"Jerry!" "Jerry." "Jerry." "We're going away, Jerry." "We're going far away to Rama." "Why don't you come back?" "Come back where?" "Where do you think you are?" "Oh!" "I'm in the center of the earth." "Why did you do it, Jill?" "Why did you lie to me?" "Because I wanted you to see how golden life could be." "I wanted you to learn something more than basketball and History One." "The taste of blue and the colors of 12." "Learn from who?" "From that phony or from you?" "Look at yourself!" "You can't even think straight anymore." "Jerry!" "Jerry!" "Jerry?" "!" "What happened?" "He left the dream, Mr. Wilson." "I can't see him anymore." "No, no, no, no." "You're doing it all wrong." "You use the pick like a brace, not like a lever." "You make your first turn to the right, not all over the place." "And you don't hit the lock with your hand." "All you do is snap it shut when you do that." "That lock will never open." "All right, boys." "I've been a burglar for 30 years, a professional." "Tell me, who sent for you?" "I'm sorry about that, Mr. Leone." "Hey, Max!" "How are you?" "How are you, yourself?" "So this is the kind of business you end up in?" "Oh, now, Max, you know burglary is a sadly maligned art." "Mm-hmm." "If you'd taken the job I offered with Max Bonnett Clothiers, you'd be head of the whole West Coast Operation by now, instead of fooling around with locks and picks." "Now, be thankful, Max." "Aside from what Mannix might have done to the clothing business, he wouldn't be a private detective, which you now need." "What's the problem, Max?" "You, uh, remember my daughter," "Jill?" "You used to give her red balloons, repair her broken toys." "Yeah, she used to call me Uncle Fixit." "How is she?" "Oh, she's fine." "She's fine." "She's a big girl now." "College girl." "Max, tell him." "You know, a father worries when there's nothing to worry about." "You send your kid away to school, that's the last you hear from her." "All right, Max, what's really bothering you?" "Who's bothered?" "I just want to know that she's happy, that everything's okay." "You, uh... you don't have to say you're a detective." "You go up there, you make up a little story, you ask a couple of questions, and when you're satisfied that everything's all right, you come on home." "Are you the new faculty supervisor?" "Oh, no, no, uh..." "The job does sound interesting." "I'm looking for Jill Bonnett." "Hold on." "I'll be dressed in a second." "Are you a friend of Jill's?" "Well, only professionally." "Uh, you see, I, uh..." "Well, she filed a claim through our insurance company, uh, on an automobile accident, and, uh, the other party settled, so I've got a check here for $350 for her." "Well, you can leave it with me." "I'll give it to her." "Well, no, uh..." "No, that-that's against the rules." "I-I need a receipt for the other carrier, and, uh, if I don't get that by the end of the week, why, they're just, uh, apt to cancel the, uh..." "the settlement." "Hmm." "You don't want to blow 350 bucks for her." "Tell you the truth, I haven't seen Jill all week." "Well, uh, what would you say is the best way to run Jill down?" "Head for Hippieland." "You want something?" "Oh, yeah." "I'll have a cup of coffee." "Coffee's 15 cents." "We got a minimum-- half a buck." "Give me about 35 cents worth of apple strudel." "What do you say, man?" "Like the rag?" "Yeah." "You got something to do with it?" "Everything, baby, everything." "Editor, publisher, star reporter." "Name's, uh, Morgan Carpenter." "Oh, uh, Mannix." "Joe Mannix." "Mannix." "Yeah." "Insurance business, right, huh?" "Hey, that's great." "Listen, how did you know?" "I'm a reporter, man." "It's my business to know people." "Dig?" "Besides, a lady named Cindy Gier called." "Said I should keep an eye out for you." "Pretty wild, huh?" "Oh, yeah." "She's great." "Yeah, great." "Yeah, she's, she's not bad, either." "Want me to fix you up with her, huh?" "Oh, maybe some other time, huh?" "Right now I'm looking for, uh, Jill Bonnett." "How's that, man?" "Jill Bonnett." "You know where I can find her?" "Looking for someone?" "Maybe I can help you." "I'm Tony." "Oh, yeah." "I'm, uh, looking for Jill Bonnett." "This Bonnett-- what do you want from her?" "Oh, well, you see, I'm an insurance agent." "Uh, I'd like to settle a claim." "You look like a snoop to me." "Snoop?" "Oh, you mean cop!" "No, no." "Like I told you, I'm an insurance man." "I'm not buying." "Go take your business someplace else." "You're nervous." "Uh, but of course, that's understandable, considering the help." "You know, the last time I saw old Laughing Boy over there, uh, his portrait was decorating a post office wall." "Yeah, what was it?" "Uh, felonious