Original subtitles

Oh.

Four, two, five, six, one.

Bingo! The winner of the fourth race tomorrow will be Big Jake. I love it, I

love it, I love it.

Tell me, Junior, how many races are you and Stacy betting on tomorrow?

Just the fourth.

We'll each find a $10 ticket.

This guy who sold us to the computer, he's going to take it down to the track

and place our bet.

You want to get in on a sure thing? No, no, no. Come on.

Ridiculous.

The only sure thing about guys who take tips from touts is that they end up

broke at the end of the night.

And what you have in your hand there, Junior, is an electronic tout.

Uh-uh.

Uh-huh. Uh-uh. This is a sophisticated piece of technological wizardry.

Technological wizardry. Uh-huh.

First and Spring Streets. Assist Fire Company 19 at 107 Spring.

Go ahead, I'm 30, roger.

Hooker. Max Silver, what are you doing here? I'm working on an arson case for a

small insurance company. I took a flyer on this call.

Hey, remember my daughter Linda? She works with me now. Going after her own P

.I. license.

It's been a few years. How are you, Hooker? I'm not sure.

Get around the other side. Move it up. This looks bad, Max.

Yeah, it's not too safe. What do you say we move it, and I'll call you later?

Keegan, pull back.

Let's hit the second floor.

Clear the escape lane.

Injured company car, get some men in there.

Stop the explosion.

Okay, Ramada, what do you need?

A miracle.

We've still got people in there.

Get a number three up to the third floor.

We've got some oxygen up to the line.

Get it in the third floor.

As long as there's chance they're alive, don't give up.

Get in there. Get the lines in there. What are people doing in there? The

building's condemned.

It's indigent.

It's scared.

It's the only place they can afford.

family on the second floor. My God.

Can't you get to them? We never had a chance. The building was a wall of flame

when we got here.

We used a bullhorn to tell them to stay low and look for a way out.

But even the back stairs were gone.

The model I put in there. Get some water and let me down.

Parker, stop!

You did everything you could possibly do. Those kids saved themselves.

They heard the chief of the bullhorn telling them to stay low on the floor in

case of fire.

But thank God for that.

Two kids without parents now.

Last month it was those old people who burned to death.

They were indigent too.

Russ? Cindy.

Hi. I just got a call from a private investigator.

And he wants to talk to me about my car being seen at the Allison Building fire

last month.

This PI, is his name Max Silver?

Yes. When does he want to meet you?

This afternoon, 2 o'clock, here, at the bar.

Okay, don't worry about it. Listen, call him back and tell him you'll talk to

him. Well, what will I say?

You won't have to say anything.

I've got a job for you.

The juvenile is trying to find out if the children had any relatives in the

area.

Were those people squatting?

Or were they paying rent to live in that rat-infested fire trap?

Well, the survivors indicated they were paying somebody, but from their

descriptions, it could be anyone.

Just like the fire we had last month in the Allison building.

Scavengers who collect a little undeclared pocket money to allow human

beings to live in those hellholes are worse than slumlords.

Did arson come up with anything?

Enough to convince them it was arson, but not enough to prove it in court.

So the insurance company pays off in a building that the city code condemned.

That's right, as long as it's insured, and it was. Checked out the owner, clean

as a whistle.

Somebody's burning down buildings without caring who's burning with them.

They've got to be stopped.

Question is, how?

Hooker.

Max Silver called.

He's going to be out for a while, but he wants you to meet with him and his

daughter at their office at 3 o'clock.

That's the guy who was at the fire last night. Yeah.

He said he was working an arson case.

You think he could have something that we could use?

I'll bet on it.

Without a computer.

This

private

investigator, Max Silver, how long have you known him, Hooker?

He was my first partner.

He was the best in the business.

So why'd he retire?

I mean, I'd rather be on the job than try to make it as a PI.

I'm sure Max would, too.

He didn't have much of a choice.

Cindy, I want to talk to you. Later.

I'm really busy right now, okay?

This is a stick-up.

Hands on the bar, on the tables.

Open the register.

Dig it up.

Everybody, money, wallets, jewelry, get it out. Get it out.

You, pick it up. Pick it up.

Move it. Move it.

Move it. Move it.

You too, old man. Dig it out.

Anything you say, punk.

I don't like your attitude.

That makes two of us.

This too.

All units in the vicinity of Temple and Grand at 2-11 at the Happy Hour Bar.

Shots fired. Handle code 3.

430, roger.

He had a gun.

He shot one of the customers. Ran off. Out the back door.

He's dead and his daughter is waiting to meet all of us.

I found this and the tape from the answering machine.

I thought maybe we could get something off of it that would help. Good. We'll

take it all to the lab.

Did Linda have any idea what Max wanted to talk to you about?

