( upbeat theme playing )
Uh, Mr. Strader.
Um, how about number 14?
Please come with me.
Oh, you're from Dallas, Mr. Strader.
Didn't you stay with us before?
Just pull the car around and follow me.
If you need anything, just call the office.
I'm Ken Langston.
( car roars by )
( starts engine )
( lounge theme playing )
( tense theme playing )
( thud )
( dramatic theme playing )
( car door opens, closes )
( engine starts )
( water lapping shore )
( footsteps )
Hey, what's going on down there?
( footsteps running )
( door slams ) ( engine starts )
( tires squealing )
( keys jingle )
( door closes )
( dramatic theme playing )
( jazzy theme playing )
( bell dings )
Mrs. Langston? -Yes, sergeant?
Sorry to wake you. -Oh, you didn't wake me.
Why? What's wrong?
OFFICER: Come on, Diana. Now, you were already up when we got there.
You know what happened to Ken.
Or do you always get up at 5 in the morning?
I told you. A woman had called a few minutes earlier,
and she kept me on the phone for 10 minutes.
Yeah, she was drunk and asking for someone wasn't registered.
Now, let's get back to your boyfriend from Dallas.
Will you stop saying that? He's not my boyfriend.
I don't even know him.
You checked Strader in last night.
He was registered with you two weeks ago,
two weeks before that.
That's what you might call a regular customer, ain't it?
Ken must've checked him in.
When he didn't come here, you went there, right?
No.
REDFIELD: What were you doing in Dallas last week?
I went to see a doctor.
Oh, ours ain't good enough, you gotta drive 500 miles.
A different kind of a doctor.
Gynecologist.
Ken and I, uh, wanted to have a baby.
A-ask Dr. Wiley. He'll tell you.
Will he tell us what else you were doing in Dallas, huh?
CALHOUN: Kelly.
We can't hold her more than 48 hours
without hard evidence.
Do you have anyone to take you home?
Sergeant Magruder will drive you.
( slow, dramatic theme playing )
Maybe we can't prove it...
but don't think we don't know, honey.
Everybody in town knows who killed Ken Langston.
( dramatic theme playing )
( engine starts )
( slow, dramatic theme playing )
( mellow theme playing )
( doorbell rings )
Morning, Frieda. Good morning.
I take it he's back.
He certainly is. Right over there.
Frank.
Morning, Frank.
Ah. Hi, Herb.
Welcome home. Thank you.
I'll be with you in a half a second.
I wanna see how rusty I am.
( sniffs )
Ah. Not too bad.
Come on, let's get some breakfast.
Thanks. I've had mine.
Well, have some more.
When did you get in, Frank?
Seven a. m.
Slept like a baby all the way across the Pacific. Oh.
Uh, that is, excluding the times
I went to the hibachi bar.
Have you ever had sashimi, Herb?
The raw fish is just great.
You know, a little seaweed, little horseradish,
and a lot of Kyoto ale.
Ha-ha. It's beautiful.
Uh, see if you can get that deposited for me, will you?
Slightly better pay than when you were a cop.
Yeah.
Bank of Yokohama.
Yeah, an extortion ring: 17 people,
eight of 'em Americans.
Remind me to tell you about it sometime.
What do you got for me?
Two and a half month's mail.
Yeah? I've skimmed the cream.
The rest is in here.
An offer from a citizens' group in Massachusetts.
Some kind of syndicate running their city government.
Hm.
Mrs. Esther Frelinghuysen of Chicago.
Her stockbroker son is being blackmailed,
and she doesn't think the Cook County police
would exactly understand.
Only an expensive private investigator.
What is it, Frank?
( sighs )
It's from the wife
of a friend of mine in New Mexico.
He's dead.
I'm sorry.
We were buddies in Korea.
Worked in counterintelligence.
Kept in touch over the years,
ran the Colorado rapids now and then, that sort of thing.
He was murdered.
And everybody seems to think she did it.
How well do you know her?
I don't. I never had a chance to meet her.
Well, maybe she did do it.
( scoffs )
Why do you think she wrote me this letter?
Frank, you can't just tear off the minute you get back.
Herb, you're my lawyer, my confessor, and you're beautiful.
But five months ago I bought myself a new car,
and I haven't had a chance to drive it around the block.
( whimsical theme playing )
( upbeat theme playing )
( honks horn )
( car door closes )
Morning.
Can I see your driver's license?
Lot of folks sure anxious to get cross country.
How much you think it's gonna cost me, officer?
Oh, about $15.
If you go before the judge.
Oh. Well, that's not bad.
Only this is, he ain't gonna be in till next week.
Uh, if you're in a big hurry...
bail will run you about, uh...
150.
Of course, maybe...
Maybe we can settle for about half of that.
Hm.
Well, in that case...
I'll wait for the judge.
Oh?
What, you got some kind of...
business here in Gallitin?
With a week to kill, I'll find some.
Do you know a good place to stay?
( chuckles )
See, I know 'em all.
Depends on what you're looking for.
How about the Sands Motel?
Ah, you wouldn't like it there.
No? Why not?
Well, that's all run-down.
That's clean over on the other side of town.
But I got a week to get there.
Tell me something:
Why are you so hot to stay at the Sands?
I liked the sign I saw back there.
Suit yourself, buddy.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
( whimsical theme playing )
( upbeat theme playing )
( dramatic theme playing )
( dog barking )
( jazzy theme playing )
( dings )
( footsteps approach )
Room? Yes, please.
Would you register? Thank you.
( phone rings )
Sands Motel.
Would you please stop?
Just stop.
MAN ( in receiver ): ...and then do it all over again.
Wouldn't you like that, baby?
Maybe tonight?
When you're trying to sleep?
Trying to forget that you killed him.
We know that, don't we, baby? You and me together.
We know you killed him.
( hangs up phone )
This been going on for a while?
Several weeks.
Have you reported it to the police?
Yes.
Get me the police, please.
It won't do any good.
May I speak to the chief, please?
Yeah, chief's out of town. This is Mitchell.
Listen, Mitchell.
