Original subtitles

Next on Kojak.

Soup.

What, sir?

Some woman.

Who is that?

Hey, I told you, I can't do message for you.

Help me.

$55.

Credit cards not even touched.

Louis Semelman, pawnbroker.

Yeah, how many stab wounds this time? Three. One would have done this.

This killer's got to be an angry guy.

So who kills? A happy soul? Okay out there, you miserable... Well, I'm angry

hostile, too.

I want every available man posted to five blocks around here. Do you

When our fruitcake sprays this next message, I want him, crocker.

Where are you going?

Out.

You want coffee?

I have got melon. It is cold.

What about tonight?

Chicken kiosk, like they did at the Russian tavern.

But I was performing with the company at Carnegie Hall.

We used to go there every night after the performance.

Come on, let's go, damn it. I think it is out.

Well, what is the stupid thing here for if it never works? Like everything else

in this miserable world!

No.

units. It's now 9 .30.

Now, previous instances, suspect has painted his message to us between 9 and

a .m.

Now, we know he could pick out any location within a few blocks of the

from a billboard to a subway restroom.

So, keep out of sight.

Now, use your brains.

Now, why does he do it in the daylight?

I mean, why not right after he kills him?

Maybe he wants to get caught, Lieutenant.

Yeah.

But that's the only reason why he didn't just turn himself in.

This is Crocker, one block west of the...

Take her to the station, full report, circulate the full description of the

and then have her work with the artist.

Vamanos a la estacion.

Yes, I see.

Death to the moneylenders, the reaper.

Well, how do we do it? Do we advertise? Do we spray the walls? Come on in, we

want you.

You find the pattern?

The pattern is that there is no pattern.

I think this guy has some sort of geographic formula worked out and he

pins on his maps the way we're doing on ours.

Only his pins tell him where to kill.

Moneylenders. Not Semmelman. The job, not the man.

The last victim, the revivalist after a death he wrote.

The Lord's retribution is tardy.

Again, the job, not the person.

And after the garage owner's death, satisfaction not guaranteed.

The job again. You see the connection?

We're dealing with a consumer advocate, Frank.

I mean, no kidding. I think this guy isn't killing in his eyes.

He's complaining.

Hey, that's a great theory.

He's complaining.

Fantastic.

Fantastic. That attitude also covers the way half this city feels about getting

ripped off. Lieutenant, this doesn't look like the same paint he used before.

It's metallic.

Hey, he used two different kinds of paint before.

But there's a third kind.

It's a different base, I'm sure. Get it over to the lab, fast.

You know, we already put together a list of over 700 stores in the city to sell

both of the other two brands of paint.

But in this area, they're all small shops.

My guess is not more than 50 in this neighborhood entirely use all three

We need the men to cover 50 stores?

What about the other crimes in other places? They'll have to be patient.

Meanwhile, we'll start homing in.

Maybe find a clerk who will remember selling the paint to a man fitting our

killer's description.

Yeah, but who knows if the killer buys his paint in the same store twice.

Frank, don't take our rainbows away so fast, okay?

Our baby is out there. And maybe he's planning again.

We need to believe we're finally on to him.

We better believe.

3 o 'clock? You said you'd be here at 3.

Roger, it's only 3 .30.

It is not 3.

Oh, God, I'm hot. I'm tired.

Roger, will you just give me a break?

Roger, I can't understand you not wanting to see Mark. One weekend out of

month for a father to spend with his son.

A father. A father is a man who supports his son.

Hey, you working here?

We didn't come in to watch life's passing parade.

Roger.

Just some coffee, please.

You like toast?

Not now.

I can pay for the toast.

Toast and two coffees.

You know, Mark is three years old.

He couldn't care less whether or not his father can get a job. He just wants to

see you.

This meeting to discuss our son was so important, you couldn't even show up on

time.

Thank you.

Roger, can I make a suggestion?

Don't. Not again.

Okay.

Okay, not an analyst.

A group.

No, really, it's a group of people, and they can help you.

Look, the way you just treated that waitress. She was ignoring me.

Sit around in a circle with a lot of uptight people, learn how to shout at

other. Oh, that's terrific, Jenny. That's a solution. That's an answer for

all. You can do wonders.

Oh, yeah, right. Sure.

I love all the things that can do wonders.

This guy in this agency looks at my resume last month.

It's obvious you're an engineer, Mr. Villers. That is the worst resume I ever

saw. So he sends me to this friend, this genius with resumes.

There's an act to it, young fellow. We know just how to play up your strong

points. A hundred bucks I paid for the perfect resume. You think I got one call

when I sent them out?

One call?

What do you bet he got a kickback on 100?

