05x10 - A Button for General D

[bunniefuu]

Hit it.

You put any more gas in this room
and I'll k*ll her!

Now I mean it!

Your friend Monty Dawes
has been holed up in there for three hours.

He's flipped.
He's already k*lled a man in there.

What about tear gas?

We made one pass at it,
but he's got a girl under the g*n.

We can't move.

Where's his mother?

Hello, Sara.

I asked the Lieutenant to call you
because I thought Monty'd listen to you.

He's listened to me for years,
but he's done exactly as he pleased.

I'll try, Sara.

Monty.

Joe Mannix. Let's talk.

No talk. I want that car.
And I'm going to get it!

No deals, Joe.

I'm coming in, Monty.

No further, Joel

Hold your fire!

I want a car,
a full t*nk of gas and the motor running.

No roadblocks
and no squad cars on my tail.

They won't do it, Monty.

You stop where you are.

They'll do it or I'll k*ll her.

And then what?

You going to k*ll me,

and all of those guys outside

and every police officer
that tries to stop you?

You can't run from him, Monty.

Get rid of the g*n!
Throw it away!

♪♪

Monty?

Button... button...

Take it easy. It'll keep.

No.

No, no, button...

win it for Mother.

Gen-- General D.

From the time he was
a runny-nosed kid,

through all those
make-a-billion schemes,

the one gift he never lost

was he'd put his hand on you
and you'd feel it warm there...

like-- like love was coming out of it.

Now nothing.

Sara...

I'm sorry.

It was an accident.

Thank you, Joe.

Sara, why don't you wait outside?
I'll be a minute.

Oh, Joe?

Well, did he tell you anything,
give you any reason?

He said something about General D.,

a button for his mother,
but it didn't make sense.

Cindy Warren, this is Joe Mannix.

Thank you.

How long had you known Monty?

I never saw him before this evening.

Start with leaving Reno,
Miss Warren.

I'd been singing in the lounge
at the Paradise Cove.

And one sober soul
among all those drunks saw me

and booked me for my first big club date
in Los Angeles.

That was the man
Monty Dawes k*lled, huh?

Victor Drury.

He was flying here in his private plane

and he offered me a ride.

When we arrived here,
I asked him in for a drink.

This is my aunt's house.

She's away on a trip.
I'm just staying here.

And, uh, when we--
when we came in,

there was a man.
He was hiding in here.

What happened?

I don't know.

I guess we surprised him.
It happened so quickly.

Victor grabbed for the g*n.

It went off...

and he was dead.

I'm sorry, Miss Warren, but I'll have to
ask you to come downtown.

I'll need a statement.

You too, Joe.
As soon as I can, Art.

I don't want Sara
staying out at the ranch tonight alone.

I'll see if maybe Peggy can help out.
All right.

Peggy?

Good morning.
'Morning.

How are things out at the ranch?
Well, Sara's torn up, naturally,

but she'll be fine.

Thanks for staying.
Anytime.

Oh, you've got a visitor waiting--
a Miss Warren.

Miss Warren? I'll get your coffee.

Hi.

'Morning. Please sit down.

Well, what can I do for you,
Miss Warren?

Well, um,

after I left headquarters last night,
I didn't feel like going back to that house,

so I checked into a motel
in West L.A.

I was there
I guess about maybe ten minutes

and I got a phone call from a man

and, uh, he threatened me.

Do you know who it was?

No.

Well, what did the man say,
exactly, word for word?

Well, he said-- he said something like,

"Did Monty rap to anyone
before he d*ed?"

What did you tell him?

I said I didn't think so.

And then--

Hey, I'm not exactly sure
how all this went down,

but, well, he kept hitting on,
"Did Monty and Victor Drury talk?"

Oh, yeah, he asked if Monty
made any phone calls.

Did he?

Well, not after Victor and I got there.

Did he mention anything about
Monty's mother or buttons...

or General D.?

No.

Anything else?

Yeah.

