Original subtitles

Barnaby Jones, a Quinn Martin production.

Starring Buddy Epson.

Also starring Lee Merriweather.

Mark Schera.

With guest stars Mary Ann Chin, Chris Robinson, special

guest star Kathy Yates.

Tonight's episode, Duet for Dying.

Love can be so fun and I've got the time.

Honey, let's not waste it.

If you're looking for some fun, I know where you can find it.

Don't tell me you own an amusement park.

No, but I do own a little house near here with a swimming pool and a well

-stocked bar and tiki torches.

Why don't you and me go have a party?

Sounds like a ball, but before leaving home, my mother made me promise to take

care of my baby sister, Pearl.

If I'm going to teach you, you've got to get a little closer.

Oh, yeah?

Okay, now.

Okay,

now.

You see? Oh!

Wait a minute.

Didn't I tell you I used to be a lifeguard?

No. I have a strange feeling there's a lot you haven't told me.

Oh, like what?

Like you're married.

All right.

I'm married.

But I'm separated.

That was after 15 years.

My wife walked out on me.

Just like that.

I don't mind telling you, Ruby.

It hurt.

But that's why I'm glad that I found you and your little baby sister, Pearl.

Pearlie. Where is Pearl, anyway? Oh, she's probably just sleeping it off. She

can't drink that much anyway.

You little thief.

You was just ripping me off.

You and your sister figured you had an easy pigeon, didn't you? My little

Pearl, I'm going to teach you a lesson.

We'll fix you both now.

Doesn't look like he's breathing.

He is a ruby.

He's dead.

We better get out of here. I can't leave him just like this.

What if someone saw us leave the club with him?

Well, think of something.

We'll dump him in the pool.

He was drinking.

They'll think he just slipped and hit his head on the side.

What about the stuff?

We gotta put everything back.

If we don't put everything back, they'll know it was an accident.

Take one of these and wipe everything off, okay?

Go on.

I mean everything, Pearl.

I heard you, Ruby. I heard you.

I can remember a time when the only thing people did in pools was swim. My

husband bought that somewhere.

Mr. Jones, I just don't believe it was an accident.

The police didn't find anything to say it wasn't.

Harry never went swimming late at night, drunk or sober.

In fact, he rarely used the pool at all. He had other interests.

What other interests?

Women. Oh, Mrs. Dunbar, are you sure?

Yes. Harry was going through sort of a middle -aged crisis.

I found out that he was going to neighborhood bars and picking up women.

I confronted him about it several months ago.

He said he swore he would stop.

He said he still loved me.

I loved him, and I forgave him.

Still, you think with you out of town for a few days... Yes, he might have

brought somebody here.

Somebody who also might have stolen his coin collection.

Couldn't your husband have sold the collection while you were away?

That's what the police said.

But Harry adored those old coins.

Oh, please, Mr. Jones.

I know it may sound selfish, but if Harry's death was an accident, an

that I might have prevented by being here, then I'll have that guilt on my

conscience for the rest of my life.

I'll do what I can.

Can you fix it or not?

Anything that runs on gas, I can fix.

Tell the truth, bro.

I'm just getting pretty tired of fixing things for you.

I'm not getting anything in return.

You're not getting anything.

Harley, we go out together, don't we?

I'm not talking about that.

I want you to marry me, Pearl.

Settle down, have kids.

Harley, I'm not giving up my career.

Ruby and me, we were born the same.

But you ain't getting anywhere.

That is because true talent takes time to mature.

But we're going to make it. You'll see.

Now, are you going to fix this thing or do I have to take it somewhere else?

Lester? Yeah, Harley?

You're not going to use that socket wrench. Can I use it for a minute?

Here you go.

Lester.

Don't run into the fender.

All right, Harley.

You want money?

This time I'm going to pay you for your work.

But you said you was broke.

I am.

But just as soon... as I find a buyer for this coin collection, I'm gonna have

some money.

Where'd you get that?

Who we got for playing this club last weekend?

The owner said it was worth a lot more than our usual fee.

Why don't you take to a coin shop and sell it?

Well, to tell you the truth, Harley, I think this owner was a little bit shady.

