Original subtitles

Hello, I'm calling from the trip.

I'd like to confirm a close... How much money was involved?

It was over a thousand dollars.

Was it over ten thousand dollars?

bad $4 line?

Yeah, too bad it cost $10.

Hey, you missed our turn.

Yeah, we're going to look at an apartment that Marion saw yesterday.

She said it was terrific.

I got to get back to the office. It'll only take five minutes.

I don't want to look at an apartment.

You don't have a choice. I'm driving.

I think you're making a big mistake, Charlie.

I wouldn't move out of my house for anything. Yeah, well, you don't have to

fight the freeway two hours a day. Plus, think how much I'll save on gas.

Yeah, but you've got to make a yard and a pool. No, I won't. I'm tired of

spending half of my time on the freeway and the other half doing what the

gardener is supposed to do.

Marion and I started out in an apartment.

Now that the kids are gone, it'll be fun to be all alone again.

Have a little privacy.

You know what I mean?

Ah, that sounds romantic.

Yeah.

I'll be able to get home early enough to take a nap.

I mean, lots of people have been looking at it. If you want it, you'd better

grab it. She's right, Charlie. Grab it and let's go.

Bedroom is a good size. There's plenty of room for the furniture. Terrific.

Right on, Charlie. We can make the other bedroom a den.

Good idea.

Where's the kitchen, Mrs. Larson?

Oh, right through there.

You can call me Gilda, honey. Everybody does.

Don't you want to look at the kitchen, too?

No.

Smart. If you never learn how to cook, someone else will always do it for you.

Right. You know, you're going to like it here. Everybody in this building just

minds their own business.

I mean, I, for one, do not care about a person's love life, as long as they're

discreet. What?

Well, the last two guys who lived here kept the place immaculate.

They had such spiffy stuff.

Oh? What kind of furniture do you have?

You know, chairs.

It's perfect. It's just what we had in mind.

Good. Let's go. It's a nice apartment. It's light. It's roomy. Lots of closet

space. What do you think? I think I should have waited in the car. Come on.

Let's go. Just be a minute.

So. If you want it, you're going to have to leave me a deposit.

You know, we want first and last month's rent.

Yeah. And a cleaning deposit.

Oh.

That's nice. having both your names on your chest.

You're Charles, and he's married.

Hello. Mrs.

Stein showed up again, this time in Hollywood.

Who's Mrs. Stein?

An alley housewife who disappeared in the middle of her son's bar mitzvah. I

thought they found her last week.

At Disneyland, she wrote a check to buy a Mickey Mouse hat. By the time the cops

got there, she took off again.

Can you imagine spending 5 ,000 bucks on a bar mitzvah and not staying around

for the reception?

Hey, Rossi.

They're afraid to be freely disoriented.

She's on medication.

Hello?

Mr. Stein, the bar mitzvah girl showed up again.

At a hamburger stand on Hollywood Boulevard near Coahuila.

Who spotted her? The manager.

He went to cash another check. When he turned around, she was gone. He's still

holding her ID.

I wonder what spooked her.

Maybe she got a glimpse of the kitchen.

I hope he's just wandering around confused.

Go talk to the manager of the hamburger stand. She might still be hanging around

there. The manager said she was all dressed up.

Everybody's dressed up in Hollywood.

Yeah, but how many of them are wearing a bar mitzvah dress and a Mickey Mouse

hat?

Okay, but if I find her, I'm not driving her back to Tarzana. Not during the

rush hour.

I've already had a call on my head.

What is it? Oh, your house. It's in already?

Let me see it.

Three bedroom, three baths, pool, patio, wine cellar.

Wine cellar?

It's a basement.

Not if you put in a couple of rocks.

Leave a jump rope down there and you can call it a gym.

Miss, excuse me.

Miss, can I talk to you for one second, please?

What do you want to talk about?

Are you going to stand here long?

Yeah, I stand here long. Why?

Well, maybe you could help me. I'm looking for a woman.

Consider yourself helped.

I've got to move. Can you get in for one second?

Time is money.

