"What a waste." "What's your guess, suicide?" "Oh, I'm not guessing anything." "And if you were born in this town, you'd know that the current under the bridge flows out to sea and not in." "She's missing her belt." "She comes with her own dog tags." "Mr. Farr's office." "Just a minute, please." "Mr. Farr, it's a Lieutenant Stone, San Francisco Police." "Yes, lieutenant, what can I do for you?" " Excuse me, will you, Joan?" " Yes, sir." "Yes, I do know someone of that general description." "You mean come down in person?" "Well, I don't know whether it'd be possible or not." "I've rather a heavy day." "Incidentally, how'd you happen to get my name?" "Well, we'll tell you that when you get here, Mr. Farr." "I suppose I could give up my lunch hour." "Well, thank you, Mr. Farr." "Ask for Lieutenant Stone, that's me, or Inspector Keller." "Hall of Justice on Bryant Street, Bureau of Inspectors." "You got that?" "Right." " He's a cool one." " He's a hotshot lawyer." "Now, would you give up your lunch hour for a dead girl?" "That's him." " How do you know that?" " They drive like they talk." " He's a real dude-lawyer." " You probably have the same tailor." "Where's my Jag?" "You spend it all on clothes." "Best-dressed cop on poverty row." "Mr. Farr." " Lieutenant Stone?" " Yes." " Inspector Keller." " How do you do?" " Hello." " This way." "You ever been in a morgue before?" "No, I never have, or a police station." "My speciality, you see, is corporation law." " I never deal with the law at this level." " Well, this shouldn't take too long." "You might even be able to make your lunch date." "Here." " Do you know her?" " Her name is Holly." " Holly Jean Berry." " Girlfriend of yours?" "I didn't know her well." "A client?" "Not really." "I helped her out of a jam." "She smashed her car up on a freeway ramp near the Presidio." "At the hospital, I found some grass on her." " You acted in court for her, huh?" " It never got that far." " I just bailed her out." " When was this?" "Last Tuesday." "A week ago yesterday." "Did she mention her birthplace or anything about her relatives?" "She said she came from Tennessee with her brother." "She did mention something about an uncle." " Does the brother live here?" " As far as I know." "She said he belonged to some club or group." "Well, do you remember what club or what group?" "Yes, I do." "It was halfway house." "He must have had some problem with drugs a while back." "Looks like it runs in the family." "That's the trouble with cops like you, you equate three joints of marijuana with the hard stuff." " Farr, I'm gonna tell you something" " Sign right here on the line, please." "That guy is not telling us something." "Every time he opened his mouth, he was hiding it." "Well, that's a good lawyer." "Lawyer or not, I'd like to get the whole story out of him, the truth." "A real smart cop, huh?" "College grad, fancy degree in criminology." "Well, let me tell you something:" "Until we get the preliminary medical reports, we don't have a case." "And without a case, we don't have suspects." "So don't you treat him like one." "Because if you do, I'll have you right back booking shoplifters." "I just got a call from the chief who just got a call from the mayor." "This town is becoming a butcher shop." "Ramsey case is the last straw, and what do we come up with?" "Kid's boot." "Wouldn't be so bad if it didn't come right on top of the Donner killing." "At least we found both her shoes." "Now there's the Berry girl." " You seeing a connection?" " Well, it's too early to tell." "Little Joel Ramsey and the Donner woman were both mutilated." "Well, the public thinks that those two were murdered by the same killer." "That's what the press is feeding them." "I am having every bluecoated department asking questions 24 hours a day." "We're pulling in anybody that has anything to say about Joel Ramsey." "I want you in charge of that interrogation, Mike." " Okay." "Let me clear my desk." " Of what?" "The Berry girl." "Did you learn anything from that lawyer?" "Well, I learned that he doesn't want to say too much about her." "Her brother's name is Delbert." "Left halfway house about two weeks ago, worked at one of their gas stations." "She was about 20." "Couldn't have been in the water more than 12 hours." "But she didn't drown." "Look here, behind the left ear." "She died from a blow to the carotid artery." "And there were other bruises." "Well, she was in an accident the week before." "Yes, so I understand." "But she wouldn't have survived a contusion of that severity." "Well, then what about the needle marks?" "It's too early to tell." "They look fresh." "No scars." " Any evidence of sexual assault?" " No." "I'll start the autopsy this afternoon." "But my preliminary examination seems to indicate homicide." " Something burning?" " Three guesses." "You cops?" "Reggie, get on out here." "There's cops in the hall." "Do I look like a cop?" "In this neighbourhood, you better believe it." "Name is Saretti." "What can I do for you officers?" "Mr. Saretti, we'd like to ask you about a tenant of yours, a Miss Holly Berry." " I told you she'd be trouble." " Don't mind her." "Change makes them jealous, you know what I mean?" "Fact is, Holly is a nice kid." "Hey, is this about her accident?" " Well, you know, she totalled her car." " She told you that?" "No, she hasn't been here in over a week, week and a half." "Who told you about it, her brother?" "No, some guy who said he was a friend of hers." " She have a lot of friends?" " Just this guy and her brother." "Oh, and her uncle come by two, three times." " When