Not a clue.

How you doing?

Okay.

Oh, Hooker.

When... When you told me about my dad...

Did you really believe it was just a robbery?

Your dad was in a bar. He didn't drink.

The witness said he didn't resist.

The robber had no cause to kill him, and he did.

I think he wanted him dead.

He didn't want it investigated as a murder.

Oh, God, what do we do?

I know it's hard, but I've got to ask you.

Think. Was Max working on any significant cases that you know about?

Anything that would have taken him to that bar?

Given someone a reason to destroy this office.

Besides a couple divorce cases, the only other thing he had was some arson claims

for United Federal Insurance.

Had he filed any reports with United Federal? I doubt it.

I would have typed them for him.

Besides, I don't really think United Federal expected much from Dad.

They had to hire someone to investigate.

And you know how it is with an arson case.

99 times out of 100, you come up dry.

Sure, they just hired dad because he worked cheaper than most Also

They knew about his old problems Probably didn't think he was a very good

detective because of it.

I Think someone thought he was too good

You were laughing here.

How did it go?

Piece of cake.

Nobody else got hurt or anything, did they?

You worried about your girlfriend?

Yeah, that cutie of a waitress is fine.

Scared, but fine.

Where's the rest of my money?

Nice little gimmick you got here.

You gonna burn another building?

Your shirt looked like robbery, right?

Was robbery.

I just considered to loot my...

Tip for a job well done.

You know, I think I like my business better than yours.

There's something more personal about it.

It's a new kind of a detonator. Been out about a year now.

Works on a high-frequency signal.

No mainspring.

Set off by a pulsating beam.

It's not helping you violin music, either.

Violin music? You don't call Brahms violin music. Sorry, Hong. I didn't tell

him. This man is probably the best electronics technician in the

department. And in order to maintain his concentration while working with... Lazy

cops. Us.

He plays Brahms.

Sort of like a security blanket, huh?

Hooker, take this boy out of here and teach him the rules. I will, I will, but

first we have a little business to transact.

Let's show him.

Don't worry, it's not Brahms.

This was in Mack Silver's telephone answering machine at the time of the

fire.

I was going to toss it out.

Hooker said that if anybody could get anything off of it, you could.

But I guess Hooker was exaggerating.

Hooker does not exaggerate. If there are any words in here, I will get them out.

Hooker, see him in it? Yes, sir. You going to file those reports, Ron? I'll

get right on it.

I just want to discuss a little business with our expert here.

Tom, is it possible your electronic genius may extend to improving the

performance of this little computer?

I can do anything electronic.

What does it compute?

Horse races.

I hope winning horse races.

It could benefit the both of us.

Did you send this to headquarters, Hooker?

Yes, sir.

It's a request for an honor guard at Max's services.

It's been denied.

Captain, he was a cop.

He was one of us.

He didn't exactly retire with honors, Hooker.

He was kicked off the force because he couldn't control his drinking problem.

He went through a long, hard fight, but he kicked the alcohol. He was on his way

back. He was dry for a year.

He started his own P.I. business.

When some lowlife blows him away, while he was working on a case that could have

helped all of us, he's entitled to go out with the cops' honors.

Hooker, your request went through channels. It's been denied. I'm sorry.

Yeah.

How was Max doing on this investigation for you, Miss Reed? Well, I wish I could

say great, but I'd be lying.

Oh, it wasn't his fault.

Proving arson is like it's trying to prove the theory of evolution.

They found fossils and bones and all kinds of evidence, but it's still not

enough to convince some people.

Well, I'll tell you what I'm convinced of. I'm convinced that Max was closer

than you think.

Perhaps too close for his own good.

And I'm not going to let this investigation end because of his death.

That sounds like you'd be a good friend to have.

It's more than friendship, Miss Reed.

This arsonist is murdering people, and I, for one, find it hard to live with

the idea that he's on the loose out there.

Thank you.

I don't like those cops hanging around.

You heard.

They're going to take up where that private eye left off.

What's wrong, DaCosta?

Afraid someone will find out you're picking up pocket money, renting space,

and condemn building?

Now, you listen, punk.

My business is my concern.

Look, I just think too much is happening right now, and we should take it easy

for a while.

The old Barclay factory will change hands next week.

You won't be managing it anymore.

You won't collect a penny of the insurance.

Has to be done now.

I don't know.

Those cops and that detective.

Finding the license plate of your girlfriend's car a month ago.

Max Silver is taken care of.

And if you're worried about the cops, I can take care of them, too.

Now, you wait a minute.

You're talking about killing cops.

DaCosta, cops.

Down and outers that you collect rent from. What's the difference?

Okay.

It was as if my dad was trying to communicate with me just now.

I was praying and it came to me.