You know what I mean?

Who knows where he got it?

Anyway, I thought if I could find a dealer who was also a bit shady...

Wouldn't know anybody like that, would you, Harley?

I got a friend. I sure appreciate it, hon.

We'll see if I can get him.

Hey, Pearl.

Can you bring the brood bomb back to life?

Yeah.

Ruby. Ruby, remember when Mama used to say she was struck with a fear of him?

Uh -huh. Well, that's what happened to me today.

I thought of a new name for the act.

The Starshine Sisters.

Starshine Sisters.

Huh?

take anything.

Yeah, well, you also told me we needed some money to cut that new demo.

Not if it means spending the rest of our lives in jail, no.

We are not going to.

I'm already making plans to get rid of them.

Besides, no use crying over spilt milk.

Can't very well take them back, can I?

No, you sure can't.

Hi, Ruby.

Hi, Harley.

Did you find someone?

He was in Friday night.

You sure?

Yeah, he sat at that table right over there.

I sat him there myself.

He, uh, wanted to be next to the stage.

If bar hopping was an Olympic event, he'd be another Mark Spitz.

What? I checked out 12 bars.

He'd been in four of them that night.

Well, I bet this was his last stop.

Why do you say that?

Well, because when he left, it was almost 2 o 'clock.

Wouldn't have found any others open.

Was he alone?

He came in by himself.

But left with the Macon Dolls.

The Macon Dolls? A singing act.

If you can call it in the other note, singing.

But they're knockouts to look at, so... The Macon Dolls.

What are their names?

Don't ask me that. I book a lot of groups right off the streets.

They come in, they look good, so I give them a shot.

Afterwards, I slip them 50 bucks and, you know, so much for showbiz.

Did you leave any publicity pictures?

No. But I told you what they looked like.

You did?

Yeah, knockouts. I mean, real knockouts.

An 1836 Siegelbrecht silver dollar.

Not in mint condition, but I must admit, well cared for.

You want to buy it or not?

Well, I'll tell you the truth, it's really not much of a collection, but

you're a friend... 500 bucks, that's the least I'll take for it, all right?

500? Yeah.

Well, why quibble over a few dollars?

I'll have to get the money from my office. I'll keep my own money.

If you wish.

Five hundred dollars.

Barnaby Jones Investigations, may I help you?

Is he there?

No, I'm sorry, he isn't. May I take a message?

It's Stanley Beauchamp at the coin gallery.

An associate of Barnaby's stopped by earlier today.

He said Barnaby was interested in a stolen coin collection.

Well, it just walked in the door.

Did two girls bring it in? Two girls?

No, it's a young man. He's waiting here now.

Mr. Beauchamp, the owner of those coins was murdered.

Murdered?

Look, miss, I don't want to get involved with the murderer.

One of them was a redhead.

The other brunette.

Such faces, such babies.

Real knockouts.

What were their real names?

Their real name?

I don't know.

You must have called them something.

Oh, I didn't call them at all. They just walked into my office one morning. And

in those three minutes, they made their biggest mistake.

They sang for me.

They were really that bad, huh?

I don't make snap judgments anymore.

Not since I turned down Alice Cooper.

And you beat that Alice Cooper.

I said to myself, what kind of name is that for a grown man?

Mr. Jones, whatever happened to singers like Dick Hames, the Andrews sisters?

Who?

And you never heard from them since?

Not a word. Of course, in this business, they come and go like the wind.

Anybody can pluck a guitar, fancies himself another John Denver.

And why not? I wish my own kid was another John Denver.

Instead, he became a doctor.

Well... The way things are today, Mr. Prideman, you just can't tell how kids

going to turn out.

If you should happen to hear from the girls, would you call me, please, at

number? Why not?

Sam Prideman, agency.

Oh, yeah, just a minute. Mr. Jones, for you.

Hello? Oh, Barbie, I'm so glad I finally found you. I tried five other agents.

What is it? Well, I just got a call.

There's a man in his door right this minute trying to sell the Dunbar

collection. He said he'd try and stall him. Thank you, Betty. We'll be right

over. Thank you very much for your time, sir.

Well?

What'd you think?

I told you!

