"♪ (THEME MUSIC PLAYING) ♪" "(UPBEAT JAZZ PLAYS)" "Mannix s7e21 Mask For A Charade" "Hey, why are we going home so early, Nicky?" "I've got a date to go lean on a client." "Aw, lean on him tomorrow." "Mm-mm, tonight." "(ENGINE STARTING) He's behind three months." "It's the red one on the right, kid." "Oh, okay, Nicky." "Yeah." "I really, really love you." "Oh, come on." "(TIRES SQUEALING)" "Love you." "Oh..." "Save it." "I love you." "Save it for later." "Come on." "(LAUGHING)" "(SCREAMING, TIRES SQUEALING)" "(CRASHING, GLASS BREAKING)" "(TIRES SQUEALING)" "(SIGHS)" "(KNOCKING, DOG GROWLING)" "Mind if we come in, Al?" "I wouldn't have it any other way." "What are you drinking?" "This isn't a social call." "Somebody just gave it to Nick Briscoe." "Well, there'll be dancing in the streets." "You been out tonight, Al?" "No." "Why?" "Your raincoat's wet." "Oh, uh, took Tige for a walk." "Do you mind, Sergeant?" "Mind what?" "Art, what the hell's going on?" "(SIGHS)" "Al... a witness picked up the license number on the murder car." "It's your number." "Mine?" "Well, so, some excited dope made a mistake." "What's that?" "Where's your car, Al?" "In the garage." "(PHONE RINGING)" "Joe Mannix." "Art Malcolm, Joe." "We just picked up Sergeant Reardon." "Al Reardon?" "For what?" "Suspicion of murder." "Murder?" "!" "But he's asking for you, Joe." "Not a lawyer, just you." "I'm on my way, Art." "Well, I don't understand any of this." "It's-It's like some kind of a nightmare." "Why don't you let me get you a lawyer?" "I don't need a lawyer, Joe." "I need a friend that will believe my story." "That's why I called you." "Yeah, now, you, uh, say you were at home all night alone?" "Yeah, I..." "I am mostly since..." "since Mary left me." "Did you know this loan shark?" "What was his name?" "Briscoe." "Nick Briscoe." "Did you know him?" "Of course I knew him." "I busted him last year." "I had two witnesses willing to swear he was charging them ten percent interest per week." "Did you get a conviction?" "The witnesses backed off." "Briscoe got to 'em." "Al, uh... how do you explain the damage to your car?" "I can't explain it, Joe!" "I can't explain any of this!" "I just know I didn't do it!" "Come on, file out to the end of the line." "Come on, move it." "Move it, come on." "(DOOR OPENING)" "Miss Layton?" "You step over next to Lieutenant Malcolm, please." "Sit right down, Miss Layton." "Don't identify anyone until you've had a chance to look at all the suspects." "And if you recognize anyone, don't hesitate." "All right, Charlie." "All right, first man step forward here." "Profile." "Step back." "Second man, forward." "Profile." "Step back." "Third man, forward." "Profile." "Step back." "Fourth man, forward." "Face front." "Now profile." "Step back." "Fifth man." "Profile." "Step back." "The third man from the left looks something like the man I saw, but I really can't be sure." "I-I thought it was just a hit-and-run." "I-I didn't look for..." "at his face." "I was..." "I was looking for his license number." "I really can't be sure." "But you can swear that you got the license number?" "Yes, I can swear to that." "Sergeant, may I leave now?" "I can just make the last show." "Show?" "Club Tempe." "Miss Layton's a singer." "Well, maybe I'll stop by some night." "I hope you will." "Thank you, Miss Layton." "Miss Dobbs?" "Will you step over there, please?" "Have a seat, Miss Dobbs." "Don't identify anyone until you've had a chance to examine each suspect, and if you recognize anyone, don't hesitate." "Charlie?" "First man, forward." "Profile." "The one in the middle." "Number three." "CHARLIE:" "Third man forward." "You positive?" "Look, he wasn't more than ten feet away when he stuck that cannon out like right at me." "I'll never forget that face." "Of course, I'm positive." "All right." "Thank you, Miss Dobbs." "Mr. Hicks?" "Will you step over there?" "(DOOR CLOSES)" "Sit right down, Dennis." "Don't identify anyone until you've seen all of the suspects, and if you recognize anyone, don't hesitate." "All right, Charlie." "Ah, you