Sorry if I'm boring you.

You were talking resumes.

And I'm talking therapy.

Once again, we're not talking about the same thing. Yes, we are.

They both make promises that don't get kept.

It's like this rug I get suckered into.

Women were going to fall all over me with this when I got off on my own.

So where are they?

The guy who sold me this guaranteed a whole new life for me. Where is it?

I'm not sure if it has anything to do with your hair, Roger.

It's my emotional state.

Well, you didn't exactly help that, did you?

No, I guess I didn't.

I fell in love with someone.

It didn't work out.

At least I was honest about it.

Honest!

You shoot a man to death, you take his life away, and then you say to him,

Honest, I didn't mean to kill you. Does that bring him back?

Does that breathe new life into him?

Look, Roger, I do not want to argue with you.

Not in private, not ever again.

Especially not in public.

Roger, now I want you to see your son this weekend.

And I gotta have some support money.

You understand?

Hey, I'm a stone. You squeeze me, you get nothing.

I will go to court if I have to.

I promise you that.

Promise, promise.

Love, honor, obey.

Be faithful.

Did you keep that promise?

Did you?

Cold. Cold toast.

Roger, leave me alone.

Hey, buddy.

Wait a minute.

It's $1 .10.

The coffee came out of your crankcase and your toast was cold. Get your hands

off of me.

Charlie, if I had an angle, I'd give it to your paper.

No, nobody else.

I know you held that Kingman story out of the paper. What, am I indebted for

life?

Don't give me that public relations jazz.

I got problems bigger than that.

Yeah, yeah.

Contrary to what people may believe in this city, this is not the only killer

the loose.

You see today's reports?

They might just as well come in by jungle drums.

They're going nuts out there.

Rebecca!

What's up?

That was the lab on the phone with the report on the spray paint.

It's all done on the way to the print shop. It'll be at every precinct house

from the morning roll call. Okay, now listen to this. Today's message was

painted with a color called Toro Red, manufactured by the Econo Paint Company.

Now, you pull out our list of stores.

See how many handle all three brands he's used so far.

Okay, you got High Tone, Color Bright, and Nakano. Got it. Don't forget, we

want the brand killer's dick.

That's part of the dumbest words I ever heard. Give me back my money. What'd you

expect, honey? Satin sheets?

Hmm?

palace. Oh, I know. I got it on a white carpet. Yeah.

Well, this is it, mister. I'm sorry. This is my castle, baby. This is home.

Got it?

Now, if this is a pigsty like you call it, you are definitely a pig for coming

up here.

I tell you what, next time for your ten bucks, why don't you call up Sophia

Loren? Now, get out of here.

I earn my money just by talking to you.

Berners Building Supplies, West 38th Street.

Carries Colorbrite, Toro, and Econopank.

Zebring Hardware, West 23rd Street.

How many we got?

Manhattan South?

Yeah. Fifteen.

All right, get Rizzo McDonald to stop by taking that drawing of our suspect to

every one of these stores, okay?

Go, Jack.

There.

You stand here playing pin the tail on the paint can.

He's out there killing another one.

Where? Times Square.

A prostitute.

West side.

Maybe tomorrow morning he buys the paint first thing.

Concentrate on these three stores near 42nd Street.

23rd, 30th, and 52nd Street. If this is our only kind of shot, you make that

stakeout perfect.

Go ahead.

You told me to wake you.

I put in a pinch of cinnamon because you are so spicy.

Thanks.

Roger, I am not one of those people who likes to talk about these things, but

last night you made me very...

I'm happy if you're happy.

Enough of that, okay?

It was just so nice

having a man around the house.

I felt so safe.

But that's not out there.

Killing again?

How do you know?

The whole world is coming apart.

Yes, I know.

Don't be upset.

Roger, I am not nosy, but... Wait a minute.

I said I would lend you 50.

It is not alone.

I want.

And you want.

Why should you be any different?

Crocker, we hit it. He's on his way in right now.

I'm not even in the store. You never saw me before. When I make my move towards

this guy, get out of the way.

He's right there, mister. Police.

Rizzo! Make one more wiggle, you're a dead man.

We got him.

Yeah, we got him.

We got him.

We got him. Got him.

Got him, man. We got him.

You bet your keister I'm worried.

I'm worried this guy will change his mind about being questioned without a

lawyer. I'm worried the press will find out.

I'm worried that people will rush to protect this killer before we get a

confession. Frank, we got a man who bought a can of paint.

And he looks like the guy you chased across the roof.

Okay, we're close. Just let me build more of a case before I interrogate him.

Theo, you know how it is.