Now, wait a second.

Wait a second. I meant... I liked it.

I didn't mean I loved it.

Well, what was wrong with it?

That needs work, that's all.

Better phrasing.

Sharper beat.

And that... You like that, huh?

Sweetheart, that went out with Brenda Lee.

Well, you're still going to produce the demo for us. Yeah, yeah.

As soon as you come up with $1 ,000.

$1 ,000? It would only cost $500.

That was a ballpark figure.

It needs more work than I thought.

A couple of extra sidemen wouldn't hurt either.

Look, I've got a reputation.

I once produced the space people.

All right, all right, Michael.

Then you can get the bread.

Sure, I'll... Michael, Ruby and me, we were thinking.

What we really need is a manager, you know, somebody who could look after us,

take us under his wing.

And instead of paying him cash up front, what we do is give him a commission.

And other benefits.

I'll see if I can find somebody for you.

When can you get the bread?

I'll give you a call tomorrow.

You do that.

This is Michael Albert.

I gotta talk to you inside. Come on.

What, what?

Come on.

Hey!

Don't! What's wrong with you, Harley?

Hey, you're all in trouble. Now, get in there.

Harley! Harley!

Michael Albert just happens to be the producer of our new song.

Yeah, where's he gonna produce it? In jail? Now, come on. What do you mean?

I'll tell you what I mean. Now, this coin collection is hot.

Harley, I told you I didn't trust that club owner.

I heard the guy on the phone. He said two girls done it.

Well, he was wrong.

Well, I suppose he's wrong about murder, too, huh?

Murder? Harley.

Now, Pearl, I want the truth right now.

I want to hear it now. Come on. All right, Harley.

If that's what you really want, Ruby, it's all right. I think he

has a right to know, feeling the way we do about each other.

When we...

When I finished singing the other night, this man invited Ruby over for a swim.

In that right, Ruby?

Yeah.

Yeah, only except I didn't want to go by myself, so I asked Pearl to come along

with me.

Uh -huh.

And while I was resting myself in the bedroom, he left Ruby in the pool,

came in, and started attacking me. She was fighting for her virtue, Harley.

I saw what he was trying to do, I hit him over the head with this...

Brass thing.

Next thing I know, he was dead.

You can imagine how scared we were.

But then Ruby got this idea to throw the body into the pool so it would look

like an accident.

And then I saw these things on the dresser.

I said to myself, I said, Pearl, you deserve those for what he just did to

So I took them.

That's the... honest truth, Harley.

I don't know what to play.

But I know this. You need a man to get a firm grip on you, and I'm just that

man.

Tonight, you and me, we're going away from here.

Away? Where?

Albuquerque.

Albuquerque? What's there?

A garage.

I've been thinking about buying it, and I've got enough money put aside, and I

can do it now.

Harley, you can't... Ruby, shut up!

Now, you and me, we're going tonight, right after I get off work.

Harley, I can't.

You ain't got no choice in the matter. Look, you're coming with me, or I'm

gonna... I'm gonna turn you into police.

I love you that much, Pearl, and I... Well, I don't know if I love you, honey.

Oh, you will.

I'll be two weeks alone with me, and you'll love me.

I'll see to that.

You get yourself ready. I'll call you by now, all right?

Okay. Now I'm going to hang on to these.

Mom never said the road be paved with honeysuckle.

Barnaby had an 1836 silver dollar with the artist's name engraved at the base.

Like this.

Siegobrecht.

And how much that's worth?

Before or after inflation?

Almost $2 ,000.

All he wanted was $500 for the whole collection.

Barnaby, I know I owed you a favor for helping me convince the police that I

nothing to do with those counterfeit rare coins that floated around last

knew you had too much integrity for that.

But as of now, we're even.

The slate is wiped clean. Now, can you tell us anything more about him?

Just that I wouldn't want to get him angry at me. He was a big husky guy.

Did you get his name?

No.

Wait a minute.

Harley. Why do you say that?

I remember seeing the name Harley stitched to his jacket.

And there was an O with a wing along the side. I'll show you.

Johnny.

Harley, will you come out from under there?

Well, what are you doing here?

I told you I'd come get you after I got my car going.