don't have to go through all of 'em." "It's the guy in the center." "Number Three?" "CHARLIE:" "Third man, forward." "No doubt about it." "All right, thank you." "All right, let's file out." "Come on, move it." "Well..." "(DOOR CLOSES)" "What do you think, Art?" "What do you mean, what do I think?" "You heard him." "What do you think?" "(DOOR OPENS)" "PEGGY:" "Annie!" "Good morning, child." "Oh, now, don't tell me you're having trouble at your bar again, Duchess?" "Ah, Joseph, dear boy." "How many times must I tell you that title was passed on to the other side of the Pemberton family?" "No, Joseph." "Actually, I come bearing sad tidings about a mutual friend." "Al Reardon?" "The DA has an informer that says that Al was in debt to his victim... that, uh, usurer, Nick Briscoe." "Come on, Duchess." "If Al needed money, he could have borrowed it from the Police Credit Union." "$20,000, Joseph?" "He was into Briscoe for that much?" "I have it from an impeccable source, dear boy." "Yeah." "They'll figure Al paid off the debt with a gun." "(SOFT JAZZ PLAYING)" "♪ With his first hello ♪" "♪ He gave a meaning to this empty world of mine ♪" "♪ There'd never be another love, another time ♪" "♪ He came into my life and made the living fine ♪" "♪ He fills my heart ♪" "♪ He fills my heart with very special things ♪" "♪ With angels' songs ♪" "♪ With wild imaginings ♪" "♪ He fills my soul ♪" "Irish, rocks." "♪ With so much love ♪" "♪ That anywhere I go ♪" "♪ I'm never lonely ♪" "♪ With him along, who could be lonely?" "♪" "♪ I reach for his hand ♪" "♪ It's always there ♪" "♪ How long does it last?" "♪" "♪ Can love be measured by the hours in a day?" "♪" "♪ I have no answers now ♪" "♪ But this much I can say ♪" "♪ I know I'll need him till the stars all burn away ♪" "♪ And he'll be there. ♪" "(SONG ENDS, APPLAUSE)" "(BAND PLAYS SLOW JAZZ)" "I'm glad you made it here so soon." "Yeah, I really enjoyed that song." "Thank you." "But I must admit, I had an ulterior motive in coming." "Oh?" "Have you given any more thought to what happened last night?" "Well, I didn't get to sleep till about 4:00 this morning, thinking about it." "Helen, you said you couldn't swear that Sergeant Reardon was the man." "No." "Could you swear he wasn't?" "I couldn't swear to that either." "Joe, that man, he looks just like Sergeant Reardon." "(TIRES SQUEALING)" "So the murderer returned to the scene of the crime." "That's right." "And the very next night, yet." "Yeah, okay, so it's a little far-fetched, but these bumps I got diving for my life aren't." "So, you've made some enemies along the way." "Yeah, well, he wasn't one of them." "Now, Helen Layton said he could have been the driver of that murder car." "Would she swear to that?" "Well, maybe if she got to see him again." "Will you put out an APB on him?" "Sure." "Nobody hopes she's right more than I do." "Okay." "Now, can I see Reardon?" "He was released an hour ago." "The judge allowed bail?" "Joe, he's got a perfect 20-year record." "How much was the bail?" "$10,000." "Well, where do you think I got the money?" "My buddies passed the hat." "Al, word's around that you were into Nick Briscoe for 20 Gs." "Oh, sure I was." "That's why I drive that old clunker." "That's why I moved into this palace." "Now, Tige, you eat all of that, or you don't get any dessert." "Oh, Joe, I was framed." "Can't you see that?" "Who'd frame you, Al?" "Well, I finally figured it out." "Ellis Varko." "The syndicate money man?" "Right." "Varko's in jail." "I know." "I put him there." "Revenge?" "Revenge, hell!" "He wants me to say I made an illegal search." "That way, the court will throw his whole case out." "Varko asked you to say that?" "I just got a phone call." "No name." "Just a voice." "Uh-huh." "When?" "The day after I busted Varko." "And of course, you told Art Malcolm?" "(SIGHS)" "Well, that's where I blew it." "I-I wrote it off as a crank call." "Now it's too late." "It sounds like a..." "a phony alibi." "Okay?" "Okay, Al." "Yeah, see ya." "(CAR PHONE RINGING)" "Mannix." "Joe, that parking attendant, Dennis