All language subtitles for Mannix S08E19 Quartet for Blunt Instrument.DVDRip.NonHI.en.CBS

♪♪

I'm going as far as
L.A., if that'll help.

You offering me a ride?

It's better than looking
at 300 miles of nowhere.

Hop in.

Waiting long?

I guess I don't present
a very reassuring picture.

Well, around here
any man without wheels

could be a threat
to public order.

It wasn't my feet
they were looking at.

How far are you going?

San Diego.

Wife and kids there.

I thought I'd make enough
money on my job in Santa Rosa

to send for 'em, but...

What happened to the job?

It died.

Maybe you'd better let me out.

You in some kind of trouble?

No worse trouble
than I was born with.

It's too late to bail out now.

If you're not on the
run, just stay cool.

License, please.

Joe Mannix, private
detective from L.A.

Mm-hmm.

Are you two traveling together?

Must be.

We're riding in the same car.

What's your name?

Riggs.

Perry Riggs.

All right, Riggs, come
on out nice and easy.

Keep your hands
where we can see them.

Am I under arrest?

That's about it.

What's the charge?

Murder.

Thanks for the ride.

Yeah.

Where'd you run
into him, Mr. Mannix?

Oh, I picked him
up a few miles back.

You ought to be more
careful who you pick up.

You may not have made it to L.A.

Hey, what's the
case against him?

He killed Walter Kurtz.

That's a charge,
that's not a case.

All right, Mr. Mannix,
let's keep it moving.

Say, you mind if I talk to him?

All right, but make it short.

Hey, looks like you
might need some help.

Yeah, about
$100,000 in bail money.

Would you settle
for a private cop?

Right now I'd settle
for just about anything.

What makes them
think you did it?

Being in the right
place at the wrong time.

I used to work for the man
who was killed... Walter Kurtz.

When I found him with
his head busted open,

I figured it was time
for me to move on.

Even though you weren't guilty?

Except for his wife
and his partners,

I was the only one
with a key to the lab.

You figured that was
enough reason to run?

That and my juvenile record...
Assault with a deadly weapon.

Who would believe me?

Would you?

Seems everybody lies
to private detectives.

Gets so you only
listen to the vibrations.

How do mine sound?

About 50-50.

Okay, Mr. Mannix, that's it.

In a minute... I'm not
through talking to my client.

Sorry, you'll have
to talk to him later.

What's in it for you, Mannix,

even if you prove it
wasn't Perry Riggs?

For a guy in your
trade, what do you get?

Couple of more
days of clean air.

That we got.

Here you go.

That's the body.

Head crushed in
with some heavy tool,

like the one we found
in Perry Riggs' bundle.

It's not conclusive,
but nowadays

juries don't need a
platoon of eyewitnesses.

What motive?

We're working on that.

Now, maybe I can
give you a hand.

Robbery maybe?

Now, did you find
anything on Riggs

that belonged to
the murdered man...

A watch, wallet?

No, but sometimes a killer
panics, leaves empty-handed.

You know that.

Sure, Riggs panicked
and hitchhiked

down the main
highway in broad daylight

with the murder weapon
tucked under his arm.

Come on, Sheriff, let's
talk about the real world.

Okay... shoot.

For openers, can
you think of anyone

who stood to benefit
by Walter Kurtz's death?

Well, for the insurance money,

I suppose his wife and
maybe his three partners.

How much insurance did he have?

Million and a
half, I understand.

Not a bad benefit.

Not bad at all.

Except, at the
time of his death,

Mrs. Kurtz and
the three partners

were somewhere
else and accounted for.

No, wasn't anybody else in
the house except Perry Riggs.

They could have
hired a stand-in.

The next thing you're
gonna be telling me

is that the obvious
suspect is always innocent,

which is why we need
private detectives.

Hmm.

These partners of
Mr. Kurtz... Partners in what?

A new patent for cars
to run on methanol.

Alcohol derived from coal.

Pretty good ace in the
hole for the next time

somebody cuts off the oil.

Supposed to be a whole lot
cheaper than gasoline, too.

Sounds like he had something.

So they figured...

which is why I suppose
they tried to raise

every penny they could get their
hands on to back the invention.