entry, or-or was it assault with intent?" "Mister, you'd better move on." "But I haven't had my apple strudel yet." "Excuse me." "Move!" "The alley." "Let's go!" "What do we want to bust this guy up for?" "Let him go." "You losing your marbles?" "The boss said we do it." "I sure wish you fellows would change your minds." "Would you believe some of the help over there took a dislike to me?" "Tony." "Tony?" "Huh, yeah, Tony, huh." "I should have warned you not to play with Tony." "Yeah, but this is Hippieland." "You people are supposed to be nonviolent." "Tony look like a hippie to you, man?" "What about, uh, Jill Bonnett?" "Hey, listen, you want my advice?" "I'd rather have some information." "Eh, here, I'll give you both." "The advice is stay away from Jill Bonnett;" "she's big trouble, baby." "All I want to do is pay an insurance claim." "How can that be trouble?" "Yeah, okay, okay, okay, okay." "Still say, you'd be a lot better off, you just mail that insurance check to her." "Huh." "All right, if you insist, check with the professor." "Professor, uh, what professor?" "The professor, baby." "The sage, the guru." "Professor Roger Wilson, prophet of the new life." "Oh, yeah, well, where, uh, where can I find, the professor?" "The professor, well, he has this retreat up in Camp Meridian." "Runs these turn-on sessions." "You dig?" "That's where they meditate, they, uh, think about things and fast, and they tune in on the eternal Atman." "Yeah, some people say he's a God." "What do you say?" "Uh..." "I say if a man believes, all things are possible, baby." "Good morning." "What are you looking for?" "Odds and ends, Professor." "The name is Mannix." "Why do you come here?" "To find the truth." "And what will you do with it, after you've found it?" "I'll set a few things right." "That is God's task." "Some people say that, uh, you're a God." "We are all part of him." "Who are you looking for, Mr. Mannix?" "Jill Bonnett." "Where is she?" "I don't know." "This is the last place she was seen." "She was troubled." "She came to this place as you did, Mr. Mannix, to find truth." "But we can only search for truth." "To find it is folly." "Are you trying to tell me, Professor, that, uh, to find truth is dangerous?" "Jerry Robles died." "It was a terrible accident." "A funny kind of an accident, don't you think, Professor?" "I mean, uh, a boy who's a trained athlete, suddenly finds himself falling over a level cliff." "How do you suppose that happened?" "I wasn't there, Mr. Mannix." "Unfortunately, nobody was." "Well, we might just theorize, uh, maybe he jumped?" "What do you think, Professor?" "You think he might have killed himself?" "Or maybe somebody pushed him?" "Where is she?" "Who?" "Well, you do get around, don't you?" "Look, mister, I don't know who you are, but stay out of this." "Look, uh, Ken, I-I'm a basketball fan." "Who cares about that?" "Look, mister, my buddy's dead, did you know that?" "Jerry Robles?" "She killed him, didn't she?" "His girlfriend." "She, who?" "Jill Bonnett." "She was using him." "If it wasn't for her, he'd be alive right now." "Look, if, uh, Jill was Jerry's girlfriend, why would she want to hurt him?" "In the brief time that I knew him," "I could see they loved each other." "He started seeing her, he changed." "He started taking her to the coffee house, then up here, to the professor's psychedelic happenings." "He didn't want to go, but he was hung up on her." "He, he couldn't say no." "Why not?" "Because he was in love with her." "She must be quite a girl." "She, she's very beautiful." "Go home, Ken." "Go back to school and play basketball." "Joseph Mannix?" "That's right." "What's the problem?" "You're the problem, Mannix." "We've been keeping Wilson under surveillance." "That's his problem." "Listen, Mannix, I don't like wise guys." "You Intertect people think you're running your own police force." "Well, you're not." "You're as liable as anybody else when you interfere with the law." "I'm not interfering with anything." "I don't even know why you're interested in the professor." "Because I think he's experimenting with drugs, because a kid died up at his place last week, and I want to know what's going on up there." "Why don't you raid the place?" "We need some kind of evidence to warrant a search." "We're collecting that evidence, Mannix, and we don't want you getting in the way." "Is that all, Sheriff?" "All right, Mannix." "Get lost." "But take this with you." "You think you're immune because you're carrying a private cop's card, well, you're not." "As far as I'm concerned, you're on the other side of the fence, and you make one wrong move," "I'll nail you to the wall." "Hello!" "Oh, yeah, Parker." "The