Hicks, well, Annie just called." "And she says he's across the street at Bill's Bar, throwing money around like confetti." "Thanks, Peggy." "(ENGINE STARTS)" "(ROCK MUSIC PLAYS)" "You can have her, all right?" "Dennis, girls." "Well, I hear, uh, you've really been throwing the green stuff around, Dennis." "Yeah, well, I had a long-shot come home." "Uh-huh." "Who was the jockey?" "Ellis Varko?" "I don't know any Ellis Varko." "Well, you ought to take some of your winnings and invest in a TV set." "Varko's case is on the tube every night." "Well, I-I know he's some kind of gangster they got for having stolen bonds or something." "What's that to me?" "20 to life, maybe." "I don't dig." "That's the penalty for perjury in a capital case." "Now do you understand, Dennis?" "Listen, Mannix... you better lay off me, or I'm going to have to call the DA's Office and tell them you're trying to intimidate me." "Why don't you jump right on that, Dennis?" "(MUSIC STOPS)" "Hey, kid, take off." "(WOMAN SCREAMING)" "(SIGHS)" "Hey, Mister!" "You, uh, you know those two?" "Well, they were in here a week ago, with a big private party." "Uh, the host was that racketeer..." "Frankie West." "That's it, Frankie West." "Hello, Frankie." "How'd you get in here?" "By parachute." "Two of your trained apes just jumped me, Frankie." "I want to know why." "If they were my men, it was a mistake." "No mistake, Frankie." "They were pulling me off that lying witness of yours, Dennis Hicks." "I think you need a drink." "You're behind Reardon's frame, aren't you, Frankie?" "Why would I be?" "Because you're Varko's vice president in charge of the dirty work, that's why." "You've got a lot of imagination." "I think you ought to be a writer." "All right, Frankie." "But you listen to me." "The next time you set your apes on me," "I'll come back here and bust up this zoo." "And that includes the trainer." "Art." "Joe, are you crazy, running around terrorizing witnesses?" "So, little Dennis went running to the teacher." "He went to the DA, who blew his stack!" "Now butt out of this case!" "Hey, Art, a cop's been framed." "Framed, my foot!" "We have an informer named Aaron Coolie who saw Al Reardon taking money from that loan shark." "Oh, come on, Art." "You going to take the word of a stoolie against one of your own officers?" "We gave him a polygraph test, and he got an "A."" "Now, stop running around making a damn fool out of yourself!" "Joe, I have leveled with you!" "(TIGE BARKING)" "Like hell you have!" "You've been using me for a patsy!" "Now, I tell you I haven't!" "Oh, how do you explain Coolie passing the lie detector test?" "Well, I-I can't explain it!" "You can't explain anything, and I'm beginning to understand why!" "Come on, Joe, you're getting my dog all excited." "Oh, swell." "Your dog is excited." "Joe, I did not kill Nick Briscoe!" "(PHONE RINGS)" "Hello!" "Uh... yeah." "It's your secretary." "Yeah, Peggy!" "Joe, I found out where Aaron Coolie's living." "It's at that old hotel at Griswald and Third." "MANNIX:" "Coolie!" "What do you want, Mannix?" "Coolie, you told Lieutenant Malcolm you saw Sergeant Reardon taking money from Nick Briscoe." "Where was that?" "Look, I passed the lie detector test." "I know." "Where was it?" "In a bar, over on Canal Street." "How close to them were you?" "Oh, I was... (MUTTERS) from about here to..." "those trash cans over there." "Coolie, just how good is your vision?" "What do you mean?" "I mean, are you willing to take an eye test?" "I saw what I saw." "Now, leave me alone, Mannix." "(GRUNTS)" "(SIREN WAILS)" "The DA's going to love you for this." "He stepped into the line of fire, Art." "I think I was the target." "Whose target?" "Ellis Varko." "Varko?" "Now, look, Joe..." "Art, Varko is behind Reardon's frame." "Varko is facing a long stretch for the possession of stolen bonds." "Exactly." "He probably thinks framing Al will help get him off." "How?" "Why don't you let me talk to Varko?" "Maybe I can find out." "Sergeant Reardon?" "What's a Sergeant Reardon?" "The cop that developed the lead that