Original subtitles

She was my daughter!

Has your husband developed any sort of obsession lately?

Having fun, Eddie? If Warren Briggs had anything to do with my daughter's death,

I'm going to kill him.

I think this is broadcast quality entertainment.

Please, it would kill my father.

He was blackmailing her. Why don't you face up to your wife?

I had to go to strangers, Eddie. The people I'm after, they're dangerous.

She's dead.

I'm going to kill you, Eddie.

But first, I'm going to make you suffer.

Hey, this is nice.

This is my kind of service.

Help yourself to a drink. There's a bar in the back.

Don't mind if I do.

So you see, the arguments for you working exclusively for me are

Let's see.

Gina Harper, 23.

I see your husband works in insurance.

Both parents are churchgoers.

Please, my God, don't do this.

I think this is broadcast quality entertainment, really.

But if it upsets you so...

Pity these people don't appreciate you like I do.

You can't. It would kill my father.

Please.

We wouldn't want to do a thing like that, would we?

My clientele is very exclusive. You'll be making a lot of money.

I realize only your evening hours are free, but we'll accommodate that.

You see, part -timers are always so desirable.

Understand this.

You work for me now.

I never want to hear anything to the contrary.

From the day that I do, your father goes to a very private screening.

Your marriage is over.

Stick around, Eddie.

We'll be driving her home.

Well, what have we here?

Very nice.

What's your name?

Christy. Ah, yes, you're one of Joy Tang's fans.

200 an hour, wasn't it? Uh -huh.

Two hours should be enough.

Plus the bonus, of course.

Yours, if you perform well.

This is Sergei.

Tonight.

The pleasure's all his.

Is everything set?

That's it for the night?

Yeah.

Busy day tomorrow?

No, I don't work days.

How about 200 an hour?

Just to talk.

Are you serious?

Yeah, I'm serious.

200 bucks.

Be at this place at 11.

I'll fill you in on the theme for the night.

Okay.

Two weeks.

I thought you promised to stay close to your investment.

Come on, did I say that? You most certainly did.

I suppose being terribly busy is not an acceptable excuse, is it?

Totally unacceptable.

Ah, what might be.

Yeah. Angie's a very dear friend of mine, and she needs help, but I'll let

explain it all for you.

Robert McCall, Angela Mason.

Hello. I have some work to do, so I'll leave you two alone.

Thank you for coming.

I told Pete I wasn't sure I should be taking up your time, but she insisted.

You know, in my experience, people who need my help most of all are those who

apologize for taking up my time.

You've got a problem.

My husband, Eddie, is a reporter.

Last week, he said he'd be away for a while working on a story. Since then, he

hasn't been home and he hasn't phoned.

Now, I think he's in some kind of trouble.

Why do you think that? When I called his paper yesterday, they told me he was on

leave. And then this notice came from the bank saying our account was

overdraft.

Oh.

The draws are rather high.

You and your husband are the only people allowed to draw on this account, I

presume? Yes.

Any idea what he might want this money for?

I've no idea at all.

Has he ever done anything like this before? Stayed away, not telephoned you?

Never with his mom.

Once or twice when he's been researching an article, he's gone undercover.

That's why I didn't want to call the police.

Have you brought a photograph by any chance?

Yes.

This was taken last year.

Okay, his name is Eddie Mason.

So what's the big mystery, McCall? You know, the guy gets tired of his old

Split. Happens all the time.

Well, that's the obvious explanation of fucking with the correct one.

You're not buying it?

No, not really. Not yet.

Look, if you're right, all we've done is waste a few hours in searching.

If, on the other hand, he is in trouble... Well, don't get me wrong. I

reporters. It's just for once. Couldn't we chase down a nice, beautiful, missing

millionaireist?

Unfortunately, Harley, at the moment, they are in rather short supply.

Well, all right, where do we start?

I'll see if I can't start a paper chase.