Now, if Kurtz had lived,

he'd have made them all
millionaires 20 times over.

Now, you still think one of
them had a motive to kill him?

Perry.

You're a hard man
to convince, Mannix.

You still don't
believe I'm a loser?

So far your vibrations
are holding up.

Well, what is it going to take

to prove to them
that I didn't do it?

A voice from heaven?

Well, I'd settle for a lead

that won't make the
local law laugh out loud.

You think Mr. Kurtz's
wife or one of his partners

is going to come to you with
a signed confession, huh?

I'd settle for that, too.

Their word against a guy who
was in reform school at age 16?

And black?

You believe in Santa Claus, too?

Well, uh...

why don't we start
with Mrs. Kurtz?

Strictly bad news.

Bad enough to kill her husband?

Maybe bad enough for
him to wish he was dead.

In what way?

Well, you see, Mr. Kurtz...

He had these high
standards for everything.

Maybe he finally
figured that she wasn't...

She couldn't measure up.

I'd hardly call that a motive

for Mrs. Kurtz to
kill him, would you?

I'd hardly call myself
an expert on murder.

Hmm.

I'm kind of new at this.

All I know is, cops got
to pin it on somebody

to make it come out even.

That's simple arithmetic.

That's the best you
can do for me, huh?

Mannix, did you come
here to try to help me,

or you just trying to
make yourself feel good?

Little of both, I guess.

Yes.

Uh, Mrs. Kurtz.

Who is it?

My name is Mannix.

I'm a private investigator.

I wonder if I could talk to you.

About what?

Your husband's death.

Do you work for the
insurance company?

No, uh, Perry Riggs.

♪♪

- Come in, Mr., uh...
- Mannix.

Thank you.

Perry Riggs.

Is business really
that bad, Mr. Mannix?

I mean, what do
you actually know

about this client
you're representing?

Well, I know he
deserves an even break.

Which, without
you, he wouldn't get.

He's in jail.

He needs somebody.

Ah.

Uh, would you care for a drink?

Not right now, thank you.

Isn't it amazing how
quickly alcohol evaporates

in a dry climate?

My husband Walter would
have found that unforgivable.

He was interested in alcohol

as a possible source
of power, you know.

Isn't that ironic?

In my family it was
always regarded

as a source of weakness.

Did you know that
your client has a record?

As a teenager, yes.

He told me himself.

Well, I don't suppose that
proves anything, does it?

E-Except a slight
tendency toward violence.

I take it you consider
him the prime suspect, too.

Only the obvious one.

What about the
less obvious ones?

You mean...

like my husband's
partners and myself,

all of whom are on the
verge of making a fortune?

Come on, let me show you.

This is it, Mr. Mannix.

This is Walter's world.

This is what he lived
and breathed for.

When I first met Walter,

he'd just come to California
from the dark side of the earth.

Forced labor camp for
eight years in Europe.

For doing what?

Oh,

thinking for himself,

refusing to do
military research.

You know, they never told him.

So we never knew.

My brother, Case,
that's Case Murcott,

he's something of a
mathematical whiz,

and he recognized Walter for
the genius he was right away.

If we were prepared to gamble,

not peanuts, but big money,

requiring partners

and sacrifices and
huge unsecured loans...

Which no bank would give.

Well, Mr. Mannix, in
our tolerant society,

banks aren't the only
source of high-risk capital.

No,

it all would have worked, too,

if only Walter hadn't...

What, Mrs. Kurtz?

Died.

But he was killed, and for what?

And you have absolutely
no idea of a motive?

No.

These partners you
were talking about...

Well, there's my brother, Case.

I told you about him.

And who else?

Well, uh,

Mr. Mannix, now who among us
would have been insane enough

to kill the goose about
to lay the golden egg?

I'd still like to talk to them.

That's Tony Stockwood.

He's the lawyer
for the whole thing.

He drew up the
partnership papers,

patents, everything.

Where do I find him?

Well, he has the
penthouse suite at the lodge.

And the other woman?

That's Holly Warlock.

She... found Walter's
body in the lab.

She runs a club up at
the end of Tigertail Road.

Holly's Barn, it's called.

A night club?

