03x05 - Death in a Different Place

[bunniefuu]

[♪♪♪]

[CAR HORNS HONKING]

Yeah, wait a second.

Oh!

[HORNS BLARING]

[SHOUTING] Yeah, all right!

Now, what are you
gonna do this time?

How far is it to the station?

Same blocks it was
yesterday and the day before that.

Starsky, how come is it

that your car has
this propensity

to stop at the same point
for three days in a row?

It's very simple.

You see, the distance from
my apartment to the station...

All right!

Look, Starsky, I think it's
about time to you made a choice

between this piece
of junk and me.

Don't make me choose.

Walking in this heat is
not my idea of a good time.

My temperature gauge
went up degrees.

Well, mine's going up about !

Well, if I kept driving, I
might blow my engine.

You do this again, you're
gonna blow a partner.

[HORNS HONKING]

What are you doing now?

I'm gonna cool off.

All right!

Big bad Blaine, we owe you.

For what?

For what? Oh, there
he goes into that

"Ain't nothing, partner,
just doing my job."

We busted a couple
of punks. So what?

So what? You saved
our act. We owe you.

STARSKY: Name it.

Okay, John, you got the power.

Tell my partner to get rid
of his so-called car, will you?

What's the matter, Hutch?
Have to walk this morning?

Yeah. You got it.

Tell you what. I'll
buy you a drink later

You'll buy? Yeah.

Oh, this I gotta see.

No, thanks. I've got a couple
of things to check out tonight.

See you guys for
dinner Saturday.

You got it, cap.

Okay. I'll see you. Ooh!

[PIANO PLAYING
"FRANKIE AND JOHNNY"]

[CHEERING, WHISTLING]

[IMITATING MAE WEST]
Oh, I love that music.

Oh, keep playing
"Frankie and Johnny."

Oh, they were lovers. Mmm.

I think they were also
hairstylists, I'm not sure.

Oh, I feel like
a million tonight,

but, mmm, I'll take
them two at a time.

Mmm!

You know, I'll never forget
the time I was out west,

hmm, where men are
men, women are women

and everyone
else is on Medicaid.

[LAUGHTER]

I met a very gay Indian.

A sweet Sioux.

Two feet tall... Hi.

SUGAR: Oh! He said, "Miss
West, I'd love to make love to you."

Do you mind if I sit down?

No. Go ahead. Sit.

SUGAR: "How."

But if you do... Wait,
I haven't finished.

Now, just relax. Let
me finish this little joke.

You alone?

Yeah.

Can I buy you a drink?

No, no, no, thanks. I'm fine.

SUGAR: That was a good one. Mmm!

We'll do it in the second show.

Hey, Murph,

a Scotch and water.

SUGAR: Thank you, thank you,

thank you.

Before I go one more minute...

I bet you played ball.

What?

Football?

I bet you played, huh?

Yeah, I played some.

I bet you were good, huh?

Yeah, I guess I was okay.

SUGAR: It's dripping.
Do we have a bar rag?

Thank you, my darlings.

They say that I have...

Salut.

Salut.

SUGAR: I have no
problem drinking it all.

I'm sorry. Sorry.

It's all right. No problem.
Don't worry about it.

Now, look, I've gotta
buy you a drink this time.

I just can't make up my
mind whether to be Marilyn.

Oooh!

Or Carol.

[CROWD WHISTLING, CHEERING]

Or...

Bette.

[CHEERING, APPLAUSE]

SUGAR: I'm gonna
take a break, boys.

I'll be back for showtime
number two, toodle-oo.

Thanks for the drinks.

Maybe I'll see you again.

Is something wrong?

All these drinks...

Phew! It really hit me tonight.

I'll walk you to your
car. Where is it?

Well, it's back at
the St. Francis Hotel.

You're in no condition to drive.

I just don't pick
up with anybody.

Neither do I.

But you're still in
no condition to drive.

I've... I've got a room
at the St. Francis.

Come on.

[DINGS]

I see you got the groceries.

