"So?" "It puts you there, Mr. Vochek, at the time Morrie Krohner was shot." "Who says it was that day?" "The papers on that newsstand." "And you see, this here blowup gives the date and the late editions go on sale between 11 and 11:30." "Why were you tailing me?" "Not you, Mr. Vochek, the other man." "He had a girlfriend in that apartment." "His wife wanted proof, I got the proof." "And you along with it." "Now, you understand that this is a duplicate print." "Anything happens to me, the DA gets the negative." "Take my word for it." "Take the word of a cheap con artist?" "You think we don't know you're going to jail tomorrow?" "Sure." "I got three to five, I'll be out in two years for good behaviour." "And I'm not a con artist." "The word is "extortion."" "A hundred grand, cash on delivery." "Take it or leave it." "I'm sorry, sir." "The way I see it, the price has gotta be as big as the man." "And according to the Senate Rackets Committee, you are the most powerful underworld figure west of Chicago." "Now, that alone should raise the price to over a million." "But I wasn't hatched yesterday, Mr. Vochek." "All I'd have to do is let you get ahold of that negative." "I wouldn't live long enough to buy myself a bag of popcorn." "Mr. Edison." "Do I understand you want something from my client other than money?" "No, sir." "I am simply saying that the negative is buried, and it will stay buried, as long as I get 5000 a month every month." "For how long?" "Well, let's put it this way, Mr. Vochek." "Let's both hope that I outlive you." "Any sign of fire?" "No, but it's the weather for it." "Good morning, Mr. Phelps." "The pictures are of Vincent Vochek, head of a powerful West Coast syndicate family." "And Larry Edison, a former private detective who has been sentenced to prison." "Vochek is suspected of murdering one Maurice Krohner, a police informer, six months ago." "It is known that Edison holds a roll of film linking Vochek to Krohner's death, using it to blackmail Vochek." "Conventional law enforcement agencies have been unable to locate this film and are helpless to proceed against the gang leader without it." "Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is to learn where Edison's film is hidden and turn it over to the proper authorities." "This tape will self-destruct in five seconds." "Good luck, Jim." "That's perfect, Casey." " How about the voice?" " Well, there's not much to go on, except the region in Texas that she's from, and I'm familiar with the accent." "The name she gave when they brought her into the hospital turned out to be an alias." "Actually, she is Leona Prescott, a former airline hostess." "A small apartment on Lexington Boulevard." "Now, as you know, two days ago, she admitted to authorities that she was Larry Edison's contact and agreed to tell them where the film was hidden." "Before she could do it, she lapsed into a coma." "She died three hours ago without regaining consciousness." "Any chance the crash wasn't accidental, Jim?" "No." "She got careless, Willy." "Went around the corner too fast, ran head-on into a power pole." "Does Vochek know about Leona Prescott?" "No, definitely not." "Edison kept their relationship secret." "So Leona is our advantage." "What about her apartment?" "No, it was thoroughly searched, no sign of the film." "Any problems, Barney?" "No, Jim." "The governor's office has made all the arrangements." "The warden will take an emergency leave." "Of course, I've been up to my eyebrows in books on prison management." "The police have agreed to give us their cooperation on the accident report." "Casey, you've been accredited through the Department of Corrections." "The staff will be expecting you." "Willy?" "My credentials checked out okay, Jim." "And I report for duty at 8 tomorrow morning." "Good." "Now, one word of caution." "It's possible, as a matter of fact, knowing Vochek, it's entirely probable that one or two of the prison staff will be on his payroll." "So we can't risk revealing our cover to anyone on the inside." "Not to anyone." "Warden." "Line up in the front of the desk." "Gentlemen, I'm Acting Warden Anderson." "I'll only be here a few days." "Meanwhile, you've been put in