And you go and see his employer. That way we'll meet in two hours' time.

Look, Eddie, it's your 200 bucks, so you can say whatever you want.

But I don't need a lecture.

I didn't mean it to sound like that.

If it makes you feel any better, I'm not a pro.

This is only a part -time job until I get through school.

I guess I can't understand that.

You're risking your whole life.

You're young, you're smart, you're pretty.

Whatever happens to me is my choice, right?

Look, I've talked to dozens of girls in the business.

A lot of them got started just like you, part -time.

The money's good, the hours are short.

They think whenever they want, they can walk away, but you can't.

Something happens inside.

It's like... What are you?

A priest?

A social worker?

No.

Rachel, remind me of someone.

Will you remind me of someone, too?

My father.

Oh, please.

Don't do that.

You just like him.

Trying to run my life.

Please, don't go back to Briggs' house again.

I work for him. I know what he's really like.

Hey, I appreciate your concern.

But like I said, I already have a father.

So do us both a favor.

Keep your money and leave me alone.

Christine.

He came by this morning, dumped some stuff in his desk, then left.

First time I'd seen him in a week.

What made him decide to take a leave?

In a word, stubbornness.

Mason is a good rapport, a real bulldog. Gets his teeth into something, don't

let go.

But sometimes he's his own worst enemy.

You took him off an assignment.

No, I didn't put him on one.

This is his desk.

Look at this mess.

He had been bugging me for weeks to let him do a story on prostitution. I said

no to the idea.

Why prostitution?

Beats me.

Every reporter has his hobby horse. Now, Mason is prostitution.

Is your wife really worried about it?

Yeah, she is.

Oh, mind if I call her?

No, no, sure, go ahead.

Thanks.

You recognize him?

He's been staying here often, huh?

Sure, I know him.

Mason. He had a manager. He fixed him a couple of nights ago.

Why? A guy brought in too many hookers. Different one every night.

This guy showed up with some stunning broads. Like you're running a little

street walk.

Thanks.

Christine? Christine, it's Eddie with the car.

Christine?

Oh, God.

If

you

ask me, Angela Mason does not know her husband, why she ought to.

Miss Hayes?

She's been strangled.

College student.

You know, in my day, you worked your way through college by being a waker or

washing dishes.

Look at this.

Her appointment book.

She was in the game, all right.

Hi, this is Christine.

Don't disappoint me now. Leave a message.

Christine, this is Joy.

You have an appointment tonight.

I think this might turn into a nice, steady deal. Very profitable.

Call me.

Joy Tang.

And where did you know her?

Hong Kong.

By way of Thailand.

Well, I think you're going to have to call on her, aren't you, Holly?

That could be a problem. She may decide she doesn't want to talk to me.

I can't imagine why.

Well, you'll have to persuade her, won't you?

Well, well, Holly Gage.

I don't believe it.

It has been a long time, Joy.

Not nearly long enough for me.

Things haven't changed much, I see.

Girls, please.

Oh, yeah, I think they're much too innocent to hear this.

Well,

Harvey, you never were short on nerve.

It took some coming here like this.

I was just doing my job.

So was I.

Only I was the one who nearly got killed for it.

Yeah, but you were on the wrong side.

Anyway, it was a long, long time ago. And besides, we both got out alive.

Now we're here.

Yeah.

What is it you want, Gage?

Uh, well, you got a girl working for you.

Christine Hayes.

This evening.

Right before you called her.

She was murdered.

Oh, my God.

Did the police know she worked for me?

It is difficult.

Your first thought is for your own safety.

What do you want, Gage?

By the way...

I've made a point of removing this from the answering machine before I left.

Huh?

Tell her.

Let's talk about Christine.

What do you want to know?

Did you ever introduce her to a man named Eddie Mason?

This man?

No, I don't think so. I've never seen him before.

I want a list of all your clients.

Every man that Christine ever had any business with.

