08x14 - Man in a Trap

[bunniefuu]

I'll check it out,
Mr. Kordic, let you know.

Harry, anciano.

I've been waiting a long time.

How did you manage
those security gates?

Contacts.

Always have contacts
and know-how.

Remember Miami back when?

Yeah.

You look surprised to see me.

I heard you were buried.

Do I look dead?

There was a rumor around
you'd OD'd.

Bull, man,
they were putting you on.

I'm on a bread trip,
and California's all green.

But I hear you're feeling down,
way down.

Knock it off.

Who greased you to tail me here?

Anonymous, Harry, anonymous.

My party thinks when
a private eye reaches your age,

he should sit on a park bench
feeding pigeons.

Comprende?

Okay, you warned me.

Don't get yourself wired
so high tonight

or you won't have
any veins to sh**t up.

Listen, amigo,
you are swimming in deep water.

You are too old
to fight the sharks.

They will gobble you up
in one bite.

So my party wonders
how much it will take

to make you quit this assignment

and sit on a bench
with your wife and get a suntan.

&Mir?

A thousand?

Ah, too little.

¢Cuanto?

Two grand?

You tell your party,
he's got poor judgment

sending a cheap junkie
to buy me.

I may be what you call me,
amigo, but at least I am young

and I am not a failure.

Joe, thank God you're here.

Hello, Ruth.

How bad is Harry?

Well, he's still in surgery
and he's lost a lot of blood.

I'm scared, Joe.

Well, Harry is all I got.

Mrs. Forrest.

Yes.

The surgery is going to take
longer than we anticipated.

Is he going to live?

We're very hopeful.

Why don't you go home
and get some rest?

We'll call you.

Good and strong, Joe.

Tell me something, Ruthie,

why did you and Harry cut me out
of your lives?

Oh, I've got
some great cheesecake.

Ruthie, don't give me
the runaround, not now.

Oh, we love you, Joe,
you know that.

That's just it.

Harry gave me my first chance.

He trained me.

I owe him everything.

I-I know, but...

But what?

After a lifetime, up goes a wall

and I couldn't even
climb over it.

Oh, well...

Harry didn't want you
to know what happened.

What happened?

He's a has-been.

Don't make me laugh.

Harry?

He's one of the best
investigators... Was.

Was, Joe.

He lost his way
and never got back.

Oh, don't ask me
how it started--

Maybe two years ago--

But he got fewer and fewer jobs,

and then all our savings went.

And then no cases at all.

And then nothing
until two weeks ago.

What then?

Somebody offered him a job.

Doing what?

Well, that's just it.

I haven't got any idea.

Come on, Ruthie, now,
Harry always confided in you.

No, not, not this time, Joe.

Oh, you should have seen him.

He was so happy.

He was all cocky again.

He'd clam up
whenever I'd ask him questions.

And now,
because of that job, he may die.

Who hired him?

I don't know, Joe.

What about his appointment book?

Maybe the answer is in there.

Oh... that's a joke.

Blank pages.

Never been used.

Well, that wasn't there
a month ago.

What's that?

A calling card.

Harry was, uh, sh*t
in the garage at that address.

Kordic?

Don Anthony Kordic.

One of the syndicate chiefs
on the West Coast.

Hello, Joe.

Hello, Nedda.

It's been a long time.

Yeah, let's see,
you were getting rid

of husband number three.

Ah, Dickypoo, of course.

Come on in.

Congratulations, Nedda,
I mean, on the career.

I keep seeing
your name in lights.

Yes, Nedda Carroll,
Rocky Mountain Songbird.

Isn't it all wonderful!?

Hmm, marrying Tony Kordic
didn't do any harm.

By the way, how many nightclubs
did he buy you?

Now, don't be nasty.

As a matter
of fact, he does own a few.

I'm sure.

I have a feeling
that you didn't come to see me.

Well, it's,
it's about the sh**ting today.

A visitor, Nedda?

We agreed to spend tonight alone
and retire early.

Well, yes, darling,
I know we did,

but it was such a big surprise.

This is Joe Mannix.

Come on, I want you to meet him.

Joe and I--
well, we used to double-date.

Joe and his girlfriend
and me and Al.

Let's not review your past.

You in show business,
too, Mr. Mannix?

Well, actually no, darling,

Joe is a private investigator

and I think he hoped
to meet you through me.

Right, Joe?

Something like that.

Nedda, get Mr. Mannix a drink.