my custody." "As long as you observe the rules of this institution, you'll be treated fairly by myself, Mr. Fort, and all other members of the prison staff." "Failure to observe those rules will result in punishment based upon the severity of the offence." "Now, that can range from loss of privileges to a term in solitary confinement." "If at any time you feel that you wish to speak to me personally, one of the guards will bring you to my office without unnecessary delay." "Are there any questions?" "Which one of you is Lawrence Edison?" "Here, sir." "Mr. Fort has recommended that you be put in a private cell in the maximum security wing." "Why is that, Mr. Fort?" "Oh, just a precautionary measure, warden." "According to the grapevine, Edison has enemies in here." "Do you know who they are?" "No, sir." "Do you, Edison?" "No, sir." "Then I see no reason to approve this recommendation." "Assign each of these men to the cell I've indicated." " That'll be all." " Yes, sir." "Let's go." "Have Edison's mail watched." "Any attempt to communicate, bring to me directly." "This is Joe Fort." "Let me talk to Mr. V." "It's Joe." "Yeah, Joe?" "I couldn't swing it." "They ran this black warden in on me while Decker's away." "And he won't okay putting Edison in a private cell." "Do it anyhow." "This new guy is a hardnose." "I'll have to wait till Decker gets back." "Look, Joe, anything bad happens to Larry Edison out there, you're dead." "Oh, it'll work out, Mr. V. Don't you worry about it." "You worry about it." "A new roommate." "Yours is the one with the southern exposure." "Unless, of course, you're allergic to sunshine." "You play chess?" "I never even got around to chequers." "That's a pity." "Losing constantly to oneself can result in a certain amount of ennui." "I'll bet." "I'm Derek Quayle." "Otherwise known to my peers as "The Professor."" "I'm Larry Edison." "Mr. Edison." " First time in, eh?" " Yeah." "You wanna know something, Professor?" "After two hours, this iron palace, it's already getting to me." "After two hours." "What kind of shape am I gonna be in after two years?" "If you keep looking at it that way, you'll end up stir crazy." "Well, how else am I supposed to look at it?" "By not thinking of it in terms of years." "You know, a smart con does his stretch one day at a time." "No yesterdays, no tomorrows, only today." "And then one day, you put on a 30-dollar suit, the warden gives you a short speech, a $20 bill, and you walk out a free man." "And only one day older than when you came in." "What are you in for, Professor?" "Cheating at dominoes?" "No." "Nothing that exotic, I'm afraid." "I broke a window." "The window happened to be on an armoured car containing $84,000." "Tastes vary, Mr. Edison." "Some like magazines with pictures of pretty girls in them," "I prefer textbooks on calculus and other such fare." "I hope you're not gonna turn out to be one of those..." "Mr. Edison, don't make the mistake of equating intelligence with a lack of masculinity." "I wouldn't think of it, Professor." "Sure, I know Fritz." "You know, they got him for armed robbery a couple months back." "He's doing a five-and-dime in San Quentin." "Well, there you go." "It just shows you the world's a pretty small place and everybody's got some kind of trouble, huh?" "Come on, get back there." "Move it back." "Come on." "Go on, get back there." "What happened?" "I'll tell you what happened, screw." "Somebody tried to kill me." "I want that man put where he's safe." "I'll decide where that man's to be put, Mr. Fort." " Did you find the gun?" " Every con in the yard was searched." "Every inch of the ground was gone over with a metal detector." "Look, I am telling you, warden, if you don't put Edison into maximum security isolation and keep him there, he's gonna get killed." "Dr. Kingby?" "Well, the psychiatric tests indicate that the subject is a borderline manic-depressive." "Now, I feel that to completely segregate him at this time could be so traumatic, as to cause irreparable damage." "Well, if you don't do it, he's gonna end up dead." "Well, Mr. Fort, then I suggest that we confine him to his present cell and allow exercise periods only under controlled