I only need about ten dollars of your time.

Ten bucks won't buy much.

Can I ask you a couple of questions?

I thought you said something about money?

Oh, yeah.

Here.

Hey,

I'm being pulled over.

You're being arrested.

The house has forced air heat. We just had a service. They said it's in great

condition.

And there's a gas log in the fireplace that saves lugging all that firewood.

Yeah.

And there's another fireplace in the den.

Nice.

The whole house is lathed plastered.

We really enjoyed this house.

A lot of good memories here.

Where's the fuse box?

Down in the basement? I'd like to have a look. Yeah, sure.

Could you show me how the air conditioning works? It doesn't have air

conditioning, but it does have a very good blower. How does it work?

I'll show you right after I show your husband the fuse box.

Oh, that's okay.

I can find it.

Well, actually, it's very simple.

Here. See, if you set this tab to the temperature that you want, then the fan

goes on automatically.

Well, that seems easy enough. Yeah, I'll be right back.

You have a lovely yard here.

Do you know where we might find a gardener?

Well, we already have a very good one. I talked to him, and he wants to

continue. Uh -huh.

I was wondering, do you have John?

Oh, see, we raised our family here, and I know how difficult it is, you know.

find places to take families because some landlords think that children are

destructive, but we don't. I mean, we, my wife, we love children.

We don't have any children.

Oh, good.

Did you find it? Yes.

Would you like to go upstairs and check out the bedrooms?

Uh, no, that's fine. We'll take it.

Wait, you sure the two of you don't, you don't want to talk it over?

No, no, no, that's not necessary. I mean, we like it and we'd like to move

right away.

Oh, well, no. See, my wife is planning to have the floors re -waxed. Oh, no.

They're fine.

Yes. How soon can we move in?

They're moving right away. There's nothing.

Wait. Do you mind if we leave this big cupboard?

No. Fine. Fine. Here. I'll give you the keys.

Thank you.

Well, Mr. Hume, it's nice doing business.

Yeah. Goodbye.

Yeah.

I guess we should have asked more, huh?

Okay, who's the joke rat?

I thought you were.

What's wrong, Rossi? You know what I'm talking about.

Enough's enough, okay?

Oh, it's funny.

Nothing's funny, Charlie.

Listen to this, Charlie.

Question. How do you tell a prostitute from a cop?

Answer. Watch Rossi. The one he picks up is the cop.

That's not fair.

It's a cheap shot, and I'm sorry I told you guys about it. A year from now,

you'll think it's funny. A year from now, I'll laugh. Right now, forget it.

forgotten.

Did she give you back the $10?

City test, Donovan.

If the bar mitzvah lady turns up again, I'll send Billy.

Hang on a minute.

Charlie, it's for you.

Oh, hello, Mr. Satchel.

Well, we've had very few problems in the neighborhood.

Ah, uh -huh.

No, I understand.

It's okay with me as long as you're paying for it. Just make sure that they

don't deface the property in any way.

Yeah.

You're welcome.

Bye -bye.

What's he gonna do? Convert your wine cellar into a basement?

Who wants to put in a burglar alarm system?

It's got a lot of antiques.

Funny.

Sure didn't seem like the antique type.

Bonnie, could you come in?

Right away.

Here's the Garvey file.

Hume bought the idea of a security system.

Good. Tell the electricians they can start it Monday.

Yes, sir.

Anything else?

When are you moving in?

Probably Sunday. How about you? Friday, the latest.

Right.

Billy, did you finish that piece on the beach communities?

Not yet. I'm going to talk to some of the long -term residents today.

Why do beach stories take twice as long as stories on the inner city?

It's hard to walk through the sand.

Morning, Lou.

Morning. You look cheerful.

I had a wonderful weekend.

Oh, yeah?

Charlie get in yet?

Yeah, it only took him 15 minutes to get here by bus.

He'll be out any minute to tell you about the wonders.

RTD.

Good morning, Charlie. It's a great morning. You don't know how good it

not to fight the freeway traffic.

Guess how long it took me to get in this morning.

Twelve minutes.