was this?" " Last week, week before." "Her uncle, does he live in town?" "No, he said he was visiting from out of state." "Lost-touch-with-the-kids sort of thing, you know?" " Do you know where he stays?" " I didn't ask him." "How about the brother?" "Well, all I know about him is that he works in a gas station on Lombard, near the bridge." "The uncle went looking for him there." "Well, did the uncle know about the accident?" "Yeah, but it didn't seem to bother him." "He was more interested in finding the brother." "Said the brother quit his job and he couldn't find him." "Hey, come on, fellas, what's the trouble, huh?" "She's the trouble." " I told you, you let one of them kids" " Mrs. Saretti." "Someone else is the trouble." "Holly Berry is dead." "Now, sir, could we see her room?" "Yeah, sure." " Is that a new lock?" " Yeah." "She had it put on herself the last time I saw her." " I think it was a week ago Friday." " Was she afraid of something?" "Who isn't?" " And for this, kids leave home." " We try to make them feel at home." "Say, this friend who told you about the accident, do you know his name?" "Never saw him before." "About his age, but a sharp dresser." "Talked nice." " Yeah?" "Well, how was he dressed?" " A suit, with all the flaps." "You know, English-like, big white tie." "He had long hair, but neat, like he'd just come from the beauty parlour." "What'd he want?" "He came to pick up some of her clothes." " You let him in here?" " No, he had her keys." "That's how I figured they were friends." "Do you remember what clothes he took?" ""What clothes"?" "Just clothes." "He had an armful." "He was in and out of here in two minutes." "Did you see him drive off?" "How could you miss him?" "He was driving a yellow Jaguar." "You know:" "David." "That's a nice name." "It was my father's name." "It means beloved." " David, there you are." " Good evening." "You simply must come and meet all of our guests." "Every female here has been asking who that divine young man is." "Now, I want you all to meet David Farr." "Yes, David is our very own attorney, and he is a leading light at Scobic, Black and Waxman." "And I want" " This is Rick." "I wanted you to meet him too because I think you'll probably..." "I do want you to move on, here." "I've quite a few" "Excuse me, dear." "beautiful women here" "Hello, David Farr." "Hello." "If you don't like the heat, you get out of the engine room." "Or something like that, right?" "Right." "I'm supposed to be representing my firm." "Well, I'm stuck too." "Come on." "You must be getting some kind of vib" "Just listen to the peace." "Don't you like the music?" "Yes, but these private-party gigs get to be real bummers." "Oh, you're with the band." "Sometimes, when they're really stoned, they let me sing." "Well, I take it, tonight, that they're not stoned." "No." "Tonight is the VIP trip." "Any moment, they may get signed to a big contract." "You don't sound too hopeful." "Well, I wouldn't wanna badmouth my brother." "How does it go?" ""Please don't shoot the electric-piano player."" "But you're the big mouthpiece tonight, not a word out of you yet." "So tell me, what's a David Farr?" "A David Farr is a small-town boy in the big city who's trying very hard to be learned and sophisticated." "David." "That's a nice name." "That was my father's name." "It means beloved." " Are you beloved?" " I never thought about it." "Are you?" "I'm beloving." "I'll bet you are." "Now you're supposed to ask me for my phone number, but I don't have one." "So I'll ask you for your card." "My card?" "There you are." "Good afternoon, Mr. Farr." "Got a few minutes?" "What is this, lieutenant?" "We just thought you'd be interested in how we got your name." "So I gave her my card." "That's how she happened to call me when she needed help." "Did you know she wore it around her neck?" "No, I didn't." "What's more, I fail to see what that has to do with her drowning." "She didn't drown, Mr. Farr." "Somebody hit her too hard." "A man saying he was a friend of Holly's went by her place last week." "He let himself in with her key, told the landlord she'd had an accident, and then drove off with some of her clothes in a yellow Jaguar." "So that's it." "I did the girl a favour, and now I'm involved." "Come on." " Hi there, David." " Hi." "It's a bum spare." "I lost my keys last week." "There we are." "All right, let's go over it once again, shall we?" "You met her at a party on Friday, you gave her your card." "The next Tuesday, she called you, you bailed her out on the possession rap, and then you took her home." "No, I didn't take her home." "That's the point." "She was afraid to go home." " Afraid of what?" " The accident she had." "You see, she insisted that it was no accident." "She claimed that some man in a big black sedan tried running her off that freeway ramp." "Look, I felt the same way." "I thought she was giving me some kind of a line." "And she knew that I didn't believe her, but she insisted." "She insisted that someone was trying to kill her, that someone was after her." "It had to do with something her brother saw in the trunk of someone's car." " What was that?" " She didn't know what." "Did she say who this guy was?" "No, only that she was to get in touch with him." " What for?" " Well, that's what I asked her." "She only said that her brother was the only one that knew the reason." "Oh, come on, Mr. Farr." "You expect us to believe that?" "Someone she doesn't know was trying to kill her because her brother saw something in a car trunk." "And she's supposed to get in touch with that someone