"You folks are American citizens?" "I am, yes." " Where were you born, miss?" " Mrs." " What?" " Philadelphia." "The name is Vargas." "Hey, Jim!" "You see who's here?" "Sure." "Mr Vargas." "Hot on the trail of another dope ring?" "Hot on the trail of a chocolate soda for my wife." " Your wife?" " Barely a bride, officer." "Hey, can I get through?" "A lot of talk up here about how you cracked that Grandi business." "I hear you caught the big boss." "No, only one of them." "The Grandis are a big family." "Good night." "No purchases, Mr Linnekar?" "Hey." "Hey, I got this..." " You're an American citizen, miss?" " No, I got this ticking noise." " Yeah, OK." " No, really." " This ticking noise in my head." " Good night." "Mike?" "Do you realise this is the very first time we've been together in my country?" "Do you realise I haven't kissed you in over an hour?" "Mike, what happened?" "That car that just passed us exploded." "The car?" "How could it do that?" "I don't know." "I'll have to try to find out." "You'd better not come any closer." "The..." "We'll have to postpone that soda, I'm afraid." " But Mike, couldn't I..." " Susie, please be careful." " This could be very bad for us." " For us?" "For Mexico, I mean." "Anyway, there's nothing I can do over here." " So?" " So, I'll try not to be too long." "Go on, darling." "You wait at the hotel." "Blaine, I thought you were back in Washington." "I leave tomorrow." "You know Schwartz of the local D.A.'s office." " How do you do, sir?" " Hi." "Can you tell me who's in charge here?" "I can't even tell you what happened." "Why aren't you back in Mexico City?" "Isn't that dope trial coming up?" "Grandi?" "This Thursday." "I'd hoped to go back on the morning plane, but now..." " You mean this business?" " I'm afraid so." "That bomb came from the Mexican side of the border." "The car did." "Lady, he says you don't understand what he wants." "I understand very well what he wants." "He saved your life, lady." "Tell him I'm a married woman." "And that my husband is a great, big official in the government, ready and willing to knock out all those pretty front teeth of his." "That's it, lady, your husband." "That's what he wants to talk to you about." ""Follow this boy at once." ""We have something very important for Mr Vargas."" "Well, what have I got to lose?" "Don't answer that." "Lead on, Pancho." "Across the border again?" "Hey, Doc." "Here comes the D.A." "Where's Captain Quinlan?" "Got him out of bed at his ranch." "He's on his way." "Old Hank must be the only one in the county who didn't hear the explosion." "Terrible thing, isn't it?" "Has the daughter been told?" "They're bringing her over right now." " That's right." " To identify her father's body." "An hour ago, Rudy Linnekar had this town in his pocket." "Now you can strain him through a sieve." "I guess that's my father." "Now, Miss Linnekar, can you identify the woman?" "I'm not acquainted with my father's girlfriends." "OK, Miss Linnekar." "Well, here comes Hank at last." "Vargas, you've heard of Hank Quinlan, our local police celebrity." " I'd like to meet him." " That's what you think." "Did they toss it in or was it planted ahead of time?" " Who?" " Whoever did it, you jackass." "Hey, lady, look at the pretty baby." "My nephew says you call him Pancho." "Why?" " Why you call him Pancho?" " Just for laughs, I guess." "This note says you have something for my husband." "Yeah, Señor Vargas." "You know who I am?" " You want me to guess?" " My name is Grandi." "You have heard that name before?" "Well, aside from the case my husband's been working on, isn't Grandi what that nightclub is called?" "Yeah?" "Yes." "Grandi's Rancho Grande." "Like a... kind of a joke." "Get it?" "I can't say it's the funniest thing I ever heard." "The name ain't Mexican." "I got a permit for this thing." "The Grandi family is living here in Los Robles a long time." "Some of us in Mexico, some of us on this side." " Must be convenient for business." " Yeah." " What business?" " Grandi business." " Yeah?" " Yeah!" " Yeah?" " Yeah, yeah, yeah!" "You know what's wrong with you, Mr Grandi?" "You've been seeing too many gangster movies." "Mike may be spoiling some of your fun..." " Mike?" " My husband." "Yeah!" "And if you're trying to scare me into calling him off, let me tell you something, Mr Grandi." "I may be scared, but he won't be." "You figure it was a bomb then, Hank?" "Well, Chief, Rudy Linnekar could have been struck by lightning." "Where's the daughter?" "Marcia?" "Got her right here waiting for you, Hank." "Let her go." "You don't even want to question the daughter?" "Let her go and put a tail on her." "Let's see if there was some jane that Rudy Linnekar had..." "Oh, just some, uh, stripteaser." "Well, what do you know?" "The D.A. in a monkey suit." " Well, it's..." " You, too." "You got one of them suits." " Well, we were all at the banquet." " A political rally?" " No, Tootsie's Steak House." " G-Men, T-Men." "Quite a little tea party." "All for Rudy Linnekar's bonfire." "Yeah, I hear you even invited some kind of a Mexic..." "Oh, I don't think Mr Vargas claims any jurisdiction." "Well, I should hope not." "Two people, Americans, are blown to hash with dynamite, practically in my own police station." "I wonder what makes you so very sure it was dynamite?" "My leg." " Your what?" " His game leg." "Sometimes he gets a kind of a twinge, like folks do for a change of weather." "Intuition, he calls it." "Vargas has a theory that the murder itself was committed outside of our jurisdiction." "Of course, we're all of us going to cooperate with Mr Vargas here." "Don't worry, Captain." "I'm merely what the United Nations would call an observer." "Well, you don't talk like one." "I'll say that for you." "A Mexican, I mean." "Captain, you won't have any trouble with me." "You bet your sweet life I won't." "As a matter of fact, Mike must be looking for me just about now, and that's bound to mean trouble." "What's so funny about that?" "He wants to know if your husband is jealous, Señora." "You silly little pig." " Who are you talking about?" " I'm talking about you." "You ridiculous old-fashioned, jug-eared, lopsided little Caesar." "I didn't get that, Señora." "You'll have to talk slow." "I'm talking slow." "But in a minute I'll start to yell." "I wouldn't do that, Señora." "See, just a little while ago, this was a quiet, peaceful town here." " And now this Vargas comes along..." " Mr Grandi!" "Mr Grandi." "You said you had something for my husband." "Don't you think it's time you gave it to me?" "I think it's time for him to lay off my brother in Mexico City!" "That's advice." "That's what I got for him." "Then the conference is over?" "I'm free to leave?" "Free?" "Nobody was holding you or keeping you, Mrs Vargas." "Nobody laid a hand on you." "You were just paying us a little visit." "Well..." "Goodbye, all." "Quinlan, we just can't cross over into Mexico like this." " Thousands do every day." " Tourists, but..." "So, we're tourists." "Captain Quinlan wants to check on the girl that was with Linnekar in the death car." "I know." "She was one of the stripteasers." " I think I told you." " No, Pete told me before I left the ranch." "That's right." "And I told him that I wanted to see all the stripteasers in the joint." "This is Mexican territory." "What can we do?" "There's no law against visitors asking questions, is there, Mr Vargas?" "Hey, where'd he go?" " Susie, where in the world were you?" " Oh, Mike, darling!" " What happened?" " Just wait till I tell you." "The craziest thing..." " Who's the jane?" " His wife." "Well, what do you know?" "She don't look Mexican either." "The key to this whole thing's the dynamite." "The killer didn't just want Linnekar dead." "He wanted him destroyed." "Annihilated." "Over here, Vargas." "We're going in the back way." "Señor Vargas." "Señor Vargas." "Yes?" "Anything wrong, Vargas?" "No, I just couldn't catch him." "I hardly knew her." " Adair, come on." " Yes, yes." "And I'm not finished with you yet." "I..." " The show's over." "I'm going home." " Oh, no, no, ma'am." "Mr Adair, as far as I could find out, none of these people even knew the murdered girl." "I