You k*lled him.
You k*lled him!
Hey, what are you doing here this late?
Spring housecleaning.
What about Toby?
He's being spring housecleaned
by a neighbor.
In the tub.
And probably enjoying it about
as much as I'm enjoying this.
SO go rescue him
before he shrivels.
It's not Toby that I'm worried about.
Joe.
Hmm?
If you don't do something
about these,
you're going to wind up going back to work
for someone else.
Now you know, Peggy,
I was listening to the fights
on the way home
and nobody in the ring
threw a blow that low.
Just what are those?
Accounts receivable.
Some of these people have
owed you money for months,
and some for years.
Huh.
Okay, Peggy. Swing away.
John Chesterton.
Aw, come on, Peggy.
He's trying to put two boys through school.
I know.
A lawyer and a doctor.
Eight years each.
So come diploma time, he'll pay. Next.
Paul Kreski.
You know, Peggy,
I really think this job's getting to you.
I do.
You're developing a real shell.
Joe, three hundred dollars
is three hundred dollars.
Peggy, Kreski just got out
of the hospital yesterday.
Now let's give the man
a chance to recuperate
before our bill sends him back.
Okay.
Well, I didn't know about him.
But all these other people
haven't just gotten out of the hospital.
And some of them
are just plain deadbeats.
It's a risk every business runs.
Oh, I'm so glad
we're making progress.
I mean, at least you admit
it is a business.
Well, of course.
You get your paycheck
every week on time, don't you?
Well...
almost every week?
Oh, come on, Peggy, we're doing fine.
File and forget.
Joe, you can't
run a business like this.
You do a job. You get paid.
And that's the way the game is played.
From this moment on.
Mr. Mannix's office.
Oh, hello, Mrs. Davis.
No, no bother at all, Mrs. Davis.
Well, if it's important, Mrs. Davis.
Yes, yes, I'll see what I can do.
Don't tell me.
That was Mrs. Davis.
Yeah.
She's an old friend of mine.
She's Sonny Carter's aunt.
Ah, now there was a great fighter.
There's some trouble, Joe.
About Sonny?
She wouldn't say, but, uh,
she asked me if I would do her a favor.
She asked me if you would stop by.
For free?
Oh, Joe, she can't afford it,
you know, uh, and it did
sound important.
Okay, Peggy.
But just this one last time.
I remember the first time I saw Sonny.
He was driving a long green convertible
a block long.
It was Christmas Eve,
and he had a toy for every kid
in the neighborhood.
It was the first doll I ever had.
I'm in here, Peggy.
Hello, Mrs. Davis.
Hello, Peggy.
I shouldn't have called you,
but I just didn't know
who else to turn to.
Oh, please.
Mrs. Davis, this is Mr. Mannix.
How do you do.
Mrs. Davis.
I'm sorry. But it's about Sonny.
He's been like a son to me.
Exactly what happened, Mrs. Davis?
Well, I felt something was wrong
when he came home early.
For the past two years,
he's been pretty steady.
Sells hotdogs at the stadium.
Comes straight home after the fights.
About :, as usual.
But tonight, he got home before .
I, I followed him in here.
He didn't look like himself at all.
I thought maybe he was sick.
He sat down in this chair,
and he just stared at the floor.
Must have been at least five minutes.
He didn't even know
I was in the room.
I guess I wasn't thinking.
I put my hand on his face
to see if he had a fever,
and he had one of his spells.
Didn't know it.
Just went out of his mind.
He threw that lamp against the wall
and, and started breaking things.
Now, now I've seen Sonny upset before,
but never like this.
These spells--
does he get them often?
Oh, not for years now.
But lately, it's begun
to happen again.
He's been under a terrible strain,
but he won't talk about it.
And if anyone lays a hand on him--
Especially his face--
It's like he's right back in the ring again
and someone's fist
is coming at him to hurt him.
And, uh, he gets violent?
He just hits out and yells,
but in a few seconds he's over it.
Has he been to a doctor?
I tried to get him to go to a hospital,
but he wouldn't.