about that, but she didn't know what?" "Listen, lieutenant, I was as confused as you are." "I figured I'd better get the girl home." "That's when she went to pieces, started screaming." "She thought that he'd be there waiting for her." "So you figured the girl was a kook, right?" "Where'd you take her, Farr?" " To a motel." " What motel?" "Plantation, on Webster Street." "So to get her off your back, you dumped her in a motel, is that right?" "I didn't dump her." "I took her where she'd feel safe." "She ask you to get her things?" "No." "When we got to the motel, she fell right asleep." "I figured that when she woke up, she needed a change of clothes." "That's when you took her purse and went back to her place?" "Are you implying that I stole the purse?" "I didn't." "I took her keys, let myself in, left the purse, got the clothes and brought them back to the motel." "Do you remember what clothes?" "Wait a minute." "A print dress, green and blue, and a yellow pantsuit." "The yellow pantsuit have a belt in it?" "Yeah, I think so." "Yellow, same colour." "Then he must have followed me." "Hold it there, now." "Wait a minute." "I didn't catch that." "He must've watched me in front of the rooming house and followed me back to the motel." "Who, Farr?" "Now, who are you talking about?" "Whoever she was afraid of, that's who I'm talking about." "Okay, okay, now, relax, take it easy, don't get excited." "Now, we're only talking about what you did." " What I did?" " Right." "I went to the rooming house, got the clothes," "I brought them to the motel." "She was asleep when I got there." " You never saw her again?" " I never saw her again." " You left her there, right?" " That's right, I left her there." "What would you have done, Keller, married the girl?" "Here it is." "H. Berry." "You want the licence number?" " Please." " Here, take another look." "Now, you're sure that's the girl you saw in the yellow sports car?" "Yes, I'm sure." "He checked in early." "She stayed in the car, but I could see her." " Pretty little thing." "I put them in 3-C." " All we want to know is when she left." "Look, if this is about her being underage." "No." "No." "They pulled her out of the bay this morning." "Is this the one?" "I just saw about it on the news." "What is happening in this city?" "All these murders." "First, that little boy" "All I want to know is when she left and if she left alone." "Well, I didn't see anyone leave." "Is there anything at all that you remember?" "Three-C, Tuesday night." "Yeah." "This couple checked in to 4-C and complained that their television wasn't working." "So I went back there to fix it." "And there was this awful racket coming from next door." "What kind of racket?" "This man and woman yelling at each other." "First, I thought it was the TV, one of those doctor shows about young people or divorces or something." "Did you see anybody come or go the next morning?" "Nope." "I did the linen about 10, they'd gone." "Lieutenant." "Tony's got a witness on the Ramsey boy's killing." " You type this time." " Type, right." "Well, lieutenant, I'd like you to meet Maria Ramirez." "Maria works for a family named Harrison on Baker Street." "Alice Harrison, 6, used to play with Joel Ramsey." "Now, Maria remembers seeing Joel get into a car with a man over two weeks ago." "She speaks no English." "Well, why didn't she come forward sooner?" "She just got back from two weeks in Tijuana." "Her husband can't get into the country." "Now, Maria, just tell me where it is exactly that you saw Joel get into that car." " What does that mean?" " Means beard." "She said he had a full dark beard, bushy eyebrows, drove a black sedan." "You sure of the little Ramsey boy's boot?" "After she described it, positive." "Good." "Get a description over to Sal's division." " Not the press." " Sure, let them have it." "Maybe they'll stay off our backs for a while." "They milked the boot, now let them chew on the beard." " What about the Berry case?" " Two suspects." "The Boy Wonder here, he likes the lawyer." "But me, I" "I'm still trying to track down a guy calling himself her uncle." "Can't you two get together?" "Well, then we wouldn't need each other." "No, man, he didn't say why." "I just figured he was back on drugs or something, you know, and he was ashamed of it." "This place is run by a halfway house, you know?" "Did he leave in a hurry?" "Yeah, he came in and got two days' pay about 9:00 in the morning." "He said he was quitting." "He didn't give no reason or anything." " Well, did he leave with his uncle?" " Oh, that guy." " What about him?" " Oh, he was bugging me for days." " About what?" " Del." "Came in here about two hours after Del quit." " Thought I was hiding him someplace." " What did he look like?" "Well, he was an oddball." "Sort of pale-looking." "Had a bushy moustache and wore one of them felt hats." "He was a real creep." "Okay, maybe Del Berry made a contact." "He's back on junk, uncle's protecting him." "But what does it have to do with Holly?" "When I see him, I'll ask him." " Hey, where are you headed?" " Farr's neighbour." "Take it easy, now." "We've got no case against Farr yet, and he knows it." " Mr. Pyle." " Yes." "Oh, you're the gentlemen that were visiting David yesterday." "That's right." "I wonder if you could help us." " What do you wanna know?" " Have you ever seen this girl?" "Oh, her, sure." " She was here when?" " She's one of his weekend tricks." " Which weekend?" " Weekend before last." "Not that I'm a voyeur or anything like that, but who could have missed her?" "I mean, every time I opened my door, she