05x19 - Cry Pigeon

[bunniefuu]

Mannix.
That's right.

Okay, I'm here. Now what?

I understand you're straight, and the best.

Would you mind turning that off?

I'd still like to know why we're
meeting here, Mr. Robinson.

You said it was a matter of life or death.

My name isn't Robinson.

Tom Fortune.

That's right.

Sorry.

I don't do business with the family.

This isn't family business.

What is it?

It's personal, very personal.

Go on.

It's my wife.

She's--

It turns me around to talk about it.

You mean there's another man?
Yeah.

And you want me to find out who he is.

I know who he is.

I don't know where they're
meeting each other.

That's what I want you to find out.

Why me?

You've got plenty of soldiers
that can get the job done.

I don't want anybody on the inside
to know about this.

Afraid they might lose
their respect for you?

The job pays $,.

Sorry.
Keyhole-peeping isn't my bag.

,!
I told you, I want no--

♪♪

I telephoned his father
before I left headquarters.

It's funny.

I've been fighting Victor Fortune
ever since I was a cop on the b*at.

It still tore me up to have to tell him.

Yeah, the heir apparent

just a heartbeat away
from owning half the rackets in town.

Now everyone in the family
moves up a step.

Or someone outside
the family moves in.

Far-out place for you two
to have met.

It was his idea.
He said it had to be private.

Not private enough.
What'd he have in mind?

He thought his wife
was playing around.

Did he mention any names?

No, he didn't get around to that.

Too bad. Any hunches?

Unh-unh.

Mr. Fortune, I said I'd call
when I established what happened.

It wasn't necessary
to come down here.

Tom's my son, Lieutenant.
Do you expect me to sit home

and wring my hands like a woman?

No, I don't.
But there's nothing you can do here.

I want to see him.

What was my son doing
in this place?

He asked me to meet him here.

Who are you?

Joe Mannix.
I'm a private detective.

What business would my brother
have with a private cop?

He didn't get around to telling me.

You want me to believe that
coming here was Tom's idea?

That's the way it was.
You see the man who sh*t him?

No.
Did he sh**t at you, too?

If he did, he missed.

You're a lucky man.

Mr. Mannix is a very lucky man,
wouldn't you say, Mark?

Very lucky.

Mr. Mannix, you couldn't
be forgetting anything

that happened here tonight,
could you?

No.

And you're quite sure Tom
had no time to tell you anything?

That's what I said.

We'll find out.

It may take a little while,
but we'll find out.

You'll let me know when I can have
my son's body, Lieutenant.

I will, Mr. Fortune.

I hope you didn't make a mistake
covering for the wife that way.

Her husband's dead.
What difference would it make now?

Could make a lot of difference.

If old man Fortune gets the idea you weren't
completely leveling with him,

he might think you were working
for someone on the other side.

Like...

Joe, you know there's been
an ongoing battle for power

between the Fortunes
and Duke Benedict's people.

That's their problem.
I'm out of it.

I hope so.

You were my son's wife
for how long, Maria, five years?

Almost.

It would have been five years
next month.

And you--

You stayed close
with him all that time?

Papa, you know I did.

I know what I think,
but now I'm asking.

I loved Tom. I loved him well.

But he was a busy man.
He had things to do.

You were alone many times.

A woman of your generation,

it wouldn't be strange if you

looked at another man.

I never looked
at another man.

Never.

Forgive me.
I don't like it, either.

This is your home, Maria.

You are one of us.

Mark!

We'd like a drink, Lee.
Would you get some ice?

Yes, sir.

Tom's not yet in his grave, Mark,

but we must talk
about who'll take his place.

Tom would understand.

Yeah.

Do you think Lee
could handle the job?

He's not part of the family.

He's not even a distant relation.

But he's smart right?

He's tough,
knows how to take care of himself.

If that's what the job calls for,

a man who's quick on his feet,

I suppose Lee's your man.

Mark, you're my firstborn.
You're next to me always.

Nobody could ever take your place.

But you have too much to do now
with the books, the taxes, the lawyers.

Is that what it is, Papa? Don't you think
I'm capable of handling an active job?

Ah! What you do for the family
IS more important.

You use your brains.
That's your place, Mark.

You must accept it.

Now I asked you about Lee.

Yes, Papa.
He's your man.

The usual, Mr. Fortune?
Yeah.

Mark.

Well, let's not keep
the good news a secret.

Lee.

Yes, sir.

I'm moving you up.
You'll take over Tom's duties.

I'm--

I'm honored, Mr. Fortune.
I'll give it my best.

Good.

Your first job will be to find out
who k*lled my boy.

Just say the word

and Duke Benedict is a dead man.
I'll see to it personally.

No, no, we want
to be sure first it was Benedict.