I've got a lead for you on the badmouth
who's been calling
Mrs. Langston at the Sands Motel.
The what?
The deviant,
the creep, the nut that's been making obscene calls.
Yeah. Yeah, so what about him?
Well, he hung up less than a minute ago.
Who are you?
Cannon. Frank Cannon.
I'm just checking in at the Sands.
MITCHELL: Aren't you the fella we just got a ticket in on?
That's me.
Yeah. Yeah.
( chuckles ) The, uh...
Yes, the fat one.
Look, I've got a lead for you.
Yeah, well, uh, what'd you do?
Get, uh... Get his fingerprints over the phone?
Listen, Mitchell, are you a cop or aren't you a...?
MITCHELL: No, you listen, Cannon.
Now, if Ms. Langston don't wanna listen to that fella,
you tell her to hang up the phone.
So you got my letter.
Yes, Diana.
I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner, but, uh...
I've been out of the country
for the last two and a half months.
I didn't expect you to come here. Uh...
I only wanted your advice.
I can't pay you.
Well, that's not why I'm here.
You see, Ken wrote to me too.
He told me something about what's going on in this town.
I'm beginning to see what he meant.
Yes, it's been going on for months.
That man calling me on the phone, driving me crazy,
and the police not doing anything about it...
because they think I killed Ken.
Nobody even stays here anymore.
Why should they?
People throw their garbage on the lawn.
Why do you stay?
I don't know.
Yes, I do.
Because somebody killed my husband,
and I can't let him get away with it.
I don't know where to begin.
The man on the phone.
What about him?
If he drives you crazy,
you won't be much use to me, will you?
He made that call from a booth in a bar or a restaurant.
And the booth had a fan with a faulty bearing.
And when it comes to bluegrass music on a jukebox,
I got a memory like an elephant.
( chuckles )
No joke intended.
( slow, dramatic theme playing )
( country music playing on jukebox )
( people chattering )
♪ I rolled a tear ♪
♪Into a cigarette ♪
♪ And watched my dreams ♪
♪ Go up in smoke ♪
♪ Our love burned bright ♪
♪ But like a cigarette ♪
♪ It turned to ashes ♪
♪ Like the promises you broke ♪
♪ When people ask me ♪
♪ Why we let love die ♪
♪ I blow a smoke ring ♪
♪ And cried hard, cry ♪
♪ I'm such a fool ♪
Kinda funny how some people get their kicks.
( crowd chattering ) MAN: Big Puma by a length,
Green Destiny and Joyous Jed moving on the outside.
Into the stretch, it's Rude Fellow by a length,
Green Destiny, Joyous Jed, then Big Puma.
And here comes Bull's Trick in the middle of the track.
Now it's Joyous Jed and Green Destiny head and head.
Green Destiny and Joyous Jed. Across the finish line,
it'sGreen Destiny, getting up to it
on the outside by a length.
Joyous Jed was second, with Bull's Trick third.
You have been listening to the running of the feature race
at beautiful Suffolk Downs. ( excited shouts )
Brought to you each day at this time by
your Friendly Feed dealer
and your local Superior Supermarket.
( country music playing on jukebox )
( yawns )
( people chattering )
( country music playing on jukebox )
MAN: Let's pick the winner.
( crowd chattering )
MAN 2: That's the way to do it.
MAN 3: Taking candy from a baby.
WOMAN ( laughing ): Get me a candy bar.
MAN: Coming out. Coming out for a new point.
Get your bets down. Don't forget to cover yourself.
Don't forget any reps.
Coming out. Coming out for a new point.
New point.
Hi.
Howdy?
Hi.
How'd you get that fat?
( chuckles )
Heh. Wasn't easy.
( whimsical theme playing )
( starts engine )
( cars scrape )
( brakes squeal )
( crowd chattering )
MAN: I don't know. What is it?
MAN 2: I don't know. I never saw him before.
What are you doing, pile driving...?
What am I doing? You rode your brakes for a block.
Ah, come on, mister. I was just driving down the street.
You were driving too fast.
I don't recall anybody asking you your opinion.
Well, he seen it.
Jackie didn't stop, mister. You ran right into him.
That's right. You out-of-staters.
You telling me I'm lying? I'm lying?
CANNON: That's exactly what I'm telling you.
DRIVER: Aw, come on, mister.
All right, all right, bust it up.
SHERIFF: All right, you meatheads. Go on. Get back to work.
If you got any.
Hey, listen, Calhoun, this idiot run into...
All right, Jackie. Shut your head
and let the gentleman
tell his version of the story.
Nice, friendly little town you got here.
Well, you sure been looking us over.
Bet I seen you five, six times today.
Uh, where did you say you was going?
Sands Motel.
Oh. Ho-ho-ho-ho.
Why, "oh, ho-ho-ho-ho."
Well, folks don't cotton to it.
Owner was murdered a little while back.
Uh, name of Ken Langston.
That so?
Uh-huh.
They catch the killer?
Yeah. One of 'em.
Name of Strader.
Uh, that'll be $1.70.
Here. Here's a 5.
Uh, let's go in and have a beer here, huh?
Okay, thanks. Heh.
( country music on jukebox )
♪ He takes a kick at me ♪
♪ Oh, come and get me... ♪
HECKER: Two beers, Eddie.
Oh, welcome to the Blue Moon. I'm your host, Mr. Eddie.
Frank Cannon.
Frank Cannon, yes, sir.
Tell me about Strader.
Strader? Well, he was a stranger in town.
A big redheaded guy from Dallas.
Owned a bar down there for a while.
He went broke. Uh, then he, uh,
worked off and on
for some electronics outfit
selling, uh, burglar alarms and gadgets.
Now, the catch is, he didn't even know Langston.
Who are you, anyway?
I am a student of native customs.
( bluegrass song playing on jukebox )
You're new around here, aren't you?
I'm luckier than that.
I'm just visiting.
( coin rattles, phone dings )
Diana.
This is Frank Cannon.
Does the background music sound familiar? Listen.