have no time for that." "Let's talk to this young lady." " Zita?" " Yeah." "I didn't know her." "She only joined this show a few days ago." "We're wasting our time around here." "Oh, I wouldn't say that!" "Well, good night, my dear." "What happened to Menzies and Vargas?" "I don't know." "They'll show up." "There may be some more questions." "A pianola." "Hank!" "We, we go this way, you know?" "Tana's still open for business?" "I don't know what Quinlan thinks she's got to do with it." "Tana?" "Oh, maybe she'll cook chilli for him." "Or... bring out the crystal ball." "We're closed." "You been cooking at this hour?" "Just cleaning up." "Have you forgotten your old friend?" " I told you we were closed." " I'm Hank Quinlan." "I didn't recognise you." "You should lay off those candy bars." "It's either the candy or the hooch." "I must say, I wish it was your chili I was getting fat on." "Anyway, you're sure looking good." " You're a mess, honey." " Yeah." "That pianola sure brings back memories." "The customers go for it." "It's so old, it's new." "We got the television, too." "We run movies." "What can I offer you?" "You haven't heard anything about that bomb, have you?" "That happened on your side of the border." "In a place like this, you hear things." "I heard the explosion." "Yeah." "Well, when this case is over," "I must come around some night, sample some of your chili." "Better be careful." "It may be too hot for you." " Oh, Hank!" " Yeah?" "Looks like our friend Vargas ran into some trouble." " Where?" " In the alley behind the nightclub." "Yeah?" " What happened to Vargas?" " What happened?" " What was it, Al?" " Nothing." " Oh, no?" " Al!" "Certainly nothing to do with this bombing affair." "Somebody threw acid at Vargas." " It doesn't matter." "He missed me." " Well, who was it, Al?" "I don't know." "He got away." "Maybe it's one of the Grandi kids." "What makes you so sure of that, Captain?" " Intuition." " Intuition?" "Well, Vargas and these Keystone Cops seem to be giving the Grandi family quite a few headaches lately..." "Yeah?" "Does your intuition also tell you about my wife?" "Wife?" "She was accosted in the street a little while ago, and led across to some dive on your side of the border." "The Vargas family seems to be getting into quite a lot of trouble tonight." "Can you describe this man?" " Well, the first one seems to have been..." " Oh, the first one." " young, good looking." " So, there were two men?" " Not exactly." " Not exactly?" "Are you saying she was taken to this dive by force?" "Not by force, no." "One of the Grandis was there waiting." ""Short, fat, with a moustache."" "That's Susan's description, I haven't run into him." "What?" " They call him Uncle Joe..." "Grandi." " That's right." " Go on." " Well..." "What do you mean, "go on"?" "I've told you what happened." "Aren't you going to do something about it?" "If you're making a charge, I've got to ask the complaint." "Or isn't that police procedure in Mexico?" " Procedure?" " You say your wife was attacked." " I did not say she was attacked." " Would you say she was molested?" "Not physically molested, no." " Was obscene language used?" " I don't think so!" "Well, how do you explain the fact that your wife allowed herself" " to be picked up by this good-look..." " She was not picked up." "Now, Hank, I think we're getting off on the wrong tack here." "Then this good-looking young man was a 'friend' of hers?" "Obviously not." "You wouldn't call that getting picked up in the street?" "Now, now, we mustn't forget, must we that Mr Vargas is not on the witness stand." "Hank's a born lawyer, you know?" "Lawyer." "I'm no lawyer." "All a lawyer cares about is the law!" "Captain, you are a policeman, aren't you?" "Aren't you?" "You don't seem very fond of the job." "There are plenty of soldiers who don't like war." "It's a dirty job enforcing the law, but it's what we're supposed to be doing, isn't it?" "I don't know about you, but when a murderer's loose, I'm supposed to catch him." "Well, Pete, let's get back to civilisation." "Let's go, Hank." "It's almost dawn." "You gotta get some rest." "No chance of that, partner." "We got a big day ahead of us." "See any better this way?" "You can turn it off now, buster." "You're wasting your batteries." "Susie... what are you doing here in the dark?" "There isn't any shade on the window." "Well, can we turn the light on now?" "No, we can't." " Why not?" " Because there isn't any bulb anymore." "Susie!" "Risto!" "Risto!" "Uncle Joe is plenty mad." "He wants to talk to you." "Risto." "Risto, come back here." "Sal, grab him!" "Stop him!" "Grab him, Sal!" "Who told you to throw acid at Vargas?" "Stop him!" "Who told you to throw acid at Vargas?" "Who's the boss of this family?" " Who is the boss?" " My old man." "Yeah, Vic, sure." "But he's in the pen!" "Until he gets out, who's running this outfit?" " Oh, stop it, will ya?" " Who's in charge?" "All right, you." "Oh, what a set-up to work with." "One brother in jail, two others dead!" "And nobody left to carry on the business but a bunch of nephews!" " Listen, Uncle..." " Don't do that!" " You lost your rug, Uncle Joe." "The rug." " Half of you too wet behind the ears." "This isn't the real Mexico." "You know that!" "All border towns bring out the worst in a country." "I can just imagine your mother's face if she could see our honeymoon hotel." " Señor Vargas!" " Un momento." "Does this mean you're taking that early plane back to Mexico City?" "Teléfono!" "Teléfono..." "Because it doesn't leave for another two hours yet." "All I can say is, if you are taking that plane, I'm very glad." "I'm very glad you're very glad." "Sí." "Who told you to start this funny stuff with the acid?" "Who told you?" "I just wanted to give that wife of his something to think about on the honeymoon." "She's going to get plenty." "Don't you worry." " Here, you lost your rug." " She's gonna..." "What?" "You lost your rug." "My old man is in no shape for the pen." "If they give him ten, he dies." "Yeah?" "And if Vargas gets hurt, what happens?" "My brother Vic is just as good as convicted." " You leave Vargas to me!" " Uncle Joe." "Uncle Joe." "What?" "Sal!" "This, take it to her." "I don't want any more postcards." "I don't speak any Spanish." "What is it?" "What do you want?" "I don't know." "I was told to put this in your hands." " Susie, that was the police." " Mike, look at..." "Quinlan has a lead." "I'm sorry, I have to meet him." "Now, you must tell me what you want to do." "If you are going to Mexico City, I have time to take you to the airport." "Perhaps that would be best, just for a few days." "I don't think so." " But just a minute ago, you..." " A minute ago I said a lot of things." "But now I think the best thing is to stick close to my husband." "OK?" "Susie!" " So, Mike, I'm coming with you." " Coming with me?" "But I have to see Quinlan at the American police station." " I'll wait at the motel." " What motel?" "Well, there must be one somewhere on the American side of the border." "The American side of the border." "Oh, well, I'll be safe there and you won't have to worry about me." "Did I say the wrong thing again?" "No, I suppose it would be nice for a man in my place to be able to think he could look after his own wife in his own country." "Oh, Mike, if I go to the American motel, it's just for comfort." " Sure, sure." " Not for safety." "Whatever you say, mi vida." "... wealthy contractor, Rudolph Linnekar has definitely been identified with the blonde nightclub dancer, killed in the explosion a few yards this side of the Mexican border." "We're gonna get you where it really hurts." "And without laying a hand on him." "He's got a reputation." "He's got a young bride." "He's gonna leave this town wishing he and that wife of his had never been born." "Don't you see, darling, if the bomb was planted in Mexico, and the accused is Mexican, what a scandal this could turn into?" "Internationally?" "Might be kind of rough on the tourist trade." "Susie, one of the longest borders on earth is right here between your country and mine." "It's an open border, fourteen hundred miles without a single machine gun in place." "Now, I