Original subtitles

Thank you.

That's good.

Real nice, huh?

Get

back

down.

Put your hands behind your back.

Hands behind your back. The next one's going to be aimed at your head.

Okay, okay.

Okay,

people. Big Brother's watching. You move, you bleed.

Ten keys and about a hundred grand.

We voucher half.

What about Mac the Knife out there? He's garbage.

Even if he bothered to say something, that is our mother's weapon.

Okay.

Ed Harlan.

All right, we voucher what's in this bag.

Right here.

Billy, you take care of the stuff.

When did this happen?

This morning.

You mean to tell me you turned in only half the drugs and money confiscated

during that bust and kept the rest for yourselves?

Yes, sir.

And this has happened before?

Yeah, it's a common practice.

And until you felt you should come forward because you knew the truth would

out at these hearings, you were a willing participant in these illegal

activities, weren't you?

Yes, sir.

Why?

Money.

I'm a cop who makes less than a year.

The most drug dealers do in one day.

WRTX News, therefore, has just learned that the Burke Commission, which was

formed last month to investigate charges of police corruption, today obtained

evidence that it will present before the grand jury first thing tomorrow

morning. Evidence that is expected to result in the indictment of several

duty police officers.

Members of the commission refused to comment on the rumor that its star

is an undercover narcotics agent.

Who agreed to testify only after he was promised immunity.

Although... Yeah.

It's not me, Charlie.

I'm supposed to take your word for that, Candy Pants? I'm not a snitch!

Yeah, he was with me all afternoon.

Besides, the only way to get hard evidence is with a wire.

If they put one on him, they'd have nothing.

Who is it, Captain?

Typing up my report?

No, I mean right after the bus.

We took the perpetrators downtown and they just sort of disappeared.

We went to lunch.

You know, Harlan and I, we went to lunch. How come you didn't come with us?

I don't like Mexican.

Where?

Some joint near where we were.

Are you going to come with us to the cabin?

Charlie, I just don't feel like you're okay.

Hey, what's the matter?

Don't you want to hang around with us anymore?

Charlie, these things always make me a little nervous.

Let me be alone for a while. I'll be fine.

You go to hell.

And he testifies.

And what then?

We get indicted, we go to trial.

Even if they find us not guilty, we start looking for work.

He testifies we're dead.

My nose is clean, remember?

No, no, no, no. We're dirty, you're dirty. That'll tell him. Hey, Ed doesn't

care who goes down, long as it's not him.

Hey, where are you going? I'm going to call him. Forget it. No, no, no.

Let him go.

Who knows, maybe Lily White can stop him from testifying.

The mission's still gonna have to take.

Yeah, it doesn't mean a thing without collaborative testimony.

Well, boys.

Enjoy.

Money's all there.

Could be it for a long, long time.

Sweet and outlasted.

What? What's the news?

So you're gonna talk to me?

I'm going to go over to his house at 9.

That's great.

Finish your beer, Woody. No, I'm going to go home. You know, I want to be

straight when I talk to him.

I'll see you guys later.

Hey, hey.

Could you put a good word in for us?

Thank you.

Hold it right there. Don't move.

Don't care. We're police officers.

Well, that makes three of us.

Who had the most shutouts ever?

Walter Johnson, 110.

Gave him some hard.

I don't mean throw it hard.

It's a hard question.

Through the most strikeouts ever.

Nolan Ryan, 5 ,297, September 90. All right, who had the most

runs batted in in a World Series?

Mickey Mantle, 40.

How do you know all these statistics?

I used to go with a girl that liked baseball.

Here's a question for you.

Got nothing to do with statistics.

What was the saddest day in baseball?

Sad day in baseball was the day Babe Ruth died.

Now, that was sad.

I mean, it's always sad when a great one goes, but what was the saddest day in

the game of baseball?

What was it?

Black Sox scandal of 1919.

When eight Chicago White Sox players accepted bribe to throw the World

Were you involved in that case?

Trying to make me out to be 100 years old?

Or were you?

Well, the cop was murdered last night.

Yeah, it's a bias.

I read about that. Another cop was arrested at the scene. We got him dead

rise. Motive, murder weapon, the work. Good.

Yeah, it is, but...

What's

it got to do with me?

Ben, now, this is a sensitive case. We've got to make sure Johnny Bauer gets

fair trial.

Now, wait a minute.

Now, this can't look like a cover -up, Ben.

Johnny Bauer needs representation. He needs representation strong.

