"Police." "Police!" " Yeah." " Thank you very much." " Why didn't you press him?" " No." "After all the favours you done for him, the least he could have done was answer a few questions." " Maybe he didn't have the answers." " He was waiting for you to press him." "Some other time, when I really need him." "Why is it everybody always owes you a favour and you never collect?" "Look, are you gonna talk or drive?" "Unit 512, we have a 21 1-21 7." "2944 Columbus Avenue." "See the man." "Fifty-four rolling." "Columbus Avenue." "That's Charnovski's beat." "Charnovski, your old buddy?" "Well, let me ask you something." "When Charnovski was breaking you in, did--?" "Unit 12, Unit 44, proceed code three to 2944 Columbus." "Two-seventeen-oh." "Two-seventeen-oh?" "Somebody shot Gus." "Come on, move it." "He's a goner." "Like hell." "Now, you put him in that van, and get it in gear and move it!" "Come on, come on." "Come on, stand back." "Let them get through, please." "Stand back." "Get him in." "Listen to me." "Get the robbery detail and have OIE report to me at the hospital." "Pick up Stella Charnovski and bring her too." " Mike, they said he's dead." " He's alive." "He's gotta be." "Hold on, Gus." "Hold on." "If you're there, Gus, hold on." "This is Mike, Gus." "Now, you've got a hole in you." "It's not small, but it's not big enough to stop an old harnessed bull like you." "Gus." "Gu" "You're alive, Gus." "You're in the trauma van." "We're rolling down Jefferson." "We'll have you on that table in just three minutes." "You hear me, Gus?" "You give those fellas an extra five." "They'll fix you up as good as new." "You know that, don't you?" "Stell's on her way, Gus." "She's not gonna let you get out of that trip you promised her." "Hang in there, fella." "We're on the Embarcadero now." "Gus." "You're steamed, aren't you?" "You're steamed at that punk who shot you." "Market." "We just crossed Market, Gus." "One more minute." "You hear me, Gus?" "One more minute." "And then you'll take a few days to recover, and I'll wheel you in to that banquet room in a wheelchair." "And then you'll pick up your 30-year pin sitting down." "Bryant, Gus." "Here we are at Bryant." "Gus?" "Gus, it's your buddy." "Stell's on her way, Gus." "Potrero, Gus." "We're here, Gus." "Gus?" "Gus, we're here." "You hear me?" " Outside, Mike." " I'll stay." "Sandy, give me a mask." " Outside, Mike." " Hold on, Gus." "Hold on, Gus." "You hear me?" "Now, let's move." "This man's going under." "Do you know Gus?" "Just through Mike." "I gather they're pretty close though." "To hear them tell it, they're brothers." "You known Mike long?" "Since I became a detective about two years ago." "They go back 30 years." "They walked the Tenderloin together then." "It's a rough part of town." "They worked dogwatch six nights a week, and you couldn't keep them apart on the seventh." "They do miracles at that trauma unit, Mrs. Charnovski." "Really." "Thank you." "I just hope we won't need a miracle." "Joe?" "Stone." "Give me McCready." "Mac?" "Stone." "What have you got on Charnovski?" "What do you mean nothing?" "No, I won't take it easy." "Have you got Gus' reports on your desk?" "Well, where are they?" "I know, but he knew every punk in his district." "Who's he got heading this robbery detail?" "Yes, I" "I told him to report to me at the hospital." "I don't care if I'm overstepping my authority or not," "I want some action." "Well, he's alive." "He's hanging by a thread, but he's alive." "I heard what you did." "The steward told me he was a sure DOA, but you kept him with us." "That's a lot of baloney and you know it." "Whatever happens, happens in there." "I thank you for it." "Well, I think he heard you." "Mrs. Charnovski?" "Yes." "He's not in good shape, by any means." "He has a hole in him, and he needs a lot of blood." " Will he live?" " Well, he's responding." "But I can't make any promises." "Thank you." "Excuse me." "Oh, Mike." "I'll make you a promise, Stell." "No matter what happens," "I'll get that punk who did it." " Come on, sit down." " Let me get you a chair." "Take it easy." "Relax." "And if you need anything," " Steve will get it for