suppose that all sounds very corny to you." "I could love being corny if my husband would only cooperate." "Hey, Susie." "Well..." "Vargas?" "Hello there, Schwartz." "Quinlan's onto something new." "Coming with us?" "I have first to drop my wife at the motel." "Captain Quinlan wants you to go with him." "I'll drop your wife at the motel." " Oh, really, I..." " No trouble at all, ma'am." "Aren't you going to drive me?" "I'll phone you, darling." "What's the name of that motel?" " The Mirador." " Quinlan's in kind of a hurry, Vargas." " Don't bother to phone." " Try to get some sleep, Susie." "That Mirador's mighty hard to find, with the new highway branching off the way it does." "Hey!" " That's all right." "I can find the way." " Oh, gee, I for..." "His cane!" "I forgot to give him his cane." "He really needs it for that game leg of his." "They ever tell you how he got it, huh?" " What, cane?" " No, his bad leg." " Who're you talking about?" " Captain Quinlan!" "He got it in a gunfight, Mrs Vargas, that's how." "He was wounded stopping a bullet that was meant for me." "I reckon the bravest thing Hank ever did was to give up drink." "He used to be a terrible lush, you know." "But look at him now." "No sleep, still at it." "Say, he never gives up." "What's wrong?" "What are you following us for?" "Get out of the car." "What?" "A man can't take a ride in his own car?" "What's the big idea?" "You'll find out!" "Come on!" "Don't push me." "Keep your hands off me." "Wake up, Mrs Vargas." "We're here." "This is it." "This can't be it." "It's all the motel we got this side of town, ma'am." "The others are all on the new highway, and most of them are closed up till the season starts." " Oh, no." " Oh, yeah!" "Now listen, Sergeant..." "How long are you gonna hold me here?" "I haven't done nothing..." "Shut up!" "Mrs Vargas, can you identify this man?" "Of course I can identify him." "That's Grandi." " I know." " I'm a member of the family." "Sure, but nobody has laid a hand on her." "Right?" "Shut up!" "Get in the car!" " What about my car?" " You can leave it here." "Where?" "Here?" "In the middle of nowhere?" " You're coming with me!" " On what charge?" "I don't know yet." "That's for Captain Quinlan to decide." "Well, what was Grandi doing way out here?" " He was following us in his car." " Just driving along." "Oh, well." "Where are my bags?" "We've already put them by your cabin, Mrs Vargas." "There it is." "The last one." "Number seven." "If you should want to change, just phone the man at the desk." "Off-season like this, I reckon you're about the only one staying here." "I turned the music on up for you up at the office." "I..." "I turned the music on up for you at the..." "I thought you'd like it." "Not just now." "It's past seven, and I haven't been to bed yet." "Bed?" "Well, you can get into it now." "I brought the sheets." "If they think I'm gonna help make it, they got another think comin'!" "I'm not gonna be a party to... nothin'." "I'm the night..." "It... it's day already." "I'm the night man." "Can't the day man help me make the bed?" "There ain't no day man." "He's supposed to be here at six o'clock this morning, and now they phoned me and they tell me he ain't coming at all." "They're sending a new man... new man." "If they think I'm gonna stay here and wait for him, they got another think..." "Well, won't you help me make the bed?" "Bed?" "Hey, wait a minute." "That friend of yours, Mr Grandi, he... he ain't gonna leave you here for long." "He is not my friend." "He brought you here in that car, didn't he?" "No, he didn't." "As a matter of fact, he's under arrest." "Under arrest?" "Mr Grandi?" "Yes, he is." "Hold that second charge!" "Stop that car!" "Hold that car!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Hold it!" "Hey, there was a complaint about some stolen dynamite out here." "You fired anybody lately?" "I figured you'd be asking about that." "Yeah, a boy named Sanchez?" "Sure." "He's been playing around with the boss's daughter." "Say, Captain." "I just recognised somebody over there at the blaster." "Oh, with the big ears?" "Yeah." "Our office prosecuted that guy for voluntary manslaughter." "Get him over here." "That's Eddie Farnum." "Got five to ten." "You have to get out of here." "We're gonna blast again." " How long you been out?" " Three months." " Quick parole." " Who got you this job?" " My lawyer, Howard Frantz." " Grandi's lawyer." "Come in, car ten." "Suspect now in custody at Five-O-Three Innes Place." " Well, this is it." " Suspect?" "That the one you been talking about?" "This Sanchez?" "They've located him." "Right, Captain?" "Yeah, Marcia Linnekar's apartment." "Come on." "Stand still." "We're gonna blast." "What's wrong, Farnum?" "You short of dynamite?" "Captain, have you anything definite on this boy Sanchez?" "Not yet." "I'm just going on my intuition." "Hey, I think this car belongs to Howard Frantz." " Yeah?" " You remember him." "He was that slick lawyer that got Farnum a parole." "Yeah, he was Rudy Linnekar's attorney, too." " Isn't that Quinlan?" " Quinlan?" "It figured we'd have Hank Quinlan to deal with." " You finished packing?" " Yeah." "I heard about that guy." "Say nothing, my dear." "Leave everything to me." "Let's get your bag." "Remember, I'll do all the talking." "How do we begin?" "Do we play around first with a few nasty questions?" "Or does he get out the rubber hose right away?" "Take it easy." "Vargas!" "Yes, Captain." "I got my orders, Vargas." "I'm supposed to extend you every courtesy." "That don't mean you..." "you do the interrogating." "I know, Captain." "That's what I told Sanchez." "You're Ed Hansen?" " That's right, Captain Quinlan." " Run out and get me some coffee, Ed." "How 'bout you." "Miss Linnekar?" "Marcia, isn't it?" " Want some coffee?" " No, thanks." "I really need it." "I'm an old man, Marcia." "I go a whole night without sleep, I feel it." "Of course, it was a lot worse for you." "Terrible thing what happened to your dad." "Have you been living here for some time, Marcia?" "How long?" " Four months." " Marcia!" "You have a little quarrel with your dad?" "Perhaps I should introduce myself." " I'm Miss Linnekar's attorney." " I know who you are." " I'm Howard Frantz." " Yes, Mr Frantz." "I'm Manolo Sanchez." "And I haven't got any attorney!" "You two been sharing this apartment?" "I must explain." "On my advice, my client is moving elsewhere." "Well, that means she has been living with this man." "She will hold herself available for your later questionings." " I will be present, of course." " Of course." "Marcia, where was your friend Sanchez last night?" "Later, Captain, later." "After she's rested." "Come, my dear." "Casey, would you take a look in the desk there?" "Might see some letters or somethin'." "That is, unless you've already looked the place over." "We know better than that, Captain." "We were waiting for you." "I don't speak Mexican." "Let's keep it in English, Vargas." "It's all right with me." "I'm sure he's just as unpleasant in any language." "Unpleasant?" "Strange!" "I've been told I have a very winning personality." "The very best shoe clerk the store ever had." "Well, you weren't working as a shoe clerk out on that construction crew." " Stick around, Vargas." " I intend to." "In English!" "I don't like to repeat myself." "I merely asked him if I could use his telephone." "English." "Translation - the telephone is in the bedroom, Señor." "That's all he said." "Also, he told me he thinks he's in for some sort of third degree." "I assured him he had nothing to worry about." "Casey, go in with Vargas." "Maybe he don't know how to use an American telephone." "I think I ran onto something here, Captain." "Some love letters." "Oh, you can read them in the bedroom." "I don't want to leave that Vargas guy alone." " OK." " Save the good stuff for me." " Now, in English." " What do you want to know?" "Everything, the works." "Let's start with the shoe store." " Want me to call the motel, Vargas?" " Later." "That's how you met Linnekar's daughter, in the shoe store?" "Yeah, selling her shoes." "And I've been at her feet ever since." "Then the construction job." "You stayed just long