One-Adam-, handle code .
[SIREN WAILING]
Sign here, please.
He does in a school zone and we're the bad guys.
A message for you, Pete.
A fella named Charlie Bishop has been trying to get hold of you.
-Doesn't ring any bells. -He said to tell you, "Charlie The Kite."
Oh, yeah. Been years.
Charlie's a paper hanger, I busted him my first year on the job.
He say what it was about?
Said he wanted to talk to you, it was important.
Was there a conviction on the bust?
One to , it was his third felony fall.
Charlie spent more time in than out.
Think maybe he feels he owes you, Pete?
Hard to say, he didn't make any threats.
In fact he seemed like kind of a nice guy.
Just couldn't break himself of hanging paper.
Every time he'd get himself juiced, he'd start writing bad checks.
Reed might have something, Malloy.
You put Bishop down on his third fall, board probably hit him pretty hard,
made him do the maximum.
Did he say where I could reach him?
It's a skid row gin mill. He said he'd wait there for you.
-You going to talk to him? -Why not?
It's your baby, Malloy.
Give me the word and I'll plant a man in plainclothes to cover you, just in case.
Charlie's got to be pushing now, Mac.
When's the last time you heard of a paper hanger going in for v*olence?
There's always a first time.
Charlie used to have more class.
That you, Malloy?
Yeah.
[CHUCKLES]
-Bishop? -Not the way I remember him.
Yeah...
By God, that is you.
Thanks for coming, Malloy.
Been a long time, Charlie.
Gosh! You look the same.
This is my partner, Jim Reed.
Hi. Nice to know you.
What did you want to see me about, Charlie?
-You got a minute? -Sure.
Come on. Come on back here.
Gee. It's sure good.
Sit down. Sit down.
You want a drink? Coffee? Cola?
Oh, I guess not. Thanks anyway, Charlie.
Bet you wouldn't have known me if I didn't speak to you first, eh, Malloy?
You been away a long time.
Yeah.
I was when you took me in.
Look at me.
Now I look ...
and feel like a .
When did you get out?
What's the date?
It's the fifth.
A month ago.
I did it all, every day.
Turned down parole twice.
How come, Charlie?
Where can I go, what can I do? I ain't got nobody.
I wouldn't have bothered you
but I didn't have anyone else I could talk to.
You're not bothering me.
-If a few dollars will... -No. Please.
Everything is so different now.
Outside and inside.
The world has changed, Malloy, changed bad.
[SIGHING]
I can't make it on the streets.
A few years couldn't make that big a change, Charlie.
You were a pretty cocky guy in your time.
Nothing could keep you down.
[CHUCKLES]
Cock-of-the-walk.
They used to call me Cock-of-the-walk.
Don't smoke anymore,
but I still like to carry this around with me,
sort of like those worry beads people use in the Orient.
How many years have you spent in prison, Charlie?
In years? How many years are there?
? ?
Boy, I know one thing,
it sure takes something out of a man.
Or maybe I never had it in me to start with.
Anyway, it doesn't make much difference now.
You've got something on your mind, Charlie, what is it?
Yeah, I got something on my mind.
I want to go home.
You mean back to prison?
It's the only home I know. It's where I belong.
[SNIFFLES]
This time I want to go to a Federal prison,
maybe someplace like Springfield or Lexington.
I've talked to cons who have done Federal time.
They say government prisons are much better than state joints.
They treat you nicer, good food,
you can even get your single cells.
Come on, Charlie, what are you talking about?
You've only been out a month. It takes a while to get your head on straight.
You know that. Give yourself a chance.
What are you going to do, Charlie?
Nothing.
I just wanted to know if what they say about the Feds is true. That's all.
From what I've heard,
the Feds do allocate more money per inmate than most state prisons.
Where are you living?
Living?
[SCOFFS] I ain't living.
I got a room in that roach-trap right across the street.
I had it better in the joint.
I want you to hang tight. We'll come up with something.
Save yourself the trouble.
You told me what I wanted to know, and I sure do thank you, Malloy.
Don't do anything foolish, Charlie.
Stick around or leave word where we can find you.
We'll be back later.
I ain't never been hard to find, Malloy. You know that.
Hate to see the old guy go back to the joint.
Maybe Charlie's right.
He's got it all stacked against him anyway.
With his record, he couldn't get much of a job.
I've heard prison called a lot of things.
That's the first time I ever heard it called home.
Nobody twisted Charlie's arm to make him a paper hanger.
One fall I can see, but to keep going back...
Yeah.
How about a half-way house?
It's possible. He could earn his keep helping out around the place.
FEMALE DISPATCHER: One-Adam-, One-Adam-.
A report, Vantage.
One-Adam-, roger.
[RINGING DOORBELL]
Come in, officers.
I tell you, I don't know what the world is coming to.
Look at that!
What kind of person does a thing like that?
Can I have your name, please?
Yeah. Harry Morrison.
Are the other rooms like this, Mr. Morrison?
No, he didn't touch the other rooms.
Guess he was satisfied with what he got out of my desk.
He should be!
What was taken?
My stamp collection. I specialize in errors and misprints.
What is the approximate value, Mr. Morrison?
See for yourself.
I just got that appraisal last week, for my insurance company.
,.
Have you notified the insurance company?
That's the rotten part about the whole thing.
I was supposed to see my broker tomorrow,
put a rider on the policy covering the collection.