The last thing he said to me was,
"If you talk, Miss Warren,

you're going to wind up like Monty did."

Talk about what?

I don't know.

Have you any idea?

No. I asked him and he hung up.

Peggy?
Thanks.

See if you can get John Randolph
on the phone, huh?

The postal inspector
of the Federal Building?

Yeah. Ask him if he can find out
if there's any mail being held

for Monty Dawes at a general-delivery office
anywhere in this area.

Right.

It's really weird--
I'm caught up in something,

but I don't know what it is.

Why me?
I don't know why I'm involved.

I don't know what I'm going to do
to get out.

Well, the first thing to do
is find a safe place for you to stay

until we come up with some answers.

Hi. I'm all finished.
Anything else I can do?

No, that's fine.
I'm going to get lunch started.

Will you stay, Joe?
Thanks.

Oh, let me do it. I'm a great cook.

Help yourself.

I like that girl.

I'm glad.

I'd like her to stay for a few days.

She'll be company.

You know, in a funny way,
we have something in common.

Sara, did Monty tell you
about any plans,

any deals he was involved in?

Well, not really.

Oh. Last week he said,

"Got a big payday coming, Sara--
$,."

But I've heard that before.

I'd like to look through Monty's room.
Do you mind, Sara?

Why, go ahead, Joe.

Tell Cindy not to get too fancy
with the chow.

My hired hand
won't know what to make of it.

Joe, uh, Peggy called
and said to tell you

there is no general-delivery mail
being held for Monty Dawes.

Thanks, Cindy.

Wow, I can't believe
that anyone who lived like this--

Yeah, Monty was a brilliant guy.
He was an expert on Americana.

He could have been a teacher
or a historian,

museum curator.

But he turned down
every offer given him

so that he could die broke

with a b*llet in his chest.

"To Monty Dawes,
the wildest unit historian in the US. Army.

Anthony DiAngelo."

General D.

Mr. Mannix' office.

Oh, hi, Vivian. What did you get?

Aha.

Oh, thanks, Vivian.

Oh, listen, if you ever need a favor,
give us a call.

Okay.

Hello, Sara, this is Peggy.
May I speak to Joe?

Hold on, Peggy. Joe.

Yeah, Peggy.
Did you get a rundown on the key?

I'm sorry it took so long.
Guess what.

A locker at the Hollywood YMCA, #.

Mannix. Shh.

The briefcase.

Ah. Over here.

That's it, all of it.

Hardly worth dying over.

Face of a Nation,

The American Epic,

Martyrs of Independence,

Holographs and History.

Well, they're what his life was all about...

or should have been.

His life, hidden away in a locker.

Here's a small-loan agreement for $

and a deed to a cemetery plot.

That was Monty's idea of a joke.

You see, I'm always talking
about my land,

so last week
he came home with that.

"Finally got my own piece of land, Mom.

Going to plant it in alfalfa."

I make it like this:
Monty had some money, probably hot.

And delirious or not, he must have been
trying to let you know where to find it.

If he did have the money,
where did it come from? Where did it go?

And why did he have to borrow $
from a loan company?

I don't care.

If there is any money,
let them have it.

It isn't a question
of letting them have it, Mrs. Dawes.

As long as they can't find whatever it is
they're after, they're going to keep looking.

And since Miss Warren
was with Monty last night,

they're liable to make a try for her, too.

Al right.

Do whatever you have to do, Joe.

But whatever you find, I don't want it.

Good night.

Good night, Sara.
Good night.

I'll mount a -hour watch outside.

You keep in touch.

Will do, Art.

Well, with a police guard outside,
you should be safe.

Hey, I can't stay here. I've got to rehearse.
I'm opening in ten days.

Cindy, you were frightened last night.

And until you've been hunted
by a professional k*ller,

you don't know what fear is.

Yeah, but he's--
You're staying right here.

Now if I tell the Lieutenant
about that phone call,

he's liable to put you
under protective custody.

I thought we were supposed to
have a confidential relationship.