Thank you.

Scotch on the rocks.

Twice.

Yes, darling, of course.

You must be very proud of Nedda.

Extremely.

Exactly why'd you want
to see me, Mr. Mannix?

Harry Forrest is a very old
and good friend of mine.

I owe him a lot.

I intend to find out
who sh*t Harry.

I'm afraid I must tell you
what I told the police.

I haven't the faintest idea
who did it.

Or why?

Or why.

But he was working for you?

If you're trying to connect
the attempt on his life

with the assignment
I gave him...

Why did you hire him?

For the same reason
you're here--

Friendship.

Here you are.

Thanks.

You and Harry?

We grew up in the same
neighborhood-- very rough.

We went our different ways.

Lately one of my corporations--

The Kordic Olive Oil Company--
had a problem,

a matter of short inventory.

I needed someone
to check out personnel,

so I got in touch with Harry.

It was a simple job.

Did he uncover anything?

Nothing.

Poor Harry-- it's sad.

I'll pay all the hospital bills.

Hey, maybe you'd like
to earn Harry's fee.

How?

By finishing the job.

I already have a job--
finding out who sh*t Harry.

Nice meeting you, Mr. Kordic.

Thanks, Nedda,
and, again, congratulations.

Thanks, Joe.

Don't underestimate him.

Once he sinks his teeth into
Harry's case, he won't let go.

A bulldog, huh?

Let him try.

He'll have no teeth
to hold on to anything.

Joe.

Son of a g*n.

Good to see you, boy.

Just let me do
the talking, Harry.

How's Ruthie?

Oh, she's fine.

She's been here twice a day,
but you've been out cold.

She's due back any minute.

Joe, I want to tell you...

Take it easy, Harry.

Let me tell you.

Now, Tony Kordic says
he hired you

because of a short inventory in
one of his legitimate outfits.

Is that true?

He conned me?

Joe... find Tropic.

Who?

Tropic-- he's a k*ller.

He sh*t me.

He, he lives on a boat.

Go talk to Addie.

She knows.

She knows about him.

Okay, Harry.

And tell...

Tony Kordic it's true.

He's being set up.

What?

For a hit.

♪♪

Well, he was a pro.

He either wiped it clean,
or he wore gloves.

Yeah, well,
you don't hire an amateur

to k*ll a syndicate chief.

Ballistics is running
a comparison check

between the slug in Harry
and the slugs in Tony Kordic.

Good. Let me know, huh?

Yeah. Maybe you ought to install
a hot line in my office.

Hi, Joe.

You going to be okay?

I won't go to pieces.

When the phone call came
at the club, I knew.

I'd seen it in my dreams
a hundred times.

Who'd want him dead?

Who wouldn't?

He was a giant.

People hate giants.

Especially when the giant
happens to be a don.

Oh, I know the lyric
to that tune, Joe.

But I respected him
for his power.

I grew to love him for it.

Who will be the, uh, new don?

Probably his younger brother,
Gilbert.

He should be very happy
about this.

He was very jealous of Tony.

There are other members
in the Family, not related,

I guess the council could pick.

Frankly, my dear,
I couldn't care less.

Harry told me
to look you up, Addie.

I'm looking for a man
named Tropic. You know him?

Yeah.

He got into town
about two months ago from Miami.

Tell me about him.

A climber.

Started as a two-bit runner
for a numbers parlor.

Chopped his way up

from Puerto Rico
to the Miami big boys.

Harry tells me he's into boats.

Mm. The grapevine says

that Tropic uses them
to smuggle dope.

Hmm. Is he an addict?

Since a kid.

How do I find him?

Chris at the boat yard told me,

he's just bought
a new motor cruiser.

Must be in the dough.

Hmm.

Joe, be careful.

I'd hate to see

that handsome face
of yours all spoiled.

Are you trying
to tell me he's dangerous?

He's a k*ller when he's up.

Hey, man, you're off limits.

This your boat?

That's right.

You must be Tropic.

So?

What do you want?

You.

Why?

Talk.

About what?

About the day
you sh*t Harry Forrest.

He told me himself.

You're freaked out, man.

Maybe. Why don't we go down
to police headquarters?

They'd like to ask you a few
questions about Harry Forrest...

and Tony Kordic.

Mr. Mannix,

please get in the car.

Someone would like to see you.

Who?

You'll find out presently.

Not interested.

Interested now?

Let's say, curious.

Give your g*n
to the driver... carefully.