I'm calling from the same phone
used by the man who called you before
in the Blue Moon.
I don't know what good it does,
but I might be looking at him right now.
Yeah.
( phone ringing )
Hello.
MAN ( on phone ): Cannon?
Who is this?
We don't need you.
Beat it.
Yeah, you scare me to death.
Why don't you try a poison-pen letter.
For openers, we'll go one better.
( hangs up )
( suspenseful theme playing )
DIANA: Frank! Frank!
Frank!
( coughs )
Acid.
It was a man. He checked in alone about 2 a. m.
( coughs )
I can't in the morning, I'll be sick...
Drink it.
What did he look like?
Uh, medium-height, slender, 30.
Uh, blond hair, I think.
He was wearing a lime green shirt.
I think I've got his card here.
( sighs )
Ah, hello. Uh, Mitchell?
This is Cannon again.
Look, can't I do any better than you?
If you don't put a real cop on,
I'm gonna come down there.
Hold it a minute.
Lieutenant?
James C. Tarr.
That's him. Mm.
Wait a minute. What?
The license number.
You... You saw it? You wrote this down?
Yes. What about it?
It's mine.
They took the plates off of my car.
Redfield speaking.
Can I help you?
Yes, I certainly hope so.
I'm calling from the Sands Motel.
Now, what's wrong out there now?
Sulfuric acid?
When did this happen?
I'll get a man out there right away.
Get a description of the car?
Wha...?
How do you know it had stolen plates?
Now, wait a minute. Who are you anyway?
Well, I think you better stick around, Mr. Cannon.
We got a couple of things to talk about.
Well, that makes two of us.
( sighs )
Look, as long as you've got the file open, uh,
find me Strader's card, huh?
Oh.
Uh, cards. He had three, but, uh...
the police are holding them for evidence.
( pounds table lightly )
( sighs )
Did he fill in the company he worked for?
On the first two. Not on the last one.
Um...Electronic Enterprises.
I think they install burglar alarms and school bells,
and things like that.
Did he do any business here?
Not that the police could find.
( ringing )
Sands Motel.
( suspenseful theme playing )
Uh... Uh...
( phone clunks )
What did he say?
He said, "Next time, tell your friend
that there won't be any warning."
( suspenseful theme playing )
Looks like somebody had a king-sized bellyache.
( sighs )
Where's Redfield?
He's busy.
I'm Magruder.
You said you had to have somebody come out
and look at this room, huh?
It stinks in here.
Hey, wait a minute.
Where are you going?
I seen it.
Well, aren't you gonna check for prints?
Prints?
You gotta be putting me on, ain't ya?
If the man was working with acid,
he would have worn gloves.
What about the jugs?
What about 'em? They had acid in 'em,
didn't they?
Have you got a chief?
Who do I look like, an Indian?
Yeah, I got a chief.
He's sick in the Mayo Clinic.
That's up in Minnesota.
Why don't you take him a box of candy?
Who's in charge when he's away?
Redfield.
Oh, yeah, he said to tell you...
your plates are on your car in the shop.
Just where they always were.
And he wants to know what you're doing here.
Tell him I'm trying to wash out the stink.
( slow, dramatic theme playing )
You look cute in your little playsuit.
REDFIELD: That's right.
Use machine oil. It'll loosen the threads.
Redfield?
Came in through the washroom.
Busted a window.
He leave any prints on the plates?
Think this guy's an amateur?
What I want to know is why he'd go to all the trouble to...
use your plates?
That acid job was a message for me.
I figured that.
Why?
Mrs. Langston got a dirty phone call yesterday.
I went out and located the booth
it was made from.
Maybe he found out what I was up to.
You expect me to believe some pervert is so scared
of you, he's gonna go breaking-and-entering,
steal plates, toss acid just to scare you off?
Look, Redfield.
I reported that first phone call to the police
and got kissed off.
Your man, Magruder, kissed off the acid job.
Nobody's gets kissed off around here, mister.
I got a ten county, two state out for him and his car.
A truck was hijacked
two weeks ago near Warren Springs.
On the manifest was 20 gallons of sulfuric.
We never caught 'em.
One look around this town, you see a lot of guys
who'll never get caught.
Just what does that mean?
Oh, come on, Redfield.
You're too good a cop to play dumb.
Gallitin's as wide open as a stomach wound.
Every other joint's either
a horse room or a crap parlor, or worse.
You got someone else's goons on the force,
and the town's a split personality.
It reeks of bad money...
and ways of getting in on it.
You sound like some lousy preacher.
Maybe I was mistaken about you.
Now, you listen to me.
I lived here all my life.
I'm no blind man, but I'm not a fool.
Now, I'm only number-two man here, and I have to wait
for the right moment to make my move.
Oh, you're a regular Hamlet.
My heart bleeds for you.
Let me see your identification.
Oh, come on, Redfield.
Turn around. Hands on the truck.
( sighs )
Don't you think this is a little ridiculous?
All right. All right.
( suspenseful theme playing )
You licensed to practice in this state?
I'm not getting paid for this.
Ken Langston was a friend of mine.
Ah, you know every trick in the book, don't you?
Well, Langston was a friend of mine for over 20 years.
He never once mentioned you.
Oh, I could bust you for the gun alone...
but I want you out of this town.
Lieutenant, my car is in the garage.
You can pick this up when you leave.
Redfield...
this is not gonna keep me
from looking under the rug, you know.
You just try it.
One more phony move, and I'll land on you hard.
Eddie, can I ask you a question?
Do you think that, uh...
Mrs. Langston killed her husband?
Do you know what I think?
I think I run a nice place here.
So I think what my customers think.
Now, come on, Eddie.
You didn't make this by being stupid.
You know what you think.
I know what I think, but I don't say it.
Now, listen.
Mrs. Langston is a newcomer.
She's from out of state.
Now, you ask my wife. Ask Mrs. Eddie.
Ken is a hometown boy, and he was very well liked here.
Yeah, there were things here he didn't like.
Meaning?
That the whole town isn't as clean as the Blue Moon.
Well, I take care of myself.