I'll trade it to you for that tape.

You really are a piece of work.

Is it a deal?

Yeah.

You got yourself a deal.

But if I find out that you've been jerking me around, I'll be back.

I'll try to avoid making that necessary.

Good.

Mrs. Mason.

Has your husband developed any sort of obsession?

Become preoccupied with some event or some person?

All right, let's put it another way. What is his interest in call girls?

Eddie had a daughter.

From his first marriage.

Her name was Janelle.

Seven months ago, she was found dead in a hotel.

A hotel frequented by call girls.

Yes.

Eddie secretly blamed himself.

But they called it a suicide.

Did he find out why she killed herself?

I don't know.

He's not the kind of man that makes it easy to see what's going on inside

himself. But if he was hurting so much, you'd think he could tell me at least.

It's going to be all right, Mrs. Mason.

I promise you, it's going to be.

Hey.

I thought we were going to have lunch.

You don't like pretzels?

Well, have a hot dog. Skip it, skip it, skip it.

So where'd you get your information at?

It's not important.

Oh, come on, Gage, let's not dance, okay?

The DA's task force can subpoena you and force you to answer any of these

questions. But I owe him a call, so I'll sit still on some of this stuff. But

don't get pushy, okay?

You're very cranky.

You should have a pretzel.

I'm sorry.

Let's get out of here, all right?

Look, Harley, this is our first real break, and I don't want to mess it up.

I'll keep you on the inside, Scanlon.

But you've got to tell me, will you, enough?

There's not much.

You know, the task force has an ongoing investigation of all prostitute

activities. That much you do know.

But we have been picking up indications that there is a new wrinkle out there.

What kind of new wrinkle?

Well, the boys over at the office are referring to it as the horror wars.

Somebody's trying to slice into the prime trade, the very cream of the

So how did you get on with Christine Hayes?

Reporter named Eddie Mason.

You? Well, she called the task force.

But before we had a chance to set up an interview, she turned up dead.

Where did she go?

I already knew she was in trouble.

You got any idea who took her life? Well, that was something I was hoping

might be able to tell me.

Hey, I gave you all I got. You know me.

But you keep looking.

And you will keep us informed.

I thought this was where you gave me the speech about keeping my nose out of

your business.

What can I say?

You were wrong.

Yeah, I was.

If Mason is looking for her killer, he could have stumbled onto something else.

Yeah. Like why girls are disappearing from some of the more fashionable

That's possible.

Or even the name of the person responsible.

Anyway, how many have we done, then? How many names have we checked on Joy

Tang's list?

Around ten.

So, who's your next one?

Uh, a fella called Brig, up in Riverdale.

Please look at me.

Well, patience and persistence, as our teachers used to say.

Let's get back to the grind, Harley. See you later.

I want some answers.

Like, what do you know about the murder of Christine Hayes?

I think I know who killed her.

Who?

A man named Briggs.

Briggs? He was blackmailing her.

I tried to warn her.

She wouldn't listen.

All right, Eddie.

Get in the car.

I'm driving.

But nobody's talking me off these streets.

If Warren Briggs had anything to do with my daughter's death, I'm going to kill

him.

Nothing's going to stop me.

After my daughter Janelle died, I worked day and night trying to find out why

she did it.

I've been on these streets for months, moving deeper and deeper into that

wasteland.

I finally found the girl who told me Janelle was being blackmailed.

How much more time are you going to spend chasing her past, Mr. Mason?

Until I bring down the man who destroyed my daughter.

At the risk of destroying your marriage?

Angela is a strong woman.

She can hold on.

Can she?

But will she?

Look, I can't stop now.

Every night when I shut my eyes, I see Janelle.

I lie awake for hours thinking about her, wishing, wishing I could bring her

back so that we could start all over again, so that I could be there for her.

Yes, I know how you feel. No, you don't know how I feel.