was either coming or going." "Is this standard procedure, lieutenant?" "Intimidating witnesses in basements and elevators?" "I just thought I'd spare you the embarrassment by not dropping by your office." "I somehow thought that you were above cheap shock tactics." "Well, it just so happens I received a small shock of my own." "And if you like," "I'll make an appointment with your secretary so we can talk about it." " Be direct." " Like you, Mr. Farr?" "Not telling me about the weekend you spent with Holly Berry?" "So we saw each other." "Isn't it understandable that it would be embarrassing for me to tell you that in light of what has happened since?" "I don't need that kind of involvement." "You're involved whether you like it or not." "Why don't you level with me?" "I suppose you spoke to Larry Pyle next door." " What haven't you told me?" " What did he tell you?" "He told me you were a green belt in karate." "Haven't you heard about harassment, lieutenant?" "Aren't you cutting it close going around and talking to my neighbours, asking them questions about me?" "How would you like it if I went by your house, asked your wife a couple questions about you?" "My wife has been dead for two years, Mr. Farr." "And if you feel harassed," "I'm sorry." " We're just trying to do our jobs." " Then stop hounding me." "Find out the man who took Holly from that motel." " Find out where she was last week." " Now, we checked that out." "And who was or wasn't there that night really doesn't matter, does it?" "Unless it was the person who killed her." "I think it matters, considering he tried killing her once before." "Well, now, if I remember correctly, you said you didn't believe that story." "I told you before, I fell out of the sky." "Just a little old piece of sky." "Beat you back from the party, mouthpiece." " How'd you get my address?" " In the phone book, stupid." "Where do you come from?" "I told you, I fell out of the sky." "Just a little piece of sky." "A fallen angel." "Well, I don't know about the angel part." "I've got this idea." "It's a terrific idea." "Why don't we take a shower and make some pancakes?" " It's 5:00 in the morning." " So what?" "You eat as though you haven't eaten for a week." "You didn't see me at that party last night." "I went back for fourths." "I've got a chicken breast and a chocolate éclair in my bag." "Well, that's great." "We can take it on the boat." "You've got a boat?" "It's out there in the marina." "And we're going sailing today." "Sorry." " Do you have other plans?" " No, it's just" "Well, I have" "Not a hypochondriac." "Hypo" "Well, I have this morbid fear of the water." "It's terrible." " That's too bad." " Yeah." "What else can we do?" "Good morning." "How are you doing?" " Hey, where did you disappear to?" " Oh, just feeding the parking metre." "Yeah, well, one more trip like that, and I'll have the vice squad up here." "Wouldn't it be easier if I just paid the ticket?" "Sugar daddy." "Or better yet, we could take your car home." " Nope, can't do that." " How come?" "Well, somebody might wire it with a bomb." "You wouldn't want me in a million pieces, now, would you?" "Oh, I don't know, that might be kind of restful." " You don't believe me, do you?" " About the mad bomber?" "No, about somebody who's after me." "Sure." "Sure, with cloven hooves, horns and a harpoon, huh?" "Well, I'll tell you what you can do." "If he gets me, you can send flowers to my funeral." "You know, those big vulgar chrysanthemums." "I love you." "Come on, Holly." "Come on out of there." "I happen to like it in there." "It's time I took you home." "I told you I wasn't gonna go back there." "Where would you like to have me take you?" "Why not your place, huh?" "Okay." "So you wanna get rid of me." "Okay, mouthpiece, got a quarter?" " What for?" " Your swan song." "Thanks." "See?" "Now you're mine forever and ever." "I thought "karate" meant without weapons." "Assuredly." "But also, I am gardener." "Hedge by day, karate instruction at night." "Japanese art of self-defence in Chinatown, huh?" "And I, Kenji." "I'm Korean, but American citizen." "You wish, perhaps, enrolment?" "No, no, I'd like to ask you about one of your students." " David Farr." " Oh, yes, Mr. Farr." "But surely the keys are not police matter." "Keys?" "What's this about keys?" "The keys Mr. Farr claimed he lost last Thursday night." "No, what I wanted to know was how long has Mr. Farr been a student?" "Oh, six months." " What's that?" " Green belt." "For young man, this art soon mastered." "You perhaps wish to observe exhibition tonight by all students of Chung Li Wong?" "Is Mr. Farr gonna be there?" "Well, assuredly, every Tuesday, Thursday." "I wouldn't miss it." "But don't tell Mr. Farr." "I'd like to make that my surprise." "My sympathy for missing keys." "Understandably, he's disturbed." "They're lost, preventing access to apartment, boat, safe-deposit box." "Truly anxiety." "Boat?" "Farr's got a boat?" "Oh, yes." "Splendid sailing craft." " Where's it docked?" " I'll check it out." "And me, I've got 20 beards to grill before the night's over on that Ramsey case." "Every child molester in the county with hair on his face." "A real freak show." "The Berry girl, no more question it's homicide." "Her hands had been bound, I found traces of adhesive tape, and all the hair was gone from her wrists." "The blow behind the ear finished her, but not before someone really worked her over." "I'd say it was a professional." "You know, if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it." " Would you?" " Clean as a hatchet." "You'd do this