put you where you are, Varko." "So pin a medal on him." "Or a bribe?" "You tried to reach him to get him to say that his search was illegal so that the case against you'd be quashed." "Not a bad idea." "I'll pass it on to my attorneys." "Reardon didn't mention that to me, Joe." "Al figured it was a crank call." "So maybe Mr. Varko here figured that a murder rap that would discredit the cop's testimony was the next best thing." "May I go back to my cozy little cell now, Lieutenant?" "At my age, the most indispensable thing is an afternoon nap." "Especially when I'm facing a long, tiresome flight." "A Senate Investigating Committee requires Mr. Varko's presence in Washington on Tuesday." "You satisfied?" "Art, uh, you must know where I can reach Nick Briscoe's girlfriend." "Jenny Dobbs?" "Lay off, Joe." "You're in enough trouble with the DA's Office already." "WEST:" "Morning, Sergeant." "Frankie." "What are you doing in this part of town?" "Just out for the ride." "Sorry to hear about your problem, Sergeant." "Nice dog you got there." "Now, who's going to take care of him while you're in the slammer, your wife?" "Forgot." "She's no longer around, is she?" "What do you know about my wife?" "What would you say, Sergeant, if I told you that somebody could solve all of your problems with a snap of the fingers?" "Tell me about it." "Some other time, maybe." "♪ I believe in love, Alfie ♪" "♪ Without true love, we just exist, Alfie ♪" "♪ Until you find the love you've missed ♪" "♪ You're nothing, Alfie ♪" "♪ When you walk, let your heart lead the way ♪" "♪ And you'll find love ♪" "♪ Any day, Alfie. ♪" "(SONG ENDS)" "That's all right." "I'll fix the charts so you can repeat the chorus, Miss Layton." "Thank you, Freddie." "Hi." "How's it going?" "Uh, it could go a lot better, maybe, if I could locate Jenny Dobbs." "Well, you should have been here last night." "She was here?" "As a matter of fact, we had a long chat." "You know, she's scared to death about testifying against Sergeant Reardon." "Did you get her new address?" "Yes, Joe, but I promised her I wouldn't tell anybody." "Helen, we're not playing games." "Sergeant Reardon's life might depend on my locating her." "(SIGHS)" "Okay, but I'd better take you there." "I'll have to explain to her." "(DOORBELL RINGING)" "Who's there?" "It's me, Jenny." "Yeah, wait a second." "You told him?" "HELEN:" "It's very important, Jenny." "He just wants to ask a few simple questions." "Wait." "Wait a minute." "Come in." "Come... come in." "Come in." "What kind of questions?" "Who picked up the tab for this pad?" "Ellis Varko?" "That's some simple question." "Joe..." "Or was it Frankie West?" "Look, you get out of here." "You get out of here, or I'll call the DA's Office." "The number is 479-1190." "47... 4... 479-11... 4..." "Ow." "7..." "MANNIX:" "Planning a trip, were you, Jenny?" "Well, well, well..." "Get your dirty hands off those!" "What are they?" "Candid shots of Al Reardon." "They must have had a man with a camera following him around for days." "I don't understand." "Jenny never saw Sergeant Reardon in her life." "They gave her those photos so she could pick him out of the lineup, didn't they, Jenny?" "I need a drink." "It's a good idea, Jenny." "There won't be any where you're going." "I want immunity..." "and a suspended sentence." "People doing worse get it nowadays." "From the top, Jenny." "Well... they told us some guy was going to lower the boom on Nick Briscoe." "And they told us to say afterward the guy was Sergeant Reardon." "Who's "us"?" "Me and Dennis Hicks." "You know, the parking kid." "Look, we didn't know they'd kill Nick." "I mean, you know, we thought they'd-they'd just, like, work him over a little bit." "(CRYING):" "I loved Nick." "He..." "He understood me." "That didn't stop you from lying about his murder." "Well, gosh, they paid me a thousand bucks and gave me this place." "You keep talking about "they." Who's "they"?" "I don't know." "Just some voice on the phone." "Told me what to do, and the money was delivered." "And what about Aaron Coolie?" "How'd