It all started after his last fight
with Kid Kelly.
Well, I saw that fight.
Sonny was knocked through the ropes
and hit his head on a seat.
Then he got right back into
the ring and won the fight.
That was the last fight he ever did win.
Mr. Mannix, if Sonny's
in bad trouble like he said--
What did he say, Mrs. Davis?
The police would be after him.
Hey, Renaldo.
Hey, Ernie, what's going on?
Hi, Joe. A guy was k*lled.
Who's on it?
Lieutenant Malcolm.
Thanks.
I've got two witnesses
that saw Sonny Carter
drag Hauser
out of the dressing room.
You were in the corridor.
How come you didn't see it?
I don't know.
Guess I must have been
looking the other way.
Sure. You stick around.
I'll get back to you.
What are you doing here, Joe?
Well, I happened to be driving by,
and I saw the patrol cars.
Yeah.
I hear somebody was k*lled.
Yeah, a two-bit hustler
named Bud Hauser.
Did you know him?
Hey, Lieutenant!
You said maybe ten-fifteen minutes.
I've been waiting thirty. I got a date.
Hey, Mannix!
How are you doing, man?
Hello, Pancho.
Hey, that must have been
quite a fight.
I heard the wrap-up on the news.
Well, for me a fight goes eight rounds,
that ain't great.
You know, I should've
had him in the first.
Pancho, when was the last time
you saw Sonny Carter?
Ah, couple, three days ago
over at Fifth Street Gym.
He's there a lot just hanging around.
What time did you get here tonight?
Couple hours before I went on.
Where were you at
Getting a rubdown in my dressing room.
Who else was there?
My trainer
and that creep they found
out in the alley.
What was Bud Hauser doing
in your dressing room?
Well, an angle guy's
always smelling around,
hoping to hear something
that'll tip 'em off
one of the boys is out of condition.
You know, knee trouble,
too much sauce,
girl trouble, something like that.
How well did you know Hauser?
As well as you get to know a rat.
Hey, Pancho, the place'll be closed
before we get there.
Yeah, don't worry, baby.
It won't be long.
Look, all I know is some guy
came charging in
and dragged Hauser out.
What guy came charging in?
I didn't see him.
I was on my belly getting a rubdown.
Your trainer said it was Sonny Carter.
Well, I say I don't know who it was.
Okay, Pancho.
I may call you tomorrow.
Not too early. I plan on sleeping late.
Hadley!
What time was Hauser sh*t?
About half an hour
after Sonny hauled him
out of the dressing room.
You mean, after Pancho's
trainer says he did.
Somebody else saw him.
He was in the corridor. Here he is.
Hey, Dolph.
Hi, Mr. Mannix.
Why didn't you tell me you
and Sonny Carter were old friends?
I figured everybody knows that.
You said that Sonny hauled him out
and tore right into him.
Well, Hauser
tried to push Sonny away.
Sonny b*at on him until I broke it up.
And then Sonny said
he'd come back and finish the job.
I didn't say Sonny said that.
Pancho's trainer did.
Aw, that guy's so punchy,
you ask him what time it is,
he'll tell you July.
Where were you a half hour later?
I wasn't in the alley,
if that's what you're driving at.
I don't know who sh*t Hauser.
I was watching the fights.
The picture of a perfect businessman.
Joe, good to see you.
Or is it the ex-businessman?
Me?
That flower shop is my life.
Suppose you had to choose
between that flower shop
and, uh, the back room
with all the phones
and the hotlines to Vegas
for laying off bets?
Is that what you think
those phones are for?
Oh no.
I know you're swamped
with orders for lilies.
Any orders coming in
for Hauser's funeral?
He's lucky if he gets
one lousy weed on his grave.
Was Hauser rigging fights, Russ?
I wouldn't know, Joe.
If I had your back room, I'd know.
Well, somebody's rigging them,
that's for sure.
I've been hit, hit bad
in the last six months.
Well, if you, uh, get
any static about Hauser,
let me know, will you, huh?
See ya.
Yeah.
Flower shop.
Dolph.
