Original subtitles

Let me tell you something about Sam Beckman.

Sam Beckman was once suspended for brutalizing a pimp.

I'm doing my job.

One of my jobs is to provide hostesses.

You mean prostitutes.

They get one look at her, and they're only

going to think of one thing.

If there was any way that I could trade places with you,

I'd do it, baby.

I wanted her to die, Charlie.

You work with someone for a long time,

you think you know all about their lives.

Whoever is behind all this sure

is eager to make us think it's a cop.

Thank you.

Let me get this straight.

You want me to provide you with my best girls,

but you don't want them...

That's right.

I need women who know how to handle men,

women who can take care of themselves and be entertaining,

and women who know when to say no.

That's quite a switch.

But I understand your theory.

Real sharp.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Well.

I think we can do business.

Good.

White Aston Martin.

Step on it.

What's going on, Mitchell?

Seven Adam 43 got the call... ambulance, shooting.

Looks like a drive by.

No robbery involved.

Any witnesses.

There was a blonde here when 43 got here,

but she was in shock...

They couldn't get anything out of her.

Where might I find her?

Well, I had her taken to the hospital.

From there she's going to the station.

Right, thanks.

Barney, what's happening?

Well, male Caucasian, 45, 46.

Single gunshot to the head.

Entered the right eye, downward track.

I'd say in the vicinity of 45 degrees.

Likely penetrated the cervical vertebra

and exited the upper right rear shoulder.

Clean in and out.

I'd say high velocity.

That's Shag Russell.

You know him?

Yeah, we know him.

He's a suspect in a homicide we're working on right now.

He runs one of the biggest prostitution houses in LA.

One of his girls was found dead about 10 days ago

with her, uh...

Pantyhose stuffed down her throat.

This wasn't a drive by shooting, either.

That looks like about 145 degrees.

Let's go up there.

Hey, McCall.

C'mere.

Look at that.

That's a silver bullet.

Yup.

Hey, Mitchell!

Stand where the body was.

Looks like a 45 degree angle to me.

Yup.

I'm gonna take Mitchell and go on over to Russell's apartment.

I dunno.

Maybe the guy that shot him might be over there

looking for something. - Yeah.

Don't say anything to anybody about the silver bullet

till we talk to Charlie.

- Reading my mind again. - Yeah, I know.

- I like it when you do that. - I'll do it for you later.

Come on.

Miss Rogers, I'm Sergeant Hunter.

I'll be investigating the Shag Russell homicide.

I'm very sorry to keep you waiting,

but as you can well imagine, we are very, very busy.

Now, what were you doing this evening having

dinner with a known pimp?

Sergeant, I-I work for a multinational conglomerate,

and we have our annual meeting this week.

Uh, executives from all over the world

are going to be coming to Los Angeles.

One of my jobs is to provide hostesses.

You mean prostitutes.

No.

Hostesses.

We hire professional women who know how to handle themselves.

They're told not to engage in anything illegal.

What company do you work for?

ProtoChem Corporation.

ProtoChem Corporation.

You can call them if you want.

I'm a vice president of Corporate Relations.

I wasn't doing anything contrary to policy...

You can talk to my boss.

Uh-huh.

Wouldn't you say having dinner with a known pimp

like Shag Russell goes against company policy?

Sergeant, where do you live...

Sesame Street?

We have to hire professional women that we can depend on.

They're not hired for sex...

We cannot afford to get amateurs for the job.

How did you meet, uh...

Shag Russell?

Uh, his name was in our files, and I called him,

and we had dinner.

And when we left the restaurant, he was shot.

I didn't see or hear anything but the sound of the gun.

Did you set him up?

What?

Well, the shooter was waiting for him on the roof when

he came out of the restaurant.

Yeah, well, why couldn't the shooter

have just followed him there and then

waited for him to shoot him?

Maybe.

Thank you, Mitchell.

Glad to help out.

Hey, Ambrose.

Hm.

McCall.

How's Sheila doing?

Eh, she's a fighter.

She's hanging in.

What's the doctor say?

Stopped listening.

Sorry.

Yeah, well let's talk about something

we got some control over.

What you find out?

Well, I stopped by Shag Russell's house

on the way over.

It looks like... uh, they had a 30-minute garage

sale or something.

The place was picked clean.

Get SID over there?

Yeah, they're there now.

Plan on leaving town, gimme a call.

I will.

Here's my card in case you need to get a hold of me.

And we can have a car take you anyplace you'd like to go.

No, thanks... one ride in a police car a day is enough.

I'll call a cab.

I'll be in touch.

I'm sure you will.

