02x25 - Log 44: Attempted Bribe

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Lincoln X-ray Ida 4-8-3.

One-Adam-12. A


with chains and knives.

♪♪

Uh, gentlemen, pardon me. Sir?

Malloy and Reed, right?

Yes, sir. Is there something
we can do for you?

Yes, indeed there is.

I especially want to
talk to Officer Reed.

I'll wait inside. Oh, no, no.
I want you to hear this, too.

Everything open and above
board. Please stick around.

Well, we've got work to do.

Could you get to the point?

Good. That's what I like.

A no-nonsense
approach to business.

Do you know who I am?

No, sir. Afraid not.

Very well. I'll
lay it on the line.

Two weeks ago, you arrested
my son for drunken driving.

William Erickson.

The name ring a
bell? I remember.

Good. His case comes
before the court tomorrow.

I understand you plan
to appear against him.

You have to appear,
is that correct?

Yes, sir. It was my arrest.

Very well. Now
listen carefully, Reed.

I'm listening. Fine.

I'm about to make
you a proposition,

a strictly business
proposition, I assure you,

but one that might change
the course of your life.

Well, I can just hear
the wheels turning.

You're thinking, "Boy,
that guy had nerve.

Offering us a bribe right in
the middle of the police station."

You're reading my
mind. Yeah, mine, too.

Well, gentlemen, you
couldn't be farther off base.

That's why I wanted you
here, Malloy, as a witness.

A witness to what?
To a job offer...

at triple his present salary,

for Mr. Reed here.

Surprised, young man?

Well, I'd say that's
a fair assumption.

Oh, there's no need for it.

Let's just say
that I'm impressed

with the first person on earth

who's ever lowered
the boom on my son.

Bill's a bum, a first-class bum.

I hope the judge
throws the book at him.

Is that understood?
I'm not sure.

Well, your testimony will
determine that, I suppose.

To a large degree, yeah.

I see.

Now, tell me truthfully,

what shape was Bill in
when you arrested him?

This case hasn't
been adjudicated yet.

I'm not at liberty
to discuss it.

Oh, that's good. That's fine.

For the first time in his life,

Bill actually knew what
he was talking about.

You're my man.
Your man for what?

Well, I'm a manufacturer.
That Erickson.

Now, now do you know who I am?

Yes, sir.

Two of your factories
are in the area we patrol.

That's what I wanted
with you, Reed,

to head up the defense

in my new plant
in the Northwest.

I've already got a job.

Thank you just the
same, Mr. Erickson.

Your son must be pretty
important to you, Mr. Erickson.

I told you, Bill's
worthless, but he is my son.

Are you gonna be in court
tomorrow, Mr. Erickson?

Of course.

But win, lose, or draw,
the job offer still stands.

Sleep on it, then
make up your mind.

The answer's "No."

Erickson will contact you again.

In the meantime, I'll pass
this on to the Captain.

He may want to advise
the District Attorney's office.

What Erickson doesn't realize

is that I can testify to
the same thing Reed can.

That's what I mean.

When it occurs to him, or
his lawyers tell him about it,

he'll be in touch again.

His son's got two
priors, both 502s.

If he gets convicted of a third,

he'll go to jail.

It's pretty obvious what
Erickson's trying to do.

I'm inclined to agree.

But on the basis
of your statement,

the D.A. would be
sticking his neck out

to issue a complaint
charging attempted bribery.

I doubt if he'd consider it.

He covered his tracks
pretty well, partner.

Yeah, he sure did.

Three times your salary.
Not a bad offer, Reed.

You need an assistant?

I'm sorry, Lieutenant.

About what? Malloy's
already applied for the job.

So I can't believe my eyes.

I look out front and here's this

big black limousine pulling up.

A guy I never saw before.

He gets out and walks in

like he's with the country club.

So when he starts asking
me questions about you, Reed,

I figure he's a big shot
from the police department.

What, did he introduce himself?

Yeah. "Mr. Erickson," he says.

Who is this guy?
What's the deal?

Oh, he's a yacht salesman,

and we're thinking
about getting one.

Sure. Sure you are.

Good morning, Duke.

Hi, Mr. Thomas.

More coffee? No, thanks.

Pass.

Could I speak to
you fellows a minute?

Meet Pete Malloy, Jim Reed.

Mr. Thomas, he's an
old customer of mine.

Old is quite correct, my friend.

Come on, you're just
getting started good.

Hey, have a cup of
coffee. It's on the house.

Thanks.

You look like a man

with something on
his mind, Mr. Thomas.

Oh? How can you tell?

I don't know.

A policeman's instinct, I guess.

You wanna talk about it?

When I was a kid, I used
to think if I had one wish

I'd want to know the place
that I was going to die.

And then I wouldn't
go there, don't you see?

You look pretty healthy to me.

We used to laugh
about it, Irene and I.