[BELL DINGS]

The man wants .

Just a minute.

BLAINE [SOFTLY]: Corday?

Uh, thanks, Mr. Lawford.

Put this in the safe, will you?
And I'll pick it up tomorrow.

LAWFORD: Take it easy.

The man said .

You're gonna make it,
buddy. You're gonna make it.

You're going to make it?

Attaboy. One step at a time.

Here we go.

Stand over here.

You're okay, huh? I guess so.

What's with the creep?

Eh?

He's just picked up
another trick, that's all.

Nick's okay: a lady
last night, a man tonight.

Okay, let's roll. I don't
work overtime, Casanova.

NICK: Here you go.

Doing okay, huh?

[BLAINE MUMBLING INCOHERENTLY]

Let's get your jacket off.

You all right?

Why don't you go
lay down for a while.

Hey, relax for a second.

Attaboy.

I'll get you a towel, okay?

How are you doing, buddy?

Huh?

How are you doing?

Good night.

MAN [ON RADIO]:
And it is going to be

a blockbuster
again today, folks.

The weatherman says

we should have a high of ...

So who wants to know?

As we head into our
fifth day of record heat.

How about that?

That happening here on
this first day of the month.

Okay, I'm sorry
about it all, folks,

but I've got another note here

that says it is
gonna stay that way.

No relief in sight.

But we think we can refresh
you with some cool music.

Morning.

Morning.

Hot coffee and a fan, huh?

Mm-hm.

The coffee's an upper.

I didn't sleep much last night.

Yeah? Where were you?

Sorry I asked.

What's wrong with
the air conditioning?

Nothing's wrong with
the air conditioning.

It's just not working.

What are you doing?

How about a little
instant pneumonia?

Morning, captain.

Morning, cap.

What's the matter?

Blaine's dead.

Who?

John Blaine. Dead.

What?

That's awful.

How?

When?

We were just working
with him last night.

Last night.

That's when it happened.

Call just came in
a few minutes ago.

They found him in some funky
hotel on Holloway Boulevard.

The St. Francis.

What was he doing?

That's what you two are
gonna have to find out,

because he wasn't
working for me.

Did you speak to Maggie?

Yeah.

How did she take it?

Like my wife, or any loving wife

who's been married for years

and find out her husband's dead.

[PEOPLE CLAMORING]

WOMAN [ON RADIO]:
The time is :.:.

MAN [ON RADIO]: -.
Northern Two to Headquarters.

WOMAN: Unit on the air.

[SIREN WAILING]

MAN: Northern
Two to Headquarters.

WOMAN: Northern Two.

MAN: Got a - investigation...

[RADIO CHATTER
BECOMES INDISTINCT]

WOMAN: - investigation...

One thousand Chestnut.

I was just telling Maxine

this sort of thing could
give the hotel a bad name.

Wouldn't it, Maxine?

Yeah.

You better watch
your clientele, Lawford.

Back off.

Hey, look what's coming.

Yeah.

You the manager?

That's right.

Stick around. I might want
to ask you some questions.

This a big case for you, love?

You know something I should?

Yeah, she was telling
me she knew the guy

that was with the
dead guy last night

before he got dead.

Is that right?

Uh, well, not personally, love.

But... But I do know something.

We all knew him, Starsky.
He was a good cop.

What do you got?

Possible suffocation.

How do you know?

Signs of cyanosis:

blue tinge around the face,

upper torso.

Also indications of
petechial hemorrhage:

the bloodshot eyes.

We'll know when the
autopsy comes out.

Get a Polaroid.

Have you seen enough?

Yeah.

Go on, go on, go on.

[SIGHS]

His money was missing.

They're looking for prints.

Don't know the cause of death.

Possibly suffocation.

What did you get?

Well, one of the
ladies downstairs

said that she saw Blaine come
into the hotel last night, late,

staggering
drunk... with a trick.

Did you get a description?

Yeah. Not much to go on.

Medium height,
Caucasian, black hair, male.