any time, any time you want." " If you gentlemen will excuse me." " Of course." "We just dropped by to give you the news." "What news?" "Did you find him?" "No." "It's about the autopsy." "Miss Berry was killed, all right, but only after somebody worked her over." "The coroner called it a nice methodical chopping." "Now, if you happen to think of anything else, you know where to get in touch with us, huh?" "Things are going pretty good." "I've been keeping myself busy." "You know, I got a magazine stand, corner of Columbus and Filbert." " Been reporting to your parole officer?" " Every third Monday." "What kind of car you drive, Mr. Washington?" "Still got the old Studebaker." "Hey, that's a real collector's item, isn't it?" "Lieutenant." "What's the licence number on that car, Mr. Washington?" "Farr." "I found his boat, A-shore Yacht Club, and he's..." "What can I do for you, Mr. Farr?" "The question, lieutenant, is how you can help yourself from getting hit with a harassment complaint." "What is your protégé doing snooping around my boat?" "Well, like I said before, we're just trying to do our jobs." "You have no right to treat witnesses as suspects, and you know that." "Well, why don't you try and look at it from our point of view, Mr. Farr." "For all we know, you could be covering up something." " Or someone, right?" " Maybe I can help you." "We need all the help we can get." "Holly's brother said something about seeing something in someone's car." "Whatever Holly was afraid of, that's where it all began." " Yeah?" " Well, isn't it obvious?" " What?" " The brother is the key to this." "Well, he might be, but he's disappeared." "What if I help you find him?" "I don't know about that "what if?"" "If you know something, you'd better tell us." "If you keep my name out of the paper." "I can't promise anything, Mr. Farr, except to try and find her killer." "Well, then we're right back to where we started from." "Oh, I wouldn't say that." "I'm making progress just talking to you." "Look, Stone, I've taken enough shoving from you." "You're getting a big kick out of trying to build a case against me, but you can forget it." "I'll go find the brother." "Then we'll see what kind of a case you've got." "I thought keeping one's cool was the first lesson in law school." "Let's go." " Say, you people look cold." " Sell a house, buy a boat." "I'll be doggoned if I'm not gonna enjoy it." "Say, you're the young fellow who was down here before, aren't you?" "That's right." "Do you know your neighbour Mr. Farr?" " Dave?" "Sure." " Who are you gentlemen?" "What's he done?" "We'd like to know how often he comes down here." "Oh, weekends mostly." "Now, before we do any talking, don't you think you ought to tell us why you wanna know about him?" " Of course." "A girl he knew was killed." " They pulled her out of the bay." "Then you must have a certain day in mind." "Tuesday, the day before yesterday." "Oh, well, he doesn't usually get down here until the weekends." "You know he was down here on Tuesday, Joe." "Okay, Tuesday." "Tuesday night, it was about 10:00." "But we don't know it was Dave, Sally." "Well, who could it have been except Dave?" "You should have seen the way he took the boat out." " He practically hit our front end." " Bow, Sally." "Well, they were sure bombed on something." " They?" " Dave and a girl." "Now, you don't know that, Sally." "Well, I saw them, Joe, right out of a porthole." "Well, now, why do you think it was a girl?" "Well, it was dark, and I could only make out their outlines all bundled up, but she" "Well, whoever it was, was smaller than he was, and, well, he was practically carrying her." "Now, we do this right, with a warrant." "Thank you." "Sorry to disturb you." "Stick around." "We'll be back in 15." "Hey, you still here?" "Remember me?" "Yeah." "You like the music?" "Where's Del?" " Who are you?" " I'm a friend of his sister's." "You a cop?" "No." "I'm a lawyer." "How did you find us?" "Your agent." "Listen, Delbert isn't seeing anybody." "He's very strung out." "You dig?" "Look, I know he's hiding out." "I wanna help him before the police do come around." "Now, you tell him to meet me here tomorrow night, all right?" "You got bread, maybe he'll show." "Tell him I've got bread." "Got some for me too?" "Lieutenant." "I'm not sure what it means but I think he's talking Russian." "He's speaking Russian." "Get Kolinsky down here from vice, he speaks it much better than I do." "Tell him it's the Ramsey case." "When he comes in, would you tell him Inspector Keller called, please?" "That's right." "Yes." "No, he has my number." " Right." "Thank you." " Search warrant come through?" "Not yet." "But I called Farr's office, he called in sick this morning." "But I just called his home, he's not there either." "A little travel fever." "Maybe he meant what he said about trying to find her brother." "Mike, he spends a weekend with Holly he doesn't tell us about, he lets himself into her place, he goes off with her clothes, he's seen carting a girl onto his boat Tuesday night." "Wednesday morning she ends up in the bay, killed by a blow to the head like some quick karate chop." "It is too neat." "You're used to complicated cases, this is a neat one." "Sure it's possible Farr could have killed her." "But it's not that simple, buddy boy." "Somebody worked her over." "Someone really went out to punish her." "And I just can't buy Farr as a premeditating killer." "Mike, what was it you used to tell me about human nature?" " About what?" " Human nature." "I said, "Just watch out for the wolf in people."" " That goes