Is that your wife's name, Irene?

These keys, I want
you to use them.

Sir?

Uh, one is the key
to the front door

of the rooming house.

That one.

The other's a key to a room.

Room 209. That's where Irene is.

Poor Irene.

She should never
have gone to room 209.

Why is that, Mr. Thomas?

Because that's where she died.

When did she die?

About 15 minutes ago.

I strangled her.

Can't we go in there?

I'd like to be with
her as long as I can.

I'm sorry, Mr. Thomas.

Hi, Reed.

Better make it official.

I called you before we
discovered the body.

I thought she
might still be alive.

Why did you do it?

She could have married
anybody in the whole county,

and she chose me.

How long had
your wife been sick?

I worked, and I worked hard,

but I never seemed
to get anywhere.

All of a sudden,

we were old, the both of us.

Strangulation
from the looks of it.

Yeah, I know.

Her name's Thomas, Irene Thomas.

The old boy's wife?

He really must
have had it in for her.

I wonder what made him do it?

Because she asked
me to, that's why.

Your wife asked you
to k*ll her, Mr. Thomas?

For the last ten years
I've watched her suffer.

The medicine
didn't help anymore.

This morning, it
was worse than ever.

I sat in there and
held her hand.

She prayed to die.

Finally, I offered to help.

She smiled.

The first time in weeks.

I asked her if she
really meant it.

She nodded her head.

I leaned down and
kissed her and...

then I did it as
fast as I could.

Here's your DOA slip.

Thank you.

Yeah... you're welcome.

You better call Homicide.

She had dignity.

She had it in life

and she deserved it in death.

I did all I could
to help her find it.

One-Adam-12, One-Adam-12,
see the man. A 484 report.

8260 Alban Street,
at the factory.

Well, Malloy and Reed.

I guess I got lucky, didn't I?

Not really,

since this is part of
the area we patrol.

You reported a
theft, Mr. Erickson.

Oh, yes, yes.

It was one of those
small portable bars.

One of the keg type.
You know, about like so.

Are you familiar with that type?

Yes, sir.

On the way in,

we were admiring
your security system.

I'm surprised that a thief
managed to penetrate.

Well, so am I, frankly.

But the fact remains,
gentlemen, that the bar,

which contains several
bottles of expensive liquor,

was stolen from
this very office.

What was the value

of the objects
taken, Mr. Erickson?

Oh, several hundred dollars

I should say, at least that.

Has the thought occurred to you

that the thief might
be an employee?

That's the first thing I
thought of, naturally.

As a matter of fact,
I'll be disappointed

if it works out any other way.

Your security?

Precisely.

An employee is bad enough,

but better that than to think

that some outsider could
penetrate these premises.

You see, gentlemen,

we do a lot of
classified work here,

a fact that I hope
that both of you

will have an
opportunity to learn

for yourselves very
soon. Both of us?

I've been thinking, Malloy.

It was wrong of me
to offer Reed a job

without agreeing
to employ you also.

After all, you're partners.

I see.

I'm curious, Reed.

When I left the
station this morning,

did you brief your
superiors right away?

Sir?

It was fairly obvious

that you thought I was
trying to offer you a bribe.

If you're the man
I think you are,

then you reported
it immediately.

I'd hate to disappoint you.

You haven't,

and I don't think
you will in the future.

But I repeat,

win, lose, or draw
in court tomorrow,

the job offer still stands.

That also goes
for you, too, Malloy.

Thank you very much.

By the way, my
son's in a meeting.

He'll be sorry he missed you.

That's all right, Mr. Erickson.

We've already met.

Yes, well, about the theft,

my secretary has
all the information,

and if you'll just stop on
your way out at her desk,

she'll be glad to fill you in

with the details.

Thank you for
coming in, gentlemen.

Yeah. We'll see you in
court, Mr. Erickson. Yes.

Bring us some coffee,
huh? Yeah, sure.

Good morning, counselor.

Hi, Malloy, Reed.

What's the deal?

Light case load this morning?

Never happen.

Since when do you guys have
time for coffee before you go to court?

We don't, but I'm
taking it anyway.

Hey, Duke, make it three!

You're handling the
Erickson case, aren't you?

Yeah, among a
dozen others today.

Oh, incidentally, I got
a call from a Williams

in the D.A.'s
office this morning.

He wired me in on
the attempted bribe.

Wants me to let him know

if Erickson makes
another pitch to you guys.

Does Williams think he can
make a case against Erickson?

Not yet, but it'll be interesting
to see if he tries again today.

Hey, mind if I join
you? Yeah, sit down.

Tom Stark of the city
attorney's office, Duke Dukowski.

Hi, counselor. Duke.

Well, I guess you guys are
going to court this morning.

In about an hour.

Hey, did you ever get a
chance to talk to Mr. Thomas?

Yeah, last night.