John was in this
hotel last night

with a nickel-and-dime
hustler...

Wait. Wait, wait, wait a second.

What are you talking about?

John Blaine with...

[SCOFFS]

Hey.

Hey!

I grew up next to his family.

What are...?

You must be suffering
from heat prostration

if you're gonna take the
word of a two-bit hooker...

The manager in this hotel

said that Blaine has had a
room here for over a year.

Well, he probably
was undercover.

Until six months ago,

he was in this room
with the same guy.

Recently, there
have been others.

He could have been undercover.

Dobey says no.

Well, I don't buy that.

Well, buy it or
not, Blaine's dead.

And he was with another man.

STARSKY: There's
no reason to tell her.

Are you talking as a cop
or a friend of the family?

[SIGHS]

"Well, Maggie, we're real sorry
to inform you that John is dead,

and we hate to inform
you also that he was gay."

I can't do that.

Well, then, I'll do it.

What good would it do?

Starsky, you know as well as
I do we're floundering around.

We got to get it
out on the street.

We need information.

Maybe Maggie can
tell us something.

Maybe she can't.

I mean, do you have any
idea what this could do to her?

Well, then, let's turn around.

Looks like John's
got more medals

than the whole
Department combined.

Yes, he does.

HUTCH: Is that you?
STARSKY: Yeah.

John was teaching
me how to fight.

Bloody nose and all.

He was real proud of me.

I want to thank
you both for coming.

Can I get you
something to drink?

Some coffee? No, thank you.

No, thank you,
Maggie. Uh, nothing.

What is it, David?

Maggie...

Maggie, John was with
somebody last night.

A young man.

What do you mean?

What are you trying to say?

The last time that
Johnny was seen alive,

he was taking a young
man up to his hotel room.

He was always
with people like that.

That was part of his job.

You ought to know that.

Johnny had a hotel room.

He'd had that hotel
room for a long time.

That's a lie.

He was on a case.

Maggie, please.

I'm sorry, David.

I know you're not lying.

I guess I've known
about it for a long time.

I knew.

But there are some
things better left unsaid.

Maggie, is there anything
else that you can tell us

that might help?

For a long time...

he was very close
to a young man.

Do you remember the man's name?

Peter Whitelaw.

It was in the papers
about a year ago.

A young teacher accused
of being a h*m*.

David...

John was a good man.

No matter what you find out...

John was a good man.

I mean, it really blows my mind.

I always thought
of John and Maggie

as being the ideal couple.

His being gay doesn't change
any of the other things he was.

Yeah, but how could
anybody live that life with...

What?

I mean, we were really close.

How could he have been
gay without my knowing it?

Well, how would you have
felt about him if he'd told you?

I...

I don't know.

That's probably why
he stayed in the closet.

You see two men together
and think, "How ugly," right?

That's the stupidity.

We're trying to find
out why a cop is dead.

Did you and John

spend any time at a hotel
called the St. Francis?

Yeah... because
John felt safe there.

How about bars?

Have any special
places down in that area?

A place called The Green Parrot.

HUTCH: Did you know anybody
down at The Green Parrot?

No.

John and I were loners.

Did he mention anybody
by the name of Nick?

No.

You know, it's you guys...

It's society. It's
the whole attitude...

that made John sneak.

A man is dead, Mr. Whitelaw.

I don't care if he's
gay or straight.

Labels don't mean a thing.

We just want to find out why.

You don't think much
of all this, do you?

I think that you have
the right to campaign...

and to run for office and get
elected, just like anyone else.

I don't think you have to wear

your private life
on your sleeve.

I don't think you
have to hide it.

But I don't think
that you have to...

use it as a platform
on which to campaign.

[PLAYING LIVELY MUSIC]

MURPH: Hey! Hey!

STARSKY: Did you
ever see this guy?

MURPH: Oh, yeah, sure.

I know him. That's John.

Yeah, sure. I know him. He
comes in a lot. Mostly nights.

See him last night?

Yeah. He was here last night.