The worse the crime, the more we've got to worry that the big bad cops will

deprive him of his rights.

Like he deprived his victims of theirs.

So treat him gently and hurry it up.

Penny Kojak.

This is Olga Norell. She has the adjacent apartment.

What is going on here? What are you searching for?

Lewis, did they show you a warrant? No, we don't need a warrant, Miss Norell.

Not to enter and search a hotel room. You see, we have the manager's consent.

Search it for what?

Is he hurt?

Is Roger all right?

Roger? First name. You know him well?

Sure, I know him.

Well, I mean, I was sitting right here at this table with him.

Two months ago when he moved in.

We are friends.

I mean, neighbors.

Tell me.

What has he done?

Well, I'll tell you how we'll do it. I'll ask some questions and you give me

some answers, all right? Now, where does he work?

He does not.

Any family?

No. He is divorced.

Tell me what trouble he's in.

What about his evenings?

You know where he spends them?

What can he do? He is broke. He stays in a lot.

Tell me what he did.

What about last night? Did you see him last night?

Actually, no, I did not. But I saw him this morning.

Early. What time?

About nine.

Was he coming in, going out?

I am not a traffic hopper.

Um, thank you, Miss Norell. We won't take you down for a formal statement

we get a confession, all right? You'll be in your apartment all day?

Confession to what?

Crocker, take Miss Norell back to her room and get her phone number, okay?

Thank you.

All right.

What do we got?

We got all these clippings on the murder, and you got an almost empty can

paint. What about the knife?

The usual kitchen stuff in that drawer under the hot plate.

You know, the coroner found a piece of the tip of the girl's body. He said it

was dull, olive drab.

Like a war surplus bayonet.

Nothing like that, Ed. Okay, keep an eye on the stuff.

Maybe Saperstein got lucky outside.

Hey, Detective, could this be the one?

No, he broke the blade this time.

Why don't you try the sewer gratings down at the end of the block?

Okay. Thanks a lot.

Sure, restaurants serve cold toast and lousy coffee, and I get pulled in for

buying a can of paint.

Rape. Murder.

You sign an oath when you join the force.

Preserve law and order.

Big joke.

You guys ought to be arrested for misrepresentation.

Pretending to care.

Pretending to be concerned.

We were talking paint.

You want to talk paint? We'll talk paint. So what are you painting, fellas?

I'm not a painter.

You were buying a can.

I spray it in the air. It makes a kind of red mist.

I like to look through it.

Rose -colored world.

This was blood red, not rose.

So they ran out of rose.

I guess other people have the same idea about this crummy world.

So you sprayed it at a woman yesterday.

Did I? Yeah, she identified you to a T.

Well, I guess she knows.

Hey, where were you last night?

It's personal.

A woman?

My neighbor. Oh, your neighbor says you were not with her last night.

That's par for the course. A woman was killed six blocks from your room.

Same man who killed a pawnbroker, a mechanic, and a phony evangelist.

Can I have a drink of water?

What's your special interest in this Grim Reaper?

You cut out newspaper clippings? You make notes about his victims? What are

doing? You starting a library?

Dick Tracy lost his charm.

What about the messages you spread on the walls?

What messages?

Lord's retribution is tardy.

Satisfaction not guaranteed.

That fellow's a poet.

I'm an engineer.

On occasion, that is. This guy's laughing at us.

Water. I'd like to drown him.

I'm tired of going easy on this creep.

I'm going to break him down about to hide him in the basement and scrap all

rules. Hey, I'm with you, Captain.

To all of us who have found true compassion.

Easy, Captain, easy.

You've got to understand, Captain, it's a tremendous strain.

I mean, the whole department is thanks to you.

Now, I personally would like to see this whole thing end.

Send you a nice hospital.

See that you get a lot of rest?

Okay.

I'll cooperate.

What do I do?

Okay, you tell us about the killings.

Tell us how you did it, why and when and like that, okay?

Hey, come on. All in fun.

Fun, you call killing six people fun?

What people?

Mr. Bellis, we know the truth.

You want to know the truth from your stinking... You talk!

Roger Villers and the Grim Reaper.

I kill the unjust, the unkind, the unfair, the unworthy.

I kill the pawnbrokers who offer you pennies for the things you can't bear to

sell. I kill the women who promise you pleasure you never get.

I kill the ministers, no, the fakes, who promise deliverance with cheap rituals.

The garage mechanics who cheat you with their bills.

people stuffing any job to get the commission.

No act, Mr. Villers.

No act.

Names, places, all of it.

Whatever I can remember.

How many times did you stab them?

Four or five times each.

What kind of knife did you use?

Switchblade. How long did you plan the murders before you did them?