Look, I'm not a lawyer, Cindy.

I'm a private detective

with this odd compulsion
for keeping my clients alive...

and, uh, my license valid.

Um, I notice that Monty
underlined a passage

in Face Of A Nation.

I'll read it.
Maybe it means something.

"It is the bitter sorrow and regret of a man

who knows that once he had a great talent
and wasted it,

of a man who knows that once..."

“...he had a great treasure,
and got nothing from it...

of a man who knows

he had strength enough for everything

and never used it."

Monty and |,
we kicked that around one night.

It's word for word.

I wonder why he underlined it.

What do you think?
Do you think it means anything?

Maybe it means that
Monty took an honest look at himself.

He was pushed to try for his big payday

because he knew he'd blown it--
he'd never get everything he wanted.

Does anybody?

I'm the original born loser.

My first job was in Minneapolis

during Lent in a snowstorm.

I sang to eight waiters,
a maitre d' and a drunk.

Are you good?

Mm-hmm.

But it doesn't help.

I was-- I was set to go on Ed Sullivan.

They canceled the show.

I was going to go on Merv Griffin,
and I got laryngitis.

Well, if you want it badly enough,
it'll happen.

You think so?
Mmm.

What about now?

I mean, this is my big chance,

and once again, fate steps in the way

and the lady doesn't get what she wants.

What do you want?

Right now?

Yes, I remember him.

He came in to pick up his money
late Friday afternoon.

Quiet, nervous.

He could hardly sit still in that chair.
Do you have a cigarette?

Sorry, not since July.

I understand that you require
a statement from the borrower

explaining what the loan
is to be used for.

July? How do you manage it?

Oh, well, it's rough.

These are supposed to
make cigarettes taste awful.

But unless you try and smoke,
how do you know that these pills are working?

Mmm?
Uh, no thanks.

Mmm. Now you must understand,
Mr. Mannix,

this information
is strictly confidential.

But as long as he's passed away...

All right-- "Purpose of loan:

to purchase airline round-trip ticket
for $.."

Well, I see a client dropped by
while we were out.

Yeah, who?

The dispatch case.

I'll check down here.
Maybe they were after something else.

Well, it's okay.

They left these scattered
all over the floor.

At least we know one thing--
they weren't after these.

Who's "they"?

Someone must have had the place
staked out,

saw both of us leave.

Peggy, did you tell anyone
I was going to the Y.?

No one.

Was there anyone here
when you called me at Sara's?

No.

Which phone?
Mine.

Check it, all the way to the terminal.

Right.

Nothing.
Same here.

Well, I guess I'd better
wade into this mess.

You know, first of all, Peggy,

check and find out where
a $ round-trip ticket will take you.

I'll be at the, uh,
Westhaven Cemetery.

What for?

Well, I'm going to check and see
if there's something buried there

that didn't require the services
of a minister.

You came to dig, Mannix...

so dig.

How much deeper do you want to go?

I'll tell you when.

My eyes are killin' me.
I'm allergic to the dust.

Now look, there's nothing down here.

Why don't we just save your eyes
and my back?

Now you just keep diggin', Mannix.

And you'd better scratch up
that Gs.

Otherwise, you're gonna rest in peace
in that hole.

Oh, hi.

Are you all right?

Considering I'm returning from the grave,
I'm in great shape.

What did you find?

Exactly as advertised--
six feet of earth.

So what does that mean?

That I'm getting nowhere fast.
You check on that airline ticket?

As of this month, the only place

exactly $ round-trip
will take you to is Houston,

jet economy,
which I figure is Monty's flight style.

What's in Houston?

Texans.

Peggy, call Cindy.

Tell her I'm on my way out to the ranch.
Something's bugging me.

Maybe she can straighten it out.
She's not there.

I told her to stay at the ranch.
Where is she?

She's at a rehearsal, Joe.

And it's a new place in Hollywood
and I have the address.

Well, that's it.
Do I sound okay, Robbie?