Well, it's not
exactly a night club,

and its' not exactly
a gambling club,

and it's not a massage parlor.

It's a little of...

it's a club.

Oh!

It's a little late for
gardening, isn't it?

Who are you?

Case Murcott.

Mrs. Kurtz's brother?

That's right. What about you?

The name is Mannix;
I'm a private investigator.

Working for who?

Perry Riggs.

Aw, come on now, you kidding?

No.

Oh, yeah, yeah,
I get it, I get it.

You and sis setting
up the black man

to be tossed to the wolves.

That would be Wanda's style.

I always suspected she
had somebody lurking

in the background, but, uh...

But what?

Well, Walter's dead, isn't he?

How'd he get that way?

You think I'm stupid?

No.

There's an impression
going around

that Walter Kurtz was hit on
the head with a blunt instrument

like the one you
were trying out on me.

Uh, let's go to my place.

I think we could
both use a drink.

Me?

Kill Walter?

You've got to be
kidding, Mannix.

It would be like killing myself.

You know how deep I am in hock?

With people who'd
gladly break both your legs

if you were just one day
late with paying the interest?

What made you think your
sister and I had plotted something?

I tell you I'm
suspicious of everyone.

Besides, she's always hated me.

Why?

Because I was the
family's golden boy.

Case Murcott, whiz kid,

and she was nothing
until she married Walter.

What about your, um,
other two partners?

They're in even
deeper than I am.

Of course, Holly's always had
a knack for landing on her feet.

But Tony Stockwood,

I wouldn't want to be
in his alligator shoes

for all the paper
on Wall Street.

Well, I plan on seeing him next.

A word of advice.

Don't come on too
strong with Tony.

I mean, me,

I'm just a
good-natured old slob,

but Tony now,

he's got some
very touchy friends,

if you know what I mean?

Hmm, touchy, huh?

About what?

Getting their hands
on a couple of million

that they advanced us in
return for a chunk of the action.

Take care that they don't, uh,

get the sudden wild notion
to blame you, Mannix.

D-Don't let go.

I swear, I-I'll get
you the money.

Just give me time.

Sorry, your time's run out.

How long do you think
the Juice Man's gonna wait?

He's getting older
all the time, you know.

I'll get the money, I
swear, don't let go.

Too late, Tony.

You're going out the hard way.

Bring him back!

That's all for now, baby.

Come on, come on back aboard.

Come on.

Are you Tony Stockwood?

Inside.

All right, one at a time.

Inside.

Who are you?

All right, get on the
phone, call the police.

Huh?

What for?

"What for"? They were about
to find out if you could fly.

Oh, no, um,

no, they were just
trying to scare me.

You know, um,

hang me out to dry.

Yeah, it's good
for the circulation.

You're not going
to call the police?

It would just get a whole
lot of people sore at me.

Oh, and right now,
they're just crazy about you.

I owe them half
a million dollars.

How do you expect them to feel?

Who are you, anyway?

A detective, private.

The name is Mannix.

What are you doing
up here, detective?

Same as you, earning
my social security.

You really want
me to let them go?

Of course I do.

You think I'm crazy?

Out.

One thing, Tony,

what do we tell the Juice Man?

He'll get his money.

Oh, you promise?

On your life?

As long as you've stuck
your nose in here, detective,

until we get paid,

your life's on the
line along with his.

Okay, it's all over.

Well, what are you waiting
for, the thanks-a-million number?

Beat it.

I've got a client
in jail, Perry Riggs.

I'd like him out.

Things are tough all over.

You and your partners made
a pretty good case against him.

He made his own case.

The fortune we put
into Walter's work.

We mortgaged our
blood to raise that money.

What do we do now?

Wait for the insurance
money to get you out of hock.

Insurance?

That's a sour joke.

Walter's dead,

and I'm about ready to
ask him to move over.

You really think
Perry Riggs killed him?

It couldn't have
been anyone else.

And you'd better
pray he confesses fast,

'cause those juice-collectors

are going to be
crawling all over you.

Money's a pretty
serious thing to them.

And don't think they won't
know where to find you.

I'll keep looking under my bed.

♪♪

Out of professional curiosity,

how did you find out
where I was staying?

You'd be surprised how
many people in this town

go out of their way
to keep us happy.