I don't know. I don't remember.

Most of it just comes and goes.

All I know is that I get the idea and suddenly I'm there and then I don't

remember. I blank out.

Still can't get used to it.

The anger.

The sickening rage in that man.

Every word that comes out, it just... It makes you want to be ill.

Yeah, he's a pretty bitter guy.

Well, we've got the bitter and the sweet.

We've got the facts, the details, the number of blows, the times of death.

Where's O?

Yeah. You know who's Saperstein?

See if he needs more men on that weapon detail.

Check out the teams questioning people who knew the victims.

Tell them to meet as soon as they think they can not.

Put together some sort of composite of the man we're looking for, okay?

Okay.

Don't touch the corporate, Frank. It's terrible.

Here, what are you doing?

Guard, take me from this rotten life.

Hey, Frank, that's what he said. My God.

I'm just the officer in charge of this case, right? I'm still there, aren't I,

Frank? But he confessed.

Hey, every day of the week, we get someone in here who confesses. Oh, I

to tell you.

Mark Anthony walked in this morning and we wrapped up the Julius Caesar matter.

He has all the facts.

And served the newspapers.

But he's saying things the press didn't print.

No.

He went to the scene of every crime.

After. Not before, Frank.

After. And better.

Yeah.

Best laid plans, etc.

I was going to call the mayor.

I was going to call the DA.

I was going to spend a happy hour or two on the work schedule to give the men

some time off.

Because they deserved it after all the hard work they did in apprehending that

killer in there.

I was going home to introduce myself to my wife.

I was going to turn on my air conditioner.

Now you tell me why I can't do any of those things.

You're right, Frank. I'm just sorry about that switchblade.

What switchblade?

The switchblade that he said he used to kill the prostitute with.

The switchblade that broke in her ribcage.

You know, she had a magic ribcage, Frank.

It was a switchblade when it went in.

But the piece of metal the coroner took out of her body suddenly became part of

a war surplus bayonet.

Maybe he's trying to trick us, hoping to get off.

Get off?

Look, he wants to hang so bad he'll weave the rope for us.

I think he'd love to be the killer so bad he can taste it.

But killing? I don't know.

It's just not his brand of insanity.

So what does he do? He does it by proxy.

Joe DiMaggio!

He's a guy sitting in a stands, cheering on his favorite ball player.

Oh, so that's what you're up to.

You once wanted some time off to go back to college and study psychology. I said

I couldn't spare you, and now this is my punishment.

I'm glad it's over.

That switchblade, where'd you buy it?

One of those stores, Macy's, Alexander's. Macy's, Alexander's.

I mean, you heard it.

Yeah, I heard it. I'm just sorry I didn't catch it the first time.

So am I. But don't take him downtown yet.

Switchblades have been illegal in New York for the past 20 years.

That's right, Frank.

And if he went to buy one, he'd know that.

end of the block, all right?

Hey, detective, I think I got something for you.

but it better be very strong, guaranteed, and I mean it.

You guys put in 20 years. You can retire.

You got income.

Not me. I get to pay a lousy 600 a month in alimony forever.

Why'd you kill the evangelist?

I told her about my marriage problems. She said the Lord would help me if I was

generous. So I gave her my money. My wife left me anyway.

He says he gave her money.

But he's not on any of her donation lists.

Check the court of domestic relations. Get a list of every angry, frustrated

husband who's stuck without a money in support.

And try to tie a name with the pawnbroker's records and the

donation list.

Maybe this guy just gave us the start of a patent.

A guy who's fighting back.

It's weird.

All you really want is to live, get some pleasure out of a day now and then, get

your wife and your kid back.

But you gotta pay to stay apart.

You get nothing for your work, for your trying, for your money, but heartbreak.

Why did you kill a prostitute? I want to kill everyone who hypes you up with

their satisfaction -guaranteed baloney.

Promises, promises.

Now, what type would you go for next?

What? You want to know what gets to me, Villas?

Those old ladies on Broadway.

They sit on those benches trying to look right through you.

They cross the street anytime they want.

They don't care about the light, just themselves.

And then you get arrested for running them over.

Yeah, that's what I mean. That's what burns me up.

That man killed all those people. He's insane.

And he's insane if he didn't.

Now, how in the world can listening to what he says help us do anything but

around in circles?

You saw that collection in his room?

newspaper clippings, photographs, magazine articles with stories about

dishonesty and adultery, and every vice in the Bible outlined in red.

This man's bitter, and he's angry, and he's filled with hate, just like the

killer. In every way but one, Frank, he can't get himself to kill.

So he lives the killer's acts after he has committed them.