conditions." "Also, that he attend regular group therapy sessions." "Why the last part?" "Mr. Fort, he is mentally ill, and he will be perfectly safe with me." "Warden, if you don't isolate him, there's gonna be a next time." "And two misses in a row, they're not likely." "We'll do it your way, doctor." "Fort seems awfully interested in what happens to Edison." "I was thinking the same thing, Casey." " What do we do about it?" " Nothing right now." "Assuming that he is in touch with Vochek, he's better left alone." "What about tomorrow?" "I'll arrange the work schedule so he won't interfere." "Thank you, doctor." " Didn't they find a gun?" " No." "Just take it easy, buddy." "Would you listen to that?" " Find out who took a shot at you?" " No." "You got any idea?" "Well, there's one man that I know of that could be behind it." "But with what I've got on him, he'd be nuts to have me hit." "So who?" "Who?" "Do me a favour, will you?" "Don't tell me." "I got enough on my mind as it is." "Like what?" "Nothing that'd interest you." "You could be wrong about that." "This wouldn't happen to be the other half of what I know you got down here." "You figuring on pulling a bust-out, Professor?" " Yep?" " Mr. Fort is here." "Have him come in." "Our agreement was that you would only contact me by phone." "I know." "But you said you wanted a check put on any outgoing mail from Edison." "He tried to kite it out." "But the parolee he gave it to owed me a favour." "Cliff." "I thought there might be something in there you wouldn't want anyone to see, including me." "Have Millie open this without tearing the flap." "What about Edison?" "What have you done?" "Well, until the warden gets back, all I can do is keep him confined to his cell." "If I only had some idea who was out to get him." " It'd make my job a lot easier." " Maybe nobody's out to get him." "Do I have to tell you what goes on in any prison these days?" "Everybody's uptight." "Cons, guards, anybody who happens to be around." "Now, I can't take a chance of having some nut run loose and stick a knife in him." "Now, you run along." "I'll take care of this." "Yes, sir." ""Haven't heard from you." "Hope the baby's okay." "Drop me a line."" "Have her seal this up and drop it in the mail." "Hey, guard." "Guard." "Keep it down, will you, buddy?" "Listen, did they find that guy that took a shot at me?" " I don't know." " What do you mean you don't know?" "They had a shakedown, didn't they?" "Didn't they find a gun?" "No." "Well, do you think that bullet came out of thin air?" "Just take it easy, buddy." "You keep worrying yourself like this, you're gonna have an ulcer." "Would you listen to this, somebody tries to kill me, and all I get around here is "Don't worry about it."" "So that's it, huh?" "They don't care." "I bet you somebody got to them, because they're not doing anything to protect me." "Now, there's only one thing worse than a prison cell." "That's a psycho ward." "That's where you're gonna end up if you keep on talking that way." "I gotta get out of here." "Don't we all." "But I mean it, Professor." "Look, Larry, you've gotta take up a hobby or something." "You're too impatient for chess." "But you've got to draw or do something with your hands..." "Larry, it's..." "Larry?" "Professor, you're gonna cut me in." "Larry, you're in here on a three-to-five rap on a first offence." "All you have to do is mind your manners, the parole board springs you in two years." "You can do that kind of time standing on your head." "Who says I'm gonna be alive around here in two months, let alone two years?" "You don't know if that bullet was for you." "Nobody's stupid." "They're gonna have another crack at me." "My luck can only stretch so far." "Listen, the chances of one man making it out of here are almost nil." "Two men doubles the risk." "Any guy who plays chess and fools around with calculus" "I'll take my chances with." "Professor, you let me in, or I blow the whistle on you." "I mean it." "All right, you're in." "Gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?" "Thank you." "At my request, Acting Warden Anderson has agreed to allow us to participate in group therapy sessions." "They'll be on a small