I think you're going to be all right.
You really are.

But there is a note here
that you're not quite reaching.

Remember?
Yeah, why?

Well, I don't know.

It's-- it's as if you're not giving it
everything you've got.

You've got to. Don't hold back.

Okay, okay.

Listen, we have tomorrow's session
and then on Friday we work with the band.

Right.
So we've got some time.

Okay.
Yeah.

Do you like the lights?
Yeah, they're far out.

Okay. Hey, and don't be afraid
of the spot. Really use it.

You know, bask in it--
it's all yours.

I'm going to be okay.
You really are.

All right. Good night, Robbie.
Good night.

Okay, thanks, Stuart.

You know, Cindy,
you're a terrible disappointment to me.

I've always thought of myself
as an excellent judge of character.

And I had decided
that you were dependable,

loyal, true blue.

But you're not, you know?

You tricked me.

I didn't know anyone would be k*lled.

Yeah, but you knew that by conning
Monty Dawes into coming to your place,

you wouldn't exactly be elevated
to the sainthood.

But at the time,

you weren't exactly concerned
with how ethical it was.

You just wanted yours, and you got it.

You're opening here at a top club.

Now, Cindy, we want ours.

No, I won't.

Now, Cindy, my boss is a vulgar,
simple direct boor of a man.

If I can't get something done for him
conventionally, he does it his own way.

And it would hurt me

almost as much as it would hurt you

to see that lovely face

marked, say, from here...

to here.

Cindy?

Oh, Joe, I've got to talk to you.

I told you not to leave the ranch.

I know I shouldn't have.

I just thought for once
I'd help the fates get on my side.

Hey. Hey, now what's wrong?

Joe, it's never going to happen for me.

Hey.

Now sure it is.

You know,
if you sing as pretty as you cry,

you've got it made.

Come on. Let's go.

Why?

I just can't figure why
they warn you not to talk

when you've got nothing to talk about.

And then they warn you again.

And then the threatening phone call.

I don't know.

Well, they've anticipated me all the way--

The locker at the Y.,

the cemetery, and the club.

"Holographs and History."
What's a holograph?

A holograph?
Well, that's a document

written entirely in the hand
of the author.

You know, they must sell this one
by the pound--

bucks.

"PG. Dunham and Sons,
Houston, Texas."

Houston.

Now that's a coincidence.

Gentlemen?

I, uh, I assume

that you've called for an appointment.

Mr. Mannix, we're going to
have a brief business meeting,

so if you'll spare us your drolleries?
And Krebs, put away the g*n.

How is the hay fever, Krebs?

I owe you, fella.

Mr. Mannix,
I represent a major corporate venture.

And I take it that Krebs here
is one of the vice presidents.

Krebs is with our security department.
Ah.

And he's involved because a friend of yours,
Mr. Montgomery Dawes,

was hired by our corporation
to act as a courier

for a transfer of funds--

Funds that were coming
from Reno, Nevada to Los Angeles.

Now unfortunately,

Mister Dawes didn't complete
that transaction as contracted.

Well, I see you have
a very legitimate problem.

Oh, why don't you file a complaint
with the district attorney's office?

Well, yes,
I assume that's a rhetorical question.

Just trying to help.

It makes no sense for us
to continually frustrate one another.

That always ends tragically.

Mr. Mannix, we'd like to retain you,
pay you a finder's fee,

say, uh, $,.

Now I think that would be fair,
realistic and generous.

And very funny.

See, I haven't found a thing
and I have no idea where to look.

And I don't hire out to what you call

"major corporate ventures."
Gentlemen.

Monty was a fool, Mr. Mannix,

or he wouldn't have imagined that
he could steal from us and get away with it.

But you're clearly no fool,
so don't repeat his mistake.

What was what?

When our representative
went to the hotel on Sunday morning

to pick up our money as arranged,

he found Monty Dawes
lying on the hotel floor

almost unconscious.