But could Langston?
Ken Langston used to sit right in that chair...
right where you're sitting now
...and he was always talking about planning committees.
He was even gonna run for mayor.
I think you're fishing with saltwater bait,
when you should be using a freshwater fly.
Meaning?
Meaning that just because
Gallitin has a criminal element,
does not mean that that criminal element
was responsible for Ken's murder.
But if Diana Langston is innocent,
then somebody in this town is guilty.
Strader was a stranger, he needed help.
No matter what I think,
the evidence against her is pretty thick.
My own cook saw a woman
getting out of Strader's car that morning.
A woman? Yes.
And when the police arrived at 5:00 to tell Mrs. Langston,
she was already wide-awake.
She had some kind of a story about a half-drunk broad
who called and asked for somebody
who wasn't even registered there.
Now, you've got to admit,
that that sounds pretty fishy.
Yeah.
But maybe the phone call was fishy.
She's been getting a lot of fishy phone calls lately.
As a matter of fact,
she got one from that phone yesterday.
Here?
Yeah, you got a fan with a faulty bearing.
You can hear it on the phone.
It was the same guy who burned out the room.
He called me last night, and then again this morning,
just to see how I enjoyed the show.
Oh-ho.
So you want to know all the guys
who were here yesterday. Right?
Right.
Well, let's see.
There was Red Dunleavy. He owns the gas station on the corner.
He's all right. Oh, he gets in scraps,
but he's not that smart.
And then there's Rupe Lamont.
He works on the Peaboldt road crew.
They're building that road west of here.
Now, he's got a filthy mouth,
but he has a very healthy love life.
( coughs, grunts )
Uh...
what about the guy who was over in the corner?
Oh, Virgil Holley. You mean, "Old Yeller Shoes." Yeah.
Looks like he just came down out of the mountains
and bought his first store clothes. Yeah.
A real character.
But he is sharp as a razor.
He'll swap you two nickels even
and come out two dollars ahead.
There were a lot of guys who
came in and out before that, I suppose.
Oh, sure. Sure.
Say, um...
Uh, you still a cop?
Good chicken.
What's for tomorrow?
The same.
( ringing )
Hello.
Mr. Cannon? ( bluegrass music playing )
I might be able to tell you something you'd like to know.
About some acid.
That is, if it's worth $100 to you.
Where could I meet you?
I wouldn't risk that for a thousand,
but if you send me the money, I'll call you back and...
( hangs up abruptly )
( suspenseful theme playing )
( upbeat theme playing )
Where is she, Eddie? Who?
The woman who just used that phone booth.
There wasn't any woman in here.
As a matter of fact,
nobody's come in here since you left.
I'm sorry, Eddie.
I don't get it.
( door opens )
Howdy, Eddie.
Bert.
BERT: Hi, Virgil.
Oh, Virgil Holley, this is Frank Cannon.
Mighty pleased to meet you. How are ya?
Hey, ain't you the biggun
rumbled with Jackie downtown yesterday?
Uh, a little misunderstanding.
No hard feelings.
Lucky for Jackie old Calhoun rolled in.
You sure are a biggun.
( chuckles )
Heh. Got a couple of friends here.
Bert, come on over.
What you got there, Virgil?
Ain't you never seen a hermit-crab race?
Now, you put 'em down real quiet,
like I'm doin' now.
Then you bet on which one moves first.
One of 'em's probably dead,
or you shot it full of Novocain,
or you hypnotized it, or something.
But you got your choice, my friend.
I wouldn't bet you even money
that the sun was coming up in the morning.
Me neither.
( whimsical theme playing )
There are days when a man can't make a crying dime.
( chuckling )
( slow, dramatic theme playing )
( phone ringing )
Hello?
Are you still interested?
Why did you hang up before?
I almost got caught back there.
Look, it's gonna cost you 500.
What does the 500 buy me?
Names.
The man who done it, and the man who hired him.
For 500, I want proof that you know
what you're talking about.
The acid.
It was hijacked from a truck.
And I know where the rest is.
Go east five miles on Route 7...
till you go under a bridge.
Half a mile beyond that, there's this dirt road runnin'
off to the left past some trees.
Stay on that road till you pass a dairy
and a chute for loading animals on your left.
Then there's nothing for about three miles...
till you get to an abandoned farm on your right.
Go in the house through the back and find a room
with an old set of stairs.
The acid is in plastic jugs up in the loft
under some old rags.
( suspenseful theme playing )
( gun cocks )
( action theme playing )
WOMAN ( on PA ): EKG technician.
( grunts )
Hm. Looks like gooseload.
You better give me a tetanus.
Already did.
WOMAN ( on PA ): Dr. Jewell? Dr. Jewell?
( shot drops in pan )
I got to report all gunshot wounds to the police.
Who did you kill? Where is he?
Who did I kill?
Somebody tried to kill me.
Where'd you get another gun?
I didn't have a gun.
You got into a gunfight without a gun?
I told you,
I was not in a fight.
Somebody took two shots at me, and I got away.
All right. Who was he?
Look, I told you, I didn't see him.
What's the penalty in this state for being a victim?
( door closes ) REDFIELD: Magruder.
Check out the old Custer place.
Mitchell, check his room for a gun.
Robbie, get a blood sample off the front seat
of the car he was driving.
Cannon.
Well, you were a big-wheel cop in the big city.
Detective lieutenant.
And it says here you resigned.
Now, don't they always say that.
How was it?
Trying to tell everyone how to run the department?
I like to work by myself. Oh.
So now you're a freelance troublemaker.
Well, let me get this straight.
( clears throat )
We have another mysterious phone call.
A woman, whoever she was, allowed you to talk her into
setting you up, so that a man,
whoever he was... could kill you.
Now, two people are going to risk the death house,
they're so worried you're going to find out
who threw some acid?
Oh, come off it, Redfield.
They're not afraid of some two-bit rap for vandalism.
Come on, come on. Out with it.
Don't keep me holding my breath.
What is it?
Langston's murder.
We've been investigating that case for three months, Cannon.