for you too, buddy boy." " That's right." " But I'm for picking him up." " No." "Not yet." "Of course, Farr could have been on that boat Tuesday night." "But somebody could've worked Holly and dumped her on him to get rid of." "Wait a minute." "You're saying two killers?" "But what's the motive?" "If I knew that, I'd know everything." "Now you're back to your mysterious uncle." "I never left him." "I'd like to ask Saretti some more about him." "While Farr skips town?" "No, while we're waiting for the warrant on his boat." "Come on." "Sure she got postcards." "Lots of people get postcards who've got no phones." "You know that her brother sent her a postcard when he left Halfway House saying where he had moved." "I don't make a habit of reading other people's mail." "Oh, come on, Mr. Saretti." "Everybody reads the" "The mailmen read them, you know that, don't you?" "You know what?" "Even I read them." "I can't resist them." " He read everything addressed to her." " Shut your face." "Well, maybe I read a couple." "Remember the messages?" "One." "About someone she was supposed to meet." " Who?" " Didn't say." "Just somebody at 6:00 or something." "Any address?" "Parking lot across the street from The Cannery." " What happened to the postcard?" " I don't know." "Wait a minute." "Her uncle picked it up." "What did he look like?" "Well, he was pale-looking, dark eyes." "What I remember most was his moustache." "It was like a walrus." "You didn't happen to see what kind of car he was driving, did you?" "I don't know what kind it was, but it was black." "Car 302, Lieutenant Stone." "Car 302, come in, please." "Lieutenant Stone." "You got that warrant?" "No, but I got a guy named Caswell on the phone from the marina." "He says it's an emergency." "Tell him we're on our way." "All right, hotshot, show me." "Drive." "What is it, Mr. Caswell?" "His boat, lieutenant." "Inside the cabin." "Don't you think we better get another kind of warrant?" "For the arrest of David Farr on suspicion of murder." "Did he try to sell his boat?" "Yeah." "Bit off more than he could chew, I guess, what with payments and maintenance, slip rentals." " Lots of lookers?" " No, not really." "Two or three he comes down with the weekends." " One guy came down by himself." " Oh, a friend of his?" "Yeah, it's what I figured." "Dave gives him his key for a look-see." "Oh, Dave told you this?" "No." "His friend did." "Down here Monday lunch." "Couldn't make it over the weekend." "I haven't seen Dave since" "Since he hightailed it out of here this morning." " What did this friend look like?" " He was about 50, I guess." "Looked in great shape." "Tweed cap, biggest cookie duster you ever saw." " What's a cookie duster?" " A moustache, you" "This is a print found on the boat." "And this is another print taken from the body of Ms. Berry." "They match." "This is another print found on the boat." "It matches this print." "David Jerome Farr, courtesy of the Department of Motor Vehicles." " Any others?" " Those were the only ones." "The belt, of course, is a perfect match." "All right, what's bothering you?" " The guy with the moustache?" " You bet he bothers me." "He was seen at Holly's place posing as her uncle and now a man with the same description is seen with Farr's keys posing as a buyer for his boat." "We don't know it's the same guy." "And even if it is, it doesn't change the fact that Holly was on Farr's boat." "Yeah, but who took her there?" "Now you're back to your two-killer thesis." "I don't know." "Maybe the uncle was using Farr." "Or vice versa." "You never give up, do you?" "Give up?" "You're the guy that issued the warrant for Farr's arrest." "I know." "I know that." "I had to." "With all the evidence building up against him." "But that other guy, that's the guy that gets me." "Who was Holly afraid of that she had to change her lock on the door?" "She didn't even meet Farr until that night." "On who's word, Farr's?" "You're getting to be a good cop." " You're even giving me a hard time." " I'll give you a harder time." " What about the brother?" " Oh, he makes it easier." "The uncle was after the brother because he saw something." "And now Farr's after him too." "I'll bet he saw something." "He needs him as a witness to clear himself." "Or Farr knows he was a witness and wants to silence him." "Now, look." "I know we've got a warrant out for Farr but I can't tell Malone this case is in the bag, there's too much we don't know." "Well, we are gonna know a lot more when we've got Farr locked up." "And for my money, it's narcotics." "It's keys." "It's got something to do with keys." "That guy with the tweed cap and the cookie duster." "He's got the keys to Farr's boat." " And Farr said he lost them." " Kenji's." "Maybe he didn't lose them." " He was here today?" " Two hours ago." "Unaccountably anxious." "He made no accusations, but his suspicions were clear." "That somebody stole his keys." "Oh, so you too have spoken with Mr. Farr." "He wishes an investigation?" "No, no." "His thinking is just two hours ahead of mine." "And he asked who was here a week ago, Thursday night." "Besides the regular students." "Precisely." "I told him my recollections." "Two observers." "One subsequently joined our Thursday night classes." "In fact, there she is." "Women's liberation has been most generous for our business." "Lucky for you, huh?" " And the other observer?" " As I told Mr. Farr, most unusual." "There was no hair on his head, but he wore a moustache and a full beard." "Real Jack-the-Ripper weather, huh, man?" "Yeah." "Yeah, the tow truck's gonna be going all