Are you talking
about the guy that d*ed

over at the hotel last night?

You ever seen him before?

Well, I don't know. All
johns look alike to me.

Did you see him last night?

I was busy last night.

Last night?

Oh, cool it, Murph.

It's too hot to play games.

Why don't you fix the
policemen and me a drink?

It's on me.

Something cold. No booze.

Yeah. Make that two.

Let me get this straight.
You were here last night?

Well, of course.

Everybody was.

You know, darling, I'm
the entertainment here.

I was on stage all night.

You can ask anybody.

What gorgeous hair!

I think I'll bleach
mine the same.

It's not bleach. It's natural.

What a coincidence.

So's mine.

Sugar's giving
you the : show.

Honey, they couldn't live
through the : show.

[LAUGHS]

Okay. Look.

This guy, John, was he
with anybody last night?

I don't know. It was
crowded. A madhouse.

Well, try to remember.

It was crowded!

You just told them that, dummy.

Well, look, um...

this'll take care of the drinks.

Keep the change.

Ooh, yeah. Yeah. I
remember now. Uh...

Uh, yeah, it was
Nick. Nick Hunter.

Come on, Sugar.

You know him better than I do.

Yeah, Sugar. Tell
us about Nick Hunter.

No big thing.

He's a pretty boy who works
the streets. A friend of mine.

Did John leave the
bar with Nick last night?

Sugar.

[WOMEN SCREAM]

[CAR HORN BLARES]

[TIRES SQUEAL]

Lighten up, man!
Okay. Lighten up!

Take it easy, sweetheart.
No one's going to get hurt.

HUTCH: Nick Hunter?
Yeah. Who else?

Try to keep the answers
straight and not cute.

What's this?

Any law against me having money?

Where did you
get it? I inherited it.

Now, you listen, and you
listen real good, buddy.

We got witnesses
that saw you last night

at the bar and the
St. Francis Hotel

with a man that turned
up dead this morning.

Give me a break! No,
punk. He was a cop.

[YELLS]

Tell us about the money.

I don't know nothing
about any money!

His wallet was empty! Huh?

Okay! So I ripped him
off. But I didn't k*ll him!

The dude was drunk, passed
out on his bed when I split.

Yeah, well, he was
found dead this morning!

His wallet was empty.
And you're holding!

Starsky, don't
come into my office...

Cap, do not "Now, Starsky," me.

STARSKY: That is
a piece of garbage.

Hunter's out on the street
because we had to let him go.

Some guy named Lawford
put up the $ bail.

$? For k*lling a cop?

The charge was
possession of stolen property.

But we had witnesses.

The witnesses could
only put him on the scene.

Circumstantial
evidence at the best.

A cop is k*lled and you
release the prime suspect?

We don't know that
Blaine was k*lled.

Oh!

It says right
here in the report.

There was alcohol and a
trace of barbiturates in the blood.

That's great, captain. You're
suggesting the man's a junkie.

He could have been taking
pills. Everybody takes pills.

Look, I'm just reading
what's in the report here.

He may even have
d*ed from a heart att*ck.

It also says "...with signs
of suffocation." Unquote.

And if you read to the end
of the paragraph, it says,

"Victim may have
had an occlusion,

thereby causing a heart att*ck."

Unquote.

Maybe, maybe, maybe,
maybe. A cop is dead, captain.

Maybe somebody
helped him suffocate!

We can't hold a
suspect on a maybe.

No.

Hunter was seen.

Going into the room.

Hunter's just a cheap
nickel-and-dime,

and you know it!

k*lling's not his M.O.

Okay, cap.

What's happening?

[SIGHS]

Pressure, Starsky.

Pressure like you never known.

From where? From everywhere.

The commissioner's
office. The chief's office.

The mayor's office. About what?

The Department's under
a lot of pressure right now

to allow gays on the force.

So?

So the Department is not
anxious to let the world know

that one of its finest might
have been a h*m*.

Mrs. Blaine is handling it.

You'd think that the
Department could do the same.