Nobody tried to kill us.
Your case stopped with Mrs. Langston.
As far as you're concerned, she's guilty,
whether you can prove it or not.
You didn't bother to look
at the other side of the coin. Well, there is one, you know.
She knows it, and her husband's killer knows she knows it.
You think we're stupid, huh?
Or that we've been bought off. Is that it?
That's it, isn't it?
Well, why don't you come right out and say it, you...
( menacingly ): What's eating you, Redfield?
Get out of here.
( mellow theme playing )
Where did you learn how to do this?
I used to be a nurse.
That's where I met Ken.
I was working for a cardiologist in Dallas.
He was never very strong, you know.
He had that heart condition.
All he ever really wanted was to come back here,
be among friends...
settle down.
That's what I wanted for him too.
That, and a son and a daughter.
But it wasn't the same place he grew up in.
It was a town in the hands of the wrong people.
People you can't see
brought in gambling, women.
People you can't see...
killed Ken.
People you can't see
tried to frame you.
And now they're trying to run you out of town
because of what you know.
What do I know?
I don't even know who they are.
( slow jazz music playing over speakers )
( vehicle approaching )
I went out to the Custer place again this morning.
Don't bring my job home.
( grunts )
( plants hit ground )
( exhales ) Nice place you got here.
Smoke?
No, thank you.
So you went back out there.
Yeah.
I, uh, saw where the guy parked.
There was some tire patterns in the dirt.
Diamond tread.
It was on one of those back service roads among the trees.
Find anything else?
Heh.
Guess it's yours.
Oh, you don't really think the man would be stupid enough
to leave his stogies lying around, do you?
Unless I was the man.
Right?
Right.
WOMAN: Kelly.
Hi, honey.
I am going on into town now, and I thought the two of you
might like something nice and cold to drink.
Oh, thanks.
Christie... Frank Cannon.
Mr. Cannon. You're new in town, aren't you?
From Los Angeles.
Los Angeles.
That certainly is a world away from Gallitin.
Funny though. I've, uh...
I just got the strangest feeling I've...
Well, I've seen you somewhere before.
( chuckles )
( sultry theme playing )
Well. Bye-bye, honey.
Don't be long. Mm-hm.
Thank you.
DIANA: Oh, they were very good friends. Fishing buddies.
As a matter of fact,
Kelly Redfield always idolized Ken.
From the high school football team
right up into SMU.
As a matter of fact,
they were supposed to have gone fishing
together that morning. Uh, Ken and Redfield?
Yes.
But Kelly had to bow out at the last minute.
Something about extraditing a prisoner from Arizona.
Oh, you mean he was out of town?
Well, sort of.
He called, and Ken was out.
He apologized and asked me to give Ken the message
because he had to leave right away.
Do you remember what the message was?
DIANA: Just that. Said he couldn't make it.
And Ken not to bother to come by,
but, uh, he'd go next week and catch their 20 pounds.
Are you sure you gave Ken the message?
Yes, of course I did. Why?
I don't know.
Something about Redfield bothers me.
He's a professional, all right...
but he clutches up every time I mention the case.
What bothers me...
is that there's something bothering him.
What about his wife?
They've been married, um...
two years, I think.
Just before Ken and I.
I think she taught school.
Has she always lived here?
No. She's from, uh, Warren Springs.
That's the next county over.
That's where she taught.
She has relatives here, though.
You know them?
I know one of them is Virgil Holley.
Holley?
Yes, they're cousins. Why?
Want some nuts?
Because he was one of the men in the Blue Moon
the day of the first phone call.
Virgil is kind of the local town character.
But he's nobody's fool.
He owns a real estate office...
the local drive-in...
couple parcels downtown.
Hm.
That good a businessman
has gotta know where the real money is in this town.
Well, I don't know how far his interests go,
but he isn't the man who's been calling.
You could cut Holley's accent
with a butter knife.
But not his cousin's.
Oh, no. Christie's a lady.
Some lady. Hm?
Oh, nothing. I just happened to
catch a glimpse of Christie with her hair down.
Among other things.
I wonder if she got the message.
What message?
That Ken and Redfield were not going fishing that morning.
You're way ahead of me.
Oh, no, I'm not.
We're looking for a woman, aren't we?
Not Kelly Redfield's wife.
Oh? Why not?
Redfield was out of town that night.
And your motel, where Strader stayed,
is less than a quarter of a mile from her place.
Now, at 4:30 in the morning,
a woman could run that distance in two minutes.
She's a very clever girl.
A man could walk it in five.
But Ken never did.
Oh, I know he liked her. ( door closes )
I could tell the way he looked at her.
Most men like her.
Yes, they do. Strader did.
Are you saying that Redfield
may have walked in on something?
That he was in on it?
I don't know.
I wouldn't want to rap that around with the police.
But for a few minutes this afternoon,
I even had a picture of Kelly Redfield with a shotgun.
( scoffs )
Never.
He's insanely jealous of her.
If he thought she was fooling around with Strader
or anyone else, he would have killed her.
No, if it's true, Redfield simply didn't know.
Or he's had his suspicions,
but refuses to face them.
At any rate, his conscience bothers him.
So, what if it is Christie?
She's the wife of a police lieutenant.
You'd never be able to prove a thing.
Where did you say she came from?
( upbeat theme playing )
( children shouting, chattering )
Oh, you mean Christie.
Oh, yes. Such an angel of a girl.
Heh. But her married name was Barker.
She was married to Will Barker,
when Will used to be principal here.
Oh. They moved away. No.
Poor Will died three years ago.
How terrible. Yes, that it was.
It was one of those awful things
that one hears about all the time:
a bathroom accident.
He had put the portable electric heater
too close to the bathtub, and...
Well, you can imagine poor Christine.
Mm. And she gave up teaching
right away.
I... I didn't think she would ever recover.
Does she still live here?
No. No, she, uh, sold the house
and left that February.
Funny I should remember when, but...
But the children gave her a farewell
Valentine's Day party.
Do you have any idea where she moved to?
No. Only that she was in Dallas for a while.