night long." "This uncle, you were saying you finally got him off your back." "Yeah." "He used to come in here anytime, day or night." "Until I gave him Del's sister's address." " Where is he?" " Oh, Delbert." "He regrets, man." "He regrets." "Listen, man." "Del's in trouble and so am I." "He needs me and I need him." "We can help each other, got it?" "Right." "Right." " Now, that makes four, doesn't it?" " Yeah." "He's seen at Holly's boarding house." "Then at the gas station where her brother worked." "Next, at Kenji's, where Farr's keys disappeared." "And last, on Farr's boat." "The man with a moustache, the uncle." "Wait a minute." "You said the guy at Kenji's had a beard." "And moustache." "What does he do, put a beard on for evening wear?" "Maybe." "But we know one thing for sure now." "There's another guy out there." "He's in there?" "Yeah, he's there in the deep freeze." "Where you going?" "Hey, baby, I done my trick." "I'm getting out of here." "Hello, Del." "The man who calls himself your uncle." "Who is he?" "Oh, it's that weirdo creep." "I never thought" "I never thought he'd turned on Holly Jean." "Then you do know who he is, don't you?" "I don't know about no" "Five minutes." "I'll get me a deck." "I'll get well in just five minutes." "What was in the car?" "A guy drives in for a tank full" "He drives in for a tank full, just like any other dude and you walk around the back and you see something." "You remember?" "I can tell he's got bread." "So I figured on hustling him for a new set of tyres." "So you can pocket the cash?" "Man, you so cold." "Where am I cold, Del?" "About paying." "He didn't pay." "That's how I hooked him." "He put it on his credit card." "And I get the receipt and I lift the keys to check a spare, that's when I seen it." " See what?" " I see" "Oh, no, man." "I ain't telling you that." "That's money in the bank, what I seen." "And all we had to do was just hit him once." "We're flying high, Holly and me." "We're grooving all the way back to Tennessee." "She's dead, Del." "Them local dudes are gonna pop their gourds." "They're gonna say, "Hey, ain't that them Berry kids in that big California car and all that sweet music booming?"" "She's dead, Del." "She's dead." "The dream is over." "It's over." "Who is the man?" "Who is he?" "I got it in writing." "So you got his name." "And you saw something you thought he might pay you not to talk about it." "And you told Holly." " You made her the go-between." " You crazy man." "I didn't tell Holly Jean nothing." "You used her, Del." "I never figured he'd do it." "You used her and so did I." "I liked your sister." "Maybe I even loved her." "If I'd have given myself half a chance." "But when she needed me the most, I ran out on her." "I left her alone." "And you know the funny thing?" "I could've saved myself if I had helped her." "Now you and me" "You and me, we're both in trouble." "What's his name?" "Maybe it's in there." "Maybe it ain't no more." "Keller here." "Farr, where are you?" "Let me talk to Stone." "Let me see if I can get him." "Trace it." "Look, he's not here right now." "But if it's any consolation, we know about the keys." "Then you know somebody stole them." "Well, let's put it this way." "We know someone else is involved." "The man who posed as Holly's uncle." "Why are you so concerned about me all of a sudden, Keller?" "You trying to spot the phone I'm calling from?" "I'll save you the trouble." "I'm in a phone booth off the Embarcadero." "I've located Delbert Berry." "He's in the old ice house at Samson and Lombard." "I didn't hear you coming." "I got something for you." "What I'm trying to tell you is just be careful, will you, Farr?" "This guy, whoever he is, might be watching you." "He followed you to the motel and to the brother's." "We'll be right there." "I've given you everything you need, Keller." "The name of the game was blackmail." "But the game backfired." "I'm hanging up now." "Don't be a fool." "Stay where you are." "You're gonna need our protection." "Until you figure this thing out, you're right, I will need protection." "From you." "All right, get out an APB on the yellow sports Jag." " Licence number" " Wait." "I got it." " 235 PCE." " 235 PCE." "Yes, sir." "Hank, run a DMV check on this car, will you?" " Don't say it." " I'm not saying anything." "Say, do you see a TV set around here anywhere?" "2-10-7 on the alarm." "KMA 438, clear." "All units, central 2 advises, code four." "No merit in the alarm in the bank." "Repeating." "No merit in the alarm" "Well, he didn't die of an overdose as you're probably thinking." " That's not what I'm thinking." " He died of a ruptured carotid artery." " Exactly like the Berry girl." " He was her brother." " Any report on that car yet?" " No." "But one thing's certain." "He didn't get across the Golden Gate." "The bridge is closed." "Twenty-car pile up on the northbound lanes." " We'll get him." "He can't get far." " I hope you're right." "I've worked for 48 hours straight up." "I'm beat." "At the moment, tow trucks are working to clear the wreckage from both lanes." "But the bridge is not expected to re-open until 1:00 this morning." "Cars and trucks have been backed up for three miles on the Marin County approaches." "The traffic bureau strongly urges motorists to avoid the area." "On the international scene, the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain in ceremonies in their capitals, signed ratification papers in a treaty banning nuclear and other mass destruction weapons from the seabed outside a 12-mile coastal zone." "Secretary of State William P. Rogers said at the ratification ceremony that the entry into force of the treaty was an important step toward international control over weapons of mass destruction." "Gregory Praxas, 21 Ocean Bluff Drive, San Francisco. 