Oh, come on.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

You don't give a damn about your wife. The hell I don't. You don't give a damn

about your wife, your daughter or those other girls.

You're only interested in your own petty revenge.

Yeah.

Maybe that's right.

Mr. Mace, why don't you face up to your wife and tell her yourself about your

journey through this wasteland, as you call it?

But nobody's pulling me off Biggs' tail.

I'm not going to pull you off his trail.

If what you say is true, if he is involved, we'll help you bring him down.

That's a deal.

I should have told you.

You should have told me.

Is that all you have to say?

What is this marriage?

What kind of a thing is it for you to exclude me like that?

I had to go to strangers to find you. I'm sorry, Angela.

Please, try to understand.

I've tried, Eddie, so many times.

I want you home.

I can't stop.

Not yet.

I owe it to Janelle.

It's my way of finally saying all the things to her that I wish I'd said.

Now, please, don't try to stop me.

I won't try to stop you.

But, Eddie, when this is over, I want you to put it behind you.

I don't mean forget Janelle.

You can't do that.

But you can't go on living in the past.

You think this plan is going to work?

Well, we won't know till it's over, will we?

I just saw Angela.

You were right, Mr. McCall.

I'm glad you did.

Tell me, this girl last night, when does Briggs expect the information on her?

Oh, soon.

If I take much more time, I'm afraid I'll start to think about it.

Would you take Harley to where she lives?

Oh, sure. I think this job is down to your weight of talent, Harley.

What are you going to be doing? Oh, I shall be thinking, Holly.

As always.

Last night, at that house, you were videotaped.

How the hell do you know this? We have a contact inside the house.

Hey, believe me, this is no joke.

Briggs is running a deadly, serious blackmail operation.

Tonight, he'll ask you back to the house again.

And he'll play you the videotape you made.

Suppose I just don't go.

He'll find a way to show it to you.

And then he's going to threaten to send it to your boss or your parents.

Unless you go to work for him.

Exclusively.

What if I don't care what they think?

Briggs has blackmailed dozens of women into working for him full time.

And a blackmail dozens more, unless we stop him.

It could end.

With your help.

What do you want me to do?

About Suzanne.

It's all here.

Once I found out where she worked, I made a reference check.

Stuff on her folks, her boss's name, all the buzzwords.

Leave it here.

Steiner will call her. You can pick her up.

Where is Steiner?

Upstairs.

Leave this in the video room on your way out.

Steiner will follow the way later.

Janelle. Eddie?

What are you doing in there? You know the thought limits.

You.

What?

What the hell's going on with you?

Janelle Mason.

What about her? She was my daughter!

Because a kid is ready.

But first I'm going to make you suffer.

Really.

Get him out of here.

That wire you're wearing pulls everyone. Nobody's ever caught on to it. I wish

it were over already. This whole thing, it makes me jumpy.

Listen, the minute Briggs has said enough, we'll be in.

And if you run into trouble, that will tell us instantly.

It's your friend, McCall.

Thanks.

Hey, Robert. What's up?

Obviously, Eddie hasn't come out of Briggs' place. He was supposed to meet

hour ago.

You think it's gone sour?

Well, we'd better find out, Holly, haven't we?

Yeah.

Okay. I'll be downstairs in just a minute.

Bye.

What does that mean, gone sour?

Eddie Mason's still inside the house.

Hey, wait a second.

If something's gone wrong and they've made Eddie talk, I could be walking into

trap.

You're not going to be walking into anything.

You're staying here.

I'll call you later.

chance, Eddie.

Who have you been talking to? The cops?

Who? Vice? The DA's people?

No. I told you his name is McCall. Forget this McCall guy. I'm not worried

him. What about the paper where you work? No.

They don't know what I'm doing. I didn't tell them.

He's lying. No.

I want you to see this, Eddie.

It's a porno classic.

No.

No.

No. No.

Ready to see your little girl's tape, Betty?

Yep. We'll get through this thing, won't we?