We are not going
to back off this case,

no matter what the
Department says...

I'm not asking you to. I just
don't want to know about it!

And if we come
up with something?

If you find something
you bring it to me

and we're going to go,
regardless of the pressure.

[TAPS DESK]

What are you doing?

When I'm nervous, I cook, okay?

What are you cooking?

Custard. You want some?

You're weird.

It's :.

I called Nick at the club.

He said he's on his way over.

He might have gotten
scared and taken off.

Did that ever occur to you?

Look, Nick is a hungry hustler.

He smells a buck.

He'll be here.

Hey, Corday, I don't
mind telling you,

I don't like this anymore.

When this is over,
you can count me out.

As far as you're
concerned, I am retired.

You got that?

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

I was going to call
you if you didn't call me.

I'm glad of it.

I'm in a rush.
Let's get down to it.

I want you to disappear.

I need $ traveling money.

I was thinking more like, uh...

$.

Not for the information I got.

You and whatshisname
are dealing.

NICK: Now, you give me
$ or I do a John Dean.

I'm afraid we can't
accommodate you, creep.

Hey!

[CAR TIRES SQUEAL]

WOMAN [ON RADIO]: Four fifteen.

A disturbance of the peace
at the St. Francis Hotel.

Twelfth and Holloway Boulevard.

Zebra , Zebra ,
respond to a .

A disturbance of the peace
at the St. Francis Hotel.

He got away?

He knows.

What if he talks?

[GASPS]

What if you talked?

[KNOCK AT DOOR]

LAVERNE: Hey, Lawford.

Lawford, what's
going on in there?

We've called the cops, Lawford.

I'm a police officer.

There's been a m*rder here.

I want you both to
stay out here in the hall.

Don't move!

Stay there!

[DIALS NUMBER]

CORDAY: Yeah, Hotel
St. Francis. Room .

CORDAY: Yeah. I'll
stay here. Excuse me.

Okay. Yeah, okay.

[REPLACES RECEIVER]

Lieutenant Corday?

Hi.

Narco, isn't it?

Yeah. Narco.

What happened?

This guy's name is Lawford.

He was stabbed by a punk.

Nick Hunter.

I already called it in.

HUTCH: How do you
know it was Nick Hunter?

CORDAY: I was
standing outside the door.

I hear Lawford
yell. I open the door.

Lawford is falling.

And Hunter went out
that window. He got away.

What were you doing here?

Well, I, um... I was supposed to
have a meeting with him at :.

What was the meeting about?

I busted him for dealing
a couple of weeks ago.

We were going
to work out a deal.

If he gave me his
source, he goes free.

And it seems to me
his source was Hunter.

Only he arrived early.

Hmm?

Yeah.

[HUMMING TUNE]

[KNOCK AT DOOR]

Hold on!

I'll be just as good
when I get there.

[HUMMING]

Well! We're
certainly in a hurry.

[CLOSES DOOR]

You know, darling, I
don't like to be rushed.

Sugar, I need some money.

How come...

every time you want
something it's always money?

I thought the cops busted you.

Sugar, cut the
acting. They let me go.

Lawford, at the St.
Francis, was knifed to death.

A couple of hookers
put it out on the street

that a cop named Corday
is trying to hang it on me.

I think Corday's
the guy that did it.

I need a little money to
get out of town for a while.

Well, you've got to try harder.

We don't always
get what we need.

STARSKY: It's all
too pat. HUTCH: Yeah.

What do you know about Corday?

[TELEPHONE RINGS]

Not as much as I'd like to know.

You don't trust him?

I don't know.

Hutchinson. Yeah?

[MUFFLED VOICE] I
know who k*lled Blaine.

Yeah. Go ahead.

NICK: He's a cop.

His name is Corday

and he's on Narco.

[REPLACES RECEIVER]

[DIAL TONE]

Says he k*lled Blaine.

How did you get
Lawford's file out of Narco?

Captain, we've gone
over that file word for word.

And all the evidence
points to the fact

that Lawford was holding

and Corday let him off clean.