you." " I'll be all right." " Where's Devitt?" " He said he'd be here." " When?" " As soon as he could." "He's already had half an hour." "Mike" " Mike, he's here." " Hello, Mike." "How is he?" " Not good." "What have you got?" "Let's see." "Well, the suspect is 5'10", 5'11", weighed about 150, Caucasian." "Approximately 30 years old." "Tan shirt, dark trousers, dark shoes." "Entered the shop from the rear." "Pulled a gun on the owner at approximately 4:40 p.m." "Wore a stocking mask over his face." "Took $324 cash from drawer, and $110 on Beeman's person." "Officer Gustave Charnovski entered the shop from the rear approximately 4:45." "Suspect fired at the officer and then he fled." "Beeman couldn't give us any more." "No jewellery taken?" "Well, then how did he get away?" "The back door, the front door?" " Run?" "Walk?" "Vehicle?" "How?" " Still checking, Mike." "I've only got two men." " No good, Roy." " What do you mean, no good?" " You got nothing." " Come off it." "Come off it?" "I'm coming on it." "I'm taking this case." " Wait a minute" " This one's mine, Roy." "And don't say it." "Don't say a word." "Don't say that I'm overstepping my authority." "And don't say that you've done the best job you could so far, because you did nothing." "A rookie cop could have gotten more information than that." "Well, how much time do you think we have?" "Let me tell you something, Roy, if this punk gets away, it's because you blew it." "Where do you come off anyway?" "Somebody appoint you commissioner?" " If you don't like what I'm doing" " Don't like it?" "That's right." "If you don't like what I'm doing, you just file a complaint." "Who is it?" "Lieutenant Stone, Homicide." "Open up." "Can't it wait till tomorrow?" "I'm not a young man, and after what happened today" "What happened today might have kept you from getting any older." "If the best cop in the city hadn't laid his life on the line." "I'll just be a minute." "I told your Robbery people all I know." "Where were you standing when that punk came in?" "There." " Facing this way?" " No." " And he came in through the back?" " Yes." "And you heard nothing?" "Sure I heard him." "I turned around and there he was." "And what did he say?" " I don't remember exactly." " Oh, come on, think." "Try." "Well, I think he..." ""Don't move, and don't reach for anything."" "Then?" "Then he told me to pull down the blind and put up the closed sign." "How did he talk?" "Did he have an accent or anything like that?" " No." "No." " Okay." "Then what?" "Then he told me to stand there." " Where?" "Here?" " And then he took the money." "Who opened the cash register?" "You or him?" " Oh, he did." " How?" "Which finger?" " Which finger?" " Yeah." "Which finger did he use" " to open the cash register?" " Well, I..." "I think it was this one." " Are you sure?" " I think so." " Right-handed?" " Yeah." "Yeah, you're right." "Because he shifted the gun to his left hand while he took the money." "The money that you had in your pocket, how did he get that?" "Well, he asked for it, and I gave it to him." "How?" "I put it in his hand." " Here, like this?" " Yeah." "Then you were close to him?" "How about his breath?" "Could you smell it?" "I don't remember, I..." " Booze." "Maybe beer." " Tobacco?" "No, no, I don't" "The mask." "What about the mask?" "What colour was it?" "I don't know." "You're a married man." "You know about women's stockings." "Now, what colour was it?" " Black, white, tan, green, red?" " Tan." " Light or dark?" " Light." "And what about the toe, and that band around the top?" "How should I know?" "All right, all right." " You say he was in a shirt?" " Yeah." " Short or long sleeves?" " Sleeves?" "Long." " Shoes." "Black or brown?" " Brown." "What kind?" " Lieutenant." " Come on, now." "What kind?" "Well, new, like mod-like with brass buckles..." "There's more about the shoes." "What?" "Yeah, the..." " The toes seemed scuffed." " Go on, go on." "And the reason I noticed it, it was like my kid's shoes used to be." "Good, good." "Now, how about the brand?" "Italian maybe." "Square-toe, like they show in the bootstrap shop." "Anything else?" "His trousers, the pants, they