Get in, please.

My name is Whitfield Scully.

The legal eagle?

Right now
I'm retained exclusively

by the Kordic family.

Now that Tony Kordic is dead,

we have a rather complicated
situation on our hands,

which is where you come in.

Where is that?

Presently.

Driver?

♪♪

Good afternoon, Mr. Scully.

Uh, Albert, this is Mr. Mannix.

And this is his property.

Oh, you'll get your g*n back
when you leave.

What about my car?

It will be brought here.

Any tow charges?

Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Kordic,
Joe Mannix.

We're Miriam and, uh, Gil.

It's good of you to come.

Your invitation was hard
to turn down.

Sit down, Mr. Mannix.

Let's talk.

Your timing was lousy.

Oh?

I could have caught
your brother's k*ller,

but, uh,
Mr. Scully here interfered.

Was it intentional?

Not at all.

This is an important meeting,
and we want Mr. Mannix

to know certain facts
about the Family.

Even a rookie cop knows

about the Kordic Family
and its soldiers.

Don't you mean... employees?

Who earn their keep
in narcotics,

loan-sharking,
prostitution and m*rder?

Soldiers.

Now if you don't mind...

Mr. Mannix, our family is
in many businesses.

Olive oil, real estate.

Gilbert is an officer
in a respected bank--

Westland Central.

Really? What department?

The laundry for hot money?

Mr. Mannix,
Gilbert's not just an officer...

Miriam?

Mr. Mannix is not a fool.

Let's not treat him like one.

He's very well-informed
about the family.

I'm sorry, Gil.

Of course.
He'd be perfect.

How about it, Mr. Mannix?

How about what?

I want to hire you.

You must be kidding.

No.

I'm serious.

Because of the, uh, Family,

I've got a friend
on the critical list.

You won't reconsider?

Not a chance.

My car ought to be here by now.

Oh, and, uh,

next time, just use the phone.

Mr. Mannix?

The conference
isn't quite finished.

You don't seem to understand,
Mr. Mannix.

You're hired.

Why you want to hire me?

Have you ever heard
of a man named Vincente Demorra?

Who hasn't? Your brother's
partner on the East Coast.

Don Vincente is
a very old man now.

He's taken my brother's m*rder
very hard.

He means to find out who hired
this hit man, this, uh...

What's his name?

Tropic.

None of us have ever heard
of him.

Don Vincente is convinced

that someone in our family
put out the contract.

He thinks
you set up your own brother?

It's impossible.

Don Vincente's known Gilbert
since he was a baby.

Yet, as a lawyer,

I can see Gilbert
is the most likely suspect.

He had the most to gain.

Mr. Mannix, I never wanted
to succeed my brother.

But if Don Vincente thinks
I hired this k*ller,

he'll go back to the council.

You can fight.
You've got an army.

You've got your fortune.

And you've got Scully here
and his brains.

If the council votes
against Gilbert,

my legal skill is of little use.

Before Don Vincente gets here,

we need evidence
to prove Gilbert is innocent.

We'll pay you any price you ask.

I'm working for Harry Forrest.

I didn't hire this man
that you call...

Tropic.

I only want
to know who k*lled Tony.

Help Gilbert?

Please?

I loved my brother.

I didn't do it.

I hope not,

because I intend
to find out who did.

When I do,
I'll let you know...

free.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Take care, baby.

Mm.

So long, Ruthie.

One of these days,
when Harry gets out of here,

I'm going to make a real dinner.

Like the old days, eh?

That's a date.

Well, Harry, uh,

you feel strong enough
to give me some answers?

Strong enough.

But I'm not going to.

Why not?

You stick your nose
in any deeper,

and they're going
to slice it off.

After my hassle with Gilbert
Kordic, I'm in too deep to quit.

Oh, Joe,

you always were a stubborn...

Harry, let me in on it.

Okay.

What do you want to know?

Well, Tony Kordic's story

about why he hired you
was a phony.

What was his real reason?

No idea.

Oh, come on, Harry.

Think about it as old times.

The two of us
working together again.

Tony knew
someone was out to k*ll him.

Someone in the Family?

Close in the operation, anyway.

Who were you on to?

Fred Dobie.

Fred Dobie?

Who's he?

Vice President
of the Kordic Olive Oil Company.

A cover?

Yeah.

Dobie was heading up
their heroin operation.

And ripping off his boss.

Did you tell Tony Kordic?

About Dobie, yeah.

