03x10 - Log 135: Arson

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One-Adam-12, handle code 3.

♪♪

Did you see the notice about the
department exams to make Investigator 1?

- In September.
- You gonna try?

I haven't made up my mind.

It means a lot of studying.

That's not what's stopping me.

What, then?

I'm just not sure I want
to work plainclothes.

One-Adam-12, One-Adam-12,

assist the fire department.

4012 Rosedale Street. Code 2.

One-Adam-12, roger.

- Think it's that firebug again?
- Maybe.

Busy character.

The firemen can take over now,
sir. Do you want to move back?

- I'm only trying to help.
- Yes, sir, but that car

could explode if the
flames reach the gas t*nk.

Come on.

Officer, that car was
set on fire deliberately.

- Could I have your name, son?
- Bob Benjamin.

I live up the street there.

Did you see
somebody set the fire?

Well, I was coming
across the lawn there,

and I saw this man running
away... some stranger.

Right after that, the car kind
of sprouted into flames all over.

Can you describe the man you
saw running away from the fire?

Well, after the fire
started, I looked again.

I saw him run across the street
over there and into those trees.

He was maybe a couple
of inches taller than me.

No, no. I saw him, too. He
was much taller. At least 6 feet.

Excuse me, sir. One at a time.

I'll get your story in a minute.

Officer, he was short,
not even as tall as I am.

- Okay, Bob, go ahead.
- I did get a good look
at him, honest.

He wore dark pants and a
blue checked shirt, short sleeves.

And his shirt was
a sort of green.

- Anything else?
- He was skinny.

- Definitely stocky.
- Oh, no, he wasn't stocky.

And definitely not skinny.
And about that shirt...

It was plaid, and
light tan pants.

All we have to do
is find a suspect

who's either 5'8" or 6'
tall, skinny and stocky...

- Mm-hmm.
- Who wears light
and dark pants

and three different-colored
shirts at the same time.

Short sleeves. That narrows it.

The boy's description
matches the one we got

at the fire over on


Nice kid. He sounded like he
knew what he was talking about.

Do you think the same guy set
all six of these car fires this month?

- Same M.O. every time.
- What makes a guy
want to set fire to cars?

Maybe he doesn't
like traffic jams.

One-Adam-12, One-Adam-12.

See the man. A family dispute.

1247 East Flower Drive.

One-Adam-12, roger.

Why don't they call a family
counselor instead of us?

By the time the
counselor gets there,

one of them could
be in the hospital.

I still don't like these calls.

You're not alone.

- Get her out of here.
- No.

- What do you mean, no?
- I mean no.

No? No?

Police officers, ma'am.

A man at this address
called the police. Is he here?

I'm here, Officers.

Hello, I'm Bill Barlow.

What's the trouble, Mr. Barlow?

- Get her out.
- I will not. Miss Fisher is my guest.

- I'm Susie Fisher.
- And I'm Betty Barlow.

This is my house,
and I say get her out.

My house!

Miss Fisher and I are going
to watch the football game.

- S.C. and Notre Dame.
- Over my dead body.

Mr. Barlow, I wouldn't want
to cause domestic trouble

between a gentleman
and his wife.

No trouble, no
trouble. My pleasure.

You are a worm.

Mr. Barlow, if you'll just tell
us why you called the police...

Because I'm fed up to here.

I'm sorry. That's not
really a police problem.

As long as you policemen
are here, I have a job for you.

This is my house.
Throw that tramp out.

Officers, I don't know
how you can stand there

and listen to one person call
another person terrible names.

We can't get involved in
family disputes, ma'am.

Well, I should think
it would be a crime

to call a lady a tramp.

Well, there's nothing we
can do unless this all ends

with a charge of disturbing
the peace for all of you.

So why don't you talk it over

and settle it quietly
and peacefully?

I don't need you to
tell me how to act.

I'm not disturbing
anybody's peace.

- I'm going to disturb yours!
- Okay, wait a minute.

Now, how did all this start?

Well, Miss Fisher rides on the
same bus with me every morning.

She likes football, so I invited
her over to watch the game.

- In my house!
- My house!

I never thought I was going
to get involved with the police.

Just tell me this:
Is it against any law

to have a friend over to
watch a football game with you?

No, sir.

Thank you, Officer. Huh!

- Ow!
- Wait!

You could be charged
with as*ault, ma'am.

But he's my husband.

Well, the law doesn't
give a wife the right

to commit as*ault
on her husband.

Bill, I'm sorry.

Oh...

Forgive me. Don't let
them take me to jail.

Jail? Don't cry.

Wait. Don't worry,
baby. Don't worry.

You're not gonna arrest my wife.

Not while I'm
here to protect her.