professor's operating under an assumed name, why?" "He's got a criminal record?" "Yeah, well, that part about the drugs doesn't surprise me." "Yeah, look, Parker, I'll, uh," "I'll get back to you for the rest of it." "Su..." "Surprise." "I'm sorry." "I hope I didn't startle you." "No, I'm always used to getting a heart attack at 3:00 in the afternoon." "I'm Jill." "Yeah, I know." "I heard you were looking for me." "Well, I was in the neighborhood," "I thought I'd just drop by." "Posing as an insurance adjuster." "Oh, come on, Uncle Fixit, what's going on?" "My father asked you to check up on me?" "Well, he was worried, after all;" "you haven't, uh, called him in two weeks." "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to just disappear like that." "I suppose you heard about Jerry." "Well, not as much as I'd like to." "We were in love." "And, uh, you're all over that now." "Please tell Daddy, that, um, that everything's all right, and that I left on account of what happened." "I'm all right now." "I can't do that Jill." "Why not?" "Because you're lying." "You were sent here on the professor's orders." "He got all shook up when I went calling." "So he sent me what I was looking for-- you." "That's not true!" "What's the professor hiding, Jill?" "What are you hiding?" "It's none of your business!" "Your father thinks it is." "It's none of his business either!" "I don't want him interfering with my life," "I'm happy now I found what I want!" "If you're so happy, why the hysteria?" "Got all the answers... all your wise words." "You don't know anything about what it's like to..." "To what Jill?" "What is it?" "Professor Wilson, his name was Albert Rogers then, was implicated in the drug death of a girl student at Grantland University." "No conviction, huh?" "Well, charges were filed, but they were dropped." "Now, that was two years ago." "Now, last year, he shows up as lessee of the Camp Meridian Estates." "Now, you might be interested in the annual rent one dollar." "Who's the philanthropist?" "Oh, now, he's a man by the name of Ralph Warden, who also happens to own the Lost Dimension." "Yeah, yeah, that's run by a gorilla named Tony something or other." "Get me a rundown..." "Mannix, you're not teaching a fox to steal eggs." "A rundown on all of Warden's employees" "Tony Lupcio, manager of Lost Dimension, uh, convicted ni..." "Parker here." "It's for you." "Yeah?" "Come on, what are you talking about?" "Max says you've done what he asked you to." "The job is finished." "Jill phoned." "She assured me everything was fine." "Well, I'm glad you're assured." "If you want my advice, Max, you'll retain us until we tell you the job is finished." "Uh, just a minute." "Since when did we start soliciting business?" "When the client terminates our services, that's the end of it." "The client wanted us to find out if his daughter was in trouble, and get her out of it." "Well, she's in trouble all right." "I haven't got the slightest idea how to get her out of it." "Well, I trust her!" "She tells me she's all right, I believe it." "You really believe it, Max?" "Would I say so if I didn't?" "Mannix, you sure about that trouble?" "Yeah, and the police are in on it." "They've got Professor Wilson's place under surveillance, waiting to nail him on a narcotics rap." "Of course, there's always the chance that when they raid the place, Max, Jill won't be there." "You've got to take the chance, Max." "You've got to gamble that Jill will understand someday." "Now you might lose her, but you've got to protect her." "There's somebody following us." "Good afternoon, Mr. Mannix." "Professor, where's Jill Bonnett?" "I told you earlier..." "I followed her." "She was here the last time I was here, too." "You sent her after me to get me off your back." "I have no reason to hide anything from you." "I think you've got a lot of reasons." "Like your connections with a man named Warden." "And another one called Tony Lupcio." "I'll handle it, Professor." "Me and the snoop are going to have a little talk." "Well, you've come up in the world, Tony." "From an armed robbery conviction in 1959 to a disciple in a new religion." "Well, that's free enterprise." "Any objections?" "The question is, what is the new religion?" "And where does Ralph Warden fit into it?" "You're moving in over your head, Mannix." "That's where the action is, Tony, you know that." "Tell me, why would Warden lease a valuable piece of property to an eccentric professor for a buck a year?" "What's the racket, Tony?" "And just where does Jill Bonnett fit into it?" "Boys." "Take him to the cabin." "Keep him there until I ask Mr. Warden what to do with him." "Go on." "That violence was totally