Dobie was selling a kilo
of heroin for a hundred grand,

putting down in the books.

Skimming off the top.

You can check with Adams
down at the DEA

He has the number
of Dobie's Swiss bank account.

Same day |-I told Tony,

I... I got plugged by Tropic,

and then Tony was k*lled.

{coughing

By Tropic, you think?

Could be.

If they paid him enough.

Hmm. Well...

I guess I'd better pay
a Mr. Dobie a visit.

Don't, Joe.

Someone in the Family,
related or not,

will stop at nothing.

Stay out of it.

Not a chance, Harry.

Who is it?

It's Joe Mannix.

Try to control your temper...

for a change.

Hello, there.

This is Joe Mannix.

Oh, yeah. Scully's been
filling me in about you.

I'm Fred Dobie.

Bad timing, Mr. Mannix.
I was just about to win the set.

Tennis isn't my game,
but I need the exercise.

Well, I hear talking
is pretty good exercise, too.

Talking about what?

Oh, let's say
a man who wanted his boss dead.

His boss?

Tony Kordic.

You mean me?
Y-You're talking about me?

Why should ?

Maybe Tony Kordic found out

you were skimming off the top
of the narcotics operation.

That's the hot rumor
around town.

Oh, you're out of your mind.

I run a legitimate
olive oil importing business!

Olive oil mixed with heroin.

If Tony Kordic knew
about your phony bookkeeping,

he probably knew
about your Swiss back account

and had you on ice.

Is that why you b*rned him?

Don't be a fool, Dobie!

Get off my property
before I have you thrown off!

Better do as he says,
Mr. Mannix.

Sorry I ruined your tennis game,
Mr. Scully.

Oh, and, uh,
you can tell Gilbert

that Dobie here just may
get him off the hook.

I had to come back.

Vegas was grim without you.

I've missed you.

I really needed you.

Things are getting
pretty sticky around here.

You look beautiful.

Yeah. Mannix just left.

He should be at Vinewood Drive
in about, uh, ten minutes.

So...

you're still hunting
for our friend, Tropic, eh, Joe?

That's right, Addie.

No luck the other day?

Oh, well, I found him,
and then I lost him,

so I came right back
to the source.

That you did.

I think I know where he's holed
up now under another name.

Where?

He moved his boat to Ventura.

The harbor master there ought

to be able
to point it out to you.

There she is.
Third from the end.

Owner's a weirdo.

Sure fits the description
you gave me.

Thanks.

Okay.

♪♪

♪♪

So it was
a thousand dollar bill.

What about it?

I think it was part of Tropic's
payoff for k*lling Tony Kordic.

Well, then who k*lled Tropic?

Whoever made him believe
the payoff was for real.

Joe, I'm trying
to stay with you.

Just imagine Tropic
spaced out on heroin,

counting the payoff,

the k*ller standing there
watching him.

Tropic goes on counting.

And bang, Tropic gets a b*llet.

And the k*ller
takes the money back and splits.

All except
for the one thousand dollar bill

clutched in Tropic's hand.

Which might lead us
right to whoever it is.

How?

Peggy, did you ever try

and get thousand dollar bills
from the bank?

Not since
you gave me my last raise.

Well, it's impossible
to get even one

without going
through a lot of red tape.

Now, that bill
must have been lying

in somebody's safety deposit box
for years.

Somewhere in town,
there's a bank

where the Kordic family
does business.

Maybe even where they have
a director on the board.

Those are all the signatures,
Mr. Mannix.

Hmm.

Everyone who signed in and out
of this vault in April.

Well, the name
I'm looking for isn't here.

I'm sorry. Why don't we try
the merry month of May?

Oh, well, I don't know.

Even this was more
than I should...

I'd really appreciate it.

Hmm.

Thank you.

Put me through
to Lieutenant Malcolm, please.

Art, I'm outside
Gilbert Kordic's place.

Don Vincente's in town.

Yeah, he just went into
the house with his soldiers.

Oh, and by the way, I was over
at the Westland Central Bank.

I know who hired Tropic.

You better call in the cavalry.

No, Art, I can't wait.

This time next year,
I may be dead.

But if I die,
it will be of old age...

...not because
a traitor set me up.

Yes.

A traitor k*lled Don Anthony.

Gilbert-- the brother
of my dear friend-- and Miriam,

thank you for allowing me
this visit.

Our honor and privilege,
Don Vincente.

It's good to see you again.