Get anything out of her?

No.

She didn't even know where the bullet came from.

Perhaps we should consider that she set him up.

No, I don't think so.

What do you got on this case? Anything?

Yeah.

We found this... up on the roof across the street

from the restaurant.

I thought he was shot with a rifle.

He was.

You know, this looks like a 158 Grandstander, police issue.

You think maybe the killer's trying to tell us something?

Like what?

Well, like maybe he's trying to mess with our heads,

make us think he's a cop.

How many people know about this?

Just the four of us.

And the killer.

Well, I'm going to take responsibility for this.

If the press finds out that they found

a silver police issue bullet...

Right.

OK.

Who is it?

Joyce Rogers.

Hello, Miss Rogers.

I need your help.

Could I please come in?

Yeah, come on in.

OK, Joyce... talk to me.

Well, these two women, they came to my door.

They accused me of setting up Russell.

They tried to break the chain lock on my door,

but I managed to close the door on them.

So do you think the two women belong to Shag Russell?

Oh, yeah.

Absolutely.

I was so afraid, and so I packed a few things together,

and I went downstairs to my car...

But my tires were all slashed.

And I tried to get back into my apartment,

but I couldn't, because they'd jammed a key into my lock.

Did you call the police?

I was too afraid...

I just ran down, I grabbed the first cab I could,

and I came here.

OK, let's go take a look.

Now?

Yeah, right now.

Probably have to get a locksmith to open the door.

First one on the right.

Give me your key.

It's not gonna work.

This one?

Yeah.

It's jammed.

It was jammed before...

I swear it was jammed.

Oh my god.

Yeah, Hunter.

13989 Metro Homicide.

I want you to send a lab crew to...

Uh, 4150 Stonegate Court.

4150 Stonegate Court, apartment 4...

4-2-7.

27.

Also, give me a black and white for a 459 report.

Yeah, thanks.

Jack?

Make sure you dust everything.

I want all these prints a priority.

Yeah.

Let's go.

I'm not going to stay in a hotel.

I mean, if they found me here, they could find me again.

You know, maybe I'm just being paranoid,

but I don't think they're through with me yet.

Isn't there someone you can stay with?

A friend or something?

Well, yeah... sure, I could.

But I mean, if they found my place, they could find hers,

and I don't want to do that to her.

Could I stay with you?

You're a witness in a homicide.

I can't do that.

OK.

You can't protect me... So lock me up then.

I mean, at least I'd feel safe.

Can you do that?

Yeah, I can do that.

That's a lot of paperwork.

Uh.

OK.

Uh, you can stay on the couch.

Thanks.

Lieutenant?

The duty nurse told me to let you know when it was 3:00 AM.

Oh.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Shouldn't you go home now?

Hm.

Yeah.

I will.

Yeah, I'll be going soon.

Sweetheart.

If there was any way in God's green earth

that I could create places with you, I'd do it, baby.

Look, I don't blame you at all.

I think it's hard enough to get a witness

into custody, let alone one that didn't see anything.

But you know the boys at IA.

They get one look at her, and they're only

going to think of one thing.

I'm glad you understand that, because tonight,

she stays with you.

Hello.

Very nice. Thank you.

Good work.

That was Reuben.

He says the fingerprints we found

in Joyce's apartment belonged to two

of Shag Russell's prostitutes.

Well, let's get Vice to pick them up.

We've got work to do.

Right on.

Yeah?

We're investigating the shooting that took place

last night about midnight?

Is that what all them damn sirens were about?

Hee-licopters buzzing overhead... I

thought you people kept the peace!

You didn't happen to see anything last night... did ya?

What a nice woman, huh?

Yeah.

I don't think she saw anything.

Saw you working the other side of the street.

I figured you'd get to me eventually.

Cops, aren't you?

Yep.

We're investigating the shooting that took

place last night on Melrose.

You the ones with the brown Dodge?

Brown Dodge?

Yeah.

Parked right across the street.

Saw you pull in.

Brown Dodge, uh, black tires.

No chrome, little antenna.

Real hard to spot, you know?

About what time was that?

It wasn't about...

It was exactly 22:45.

That's quarter of 11:00.

The NBA shot me in the back, not my eyes.

I got my watch, and I got my window.

Well, since you have such good eyes, uh...

Who'd you see get out of the car?

Nobody.

I went in the kitchen.

I was uh, cooking a couple of eggs when I heard the shot.

By the time I got out here to my window,

I saw the police car drive away.

You sure it was a police car?

There are ways to tell an unmarked police car,

and I think I know all of them.

Yeah, it was a police car.