Where's that?

We got this from three people that were in the area where the crimes were

committed.

Now this Roger Villers, he was identified by all three of them.

A day after the killings.

He was never a customer of this porn broker because we checked his books.

And not once does the name Villers appear.

Lieutenant, we got the knife.

Now we found it down the sewer about two blocks away from the hotel where the

girl was killed.

Now the lab says it matches and the tip was broken.

Theo.

I know how these things can go, and so do you.

Now, we have a very disturbed young man.

We have the vague identification of a hysterical woman. We have a small piece

broken off a knife.

Now, I'm telling you, go slowly.

Take him through it. Get all you can.

Don't rush it.

What is it?

He's going to kill again, and he's going to do it soon.

Can you tell us who the victim is? If I was filled with the bitterness and anger

that Roger Villas has gotten across to us, and someone sold me a knife that

broke, it would be like all the other tricks life played on me. And you know

something, Frank?

I'd go after the man who sold it.

Should it cover all the army war surplus stores in the borough? Find out if they

remember anyone who gave them a hard time, complained, argued, a man with a

temper. Take the photos of Villas along.

I'm not as convinced as Kojak is.

No, it's Mr.

Burke.

Well, I'm sorry, sir, but Mr. Owens took the day off.

Oh, are you the same party that called yesterday about a knife that was

defective? Because if you'll just bring it in, Will, that man swore to me that

the knife I was buying would never break.

Indestructible. Now, that's what he said.

I want to straighten this out with him now.

Well, Mr.

Owens took an extra day off.

He has a cold.

What's his first name?

Cedar. Why?

Why are we here?

Well, it's part of our procedure. Just to show us what happened.

Did you go to the bathroom at all?

Yes. How'd you like the color?

Don't you believe me?

Oh, well.

I'm not a jury. Just answer me.

She was pretty.

I didn't just pick her up.

I looked for a real nice one.

They always lie.

Anyway, she... She asked for her money.

She was going to leave.

And I was going to lose her.

She was pretty.

Pretty face.

Nice legs.

Supposed to make you happy.

Good for your ego.

man, somebody you love.

And you lose her.

Lose her?

I mean a working girl?

Not this one.

Oh, what one?

I don't want to be here.

Can we go?

We can't.

Not yet, I'm sorry, Roger, but what woman are you talking about?

Do we need that?

We need it all.

My wife, Jenny.

What about her?

She was having an affair.

I caught on.

I followed her one day. They checked out of this motel room.

And I checked in.

I made sure it was the same room.

I sat one chair for four hours.

Like they were there.

I was invisible. They couldn't see me.

Why did you put yourself through that?

It was like seeing something of mine stolen from me. I could see it

but I couldn't stop it.

I'd never do that to her. Never.

Lousy. Lying.

Cheat.

But now I'm going to get them all.

I don't want to be here. Please.

Forget it.

Mr. Villers.

Roger.

You know, you may have done a lot of things that you need to escape from.

There's some things you want to pay for.

But I got news for you.

You didn't kill the woman who lived in this room.

I don't think you've ever killed anybody.

I think you know about him.

In a way, you're closer to him than anybody else in the world.

Besides his victims, that is.

But he killed, Roger.

He took life. You didn't.

We'll prove it.

He was just fighting back.

I talked to people where he did those things.

Maybe he was wrong, but he was just fighting back.

Sometimes it gets so heavy.

The pressures, the failures, the frustrations.

I don't know.

You don't know who to strike out at.

I never talked like this about my life to anyone before.

Maybe my wife was right.

I need to talk to people.

Maybe you ought to tell her.

Kojak. You were right, Lieutenant.

Maybe I was lucky. I was lucky, yeah. I was lucking out after just five stores.

The salesman inside, name of Burke, some guy called me this morning, really

bugged.

Yeah, he was hot. He was furious.

Wanted to speak only to the guy who sold him the knife.

I mean, what do you think we got here?

Abercrombie and Fitch? Did he ask for the salesman by name?

No, but I gave it to him.

Theodore Owens.

He's at home if you want to speak to him. Give me his address and fast, Mr.

Burke. Why? What's wrong? I said fast, Mr. Burke, okay?

Okay.

Yes, Mr. Owens?

I thought I might catch you here on my lunch hour. It's about some merchandise.

Store sent me over?

I'm off today. I don't feel good.

It'll only take a moment.

All right.

Just a few minutes.

You take the upstairs and I'll take the downstairs.

Just a minute.

Yes?

Mr. Oz, this is police. It's important.

It's me.

No.

But it could be.

I suppose it could be a lot of us.

Come on, you've done some good, Roger.

Smile.