Fifteen. I read our competitor all the way. How long did it take you to get in

this morning?

An hour and a half. It was beautiful.

I flew in from San Diego.

Would you like to hear about my weekend?

No. Hey, have you two read the senatorial?

I must have left them in the apartment.

Left what?

My glasses.

I read the paper.

I left my glasses on the bus.

Ah, too bad you didn't drive to work. You could have gone downstairs and

them out of your car.

What am I going to do?

Stand on a corner and stop every bus that goes by.

You should find a right one in three, four days.

I didn't say a word, Charlie.

I've got to have my glasses.

Wait a second. I have an extra pair at the house in the top drawer of the

workbench. What workbench? The one in your wine cellar?

I'm going to call up Thatcher and tell him I'm coming over there.

That is, if somebody will give me a ride.

Oh, you guys are terrible. I'll give you a ride, Charlie. If you don't mind

going to Santa Monica with me. I'll be right with you.

Mine's busy.

It's okay, Billy.

There's somebody there.

Looks like nobody's home.

Let's give them another minute.

Why don't we go to Santa Monica and we can check again on the way back?

I have an extra key.

What did I say?

It's funny. It doesn't work.

Mr. Hume, what are you doing?

You changed the lock.

Yes, I did.

Why? So somebody wouldn't come out here and do what you're doing right now, just

let themselves in.

I'm sorry. I didn't know you were home, and I didn't want to have to make

another trip, so... This is Mr. Thatcher, this is Miss Newman. She was

enough to give me a ride out here.

Mr. Hume, I'm right in the middle of something. What can I do for you?

I left a pair of glasses in my workbench. I just want to go down and

I'll get them.

I know just where they are. They're in the top drawer. No, no, just wait here.

I put a lot of boxes down there, and you could easily trip.

Looks different with somebody else's bridge.

Doesn't look like the same house.

It's pretty, though.

Yeah, I guess it is.

I don't go in much for Japanese art.

It's Chinese, I think.

No. No, I don't think so.

Well, sure it is. You can tell by the shape of the vases.

Well, what's the difference?

Chinese, Japanese.

To me, it looks like a museum.

What does it say? Made in Japan?

No, it says property of Los Angeles Metropolitan Museum of Art. Do not

What do you suppose that means?

That means point down.

Here they are. Now, if you don't mind, you put fixtures up there.

Frank liked them.

Oh, don't worry.

We'll remove it when we leave.

Yep. But there'll be holes in the ceiling. I'm sure you, Mr. Hume, will

it so that you'll never know anything was there.

The alarm system, you put it.

Did you make holes for that, too? No, no, no, no, no. That's very

Practically wireless.

Oh, look at these windows.

You don't see any wires, do you?

No, I don't see any. Now, if anyone touches the glass while the alarm's on,

every light in the room goes on. It's that way all through the house. There's

electric eye in the driveway that sounds a buzzer when a car approaches. And

look at this.

See this?

Looks like part of a light switch.

But if I press it, a signal goes off and the police are called.

Why, it's a pretty complicated system, you put it. Was it possible, weren't it?

Yes, well, I've quite a collection of Chinese porcelain to protect.

Your things are beautiful.

Yeah.

Excuse me.

I have things to do.

Yeah.

Sure. Thank you very much.

Goodbye. Bye.

Is it my imagination or did we just get the bums right?

No, you talked to us.

Then we got the bums right.

How are you, Charlie?

Fine. This is Billy Newman, one of my reporters. This is her brother. How are

you?

Upset. What's the matter? You're that kind of guy?

Of course. No, but besides that, Charlie, who the hell did you rent your

to?

A couple named Thatcher.

Yeah? Well, what kind of business are you in?

Well, he's a computer systems analyst or something.

He has his own business.

Are you sure?

Of course I'm sure. I checked his references at the bank. Why, what's

There's just something fishy going on over there, and people coming and going

all hours of the day and night.

I gotta tell you, Charlie, Gail and I don't like it, and neither do the

Armstrongs. So they have a lot of friends.