he pass the lie detector test?" "The way I heard it, the guy taking money from Nick wasn't the sergeant." "It was just some lookalike." "The whole thing was a put-on to make Coolie think" "Al was into my Nick for a big hunk of change." "That's all I know." "(MUTTERING QUIETLY)" "Jenny?" "Let's all have a little drink." "How much do they know?" "Not they." "Me." "She's a friend of Jenny's." "She was trying to hold out Jenny's address on me." "Let's go." "You, too, lady." "Okay." "No, not you." "(JENNY SHRIEKS)" "And you don't leave this apartment until you hear from us." "You understand?" "Start digging." "Hold it." "It's too sandy here." "Check the other side of the lake." "No." "No!" "Please." "Get up." "I said get up!" "No!" "(GRUNTING)" "(BLOW LANDING)" "(BLOWS LANDING)" "HELEN:" "Joe!" "(GUNSHOTS)" "(GUNSHOTS)" "You okay?" "Yeah, except for a concussion, I'm fine." "Well?" "Thanks, Lieutenant." "I've grown kind of fond of this old hunk of tin." "Yeah, well, you're back on your regular duty as of now." "That's all, Sergeant." "Yeah." "ART:" "Oh, Sergeant?" "One more thing." "We love ya!" "(LAUGHTER)" "AL:" "Oh." "You had me scared half to death." "Welcome back, Al." "Thanks, Joe." "I guess you know how sorry we are about all this." "Just forget it." "Just think of the satisfaction" "I'm going to get from watching Frankie West join his boss in the slammer." "Uh-oh." "What?" "Well, there's no way we're going to tie Frankie West and Varko to all this." "They pulled the strings, but they covered it up 100%." "Well, I guess I can't expect the whole store, huh?" "But you sure saved my neck, and that's one I owe you." "At least a drink." "You want to pay up now?" "Right now?" "Sure." "Okay." "Uh, have a good weekend, Art." "Hi, Peggy." "What are you doing here so late?" "PEGGY:" "We have a guest." "Hi, Duchess." "Well, dear boy." "Peggy's told me they pinned Sergeant Reardon's badge back on." "That's right." "And the donkey's tail on you, no doubt." "Are you saying this was all a set-up?" "It seems the good Sergeant has pulled the wool over our eyes, Joseph." "I suspect he was in debt to that usurer." "You see, he's been keeping a woman." "Al?" "I don't believe it." "Unfortunately, child, there's evidence." "Documentary evidence, which unaccountably came into my possession this morning." "PEGGY:" "What is it, Joe?" "Photostats of canceled checks signed by Al Reardon to a Mildred Hawthorne." "Ah, is it any wonder Alfred's poor wife left him?" "Do you know this, uh, Mildred Hawthorne?" "All I have is an address in the Valley." "211 Mountain View." "Joe?" "Whatever it's worth, according to the calendar, every one of these checks is dated on a Sunday." "Tomorrow's Sunday." "Hello, Mary." "I brought you your favorites." "Would you take them?" "How've you been?" "The doctor said that you were able to dress yourself this week, Mary." "That's wonderful." "Tige's just fine." "Except he misses you." "Whenever I take him for a walk, he looks in the face of every woman going by, hoping it'll be you." "Can't you say something, Mary?" "Just one word." "Just... say my name, Mary." "Can you just-just say my name?" "(CHOKED SOBS)" "I had a doll once." "The stuffing fell out." "Well, you might as well sit down and enjoy the sunshine, old buddy, while you're here." "No, thanks, Al." "I..." "I don't want to disturb her." "You could fire off a gun, it wouldn't disturb her." "She's in another world." "Why didn't you tell me, Al?" "Mary wouldn't want anybody to know she's in this condition." "Who's Mildred Hawthorne?" "The cashier here." "I make the checks payable directly to her." "It was... it was more discreet." "The tab must be something fierce." "It's brutal." "But I'm not tossing my Mary into some charity snake pit." "You did borrow money from Nick Briscoe, didn't you, Al?" "Well, where else was I going to get the money after my insurance ran out?" "I thought he'd keep his mouth shut." "Apparently, he didn't." "I guess not." "He probably told Varko." "And Varko figured that Nick Briscoe would make the perfect centerpiece