The old boy's
feeling pretty rocky.

What are you talking
about, the mercy k*lling?

Yeah, Duke's an old
friend of the suspect's.

What do you think, counselor?

Any chance a jury
might let him go?

I doubt it.

k*lling for mercy is something

society's not quite
ready to accept.

The old boy's the most
gentle guy I've ever known.

Yeah, gentle enough
to strangle his wife.

Sure, because he loved her.

Duke, how old is Mr. Thomas?

Pushing 80, I guess.

So they give him life in prison.

Yeah. Yeah, I see what you mean.

He could be out in no time.

Here they come.

They go first class, don't they?

Yeah, it looks that way.

That's their lawyer with them.

His name is Edwards.

I wanna talk to
him before we go in.

Wait for me, will you?

Well, good morning, gentlemen.

Good morning, Mr. Erickson.

You remember
Mr. Reed and Mr. Malloy?

Yes, sir, indeed I do.

How are you
fellows? Fine, thanks.

Mr. Erickson.

Well, I see everyone's
in civvies today.

What's the deal?

It's our day off.
Oh, that's too bad.

Do you get paid extra when you

go into court on your day off?

Yeah, time and a half.

Good, glad to hear
it. You deserve it.

Well, what do you think
of our new security people?

I'm delighted with them.

Maybe we can get together
next week sometime for dinner,

sit down and, uh, talk over
some ideas for the new plant.

You'll love the
Northwest. Great country.

Fishing, hunting,
plenty of time to relax.

You play golf, of course.

No, sir. I used to caddy.

Oh, well, we'll have
to get you started.

Bill here's a seven handicapper.

He's a good instructor, too.

Have you busting
par in nothing flat.

Hey, we've got
about ten minutes.

We better get a move on.

Well, nice seeing
you, Mr. Erickson.

Nice seeing you.

Uh, everything all right?

Feel okay?

Yeah, fine. Never felt better.

Good, good. See you later.

Yeah.

How'd it go?

Well, Erickson's still
coming on strong.

How strong? That depends.

What's par for attempted
bribery? I wish I knew.

What did you want to
talk to their lawyer about?

I asked him to
agree to a stipulation.

I told that you're both gonna
testify to the same thing.

So we agreed that only one
of you had to take the stand.

Me. Right.

Officer Reed, would
you mind telling us exactly

how may field sobriety
tests you've conducted

since you first became a member

of the Los Angeles
Police Department?

Well, in conjunction
with my partner,

three or four dozen, I suppose.

No, you misunderstood me.

I didn't mean in
conjunction with your partner.

I mean tests that you've
personally conducted.

Tests that resulted
in conclusions

arrived at by you alone.

One.

Really? Only one?

Yes, sir, the test I
administered to Mr. Erickson.

Well, now, that's,
uh, very interesting.

Tell me, Officer Reed,

why, in this
particular occasion,

were you allowed to
conduct this test alone?

My partner wanted to see
how I'd handle the situation.

Oh?

A sort of on-the-job
training program,

is that right?

No, sir, as a check
on the training

I'd already received.

I see.

What is your status

with the police
department, Mr. Reed?

Are you a policeman
or a trainee?

I'm a probationary policeman.

Which means that you've
been with the department

for less than one year?

Yes, sir, that's correct.

Now on the day that
you arrested Mr. Erickson,

your partner decided
that you were finally ready

to conduct your first
field sobriety test.

Did he make that
statement? No, sir.

Did he make this statement:

"Take him, Reed,
but be careful?"

Yes, sir.

He was referring to conclusions

I might arrive at by observing

Mr. Erickson when
he got out of his car.

I see.

And how did Mr. Erickson
act, Officer Reed?

Did he stagger? Fall? Lurch?

No, he didn't stagger or fall.

Did he lurch? No, sir.

He just walked precisely
as you told him to do

from his car to the sidewalk.

Isn't that what happened?

Yes, sir. He walked
like a man on a tightrope.

A man on a tightrope.
A well-balanced man.

No, sir, a man
about to fall off.

A judgment call, I presume?

Yes, sir.

And what did your judgment
tell you about the, uh,

appearance of
Mr. Erickson at that time?

Was his shirttail
out? His tie askew?

No, sir.

But he looked drunk to you? Why?

His eyes were
bloodshot and watery.

His face was flush,
speech slurred.

When he dropped his wallet,

he swayed when he
bent over to pick it up.

All in your best
judgment, right?

No, sir, that was
an observation.

What did you do
then, Officer Reed,

on that memorable
first occasion?

I administered the first
part of the field sobriety test.

Mr. Erickson was unable
to walk a straight line.

I asked him to
hold his arms out,

tilt his head back and
touch the tip of his nose.

In attempting to do so,

Mr. Erickson lost his balance

and nearly fell.

Leading you to conclude
what, Officer Reed?