They're strange friends for a married couple. All men, no women. Well

carrying briefcases, driving big fancy cars.

Sounds like business meetings to me.

Well, they don't stay long enough for that. They're in and out real fast.

If this was 50 years ago, Charlie, I'd say they were making gin in your

Oh, come on, Herb. I can't believe there's anything wrong.

Okay, Charlie. It's your house.

You want to believe nothing's going on over there, it's all right with me.

See? Look.

Thatcher was expecting this guy.

He even opened the garage for him from the inside.

So what?

It doesn't prove a thing.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

Pardon me.

I was wondering if you could tell me something about the Mayping vases.

I'll try.

Well, I see in the catalog there are five in the collection, but I can only

three. Could they be somewhere else in the museum?

No. All the Oriental pieces are in this section.

Oh, but sometimes some of the items are out on loan to other museums.

How could I find that out? I'd really love to see them.

I'll check the file for you.

Now, what was that catalog number, please?

Uh... Number 203, Mei Ping Vases of the Yuan Dynasty.

Oh, here we are.

Yes, the other two vases are out on loan to...

I'm terribly sorry.

I can't help you.

Why not? Didn't you say they were out on loan?

Yes. Yes, they are.

To whom?

I'm sorry.

That's all the information I have.

Well, thanks.

And you should have seen the look on her face.

It was the biggest lie she ever told.

Why?

Whoever checked out those Mayping bases had enough influence to prevent anyone

from finding out. The whole thing doesn't make sense.

I wonder why Thatcher borrowed those prices, Auntie.

I wonder why the museum would lend them.

You know, I found out something else, too. I checked with the Department of

Motor Vehicles, and the man that we saw pulling into your driveway was none

other than Dennis Holt.

The attorney?

That's right.

Gee, I wonder how Thatcher knows him.

His reputation is certainly questionable.

What do you mean questionable?

Just because he represents gangsters and thugs?

Just because he's been the link between the underworld and the overworld for

years? Oh, yeah.

Yeah, he's good.

His clients never go to jail.

Tell me, you want me to go by your house and talk to that? See what I can find

out.

Frosty, the place is guarded by electronic equipment.

You get in trouble in your own car on Hollywood Boulevard. This time you'll be

picked up as a peeping Tom.

Or shot for trespassing.

Just trying to help.

City desk, Donovan.

Yes, he is. Just a second.

Charlie, for you.

Oh. Charlie, it's me.

Oh, hi, Marion. I'm glad you caught me. I was just getting ready to go to lunch.

Antonio called. The Thatchers fired him.

Hey, Marion, I can hardly hear you. Would you turn the radio down?

I would if I could, Charlie. I'm coming from upstairs. Antonio, the gardener,

just called.

The Thatchers just fired him.

Take it easy, honey.

Did they give them a reason?

They said that they would do the yard themselves.

Marion, would you speak up?

They said they would do the yard themselves.

They also let the pool man go.

Charlie, what about my roses and all the new nice ice plants we put in after the

fire?

Would you like to hear what I have to come up with?

How can I help but hear it? Look, go to the landlady and tell her to do

something about that racket.

Who do you think is making that racket?

All right, Marion, I'll take care of it.

You know, I'm going out to the house and get rid of the Thatchers. You can't.

They have a lease.

They broke the lease by putting up the ceiling lights. You know, Herb Brenner

was right.

There is something funny going on out there, and they don't want anybody

who can see what's going on, you know, like a gardener or a pool man.

Uh,

hey, little, uh, listen.

Okay, Charlie.

I'll drive you there.

But all the money you're saving taking the bus is costing your friends.

Charlie, why can't I wait in the car?

Because I want a witness.

Oh.

Mr. Hume, what is it now?

This is my colleague, Lou Grant.

Hello. What is it, Mr. Hume? I want you out of here.

You violated the lease by installing light fixtures without my permission.

you also dismissed the gardener and the pool man.

Mr. Hume, I understand your position. I don't want you to understand. I want you

to leave. I'll return your money. I just want you and your wife and your things

out of here and quick.