enough on that one to get your hands on some dynamite." "What are you scared of, boy?" "I'd only slap you again if you got hysterical again." "It wouldn't be anything brutal." "Why, even back in the old days, we never tried to hurt people in the face." "It marks 'em up." "We gave it to 'em like this." "The boy's getting a rough deal." "He could even be innocent, you know?" "Intuition?" "Why not?" "Quinlan doesn't have a monopoly on hunches." "Well, who do you like for the killer?" "Too early to tell." "That ex-convict." "You mean out on that highway job?" " Farnum." " Maybe." "Wait a minute." "Some dynamite was stolen." "Yeah, and that construction crew's working for Linnekar." "Amigo, I think you're onto something." "Yes, it's quite an apartment..." "for a shoe clerk." " Who pays for it?" "Marcia?" " What if she does?" "Oh, how long has this been going on?" "Ever since her father had me fired from the last job, if you want to know." "Well, naturally he objected to having a Mexican shoe clerk for a son-in-law." "So, naturally, you had to put him out of the way!" "Naturally!" "Now, just because he speaks a little guilty, that don't make him innocent, you know?" "You can show motive, yes." "But don't you need a bit more than that?" "Oh, we'll get it." "Oh, there's my coffee." "Didn't you bring me any doughnuts or sweet rolls?" "You'll have to put him on the scene of the crime." " We will." " You've got to have some evidence." "We'll get it." "We'll..." "Well?" "Well, you didn't ask me to get any doughnuts, Captain." "Where are you going?" "This is not my case, Captain." "What finally convinced you of that?" "This is not my country, that's all." "I'm not convinced." "Well, ain't that a shame." " Is there another phone near here?" " Right across the street." "Excuse me, madam." "Could I use your telephone, please?" "Right in front of you." "Do you have a phone book?" "I'm blind, mister." "You'll have to ask for Information." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Hello, I'd like the telephone number of the Mirador Motel." " What is this place you're taking me to?" " Get going!" " Now listen, this is ridiculous." " Now, go on!" " Who's this?" " Who are you?" "Don't push." " Where's Captain Quinlan?" " He's in there making a search." " What am I doing in here?" " Oh, Hank." "What's the idea, barging in on me like this?" " I'm sorry, Hank." " Who you got in here?" " I forgot to give you your cane." " All right, sit down." "Queer thing, Hank." "When I was taking Mrs Vargas to the motel," "I picked this guy on the way." "I know him." "It's Uncle Joe Grandi." "Why'd you bring him in here?" "For some crazy reason, he was following me in his car." " He was tailing you?" " Yeah." "Why would I be following a cop?" "He's an idiot." "Maybe because you thought he was a Mexican cop." "Because you thought he was Vargas." "He was driving Vargas's car." "Right?" "So, you're right." "So I thought I was following Vargas." "So what?" "Sit down." " It's a free country." " Shut up." "Is this the Mirador Motel?" "I'm trying to..." "Yes, it's the Mirador Motel, and it's me." "Oh, darling." "The news is bad." "Quinlan is about to arrest that boy, Sanchez, and..." "Oh, Mike, is that why you called?" "To tell me somebody's been arrested?" "No, that's not really why I called." "It..." "It's to tell you how sorry I am about all this." "How very, very much I love you." "Susie?" "I'm still here, my own darling Miguel." "Oh." "I thought maybe you'd fallen asleep." "I was just listening to you breathe." "It's a lovely sound..." "But I am sleepy." "Of course you are." "Well then, I'll be calling you back later." "Goodbye for now." "Mike?" " Hello." " Yes?" "Oh, I just wanted to tell you I'm awfully tired." "Oh, excuse me." "This is Mrs Vargas talking." " I know." "It couldn't be anybody else." " Oh?" "You're the only guest we got here just now..." "in the whole place." "Oh." "Well, as I started to tell you, there's no sign to put up outside the door, and I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be disturbed." "Oh, that is if you're the one who's in charge." "Don't you worry, Mrs Vargas." "I'm the one who's in charge here." "Nobody's going to get through to you unless I say so." "Oh, Vargas." "Sergeant Menzies wanted me to give you this." " Your car keys." " Thanks." "Well, I was beginning to think we'd lost you for good." "I had a phone call to make." "English!" "They've got me measured for the fall guy." "Now, just a minute." "Sure, I'm the fortune hunter who hypnotised Marcia, who made her kill her father for his money." "Boy, if I had that kind of power," "I wouldn't be where I am today." "Believe me." "You mean you don't care about the money?" "Why should I lie?" "If it hadn't been for the money, I wouldn't have given her a tumble." "But I told her that right at the beginning." "But still she wanted..." "Why bother?" "You wouldn't believe it." "Try me." "I'm a good listener." "Well, instead of the man chasing the girl, suppose she was the one." "Suppose she asked him to marry her." "What should he do?" "Draw himself up and say," ""No, my dear." "You and I could never be happy together because of your money"?" " What would you do, Vargas?" " The question is, what did you do?" "Yeah, what did you do, boy?" " Well, you know what I did, Captain." " Yeah, I know." "I was asking you." " Marcia and I made a bomb." " That's right." "You made a bomb." " And we blew up her father, of course!" " At last you're admitting it." "Don't you see you don't help yourself by treating this as a joke?" "Are you finished?" "Anything more you want to say, Vargas?" " No, Captain." " Oh, good." " Pete, since you're here..." " Yes, Hank." "I wish you'd search the place." "I'm too tired to go on with it." "Sanchez's desk has been looked into." " Take the bedroom, then the bathroom." " OK, Hank." "I haven't been very thorough." " Now, listen." " Yeah." "How long do I have to sit here?" "I wasn't breaking no laws." "I was just..." " I don't even know these people." " You know Vargas, don't you?" " Who's this?" " Uncle Joe Grandi." "Another Grandi." "Yeah, you nabbed his brother on a narcotics rap." " I don't know this Grandi." " Yeah?" " I got nothing to do with you, Varg..." " Shut up." "I'm an American citizen." "Now listen, Vic was arrested in Mexico City, Captain." "Vargas is gonna testify at his trial Thursday." "It's got absolutely nothing to do with..." "You just try any rough stuff, Uncle Joe, and you'll find out." "He's a big shot in the Mexican government." "Listen..." "Anybody lays a hand on Mr Vargas between now and Thursday, and my brother Vic is just as good as convicted." " Hank?" " Yeah?" " What is it, Pete?" " I found it!" " Found what, partner?" " Come here and look!" "I don't even know this Sanchez." "All right, boy." "Boy, you come in here!" "Now, in English, just how much dynamite was it you stole?" "What good would it be to tell you that I've never seen any dynamite?" "Poor Rudy Linnekar." "He did all he could to keep you away from his daughter." "But she stands to inherit a million bucks, so naturally you just moved in here." " Marcia and I were married." "Secretly!" " A million bucks." "No secret about that." "And you got scared he'd change his will." " Why don't you let up for a minute?" " So you got yourself this highway job..." "You broke into the explosives bin and stole it." " That's a lie!" " You stole ten sticks of dynamite!" "No, no!" "Well, Hank has done it again." "He's nailed his man." "Thanks to you, partner." "Me?" "Say, if that dynamite had been a snake there in the bathroom, it would have bit me." "I told Chief Gould that I'd keep you informed, Vargas." "So, I'm doing it." "This is it." "We've broken the case." "Rudy Linnekar was blown up with eight sticks of dynamite." "And Sanchez stole ten, that leaves two." "And we found them both." "You heard that, boy." "We found the dynamite." " That's impossible." " Well, we found two sticks." " Black Fox." "The identical brand." " It's the right brand." " Where did you find this?" " Right here in your love nest." " Where?" " Where you had it stashed, of course." "What are you trying to do?" "We're trying to strap you to the electric