That Mr. Erickson

was under the
influence of alcohol.

He was unable to safely operate
a motor vehicle on a public street.

Can I give you fellows
a lift someplace?

No, we've got my
car. Thanks, anyway.

What do you think he'll
get out of it, Mr. Stark?

Well, this is Erickson's
third conviction

in less than seven years.

When the judge
sees those two priors

on a probationary report,

he won't have much choice.

It's pretty well spelled out.

Six months in jail
an a $1,000 fine.

Well, nice going, Officer Reed.

That was quite a performance.

Dad, please. Shut up.

And my the way, Reed,

that job that I talked
to you about is filled.

Yours, too, Malloy. Yes, sir.

I have to apologize for
my father, gentlemen.

May I speak with
you both a moment?

Sure, go ahead.

Are you out of your
mind? Go get in the car.

There's one thing

I want both of you
people to understand.

I am not through by a long shot.

Yes, sir. Just remember that.

Mean talker, isn't he?

Yeah. Scared, partner?

Petrified.

Let's get something to eat, huh?

See you, counselor.

Morning, Lieutenant. Morning.

Lieutenant. Reed.

Well, Reed, from
the looks of this,

you'll be with us a while. Sir?

Your report from yesterday.

I see where Erickson's
withdrawn his offer of a job.

Yeah, Malloy's, too.
We were crushed.

I just checked with
the district attorney.

He says he still can't make
a case for attempted bribery.

Well, I guess that's that.

Thought you'd like to know.

Yeah.

Well, partner, back
to the old grind.

Lieutenant Moore.

Hold it just a minute!

Yes, sir. Would you
repeat that, please?

I see.

Would you hold it
just a moment, please?

Reed, grab a phone out
there and trace this call.

What's up?

Bill Erickson's in a phone booth

somewhere in the downtown area.

He says he's gonna
commit su1c1de.

Yes, sir. Right.

No, I'm gonna check it out.

He says he wants
to talk to you or Reed.

Yes, ma'am. This is
a police emergency.

The call's on extension five.

I'll hold. Yes, ma'am.

Of course, they're
working today.

Yes, now here's the problem.

They've just left the station.

I'm going to do my
best to find them,

but it may take a few minutes.

Can you tell if he's sober?

Yes, by radio.

I'll put it on the
air immediately.

Sounds like he's been drinking.

Says he has a cyanide capsule

and as soon as he
talk to you or Reed,

he's going to swallow it.

Well, keep stalling
him. I got an idea.

Yes, ma'am, I'm still here.
Would you please hurry?

Yes, ma'am.

She thinks it's
gonna take a while.

What was the name of that bar
that Erickson was driving away from

when we busted him on the 502?

Jack's something or other.

Jack's Beard at
Ennyo and K Street.

Well, be reasonable,
Mr. Erickson.

If you plan to k*ll yourself,

what difference
does a few minutes

going to make one
way or another?

Yeah, is this Jack?

I'm trying to
locate Bill Erickson.

Has he been in this morning?

I see. But he's not
there now, huh?

Okay, thanks very much.

He left the bar
five minutes ago.

He couldn't get
far in five minutes.

Look, you stay
here. If you have to,

get on the phone with
Erickson, keep him talking.

Right.

One-Adam-12, regarding
the attempt su1c1de.

The telephone company
reports the booth

is located at the
northwest corner,

L and Ennyo Streets.

Excuse me, sir. Can I borrow
your coat? It's an emergency.

Hey, what's the
gag? It's no gag.

There's a man down the
street in a phone booth

threatening to k*ll himself.

I'd like to stop him,

but if he sees my uniform,
I might not get the chance.

Sure, why not?

Thank you.

Just wait here.

I'll get it back to
you as soon as I can.

No, no, no!

All right, Bill, that's it.

Give it up.

Drop it! Give it to me!

I suppose he bribed
you to do this, too.

No, sir.

So you got one lousy pill.

There's plenty more
where that came from.

We've only got one problem.

You have, huh?

Keeping you away from 'em.

Lieutenant? Yeah, he's okay.

We're on our way in.

Let's go, Bill.

I can't believe it. My own son.

I kept telling him
to lay off the booze,

and he wouldn't listen to me,

and now he's in a padded cell.

No, sir, he's in a
psychiatric ward.

The boy needs
help, Mr. Erickson.

I'll help him.

Wait till he gets out of there.

I'll ship him off to Timbuktu.

When you're finished
with that report,

I want to check it.

Yes, sir.

Funny.

In that rooming house
where Thomas k*lled his wife,

I felt bad, but not dirty.

Around Erickson, I feel crummy.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

You look at 'em,

one of them's kind, even...

even gentle, like Duke said.

The other one's a
conniving egomaniac.

And which one is in jail?

The m*rder*r.

Yeah.

Come on, let's get to work.

♪♪