Ah.

Dolly, you go that way.

That's enough!

You try anything and he's dead.

Ow! Ow!

Turn it off!

God, I can't stand it. I can't breathe. Turn it off!

I'll take this one.

Briggs! Put the gun on the floor.

No lead.

Take it easy. It's under control.

He killed my daughter. I have the proof.

In that case, you'll pay for it, won't you?

Okay, scanner.

It's all here.

You got enough evidence to put that guy Briggs away for 300 years.

Thanks.

So, uh, what's your timetable for this guy?

Well, he came in last night.

He ought to be out on bail in a few hours.

When did he go on trial?

Well, his attorney's name is Albert Widman. Very tough, very expensive.

With continuances, maybe a year if we're lucky.

But don't worry, we won't be.

What do you mean?

Well, take a look at his client list.

Do you want the departmental opinion?

This case will not be tried right now. This is an election year.

The entire world is monogamous.

Hello?

Well, it seems as if the only time that Briggs is going to do in jail he did

last night.

You're saying he's already on the streets?

Twenty minutes ago.

I'm sorry, Harley. I will do the best that I can.

That may not be good enough.

Mind if I use your phone?

Thanks.

It's Harley. Ah.

Hello, Harley.

They sprung Briggs, Robert.

They've released him?

Just happened.

Is he there yet?

No, we're still waiting for him to arrive.

Doesn't sound good.

Harley, I'll meet you at Briggs' place. As soon as possible.

What is it? You stay here. Make sure she stays here.

And you leave until you hear from me.

Tell everybody the party's on me.

Having fun, Eddie?

Yeah, I'm having fun.

I'm putting you out of business, Briggs.

Hands in the air, Sergei.

Nice and easy.

You too, Briggs.

I'm glad you showed up, Briggs.

Trashing these tapes isn't enough for the scum who killed my little girl.

Hey, I didn't kill your daughter.

She killed herself.

Come on, Eddie.

I'll make this up to you.

It's too late for that, Briggs.

Put the gun down.

Give him a call.

This man has destroyed enough lives already. Don't let him destroy yours.

It doesn't matter what you say.

He's gonna die.

Down underneath, Briggs.

Call. Come here.

Let him go.

I have to stop him.

He can't just go on destroying people. Killing him. It's not going to bring

daughter back.

It's going to change nothing.

Except one thing. It's going to change you.

Because you will become a murderer.

I don't care.

Eddie, don't do it.

Please. I'm sorry.

He was right, Mason.

Nothing's going to change.

But it is, Mr. Briggs.

It is.

You see, business isn't going to be very good once he starts writing the story

for his newspaper.

And your clients won't come within a mile of you when those articles come

They're libel laws.

But you know something?

I don't think they apply.

Where's Briggs? Inside.

Is he dead?

No, no, Harley.

However, his business is in a pretty bad way, thanks to Mr. Mason here.

Your move, Mr. District Attorney.

McCall, I'm sorry about what happened this morning.

I was just an errand boy for somebody upstairs who didn't want to get his cage

rattled.

And I'm sick and tired of having my hands tied.

I'm going to go after Briggs with everything I've got.

Even if it means bucking the system.

Really?

Even if it means losing a job?

Well, better that than my self -esteem.

If the guys who put the screws to me have that much clout, then they can do

whatever they want to me, right?

But until they do, I'm not going to stop on Briggs.

You mean that?

Yes, Mr. Mason, I do.

Don't worry, we will get him.

Harley, I'm going to need your help.

When do we start?

You've done me an enormous favor, Mr. McCall. No.

No, no, no. It was your choice.

And you made the right one.

There is, however, one favor you could do me.

What's that?

Put the past back where it belongs.

You're talking about Angela, aren't you?

Go back home.

Write your story.

Mr McCall, how did you know I wouldn't kill him?

Because there isn't enough hate in you, Mr Mason.