chair, boy." "We don't like it when innocent people are blown to jelly in our town!" "Yes." "An old lady on Main Street last night picked up a shoe." "And the shoe had a foot in it." "We're gonna make you pay for that mess." " They're trying to railroad me!" " Yeah..." "I don't know why." "I never stole any dynamite." "You'll have to stop him yourself." "From now on, he can talk Hindu for all the good it'll do him." "He swears on his mother's grave that there has never been any dynamite in this apartment." "Sure, sure." " Take him in." "Book him." " Let's go." "You say you found this dynamite in the bathroom?" "Pete found it." "Show him the dynamite." "Right here." "Can't you do something to help me?" "Oh, what are you scared of, partner?" "That stuff isn't nearly as easy to blow up as people seem to think." "It doesn't go off quite that easy." " You found the dynamite in this box?" " Dynamite?" "Yeah." "Pete found it." "We told you that." " Captain..." " Yeah?" "I looked in that box... just now." "There wasn't anything there." "I know how you feel." " Do you?" " Sure, I do." "You people are touchy." "It's only human you'd want to come to the defence of your fellow countryman." "Vargas?" " Vargas, don't worry." " Why should I worry?" "You go right ahead and say anything you want to." "Folks'll bear your natural prejudice in mind." "I saw that shoebox ten minutes ago, Captain." "Yeah?" "Well, maybe you didn't notice." "I knocked it over on the bathroom floor." "I couldn't very well have failed to notice two sticks of dynamite." " Tell any story you want to, Vargas!" " The shoebox was empty!" "Go on saying it's empty!" "Folks'll understand." "I'm saying more than that, Captain." "You framed that boy." "Framed him!" "What's the matter with him, Hank?" "Is he crazy?" "Yeah, that must be it." "Crazy." "Hank, what are we gonna do with this Grandi guy?" "Take him in?" "Grandi?" "I think you ought to realise that if a man of Vargas's position is willing to testify..." "Who are you working for?" "The Mexican government?" "I'm working for the District Attorney." "Well, listen!" "I got a position in this town, a reputation." "Who's Vargas?" "Vargas is kind of important, too, Hank." "Somebody's gonna have to give in on this thing." "Well, either that or somebody's gonna be ruined." " Captain Quinlan." " What do you want?" "Schwartz, you saw that shoebox in the bathroom." "You know it was empty." "Well, now, I didn't happen to see it myself, but I believe you." "We are both after the same exact thing, Captain." "If Vargas goes on like this, shooting his face off like he was just now..." "Move along." "Stop making trouble, Grandi." "Trouble?" "Who's the one who is making trouble?" "Vargas." "Sure!" "For my brother Vic in Mexico City." "For you here." "Go peddle your papers, Uncle Joe." "Why, you just said it yourself." "Somebody's reputation has got to be ruined." "Why shouldn't it be Vargas's?" " What are you waiting for?" " Nothing, I..." " Well, we got work to do." " OK, Hank, OK." " Well, what do you want?" " Nothing, Captain." " Nothing that you don't want, too." " Go on, spit it out, then." "Captain, we cannot stand out here in the street." "Why don't we go somewhere nice and private?" "Where we can sit down and have a drink?" "I don't drink." " Look, Schwartz..." " Al." "Al." "We must show where Quinlan himself got the dynamite." "If you're really with me on this, we have still to get some proof." " We've got your word." " Let's do better than that." "In your country also, when explosives are purchased, some record is kept, no?" "Sure." "And we're going to the right place to look it up." "Hey, how about Quinlan's ranch?" " Where is that?" " Just outside town." "While you're looking up the dynamite records, I might go out there." "Al, there is one thing that worries me, still." "What's that?" "I could be wrong about this." "And that would be very bad for you." "Let's see if you're wrong first, amigo." "I wondered if you could turn that music off." "Would it be possible to ask those people next door to move?" "Just to another cabin?" "You see, I'm still trying to get some sleep." "Where would you like me to take you, doll?" " You got the stuff?" " Here." "I brought this." "Some of the other guys got more." "And the hypo?" "Hi." "What are you doing here?" " Turn it down." " I..." "I-I'm the night man." "Yeah?" "Well you're a little early, ain't you?" "Well, I thought I'd better come back, see if the new..." "Which... one of you is the new day man?" " Beat it." " I..." "It's a mile and a half down to the highway." "I think I'd better stay." "Go in the kitchen and get yourself something to eat." "I..." "I..." " I brought my lunch." " Eat it now." "Eat it now?" "Yes." "I know you." "You're the Grandi boys." "Your Uncle Joe know you're here?" "Who could that be?" "Take it easy, Pretty Boy." "What're you in such a sweat about?" "It's a tough rap to get caught with this stuff." "It's only that Vargas dame again." " Yes, ma'am." " Get me State one-two-one-two." "Very good, ma'am." "State one-two-one-two." "Hey!" "Hey!" "That's the police department!" " Yeah?" " It's the police, all right." " What do we do now?" " We do nothing." "We relax and have ourselves a ball." "I'm very sorry, Mrs Vargas, but the telephone is temporarily out of service." "I'll call you just as soon as it's repaired." "Better call Uncle Joe." "So that is our little arrangement, see?" "A real sweet set-up." "And all the help we need from the law..." "Listen, you knock somebody off..." "I don't care who it is." "There won't be any "little arrangement"." "Not with Hank Quinlan." " Joe, a message for you." " Yeah." "Vargas can't hurt me." "Well, maybe not." "But maybe with our little deal, we can hurt him." "I don't make deals." "Yeah?" "Why, sure, I'm all right." "No, no, no, look." "Just go ahead like I said." " Don't worry." "No matter what..." " Something wrong out there?" "No, no." "Nothing we can't fix." "We?" "Where do you get that "we" stuff?" "I haven't given you any answer yet." "Listen to you." "You keep talking as though this was some kind of a deal where I ask you to get me out of a rap." "No." "That ain't it at all." "In this thing we're partners, see?" " Shall we drink to that?" " I don't..." "Juanito, two more double bourbons." "Make 'em nice and big." "All I can say is, this better be important." "It is." "I think we're out of our minds to be here in Mexico at all." " Well, Vargas, you sent for us." " Mr Adair." "Gentlemen." "Now, it isn't really true that I sent for you." " Mr Schwartz insisted that I myself..." " Let's get down to cases." " You know Chief Gould." " How do you do, sir?" "Where's this so-called document?" " Perhaps we'd better go to my room." " Yes, by all means, yes." " In here, gentlemen." " Go ahead." "No, no, no." "I'll walk." " Oh, OK." " The lift is rather small, I'm afraid." "Chief Gould." "Just press the button for the second floor." "I'll meet you there." "I still don't know why Vargas couldn't come to my office." "He has practically cabinet status with the Mexican government, you know." "Well, if he's so important..." "He can't make a formal call on either of you without going through his consulate and putting the whole thing on an international level." "Cut out all the fancy talk and what does it boil down to?" "This Mexican is bringing criminal charges against one of the most respected police officers in the country." "And that's what it boils down to!" "Well, Vargas, you must be pretty quick on your feet." "It's just that the lift is slow." "This way, gentlemen." "Thank you." "After you." "I have it right over here." "There." "While you're looking at it, perhaps you'll excuse me if I finish a call I've put in." "Where'd you get this?" "From your Department of Records about an hour ago." " They'll let anybody in there." " Well, it doesn't mean anything." " That's your wife you're calling, isn't it?" " Yes." " You know who owns the Mirador?" " No, I..." ""June 18th." "Hills Hardware in Los Robles." ""17 sticks, Black Fox brand, to H. Quinlan."" "Quinlan needed dynamite for work on his ranch - simple coincidence." "Mr Adair..." "Hello?" "Yes?" "Mirador?" "My name is Vargas." "I'd