Now, Ben, you've got to do this for the department. No!

Well captain sent me out here. He knows we've known each other for years and

have a close working relationship. Yeah Then I can't disappoint captain

I Wish you didn't know where I live

Let's not take this you go change clothes

Who pitched the most shutouts?

Walter Johnson, 110.

Baseball's not your game, is it? All right.

Who pitched the most strikeouts?

Nolan Ryan, 5 ,297.

Ha!

It was my gun, but I have no idea how it got into Ed's house.

You keep it at your house?

My locker at the station.

According to the arresting officer, you were using your handkerchief to wipe the

prints off of it. He saw me using my handkerchief to pick it up off the

And he said that he and his partner were dispatched to the scene as a result of

a call to 911.

I suppose you made that call.

I was going to call for help, but I never got the chance.

What were you doing over there anyway?

I went over there to talk to Ed.

What about?

About what he was going to say to that grand jury.

I wanted to make sure he told the truth.

Which was what?

That I was clean.

According to what I hear, your undercover unit falsified vouchers and

confiscated drugs and money as a matter of course.

I was never part of it.

You knew about it? When I found out, I said no thank you and I immediately put

in for a transfer.

Transfer to hell? Why didn't you tell somebody? Because you don't do that. Not

if you're a cop.

Not when your life could damn well depend on the willingness of another guy

stick his neck out.

You turn your back, you walk away, but above all, you don't snitch.

Garbage. You tell the truth. You yell your head off. You find a way.

I don't want to take this case.

I'll do the best I can.

You may not have killed Ed Tobias. I hope not.

But you've got to know one thing.

You'll never be a cop again.

Maybe you're not too old to learn another trade.

Well,

Who knew you were going over to his house that night?

Charlie Orbach, Billy Pierce, and Harlan Fondy.

My partners.

Your partners.

Now, the body was found in the chair over there.

Your client was found right here with the murder weapon.

Did you find the bullets that were fired?

No, just the one the coroner dug out of Tobias' left ventricle.

The next door neighbor said he heard two shots. What happened to the other one?

Well, we couldn't find a trace of it.

The guy had on his TV.

No telling what he really heard.

Was Ms. Tobias here last night?

It's in her and the kid off to a movie.

You know, Bob, this case isn't nailed down near as tight as you say,

what Ed Tobias was going to say to that grand jury. There are three other men

who had motive to kill him.

You don't have any witnesses or fingerprints or powder burns?

Well, I almost forgot.

Tobias always kept a gun right here.

Loaded, clean, within easy reach of anybody sitting at this desk.

Now, if somebody unexpected showed up here last night, what's the first thing

Tobias, a cop, would have done?

Go for his gun.

The drawer was unlocked.

He could have got his gun. He didn't.

Why?

Because the guy that killed him was the guy he was expecting, Johnny Bauer.

Hey,

what's with you and the door?

You're making me nervous.

I'm taking Eileen to lunch. Meet me here.

That's the second time this week.

Nothing wrong with paying attention to your wife, is there?

Excuse me, gentlemen.

I'm Ben Matlock. I represent Johnny Bauer.

The waitress over there told me you're his partner.

Yeah, I'm Charlie Orbach.

How you doing?

There's Billy Pierce over here.

Harlan Fondy.

Have a seat. Buy you a drink.

No.

How's Johnny Boy doing?

How would you think?

Must be tough for him in jail.

How's the case going?

Well, you can look at it a couple of ways. Either Johnny killed Ed Tobias,

I doubt, because he had no motive, or someone else who knew he was going over

there.

And that would be one of you.

Ed was my partner and friend.

Ed Tobias was about to snitch. He had corroborated what was on that tape for

grand jury.

You'd all be in the Atlanta penitentiary. We were all here that

From the time we got off duty till around 10.

Did you ask the waitress? I did. She said you all came in about 5 .30, but

couldn't say what time you left.

Well, you know, you're just going to have to take our word for it.

You know I won't do that.

Harlan?

Lady Douglas?

and I have lunch reservations. You didn't have any more questions, did you,

Matlock?

Well, just one more thing.

Honey, meet me by the door.

If Johnny did, they'll get him.

Otherwise, they'll get one of you. And one thing I'm sure of, you'll all go to

prison for dealing.

And when you get out, and I hope it's a long time, not only will you never be

cops again,

But other cops will be looking over your shoulder the rest of your life.

I may have your ticket, sir.

Well, my car is right over there. Why don't I just go get in it?