Now, if Corday was
making a deal with Lawford,

why doesn't somebody in
the Department know about it?

Some snitch calls
you on the phone,

you guys are ready to
bust the whole Narco Squad.

Are you crazy?

Or you just don't care
about your careers?

Suppose that Blaine stumbled
onto Lawford and Corday

dealing in the hotel.

If you're going to
bust a police officer,

you need more than a "suppose."

HUTCH: Well, that
goes without saying.

STARSKY: Captain.

First Blaine gets b*rned.

And then Lawford.

Those are the two people
that could have busted Corday.

Mmm.

They're both dead.

Disappear for hours.

Get some hard
evidence that's a lock.

We'll do what we have to do.

Thank you very
much, Miss Sherwood.

And please tell all
your friends to register.

Hey! Are you serious?

Are you two registered?

Well, no. I just moved in.

We've only got a day, Huggy.

And we need your help.

It's always good to be needed.

You know Sugar?

Entertainer over
at the Parrot Club.

Does a fly know flypaper?

Does this fly know
where Sugar lives?

Richfield.

Wait a second. How
did you know that?

Part of my great knowledge
of trivia. And don't knock it.

Oh, I'm not.

There's something else.

Oh, there's always
something else.

We want you to go
undercover with a friend.

Well, that's easy. I've
been undercover all my life.

As a gay dude in
The Green Parrot?

Hi.

What can I do for you?

We're looking for Nick Hunter.

He's not here.

Will I do?

Yeah. You'll do fine. Do
you mind if we come in?

Got a warrant?

Do we need a warrant?

Get lost.

I don't know anything.

Well, if you see Nick
Hunter, will you tell him

that we know who k*lled Lawford.

Hey, wait!

It was me who called you.

Yeah, we figured that.

There's an APB out on you.

Now, if your friend
here will let us come in,

maybe we can
help each other out.

[ENERGETIC DISCO MUSIC]

Hunter.

Hold it, Corday!

[GRUNTS]

Hold it, Starsky!

Hold it! You too, Hutch!

Drop it, or I'll put a hole
right through his back!

In front of you.

Now, kick it away.

Kick it!

[KICKS g*n]

Hands over your head.

Come on!

All right, Hutch. Drop it.

Drop it!

[g*n THUMPS ON FLOOR]

Hands over your head.

Stay right where you are.

Okay, Lady Jane. Now, let's go.

Don't move!

[DISCO MUSIC CONTINUES]

All right, move! Move!
Get out of the way!

[CLUB PATRONS SHOUTING]

Move, you pigs!

Corday!

[GLASS SHATTERING]

Don't do it, Starsky!
I'm telling you.

I'll blow his brains out!

I'll k*ll him!

CORDAY: I mean
it! No way, Corday.

That's six.

Next time I lead.

[PUFFING]

Six?

Five, six.

Oh.

STARSKY: You'd
think in this business,

you'd get used to surprises.

Well, the day that happens,

we might as well
throw in the towel.

Yeah, well, it's still
kind of hard to believe.

Starsk, it's no big thing.

Hey, you're not
that sophisticated.

I mean, a man preferring a man

is not as casual as
someone having a bad cold.

Is that right?

Yeah.

I mean, I'm not taking a
position for or against it.

But it is something
to contend with.

I mean, it's not your
usual, everyday thing.

Right.

HUTCH: Hey, you want
to get something to eat?

No. I wouldn't mind
something to drink.

Starsk, would you
consider that, uh,

a man who spends percent
of his time with another man

has got certain tendencies?

Seventy-five? You
mean three-quarters?

Right.

Yeah. Sure. Why not?

I mean, that was the
case between John and...

No, no. That's the case
between you and me.

What?

Well, figure it out.

In a -day week, there are
about waking hours, right?

Yeah.

We work, eat and drink
about of those hours, right?

That's hours a week,

seventy-five percent of
the time we spend together,

and you're not
even a good kisser.

How do you know that?

[♪♪♪]