Have you heard anything?
Any calls?

No, sir, nothing.

We don't leap then.
There's much to be lost by starting a w*r.

We'll begin by finding out
who set Tom up.

Has to be that private cop Mannix.

May I help you?

I'd like to see Mr. Mannix, please.

Mrs. Fortune.

My secretary Peggy Fair.

How do you do?
Hello.

I was about to have some coffee.
Would you like some?

No, thank you.

Come in.

What can I do for you?

Well, there are some questions I'd like
to ask you first, Mr. Mannix,

if you don't mind?
No, not at all.

This may seem rather callous
to you,

but Tom being dead less
than hours,

but I have to know.

Had you ever met him
before last night?

No.

I heard you tell his father that
the meeting was Tom's idea.

It was.

And that he was k*lled

before you knew
why he had to see you.

Was that the truth?

Why would I lie about it?

To spare my feelings?

Excuse me. Joe.

Thank you, Peggy.

Are you sure that Tom
hadn't hired a detective

to spy on an unfaithful wife?

Do you believe that's
why he wanted to see me?

Yes.

Why?

Because he was obsessed
with the idea that I was having an affair.

Was it an idea, Mrs. Fortune,

or was it a fact?

It wasn't true.

I think it was part of a plot
to k*ll him,

to separate him from the family,

from his bodyguard.

To isolate him in a lonely place

so they could sh**t him.

Who are "they"?

I should have said "he."

The man I'm supposed
to be having an affair with.

Does he have a name?

Duke Benedict.

I heard he was drunk at a party

and he just happened

to let it slip to one
of Tom's friends.

And your husband bought that?

He was insanely jealous.

And what would you like me
to do now?

Tell the police,

tell them that Duke Benedict
lied about us,

drove Tom out of his mind

and that he walked

into a trap that was set for him.

I don't know
how well that'll hold up.

Well, if it doesn't,
you'll see I'm right.

Duke Benedict is going to
take over this town if he can.

There'll be k*lling.

Tell the police that.

Mrs. Fortune,
why don't you tell the police that?

If the family found out they'd--

All right, Mrs. Fortune.

I'll do what I can.

I don't care what it costs,
Mr. Mannix.

Forget it, Mrs. Fortune.

The law requires me to pass this kind
of information along to the police.

Thank you.

What was that all about?

I wish I knew.

Ah, Maria, I missed you.

You went out early.

Yes, before :.
Did you want me for something, Papa?

No, no, but coffee seemed,
well,

not so good without you.
Well, nothing is as good anymore.

Yes. Messages keep coming
from all over.

Your husband was
loved and respected.

Papa, if you don't mind,
I think I'll go upstairs.

I've made all the arrangements.

It just occurred to me that you might have
been out doing the same thing yourself.

No, I went to Mass.

I wanted to pray
for Tom before anything else.

You prayed a long time.

There was a lot to ask for.

I prayed for Tom,

then I asked God
to help all of us.

And I begged that there
would be no more k*lling.

All right, you go ahead.

You go on upstairs
and get some rest.

What did she give as a reason
for seeing Mannix?

She didn't.

She didn't even say she saw him.

What now?

With Tom's body lying cold,
nothing.

But I think now
it's Mr. Mannix's turn.

I'll leave that to you, Lee.

Suppose we use my car, Mannix.

I'd appreciate it if you'd
put your hands on the roof.

You mind telling me
what's going on?

I'd mind.

Let's go.

Take the front seat.

All the way to the corner.

Nice view.

It's even better from the ledge.

I'll take your word for it.

Take my word for it, Mannix.
I want you up there.

What are my options?

If you're not up there in one second,
I'll put a b*llet in you

or we'll push you over.
Take your pick.

Either way,
that's gonna look like m*rder.

Victor Fortune wouldn't like that.
It's bad for the image.

How do you want it, Mannix?

Okay, now what?
Who paid you to finger Tom Fortune?

Nobody. I had nothing to do
with Tom going to that warehouse.

Come on, Mannix,
you can do better than that.

Let's say just
so I'll understand the situation,

that I do give you a name.

Well, that's good for a start.

And for a finish,
can I jump down off of here?

Maybe.

Or maybe I give you a name
and you push me off anyway.

That's a chance you'll
have to take, Mannix.

No, it isn't.

Your g*n, Martisse, get rid of it.

You, too, punk.

Not like that.

With your left hand.

Relax, Mannix, come on down.

It's not your time yet.

You just put it all together for me,
Braden.

You're Benedict's boy
so that means Mannix is too.

Mr. Fortune will be very interested
in hearing the news.

Duke doesn't need you
to be his messenger, Martisse.

He's got his own ways
of communicating.