I have to have your ticket, sir, and $3.

$3? I wasn't in there three minutes.

Those are the rules, sir.

Not a penny until you bring me my car and there better not be a mark on it.

Thanks a lot.

you keep those tickets 60 days in case anybody tries to claim we damaged his

is the license plate number on there too oh yeah yeah thanks

thank you

Oh, Detective Pierce, hello. Is this your car?

As a matter of fact, it is.

Actually, I knew that. I checked all the parking tickets they collected at

Captain's Cabin the night of the murder.

All three of you were there, but it seems that one of you left at 8 .30 and

never came back.

Is that right?

Where'd you go, Detective?

None of your damn business.

Know what you're going to say in court?

You don't have an alibi, and I prove it.

Might as well tell me the truth now, because sooner or later you're going to

have to face the music.

Just because Pierce left the bar before the murder was committed doesn't mean he

did it.

That's right.

In fact, the only thing we know is that his car left the bar. Anybody could have

done it.

That's right, too.

Not so hard. You think you're Nolan Ryan?

Sorry. What's your next move?

Well... Ow!

Since Mr. Pierce thinks I know something already, I thought I'd ask you to go

over to the bar and... Do a little eavesdropping? Yeah.

Right now?

Yeah.

All right. Wait!

Yeah, Ben Matlock.

Who is that?

Yeah.

Yeah, okay, I'll be there.

Who's that?

Sounds like one of our boys.

What do you want?

Said he had some information for me on Ed Tobias's murder. Told me to meet him

at the back of the Summit Street Bakery in 20 minutes.

I'll go with you. No, I'll be all right. You go on over to the bar. After I go

with you.

Okay, you drive.

Why do you want me to drive?

Because my hands sore, Nolan.

You don't get to stop until we see the cash, all right? Now, come on, let's go.

Oh, I think you must have us confused with somebody else.

What is your problem, huh? Quit jerking us around to get out the cash.

Talking to a gray -haired guy in a gray suit.

Tip the gate was flat on the money.

I can take him now.

Police! Everybody freeze!

That's Tim Adler!

Hold it!

Mr. Adler, get your hands in the air!

Get down, Mr. Adler!

Damn you, Conrad.

I was safe. But you weren't satisfied. I had to be filthy, too.

Damn.

Why aren't you filthy?

What happened to you? I walked into a little shootout between some drug

and a SWAT team. Thought you boys might like to be in on the fun.

I'll meet you at 8.

Bye -bye.

Billy.

Morning, Bob.

Hey, I need to talk to you. You got a second?

Sure.

Not out here, though.

Come on.

Have a seat, Billy.

What's going on?

Well, Mr. Chan here says you were with him the night Ed Tobias was murdered.

Were you?

Yeah.

Why'd you tell me that you were with your friends at that bar all night?

Because... Bobby here is one of my informants, all right?

I met with him so he could give me the name of a couple of new players.

I didn't tell you about it because if word gets out he's on the payroll, he's

dead meat.

Okay?

Everybody happy now?

Good.

Mr. Chan's not your snitch, Billy. He's your buyer.

He buys the stuff you don't voucher when you make a bust.

Hey, look, I don't know what the hell you're talking about.

Hey, tell him.

Tell him how you're lying for me.

It's all right.

You shouldn't have beat on me like that, man.

I don't like that, you understand?

I told him the truth.

He's lying.

I don't think so.

Hey, look, believe whatever you want to believe.

Either way, I got an airtight alibi for the time of the murder.

Dr. Chan says you sold him confiscated drugs, Billy.

He's ready to testify to that fact. What you got is a problem.

What jury is going to believe street trash like that?

He's your alibi.

You better hope some jury somewhere believes him.

He's my informant.

Matlock's paid him to say all those other things about me.

He's trying to make Johnny Bauer look good by making me look bad.

Don't you see that?

You're in trouble, Billy. You need help.

Coincidentally, so does Mr. Matlock here.

Who knows?

If everybody's amenable, maybe we could work something out.

What? A deal?

Call it a mutual back -stretching arrangement.

Is Harlan here?

Sure, come on in.

Hey,

Billy, what's up? Hey, man, how you doing?

We need to talk, man, privately.

No problem, I'll go for a walk.

No, no, no, you don't have to do that. Just wait in the other room.

No, I'd rather go for a walk.

Hey, listen, go towards the park and I'll catch up to you.

Hey,

couldn't you just call?