were baggy in the knees." "Not as expensive as the shoes." "Oh, I didn't realise I noticed so much." "Okay, now, how did he walk?" "Like an athlete or a lead foot?" " About average." " And his attitude?" " Was he calm, cocky, uptight?" "What?" " Nervous." "He shot Gus, didn't he?" "Moustache?" "No." "No moustache." "Sideburns maybe, I think." "Good." "Good, Joseph." "Come on, let's get you home." "I hope I was of some help." "How long ago did you get the Charnovski slug?" "Hold." "Just now." "In 15 minutes, I want a make on that gun." "Figures." "I better go now." "Yeah." "Hey, Mike." " We gotta talk." " I'll run this through the computer." "Fine." " Now, listen" " No, you're right, Roy." "I was way out of line." "But a policeman's been shot, a brother." "And there's some born scum out there who's laughing about it right now." " And I wanna see him nailed." " Yeah, I understand." "I just wanna make sure that the law stands by a man who spent his whole life trying to make it work." "Well, okay." "You call the shots, and I'll tell Malone." "Thanks." "I'll see you in Stats." "You want some coffee?" "Just black." "Wiley the car." "Someone spotted a blue '69 Ford Coupe leaving the scene." "Now, get a make on every registered owner within a mile answering that description." "Sharp, mug books to the jeweller's." " At this hour of the night?" " He's awake, I just left him." "Get the car witness and anybody else in the neighbourhood who may have seen anything, and have them here at 8 a.m." "looking at the mug books." "Lessing," "I want you to check ballistics against gun sales." "And, oh, yes, pick up six more men, recanvass the whole area." " There must be more eyewitnesses." " Right." " Here." " Thanks." "What do you want me to do?" "Here, take this." "Check the hospital." "See how Gus is doing, will you?" "Oh, Mike, these cards just came through, so I punched up a couple dozen junkies, ex-cons and all-around losers in the neighbourhood." "We're checking everything, Mike." " Yeah." "Thanks." " Mike." " Are you all right?" " Mike, Gus is conscious." "Take it easy, Mike." "I held on, Mike." "How are you feeling?" "Hurts." "How much did he get?" "About 400 in cash." "No jewellery." "He was 5'10"." "Light hair." "Long." "A tan shirt." "Dark trousers." "Dark shoes, scuffed at the toes." ".38 Special." "He was right-handed." "Listen, I just wanted to make sure you weren't trying to walk out of here again." "Now, you take it easy, you understand?" "We'll talk about this later." "He has to live in the neighbourhood, Mike." "This was a seat-of-the-pants operation." "A junkie?" "He didn't feel like a junkie..." " but... why else?" " Why else would a guy rip off $400 in cash and not touch a case full of jewellery?" "Yeah." "That's for my noodle." "You got a trip to plan." " Take it easy now." " Yeah." "Oh, nurse." "I'm sorry." "Where have you been?" "I've been leaning on that bell for five minutes." "Charnovski's hurting." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "I'll see to him right away." " My friend, you're blowing it." " Are you trying to tell me something?" "Yes, I'm trying to tell you something." "Somebody's got" "Mike, how many times do you try to tell me that finding the truth's a head game?" "You gotta keep your fists in your pocket." " Your feelings out of the way." " Come on, let's go." "Look, I'm with you." "Anywhere, anytime." "But I gotta know what you're doing." "And what's more important, you gotta know what you're doing." "Now, this isn't like you, Mike." "I mean, you've always got a plan, some form of action." "If you got one now, let me know about it." " Don't send me off to run errands." " You're a bright boy." "Be bright enough to read me and stay out of my way on this one." " You're gonna do this alone?" " Give me the keys." " Oh, Mike, come on." " Give me the keys." "You can only find chicks like this at Coke's." "All right, that's enough." "Your timing's fantastic, fella." "Show's just starting." "You gotta see them to believe them, folks." "You can't see them on the outside, you gotta go on the inside." " Say, fella, your timing's fantastic." " Suslow?" "Eddie Suslow?" "Lieutenant