What do you figure I can
contribute to your happiness?

We'd like to make
sure Mr. Stockwood

collects his share of
the insurance money.

Are you going to try to pin

a murder rap on
one of the partners?

Are you afraid the Juice
Man won't get his money?

Not afraid, detective,

just concerned.

Well, now, I have
a client to protect.

The insurance company
can take care of itself.

I sure hope you
mean that, detective.

It can be a lonely feeling

having people
like us sore at you.

Mind if I have my gun back?

Aw, I must have lost the clip.

Detective,

I'll remember that.

Hello?

Mr. Mannix?

This is Holly Warlock.

Does the name
mean anything to you?

It means something.

What can I do for you?

Well, I'm afraid you
can't do anything.

Oh, I mean, you could,

but I don't think it
would be healthy.

For you, I mean.

Well, why don't I try, anyway?

How good a sailor are you?

Well, I know how to duck a boom.

No boom.

I'm all electric.

Meet me at the
lake, 11:00 sharp.

You, uh,

do know what I wanted
to talk to you about?

Of course.

Walter Kurtz's
unexpected departure

to a better land.

Who would stand to
benefit by his death?

Absolutely no one.

Except, possibly
his lovely wife.

Oh, but I think even
Wanda would have preferred

to get her hands on
all those millions, first.

Preferred it to what?

To having her freedom.

Or whatever passes for freedom

in that cash
register brain of hers.

Oh, I think she gladly

would have waited
just a few more weeks

until the engine
was demonstrated,

the royalty agreements signed.

Was it really that certain?

Detroit was doing
handstands to be first in line.

No, not even Wanda would
have been wacky enough

to kill him just yet.

I understand you found the body.

Mm.

Yes, and on the floor

in his lab, looking very untidy.

Was there anyone
else around at the time?

I told the police.

Just as I came in,

I heard a man's footsteps
running out the back door.

Uh, how do you
know it was a man?

Well, it sounded
like a heavy foot

with-with rubberized soles.

The kind mechanics wear.

And, uh, Perry
Riggs is a mechanic.

That's right.

Oh, you must have
a very good ear.

20-20.

May I call you Joe?

Joe, the lab was
guarded like Fort Knox.

Now, except for the four of us,

Perry Riggs was the
only one with a key.

Why fight the obvious?

Well, that's what
private detectives are for.

Don't you think I'm
bearing up bravely?

Well, what do you
have to be brave about?

My club mortgage.

My life's savings
down the drain.

Possibly my last chance

to get out of the business
and turn respectable.

Perhaps even get married.

Well, I've heard
rumors that, uh,

some women manage to get
married even if they're not rich.

Is that a wise old saying,

or a red-hot suggestion?

I think we'd better turn back
before we get into deep water.

I'm used to being
in over my head.

Shoes?

Yeah. What kind of
shoes were you wearing

on the day of the murder?

These. I only got one pair.

Hmm.

Holly Warlock says she heard
footsteps running from the lab.

Rubber-soled shoes.

She thinks it was you.

All right.

I was there in the lab.

And what were you doing?

I wanted to try out
this new cutting tool

I'd modified for the lathe.

You must be a
pretty good mechanic.

I am. At least, Walter
Kurtz thought so.

Anyway, I saw him lying there,
with his head all bashed in,

and I figured, with my record...

Yeah, a man running
from the scene of a murder

is apt to lose points
with the police.

Maybe I figured
it was so obvious,

even the local
law could solve it.

But once they had me, that
meant they could close the books.

I mean, why should
they look any further?

What was so obvious?

Mrs. Kurtz and her boyfriend.

Who's he?

I couldn't tell you.

But a couple of nights
before the murder,

I heard her talking to him
on the phone in the lab.

Now, she didn't
know I was there.

And I tried to ease out,
not to embarrass her.

She saw me and hung up fast.

Hmm. And what were
they talking about?

Could you tell?

No, I couldn't tell.

It was just...
just-just sweet talk.

I couldn't hear the words,

but I could tell from
the tone of her voice.

Like a honeybee ready
to light on a flower.

Mm-hmm.

♪♪

♪♪

Now you'd better put
that down. It may go off.