You think just because
you wear a badge

you can intimidate me?

Miss Fisher, I'm afraid I'll
have to ask you to leave.

I'll thank you never to speak
to me again, Mr. Barlow!

Oh, Bill, don't let
them take me away.

Oh, no.

No, don't cry, baby. Baby doll.

Now, you're not dealing
with some punk, you know.

I know something about the law,

and I know
influential people, too.

And wait till I tell them
you tried to arrest Betty.

Mr. Barlow, if you don't want to
press charges against your wife,

we can forget the whole thing.

Are you trying to be funny?
Press charges against Betty?

Well, look, I'm a taxpayer,

and I don't like your jokes.

Just, will you get out?

Both of you. Clear out, huh?

We'll clear out, but first we've got
to get a few more facts for our report.

Oh. Well, all right.

Baby doll?

Mmm.

All right. Okay.

One-Adam-12, One-Adam-12,

see the man regarding
an arson suspect.

432 West Bridewell. Code 2.

One-Adam-12, roger.

Firebug's having
himself a busy day.

And night.

We got a call on
a confirmed fire.

In that trash can. If
he hadn't spotted it

and pulled the can away, the
whole works would've gone.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

That's all the
information I can give you.

- Looks like you were here
at the right time, sir.
- Sure was.

Can we have your
name and address, sir?

Hal Rosten. R-O-S-T-E-N.



Oh, I work for Sunray.
After I got home,

I found I'd left my reading
glasses on the desk.

I drove back. I have
a key to the back door.

Could you tell us
what you saw, sir?

When I swung into the lot, my headlights
picked up a fellow ducking around the back.

I thought it was
kind of strange.

Then I saw the fire
when I stopped my car.

Can you describe the
man that you saw, sir?

Oh, it all happened so quick.

It was more of an
impression than really seeing.

- I'm sorry.
- Anybody else around?

No, not a soul.

I pulled the trash
can in the clear,

then I went inside and I called
the fire department and you fellas.

It's all cool and well. We'll
head back to the station.

Is there any chance that the fire
in the trash can was an accident?

- Not a chance.
- Even if somebody
was lighting a cigarette

and thought the match was
out, and they threw it in the can?

The fire started in the center of
a batch of crumpled newspaper.

A dropped match would
have burned the top.

Anything smoldering would
have burned the bottom.

This was arson.

Hal, what's been going on here?

I don't know, Mr. Shumley.

Oh, I'm Carl
Shumley. I own Sunray.

Did Mr. Rosten call
you, Mr. Shumley?

No, there's no one
home. My wife's away.

She's visiting our daughter
down in Canton, Ohio.

I had a bit of food, and
then I came back here

to catch up with some paperwork.

Having trash piled against
that building is a fire hazard, sir.

- Is this a ticket?
- No, sir.

It's a notice directing
you to remove the hazard.

Oh. I'll never
understand it, Hal.

Somebody's trying
to burn Sunray.

Why?

Sir, there's an arsonist
operating in this neighborhood.

Yes, I read about
him in the papers,

but he wouldn't burn a stranger's
place of business down, would he?

Maybe he's a customer,
and we just don't know it.

My customers are nice people.

There's no reason to
believe it's anybody you know.

An arsonist sets fires usually
just for the kick he gets out of it.

What kind of a world is it

when people go
out and set fires?

Poor guy Shumley
really took it hard.

He was more shook up about
somebody being mad at him

than he was about having
his business burned down.

Yeah.

Hey, if we have the time,

why don't we keep an
extra eye on his place?

See if that firebug comes back

and tries to finish
what he started.

Why? Are you expecting him to?

No, I guess not.

Even if it was one
of his customers,

which is a real long shot,

how would we recognize
him, by his short sleeves?

Yeah, but in that neighborhood,
we could get a burglary call or a drunk

or a hype... I don't know what.

We'd be in the area anyway.

It'd be kind of nice if
we could help the guy.

Not tonight. It's end of watch.

All units in the vicinity
in One-Adam-12,

a jumper, 7th and Sibley.

One-Adam-12, code 3.

One-Adam-12, roger.

Hi.

Why did they send for you?

Take it easy, mister.
Don't get excited.

Don't get excited? Why
shouldn't I get excited?

What else do you
expect for me to be?

Wait just a minute
now. Please wait.

Wait? Do you think I
have any other choice?

Everybody's got a choice.

He's right, mister.
Don't do anything foolish.

Just relax. There's
always a way out.

Well, why don't you help me?

We'll be glad to help you,
mister, any way we can.

Well, why don't you stop
talking and do something?

Do you think I
want to be out here?

- I'm cold.
- Why don't you come on inside?

There's a hook in my building,

and my belt is stuck in it,

and I can't move!