unjustified." "Yeah." "Tempers flared in the chambers of the city council today as the only female member of the council was accused of..." "Hey, you come to." "I was beginning to wonder maybe you got hit too hard." "From whose point of view?" "On the local sports front, the next opponent for the Idaho Tech basketball team will be Pacific State." "Undefeated in their first 12 games, the State Rangers are heavy favorites to run the string to 13 against the talented but inexperienced Indians." "Idaho Tech has a front line that averages six feet five inches, paced by Kenny Hollecutt's 23 points per game." "355-X." "What's the line on Pacific State-Idaho Tech tomorrow night?" "Pacific State by 12, huh?" "Well, let me have $500 on Idaho." "Yeah." "Bye." "You seem pretty confident about Idaho." "How about letting me in on the action?" "You want to bet on Idaho?" "Sure, I've got a thousand bucks on me." "If I win, we'll split the winnings." "It's right here in my wallet in the coat pocket." "Judy?" "Yeah, Mannix here." "Listen, give me the computer room." "I want a fast rundown on an address." "Yeah, the phone number is 555-4378." "I don't care!" "I don't care, Tony." "I am worried and I think I've a right to." "Sure, sure." "Everything's perfect until something goes wrong." "I'm laying bets as fast as the bookies can cover them." "It's going great, Mr. Warden." "With out-of-town action counted in, we should have $200,000 or $300,000 down by game time." "I don't want things to get messed up like the last time when the Robles kid took a spill." "I still can't figure Robles going off a cliff." "I don't want a slipup with this other kid." "We got money down." "I checked Jill, Mr. Warden, she's taking care of her end." "The odds on tomorrow's game, Mr. Warden, are still very, very sweet." "Before he died, it was all two to one money to cover." "Where were we, Tony?" "It looked like we had time." "It was safer to be sure the kid couldn't play." "You got an invitation?" "Forgot to bring it." "Let's take a walk." "Darling." "Now, isn't that just like a man?" "I send you off to get a glass of champagne, and you disappear for half an hour." "Who have you been flirting with?" "Oh, uh... well, I'm, I'm sorry about that, honey." "I ran into an old business friend... and him." "He's got no invitation." "Of course not." "He's with me." "Thanks." "Don't thank me yet." "You're not in the insurance business." "Anyone else here who'd recognize you?" "Tony Lupcio." "I spotted him on the way in." "I've suddenly become irresistible?" "Practically." "Also, Tony and Mr. Warden don't get curious about kisses." "They might about conversation." "Besides, do you know a nicer way to avoid being seen?" "You know, I got a funny feeling you're trying to distract me." "What's wrong with that?" "Nothing." "It's just that, uh, I'm such a worrier." "For example?" "Jill Bonnett." "You're playing a dangerous game, you know that?" "So are you, Cindy." "But I know the game, Mannix." "I'm just trying to keep you out of it." "Why?" "Because you're nice." "Because I don't want to see you get yourself killed." "I think it's time you start worrying about yourself, Cindy." "I can handle myself." "I've been doing it for a long time." "But Jill hasn't." "Grown-up people make their own decisions." "Jill's only a kid." "Somehow I don't believe in progressive education." "She's running around with a rough crowd." "Whatever's going on, I'd like to see her out of it." "Are you a cop?" "I'm a private detective working for her father." "Now if you're really her friend, Cindy, you'll help me out." "She's up at Camp Meridian at Wilson's place." "Get her out of there by 5:00 a.m." "Why the deadline?" "Because Warden tipped the police to a narcotics stash." "They're going to raid the place at 5:00." "That doesn't make sense." "Warden owns the place." "Why would he blow the whistle on his own tenants?" "I can't tell you that." "Please don't ask me anymore." "Just get her out of there by 5:00." "Thanks, Cindy." "May I see your license, please?" "Joseph Mannix?" "That's right, Intertect." "I'm on my way up to Professor Wilson's place." "I'm sorry, that area's closed off now." "You fellows are going in, aren't you?" "I'm sure it's all right." "We've been working on this with the sheriff." "Yeah, we're moving in at 5:00-- another 20 minutes." "I'd keep out of this part of it." "Could be some gunplay." "Thanks anyway, Officer." "Police are raiding this place in less than five minutes." "You're going with me." "Let me go!" "You're not going to kill me!" "You're not going to..." "What's he loaded on?" "Trifenic acid-- it's mild, it'll wear off by morning." "Let's go;" "my car is parked by the road." "You sit