This lawyer, Matlock, he keeps hassling me about where I was the night of the

murder. He's even got Bob Brooks in on the act.

Oh, so you're thinking of confessing? I didn't do it. Who did or didn't do it

was something we agreed not to discuss, remember?

Yeah, yeah, but I didn't know I was going to be the only one to wind up

any heat on this thing.

Now, I want to know what happened that night.

Go ask Orbach. Come on, Harlan!

Now, I got a right to know who I'm sticking my neck out for, don't I?

what I'm saying is I was at the captain's cabin until 10 o 'clock. If

to know what happened, go ask Charlie.

You mean he left before you did? He left right after you, sometime between 8 .30

and quarter to 9.

You know where he went?

I don't know. He said he had something about a date.

Look, Billy, I'm sorry, okay? I'm having problems of my own, all right? Me and

Eileen are not getting along.

You sorry piece of slime.

What was your relationship to the deceased Ed Tobias?

He was my partner.

And your undercover unit would feign interest in buying drugs and then arrest

the traffickers when they tried to sell them to you. Is that right? That's

right. And isn't it true that you routinely kept part of the drugs and

confiscated during these arrests?

No, it is not.

Isn't it true that Ed Tobias was about to give testimony to that effect before

grand jury?

Not to my knowledge. Isn't it true that he was murdered to keep him from

exposing your unit's illegal activities?

If you want to know why he was murdered, try asking your client.

Moot strike.

Non -responsive.

Witnesses' last remark will be stricken.

All right, detective.

Where were you between 8 .30 and 9 .30?

The night your partner was murdered.

I was at the Captain's Cabin Bar with Harlan Fondy. And how far is that from

Tobias' house, you know?

Well, I don't know. I have no idea.

Four -tenths of a mile. I clocked it twice, walking distance, which explains

you left your car at the bar.

You left shortly after 8 .30 and walked to Ed Tobias' house and shot him, didn't

you? I repeat.

I was with Harlan Fondy that night at the captain's cabin from 5 .30 until

almost 10. If I told you that I have an eyewitness who said you left between 8

.30 and a quarter to 9, would that refresh your recollection any?

Who?

Harlan Fondy.

Now, I'm going to play a tape -recorded conversation between two of your

partners. I'm sure you'll recognize their voices.

And you tell me if it refreshes your memory suddenly.

Now, I want to know what happened that night.

Go ask Corbett.

Come on, Harlan. I got a right to know who I'm sticking my neck out for, don't

I? Look, Billy, what I'm saying is I was at the cabin until 10 that night. You

want to know what happened, you got to go ask Charlie. You mean he left before

you did? He left right after you between 8 .30 and quarter to nine.

You still say you were at the bar all night in the store room?

All right.

All right, I left just like you said, around quarter to nine.

I had a date.

You had a date?

Did she mind walking?

I mean, your car was at the bar.

She picked me up.

She picked you up? Yeah, she picked me up.

Well,

where'd you go?

Oh, about five blocks away.

Empty parking lot.

Stayed there for about an hour and, you know, talked.

Does she have a name?

Yeah, she has a name.

It's Eileen Fondy.

You were with your partner's wife?

I didn't want to say anything before, you know. Out of respect for his

But I... I changed my mind.

No further questions.

Are you going to subpoena Eileen Pondy?

No. I think Charlie Auerbach's telling the truth.

Well, if she's Charlie's alibi, and Bobby Chan is Billy's alibi, it's got to

Harlan Pondy, right?

Get away from her, Charlie. Hey, Charlie!

Get away from her! How can you be such an idiot?

Did you see that?

See what?

His arm's bleeding.

Mr. Weiss, I'm Ben Matlock, Johnny Bower's lawyer.

You were at the funeral parlor the last time I was over here, and I couldn't

give sympathy for myself and for Johnny for doing your son.

What do you want?

Well, I was hoping I could come in and look around again.

Okay.

We're here for two whole days, Mr. Matlock. I really don't know what you

to find.

Well, to be told, I don't know myself.

I understand you went to the movies that night. Yes.

Ed called me in here right after he talked to Johnny and asked me to take

that's our son, and leave the house for a while.

Did he do that often?

Sometimes.

He worked undercover, so I just figured that.

Came with the territory.

Did he tell you anything else?

No.

But I should have known something was going to happen because when I came in

here, he was checking his gun.

He kept the gun, I believe, in this drawer.

Yes. I remember because Randy took it to the shooting range a few days earlier

and he put it back without cleaning it.