Now he swore
that he had gone to the door earlier,

thinking that it was our man,

and that he was att*cked
and robbed by persons unknown.

And he fully expected us
to believe that story.

Well, it could be the truth.

Now we believe
that Monty hid our money,

knocked himself on the head,

and invented the rest.

We also believe that he told you
where he hid our money, Mr. Mannix.

Anything Monty told me
was strictly nonsense.

I have no idea what he was talking about
any more than you do.

Now we're very reasonable people,
if you'll let us be.

Be satisfied with $,
and stay alive.

Yeah, yeah.
It'll take a little while.

Yes, well, we'll give you until tomorrow
at this time-- say hours.

I'll do what I can.

Best foot forward, Mr. Mannix.

Oh, uh, as they say,

$, is better
than a hole in the head.

Peggy, forget the coffee, huh?
Come in here a minute.

Wait a minute, don't tell me.
Let me guess.

You found the money.

No, not yet, but I'm going to keep trying.
It's worth $, to me.

Oh, uh, would you call these people

and find out the date
of their last billing?

Coming up.

Oh, and Peggy,
call Lieutenant Malcolm

and tell him to meet us
at the Paseo for breakfast.

You sure you won't have something, Art?
No, no thank you.

Just this coffee and saccharin.
I gotta drop a couple of pounds.

Yeah.

Well, bacon's high-protein.
Maybe a piece of bacon.

Now, Joe, I don't want to lean on you...
But...

But you haven't been answering my calls,
haven't cut me in.

Well, I've been
running down a series of--

I'm not concerned
with your scavenger hunt

except as it affects the homicide
I'm trying to close out.

Oh, uh, what did you get
on that corpse?

Victor Drury was an enforcer
out of Detroit by way of Reno.

Oh, Cindy Warren's story
checks out all right.

They flew in here Sunday in a private plane,
went to the house where Monty was waiting.

So you called Houston
in the middle of the night?

At : in the morning.

And I got old PG. Dunham himself
out of the sack

and he treated me
to some magnificent Texas profanity.

Did he know anything?

Yeah, he met Monty
in Houston Saturday morning.

For what?

To consummate a $, sale.

So now you're looking for--
Not looking any longer.

I've found it.

Where? And how?

And what does it have to do with the late
Monty Dawes and the late Victor Drury?

Well, look, Art, I'll check in with you
before the day's out.

Huh?
Yeah, look, just go along with me, hm?

Going along with you
is getting to be an embarrassing habit.

See you, Peggy.
Oh, Art?

If I were you, I'd talk to a doctor
before I'd starve myself on that diet.

No problem.
It just takes a little will power.

Uh, Jean?

More coffee?
Yeah.

Thank you.

All right, I'm mystified.
You're going to hold out on me, too.

Oh, you mean about
where I found the money?

Well, the money for one thing,

and what are you going to do
about that bug in your office?

First, about the money--

That call to Houston sent me
right back to comparing Monty's books

with the ones you bought.

But we did all that--

Fluoroscoped the bindings--
nothing hidden there,

checked weight, examined each page.
They're identical.

Not quite.
There's a $,o's difference.

Where?

It's been there right under our nose
all the time.

Well, what about the bug?

I want them
to hear something important.

Peggy, call Cindy.
Ask her to meet me at her house..

What time?
:.

Does she know you have the money?

No, and don't tell her.
I want it to be a surprise.

What should I do
about Lieutenant Malcolm?

Leave him a message--

You don't know where I am,
but I'll be back here from : on.

Tell him to have the place staked out.

My friends from Reno
ought to show up by :.

Right.

Not exactly, Krebs.

By :, you and I will be in Reno

and Mr. Mannix and his girlfriend
will be in the morgue.

No, please! No, please!

Get up, Cindy. Cindy, get up!

Krebs.

I'm sorry I hit you, Cindy.

You made me lose my temper.
I never hit a woman before in my life.

Now you do like he says, kid, and--

Bless you.

Thank you.

Anytime now,
Mr. Mannix is going to drive up.