I had to talk to you, Harley.

It's important.

Well, go on.

Well, I've been thinking about what you said this afternoon, and I've come to

the conclusion that you were right.

Best thing for me to do is to go to Albuquerque with you, get married,

down, have children.

You do want children, don't you, Harley?

Oh, yeah, sure.

I do, too.

And I hope they're all boys and just like their daddy.

Only...

Only

what?

Harley.

I just got some terrible news about Ruby.

Well, tell me.

She's sick, Harley.

Real sick.

Well, what's she got?

The doctor won't know for sure until he performs the operation.

When is that going to be?

You don't know.

It costs a lot of money and we don't have any.

How much?

At least a thousand.

Probably more.

Well, I want to help.

She's going to be my sister -in -law.

Really, Harley?

Yeah. Well, if you could lend us some.

You did say you had some saved up, didn't you?

Yeah, I got some.

Well, then, just as soon as little Ruby's back on her feet again, I can

in Albuquerque.

You tell Ruby to go ahead and make arrangements for that operation, okay?

Oh, Harley!

And just as soon as it's over and she's out, you can fly back from Albuquerque

and take care of her.

All right, and you have to send the bills to me.

Harley! What do you think? You think I fell off something and I'm turning it,

truck?

I know what you want, and you get on back there and finish that pack, and I'm

going to pick you up in one hour.

You can go for it.

Creep.

There's only one thing left to do.

No, Pearl.

Pearl?

Is that you again?

Ruby, like Mama was right again, not even Satan's army can stop the market to

town.

Did Harley know a couple of singers called the Macon Dolls?

Pretty. One's a brunette, one's a redhead.

Yeah, sounds like the two that used to come around to see him.

I didn't know they sang, though.

You know their names?

No, I just started to work here a couple weeks ago.

A little redhead used to bring her car in for Harley to fix.

Well, her name would be on a work order then, wouldn't it?

No, he didn't write one up.

He did the work for free.

Didn't want the boss to know about it.

What kind of car?

Oh, 68 wreck.

Sort of a faded blue.

Is that all you can tell us about the girls?

Yeah.

They sure were pretty.

as possible. Try to drown out the voices.

Didn't you really like it, Michael?

Hey, like it?

That baby's not going to just any flunky. I'm taking it to the head of

Records himself.

But first, I'm taking the Starshine sisters out to dinner.

Now go get dressed and meet me at the samovar in an hour.

It's a champagne, all right.

Barnaby Jones, can I help you?

Mr. Jones, this is Sam Prideman.

Oh, Mr. Prideman.

I think I saw the Macon dolls.

I wouldn't want to bet my life on it, but sure looked like them.

Only these girls called themselves the Starshine Sisters.

Where were they? A recording studio on Wilcox.

Are they still there?

No, they left. But I overheard them saying they were going to the Samovar

dinner.

Unless I'm in the wrong business, Carlisle's going to want a three -album

And you ladies are going to need a personal manager.

Well, that's why we're counting on you, Michael.

Think you can manage us?

I'll even tell you when to breathe.

Coupling knockout.

Wish we had a little more description than that. Well, we know one's a

and one's a redhead.

They're still operating on suspicion.

It's worth about two cents in the open market.

Want some more champagne?

Yeah.

Hey.

You're the singers.

The making dolls.

I think you've got us mixed up with somebody else.

Are you putting me on?

Oh, I get it. You don't know who you recognize in public.

I won't tell another soul that you're here, but I caught your act in Whittier,

place called the Red Crow.

Sensational. You're a couple of knockouts.

We never played the Red Crow in Whittier.

We're called the Starshine Fistos. I am.

Starshine? Uh -huh.

Maybe you caught her acting in Vegas. We play Vegas all the time.

Vegas? Where at in Vegas?

The Fiesta Lounge.

Fiesta Lounge?

Well, then you must know my friend Sid Howard. He's a musical director there.

Oh, no. I don't think you do either.

You're right. I saw it work once in an Humphrey Bogart picture.

Oh, yeah, we saw that picture.

What do you want?

My name's Barnaby Jones.