She sent the children an Easter postcard.
( chuckles )
Dallas.
That must be where she met Strader.
Or rejoined him.
How do you know that?
( scoffs )
I don't.
( bell ringing )
( suspenseful theme playing )
What was the name of the company
Strader worked for?
( slow, dramatic theme playing )
So it was her that night.
Yeah, it fits.
Christie was Strader's girl.
I could write the whole story for you.
They met in Warren Springs.
She murdered her husband, sold their house,
collected the insurance...
set Strader up in a bar in Dallas.
And when he washed out,
well, she came back to her own home territory...
and set up another respectable front.
This time, a cop.
But she still keeps in touch with Strader.
But why?
He must have been doing something right.
No, I mean, why did they kill Ken?
Because he probably caught 'em together
that night at Redfield's.
He wasn't even supposed to go there.
That's why I had to make sure
that Ken got that message.
He did.
But he went to Redfield's anyway.
To see her.
I wish we hadn't gone to Warren Springs today.
I'm sorry, Diana.
It doesn't do any good anyway.
It's all circumstantial.
We can't prove anything.
The case against...
Christie Redfield
makes about as much sense
as the case against me.
( suspenseful theme playing )
( honk honking )
( gasps )
Did you get the license number?
( tires screeching )
( action theme playing )
( tires screeching )
( slow, dramatic theme playing )
Someone knew what we were
looking for in Warren Springs.
Yeah.
Hm.
Shall we report them to the police?
Frank. Look, the man in the green shirt.
CANNON: What?
DIANA: He's the one who threw the acid.
( suspenseful theme playing )
Did you get a good look at him?
Yeah. Look.
You go on back to the motel, lock yourself in until I call.
Look, if I find him,
be ready to come down for a positive ID.
Otherwise, don't even open your door.
I'm going after him now.
He's our only real lead.
( slow jazz music playing )
( people chattering )
MAN: Place your bets, please.
Place your bets. All down.
( chips clattering, ball spinning )
MAN: All bets down.
Place you bets. Number six black, even.
Hey, six.
Place your bets.
Place your bets, please.
Could I have a scotch and soda, honey?
Yes, sir. Thank you.
Number two black, even. Black.
Hi.
Howdy.
This, uh, go on every night?
Every night except the visit.
The visit?
Attorney general.
We put on a real fine floor show for his benefit...
once a year.
( suspenseful theme playing )
( zydeco music playing on jukebox )
( people chattering )
Hey, fats. You having a good time, boy?
( pool balls clacking )
Hey.
( door closes )
I'm beginning to feel like
I'm in a very bad Western, gentlemen.
Come on.
( chuckles )
Did she give you the night off, mister?
( punches thrown, woman screaming )
( indistinct shouting )
( grunting ) MAN: Get back.
( men shouting )
MAN: Come on, get him. That's it!
( suspenseful theme playing )
( slow, dramatic theme playing )
I'm sorry about that.
I hit you as gently as I could.
Why did you butt in?
I was just beginning to enjoy myself.
Oh, if I hadn't, they would've killed you.
Can I get you something? Cup of coffee or something?
( grunting )
I've been here all night?
Yeah.
Yeah, it's 4:00 in the afternoon.
Cannon, tell me something.
Why'd you go to Warren Springs yesterday afternoon?
( sighs ) Is there anybody in this town
who doesn't know when I wash my hands?
Washing your hands, huh?
You're about as hard to miss as a Patton tank.
Why'd you go there?
Look, Calhoun, thanks for the hospitality.
Now, why don't you just book me for brawling
and let it go at that, huh?
You don't seem to get me, friend.
I'm trying to keep you from getting yourself killed.
Been enough of that around here,
and I was right in the middle of it.
I don't seem to get a lot of things in this town.
All right, let's stop the pussyfooting.
Let's get on about Christie Redfield.
That's why you went to Warren Springs, isn't it?
Ah. You've been doing some wondering too, huh?
Her husband's my boss.
What's that supposed to mean?
That he's crooked?
He's as honest as they come.
A man's not crooked
just because he defends
his wife's reputation.
It needs defending?
You city cops. You're getting more out of me
than I am out of you.
Why don't you stop pussyfooting, Calhoun.
You wouldn't have asked the question
if you didn't have your suspicions.
All right. The motel.
Motel's a quarter of a mile from Redfield's place.
Redfield was out of town that night.
I know that. I'm not stupid...
All right, shut up and let me finish.
I work out of the same station, right?
I checked the schedules. Redfield was out of town
both the other times that Strader came up here.
Wait a minute.
Bingo.
Okay.
Okay, so Strader and Christie Redfield were lovers.
Now, where does Ken Langston come in?
In the front door.
But he knew Redfield was out of town.
That's right.
You trying to tell me that Ken Langston was a chaser?
Christie probably turned him on...
so he went there that morning hoping something might happen.
And he got himself killed.
Let's take a walk.
That's where I caught Strader.
Right down there.
With Langston's body.
He was tying it to a cement block.
I guess if I hadn't come along,
the body would be at the bottom of the lake,
and the boat would have been
found floating upside down...
to make it look like an accident.
So?
Why?
They could have simply tossed the body in a ditch
and walked away. Who would have suspected them?
Yeah, you're right. Nobody would have suspected them.
But Christie didn't know that.
She thought Diana would suspect her.
But why? Langston wasn't supposed to come by.
Diana knew that.
How could anybody possibly link him with Christie?
Wait a minute, wait a minute. That's it.
What? The...
Don't you see? All Christie knows
is that he did come by in his fishing clothes,
like he did every week. Yeah.
She thought he never got Redfield's message,
and that Diana would eventually
put two and two together.
That's what they're afraid of.
That's why they've been trying
to drive her out of town.
Poor Ken.
No. Poor Diana.
She's the loser now.
Two of the three are dead: her husband and Strader.
All Christie has to do is to keep her mouth shut.
That's just like this town.
There are a lot of good people here, Cannon.
People who know what's going on
with the gambling and the rackets
and the city government.