Stone." "I gave at the office." "How about going over to my car and talking this over?" "Some other time, okay, man?" "How about that liquor-store holdup on 23rd and Folsom?" " Okay, okay." " And the supermarket?" "I already told you guys all I know about that." "Man, I get bounced from this gig, what's left?" "There was a robbery today." "Jewellery store over by Ghirardelli." " I want the man who did it." " You got the wrong cat." "I know." "My man is 5'10", sandy hair, sideburns, right-handed." "He used a.38 to cut down a cop." "Shot a cop?" "He can't be all bad." "Okay, take it easy." "Now, you know what's walking, running and crawling." "You know who's hard up and who's holding on." "I want you on the street with your ear to the pavement, and I want the name of that punk who pulled that trigger." "You just call me every hour on the hour." "Or what?" "You just be two minutes late," "I'll show you "or what."" "Coke's is the place, folks." "The home of the blue movies." "You gotta see them to believe them." "You can't see from the outside, you gotta step on the inside, folks." "Jarvis." "Police." " What do you want?" "I'm clean." " Where were you at 4:45 yesterday?" " Why?" " Because I'm asking." " You're not asking, you're" " Where?" " You got no right hassling me like this." "Then what are you hiding?" "I told you, I'm clean." "You'd starve to death trying to keep clean." "Open the closet." " What?" " Open it." "I just wanna see your wardrobe." "You wanna show me, right?" "Now, where were you at 4:45 yesterday?" "And you better have an airtight alibi." "You can't take nothing." "You got no right taking that." " Give me that gun." " Gun?" "I got no gun!" "Hold it!" "All right, over there." "Come on, get over there." "Come on." "Hands down, feet apart." "Get them apart." " He's clean." " He's got three counts of armed robbery, and that junk downstairs is a fresh buy." " Bring him here." " Come on." "Go." " Come here." "Move." " Mike." "I say you paid for that with Gus' blood." "Let him go, Mike." "Gus is all right." "He's asking for you." "He's all right, Mike." "If you had your radio on, you'd know." "Tried to get you for the last hour." " Gus is--?" " Yeah." " He's--?" " I got him, Mike." "I got him." "All right, put your hands behind your back." "Get them behind your back!" "I got him, Mike." "Hold him for me." " He's out of his skull, that guy." " Let's go." "He was gonna kill me, man." "It was self-defence." "I could just see it coming, you know?" "You got a fresh score, huh?" "I don't have to say nothing to you." "What's with somebody getting killed?" "Gonna try to pin that on me too?" " An officer was shot." " Cop." " We'll see if you get off." " You think I did it, huh?" "The lieutenant does." "Well, he's wrong, man." "I never killed nobody." "He said something about a time." "What time?" "Yesterday, 4:45." "Man." "Yeah, quarter to 5, I can prove where I was." " I was with people." " Good." "Who?" "Bunch of guys." "We were throwing dice." " Where?" " A bar over on Union, in a backroom." " That near Ghirardelli?" " Yeah." "That's where the guy got killed." "Now, get up." " No, man, come on, I'm levelling." " I never left that game, I swear." "Well, you better hope you can get somebody else to swear or you're in a lot of trouble." "Come on." "Hi, Mike." "I hear he asked for me." " Hey, buddy." " Gus." "No one asked for me?" "No." "I'll be back in a few minutes." "But we're glad you're here." "Give us a minute, huh, Stell?" "Okay?" "Sure." "You gotten anything?" "I think so." "Good." "I'm not gonna make it." "Oh, come on now." "What are you talking about?" "Truth." "Truth, Mike, remember?" "What we spent our whole lives looking for." "I'm checking out." "No." "Listen, Gus, you're just tired." "No." "No." "Help Stella, huh?" "She..." "She thinks she can handle it, but she can't." "Funny." "You know, it makes me feel easier some way, knowing..." "Help her, Mike." "She's a good woman." "Help her, huh?" "Mike?" "Oh, Gus, you" " You" "Oh, damn." "What happened to the time, Gus?" "I have so much I wanna say." "This..." "This guy you got." "You sure he's the right one?" "Well, I'm gonna find