" Yeah?" " Apollo." " Mike." " Lew." " Drink?" " Yeah." "Fix them, Julie." " How's it going?" " The heat's on." "Protection money for the organisation." "And you are gonna handle the distribution personally." "Now, 100,000 goes to John Rivera, state attorney general's office." "Another 100,000 goes to Judge Komiss." "And the rest goes to Matt Rehak on the Special Investigations Board." " Now, you got all that?" " Every word of it, Mr. Apollo." ""Mr. Apollo"?" "Since when did you get so formal?" "Well, I have to show proper respect for anybody that can toss around a quarter million in cash." "Without that, my friend, we're all behind bars." "It's turned off, Mike." "Matter of fact, even forgot it was in there." " How about those drinks, Cordova?" " Yeah, sure." "Lew." "Tell me again that this thing is turned off." " thousand goes to Judge Komiss." "And the rest goes to Matt Rehak on the Special Investigations Board." " Now, you got all that?" " Every word of it, Mr. Apollo." ""Mr. Apo... "?" "Even got my name on the tape, huh?" "Who's it for, the DA?" "The feds?" "You think I'm some greenhorn right off the boat?" "That I don't know about voice-activated tape machines?" "Who you working for, Lew?" "What have they got against me?" "Kelly, put him on ice." "And get some answers out of him." "He'll talk." "You can bet on it." "Lew, you got a hard way to go." "Good morning, Mr. Phelps." "The photographs are of Mike Apollo, leader of one of the syndicate's most powerful families, and Louis Parnell, an undercover federal agent who for the past year has been Apollo's trusted lieutenant." "Conventional law-enforcement agencies have so far been unable to learn where he's being held." "Your job, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is to find Parnell and rescue him." "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds." "Good luck, Jim." "As an undercover agent," "Parnell sent in regular reports on Mike Apollo's activities." "Now, on St. Patrick's Day this year, they were alone in a private plane piloted by Parnell on a flight to a neighbouring state." "They left at 7:33 p.m., returned at 11:07." "Barney?" "This is Leona Epic, age 26." "Drowned in her bath between 8:30 and 10 p.m., also on St. Patrick's Day." "Officially listed as accidental death." "Joseph Epic, age 40, husband of the late Leona." "He and Mike Apollo head local crime syndicates, operating separately." "Even though they're old pals, either would be quick to take over both operations if the other one became vulnerable." "As a matter of fact, Epic's secretary is on Apollo's private payroll as a spy." "We're gonna make that work for us." "Okay." "I thought Anton Malta was retired, Jim." "He's still the grand old man of the organisation, Willy." "He keeps the peace." "So if our plan works, it'll be Malta that Epic will go to for justice." "It'll be Malta who'll call the local mobsters together for a sit-down to evaluate the evidence against Apollo." "The two adjoining apartments, Jim." "The Carsons' apartment will be empty." "They're on a skiing trip at our expense." "Now, this shotgun mike is your invitation to Apollo's weekly luncheon for the mob." "Yeah." "Good, Barney." "Casey?" "Leona Epic, a touch of ghostliness." "What about the perfume?" "She used something called "Nuit de Reve."" "It's very rare." "I had to have some flown over from Paris." "Good." "All right, we're working against time." "If Parnell cracks, they'll kill him." "And if he holds out, they'll kill him." "We are the only chance he's got." "I'm so sorry, Mr. Palmer, but Mr. Epic sees callers only by appointment." "And he's never in before 11." "Eleven?" "That's the kind of boss to have." "You can sleep late and sneak in by 10:30." "I never sneak." "For your information, I'm at my desk by 9 every morning." "Very good." "Mark of a loyal employee." "Now, if we can get around to what time you leave..." "Are you being academic, Mr. Palmer?" "Well, if you don't drink, hate the theatre, and skip dinner." "Would you care to leave a message for Mr. Epic?" "Well, just tell him that I'm with New Republic Insurance, that I'd like to talk to him, that it concerns the late Mrs. Epic." " He'll understand." " What about Mrs. Epic?" "Just ask him to call me, please." "I'm at the Gorham Plaza." "Nice meeting you, Miss Thatcher." "Leona!" "The lady in beige standing there, did you see her?" "No, sir." "Not around here I didn't." " You're lying." "She was right there." " I got no reason to lie to you, mister." "Wait." "Now, if you don't mind..." "All clear." "Palmer." "I don't know any Palmer." ""Tell Mr. Epic I'd like to see him, that it concerns the late Mrs. Epic." "He'll understand."" "I thought the insurance company had closed the case." "They did." "Weeks ago." "You'd better call him." "Mr. Palmer." "Thank