like to speak with my wife, please." "I'm very sorry, Mr Vargas, but your wife left definite instructions." "She's not to be disturbed." "Honey." "You, in the next room." "What is it?" "Come to the wall, so I can whisper." "Yes?" "You know what the boys are trying to do, don't you?" "They are trying to get in there." "They went to get the master key." "You know what marijuana is, don't you?" "Yes..." "You know what a Mary Jane is?" "You know what a mainliner is?" "I think so." "But what's that got to do with me?" "You take it in the vein." "You're trying to tell me these boys are drugged?" "Is that why..." "Hey, you think they're ready for that stuff yet?" "Not yet, kid." "The fun is only beginning." "Hank, I've been looking for you in every bar in town." "Yeah, I've been in half of 'em." "But only here on the wrong side of the border." "I never drink on my own beat, partner." "Bartender, give him some black coffee, quick." " I don't need black coffee." " He's called a meeting, Hank." " A meeting?" " Vargas, at his hotel." " The motel?" " No, right here across the street." " Well, I don't need any coffee." "Not yet." " Not yet?" "This is a swell time to be getting fried, I must say." "My job's over, Pete." " You ought to be working on Sanchez." " Listen, Hank..." "We gotta break him." "Vargas is telling the Chief and the D.A. that you planted that dynamite." "He was a fool." "They're taking him seriously." "They came to him." "No, I mean Sanchez." "Dynamite's no way to kill." "Did I ever tell you the smart way to kill, Pete?" "Sure, sure, strangling." "Clean, silent." " You told me all that." "Finish that coffee." " That's how my wife died." " I don't usually talk about my wife." " Never when you're sober." " She was strangled, Pete." " I know, I know." "Binding cord." "She was working up at the packing plant, so the killer had it right to hand." "Smart." "You don't leave fingerprints on a piece of string." "Bartender, what do I owe you?" "That half-breed done it, of course." "We all knew that." "But I was just a rookie cop." "Four seventy-five." "I followed around after him, eating my heart out... trying to catch him." "But I never did." "Then in some mudhole in Belgium, the Good Lord done the job for me, 1917." "Pete, that was the last killer that ever got out of my hands." " Where are you going?" " Where do you think?" "To Señor Vargas's meeting." "He wants to fight dirty?" "OK." "That's the kind of fight he's gonna get." " Perhaps..." " Perhaps what?" "Perhaps he honestly thinks that Sanchez is guilty." " 'Course he does!" " There's no perhaps about it." " Hank Quinlan is an honest cop." " There are all kinds of policemen, sir." "I don't have to tell you that." "A few take bribes." "Hank Quinlan never took a dollar in his life." "Most are honest, yes!" "But even some of the honest men abuse their power in other ways." "Come in, Hank." "Well, I... don't know whether I'm welcome or not." "I want you to hear this." "I've heard it already." "Our friend Vargas has some very special ideas about police procedure." "He seems to think it don't matter whether a killer's hanged or not, so long as we obey the fine print in the rule books." "Captain, I don't think a policeman should work like a dog-catcher." " No?" " Putting criminals behind bars." "No!" "In any free country, a policeman is supposed to enforce the law." "And the law protects the guilty, as well as the innocent." " Our job is tough enough." "We got..." " It's supposed to be." "It has to be tough." "A policeman's job is only easy in a police state." "That's the whole point, Captain." "Who is the boss?" "The cop or the law?" " Where's your wife, Vargas?" " What are you?" "What do you mean?" "You know where she is as well as I do." "Sergeant Menzies drove her." "She's at the motel." "Oh?" "And you're still here?" "Yes." "I'm checking out now and joining her." "Do you have a reason for asking, Captain?" "No, I had no special reason." "No." "No, I just wondered." "Well, what do you know?" "A mother pigeon and her nest." "Pigeon egg." "Captain." "You did buy 17 sticks of dynamite, didn't you?" "You tell your story, Vargas." "I don't have to answer your questions." "A hired hand at your ranch says..." " My ranch?" " he used about 15 sticks." "You been spying out at my ranch?" "A foreigner?" "Without my knowledge, Hank!" "Without my permission!" "At your ranch, you used 15 sticks of dynamite, Quinlan." "That leaves two sticks missing, and two sticks were found in that shoebox." "He's just asking, Hank." "Hank!" "What's that for?" " It's for... it's for letting him ask." " Oh, Hank, wait a minute!" "Thirty years." "Thirty years of pounding beats and riding cars." "Thirty years of dirt and crummy pay!" "Thirty years I gave my life to this department!" "And you allow this foreigner to accuse me!" "We were just giving you a chance to answer!" "Answer?" "Why do I have to answer him?" "No, sir." "I won't take back that badge until the people of this county vote it back!" "Hank, will you listen a minute?" "I don't want to ever see that man in headquarters for any reason at any time!" " Now, you backed him up..." " Me?" "You stood by while he impugned the integrity" " of Captain Quinlan and Sgt. Menzies!" " I tried to stop him!" "Do you realise what Vargas has done?" "He's smearing hundreds of fine men." " Men ready to give their lives." " Have you caused enough trouble?" "Are you satisfied?" " I want you to apologise!" " To Quinlan?" "And to Chief Gould." "Would you like me to get down on my knees?" "If you have any decency, you will, yes!" "You'll crawl!" "Mr Adair, I won't give you the chance to test your authority in this matter." "Al, have I still any credit left with you?" "Some." "Tell me, where can I find the records of Quinlan's old cases?" "I'll show you." "I'd like to get back to my wife." "I hope this won't take too long." "Hank?" "You're not going without this." "Well, now I guess I can talk." " What do you mean, Hank?" " Well, all I wanted to tell you was, that I couldn't really say in my own defence that..." "Go on, Hank." "What do you really know about this Vargas?" "Isn't he in charge of some kind of clean-up here on this side of the border?" " Narcotics mainly?" " Yeah." "Narcotics." "He's a drug addict." "He's got that young wife of his hooked, too." "But good." "If I hadn't seen that hypodermic myself..." " Hypodermic?" "You saw it?" " I just said so, didn't I?" "I saw it." "That's how come he happened to imagine all those crazy things." "It's typical." "That's what that wife of his was doing in that dive on skid row." "Both a couple of junkies." "Of course, he's using the job... as a cover-up." "You don't mean he's mixed up in this dope racket himself?" "Hank, if this is just one of your hunches..." "I don't ask you to believe it!" "I can prove it!" "I know it isn't my department, but..." "I'd like to show you I'm not talking out of the back of my neck." "Just be careful, huh?" "Chief, I'll be very careful." "This takes guts, Al." "Standing up to your boss this way." "After today, amigo, you can do me a favour." " Help me look for an office." " How's that?" "Hank Quinlan's famous intuition might still turn out to be better than yours." "If so, my intuition tells me I'll be going back to private practice." " Here are the other names you want." " Look, Al, I can finish this alone." "Yes, and maybe you can't." "Well, let me try, anyway." "I have no right to drag you further into this." "Gonna do it alone, huh?" "All you got to do is solve the murder and also prove that the idol of the police force is a fraud." "Amigo, you've got your work really cut out for you." "Hello, Tana?" "Is Captain Quinlan there?" " Now, Sergeant." " Tana!" " Hey, Tana!" " I'll be right there." "Now, what would Hank Quinlan be doing here?" "Used to be he'd hole up at your place for two or three days with a case of whiskey." "That was years ago." "Now he's on candy bars." "Not tonight, he isn't." "Let me stay." "I want to watch." "Hold her legs." "No, no, let me go!" "Don't touch me!" "Let me go!" "No!" " No!" "No!" " Close the door!" "So, this is where you've been all afternoon." "How'd they let you in here?" "A foreigner." "The Hall of