tight, Jill, I'll only be a minute." "Come on, Ken." "Jill!" "Hey, what's this, what's this?" "It's okay, Charley, he's a friend of mine." "He's going to be all right in a couple hours." "Give him a room with a bath and fix him up with a pot of hot coffee." "Then see that he gets to the college gym tonight a little before 7:00, huh?" "What am I running here-- a delivery service for athletes?" "Well, I think $30 ought to cover it, eh, Charley?" "For thirty bucks, I'm a delivery service for athletes." "Right." "All right, kid." "What's your name?" "How do you spell it?" "Inside." "All right, you can save that for later." "Now, I want some information." "Who gave you the drug to give to Ken?" "The professor?" "No, it was Tony." "Why did you do it?" "They made me do it." "They said if I didn't do it, they wouldn't protect me." "Protect you from what?" "The police." "I killed Jerry." "I pushed him off the cliff." "We were having an argument, and the next thing I knew, he was dead." "I must have pushed him." "Must have?" "What do you mean, you must have pushed him?" "Don't you know?" "!" "Everything was so hazy." "Everything was going up and down in time." "I remember running through the woods." "Then arguing with Jerry." "He was dead." "Tony told me later..." "I killed him." " ..." "Pacific with the ball." " Here they come-- three on two." "Kenny Hollecutt in the middle lane." "He drives the key." "He goes under, he lays it up... and in." "And with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter," "Pacific State leads by 34." "There's State with the ball again." "Another fine..." "It was all set up so beautiful like it couldn't go wrong." "But it did go wrong." "Bad news?" "So you're the wise guy who snatched Hollecutt." "Just trying to keep a nice kid out of trouble." "I lost a fortune on that game." "Oh, I'm sure you've got enough money left to buy your candy and cigarettes for the next 20 years." "In the state pen." "Nobody's gonna bust me for gambling." "Gambling, maybe not." "Narcotics-- that's another story." "So is murder." "Murder?" "What are you talking about, murder?" "Jerry Robles-- the original sucker." "Hey, you must be out of your head-- that Robles operation was a flop." "He died before we could get a bet down." "We couldn't bet afterwards because we'd already lost the point spread." "So, what would I want to kill him for?" "Getting so much resistance from behind... ¶ Hey, man." "Nice looking at you again." "You seem to be in a good mood, Morgan." "Well, uh, no point in being gloomy is my philosophy." "Well, that's a good philosophy, especially since you're in for some rough days ahead." "That right?" "Any good reason for that?" "Murder in the first degree." "You'd be surprised how shook up some people get over a little think like that." "Would you elucidate on that for me, man?" "Yeah, it's simple enough." "Warden planned on getting Jerry Robles involved in the professor's psychedelic culture, and laying a big bet on the game." "Next, he'd tip off the cops and get Jerry arrested so that he couldn't play in the game." "And collect on his bet." "Hey, man, that's a groovy idea." "Yeah." "Unless Robles doesn't bite." "But by then you're in big trouble, because you were so sure the scheme would work, you laid every dime you could beg, borrow or steal on the game." "When you realized Robles would have no part of the drug, you killed him." "And you told the professor and Tony that Jill did it." "Oh, man, you sure have some funny dreams." "Yeah, well, it worked out fine for you, but not for Warden." "'Cause you killed Robles before he could place his big bet." "So he looked around for another setup." "Enter Ken Hollecutt." "Uh, who's this, uh, Warden cat?" "I don't know him." "You were at his house the night before last." "I overheard you from the next room." "Well..." "Uh... the lights must be, uh, blowing your mind, man." "You killed him!" "Come on, Ken!" "He killed my friend!" "He'll pay for it." "Well, you hit the jackpot." "Pick up Professor Wilson and Ralph Warden." "Yeah, and they got a guy named Tony Lupcio and some assorted chums with him." "You can book them on assault, attempted fraud, narcotics violation..." "Well, that ought to hold them until I can get down to the station and give you a complete rundown." "Look, Ken, you played a great game." "You won a ball game tonight." "You've got another game next week." "Now, why don't you just think about that?" "Ken..." "I'm sorry." "What's the difference?" "It all comes out the same." "It's funny." "When I was a little girl, I..." "I used to think of how great it would be when I grew up." "Things I could do." "But it's no good just growing up." "Is it?" "Is it, Uncle Fixit?"