No, Mr. Hume.

I'm terribly sorry, but that won't be possible.

New Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

A &E returns to Blue Brand.

Well, sit down, gentlemen. I want to talk to you. There's nothing to talk

I want you out of my house. Just give me a minute, Mr. Hume. I think you'll

change your mind.

Mm -hmm.

Now, first of all, my name's not Thatcher. It's Dillon. Lieutenant Edward

Dillon.

Lieutenant? And we've been using your house to conduct an undercover police

operation.

LAPD intelligence?

Special task force.

We've been recording evidence of bribe -taking by public officials.

What officials?

Oh, I'm sorry, but I can't answer that.

And I have to ask you to trust us. Why should we trust you?

I mean, you should have been straight with me. You're using my house. You

have told me what was going on.

Why can't you tell us what's happening here?

Who are those officials you're trying to bribe? Yeah, and what are you buying

with your bribes? I don't have the authority to give out that information

anyone. Let alone two editors of the Los Angeles Tribune. Well, then maybe you

better get the authority.

the owner of the house, Mr. Hume, and he wants us out.

Well, I'd like to put him in a picture.

Get his cooperation.

Now, it's that or abort, and I think it's the way to go.

Okay.

Yeah, thanks.

Okay, gentlemen, we've got to go ahead.

Would you like a drink?

from reading the Tribune that you agree that law enforcement needs to be more

aggressive in pursuit of white -collar crime.

Yes. But it's hard getting convictions. I mean, it's not like catching a guy in

the act and robbing a bank.

Yeah. So we've designed a very sophisticated system to apprehend

politicians who have been conspiring with private interests for personal

How do you do that?

If I were to ask you to name the most valuable undeveloped land in Los Angeles

County, what would you say?

The Santa Monica Mountains?

Exactly. And if I were to ask what area in the county would builders and

developers most like to get rezoned?

The Santa Monica Mountains.

Where are you going after?

City council?

County supervisor? Zoning commission?

They all have a say in this.

That's right.

And we're finding out who's going to cast his vote for the public interest

who's casting it for his own pocket.

That's quite a job.

But it's the one we were given to do.

Which is why we designed this operation involving your house and some

sophisticated state -of -the -art equipment to collect evidence.

You mean tape recorders?

I mean everything.

Picture and sound.

Track lighting.

Cameras. And throughout the house, microphones.

Would you like to see the control center?

See, Charlie, you didn't have to call it a wine cellar.

It's mission control.

It certainly is.

Hello, Mrs. Thatcher.

Looks like a TV station.

So this is why you rented my house.

Yes, a house in L .A. with a basement is a rarity.

Miss Wiles, would you put up tape number 404, cut the sound, and do it quickly?

We're running a little behind schedule.

Now, this tape will show the subject from the back only.

Back only?

No, we also have a close -up camera, but I'm not authorized to show you. But you

will see the subject accepting the bribe quite clearly.

You're very good.

Who's playing the other guy?

I can't give you the cast list at this time.

Who did he think you were?

On this case, he thought he was talking to a condominium developer who was

interested in a parcel of land bordering Mulholland Drive.

Another time I said I wanted it for an amusement park. It varies.

Now, here, bingo.

How much is in the envelope?

$10 ,000.

Marked bills, of course.

You've got pretty hard evidence.

We've gone to a lot of trouble to indict these guys on trading their influence

for bribes, and we don't want it thrown out of court on their technicality.

Now, I can't ask you not to print this, but obviously, if you do, the

operation's finished.

That's right.

You can't ask us that.

But if you go along with us, I can promise you that you'll be the first to

this.

It's a good story. I don't know if we should sit on it. I think it's worth it.

think we're making a better story by waiting.

Yeah, I still am having trouble believing what I saw, all of that

Hey, stop, stop.

Isn't that Councilman Garvey?

Yeah. Back up, back up.

No.

Hey,

he's going up my driveway.

No wonder back there running in that way.

Huh.

It is Garvey, isn't it? Oh, you say it's Garvey. You know, I never liked his

politics, but I sure never thought of him as a crook.