Why did you kill him?

I didn't kill him. I was
about to call the police.

Don't think I won't
use this if I have to.

Give me the sheriff's office.

Did you see anyone
running out of here?

No.

Oh, uh, Sheriff
Fielding, please.

Tell him it's
urgent. Joe Mannix.

I'll hang on.

Poor Case... he wanted so badly

to be an important man, a VIP.

I guess he just
overreached himself.

Sheriff, I'm at the Kurtz house.

Case Murcott is dead.

Yeah, murdered.

Oh, and Sheriff, try to
get here soon, will you?

So Mrs. Kurtz can stop
waving a gun in my face.

Yeah.

You think it was your brother

who ransacked this
place, or a prowler?

You're the only prowler I
know about, Mr. Mannix.

WOMAN: 12-80-79 clear.

You just walked in
here, and there he was?

What do you think, I
brought him with me?

Well, all I got is your word.

Right now, that might be
worth two cents on the dollar.

Well, now, does this look

like a professional
piece of work to you?

Oh, it's sloppy, but then that
might have been your way

of trying to cover your tracks.

What was I doing here?

Well, you're a private
detective, right?

That means you'll
work for anybody, right?

Wrong.

Mrs. Kurtz figured

you might have
been hired to find

whatever notes her husband
left about his invention.

By whom?

Some sheik who's
worried about his oil well?

By any number of people.

You going to book me?

No.

See, I checked you out.

Your buddies at
the LAPD don't think

you'd ever break
the law on purpose.

Not if there was an
easier way to cut corners.

Yeah, it pays to have friends.

You're liable to need
all the help you can get.

I'd like to see you
down at the station

tomorrow morning bright and
early to make out a full report.

Right after I've seen my client.

Another man dead,

and you still don't know
who killed Walter Kurtz.

Yeah, I'm still one
murder behind.

But I do know more today
than I knew yesterday.

Yeah, what's that?

That you couldn't have
possibly killed Case Murcott.

I won't fight you on that.

You know, it seems
kind of strange

that Walter Kurtz didn't leave
any notes about the invention.

There must have been
hundreds of experiments

and formulas involved.

What possible reason could
he have had to destroy them?

No reason.

His whole life was
tied up in that process.

He'd no more destroy those
notes than cut off an arm.

You think they were stolen?

No.

No, with him dead, they'd
be useless to anybody else.

How do you know that?

My lawyer told we.

Oh.

Now... what would a
public defender know

about organic chemistry?

No public defender.

I got a man out of Harvard
Law, a friend of Mr. Kurtz.

Who would that be?

Tony Stockwood.

Tony Stockwood.

He's going to defend
me for nothing.

Says he feels sorry for me.

Well, that's very
generous of him.

When did he come to see you?

This morning early.

What sort of
questions did he ask?

Nothing. Nothing special.

Except he wondered if
I could tell him anything

about Mrs., uh,
Kurtz's boyfriend.

Boyfriend, huh?

Now, uh, how would he
know about the boyfriend?

No idea.

Yeah.

Guard?

I thought you were
going to find out who he is.

I'm still trying.

Joe, you want to come along?

If we promise not to
make you walk the plank?

As long as you don't mind

if Mr. Stockwood and I
discuss our client along the way.

Our client?

Perry Riggs.

- You're defending him?
- Mm-hmm.

As of this morning.

You know, a man's entitled

to the best counsel he
can get. Don't you agree?

What are you advising
him to do, Tony...

Plead "no contest?"

Certainly not.

Well, what is your
defense going to be?

I'll decide that when
all the facts are in.

Oh, I thought they were.

Well, there are still
a few missing pieces.

Like, uh, Mrs.
Kurtz's boyfriend.

Boyfriend?

Wanda was playing around?

That's the impression I get.

Well, maybe he can lend
us a million and a half.

Well, now, that's
a lot of money.

You really need that much?

Well, just until the
insurance pays off.

That's what Tony and
I are trying to raise.

As life insurance for ourselves.

Holly, Holly, don't tell me

you're in the debt to
the Juice Man, too?

Yeah, well, you'd think

I'd know better, wouldn't you?

Now, maybe if you put
me in touch with him,

I could work something out.

