good guy.
I'll thank her in person.
Yeah, but not in private. See you.
What's the matter, boss? Anything wrong?
We're gonna play with bigger fish.
Come on.
-It's almost time. -Yeah, just a few more blocks.
Yeah?
It didn't cost me that much more...
to have Barry Saxon's phone bugged too, Mr. Hart.
What do you want, Micklin?
Now turn your car around, and come to the salon.
And I wouldn't advise calling the police...
if you want to see Barry alive again.
-What are we doing? -Micklin bugged Barry's phone, too.
Just keep walking.
You can let me have that.
I'll be glad to let you have it.
-Very well done, darling. -Thanks very much, darling.
He probably would have gotten better treatment...
if he'd made an appointment first.
I really think it should be a little more off the face.
Yeah, off the face would be good, don't you think?
What about the sides? You think the sides should be shorter?
No, not shorter.
-Barry, what do you think? -You gotta have a balance.
If you want it shorter on the back, you gotta compensate on the sides.
-What about going blonde? -Blonde?
That's a marvellous idea.
-Besides, blondes have much more fun. -Is that true?
Now, wait a minute. That's where I draw the line.
Relax, Max. Just lie back and enjoy it, you know.
Yeah, Max, come on. I mean, relax. This isn't going to take long.
You have to suffer to be beautiful.
Believe me, this is gorgeous. So I gotta be gorgeous.
This won't shatter my image, will it, Mr. H?