scale, of course, in the beginning, but eventually, more men will want to participate." "Now, if each of you will get a chair and form a circle right here..." "Dr. Kingby, may I say something?" " Of course." " Thank you." "Now, just do as you're told and you won't get hurt." "There's a guard posted outside that door." "Yes, plus 20 feet of corridor and two locked and barred doors." " That's why you're coming with us." " I'll do no such thing." "You do it, lady, on foot or dragged by the hair." " How about the rest of us?" " Sorry, fellas." "Maybe next time." "Call that guard and play it straight." "Guard." "Over there." "You're free to go, doctor." "Don't be stupid." "Without her, we don't make it." " Let her go, I know what I'm doing." " So do I, buster." "Stall them as long as you can." "Which way did they go?" "Which way?" "All right, now get in." "Let's go." "How do you feel?" "Terrible." "Well, that's not so bad." "Not for a dead man." " Us?" " Us." "You almost ruined it by trying to bring the good lady doctor along." "I'm sorry I had to hit you." "When you fell, you hit your head against the car." "Must have gotten a little concussion or something." "I had a real problem." "How long have I been out?" "Almost 14 hours." "Fourteen hours." "Oh, no." "Oh, no." "No." "Why, she's..." "A phone." " I gotta get to a phone." " No, you're supposed to be dead." "Anybody finds out differently, we are back behind bars." "If I don't make a certain phone call, I might as well be dead." "Give me a phone." "A phone." "Give me a phone." "Come on, come on, come on." "Don't touch that." "Now, be careful how you move stuff." "We don't want the broad to know we've been here." "No, I think..." "I gotta get over there." "Wait a minute." "You can't even get across the room." "Larry, if you just tell me what's so important, maybe I can help you." "Forget it, Professor." "For all I know, Vochek could have set this whole thing up." "No can of film, no keys for a pay-Iocker or a safe-deposit box." "Nothing that shows she even knows Edison." "Oh, her clothes and stuff is still there." "But you ask me, she hasn't been there in a week." "Well, she's still got the film." "Otherwise, the DA would have pulled me in by now." "What gets me is why she's holding on to it with Edison dead." "There's nothing to do until she shows up at the apartment." "You show this to the boys so they'll know her." "I want that building covered." "As soon as she walks in, call me." " Any word from Jim?" " I haven't heard a thing." "It's about that time, Casey." " How's that?" " Looks great." " Yeah?" " The lady just made this a nice day." "Good." "I'm very glad to hear that." "Sure." "We'll take care of it, Mr. Vochek." " Just a minute, Leona." " Who are you?" "Where's the film, Leona?" "Look, I don't know what you're talking about." "Maybe this will refresh your memory." "Now, Leona, the film." "I told you, I don't know anything about any film." "Let me tell you something." "The man I work for, he's got kind of a sense of justice." "If you help him, he'll be good to you." "But we got men out looking for that film." "And if we find it without your help, my boss's sense of justice is going to say, "Kill that broad."" "And I will." "Barney?" " Everything okay, Casey?" " No." "Edison kited a letter out of prison." "Vochek must have got hold of it and traced it here." "Two of his men just leaned on me, trying to panic me into going for that tape." "They must have you staked out, then." "Go ahead with the plan, Casey." " You sure?" " Yes." "The last thing they'll do is try to stop Edison before he leads them to that film." "They'll be watching, but they won't interfere." "We'll just have to be ready for their next move." "Larry." "Coffee?" "Ever get ahold of your friend last night?" "Hello?" "Well, it's about time." "I've been going nuts trying to get you." "Who is this?" "What do you mean, "Who is this? " Leona, it's Larry." "Hey, now that film, you didn't turn it over?" "Look, I don't know who you are or what you're trying to pull." "But for your information, Larry Edison is dead." "No, wait a minute." "No, wait a minute." "Don't hang up." "Honey, I'm not dead." "The whole thing was a setup." "It was