Joe.

What happened?
Peggy told me you had a big surprise.

Something wrong, Cindy?

No. Why?

Just a look.

I'm-- I'm excited.

I love surprises.

Well, I brought one.

I found the money, Cindy.

Joe. Where?

I'll tell you what--

I'll answer your question
if you'll answer one for me.

Okay.

Where's Krebs?

He forgot his tissues.

Sit tight, Mannix.
Joe, they forced me.

You haven't given me
the time you promised.

Oh, I wouldn't worry about that,
Mr. Mannix.

I'm sure that you'll get everything
that we promised you.

Krebs.

Now where is it, Mr. Mannix?

Monty Dawes was stupid enough to think
he could swindle us out of $,,

but I don't--
That's true.

But Monty was also smart enough
to put it where you'd never find it.

Yes, but you found it for us, right?

Wrong.

You didn't give me
as much time as you gave Monty.

He picked up the skimmed money
in Reno on Friday.

That gave him until Sunday to operate.

He told you that?

No, he just led the way and I followed.

See, Friday night
he flew to Houston.

Saturday morning he took your $,
and bought a rare document.

Saturday afternoon he flew back here
and had that rare document

put in a secure place.

So on Sunday morning,
when our man showed up at the hotel,

he staged that ridiculous scene.

Oh, he knew you'd be watching him
for a long time,

but he was willing to wait for his payoff.

Then he didn't expect your enforcer
to greet him here that night.

Now, Mr. Mannix,
that document belongs to us.

Where is it?
Our money bought it. It's ours.

If it belongs to anybody,
it belongs to Monty Dawes's mother,

and she's going to
give it to a museum.

Straight talk.
Now you tell me where it is,

arrange for me to pick it up,
and ['ll call Krebs when I have it.

And he'll leave you here in good health.

Straight talk?

No deal.

Krebs?

You just give the word, Mr. Sanford.

Joe, please, let them have it.

How much did they promise you, Cindy?

I had to.
Sure you had to!

They'd made a deal with you
to get Monty over here that night

to meet their enforcer.

And then you had to tell them
that Monty talked to me before he d*ed.

Then you had to follow their instructions
and come to me for help.

And you had to
plant that bug in my office.

Yes, I did all that.

But they-- they trapped me.
I was trapped and scared.

And I didn't know Sara Dawes then.

And I didn't know you.

Please, Joe, I swear.

Mr. Mannix?

Krebs, I want that document
or I want him dead.

I get paid $, for this job, Mannix.

Tell me, you figure your life's
worth $,?

You'll never get to spend the money, Krebs.
I didn't come alone.

No!

Cindy.

Better get an ambulance!

Cindy.

Joe.
It's all right, Cindy.

We'll talk tomorrow.

Don't count on it.

Remember,

you're talking to
the natural-born loser.

Well, here's your $,, Art.

Funny, I thought it would be all green,
like bills.

This is it, all right.

Well, what about that,
"Button, win it for Mother"?

What did that have to do with it?
Everything.

You see, this is a book
of reproductions of rare letters.

There's one in here that just happens
to be the real thing.

Monty Dawes had it inserted in the book

so that it would look like
just another reproduction.

It's a beautiful job, too.

If you didn't know what you were looking for,
you'd never notice it.

Monty was saying,
"Button Gwinnett for Mother."

And that's supposed to
clear it all up for me, is it, Joe?

Button Gwinnett was one of the signers
of the Declaration of Independence.

He wrote this letter in Philadelphia
on the day he signed the Declaration.

And that makes it worth $,?

Well, Button Gwinnett didn't live long enough
to write many more letters.

He was k*lled in a duel back in Georgia.

Joe, the hospital's on the phone.

Thanks, Peggy.

Hello. This is Mannix.

I see.

I'm sure you did, Doctor.

Thanks.

She didn't make it.

I'm sorry, Joe.

I'd better get this downtown.

What do you want, Cindy?

Right now?