I'm looking for somebody to kill a man named Harry Dunbar. Stole his coin

collection and killed an auto mechanic named Harley Nelson.

Sounds like a big assignment.

Yeah, I'm looking for a murderer.

Well,

then, shouldn't you be working on it? Why come to us?

I didn't come to you. I came to the Macon Dolls.

I'm sorry.

Starshine sisters.

It was an honest mistake. I apologize.

Oh, what did the making dolls have to do with all this anyway?

Well, nothing that I can prove yet.

But I just want to have a face -to -face confrontation with them and see what

kind of reaction I get.

Well, sorry to interrupt you.

Starshine sisters.

Had a nice ring to it.

Ruby, if he finds out we were the making dolls... We just did.

Oh.

Then we better get rid of those coins.

We got a whole lot more than that, Pearl. A whole lot more.

Remember them. You kidding?

You don't see two chicks like that every day.

This is it.

This is their car. This is the one I parked for them.

It's the prettiest wreck I ever saw.

Maybe they borrowed it from somebody.

Maybe they came into some money suddenly.

Bought it at Royal Motors today.

Did they say who bought it?

No. Well, it shouldn't be too hard to find out.

I hope I'm not disturbing anything.

No, I was just watching something on the tube.

Oh.

Well, Harley showed me where you lived once, and I just...

Well, to tell you the truth, Lester, after what happened to Harley, I just

need to be with someone.

You can understand that, can't you, Lester?

Sure can.

A private detective around asking questions about June Harley.

It was?

What'd you tell him?

Well, almost nothing.

I didn't know anything.

Oh, well, probably wasn't important anyway.

My, you got a real cozy place here, Lester.

The kind of place girls feel home in.

I bet a lot of them have.

Not many.

Oh, now, that's... It's hard to believe a nice -looking fella like you.

Get a beer?

I bought a six -pack on the way home.

You are so cute.

But I got a better idea.

Why don't we go out someplace?

You know, hear some music, have some fun.

I mean, we can always come back here later.

I got you some place.

What are we waiting for?

Let me turn off the TV.

You're the last person I expected to

be knocking at my door.

Oh, life's road is full of unexpected turns, Lester.

This is Joy?

Yeah. I knew from the day I saw you that you and I were made. Oh, Lester, you're

such a wuss.

Service manager, line one.

Service manager, line one.

Here it is, Mr. Jones. That car was registered to a Miss Pearl Connors, 3241

Nichols Drive, Hollywood.

What about the new car? Same address?

Oh, yeah, but they wanted both their names on the registration this time,

and Ruby Connors.

How did they finance it?

Oh, it was something you don't see too much of anymore, Mr. Jones. Cold, hard

cash. $4 ,600 worth.

The owner of the Red Crow identified these pictures, and he is positive

the Macon Dolls.

Here's a girl who bought the car.

Yeah, if that's them, all right. Mr. Barnaby Jones, line one.

Oh, you can take the phone in the office, Mr. Jones.

Mr. Barnaby Jones, line one.

Boy, they're really something, aren't they?

Real killers.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Barnaby, I just heard from Lieutenant Biddle. Yeah, I was just about to call

him. Things are beginning to fall into place.

Well, according to him, the puzzle is already solved. The police arrested a

suspect in Dunbar's murder early this morning.

Who was it? A young mechanic by the name of Lester Gibson.

It seems there was a fire in his trailer late last night.

And from what I can gather, the arson investigators discovered the Dunbar

collection stuffed behind a seat partition.

So what do you know about that?

Mr. Jones, I've never hurt anybody in my life.

I've never even met this Dunbar, or whatever his name is.

According to Lieutenant Biddle, the police think that you killed Harley,

Why would I do that?

Well, Lester, the way they figure it is you and Harley followed Ruby and Pearl

when they left the Red Crow with Harry Dunbar.

And you waited outside his house till they left.

You went inside, you killed him, stole his coin collection, and then later on,

you and Harley had a falling out over the coin collection, so you killed him,

too. It's a lie.

Holly and I never went anyplace with each other.

I only saw him at work.

How'd the coins get in your trailer?

I don't know. I've never seen the coins.

Did Holly's two girlfriends know where you live?