for a frame." "You proved that, Joe." "But you didn't level with me, Al." "About everything except the loan." "They could boot me off the force for borrowing from a loan shark." "Who fed Jenny Dobbs that story about the lookalike?" "I don't know." "Somebody had to have a reason." "Joe, a favor?" "Let sleeping dogs lie." "I need my job." "(SIGHS) Okay, Al." "Consider the case closed." "Have a nice visit with the little woman, Al?" "Get out." "You don't want to talk like that, Sergeant." "And after I just saved your neck." "Joe Mannix saved my neck." "Mannix?" "That bird dog?" "He just sniffed out the clues that I handed him." "What did you say?" "That's right." "We shoveled them right into his lap." "Don't you get it, Al?" "We wanted you cleared." "Why?" "Well now, you'd hardly be much good to me in the slammer, would you, Al?" "So you fed Jenny Dobbs that story about the lookalike?" "Who else?" "Like I said, you're no good to me in the slammer." "But you did too good a job, Frankie." "Now neither you nor anybody else has got anything on me." "No?" "You recognize the signature?" "Copies of the IOU's you gave Nick Briscoe." "Proving you broke departmental regulations by borrowing from a loan shark." "Proving that you, uh, lied about them during a murder investigation." "Now how would you like me to turn them over to the DA, Al?" "What do you want?" "Let Varko escape." "Not a chance." "Think about it, Al." "Anyway, I'm in no position..." "Come on, don't you try to con me." "You know you're assigned to escort him to the airport tomorrow." "I want you to give him this." "Now, they'll say he got the drop on you." "Who knows where he got it?" "Somebody in stir, maybe." "You've got no choice, Al." "You play, or it's the ash can for you." "And the snake pit for the little woman." "Thanks, Vivian." "Bye-bye." "Joe, I just found out something." "Helen Layton is represented by a talent agency by the name of Inter-World Artists." "So?" "So, Inter-World Artists is a subsidiary of Varko Enterprises." "HELEN:" "Joe!" "Joe!" "Al's frame was a put-on, wasn't it?" "And I was the sucker that was supposed to buy it." "Look, I don't know what you're talking about." "That phony kidnapping by those two hoods was the climax." "I was supposed to escape without a gun in my hand." "And you took care of that." "Look, I only threw the gun away to keep the man you were fighting with from getting it." "You threw it away so I wouldn't get it." "Now, who gave you those orders, Varko?" "Oh, please, Joe." "You answer me." "No, not Varko." "Frankie West." "Why?" "Was he helping Varko?" "Helping him?" "He's going to kill him." "Why?" "The syndicate thinks that Varko is too old and sick to stand a prison term, and they're afraid he's going to talk." "And just where does Sergeant Reardon fit into this?" "(SIGHS)" "Frankie has the IOU's that Reardon gave to Briscoe." "And he's blackmailed Reardon into slipping a gun to Varko." "Only, what Reardon doesn't know is that Varko is going to kill him with it." "And you know what's funny?" "Varko doesn't know it, but then they're going to kill him with Reardon's gun." "Leaving Frankie West smelling like roses." "And the head of the organization." "Just when is this all supposed to take place?" "Maybe it's happening right now." "When you hit the field, head for the north end." "Did you have to clobber him so hard?" "Relax." "He's breathing, isn't he?" "(TIRES SCREECHING)" "(TIRES SQUEAL)" "Thanks for the ride, Sergeant." "(GUN CLICKS)" "(TIRES SCREECH)" "(GUNSHOT)" "(TIRES SQUEAL)" "(GUNSHOTS)" "(THUD)" "(GUNSHOTS)" "Freeze!" "(GUNSHOTS)" "You all right, old buddy?" "I'll be all right." "They had me between a rock and a hard place, Joe." "No excuse, huh?" "Do you have to ask, Al?" "It's worse than you think." "I slipped him a gun." "I know." "But I took the bullets out first." "At least there's enough cop left in me for that." "Well, I'm gonna forget all about that gun, Al." "You'd do that for an old buddy?" "Let's just say, uh..." "for an old buddy's wife." "(SIRENS WAIL)" "(TIRES SQUEAL)" "(CAR DOOR SHUTS)"