One stinking day and I'm out over $,!
Do you have any idea when the burglary took place?
Sometime between last night and this morning.
I had to go to San Bernardino, on business.
I was going to drive straight back but my car was acting up, carburetor.
Had to stay over and get it fixed this morning.
What time did you get home, sir?
Fifteen minutes ago. I called you people right away.
Hey! Maybe I can pinpoint the time.
The clock.
It's : now.
It had to have been broken just after : last night.
Do you have any idea how the thief might have gotten into the house?
I didn't even think about that.
Mind if I have a look around, sir?
No, help yourself, look anywhere you want.
Might be a good idea for you to check around
and see if anything else was taken, Mr. Morrison.
Yeah.
[DOG BARKING]
-You live there? -Yes.
I'm Mrs. Georgiana Ryan.
Did he call about me?
No.
He's always complaining about my Louise.
Not this time, ma'am.
There was a burglary here last night. Around midnight.
Did you happen to see or hear anything?
-Midnight? -Yes, ma'am.
Might have been earlier, but not much.
You must be mistaken, Officer.
Mr. Morrison came home at :, and he left again at :.
Are you certain about that?
Yes. My bedroom window faces right on the driveway.
I was watching television when I heard a car pull in.
I looked out and saw Mr. Morrison go in the house through the side door.
I didn't think it was him at first.
He was driving a different car, one of those small ones.
And he left about
It was exactly :. Johnny Carsonwas going off the air.
I heard the car engine start up.
When I looked, the car was gone.
You didn't happen to take down the license number, did you?
What on earth for? I could see it was Mr. Morrison.
Sign at the bottom, Mr. Morrison.
Thank you.
I think I ought to get the print kit, Pete.
Burglar could have used this to jimmy the side door.
The marks match.
Recognize it, Mr. Morrison?
I have one just like it, must be thousands of them.
Where'd you find it, Jim?
Kitchen drawer.
That doesn't mean anything.
Like I said, there's lots of screwdrivers like that around.
They'd all make the same kind of marks.
The lady next door said she saw you come home at : last night,
heard you leave at : in the morning.
Mrs. Ryan? She's crazy. I was in San Bernardino.
Check with the motel and the garage that fixed my car.
We'll do that. We'll also check out the other car.
What other car?
The compact Mrs. Ryan saw you driving last night.
Look, fellas, why don't we just forget the whole think, huh?
Nobody's hurt, and I'm just out a few bucks for that broken clock.
Be reasonable, will you?
We're all in the same boat, people like us.
We foot the bills for all the freeloaders and Government bureaucrats.
Do you blame me for trying to save a few bucks on my income tax?
So, you file a property loss statement and the IRS credits you for the amount, huh?
Anything over $ is deductible.
I've had a good year.
Without some solid deductions they're going to hit me hard.
And for what?
To support a lot of slobs who won't go out and get a job?
You fellas go along with me and I'll make it worth your while.
Don't say anymore, Morrison, you're in enough trouble now.
What trouble? You can't hassle me for taking my own property.
No, sir, but you are under arrest for filing a false police report.
Aw, come on, fellas, don't make a big deal out of it.
Who did I hurt, tell me that?
Yourself.
[SIGHS]
One-Adam-, request code , North Van Arden.
FEMALE DISPATCHER: One-Adam-, okay .
Maybe we can grab a sandwich after we check out the Halfway House.
Be nice if it were true.
Malloy? I'm Harvey Shore.
This is my partner, Officer Reed.
I thought you were going to bring Charlie with you.
We haven't told him anything about it.
Wanted to check us out first, is that it?
The people who should know say you're doing a pretty good job.
We try, that's all any of us can do.
I think Charlie would like it here.
Most of the men are over . We have one who's .
The only thing I can tell you is to bring Charlie around.
It will have to be his decision.
We don't try to sell people on Today House,
it's strictly up to them.
How'd you come up with a name like Today House?
Any ex-con could tell you that.
You hear it in every joint in the country.
"Don't think about tomorrow, just try to get through today."
We try to make it work. So far it has.
At least it has for me.
We'll talk to Charlie. Thanks for your help.
Any time.
You might tell Charlie there's no lock on that front door.
It opens both ways, hours a day.
We'll tell him. Thanks.
Goodbye.
You think Charlie will like it?
He's had worse addresses.
Bartender says Charlie left a little while after we did
and hasn't been back since.
Get anything from the hotel?
Checked out of his room an hour ago.
He gave away all his personal stuff.
A clock, some clothes, a radio.
Let's cruise the area. Maybe we can spot him.
I wouldn't worry too much. What can he do?
There's a lot of ways to find himself a Federal beef.
[RADIO BEEPING]
MALE DISPATCHER: All units in the vicinity, and One-Adam-
a silent, South Wyler.
Intra-State Savings and Loan.
One-Adam-, handle code .
Savings and Loan is a Federal beef.
One-Adam-, roger.
[SIREN WAILING]
What's going down?
We'll handle it, just keep out of the way.
I work there. I was across the street on my lunch break.
I said, we'd handle it. Now just move back!
-[g*nsh*t] -[WOMAN SCREAMS]
I told you to back off!
Malloy?
It wasn't you, was it, Malloy?
You know him?
Must've been some kind of a nut.
I just wanted to go home.
He was committing a felony.
I did the right thing, didn't I?
Did you?
Come on.