Records is open to the public, Sergeant." "What're you doing?" " You'll find out tomorrow morning." " I want to know now." "What's all this?" "Records of every case where you or Quinlan uncovered the principal evidence." "In each case, as you'll notice, the defence denied the existence of that evidence." "What are you trying to do?" "Wreck him?" "Him?" "What about you?" "Are you telling me you never planted any evidence, Sergeant?" "Of course not." "Neither did Hank." "It's all there." "The axe in the Berger slaying." "The dentures in the Ewell case." "Planting evidence, framing suspects!" " That's a lie." " I think I can prove it, Sergeant." "Sure... you can smear him." "Ruin his whole life's work." "Vargas, I..." "I don't even know where he is." "That's what you've done to him." " What I've done to him?" " Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." "He's on an important case and he's disappeared." "Good and drunk probably." "After twelve years on the wagon." "That's what you've done to him." "What about Quinlan, Sergeant?" "What's he done?" "What about all those people he put in the death house?" "Save your tears for them." "When the roll is called up yonder" "When the roll..." "What seems to be the trouble?" " Trouble?" " The lights." "The lights seem to be out in all the cabins." "Yeah." "Yeah, yes, sir." "Somebody's been monkeying with them fuses." "They think I'm gonna fix 'em, they got another think comin'." "It ain't my job to fix 'em, even if I know how." "I'm the night man." "Could you show me please to my wife's cabin?" "No..." "There's nobody here." "You must be mistaken, sir." "My wife has been registered here since this morning." " My name is Vargas." " Vargas?" "Would you look, please, in the register?" "The register?" "Well..." " That might be cabin six." " Yes, possibly." " Maybe seven." " Yes, here." "May I?" "There's nobody been registered all week." "No, no, it's off the season." "Nobody hardly ever comes around at all." "I..." "I'm the night man." "Oh, there was that party..." "Party?" "What party?" " It's a mess." "Awful mess." " Where?" "They think I'm gonna clean it up, they got another think comin'." "Terrible, terrible brawl." "Cabin number seven." "Right in the middle of the afternoon." "Cabin number seven." "This brawl..." "You mean there was some sort of a fight?" " Fight?" " Yes." "No, no, it wasn't that kind of a brawl." "It was one of them wild parties." "You know the kind?" "This can't be my wife's room." "This ain't her clothes, huh?" "It stinks in here!" "Let's get some air in here!" "It's a mess." "It's a stinkin' mess!" "Having their wild parties." "There's my briefcase." "I left it with Susan." "It..." "A stub here." "I'm getting out of here." "My gun!" "You haven't been here?" "You haven't been in that room?" "No, I just looked in." "I had a gun in this case!" "You didn't take it?" "What would I want with a gun?" "Well, somebody wanted it!" "If they hadn't put that Grandi boy on the desk this morning," " none of this would've happened." " Grandi?" "Well, who do you think this belongs to, anyway?" "Where are they?" " The kids?" " Yes." "Please." "Rancho!" " Rancho Grande?" " Yes!" "You got her undressed?" "Yeah." "We've scattered more reefer stubs around." "You kids didn't use none of that stuff yourself, huh?" "Think we're crazy?" "Nobody in the Grandi family gets hooked." "Understand?" "That's the rule." "We blew the smoke on her clothes, that's all." "Like you said." "We put on a good show to scare her." "Let's hope it was good enough." "When she wakes up, she's gonna think maybe something really did happen." "All right, now beat it." "What about our dough?" "We were not doing it for fun, Uncle Joe." "Beat it, beat it." "You're gonna get your dough tomorrow." "OK." "Beat it." "OK." " Turn out the light." " Why?" "Nobody can see you up here." " You sure?" " Of course, I'm sure." "Hey, what are you doing?" "I brought you up here for a reason." "I don't get it." "I don't even see why you wanted us to bring her all the way into town here." "I couldn't drive out to the motel, my car is known." "So what?" "You're a cop making an arrest." "Oh, the vice boys'll do that." "What's that for?" "Turn around." "Get the phone." "The phone." "Now dial one-two-one-two." " That's the police station." " Go on, dial it." "Stop, Quinlan." "You're drunk." "Just stop and think for a minute." "See if they answer." "Hello?" "Ask for Sergeant Menzies." "Menzies." "Sergeant Menzies." "Quinlan, if you turn me in, I'll have quite a story to tell." "Yeah, you sure will." "See if Menzies is..." "Hello?" "Menzies?" "Got him?" "Hand me the phone." "Hold it so I can talk now." "Give me the receiver." "Give me the receiver." "Hello, Pete." "Of course it's me, partner." "Any news yet?" "Sanchez still hasn't broken." "What?" "Vargas's wife?" "A narcotics rap?" "Oh, one of the boys who was on this wild party gave me the buzz, see?" "Now, just relay it to the vice boys as anonymous." "The Hotel Ritz, room 18." "The way I hear it, things got a little out of control." "Don't be surprised... what they find." "But what about me, Hank?" "What do I do?" "Keep after him!" "Break him!" "Break him!" " Put up the phone!" " Put up the..." "Receiver." "Now, give me the key." "Told you I brought you up here for a reason." "No, don't!" "Help!" "Help!" "Somebody help me!" "Help!" "Somebody come up here, please!" "Help me!" "Mike!" "Mike!" "Oh, talk English, can't you?" "Listen, I'm no cop now, I'm a husband." "What did you do with her?" "Where is my wife?" "My wife?" "Vargas!" "It's your wife, Vargas." "They picked her up." "What do you mean, picked her up?" "The Vice Squad." "Quinlan?" "You better come outside with me, amigo." "Now, tell me what happened." "They found her at the Hotel Ritz half-naked on one of the beds, drugged." " There were reefer stubs and a heroin fix." " No." "Vargas!" "The charge isn't just possession of narcotics." "What is it then?" "Murder." "Murder?" "Susie." "Susie, darling." "It's all right now, Susie." "Sue." "It's all down in the report." "They found evidence of a mixed party." "Mixed party?" "Articles of clothing, half-smoked reefers, needle marks." "Something else could produce the same effects." "Demerol, for instance, or Sodium Pentothal." "You could smell the stuff on her." "Listen, this whole set-up stinks." "Who the hell does Quinlan think he is?" " Hanging a murder rap on my wife!" " Mike." "Mike." " Mike." " Susie, lie down." " Mike..." " Now, now." " It's all right, Susie." " Mike." " Take me home." "Mike." "Mike." " Yes." "Susie?" "Susie?" "Forgive me." "Mike?" "Don't go." "I'm right here, Susie." "It's all right." "You understand, Vargas, there's no formal charge against your wife." "Even the vice boys are not pressing anything." "Oh, the fact that Susan won't actually serve time makes everything all right, is that it?" "I told you I got something to show you!" "Her family?" "Her good name?" "Nothing's been touched by all this... filth!" "I found that in the hotel room." "Yeah." "With Grandi's body." "He's still just sitting in there." "Here, give me that." "We've been waiting three hours already." "We won't get a word out of this, as long as he's near that piano." "If you would just go in and shut it off." "He'll never stand for that." " I have to get him out of there." " Give me the microphone." "Vargas, I can take care of this thing." "Not without me." "You know, I was just checking with the Department." "You know that Grandi kid we picked up?" " Stand quietly." " He started to talk." "He says the kids were all faking." " They didn't give your wife any real dope." " Here's the antenna." "The doc says it was only that truth stuff." " Sodium Pentothal." " Yeah, no harm in it at all." "No harm?" "Schwartz is driving your car across the border." "I told him we'll be by the bridge here." "He's bringing your wife along." "She's feeling fine." " The doc says she can travel." " Sergeant..." "Look, all she wants is to catch the early plane out of here." "How can I leave here until my wife's name is clean?" "Clean!" "What do you think you're carrying that microphone for?" " Now remember, don't cross your arms." " I know, I know, I know." "I've