They're sure going after some big game.

You should have kicked him out on the spot.

How could I? Would have wrecked the operation.

You go along with this?

I go along with police trying to catch criminals.

But they are criminals.

They're taking bribes, Rossi.

Councilmen who allow zoning regulations to be bought aren't exactly working in

the public interest.

But they weren't doing that until the police offered them the bribes. They

them. And maybe.

Maybe if the police using taxpayer money hadn't stuck the dough under their

noses, maybe they would have lived their whole lives without ever doing a

dishonest act. If not the police, eventually someone would have offered

something. Now we know that these guys wouldn't have said no. We don't know

that. That's the trouble with these entrapment cases.

Perfectly innocent people can get nailed because of special circumstances we

can't even imagine.

They aren't perfectly innocent people.

Thatcher, uh, Dillon said that they were suspicious of these people, but they

just didn't have hard evidence.

It wouldn't be that you're just sensitive to this because you got nailed

Hollywood Boulevard.

I'm not a bit sensitive.

Poor choice of words.

Boy, you guys are taking an attack on our basic liberties awfully lightly.

I'm not taking anything lightly.

I'm not comfortable with this at all.

But at the moment, I don't have a good reason to louse up a complicated police

operation. You know, I don't either.

And it bothers me, because it seems like there's already enough crime being

committed without law enforcement having to go around generating it.

Exactly. It's like firemen placing old rags and lighter fluid next to a heater,

so if it catches on fire, then they can put it out. These guys had a public

trust, and if they got nailed, it's their own fault. All they'll do is say

So we're just going to sit on the story?

We're not going to run it.

Yet.

That doesn't mean we aren't going to cover it.

So I can do some checking on this Dylan Thatcher, whatever his name is?

That'd be kind of nice.

He showed them the whole operation.

Cameras in the ceiling, recording equipment in the basement.

From what I gather, it would put network television to shame.

It's the lousiest pie I've ever tasted.

How much videotape did he show them?

Just a few minutes. The back of some guy stuffing bills in his pockets.

And blueberries.

But no matter what happened to the apple.

Hey, darling.

How about a piece of your apple pie and some more coffee?

This Thatcher Dillon character isn't with LAPD.

You sure?

I know about any undercover operation that took this kind of planning.

Then he's a fraud.

I didn't say that. You know how many different agencies besides LAPD have

intelligence divisions in this county?

No. How many?

Take a guess.

I don't know.

Sheriff's Department, the FBI, probably the CIA.

I don't know. How many?

There are 17 different agencies capable of pulling out this kind of operation.

This guy could be with any one of them.

Why would he lie?

I don't know, but I don't like it.

I'm going to do a little investigating on my own.

I'll tell you one thing.

The robber's living in Charlie Hume's house, isn't with the Los Angeles Police

Department. Boy, I knew it. I told Charlie this whole thing stinks.

You think that stinks?

Now try the apple pie.

What's the matter, Charlie? The busters lost their appeal?

The apartment.

The woman is driving me crazy.

Hey, take it easy, Charlie. You and Marion have always been able to solve

problems.

Marion's not driving me crazy. It's the landlady, Mrs. Lacey.

Oh, her.

Is she still trying to find out why you and I broke up?

Marion just phoned. She says that if I don't do something about it, she's

to the YWCA.

What's good old Gilda up to now?

Well, you see, she keeps bothering Marion. She wants her to listen to

about when she was a Goldwood girl in the 40s. Sounds kind of interesting.

Maybe the first 20 times.

When Marion tells her she's busy, Mrs. Lacey goes upstairs. She turns on her hi

-fi at top volume.

Marion doesn't like the new wave music.

What's that?

Came right after punk.

No, no, no, no. Mrs.

Lacey's into disco.

I'd move to the Y.

Hey,

Rossi, where have you been?

Nosing around, I just talked to Lieutenant McPhee. Not only is there no

or Dillon in LAPD, but there's no investigation going on about rezoning

Santa Monica mounds.

What? Are you sure?