Hey, Sam.

Big Sam.

How you doing?

Well, if it ain't Sweet Cheeks and her help.

Why is it every time I see you,

I feel as though I should go lock my car?

Ah, well.

It's a war out there, you know?

You don't work Vice dressed like a recruiting poster.

That's true.

You heard about Shag Russell, didn't ya?

D'you know, it bugs the hell out of me

when these guys get themselves killed before I

get a chance to put them away?

Takes all the fun out of police work.

You know, McCall, those are kind of cute earrings.

You think I could borrow one sometime?

Why don't you get the city to buy you a pair?

Buy?

Earrings?

Never.

Well, there it is.

Brown Dodge, no chrome, black tires.

Well, you know we can't really be sure

it was a police car that Hanes saw.

Even if it was, the city's gotta have dozens of them.

Yeah, but they only have one Vice

cop who was put on a six-month suspension

for beating up a pimp.

First, we got a police issue bullet that someone altered

to make it look silver...

The proverbial symbol of justice.

Now we got a witness who puts what may be an unmarked police

car at the scene of the crime.

Whoever is behind all this sure is eager to make

us think it's a cop.

Or it is a cop.

I don't buy that.

If a cop was responsible for this murder,

why is he leaving clues around to his identity?

Maybe he's crazy.

Or he wants us to think he's crazy.

I don't buy that either.

Yeah.

There are 18 brown police cars in this division,

three in the department.

Finn, Commander Stone, and Beckman.

Tomorrow morning, I will check with Vice to see if Beckman

was in his car last night.

All right.

Even if Beckman had his car out, it

doesn't make him the shooter.

Well, that's true.

But Sam Beckman was once suspended for brutalizing

a pimp, and Shag Russell was brought in last week

for killing Sam's number one snitch,

and he got out on some phony alibi.

We have a witness who saw a brown Dodge at the crime scene.

Sleep on it.

I still feel like it's someone who's trying

to make us think it's a cop.

Good night.

G'night.

Jose, man... it's great to see you.

Eh, I got a bit of a...

Shut up!

Where's Luis? - I dunno, man...

I couldn't find him.

I want my cut.

Luis has it.

I could find him tomorrow.

I'll be in Mexico tomorrow!

I want my cut tonight.

Where is he?

I don't know, man.

Where is he?

He's at Angela's.

Oh, hi.

Hi.

Got some good news for you.

Yeah?

Vice knows who the two girls were

that ransacked your apartment.

They should have them in custody by tomorrow morning.

Great.

Also, I think it's best if you stay

at my partner's house tonight.

Oh, no.

I-I made arrangements to stay at an old girlfriend's house

from high school.

It's OK.

Here's the address. - Oh.

That's good, huh?

Yeah.

Yeah, Yeah.

My taxi's outside.

Um.

Uh, I just wanted to tell you that I know

you did more for me than you were supposed to do,

and I'm very grateful.

Oh, you're welcome.

I just wish it had been under different circumstances.

Hello.

I thought you were coming over here with your witness.

Oh, that won't be necessary right now, McCall.

Yeah, well, you can tell me about it later,

'cause you're out of there.

Devane just called, and we've got

a DB at 1047 Southfield Road.

We're already working on a murder case.

This is the same case...

The first officer on the scene found a, uh,

silver police issue bullet.

Be right there.

Why don't you take this bullet over to Reuben's, see if

you can get any prints off it.

OK.

Don't tell him where you got it.

Soon as you get the results, get back to me...

Don't mention this to anybody.

Yep, got it.

Thanks.

Guy was killed by one gunshot right to the head.

Looks like it was a .38.

He was obviously shot at very close range.

His name is Jose Rivera.

Lucky guy got out on bail this morning.

What was the charge?

Double homicide in connection with a 2-11.

Well.

Another one bites the dust, huh?

Yeah.

Something's wrong...

I think she stopped breathing.

Get the crash cart.

Call the doctor.

Code blue, 2 West.

Code blue, 2 West.

Where's Lieutenant Finn?

Dr. Marler, please call the operator.

Dr. Marler, please call the operator.

Ambrose.

She's gone.

You gonna be OK?

Yeah.

There anything I can do?

No, thank you.

I gotta talk to you.

What's on your mind?

I need to know where Sam Beckman's

been the last couple nights.

We don't keep a log like the blue suits.

We play it loose.

Sam's been working streetwalkers and pimps.

How's he been acting?

A little uptight since Ginger was killed.

She was one of Sam's snitches.

I think he felt responsible.

Was Sam driving a Dodge night before last?