Now you and your punk

get lost for a while,
go have a beer somewhere.

Move!

Mannix!

Glad you waited for me here.

We're parked on the next level.

The guy here insists
on talking to you, Duke.

I'm having a little problem, Mannix.

You seem to be a part of it.

I was going to say
the same thing about you, Duke.

You were there
when Tom Fortune got hit.

Tell me what happened.

You read the newspaper account,
didn't you?

That's the way it was.

Yeah, well,

I had the impression
there was more to it.

Like what?

Oh, I don't know.
Just a feeling,

a something between the lines

that maybe the man
that pulled the trigger

was a friend of mine.

Come on, what kind of a cute game
are you playing, Duke?

You started this whole thing
in motion deliberately.

You trying to squeeze out now?

Make that clearer, Mannix.

The story about Maria Fortune.

You put the word out that the two
of you had something going.

Oh, I did, huh? When?

There was a party.
You had a few too many.

What party?
Maybe you were too under the weather

to remember.
Mannix, I saw Maria Fortune once in my life

at the races with Tom.

We were not introduced.
I never saw her again.

I don't go to parties
and I never get juiced.

Now why would I make up
a dumb story about her?

I'll give you her theory. You knew what
a rumor like that would do to Tom.

And that's the way it worked out.
He went crazy with jealousy,

called me to the warehouse
to meet him.

He went there without his bodyguard
because it was such a personal matter

and he walked right into a setup.

Hmm.

Well, even if I was smart enough
to figure all that out,

what would it get me?

A better chance
to push the Fortune family

right out of the rackets.

The old man,

what does he think about all this?

After tonight,
what can he think?

Look, Mannix.

There's no w*r.

I didn't k*ll Martisse
up there on that roof.

But I could have.

He's right.

If I'd set up the contract on Tom Fortune,
I wouldn't have stopped there.

Martisse would have been hit, too.

And any other member of Fortune's
outfit who stuck his head out!

Why tell me, Duke?

The man to convince is Victor Fortune.

You set it up, Mannix,
a meeting.

What?
A summit meeting with old man Fortune.

Not a chance.
He already thinks I helped k*ll Tom.

su1c1de doesn't appeal to me.

I'm telling you what I want, Mannix.

Forget it, Benedict.

I'm not gonna walk in on old man Fortune.
Period.

Look at him, huh?

Tough guy, eh?

Tough guy.

Refuses to walk in.

Deliver him.

Move!

Well, what do you know?
Someone just delivered a present.

Keep an eye on him.
I'll pass the word.

Mr. Martisse, this is the gate.

They just delivered Mannix.

Mannix, you were delivered
like a package. Who was the postman?

Duke Benedict.

You should know better than
to work for him.

He always treats his people that way.

I've never worked for Duke Benedict
or anyone else in his line of business.

We have our merits,
some of us.

Benedict snatched you
right out of our hands.

Now he returns you. Why?

I guess he figured you'd be
in no mood to talk to him.

He's concerned that you think
he was behind the death of your son.

He wants to assure you that he wasn't.

So you of all people bring the message
and I'm supposed to believe it, huh?

No.

Benedict wants to tell you himself,
face to face.

He wants to sit down with you.

Come. Maria.

Come right in here, Maria.

Darling, you know Mr. Mannix,
don't you?

Yes, he was at the warehouse.

Mr. Mannix, I was running this town when
Duke Benedict was hustling football cards.

Now he has the gall to think he's king
and I'm a fool.

It's just possible that he is sincere

and wants to avoid a w*r
between your outfit and his.

Benedict used this guy to get Tom.
Now they're trying to set you up.

What are we doing?
Why are we even listening to him?

I'll tell you what I think, Papa.

I think Duke Benedict could be
on the level.

You what?
The whole thing is too pat,

dumping Mannix here
after what happened.

Benedict knew we'd react in one
of two ways.

Either we carve up Mannix
as a sacrificial lamb or we'd listen to him.

Either way, the message comes out the same--
Duke Benedict wants to avoid trouble.

What are you proposing, Mark?

I say peace is worth the risk.
I say we give him a hearing.

But not you, Papa.

I'll go.

It's the sort of job I can handle.

You heard Mannix.
It's a sitting-down thing.

No, no, son. If anyone goes,
it'll be me as head of the family.

Mannix, what's in this for you outside
of saving your skin?

You don't really care if people in our line
of business k*ll each other off, do you?

I care about the others
who might get k*lled, the innocents.

Maria, when my wife was alive,

I used to rely on her judgment,
her ability to see through people,

whether they could be trusted or not.

Now I come to you, Maria.

This man Mannix,
what do you think of him?

I think you can trust him, Papa.

Why do you have this feeling?