Well, McPhee's checking around, but if your tenant is with any other

intelligence division, why would he lie?

Terrific. I've been had.

I believe him, too.

Well, then who is Thatcher and what is he trying to pull?

He's a crook. Why is he taking pictures of himself bribing people?

Well, you see, he has all of those people on tape.

He doesn't have to pay anybody off anymore. Now he can just block mail.

That's quite a scam.

What are you going to do, Charlie? Before, I just wanted him out. Now I

out and in jail.

Ross, you call Lieutenant McPhee and tell him to meet me at my house.

Sure.

We watched a con game in Operation Lou. Do you realize that? Good God. Two

supposedly sophisticated newspaper men falling for that.

Where you going?

I gotta drive you out there again, don't I?

Ah, I want Animal to come along and take some pictures, too.

So let Animal drive you out. Oh, Lou, I gotta keep going on to Oxnard. All

right, you meet us at my house.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

Why aren't you taking pictures?

Of what?

I wish you could talk to him sooner.

I thought I was talking to him.

This guy Thatcher was pretty convincing. And pretty thorough. My wife had kept

the house this clean. Never would have divorced her. He even repaired the

ceiling. There were fixtures up there that held the camera and stuff. You

even tell where it was replaced.

We're not going to find anything around here.

I'd like you to go down to the department.

See if the composite artist can put something together from a description.

All right.

Give us a little time on this one, okay?

Before you print anything, let's see what we get when I run this description

through the computers.

I don't know what we have to print anyway.

You know what I don't get?

Why would a con artist bother to re -plaster and paint?

Good question.

I just wish I had a good answer.

Come on, Lou. You gave the guy a couple of days. Let's go with the story.

What story?

Funny. No, I'm serious. What story? What's your lead?

Come on.

What's your lead?

A police undercover operation.

We don't know that.

An undercover operation. We don't know that.

All right.

A team of con men posing as police. We don't know if they were con men.

A suspicious group posing as police undercover agents.

rented an L .A. area house for the purpose of blackmail. We don't know if

was their purpose. For the possible purpose of blackmailing. Possibility

story. We have bribery here. We have blackmail here. We think that's what we

have. We don't have anything.

We know one thing. We know that Councilman Garvey was involved.

Involved in what?

Okay. Okay.

I'll go ask him. Do that.

And I'm sure if you ask him nicely, he'll tell you all about the bribe he

What can I do for you, Joe?

Well, this shouldn't take long. I just want you to respond to a couple of

questions. Sure.

Go ahead.

Oh, where were you last Monday?

All day?

Approximately one o 'clock.

Last Monday.

I made my days mix, but I believe I was out of town.

But if I was with a woman, it was my wife.

Yeah, well...

I think you were alone at a house at 3959 Moraga Canyon Drive, met a man you

thought was a developer, and accepted a bribe in exchange for your vote in the

Santa Monica Mountains rezoning.

Joe, I recall now. The last Monday I was in the San Diego area with my wife and

kids. We visited a friend in La Jolla.

Councilman, at approximately 1245, you were seen driving your city car to the

house in Moraga Canyon.

You met a man who identified himself as Thatcher, about six feet tall, had brown

hair, wearing a blue pinstripe suit.

But one thing you didn't know was that from the moment you went into the house,

everything you did and said was recorded on videotape.

That's not possible, Joe, because I was in San Diego.

Of course, you're proof.

Sure, a lot.

You can talk to people there.

Oh, here.

Monday.

Monday.

Left LAX at 8 .15.

Met by Walter Higgins. Ahoy.

He's in the phone book, Joe, in case you want to chat with him.

Returned to LA at 5 .30.

P .M.? Here's the receipt for my airline tickets.

You can look at it, but I need it back to show the IRS.

As ever, Metro Charlie.

Oh, we're using the return of the bar mitzvah lady as part of that Sunday

feature Billy's writing on runaway wives.

I didn't know they found her.

Yesterday morning she walked into a neighborhood pharmacy and got a refill

her Valium. Looks pretty happy.

Why not? She's been away from Tarzana for a month.