you." "Mr. Epic." "Mr. Palmer." "What's your job at New Republic?" "Chief claims investigator out of the home office." "What about my wife?" "What am I supposed to "understand"?" "Understand?" "You told my secretary you wanted to see me and that I would "understand."" "Oh, she must have heard me wrong." "But as a matter of fact, I'm sure you do understand." "Mr. Palmer, Leona is dead and buried." "And your company paid the claim and the case is closed." "Maybe not." "I've been at this job a long time, Mr. Epic." "I got a feeling." "I've learned to trust it." "You better make your point." "Autopsy report says that your wife had taken a barbiturate compound." "On doctor's orders." "Also several very strong drinks, not on doctor's orders." "Now, with a combination like that, somebody could easily have pushed her under the water, couldn't they?" "The coroner didn't think so." "His office didn't lay out 100 grand, mine did." "Just who would you say pushed my wife's head underwater, Mr. Palmer?" "Her death brought you 100,000." "Oh, come on." "A hundred thousand dollars to me is peanuts." "Well, some people are just crazy about peanuts." "When my wife died, I was way across town..." "Oh, way across town with your attorney, just the two of you." "That alibi satisfied the authorities." "It doesn't satisfy me." "You're so sure I killed my wife, now, why do you come here and tell me that?" "Well, knowing a thing like that can make a man nervous." "A nervous man makes mistakes." "Now, I'm gonna get that $100,000 back even if it means putting you away for good." "I'll be around, working hard." "Nice meeting you, Mr. Epic." " Edith." " Yes, Mr. Epic?" "Get me the home office of New Republic Insurance Company in Cleveland." "That settles that." "That's a nice wine, Mike." "I'm glad you like it, Anton." "I hear one of your boys went sour on you." "Yeah, Lew Parnell." "I think you met him a time or two." "You lose him?" "No, not yet." "I got him stashed." "I found him parked in the alley with this shotgun mike." ""New Republic Insurance Company."" "What are you trying to pull here?" "I think you better let Mr. Epic answer that." "It's a personal problem." "You can let him go." " Not a chance." "Not till we find out..." " Hold it, Mike." "Out." "It's about Leona's death." "He claimed it wasn't an accident." "He's gonna be a big hero, and get the money back for his insurance company, and he's gonna put me away for killing her." "And count yourself lucky." "If it'd been up to Mike Apollo, you'd have ended up in cement." " Yeah, yeah..." " Get lost." "All right." "All right." "You guys wanna play it rough, you'll be surprised where it ends." "I checked him out with their home company." ""Mr. Palmer has been right too often in these matters for us to interfere."" " Have a suitcase fall on his head." " Oh, come on, Mike." "You have something like that happen, they'll never get off my back." "Anton," "I saw Leona today." " Hey, Joe..." " I did." "Plain as day, from across the street." "She was holding out her arms to me." "I even smelled her perfume." "Oh, I know, I know, it's all in my head." "You think I don't know that?" "I miss her, Anton." "My God, I miss her." "Goodbye, Mike." "I'll see you later." "This was in the insurance guy's pocket." "This looks like Joe Epic's handwriting." "That's what I thought." "You call Edith in Epic's office." "Tell her I wanna see her tonight." "Joe." "Joe." "Avenge me, darling." "Avenge me." "Avenge me, darling." "Avenge me." "Joe." "Leona." "Leona!" "Well, how many times has this insurance dick seen Epic, anyway?" "Only once, as far as I know." "This morning." "He said to tell Mr. Epic he was from the insurance company and that Mr. Epic would understand." "What's he like, this Palmer?" "Oh, sure of himself." "Quick with a pass." "You know, the "How about a few drinks and dinner? " type." "I wanna get a line on him." "Can you call him?" "Well, not without being terribly obvious." "Yeah, okay, all right." "But if he comes around the office again..." "Oh, I understand, Mr. Apollo." "Good girl." "Jules, have one of our boys start keeping an eye on this Mr. Palmer." "Good morning." "Well, hello." "How are you?" "Well, I'm much better now that I see you can smile." "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Palmer." "I just couldn't get myself together yesterday." "My name is Fred." "And your apology is accepted on one condition:" "That you have drinks and dinner with me tonight." " My, you are persistent." " In everything." "Will you?" " All right." "My place at 6." " Very good." "Is Mr. Epic expecting you?" "I think he'll see me." "Mr. Palmer's here." "Send him in." "He'll see you." "My address." ""Edith."" "Edith, you have made my day." "Hello." "He's here." "Edith." "Yeah?" "Good." "Let's