What? Well, I remembered my dad telling me the other day that he found a witness

who had picked up a license number at the Allison building fire.

He was in the process of checking the plate number at the DMV.

This information would have been destroyed in the fire.

But I'm sure that dad ran a check on the license.

There'd be a record of that check.

I'll get the detectives on it right away.

It's going to be a long, hard pull checking all those DMV records.

Well, with everything that's happened, I'm impressed that you came up with the

idea.

I guess part of Dad rubbed off on me.

What are you going to do now, Linda?

Back to the typewriter and office clerking, I guess.

I heard you applied for a PI license.

You're going to be partners with your dad.

But now, I couldn't do it alone.

I was just learning.

Hey.

If Max was anything like Hooker, which I suspect he was, you learned good.

If I ever was looking for a terrific private detective, I'd call you.

Thanks, Vince.

Listen, if you turn up anything on that license number, give me a call.

You won't be able to stop me.

Hooker.

Detectives turned up the DMV check Max made. Captain Sheridan said we should

run with it since we're so close. So close to what?

The car Max ran down belongs to a waitress, Cindy Cole, who works at a bar

we're familiar with.

Let me guess, the happy hour.

Cindy Cole, huh?

Let's see what she has to say.

Did Hong do something worthwhile with this thing? Did he ever?

Hong is a genius. That computer even sounds better.

The sixth race tomorrow is in the bag. Sally B is the horse.

Romano, why don't you hold your bet?

See how Sally B does.

Like a test run.

Are you kidding?

And lose all that money?

Hooker, Sally B is going off at ten to one.

You better get on board.

Not this time.

But if your friend is taking your bet to the track again, I'd like him to put

five bucks on number four.

Sure. What race?

The sixth.

Hooker, you might as well just flush that five bucks.

Sally B's a lock in the six. You're not listening to the Hong Toon computer.

Neither are the horses, Junior.

Cindy Cole.

Cindy?

Sit back there.

What was your car doing near the Allison building last month, just before it

burned to the ground?

Who said it was?

Somebody spotted it.

Max Silver traced it to you.

Is that why he was here the day he was killed?

I don't know.

Look, he didn't ask me anything.

And my car, it was stolen some time ago.

So if it was at that building, that's how it must have gotten there.

Then you reported it stolen.

I didn't know it was stolen.

You see, I parked it in my garage basement, and in the morning when I woke

up, it wasn't in my space.

So I was going to call the police, but then I walked around outside and I saw

the car parked a few houses away.

So whoever stole it was thoughtful enough to bring it back.

Yeah. I don't know. I figured it was just some kids taking it out for a

joyride.

Maybe you don't know what you got yourself into, little girl, but I'm

going to fill you in.

Arson and murder.

And not just Max Silver's murder. Four people in a building torched not two

miles from here.

And two vagrants in a factory fire.

What next?

How much are you responsible for?

Look, I've told you everything I know.

My car was stolen.

I have to go back to work now.

What's wrong?

The static on the radio.

There's a definite pattern to the static.

Like the radio in the lab.

Junior, I got a hunch we're carrying a bomb.

We can't dump it here.

Hit the reds.

Bye.

What the hell are you smiling about?

We must be close.

We're making someone very nervous.

Booker, I put that building research report in your box. Did you get it? Yes,

I did. Thank you, Stacy.

Bye, Stacy.

Arson research?

Turn anything worthwhile?

One name turned up more than any other.

Da Costa Management.

Management?

How can a management company benefit from arson? It's the owners who collect

the insurance.

A lot of management companies collect a percentage, 10, 15%. 10% of $500,000 is

50 grand. That's not too cheap.

Hooker, I just got the report on the Barkley factory fire.

Let me guess.

Probable arson, no proof, owners of the building are clean.

And managed by Da Costa Management?

Right on all counts.

Did the detectives talk to Da Costa?

I saved that for you, Hooker.

And for Max.

Let's go, Junior. We have work to do.

We collect the rent.

We see the windows get washed. The plumbing is kept up.

Whatever it takes to keep the owner's mind at ease.

And when one of these buildings burn, you lose the income from that building,

don't you?

Well, an owner's not going to pay me to keep up a building that doesn't exist.

You must be in a lot of financial trouble, Mr. DaCosta.

What do you mean?

In the past six months, four buildings you manage have been destroyed by fire.

Yeah. And I understand the insurance company investigated every one of those

fires.

Same insurance company, United Federal.

You pick the insurance companies like you pick the plumbers and the window

washers.

Now, what are you getting at?

I think someone in the insurance company is in this as deep as you.

And the torch.

Have you got any proof?

Because if the answer is no, get out.

I'm a busy man. You're a greedy man, Mr. DaCosta.

Four fires that I know of.