What's this?

Oh, it's the arrest of that extortionist at San Francisco Airport.

Take a good look at this, Charlie.

I see an old friend of yours standing in the background.

This is Charlie Hume.

Listen, we have a picture come over the wire from San Francisco. And in the

background is a pretty good shot of the guy who rented my house.

Oh.

Sure. Sure. We'll be right over.

What's up?

He wants us to come over to his office. Says he has something for us, too.

You shouldn't have any trouble getting an identification on him now.

I wonder what he was up to in San Francisco.

He, uh, was on another assignment.

Assignment? What's going on here?

Ellen, would you send Mr. Collins in?

I was just about to call you when you phoned.

Well, look what's here, Charlie.

Lieutenant meant it when he said he had something for us.

Good to see you again, Mr. Thatcher. Or is it Dylan?

Oh, no, it's Collins.

Jim Collins.

Jim is with the State Attorney General's office.

Don't look at me like that, Lou. I just found out myself he's your Mr. Thatcher.

What do you mean you just found out?

Don't you guys ever tell each other what you're doing?

We're supposed to.

Dylan, Collins, whoever you are, what the hell was going on in my house and

did you lie to us? I only lied about my name. And your connection with LAPD? You

said LAPD, not me.

You went along with it to deceive us. Same thing.

You still haven't answered my question.

I didn't lie about the investigation.

We were gathering evidence on officials who were willing to take bribes.

When a reporter goes undercover to sniff out corruption, he gets awards, right?

A reporter writes about corruption, Mr. Collins. He doesn't create it. We

created the opportunity for corruption.

And the reason we went undercover was to get direct evidence. We didn't want to

use informers because...

Government agents are more credible witnesses.

Besides, it's a very effective deterrent to political corruption.

How successful was this project?

Well, in the near future, two councilmen and at least one supervisor will be

brought before the grand jury.

There are also several attorneys who may wind up disbarred.

You guys ever question your methods?

We get criticized for being...

Overzealous and overreacting, and here we do an operation with subtlety and

finesse, and we get nailed for that, too.

Mr. Hume, you'll understand why we'd like you to hold up on this story for a

days. No, I don't understand, and that's one request we're not going to honor.

We thought you were going to say that.

I'm sorry you're not going to be cooperative.

Oh, by the way, we won't be needing your house anymore, so you're free to get a

new tenant.

That's nice.

I know a couple who are very eager to move in.

Yes? Ross is here.

Send him in.

Come in, Joe.

I appreciate you coming down. I know how busy you newspaper people are.

Oh, Counsel, not at all.

The last time we talked, I couldn't be completely candid with you.

You know, I had a slight sense of that.

But now that your newspaper has exposed the story, there's no reason not to be

completely open with you.

Good.

I was in Moraga Canyon the afternoon of the 18th, and money, in fact, did change

hands.

Really? I'm sorry I had to throw up that smoke screen about my trip to La Jolla.

Would you like to know why I took the money?

Yeah, I would.

Well, I had gotten wind that bribery attempts were being made, but I didn't

who was behind it.

So I took the money in order to conduct my own investigation.

You took the money for your own investigation?

Correct. The money's being held in safekeeping until my investigation is

completed.

You do understand?

Yeah.

I'm sure the grand jury will understand, too.

You know, I'm still burned up about being used by our own government.

Oh, Charlie, don't aggravate yourself.

Throw it back home and I don't have to listen to Mrs. Lacey anymore.

Look on the bright side of it. We've got our ceiling painted.

Yeah, you're right, Marion.

If you think about it, we're lucky to live in a country like this.

A lot of the world, people who criticize the government like that, they would be

followed and they would be watched.

the rest of their lives.

Now, that's silly, Marion. Turn off your light.

Marion? Yeah?

I read somewhere that they now have a camera that can photograph in complete

darkness.

Go to sleep, Charlie.

Tonight, when there's foul play in a family -run brewery, Inspector Morse

into trouble.

Now, while jet -set partygoers play, a million -dollar heist is underway on

Police Story, next on A &E.