Yeah?
You were not sitting in your seat
at the time Hauser was sh*t.
Your seat was H-.
I checked with the guy who had H-.
You didn't get up to your seat
until the main event.
I was watching the prelims
standing in the back.
Fire Department says nobody
stands up in the back.
Look, I got a boy
waiting for a rubdown.
Where were you, Dolph,
at ten after
I told you.
Yeah, well maybe you'll open up
to Lieutenant Malcolm.
Okay.
Mannix, okay.
That's better.
Now Sonny was all lathered up.
He said Hauser was pressuring Pancho
to take a dive.
Now I know Pancho,
and I told Sonny he was way off,
but he wouldn't listen.
Let's get to the alley, huh?
Well Sonny cornered Hauser
in the lobby
and he hustled him out the side door.
When I got there,
he was standing over Hauser
with a g*n in his hand--
and Hauser was dead.
Why didn't you tell the police?
Because Sonny is a good guy.
Anything the police want to do,
that's up to them.
But I don't blow the whistle.
Do you, uh,
know where Sonny is?
Yeah?
How would I know?
Mannix!
Guy here named Mannix?
Right here.
Thanks.
Hello.
Mannix?
Yes.
I hear you've been
looking for Sonny Carter
Go ahead.
He wants to see you. Okay?
Any time, any place.
Tonight. Eden Hotel.
Room .
Lay off the Hauser case, Mannix.
Or you'll get what he got.
♪ This time we almost made ♪
♪ That long ♪
I Hard climb
♪ Didn't we almost make it ♪
♪ Didn't we almost make it ♪
♪ Didn't we almost make it ♪
♪ This time ♪
Sonny!
I need money. Cash money.
Check's no good.
But, Sonny, from what
I read in the papers--
All they want you for
is questioning and--
Come on, Hallie.
How much cash you got?
This is all I have here.
But |, I can get more out there.
No, no, no.
Somebody's following me.
I don't know if I shook him yet.
It's like hammers
were hitting my head.
Sonny, you sit down and rest.
You were always
so good to me, Hallie.
Hey, baby.
No, Sonny, no, Sonny.
Sonny, no!
No, Sonny, no!
No, no, no.
Honey, did I hurt you?
I'm all right, Sonny, but...
Those freakouts. I--
I thought they were gone for good.
I won't bother you no more, Hallie.
But baby, I--
But I gotta have some money.
I'll send it to you.
No, bring it, Hallie.
Tomorrow.
Where?
The house on Court Street.
Remember?
Yes.
I remember.
♪ Ain't that I mind working ♪
♪ Work and me is traveling ♪
♪ Journeying together
to the promised land ♪
♪ But Old Man Sorrow ♪
♪ Marching all the way with me ♪
♪ Telling me that I'm old now ♪
♪ Since I lose my man ♪
♪ Since I lose ♪
♪ My ♪
♪ Man ♪
I got a message
that you wanted to see me.
I do.
Oh, that was something else.
Scotch mist?
No, thank you, Mr. Mannix.
Next question?
Do you know where Sonny Carter is?
Why?
Well, he's in a jam,
and his best move would be
to give himself up.
You don't look like a cop.
I'm not. I'm a private investigator.
Sonny's aunt asked me
to get into the act.
And she told you to see me?
No, no, no. That was my idea.
Every time I saw Sonny fight,
you were at ringside,
and, uh, when you opened
at Las Vegas,
he was at ringside.
That was a long time ago.
I found that when people are in trouble,
they always turn
to somebody they trust.
Maybe I'll be in trouble sometime.
Can I come to you?
You will be in trouble
if you know where Sonny is
and the cops find out you do.
It was nice meeting you, Mr. Mannix.
If you have any more questions,
please don't hesitate.
Mannix.
I don't believe you know me.
My name is Starr. Larry Starr.
I know you.
Electronics and gambling,
or is it the other way around?
Newspaper talk.
Well, I never did believe
all that stuff
about peepholes in the ceiling and rigged
card games.
And I don't believe the rumors
that if you find Sonny Carter
you'll turn him in.