I'd like to cut the strings myself,
if I only knew for sure who was controlling 'em.
It's one hell of a story,
with no hard evidence.
So I bust up fights in clip joints,
and chase prowlers.
Calhoun?
Yeah?
Is that where you shot Strader?
Right. Come on, let's get moving, huh?
Why did you shoot him?
Well, because he pulled a gun on me.
That's what I mean.
Why did he have a gun?
Because he'd just killed a man.
But not with a gun.
He didn't even know the man was coming.
Why did he have a gun?
Were there any other crimes committed
around here that night?
MAN ( on radio ): Holdup down in Bogen County service station.
But they caught both guys.
Anything north of here?
Nothing in this state.
The Fairmont job was that night.
Thanks. See what else you can find out.
What was the Fairmont job?
Oh, that was a beaut. Just over the state line in Oklahoma.
Gang hijacked a truck,
rammed it into a power substation.
Blacked out half the town, while they made off with two safes.
Two safes. Uh-huh.
From where?
Oh, a supermarket and a jewelry store.
Very big heist.
Do me a favor. Mm?
See if you can find out what kind of burglar alarms
those stores had.
Burglar alarms?
( suspenseful theme playing )
( phone ringing )
Uh, Lieutenant Redfield, please.
MAN ( on phone ): He's not here. Anybody else?
No, nobody else, detective. Have...
Have you got his home number?
Yeah, 92134.
92134. Thank you.
( rings )
Hello?
CANNON: Uh, hello. Mrs. Redfield?
This is Frank Cannon, the man you met yesterday.
Is your husband home?
Why, no. I... I thought he was at the Sands Motel,
but I've been trying to call there
for nearly ten minutes now, and I...
Here? Why, yes.
You see, Kelly went to the gym.
And there's a man here at the house
who's trying to reach him about something urgent.
A Mr. MacKendrick.
Well, I called the gym,
and they said he'd already left, so I...
To come here?
Well, that's what the man is here about. Mrs. Langston.
Has anything happened to her?
That's what he wants to speak to Kelly about.
Is he still there?
Well, yes, but...
Don't let him leave. I'm gonna come right over.
( suspenseful theme playing )
( doorbell rings )
( slow jazz theme playing )
Is he still here?
Oh, Mr. Cannon. Please come in.
Is he still here?
I'm terribly sorry. I... I tried to keep him,
but he was so anxious to speak to Kelly
that he went ahead downtown, and...
Well, he said he'd be back if he didn't find him right away.
I'm not the best bartender in the world, but...
could I fix you a drink?
No, thank you. Did MacKendrick say anything
about Mrs. Langston?
Well, I, uh...
I don't think it's anything serious.
But... if you like, I'll try Kelly again, okay?
Did he say she was all right?
Well. I, uh...
I really don't want to alarm you...
but he did say that he saw Mrs. Langston
getting into a car with two men.
They were holding her up. As if...
What? Hello?
Uh... This is Mrs. Redfield again.
Have you located my husband yet?
Oh, good. He's there.
Could I speak to him, please?
Kelly!
Kelly, help!
Help, Kelly! Help!
Get him away from me!
Get him, Kelly!
It'll take him a minute and a half to get here.
With the siren.
You've timed it before, huh?
( chuckles )
You'd better start running.
What, and get myself shot down on the highway?
No, thank you. I'll take my chances here.
Your husband's not quite as stupid as you think.
( fiercely ): He's gonna kill you.
( siren wailing in distance )
You had it made, Christie.
Why did you have to lose your cool
and do something like this?
Aren't you even gonna try to run?
( tires screeching )
( car doors open )
( gasping ): Help!
( shrieking )
Uh, Kelly!
( sobbing ): Kelly!
Don't fall for it, Kelly.
( both grunting )
Don't you know that she's the one?
She's the one that killed Langston?
Kelly. Kelly.
( panting )
Save your tears.
He can't hear you.
( suspenseful theme playing )
( tires screech )
( suspenseful theme playing )
( blues music playing on jukebox )
( people chattering )
Good Lord, Frank. What happened to you?
Have you seen Diana?
No, but she's looking all over town for you.
She just called from the hospital.
The hospital?
Yeah. Somebody told her you got clobbered.
How long ago?
Five minutes ago.
And he says... this fine fella from Boston, Massachusetts
...just as fey as you please,
( as Bostonian ): "Excuse me, my good man. May I have a word with you?
Only be careful not to touch my car with your hands."
And the sharecropper ambles over,
polishing his boots on his pants, and he says,
"You buying or selling, boss?"
And old Boston screws up his pretty face,
like about to plant a big wet kiss right there
on the window, and says,
( as Bostonian ): "Perhaps both.
"At this point, I am merely
trying to negotiate a price."
( as farmer ): "Ninety-five cents an hour is all my missus understands."
( as Bostonian ): "Well, then", he says,
"How would you like to buy your good woman
a color television for Christmas?"
( all laughing )
MAN: Oh, that was a good one, Virgil.
( mysterious theme playing )
( tires screech )
Move over. We gotta get out of here.
( tires screeching )
I've been everywhere.
I was at the police station
when the call came in about you.
Do you know where Holley lives?
Well, I think so.
Ken and I drove by there once. It's south of Highway 7.
We're going the right direction, if they don't pick us up.
They won't. They're looking for a police car.
Is that what they want you for? Stealing a police car?
( scoffs )
Rape.
Why Holley's?
I heard him telling a joke.
What are you talking about?
About the acid job and the shotgun.
About Christie's cousin. About the man on the phone.
About someone I never took seriously
because I was looking for a man who spoke English.
And until tonight,
I didn't know that Holley could speak anything but hound dog.
DIANA: Holley's place is right up this road
several hundred feet.
Right beyond that grove of trees.
No.
You get behind the wheel.
You turn around and go right back where you came from.
I can't leave you here alone.
Oh, they'd just love to catch you with me.
No, alone, they won't bother you. Get going.
( car door opens, closes )
( footsteps )
( mysterious theme playing )
( whispers ): I want you to wait here.