One sure did.

Last night I was watching television and Pearl, that was her name, came by and

asked me to take her out for a drink.

So we went out to the little bar and had a few beers.

And when I got back, the firemen and the police were there.

Wasn't arrested for murder.

I never killed anybody.

I swear it.

Miss Pearl came in. What about her sister Ruby?

Never saw her.

Pearl says she liked me.

Says she needed someone like me to take care of her.

Well, so far, Lester, you've been doing a pretty good job.

But I still think it can be better.

Let's take a break for lunch and be back here in an hour. Lou, I still want more

bass. Get my purse.

Man, that sure was pretty.

You Ruby and Pearl Connors?

Who wants to know?

I don't see anybody else around here asking, so it must be me.

Well, we're in a hurry. Well, I got a little message for you here.

I think you better take a look at it.

You girls coming?

We'll meet you back here.

What is this supposed to mean?

Well, now, that depends.

To a collector, this thing here is a thing of beauty.

To a dealer, it's a way of making a fast buck.

But to a friend of mine named Harley Nelson, it was a way of getting himself

killed. You knew Harley?

Like a brother.

Who are you?

Tom Morgan.

Well, he never told me anything about you.

Well, maybe not, but he sure told me a lot about you, Pearl.

And your sister Ruby there.

Like what?

Oh, like how you picked up this guy at a bar and you killed him and you stole

his coin collection.

He told you, didn't he?

Dear God, that boy had some imagination, didn't he? Oh, yeah, don't you know it.

He had imagination that wouldn't quit.

You didn't believe me.

No, I didn't believe him, no.

Not until he met with a little accident. And then I began to wonder, you see.

And so I went to see Lester.

Oh, you went to see Lester.

Mm -hmm.

Late last night, and just as I got there, you were leaving with him, Pearl.

And then I saw something that just blew my mind.

What? Well, you, Ruby, you went inside the trailer, you see, and you hid the

coin collection behind this sort of seat thing, and then you started a little

bit of a fire, but it wasn't a very good fire, because I managed to sneak inside

and take the coin collection out from behind the seat thing, and...

There it is, see?

Ruby, I think it's time we told this handsome young man the truth.

I can't hold it in anymore.

This is going to hurt you, Tom.

But Harley killed Dunbar and Lester helped him.

Of course, we didn't know anything about it until Harley gave me the coins as a

present.

But that made Lester mad, and they had this terrible fight.

Maybe it was Lester what dropped that old car on Harley.

That's the honest truth, Tom.

Wow.

Well, you sure make it hard not to believe you, Pearl.

Except for one little thing. See, now, the night that Dunbar was killed, you

see,

Harley and I played poker till sunup.

What do you want, Tom?

Well, let's see. How's 50 % of everything you make now, Dad? Like

robbery, but you got a deal.

Well, now, just a second now.

How do I know I can trust you two after what you did to Harley?

We had good reason for that.

After Harley found out we'd accidentally killed Dunbar, he tried to blackmail me

into marrying him.

He wanted me to go to Albuquerque with him and run a garage.

Can't you just picture that?

Shut up. We had to kill him, don't you see?

He couldn't understand. He just could never understand that Ruby and me were

born to sing.

Pearl. I think Harley was wrong, Pearl.

You sang real good.

I got it all on tape.

That's it, girls.

No, it isn't.

Mr. Jones, you just bring that tape on down here.

I'm not fooling.

Hurry it up.

Now, Pearl, you go up there and get that tape and get his gun.

Uh -oh.

Could you please unbutton your jacket, Mr. Jones?

Don't do it again.

Don't even try.

Tom?

Tommy, that was sure a mean trick you played on us. That's J .R.

Well, as Mama used to say, a honeysuckle by any other name.

Ruby and me, we're going to need the best lawyer in town.

We were wondering if you'd like to invest in our new record to help us pay

it.

Well, Pearl, somehow I get the feeling that even the best lawyer in the country

isn't going to charge you very much.

I sure hope you're right.

Always needed somebody to take care of us.

Well, Barnaby, you really think they're going to get away with it?

Not a chance in a million yet, but I sure wouldn't want to be serving on that

jury.