1970 Dodge." "That's over west of Presidio." "You think Sacramento can get me a DMV picture on this guy?" "It's the middle of the night, lieutenant." "Oh, now, he's got no record." "Come on, Larry." "Do me a favour." "Wake somebody up." "Castro, huh?" "What'd he look like?" "Wake up, Mr. Farr." "That's better." "Now we can talk." "Eye to eye." "Who are you?" "The first question. "Who?"" "What do you want with me?" "Excellent." "What and who?" "But shouldn't you be asking why, Mr. Farr?" "Ask why." "Why?" "Because like the proverbial mountain, Mr. Farr, you were there." "You were there to use, therefore, I used you." " Oh, no." " Steve." "Oh, yes." "Come on, lover boy." "Did you find Farr?" "No, but would you settle for an uncle?" ""Angel of Death", 1957." ""Diamond hunters encounter a jungle tribe who worship a strange and powerful white man they believe to be the indestructible angel of death." "Starring Gregory Praxas."" "Sounds like a real winner." "Hey, what, does this guy shave his head or something?" "Remember what Kenji said?" "Besides the moustache and the beard, the stranger was completely bald." "Where's the moustache and beard?" "Read it again, buddy boy." "Read it again." "What?" "The guy's an actor?" "Right." "We still haven't answered our original question." " What's that?" " What Del Berry saw in the trunk." "Well, maybe Mr. Praxas can answer that too." "Okay." "You try it." "You ring." " Mr. Praxas?" " Praxas, yes." "Isn't it a little early for this kind of" "I'm Lieutenant Stone." "Inspector Keller, San Francisco Police." "How can I help you, gentlemen?" "Well, if you don't mind talking out here." "I beg your pardon, lieutenant." "Come in." "Inspector." "Gentlemen." "Come in, sit down." "Let me offer you some refreshments." " Tea or coffee." " No." "No, thank you." "No?" "Mr. Praxas, your name was found on the body of a young man who died last night near the Embarcadero." "Oh, dear." "His name was Delbert Berry." "Berry?" "Berry." "I don't recall any such person." "What on earth was he doing with my name?" "Well, we think he sold you some gas." "You see, we found this oil company receipt on his body with your signature on it." "And we wondered what he was doing with a station copy." "I wonder too." "Perhaps he got busy." "Put it in his pocket and forgot about it." "Well, that occurred to us." "See, there's something else too." "We found a television log near his body." "And as you can see, the corner of this page has been torn out and there's a listing of a very early movie of yours on that corner." "Well, yes, that explains it." "Poor fellow must have recognised my name." "It's really rather touching, you know, all the television exposure of these old films has made celebrities of Hollywood's relics like me." "Strictly off the record, sir, where were you last night?" " Are you suggesting, lieutenant--?" " Oh, I'm not suggesting anything." "It's strictly routine, Mr. Praxas." "You see, this young man, Delbert Berry, was murdered." "Last night." "Last night, I had my dinner alone and then I went out for a little while to get a breath of a" "If you'll excuse me," "I'm keeping a cat for a neighbour and he turns out to be quite a rascal." "You sure I can't interest you in some coffee or tea?" " No." "No, thank you." " No, thank you." "Real three dollar bill." " Did you feel his handshake?" " Yeah." "Like a vice." "You were saying you went out for a bit of fresh air." "Well, yes, lieutenant, I own some property in Belvedere." "I often drive over there at night and I walk under the pines." "Have you gentlemen finished with me?" "Do you remember what time it was when you left?" " You mean last night?" " Yes, last night." "Oh, probably about 10:00." " And you got back...?" " Oh, just before midnight." "See, I too am an inveterate late-night movie watcher." "Last night, it was "Maltese Falcon" on channel 9." "You say you drove to Belvedere." " That's across the bay, isn't it?" " Yes." " You were back by midnight?" " I said that, yes." "There was a 20-car pile up." "The bridge was closed between 10 and 1." "Take the other side of the house." "Praxas!" "Drop that gun." "I'll break his neck." "Throw it away." "Stop." "You cannot hurt me." "It was Farr, he'll be okay." " What about you?" " I'm all right." "This belonged to little Joel Ramsey." "Chamber of horrors." "That box probably contains half the unsolved murders in San Francisco County." "A real maniac." "With a face for every role." "There's Holly's uncle." "And there is the man that kidnapped and murdered a 6-year-old boy." "Sometimes he wore them together." "And Holly's brother was the first man to identify Praxas as the killer." "The killer of little Joel Ramsey." "That's why Praxas had to kill Del and Holly, and frame somebody else." "How did Del identify Praxas?" "Give me the keys." "There it is." "Come in." "We came by to compare bruises." " How are you feeling?" " Okay." "The guy was some gorilla, wasn't he?" "I'm glad you came by." "I'm sorry I misjudged you." "You didn't." "The fact is, I could have saved her life." "That's what I felt." "Even though I knew you hadn't killed her," "I couldn't forgive you for abandoning her at that motel." "Yeah, well, I can't forgive myself." "Oh, come on." "Let's get off of this forgiving business." "Here, I thought you'd like to keep that." "Come on, hotshot, we've got work to do." "Take care."