I don't know, Papa,
but I know I'd deny the feeling

if I thought it would lead you
into danger.

Is that why you went
to see Mannix this morning?

I went to see him because I thought
he might be holding something back

about the way Tom was k*lled.

I thought he might tell me
more than he told you.

Did he?
No.

He only repeated what you heard.

Was anything else discussed,
Maria?

There was one more thing, Papa,

something between Tom and me.

Tom thought I was having an affair
with Duke Benedict.

I told him it wasn't true,
but he didn't believe me.

So Tom is dead and now what, Maria?

You want me to believe?
I'd like to, but how?

There's only one way.

Sit down with Duke Benedict
and hear what he has to say.

It's a trap, Mr. Fortune.

They're trying to set you up.

Well, they'd better think twice about that.

If anything goes wrong, you'll find out
the family has a very long arm.

Mannix, do it, make a meeting.

All right, but let's get one thing clear,
Mr. Fortune,

this'll be done my way.

I'll accept that.

The corner of Melrose and Winslow
in minutes.

Green convertible.

Okay, Peggy, go.
All right, Joe, I'm on my way.

Four Trees Shopping Center.

I'll be on the southwest corner
in exactly...

Fifteen minutes.

I'll take your keys.

I'll drive.

You don't trust me?
That makes us even, doesn't it?

That's how I managed to survive,
trusting nobody.

You afraid of being followed?

I was supposed to check.

What do you do if you are?

Stay put and not go anywhere.

You can relax.

I didn't bring any troops.

All right, Martisse, out!

What was that all about?

That was your man,
as if you didn't know.

My man?
Lee Martisse.

He might want this back.
I'll keep the clip, if you don't mind.

Believe me.
I didn't tell him to follow us.

If he did it, he did it on his own.

All right, let's go.
We're switching cars.

What's the matter with this car?

It's safe.
It's bulletproof.

It might also be bugged.

I would know if it was bugged.

Al right.

That's right.
All the interested parties should be here.

Peggy, everything okay?
He's in there.

Nobody followed you?
As far as I know.

Well, for insurance,
we've gotta get this car out of sight.

Pick a spot where you can
watch this whole area.

You see anybody or hear any noise inside,
call Art Malcolm.

Right. Joe, be careful.

This is it.

I thought Maria Fortune should be here.

How do you do?

I've been hearing about you and Maria.

So have |.

Mannix told me about...

us, Mrs. Fortune.

Now have I ever shaken your hand?

Don't you think it's time I did?

I don't find that amusing.

I don't suppose that satisfies you.

I'd like to make a suggestion.

Why don't you ask Mr. Fortune

to name the person who heard you talking
about your relationship with Maria?

All right, I'm asking.

I don't know who heard you.

Let's make it easier.
Where did you hear it?

From my son Mark.

Any idea where he heard it?

From his brother Tom.

That's full circle,
nowhere to nowhere.

Let's go on then.
There's more to talk about.

I had nothing to do with the hit
on Tom.

I wouldn't take that chance,

not unless I was ready to go the distance.

Look, if I wanted a w*r, I wouldn't be here
now talking to you.

But I am here

'cause I wanna end this habit
we have

of k*lling each other off.

What's your idea?

Don't bother yourself, old man.

It's not important.

So you didn't want a w*r,
Mr. Benedict.

Over against the Wall!

Braden, what are you doing here?

I gave orders that nobody--
That's history.

You don't give me orders anymore.

Move.

So you think you can take over, huh?

Yeah, I've had it in mind

for quite some time now.

Why, you!

Hold it!

I'm not playing games, Duke.

Back there with the others.

Move!

You k*lled my son.

Yeah. How about that?

You had him set up by telling that
lie about Duke and Maria.

You give me too much credit.

That came from the top.

So did the bug in the old man's topcoat.

That's how we traced you here.

Isn't that right, Mark?

Mark.

He's wrong.

Say, it, Mark.

Say it, Mark!

Your own brother, Mark!

You did that?

You set up your own brother.

You k*lled him
so you could take his place!

Did you really expect me
to be a family man?

Even with Tom out of the way,
you didn't think I was good enough.

You were gonna move up Lee Martisse.

Mark, you told Tom about me

and Duke Benedict.

That's Why he believed it.
He trusted you!

Like a brother.

He even let me pick out the
private detective for him,

set up the meeting.

You know, Tom didn't really have
much on the ball mentally.

Yeah, that's right.

Mannix!

Okay, Braden,
you know what to do with them.

Take care of them, all of them.

Wait a minute, Mark.

I just want to say thanks
for setting it all up.

I want it all.

Not just a new boss.

And you really made it easy for me.

Mannix!

Hold it, Braden!

Yesterday, I had two sons.

Today...

Come on, Papa, let's go home.