to keep the law from looking for me after I busted out." " I'm gonna be over there as soon..." " Sorry, Larry." "But you should have called me the minute you got out." "You didn't...?" "You didn't turn it in?" "Not to the DA?" "It's what you told me to do." "How was I to know you weren't dead?" "Leona." "Goodbye, Larry." "One lousy day." "Five grand a month the rest of my life, down the drain." "That woman you just talked to, Leona?" "From what I picked up, she jumped the gun on you." " What was it?" " A business deal." "Oh, come on, Larry, isn't that a nice way of saying blackmail?" "You got an awful lot going on upstairs, Professor." "Yes, yes, I have." "So has she." "Five thousand a month." "I'd lie for a lot less than that." "Larry, put yourself in her position." "She has something worth that much money, and she hears that Larry Edison is dead." "So she reasons, "Why not put the money in my own pocket? "" "Now, all of a sudden, she hears that Larry Edison is alive." "What would you do?" "Last night, you mentioned the name Vochek." "That has to be Vince Vochek." "Everybody knows him." "Now, do I gather that she was supposed to turn something over to the district attorney that would put Vince Vochek behind bars?" "Close enough." "Now, I can help you." "Let's check it out." "Yes?" "Extension 371, please." "Bill?" "Professor." "We think Vochek's watching the apartment, Jim, no need to change the plan." "Well, that just goes to show you should read the sports page and the obituaries, huh?" "No, I'm fine." "Fine." "Bill, I need a favour." "That friend of yours in the DA's office, ask him if the DA has a pickup order out on Vince Vochek." "That's right." "Vochek." "Yeah, I'll hold." "It's the guy who set everything up." "He's got a friend downtown." "If the DA so much as sneezes, he hears about it." "Yeah, Bill?" "Yes." "You're sure about that?" "All right." "Yes, I sure will." "Thanks a lot, Bill." "The district attorney hasn't even a parking ticket on Vince Vochek." "You were right." "She lied." "Well, I'm gonna talk to her right now." "Not like that, Larry." "You're about the same size as the guy who owns this apartment." "Clothes, in there." "You wait here." "But he's dead." "Obviously, he's not." "As soon as I get what I want, he's gonna be." "You lousy little tramp." " Why'd you lie to me?" " No, Larry." "No, I did send it." "Send it how?" "By messenger." "No, save it." "A phone call was made to the DA." "He never got that film." "In fact, he doesn't even know it exists." "Now, you get me that key." "Get it yourself." "And turn my back on you?" "Not for a second." "Get it." "Come on." "You're not gonna use that." "Not on me." "Why wouldn't I?" "There's no law against shooting a dead man." "The keys are right where you left them, so is the film." "But with you behind bars, why shouldn't I be the one to collect from Vochek?" "You know, while I was in stir, somebody took a shot at me." "Who set me up, baby?" "Not you." "You don't have the brains or the guts." "Not Vochek." "He'd have nothing to gain, everything to lose." "So you..." "You brought in somebody else." "Who is he?" "Does it matter?" "Sorry, Larry." "I got worried." "Just protecting my investment in that fair shake you promised me." "I'm beginning to get a feeling about you, Professor." "Like maybe you've been pulling the strings all along." "Larry, when you start thinking your friends are your enemies, you're ready for a straitjacket." " Listen, I just saved..." " It's me, darling." "He knows." "You've gotta get that film before..." "He knows." "Give me the car keys." "Only this time, stay put, Professor, or the only fair shake you'll get is a bullet." "Barney?" "Yes, Jim?" "He's in my car, headed east on Lexington." "Right, we'll get on his tail." "Barney?" "Yes, Jim?" "I think I just spotted a tail." "Four men in a black sedan." "I only got a glimpse, but one of them could be Vochek." "Right." "What about stopping Vochek?" "We can't take a chance on Edison seeing it." "I quit." "I'm out of shells." "Come out with your hands up." "This is getting to be a habit, Professor." "Thanks." "No need to thank me, Larry." "You." "You're not even a con, are you?" "No." "Let's have the film."