You really do like the feeling

of thin ice under
your feet, don't you?

But it's also a great way
to catch cold... permanently.

Uh, like, uh, Case Murcott?

Case was an idiot.

The kind of man whose
only useful role in life

seems to be to get
himself murdered.

What do you suppose he
was looking for in Kurtz's lab?

Well, the notes, obviously.

The plans, research, formulas.

Is that obvious, or...?

He could have been
looking for something else.

Like what?

What does it matter now?

For all we know,

those notes might be
the solution to everything.

That's ridiculous.

Maybe, but until we
do have a solution,

and it's all wrapped up,

there won't be an
insurance payoff,

which could make the
Juice Man very unhappy.

I get it now.

I see your game.

You're either trying
to score points

with the insurance company,

or shake us down, 'cause
you know we're desperate.

Keep talking.

Who are you really
working for, Mannix?

A client who can't afford
a bus ticket to San Diego,

or the insurance company,

who've promised
you a fat payoff?

I'll let you know right after I
see the full autopsy report.

Uh, bon voyage.

♪♪

Hello, Detective.

What now?

- Let's go.
- Where to?

- Juice Man wants to see you.
- Why?

He thinks you really
don't understand

how much of a nuisance
you're making of yourself.

Well, you're late, as usual.

What?

Up to a half hour ago I
wanted to see him, too,

but, uh, now I've lost interest.

He's interested
enough for both of you.

Move.

Found another clip.

♪♪

Why, Sheriff? I mean,
why would the Juice Man

be sweating bullets
to get me off this case?

I mean, what difference
does it make to the Juice Man

who killed Walter Kurtz as
long as he gets his money

from the insurance settlement?

Unless...

Unless what?

Unless there is no settlement.

Oh, what are you
talking about, Mannix?

Well, the insurance
company doesn't have

to pay off on certain deaths.

Yeah, death caused
by an act of war,

or flying in an unlicensed
aircraft... so what?

You left out suicide.

Now, you're not trying
to tell me that Kurtz

clubbed himself
to death, are you?

Maybe he was dead
before he was clubbed.

Well, it was worth
a lot to somebody

to make it look like murder.

To make sure the
insurance company paid off.

It's the only way it adds up.

There's no such thing as
"the only way" in this business.

Maybe not, Sheriff, but if
I were sitting in your chair,

I'd order an autopsy report
with all the trimmings...

just in case.

I don't know how to tell you
this, Mr. Mannix, but, well...

What's the problem?

My lawyer says I got
to do what he tells me.

Uh-ho, and what did
Mr. Stockwood tell you?

Not to talk to anybody.

Especially me?

I don't know, could be.

What's he afraid I'll find out,
why Walter Kurtz killed himself?

You mean he was a suicide?

Yeah, and the minute I
prove it, you're off the hook...

Unless your lawyer
doesn't really want you off.

Then why would he go through
the motions of helping me?

Maybe he wants to know
just how much you knew

about the mysterious boyfriend.

Okay, what do you want to know?

Why did Walter
Kurtz commit suicide?

No way.

He was always too
easy-going, too trusting,

almost like a kid.

Maybe that's it... a man
like that, if he felt betrayed...

Hey, hey, you know, it
wouldn't have been the first time.

He told me when
he was in Europe,

a group of people
that he trusted

turned him in to
the secret police.

But still, after he got here,
he went on trusting people.

Like his wife.

He loved that woman.

He told me once,
life without her

wouldn't be worth
waking up in the morning.

Maybe that's why
he killed himself,

because he couldn't
face one more betrayal.

Could that be it?

Nah. A man kill
himself over a woman?

A real man gets
his revenge first.

And Walter Kurtz
was one real man.

But he did get revenge.

He destroyed his
notes, then killed himself.

That meant no invention,
no millions in royalties,

and no insurance payoff.

Meaning bad news for
the interested parties.

And meaning somebody
had to make it look like murder.

Yeah.

Guard?

- Where you going?
- To, uh...

throw out some bait.

What are you trying to catch?

Some hungry fish.

- Uh, what do you want?
- Oh, I was just wondering

if they had you out there
hanging by your ankles again.

I'm laughing.