( bluegrass music playing inside )
( giggles )
( glass breaks )
You ain't got no right to do that to T.J.
Get on the floor, all of you,
with your hands crossed behind your back.
Go on.
( music ends )
You ain't gonna attack me too, like Christie, are you?
What, did Jackie give you the good word?
Yeah. What's your name?
Laverne Holley.
( quietly ): Shut up, Laverne.
( slow, dramatic theme playing )
The name escapes me, but the voice is familiar.
Her name's Trudy Hewett,
and she ain't even kin.
But she's awfully good at giving directions on the phone.
( dramatic theme playing )
( phone rings )
Yeah. CANNON: Calhoun?
Where are you calling from?
You got every cop in the state looking for you.
Did you find out about the burglar alarms?
Kelly Redfield's riding around with a gun in his hand,
and you're still talking about burglar alarms?
( sighs ) Calhoun. I'm trying to
help you cut the strings.
Well, I don't know about any strings,
but the same outfit installed both systems.
Calls itself Electronic Enterprises.
Ha-ha. Bless you.
That was the company Strader worked for.
He knew those systems, how to get into them,
and probably what their safes contained.
That's why he had a gun that night.
A lot of good that's gonna do you now.
Well, it may.
Look. Tell them I'm turning myself in.
You gone crazy? No.
Get the message to Christie Redfield.
Go to the house looking for Kelly.
He won't be there.
And say I called you, local,
and have information on the Fairmont job...
robbery, murder and interstate flight
...and I'm gonna give it to the FBI.
And I'll turn myself in on the rape charge
once I'm in FBI custody. Goodbye.
( sighs )
It's your turn, Trudy.
My turn for what?
Now, do your stuff.
I ain't doing nothin'.
You know...
the state can't kill me any deader
than Redfield's going to.
( gun cocks )
( phone rings )
Blue Moon.
Who?
Oh, just a minute, please.
Virgil.
Virgil, I'm scared.
Jackie just come running in and out of here in a big hurry.
He said something's gone wrong.
He said the fat man found out about the Fairmont job.
He's bringing the FBI.
He told me not to call you, Virgil.
And he's waiting outside, and he'll probably kill me.
And we're getting out of here.
That's the worst thing you can do.
( suspenseful theme playing )
Looks like they've already gone.
Those stupid greenhorns.
Stay out here till I call you.
I thought I told you to stay out.
Holley.
It's not there.
( chuckles )
Which one of you killed Langston, Holley?
Well, you sure do have a persevering disposition.
And you sure can
turn it off and on, can't you?
Which one are you, Holley:
the armed robber, the town boss,
or just plain Huckleberry Finn?
Take your choice, Cannon.
Hm. Anywhere there's a buck to be made, huh?
Racing hermit crabs, fencing a safe job,
or corrupting a whole town.
Don't kid me.
You're not in this for love and kisses.
You and I, we could retire next week.
Hundred thousand clams per.
You broke open the safes that were stolen in the Fairmont job
at Redfield's that night.
But Langston walked in on the party.
( with strong Southern accent ): Now, why'd anyone want to go an' kill Kenny?
He's a good friend of mine.
( with Southern accent ): 'Cause he saw evidence of the heist.
Don't you understand?
( normal voice ): A man was killed in Fairmont.
And Ken could have sent you all up for murder.
Now, who killed Langston?
Christie, Strader or you?
He did, Cannon.
Drop it.
Don't move your arm.
Just drop it right where it is.
Get away from there, Virgil.
Take your coat off, Mr. Cannon.
Stand straight or you're dead.
Tsk. Should I take the rest of my clothes off?
You wanna play that same game again?
That's his game.
Jerk.
You let him panic you right into a trap.
He couldn't prove a thing.
Not one thing.
Why did you let him panic you into that phony rape scene?
So Redfield could kill me?
( chuckles )
He can turn me in anytime he wants to.
Isn't that right, cousin?
And besides that, he's got something I want.
Now, move.
I think we'll have that accounting
right now, Virgil.
How much was there in the Fairmont safes?
Like I told you, Christie. Just a few watches and things.
Hm-hm.
Uh, tho... Those are the week's gambling receipts.
Oh.
Petty cash.
Huh. And these, Virgil?
( scoffs, clicking tongue )
You just had to have it all, didn't you, Virgil?
It's not enough you hold all the leases
on the clubs in town, huh?
Why'd you have to go makin' eyes at Ken Langston?
It wasn't me doing the lookin'. It was him.
All Jerry Strader and I wanted was our share,
so we could get out.
But that wasn't enough for you.
You had to have it all.
Had to start killing.
You killed Jerry.
I-I didn't kill him, Christie.
Virgil here didn't kill Strader.
He tried to kill me in the house, but missed,
so no hard feelings. But Virgil here,
he didn't do nothing.
Except kill Ken Langston.
( suspenseful theme playing )
Kelly?
( slow, dramatic theme playing )
You're under arrest.
Yeah, there was enough in that safe
to incriminate the city manager
and your own chief of police.
Why would a sharpie like Holley,
who had the whole town in his pocket,
wanna go safecracking in another state?
He didn't. They came to him to fence the diamonds
and launder their money in his gambling joints.
But once he got his hands on it, well, you know,
he just couldn't bear to part with any of it.
He must have been the biggest miser in the country.
He just liked the gettin'. Ha.
Uh, where you goin'?
To settle a traffic ticket.
Oh, why didn't you let me know? I'd have fixed it for you.
Please. I'd rather pay the 15.
( whimsical theme playing )
Mr. Cannon.
Lieutenant.
What can I do for you?
Well, I guess I'm... both a fool
and a blind man.
Forget it.
You know, I, uh...
I wanted to kill you the other night.
Heh-heh. Kelly...
not a chance.
I got 80 pounds on you.
Well, all the indictments are in.
I know. I just wanted to be alone.
You don't have to be anymore.
Come on, I'll drive you home.
Diana.
If you don't mind, I'd like to take her home.
( hopeful theme playing )
( upbeat theme playing )