And I'm afraid to move.

I see. Okay. Simmer down.

- All right.
- Oh, thank you,
Officers.

Much obliged.

Phew.

Just for the records,
would you tell us

how you got into that fix?

A warbler. That lousy warbler.

What?

You see, I make estimates

for a window washing service.

And I'm a bird watcher.

So, I was checking the windows,

and noticed, on the
ledge, there was a nest.

And in that nest
was one of those

white-throated Arizona warblers.

So I thought I'd go
out and take a look.

And I went out there.

And do you know,
when I got out there,

my belt got hung in one of
those window-washing hooks?

I don't know very much
about that sort of thing,

but people that watch birds,

where do they usually
do the watching?

Mm, out in the
country, of course.

Yeah. Out in the country.

One-X-ray-52. One-X-ray-52.

Assist the fire department.

The alley at the rear.


Firebug again.

What we need with
him is a little luck.

So far he's had it all.

Sooner or later, his
luck's bound to run out.

Yeah.

Maybe the sarge's beefing
up the patrols tonight will help.

I sure hope so.

- Ah, it's peaceful so far.
- Yeah.

Hey, how about driving past
Mr. Shumley's place just for a look?

Okay.

One-Adam-12. One-Adam-12.

See the woman. A
male mental case.

3331 Vail Boulevard. Code 2.

One-Adam-12, roger.

Oh, thank God! Thank God!

Ann, my sister, called
the mental hospital.

They're sending someone out.

But anything could happen
by the time they get here.

Tell us what the
trouble is, ma'am.

Ann's husband!

He's sick!

Somehow he escaped
from the hospital,

and he's in there with a knife!

We'll see what we can do.

Go away.

Can we talk to you, sir?

You're not going to get me.

We're going to come in now

just for a minute
to talk to you.

What's going on, sir?

Don't you come any closer.

You're not going to get me

or Ann,

'cause I'll take her with me.

We're here to help
you any way we can.

You're lying!

We have no reason to lie.

That's all!

You stay where I can watch you.

One more step, and I'll...

They sent you to k*ll me.

Who's "they"?

You know.

The officers want to help
you, George. I swear it.

You're lying!

If you tell us who's
trying to k*ll you, maybe

we could all go and go
and stop him, together.

You think I'm a fool.

You think I'll go with you.

You wouldn't want
to hurt anyone.

Why don't you
put the knife down?

First, you take off your g*ns.

I'm sorry. We can't do that.

Why?

We have to wear them.

Regulations.

George, please,
darling, you're hurting me.

You know, a strong man shouldn't
have to hide behind a woman, should he?

I'm not talking to you!

Talking's the best
way to find out the truth.

Why, you're not afraid
of the truth, are you?

Get away from the door.

Why?

I'm going away... far away,

and Ann's coming with me.

She's my wife.

Well, we'll all go together.

Move! Get away from the door!

Why don't you tell us
where you want to go?

We'll be glad to take you.

For the last time...

You can trust us.

Ann,

I've got to do it, Ann.

You know.

You're my wife.

No. George, no.

I didn't believe you
would be against me...

My own wife.

You're my wife!

Everyone's against me.

How do you know that?

George, don't, please.

I'm not to blame.

You are!

You made me do...

Who's that?

You expecting somebody?

Maybe it's a friend of yours.

I've got no friends.

If anyone tries to come
in here, I'll... I'll k*ll them.

We're from George's hospital.

You're behaving
very badly, George.

I want you to stop this
nonsense at once, George.

No.

Give me that knife.

This minute!

Yes, Miss Thompson.

Say good-bye to your wife.

We're going back
to the hospital.

Bye, Ann.

How about those nurses?

- They're something else, huh?
- They really bailed us out.

Hey, do you think George
would've used that knife?

No way to be sure. I thought so.

The man said, strange world.

Hey, how about taking West
Bridewell back to the station?

Okay.

Check that door!

It's locked. I'll
check the roof.

Hold it right there.

Let's go.

I am sorry.

Some more
paperwork, Mr. Shumley.

Business was so bad
that I was going broke.

Insurance was the only hope.

I got the idea when I read in
the papers about that arsonist.

Okay, let's walk to the car.

Well, I was going to
start a new business.

Hal would've had a safe job.

Twenty years he's been with me.

I wanted to protect him.

Let me ask you
something, Mr. Shumley.

Who's going to protect the
men who have to risk their lives

trying to put out
the fire you start?

Let's go inside.

One-X-ray-52. One-X-ray-52.

See the man regarding
an arson suspect

at the garage on
Slauson, at Green.

- Code 2.
- He's still at it.

I just hope we catch that guy before
he gives anybody else any more ideas.