Ed was furious.

He made him promise to clean it the very next morning, or he wouldn't be able to

use the car for a month.

You mean the gun was dirty when he put it in the drawer?

Yes. Even I was upset with him about that.

As clean as a whistle now.

That's not possible.

Your son kept his promise after all.

My son hasn't been near this desk since the night Ed died. He can hardly go into

the kitchen.

Did you tell the police that?

No. I guess I was too upset.

I wonder how this gun got cleaned.

Detective Fondy, would you please tell the court who Red Hunsinger is?

Ex -cop.

Hangs out at the captain's cabin.

Shoots a mean game of pool.

You ever play pool with him?

Sure, all the time.

He says you played pool with him the night of the murder. Is that right?

Yep. Says he beat you.

Usually does.

He said you put a dollar down on the table for a rematch.

But by the time it came your turn to play him again, you were nowhere to be

seen. Where'd you go?

Bathroom, probably. I don't know. He said you were gone a good half hour.

And when he finally did see you again, you'd hurt your arm or something and

couldn't play anymore. What happened to your arm that night?

Bumped my elbow. I don't remember.

Is it better now?

Oh, yeah. Heal quickly.

I bet you do.

Big, strong fellow like yourself. I hear you jog.

About four times a week.

How long does it take you to jog a mile?

About eight and a half minutes or so.

You could easily then...

Jog four -tenths of a mile in under five minutes, couldn't you?

Couldn't you?

Yeah, I guess so.

Yeah.

Half hour would be more than enough time to jog over to Ed Tobias' house, shoot

him with the gun you had taken earlier from Johnny Bauer's locker, and jog

wouldn't it? I never left the bar that night.

That's just what your partner said.

You sure you're not lying, too?

I was at the bar from 5 .30 till 10, and you can't prove otherwise.

I'm afraid I can't, detective.

I'm showing you a revolver.

Asked that it be marked Defense Exhibit G. The prosecutor here has already

stipulated that this is the revolver that was found in Ed Tobias' desk the

he was killed.

You recognize this pistol, don't you?

No.

It was in the upper right -hand drawer.

Remember? He took it out when you walked into the room instead of Johnny.

I wasn't there that night. He knew instantly his life was in danger. He

gun out in self -defense. He shot you just a second before you shot him. Only

his bullet went into your arm.

Yours went into his heart. That's not true. That explains why the neighbor

two shots. Only one slug was ever found.

The other...

left with you because it was in your arm, wasn't it? No. And you stayed and

cleaned this gun and put it back in the drawer so that no one would ever suspect

it had been fired and start wondering why Johnny wasn't walking around with a

bullet in him, didn't you?

I wasn't there that night. You killed Ed Tobias to keep him from exposing you as

a crooked cop, didn't you? No. No, no, no. None of it's true. None of it.

Then show us.

What?

Your left arm that started bleeding during the scuffle out in the corridor

yesterday. I tripped while I was jogging a couple of days ago. I scraped it up

pretty badly. That's why I was bleeding.

There's a big difference between a scrape and an almost healed bullet

sure we'll be able to tell that difference. Just show it to us. Look,

my wife. Wouldn't she know if I'd gotten shot?

She'd know your arm was bandaged. She wouldn't necessarily know why unless you

told her. Just show it to us.

Or shall I call...

Dr. Richmond to the sand.

It was fairly simple to track down the doctor who dug that bullet out of your

arm. All your friends know Dr.

Richmond.

I can call him, but it saves us a lot of time if you just show us.

I don't have to show you a damn thing.

Okay.

No, you don't.

Dr. Richmond will testify, and the fine police of Atlanta will investigate, and

that'll be it.

All I really have to do today is to show reasonable doubt that my client

committed this crime, and I believe I've done that.

One more thing.

After the Atlanta Police Department finishes its investigation, I'm sure

find what we all suspect, that there was a great deal of hanky -panky going on

with illegal money and...

Cocaine by Mr.

Orbach, Mr. Tobias, Mr. Pierce, and of course, Mr.

Fondy. And they'll pay the price for that.

As for my client, he killed no one. He made a mistake, a kind of big one.

He put his trust in the wrong place.

Whatever happens when it's finally over for him, I hope he is learned and can

once again live in society as a happy and fully honored man.

Curve, baby.

Curve. Curve. Get it in. Get it in.

Hey.

What? Hey, look.

Hi. Hi.

Want to play?

I put the girl up.