make sure he has a real nice time." "Her place tonight." "Check on Parnell." "I'm beginning to get anxious." "Palmer, I did not kill my wife." "And I'm warning you, you stay away from me." "You wanna talk to me, you talk to me through my lawyers." "You got that?" "You know, I thought you killed your wife for the insurance money." "But I was wrong about the motive." "Beginning 11 weeks ago," "Leona Epic left your apartment every Tuesday and Thursday at 1 p.m." "She passed up the cab stand at the corner, walked two blocks to an intersection, where she picked up a Red  White cab that was waiting for her." "And every Tuesday and Thursday, the cab brought her back around 4:30 to the same intersection." "She walked home from there." "All adds up to a very solid motive, Mr. Epic." "You killed your wife because she had a lover." " I'll kill you..." " Hey, take it easy." "Killing me isn't gonna change anything." "Why don't you come clean?" "My company will help you make a deal with the DA." "Get out of here!" "All right, Mr. Epic." "Get me the dispatcher," "Red  White Cab Company." "Kelly, this is Julie." "Mr. Apollo wants to know how it's going." "It's going." "Keep at it." "I'll check with you later on." "That was Cordova, Lew." "Wants to know how things are going." "Things aren't going too well, are they?" "Not for you." "Not for me." "Why don't we change all that?" "Okay, I've had enough." "I'll talk." "That's being smart." "Now, who do you work for?" "Nobody." "That tape, I was making it for myself." "What are you trying to sell me?" "I was gonna put it away in case Mike and I ever fell out." "You're lying." "No." "No, really." "I say you're lying." "Look at it." "Take a good look." "Did you ever see her before?" "You mean in my cab?" "Mister, you must be kidding." "I just haul them around, I don't remember what they look like." "You..." "You need a licence to run that cab, don't you?" "Sure." "Well, I've got some friends downtown that can pull it in two minutes flat." "Now, don't make me ask you again." "Look, I don't want to cause no trouble for the lady." "She says anybody was to ask, I never seen her, see?" "Anyway, I don't see her now for a month, I guess." "Maybe more." "Tell me about it." "Well, I had this regular call, see?" "Pick her up at the corner of Edison and Grand, 1 p.m.," "Tuesdays and Thursdays." "Real nice lady." "Class, you know what I mean?" " Where did you take her?" " East side." "Not to no address." "I just dropped her off on the corner." "She always stands right there till I'm out of sight." "Take me there." "Wait here." "Ever see her before?" "Parnell." "Just so we make a start, answer me "yes" or "no."" "Do you work for the feds?" "Leave him alone for a while." "I can't afford to kill him just yet." "You ever see her before?" "I couldn't say, sir." "Does she have an apartment in this building?" "I'm sorry." "I'm paid to attend to my work." "All right." "Why, yes, sir." "That's Miss Davis." "The artist lady." "She doesn't live here." "She only comes in to work on her paintings." "What's the apartment number?" "Well, it's 408." "But you won't find her in there." "She hasn't been here for months." "Must be out of town or something." "Are you ready for another, Fred?" "Well, only if..." "Only if you wanna forget about dinner." "I can eat anytime." "Edith, you're okay." "So are you." "Tell me, have you finished your business with Mr. Epic?" "Finished?" "Only just started." "But I thought all that business about his wife was over." "I don't want you to worry about that." "I don't want any wrinkles on that pretty forehead." "It's not that." "It's just that he took it so hard." "I hate to see old wounds open again." "You really care about him, don't you?" "He's been very good to me." "I like that." "Loyalty, that is very rare these days." "And you know something?" "It is not misplaced, Edith." "Because he digs you too." " Did you know that?" " No." "Now, I tell you, a very smart girl like you, if you play your cards right, you could cash them in." "How?" "Well, Mr. Epic and I have a little something cooking." "Mr. Epic is going to be a whole lot bigger than he is now." "He is going to run this city." "As soon as we get rid of the competition." "So here's to him." "And to us." "It's an honour to have you visit me, Anton." "Only for a minute, Mike." "Joe Epic phoned me." "He's calling for a sit-down tonight." "Twelve o'clock sharp, the usual place." "What's his beef?" "He didn't say." "And naturally, I wouldn't ask him." "He wants to be sure that you'll be there." "Thank you, Anton." "Good night." " Yeah?" " He's passed out on me." "Did you get anything?" "Something about him and Epic having a scheme." "Epic's gonna get rid of competition and run the whole city." "Cordova will be right down." " Where to?" " You