After all, when Gilbert was
a baby, you rocked his cradle.

That is true.

Long ago, very long ago.

And you, Nedda, did you make

the last days and nights

of my dear friend Anthony happy?

I loved Tony and I grieved
when he was k*lled.

So...

why do my men bring me
rumors from Las Vegas?

What rumors?

Dirty ones.

You have no wife, Mr. Counselor.

Since my wife d*ed, I've been
married to my law profession.

But not faithful, huh?

Not faithful.

We have looked into it
and we know, huh?

Hmm.

And how goes the olive oil
business, Frederick?

It's been a fat year,
Don Vincente.

Legit business pays off
sometime.

But Don Anthony put you
in charge of other interests.

I have seen pictures of the
Turkish poppy-- a gold flower.

It gives no odor, but it gives
off to our families--

The Kordics and mine--

Millions of dollars.

Don Anthony phoned me
the very day he was k*lled.

Guess what he told me
about you, Frederick.

I swear to you,
I didn't rip him off.

I can account for every penny.

We did not come here
to punish a thief.

We came here to find a m*rder*r.

I am of a generation

you call old-fashioned,

but it is
as the Bible says for me--

An eye for an eye.

♪♪

♪♪

If you are guilty, Gilbert,
I would vote in the council

for you to disappear...

fond as I am.

We were brothers.

Tony was my brother.

Brothers? Yes.

There were brothers
in the Bible, too.

There are others in the Family

that had more reason
than Gilbert

to have Don Anthony k*lled.

You think I want to go
to the council

and say Gilbert
made the contract?

No.

But if he planned it...

Enough of sentiment.

We talk now of the organization,
of business.

The m*rder of Don Anthony

has caused great losses
in our investments.

The police-- my private phone
has been tapped.

Bad stories in the newspapers.

We cannot take chances,

and without chances,
the money is less.

And all because somebody
in the Kordic family

ordered someone to k*ll

my good friend
and business partner.

Who?

Gilbert,

can you prove you did not order
the k*lling of your brother?

Prove it?

No.

But I swear to you,
Don Vincente,

on my mother's grave.

No.

Leave him alone.

Take his g*n.

Who are you?

His name is Mannix.

He's a private detective.

So, you take a big chance
coming here, Mr. Mannix.

Why?

I promised young Kordic
I'd let him know

the minute I found out
who k*lled his brother.

We know who k*lled Don Anthony.

It was the one called Tropic.

But I know who hired him.

That's what you really want
to know, isn't it?

Tell him, Mannix.

Tell him it wasn't me.

Everybody quiet.

Talk, Mannix.

Tropic was paid
with thousand-dollar bills

that were hidden
in a safety-deposit box.

The owner of that box
made one mistake.

Ah, mistake?

Before you can enter
a safety-deposit vault,

you've got to sign a slip.

Here's a copy of the slip.

This slip is a scribble.

It says, yes, Kordic...

Which Kordic?

Nedda.

This is Westland Central Bank.

That's not mine.

Try again, Joe.

May .

Nedda was in New York
singing that week.

She couldn't
have signed this slip.

It's true.

It's not her signature.

Why don't you ask Gilbert?

He's an officer at the bank.

Wait. Uh, Don Vincente, uh,
Gilbert was with me

in Chicago on business
all through May.

That's right.

I checked.

It's not Gilbert's
signature, either.

That leaves
only one person, huh?

Miriam?

Didn't you know
how Tony bullied you?

Didn't you know
what a tyrant he was?

How he kept you under his heel?

You loved him too much
to fight him.

He was stupid and full of noise.

He was so weak he couldn't even
keep his own wife faithful.

So blind he let Dobie
rob him of millions.

And you call that a don.

Go to the council.

Forget all of this.

Vote my husband the new don.

He's young and ready
to take over as a real power.

I'll stand behind him
and make him strong.

♪♪

Let the police handle this,
Don Vincente.

They're right behind me.

I don't believe you.

Gilbert.

Take her along the river.

One of my men will drive.

Mario, hold Mannix
until it is done.

It is an order.

Well, the party is yours
from here on in, Art.

Hi, Harry.

How are you feeling?

Oh, a bit rocky,

but it's going to be great
being home again.

You're staying for dinner.

I'm making your favorite--
brisket of beef.

Ah.
Mine, too.

You got yourself a dinner guest.

Ah, here we are.

Hop in, Harry.

Ready?

Ready.
Ready.

And it's brisket of beef.