Look... I don't want to know any details, but you

sure you're on the right track?

I've worked with Sam for five years.

He's a good cop...

Look, I know all about that, Ski.

All I need to know is, was Sam driving the brown Dodge

night before last?

You mean the night Shag Russell was killed.

Yeah.

Yeah.

How about last night?

Yeah.

OK.

Let's chat.

What do you got?

Said Sam had the car out the last two nights.

He also said if it was Sam we were looking for,

we'd never catch him.

I'm starting to agree with him.

We don't have any witnesses, no prints, no leads.

Right.

So what I did was, I went through Sam's cases...

All of them.

Now the judge in 103 threw out the big one this morning...

Judd Ross case.

Sam's been after Judd Ross for the last six months.

And the judge kicks it out of court?

I say we start with that one. - All right.

I'll drop the bait... he'll take it better coming from me.

I mean, he likes my earrings and everything, right?

Right.

What can I get you, Sergeant?

A tuna sandwich and an ice tea, please.

Mm-hmm.

The cashier went out to lunch.

That'll be $4.95.

Really?

Yeah.

Have a good one.

Thanks.

Hey, McCall.

Sit down.

Thanks.

So, listen... what about that earring?

What about a date?

What are you doing here?

What's it look like I'm doing here?

Well, I just thought you'd be downtown, that's all.

What are you talking about?

Talking about the Ross case.

You were on it, right? - Yeah.

So?

Well, the judge just threw it out.

Says that we failed to comply with an 844.

Who's he kidding?

I announced myself loud and clear, and Ross heard me too.

Yeah, well, the judge said that you didn't give Ross

enough time to open up the door before you

decided to kick it in.

Enough time?

Enough time for what, for him to grab a gun and shoot me,

like he did that waitress?

I'm doing my job, some candy-nosed judge.

They told her three months ago she was dying.

Three months, she fought it.

They couldn't do anything for her.

They gave her some pills for the pain.

She was brave, Charlie.

She was much braver than me.

I know how tough it's been on you.

I've seen you getting by on two, three hours'

sleep the last 10 months.

I wanted her to die, Charlie.

I couldn't stand to see her suffer.

You did everything you could, Ambrose.

I would've traded places with her, Charlie.

I prayed to God that I could.

I know.

Look, why don't you go home?

Get some sleep, take some time off.

No, no, no.

I got to work.

They're gonna bury her day after tomorrow,

and I can't stand just sitting around the house.

Please... I gotta work.

OK.

This is a summary follow up on the Ross case.

Judge in 103 kicked him loose this morning.

They let him out?

Yeah.

Judge let him go on an 844.

OK.

OK.

L-56, come in, please.

This is L-57.

Lincoln Five-Six, go.

I'm waiting on Sam outside a little market over here.

Do you have any sign of Ross yet?

No, nothing yet.

Sam's just coming out.

I'll keep in touch.

Lincoln 5-7.

This is L-57.

What's up?

Ross just showed up.

Well, I followed Sam home with his groceries.

It looks like he's going to be here for a while.

Tell you what... I'm gonna wait it out, see if he makes

a move, all right?

Lincoln Five-Six out.

Lincoln Five-Six.

Go ahead, L-56.

Send backup to 2242

Clifford Street at once.

Lincoln Five-Six out.

Roger, L-56.

Not any big deal lawyers and $600 suits now, are there?

Huh?

Nothing between you and me, is there?

Freeze, boys!

Drop the guns!

Ambrose.

Stop where you are, Hunter.

He's gonna kill me.

Don't let him kill me!

He's not gonna kill anybody.

What the hell are you doing, Ambrose?

Drop the gun.

Don't interfere, Hunter.

Just turn around, step outside, and close the door.

I can't do that. Sorry.

Drop the gun.

Rick, you stay here, you're gonna have to kill me.

If you step outside, I'll surrender as soon

as I'm through with this scum. - Please.

Don't let him do it!

Yes.

This is Sergeant Hunter, Metropolitan Police.

I'd like an ambulance sent to 2242

Clifford Street, Apartment 10.

This is emergency police business.

Ambulance on its way.

Ah.

It don't matter.

Listen.

I want you guys to understand.

Don't talk, Ambrose.

Sheila thought the world of us.

We were all heroes to her.

She thought we stood for justice.

She didn't know how little justice there is.

I'm sorry, Ambrose.

Awh.

It's OK, McCall.

There.

That's justice.

They really loved each other.

I can understand how Ambrose must have

felt when Sheila started to go.

You just lost him.

He was a good man.

He was a good police officer too.

C'mon.

Back to my house.

Get something to eat.