What rumor service
do you subscribe to?
The Loyal Friends
Of Sonny Carter Club.
He's always been a great guy.
We'd like to help him.
Get him a good lawyer.
I don't know where he is.
Well, half of that's for you
as an incentive to find him.
I've already got an incentive.
Well,
then it's all for Sonny.
Let me have your g*n, Mannix.
Drive slow and keep
your hand on the wheel.
Turn right at the next corner
Who'd you talk to in there?
A bartender, Hallie Woods,
Larry Starr.
What did Hallie say?
She gave me the run-around.
You talked to my aunt, too.
I was up on the roof.
What did my aunt tell you?
She wanted me to find you.
Tell you where to look, did she?
People I'd maybe be calling--
places I might hide out?
We didn't get into that.
Well, don't.
Look, Sonny, she wants
to help you-- so do |.
Ain't no way to help me.
Why don't you check in
with Lieutenant Malcolm?
He just wants to ask
a few questions. That's all.
Yeah. Like why did I b*at up on Hauser
and why did I say
that was only for openers?
Why did you?
He had it coming to him.
He was working on Pancho.
A boy on the way up--
that's the kind Hauser liked.
"Want some easy dough tonight, kid?
Play along and you got five hundred bucks,
and who's gonna know?
Just this once, kid, whaddya say?"
Yeah.
Then he lets him alone
until he's a contender.
Now he owns him.
Want the Commission to find out
you tossed a fight way back when?
Use your head, kid.
When I say take a dive, you take it.
And now the big money's rolling.
Pancho didn't play along.
He KO'ed Galloway in the eighth round.
Stop here.
And keep your hands on the wheel.
Keep your hands on the wheel.
Why don't you play it smart, Sonny?
Tell the cops, tell them everything.
Suppose I said Hauser pulled a g*n on me
and I grabbed it from him.
It's self-defense. You're home free.
Yeah-- if I was still the champ.
The guy who sells hot dogs.
No way.
They check out the g*n.
If it belongs--
You talk too much.
Now get lost.
Larry Starr--
Easy!
...told me to give you something.
Far out.
He said to get a good lawyer.
I'll think about it in Mexico
or wherever I'm going.
Now take off, Mannix.
And stop looking for me.
You're getting careless, Joe.
A kid found a revolver this morning
and turned it in.
It's registered in your name.
Did he say where he found it?
Yeah. In a gutter near the club where you
were asking questions about Sonny Carter.
Since when did you start hanging out
around jazz spots, Lieutenant?
Oh, I'm a Hallie Woods fan.
Joe, if she told you something
that she didn't tell me--
She didn't.
Peggy?
Sorry, Art. Nothing.
You've got my word, Art.
Mr. Mannix's office.
I have no idea where he is.
It's for you, Art.
Malcolm.
Yes, Sergeant.
All right, I'll be back in a little while.
This seems to be our day
for finding revolvers.
A . we dug out of the city dump
checks out like the one
that k*lled Bud Hauser.
It was bought in a hock shop
three weeks ago
by Sonny Carter.
When Sonny was a little boy,
he used to sell newspapers,
and he saved up enough money
to buy him a BB g*n.
One day he sh*t a bird,
and he cried like a baby.
He said he'd never use a g*n again.
I, uh, know he had a g*n,
Mrs. Davis.
I checked at the place where he'd bought it.
Sonny's never done a bad thing
in his whole life.
Now, he's gotten into scrapes
when he was a boy.
But never nothing serious.
Never!
When he, uh, was in a scrape,
was there someone he'd turn to?
Me.
I remember when he was a little boy,
a whole g*ng of kids was chasing him
and I hid him.
Where?
In the attic.
Here?
No, not here.
In the old house
where the whole family lived.
We lived on the top floor.
Where is the house?
I think they're tearing it down.
They're clearing out that whole area.
Do you remember the address,
Mrs. Davis?
Address?
Court Street.
Court Street.
I told you to get lost.
Let's stop playing games, Sonny.
This is no game.