know Apollo's restaurant?" " Yes, sir." " That's where to." " Good evening, sir." " Get in." "How do you feel, Mr. Palmer?" "What are you doing here?" "What is this?" "We hear that Joe Epic and you are trying to hang a frame on somebody." "What, she told you that?" "She works for Joe." "Hey, where is she?" "We wanna know who, we wanna know how, and we wanna know now." "Oh, come on, I was just kidding her along..." "All right, okay, okay." "It was Epic's idea." "Right after his wife died, I got this call." "What, you couldn't find Palmer?" "He's not at the hotel." "What was I supposed to do?" "All right, we'll have to get along without him." "Come on." " Let's go." " Where?" "You're invited to a sit-down, Mr. Palmer." "And then what?" "You ought to get into a new line of work the way you worry." "Everyone but Parnell." "You're late." "On the short notice I got, you're lucky I'm here at all." "Sit down, Mike." "All right." "Why the sit-down, Joe?" "In line with organisation policy," "I charge Mr. Apollo with personal grievance." "You had a beef, why not come to me with it?" "What I should've done was put out a contract on you instead of waiting for an okay." "I don't wanna hear that kind of talk, Joe." "No, no, Anton." "It's all right." "What have I done that I should get hit for?" "You seduced my wife." "When she tried to break away from you, you killed her!" "All right, Joe." "You made your charge." "Everybody's heard it." "Now, let's see you make it stick." "Come in." "Sit down." "This lady you picked up twice a week, tell these men what you told me." "Well, like I said, I used to pick up this here lady twice a week over to Edison and Grand." "Took her to the same corner on the east side of town." "Where she went after that, I never did know." "When was the last time you saw her?" "Well, mister, I couldn't honestly say." "Well, do you think it was some time after St. Patrick's Day?" "No, I'd say about a week before that." " Well?" " Yes, sir." "That's the same lady, all right." "No question." "All right, sit over there." "Keep your mouth shut." "My wife." "Come in." "Sit down." "Ever see that woman before?" "Well, yes, sir, like I told you before." "It's Miss Evans." "She lives in apartment 408 where I work." "When was the last time you saw her?" "Oh, I'd say couple of months ago, at least." "Around St. Patrick's Day?" "Yeah, that'd be about it." "Maybe a week or two before." "It's my wife." "Now, did you ever see the man in this picture before?" "Why, sure." "He used to visit Miss Evans regular." "Now, there's something written on the back." "Read it out loud." ""I love you, darling." "Mike."" "Now, do me a favour." "Look around this room." "Can you see that man in this room?" "Why, sure, that's him over there." "Okay, go sit over there." "Anything else, Joe?" "What else do you need, Anton?" "Mike?" "Nice try, Joe, but it's not gonna pay off." "Because I know what you've been up to all along." "How you and that insurance dick cooked this whole thing up to get me out of the way so you could take over my rackets." "You're a liar." "Can you back it up, Mike?" "You just watch me back it up." "Jules, bring him in." "Sit down." "All right, Mr. Palmer." "You've got one chance to go on breathing." "Now, I want you to tell them just what you told my boys a couple of hours ago." "What I actually said, or what I was told to say?" " I want the truth, damn it!" " Mike, Mike!" "Moving on." "Go ahead, sir." "Well, I had and I still have good reason to believe that Leona Epic didn't die a natural death, that she was drugged and forcibly drowned." "And who do you believe murdered her?" "At first, I thought it was Joe Epic, for the insurance." "Now I'm not sure." "Explain yourself." "Well, my investigation establishes beyond a doubt she was carrying on an illicit love affair..." "He's lying, Anton." "He's lying!" "Mike!" "Be quiet." "Go on, sir." "She could've been murdered by one of two men." "By her husband, out of jealousy." "Or by her lover, for whatever his reasons." "How long have you been with your insurance company?" "Seventeen years." "They'll vouch for me." "Cordova, take them out." "Stay with them." "We have very serious charges here." "Either Joe framed Mike." "Or Mike seduced and murdered Joe's wife." "One of them will have to pay the penalty." "Anton," "I can prove I didn't kill her." " How?" " Parnell." "I was with him on St. Patrick's Eve." "You're a liar." " Yeah." " Kelly, bring him up through the tunnel." "Right." "They've brought in Parnell." "Let's go." "Tell them where you were on St. Patrick's Day." " What?" " I said, tell them." "Tell them." "Tell them or I'll kill you!" " Mike." " Mike!" "Freeze!" "Against the wall." "Move, move!" "You'll be all right." "Palmer." "Your wife had nothing to do with Mike Apollo."