Well, then I guess
you'll really break up

- when I tell you why I'm here.
- Is that right?

I found a letter;
it's up for sale.

What kind of letter?

Written by Walter
Kurtz just before he died.

Hey, you suppose that's
what somebody was looking for

when they tore up his
lab... Not the research notes,

but a letter announcing plans

for his immediate
future... suicide?

You're out of your head.
Now, go on, get out of here.

The price is $10,000...
Until tomorrow morning.

And then what?

Well, then I'll probably take
it to the insurance company.

I'm sure they won't...
be exactly heartbroken

to keep a million and
change in the old till.

Where's the letter?

You think about it.

And but think fast, huh?

Hang on a minute.

Supposing I can find
someone who's interested...

Where could they talk to you?

Well, uh...

why don't we make it
downstairs in the billiard room,

tonight at 11:00?

$10,000... nothing
larger than fifties, hm?

♪♪

You're the one I didn't expect.

I didn't expect
to be here myself.

I was sent.

By the Juice Man?

The Juice Man's a flabby
senior citizen with diabetes,

arthritis and bundles of dirty
cash in need of laundering.

So you obliged him by
using your club as a drop.

For once, I tried to be smart.

Too smart.

Tony and Case came
to me for working capital,

and I bought in.

Making the Juice Man
your senior partner.

With your life as collateral.

It was a gamble.

But, then, what isn't?

It would have paid
off handsomely

if Wanda hadn't started
going ape over some guy.

And Walter Kurtz couldn't
stand one more betrayal,

especially from his wife.

You figured out the rest.

That the deadliest
revenge Kurtz could think of

was to pull the plug on himself.

Question:

what was Case Murcott doing
in the lab when he was killed?

Looking for a suicide note?

With which he could
blackmail Wanda

for her share of the
insurance money.

Mm.

So Wanda and the
boyfriend got rid of him.

Nice family.

She had reason to be desperate.

I'm desperate.

The possible existence
of a suicide note

put all our heads on the block.

Mm.

Joe...

if you could see your way
clear to tearing up the note...

it would mean everything to me.

Who sent you to ask me that?

Look behind you.

Well, the loving
couple, I presume.

- Where's the letter, Mr. Mannix?
- Oh, I'm sorry about that.

I'll have the letter,
if you don't mind.

- There's one little problem, Mrs. Kurtz.
- What?

There isn't any letter.

But Tony told me what
you were asking for it.

I'm ready to pay.

The way you and Stockwood
here paid your brother

when you found him
searching the lab?

Case got what he deserved.

He was trying to destroy Wanda.

Mm. And, uh... your husband,

did he get what he deserved?

You know perfectly
well I didn't kill him.

No, no, he saved
you that little job.

But he did get the
last laugh, didn't he?

You're finished, both of you.

'Cause your brother was killed.

But you're the only
one who knows that.

Exactly.

Well, what are you waiting for?

What about her?

Holly?

Oh, she'll keep silent.

She needs the money.

Well, go on!

Joe, look out!

Hold it!

Well, what kept you, Sheriff?

The full autopsy report
came in just as I was leaving.

You were right, Mannix...

Kurtz was dead
before he got hit.

- Fistful of barbiturates.
- Yeah.

Then these two doctored
him to look like a murder victim

so they could collect
the insurance money

- and keep themselves alive.
- That's what it looks like.

And if, uh, Case
Murcott, their partner,

hadn't gotten underfoot,

there wouldn't have
been a murder at all,

and everyone would have
lived happily ever after.

Except, of course,
for Perry Riggs.

All right, get them out of here.

What about Miss
Warlock over here?

- She in on it?
- Uh, no, no.

She was just under the gun.

Thanks, Joe.

Well, what do I say

when the Juice Man
comes around for his money?

I don't think he will.

Money involved in a murder case,

and, uh, the risk of his being
named as an accessory...

I think he'll be more than happy

to write it off as
a capital loss.

Want to buy half
share in a boat?

Mm.

I don't think I could
afford the interest.

No interest required...

Except in me.

Well, think about
it; I'll be here.

So long, Holly.

About that ride you
offered me the other day,

is it still open?

Well, uh...

I'll risk it if you will.

Get in!