You listen close enough, you hear 'em
banging nails into the coffin.
I'm on your side, Sonny.
How do I know that?
Use your head. I've gotta talk to you.
Man, you come in here,
you come in clean.
Now if you level with me,
maybe I can help you.
Well, I'm in a jam you can't get me out of.
I could try.
That's one of Bud Hauser's cousins.
A rat.
I was born in this house.
What do you figure the odds were
I'd get anywhere?
Well, I made it. And I leveled.
No deals, no fixes.
I never took a dive in my life.
And you never throw a towel in either.
What's that supposed to mean?
Running from trouble-- that's quitting.
Man, I'm black.
You can't save your skin copping a plea.
You can't save it by hiding out either.
Now sooner or later
they'll catch up with you, Sonny.
Where'd you grow up, Mannix?
Can't you tell a rat step from a footstep?
You okay?
Yeah. Fine.
Sonny?
Sonny.
Leave me alone.
Hey, let me see that.
I'm okay.
Come on.
It's Mannix!
Sonny, I'm your friend!
Joe Mannix.
I'm your friend.
Oh, you're lucky, this time.
Now you better start leveling with me.
I'm, I'm sorry.
When I freak out like that,
it all goes blank.
Were you freaked out
when you sh*t Hauser?
Yeah.
He hit me and the sky caved in.
I don't even remember pulling the trigger.
Maybe you didn't.
No, |, uh, remember enough.
It was my g*n.
Dolph saw me k*ll him.
Why did you have a g*n in your locker?
Two, three weeks ago, I was sounding off
about Hauser at the stadium.
On my way home,
a guy on a roof took a sh*t at me.
I figured that next time I'll sh**t back.
Do you know who he was?
No. I think it's someone
heard me sound off
and was afraid I'd mess up the game.
Now why would anybody
want you dead now?
To get back at me for knocking off Hauser.
All he'd have to do was call the cops.
That'd wipe you out for good.
Hauser was k*lled with your g*n
and they've got it.
Creeps like these,
they don't have their heads on straight.
No.
No, somebody wants you dead.
Somebody who doesn't want you
to come up for trial.
And I gotta know why.
Now, who did you tell you were here?
Nobody who'd rap about it.
Who Sonny, who?
Hallie.
You're right, Mannix.
Best way's to turn myself in so that guy
don't get another sh*t at me.
That's right.
Let me get my things.
Another one of Hauser's cousins.
Sonny?
Sonny!
I
Let's try it in B flat, Dave.
Why don't you grab a cup of coffee, Dave?
Listen, I've told you everything I know.
I don't know anything else.
Well, I found Sonny.
So did the goon with the r*fle.
Who was he?
I, I don't know.
He put a crease in Sonny's skull.
Next time he'll finish the job.
Is that what you want?
No.
Who got to you, Hallie?
Who got to you?
I, I don't know.
Last night somebody spotted Sonny here.
Later on, |, I was sleeping.
A man broke into my hotel room.
He put one hand over my mouth
to keep me from screaming.
He had a bottle of acid in the other hand.
Held it up to my nose so I could smell it,
and then he said he--
he'd pour it on me if I didn't tell him.
You know who the man was?
The lights were out.
What if you heard his voice again?
Yes, I'd know it.
It was uh, a kind of whiskey voice.
And the way he talked,
it was kind of punchy.
Now look, uh, Sonny told me
Bud Hauser was fixing fights.
Any idea who he was working for?
No, I've told you everything I know.
I swear I have.
Somebody give me change for a dollar.
Here's the last of the big bettors.
Russ, where can we talk, alone?
In here, Joe.
I gotta stay near a phone because I'm
expecting a very important order, for lilies.
Rigging fights, Russ.
Who's pulling the strings?
All I do is take bets, Joe.
Ninety percent of my action's on the horses.
When you think a fight's being rigged,
you lay off the bets you take in, right?
To keep from getting b*rned?
When I think it's a sour fight, sure.
That's something that I never know for sure.
That's straight, Joe.
Were you thinking
the night Hauser was k*lled?