I'll bet you don't share the money you get from renting condemned buildings

with your partners.

The extra cash you get from illegals who have no other place to live.

Why don't you secure the buildings, keep the vagrants out?

You don't want to spend the extra bucks, do you?

This is really nice.

No window washers, no plumbers, no maintenance costs.

They're only homeless indigents.

I promise you something, mister.

I'm gonna make damn sure that it does cost you.

Good day.

Everybody's hanging tough.

The waitress, this DaCosta creep, the insurance company lady.

She did make one mistake.

She hired Max Silver.

She thought a drunk ex-cop would come to a dead end like the rest of the

investigators.

4W90 on tack 2 to 4 item 30.

Go 90.

We just got a call from Sam Miller at the Three Star Pawn Shop.

Your pawn shop bulletin paid off.

Someone just hawked Max Silver's watch.

Roger, 90.

Mistake number two.

There it is, Hooker.

Just like on the stolen property inventory, right?

It's Max's, all right.

We gave it to him when he made a homicide.

How long ago did the suspect leave? About half an hour ago.

Made me get thirsty.

Grabbed the money and ran over to that bar.

There. Coming out now.

That's him.

we have enough litter on the beach without scum balls like you

detectives

get anything from the creep we call it now he's sticking to his story he claims

he ran because he knew he had hopped a stolen watch and he says he bought it

from some street sleep he just made bail you're putting me up

No, we're doing a complete rundown on it. It's just going to take some time.

While how many other buildings and people burn?

Hooker missed out. He didn't have faith in the computer.

Picked number four instead of Sally B.

Let's cross our fingers I plugged in a better piece of software.

I thought you said you could fix anything.

Fix anything electronically.

Guarantee a horse race?

Ducker. Ducker.

Ducker? No can do.

Is that the best you could do?

Why don't I turn off the music?

Maybe it'll help.

Well,

we'll try a few different filters.

Linda.

Next two callers hung up. No messages.

Meet me at

the bar.

Turn it back.

I didn't catch the name.

Max, this is...

Try again.

More slowly.

One more time. Turn it back and even slower.

Okay.

This is as slow as she goes.

Cindy Cole.

Cindy Cole.

Oh, you're beautiful.

Is there any more on that?

No, that's it.

Okay, just a minute.

Romano, telephone.

Maybe it's Sally B's train.

Ha ha.

Romano? It's Linda.

Listen, I saw a man leave in your precinct, get picked up by the guy who

grabbed me and set fire to our office.

Great, we just nailed down the waitress. Where are you?

I followed them to Da Costa Management.

They're inside now.

Sit tight, we're rolling.

Linda, she ran a tail on Benson, the car went straight to Da Costa.

She'd make one heck of a P.I.

Like father, like daughter.

You're an idiot.

Will you tell me something?

Where did you find that baboon?

Oh, come on, Mr. DaCosta.

He didn't say anything to the cops.

I want you to unload him, Jennings.

Now!

We have to make sure all our tracks are covered.

And there's one other loose thread.

Your girlfriend.

I don't think she's gonna crack.

I think we have to be a little more sure than that.

That cop hooker, if he gets to her again... So you get there first.

And you better make sure.

Then you better pack in your operation for a while.

You know, maybe... Maybe...

I can roast two birds with one fire.

That tape proves that cute little waitress set Max up.

Yeah, but she was scared.

And if they smell it, she's in deep trouble.

4 a.m. 30, roger.

Russ, please don't do this. Sorry, baby, you're getting too dangerous.

Let's go.

What, are you crazy?

Yeah, I'm crazy. Crazy to get involved with you. Let's go.

Russ.

Let's go!

Anyone in there?

Police! Open up!

Open up, police!

Come on, are you okay?

My dad would have been really impressed.

Max would have been impressed with you.

You helped him close his case.

I can't think of a better requiem for a cop.

Hooker?

The detectives have a real tight wrap-up on the arson case. Everyone involved is

rolling over on each other now that you two have brought them down. Linda

Silver's had a hand in it. Well, the police commission citation should help

to get a new detective agency off to a great start.

Terrific. Couldn't happen to a nicer lady.

Right.

Romano, your friend came by on his way home from the track and he left this

envelope full of money at the desk.

Sorry, Hooker, but don't feel bad.

You can get your money back on the computer's next pick.

This payoff is 18 to 1.

Hey, the odds really changed.

So did the horse.

What happened to Sally B?

Finished out of the money.

Number four.

Your horse took it by two lengths.

So much for the computer, right?

Yeah. Who needs a computer anyway?

Come on, Hooker, let us in on your system, huh?

I'll get a pencil and paper. There's no need.

It's very simple.

Whenever I bet, which is so, I always put my money on number four.

How can you bet like that? It's not scientific.

I'm not complaining.