got to get the truth from Quinlan." "All on tape." "He could stay there the rest of the week, like he used to." "Now, look, why don't you just take your wife home and let me handle this thing?" "It's my job." "It's my job too, Menzies." " It's my job." " It's my job too, Menzies." "You think I like it?" "I hate this machine." " Spying, creeping around back alleys." " How do you think I feel?" "Hank is the best friend I ever had." "That's one reason for my staying." "Oh, you don't trust me, huh?" "Don't forget, I was the one that showed you that cane." "I didn't have to do it, you know." " Oh, yes you did, Sergeant." " Somebody could have planted it there." " Menzies..." " Besides Grandi's corpse." "You know better than that." "You say the reefers were planted." "Why not Hank's cane?" "You're an honest cop." "Sure, I am." "And who made me an honest cop?" "Hank Quinlan." "Come on, Menzies." "I am what I am because of him." "What's my fortune?" "You been reading the cards, haven't you?" "I've been doing the accounts." "Come on." "Read my future for me." "You haven't got any." "What do you mean?" "Your future is all used up." "Why don't you go home?" "Vargas?" "Vargas?" "I don't know if you can hear me over that piano music, but I'll get him out of there so you can hear." "I'll get him out." "Away from that music." "Be sure he doesn't see you." "I must be drunk." "A minute ago..." "I thought you were Vargas." "Come on out, Hank!" " What's that?" " Come on out, Hank." "I'm tired." "Who told you to come here?" "I'm tired of waiting, Hank." "There's some questions you got to answer." "Questions?" "Questions?" "I need another drink." "You had enough." "That's what Tana keeps telling me." "How much is enough?" "Hank, I'm sick of chasing around trying to get at the truth." "You could use a drink yourself, partner." "You got to answer, Hank." "All kinds of things." "First, about Vargas's gun." "How do you know about the gun?" " He thinks you took it." " Vargas?" "Or was it Grandi that stole it?" " You been talking to Vargas, huh?" " And then you took it from Grandi?" "You've been getting kind of chummy, you and that Mexican." "Does that explain that thing you're carrying around now?" "What's it called?" "That thing you're wearing?" " What I'm wearing?" " Sure." " That halo." " Halo?" "Looks real pretty on you, Pete." "Pretty soon you'll be flapping your wings like an angel." "Look out." "Vargas'll turn you into one of these here starry-eyed idealists." "They're the ones making all the real trouble in the world." "Be careful." "They're worse than crooks." "You can always do something with a crook." "You're the one who should be careful, Hank." "Dealing with crooks." "Sometimes you can turn into a crook yourself." " Look what happened with Grandi." " Partner, nobody ever called me a crook." "Look." "Look up there." "See?" "That oil pump pumping up money." "Money." "Don't you think I could've been rich?" "A cop in my position?" " What do I have?" " Tell me about Grandi..." "After thirty years... my little turkey ranch." "That's all I got." "A couple of acres." "We got to talk about Grandi." "An honest cop!" "Then this Mexican comes along, and look at the spot he puts me in!" "You can't blame Vargas for what happened to Grandi." " I blame Vargas for everything." " Hank, don't be crazy!" "Crazy?" "If it wasn't for him, do you think I'd be in a situation where Grandi could blackmail me?" "Then of course, when I had to defend myself..." "Defend yourself?" "Hank, you must be crazy!" " Sure, sure, I'm crazy." " Insane!" "Defend yourself!" "Hank." "You murdered Grandi." "I left my cane by his body." "That was sure crazy." "All right, let's start in the beginning." "What about Vargas's gun?" "I was talking about my cane." " The gun!" " I forgot it." " The gun you stole from his briefcase!" " Gun?" "Gun?" " Vargas's gun!" "Vargas's!" " Vargas!" "Vargas!" "Vargas!" "All you want to talk about is Vargas!" "You took the gun from his briefcase, but you didn't use it." " Grandi was strangled." " Grandi was a crook." "You're a killer, Hank." "Partner, I'm a cop." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Drunk and crazy as you must have been when you strangled him." "I guess you were somehow thinking of your wife." "The way she was strangled." "Well, I'm always thinking of her, drunk or sober." "What else is there to think about?" "Except my job." "My dirty job!" " You didn't have to make it dirty." " I don't call it dirty!" "Look at the record." " Our record, partner!" "Huh?" " Sure, sure, sure." "Well, all those convictions." "Convictions, sure." "How many did you frame?" "Nobody." "Come on, Hank." "How many did you frame?" "I told you." "Nobody." "Nobody that wasn't guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." "Every last one of them." "Guilty." "All these years you've been playing me for a sucker, faking evidence." "Aiding justice, partner." "Yeah, like the axe in the Berger case." "Oh, yeah, remember that?" "I was the one that found the axe." "Just where you planted it for me to find." "Just like the dynamite with Sanchez." " Just like you planted that dynamite!" " Don't you think Sanchez is guilty?" "He's guilty." "He'll confess." "Hey, listen to that." " Hank, I'm gonna have to..." " Shut up." "Hear that?" " Hear what?" " Like an echo." "Vargas?" "I got a feeling he's someplace around here." "Close to me." "I got a hunch." " Why Vargas?" "Wh-Wh-Why should he..." " You sound kind of nervous, Pete." "No, my game leg... is starting to talk to me." "Vargas." "Maybe he's tailing me with a bug." "Recording..." "Hey, are you carrying a bug for him?" "A microphone?" " Hank, I..." " Don't lie to me!" "All right, all right now!" "You'd better give me that gun." "Where is he?" "Where is he?" "How did you figure to frame Vargas with it?" "Framed?" "Who's been framed?" "Where is he?" "Vargas?" " Where is he?" " Hank, look, I..." "I'm talking to Vargas now." "Vargas?" "Do you hear me?" "I'm talking to you." "Through this walking microphone that used to work for me." " No, I ain't working for Vargas." " Vargas, Vargas." "I'm working for the Department, Hank." "Better give me Vargas's gun." " OK, here it is." " Give it to me!" "Vargas!" "Hank." "Well, Captain..." "I'm afraid this is finally something you can't talk your way out of." "You want to bet?" "You killed him, Vargas." "Come on, now." "Give me my gun back." "You don't understand me." "You killed Pete." "The bullet is from your gun." "You think anyone would believe that?" "They always believe me." "Anyway, they'd never believe I killed him." " The gun?" " You're resisting arrest." "How could you arrest me here?" "This is my country." "And this is where you're gonna die." "That was no miss, Vargas!" "That was just to turn you around!" "I don't want to shoot you in the back." "Unless you'd rather try to run for it." "Schwartz!" "Is she there?" "Did you bring my wife?" "She's in the car." "That's Menzies." "He's dead." "Quinlan's been shot, too." "He's lying by the recorder." "Down there!" "I've got it all on tape." " You sure you got enough?" " More than enough." "Go play it back." "You'll see." " Susie." " Oh, Mike." "All these years you've been playing me for a sucker... faking evidence." "Aiding justice, partner." "Hank!" " Susie." " Oh, Mike." "It's all over, Susie." "I'm taking you home." "Home..." " How many did you frame?" " Nobody that wasn't guilty." "Guilty." "Hank!" " No, I ain't working for Vargas." " Vargas, Vargas!" " Hank, you better give me that gun." " OK, here it is." " Give it to me." " Vargas!" "Pete, that's the second bullet I stopped for you." "His famous intuition was right, after all." "He framed that Mexican kid, Sanchez, but he didn't even need to." "The kid confessed about that bomb." "So, it turns out Quinlan was right, after all." "Isn't somebody going to come and take him away?" "Yeah, in just a few minutes." "You really liked him, didn't you?" "The cop did." "The one who killed him." "He loved him." "Well, Hank was a great detective, all right." "And a lousy cop." "Is that all you have to say for him?" "He was some kind of a man." "What does it matter what you say about people?" "Goodbye, Tana." "Adios."