Pancho Salinas fight. Yeah.
You figured Pancho
was going to take a dive.
No, the smart money had it
that Pancho would carry Junior Galloway
for seven rounds.
Which he did.
Where'd the smart money come from?
That I don't know for sure, Joe,
but, uh, Hauser got drunk
and sh*t his mouth off one night.
You know him?
Electronics and gambling,
not necessarily in that order.
Hmm.
Joe.
Thanks, Russ.
Yeah.
Have you checked the grounds?
Is everything clear?
Yes, sir. Everything's fine.
Hey, how'd you get
past those guys out there?
Guys?
What guys?
I think it's time we had a little talk,
Pancho.
We got nothing to talk about, Mannix.
Oh yes, we do.
You know, every man
has his boiling point, Pancho.
When the cops get you down there
under that big bright light, who knows?
You may tell more than your name,
rank and serial number.
You're wrong, Mr. Mannix.
Starr--
He's got nothing to tell them.
You told Lieutenant Malcolm
you hardly knew Bud Hauser.
Wait till he checks that one out.
What are you talking about?
I'm talking about Starr
putting up a hunk of money
that the fight would go seven rounds--
And having Hauser get the word to you.
You're out of your skull, man.
But Hauser got sauced and spilled it,
so he had to go.
And Sonny Carter
was a perfect set-up for a frame.
Just how do you suppose that happened?
You knew Sonny was freaked out.
When Hauser and Sonny were fighting,
someone got Sonny's revolver
out of his locker, sh*t Hauser,
and put the g*n in Sonny's hand.
Then you told him he did it
and he believed you.
Who's going to buy that except you?
Sonny stuck his neck out
to save you, Pancho.
Look what it got him.
You turn State's evidence,
and they'll go easy on you.
You want to leave now, Mannix--
or stick around and have a work-out?
Take it easy, Pancho.
Mr. Mannix is just fishing.
And look what I landed-- the big one.
Me?
You should've quit
when you were ahead, Starr.
Cops would have sooner or later
caught up with Sonny.
But you had to get itchy
and send your g*ons out to get him.
That's when the pieces came together.
I don't have any g*ons, Mr. Mannix.
Well, you better get those two g*ons
that you don't have on the walky-talky
and tell them I'm walking out the front gate.
Nice fishing country.
Mr. Starr, you want me to-- uh--
That won't do any good, Pancho.
Anyway, he's probably
got the place staked out.
He's just needling, looking for a reaction.
So what do we do?
If Sonny Carter was to disappear
from the face of the earth,
there'd be no case.
Mr. Starr?
My name is Logan.
I work for the Dispatch.
I got word that you're looking
for a certain somebody.
How much is it worth to you?
Cash?
I just seen him.
Nobody's seen him!
Do you think that I would hold out on you
after what I already did to him?
Hallie, you were close to him,
and a man and a woman together
all those years-- they talk about things.
Now, first he hid out
in the house he was born in.
Where else could he be?
I don't know.
Sonny never talked much.
Just think, Hallie-- think!
Oh-- he talked mostly about things
he did when he was a kid.
Like what?
Oh-- the-- the kind of jobs he had--
Newsboy, uh, oh, bootblack,
sweeping out the gym.
That's where it all started.
He was, uh, fourteen.
From then on, boxing took over.
He started training-- never missed a fight.
He was the greatest gate-crasher in history.
One time he sneaked in on a Wednesday
and stayed the rest of the week.
There was a big fight coming up
on a Saturday, and he just had to see it.
No one found him
from Wednesday to Saturday?
No. He was right under their noses.
He was--
Under the ring.
The winner
and still the undefeated
champion of the world--
Sonny Carter!
You're looking real good.
How're you doing?
Hold it, Mace-- we'll get him down below.
Sonny!
Oh, Dolph.
Dolph, drop it!
Hit the deck, Sonny!
Everything all right, Manny?
Yes, sir, Lieutenant. We got 'em.
You all right, Sonny?
Hey, you know something?
First time in my life
I ever took a dive.