out." "Truth, Mike." "Remember truth." "That's the first thing you taught me, Gus." "It's the last thing I wanna forget." "Get Stell." "Stell." "Stell." "Lieutenant Stone, we're holding a call at the desk." " Thank you." "Get Dr. Ford in there." " Certainly." " Yeah, Stone." " Mike, I think we got something." " Jarvis?" " No, he can prove he didn't do it." "But his proof turns up some names and maybe a motive." "Now, when Gus got it, Jarvis was shooting craps at a dive on Union Street, five blocks away, with six, maybe eight guys, right?" "Now, get this." "One of the guys was losing big, he taps out and splits." "He comes back in less than half an hour with 400 bucks." " What?" " That's right, $400." "And the scuffed shoes..." "You remember those scuffed shoes?" "Maybe that explains it." "A roller." "He's on his knees, shooting." "And the time fits, 4:30 to 5." "What do you think?" "Guy's losing big early, needs more money, he takes off" "Got a name?" "Yeah." "Fisher." "Cal Fisher." "You know him." "Mike?" "Yeah." "I said you know him." "You busted him once on an assault with a deadly weapon." "So, what do you wanna do?" "You want me to wait for you here?" "Listen, I got his address." "It's a boarding house on Mariposa." "Just this side of the Slot." " Mike?" " Yeah, sit tight." "Sure." "No, I understand." "Right." "Of course." "As soon as he comes in, Mr. Suslow, I'll tell him." "Right, okay." "Thank you." " Who's this--?" "This Suslow?" " Some guy Mike pumped." "And he must have done a heck of a job because this guy sounds off like an alarm every hour on the hour." " Anything?" " Nothing." "What about that name Jarvis gave you?" "I gave it to Mike." " Well, but where is Mike anyway?" " He should be here by now." "I called him at the hospital about 20 minutes ago." "Gus Charnovski died about 20 minutes ago." "Yeah." "Mike ever talk about Gus?" "No." "Good cop, Gus." "Helped Mike Stone be a good cop too." "What do you think it is makes a guy stay on the beat that many years?" "Well, the beat's the best duty on the force." "If you're big enough and strong enough and smart enough to hack it." "Charnovski hacked it." "When Mike comes in, ask him to stick his head in, will you?" "I don't think he's gonna come here, Roy." " Why?" " You know how he's been acting." "And I know how I'd feel if it was Mike they just put under a sheet." "I think I blew it." "I just gave him the name Jarvis told us about." " The guy we're looking for." " No, no." "He's too experienced." "He's not gonna get himself wasted." "What's wasted if he cuts down a guy he should bring back alive?" "Maybe you'd better give me that address, and you get rolling." " And I'll get backup." " That one." " Hello?" " Mr. Garland?" "Lieutenant Stone, San Francisco Police." "Open the door, please." "Get back in there." "It's open." "Who's there?" "Police, Mr. Fisher." "Up there." "Number five." "They were shooting." "But they're gone." "Down the back stairs to the alley." "Evans, stay here." "Ike, get around." "Take the alley." "You come with built-in radar." "I could hear you running." "He's in here somewhere." "We have the next couple of exits sealed off." "He's unarmed, Mike." "Fisher." "You just do that." "Get up." "Cuff him." "Let's go." "How is she?" "Okay." "That's gonna be tough." "She grew up tough." "Hey, what time you got?" "Quarter to 1." "I'll blow us to a lunch." "Go over to Mama's." "I've got bread." "Aren't you the guy who told me to know when to call in my IOU's?" "Yeah." "So, what have you got against a good clubhouse sandwich?" "Nothing." "I just don't see you owing me anything, that's all." "Maybe you're right." "I ought to make you pay after that con job you pulled on me." "What are you talking about?" "Gus wanting to see me." "Yeah." "You did all right." "You didn't lose your head." "It's a good thing too." "I guess I wasn't using mine much, was I?" " But you had a reason." " No." "I was way off base." "Don't ever let me catch you off base that far." "That's no way to operate." "You know, there's one thing you've always gotta remember" "If I let you buy me lunch, can I skip the lecture?" "Well, how are you ever gonna learn anything?"