(male #) 'Drop the w*apon! Now!'
(male narrator) Tonight on "Spenser, For Hire.."
You have the right to remain silent.
I confess. I sh*t him.
She's convinced that her husband is innocent.
Innocent? With a confession?
The man was caught with a m*rder w*apon in his hand.
- And you saw the k*lling? - Who says.
I want to know who k*lled your son-in-law.
I would like you to leave, please.
You don't really care who k*lled him or why.
(Hawk) 'Down inside!'
[g*nsh*t]
[g*nshots]
- Can you convict? - 'Yes.'
Unless you know something that I don't.
No more, no less.
[theme music]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[instrumental music]
[music continues]
[dramatic music]
(Lunza) 'Last stop, Johnny boy.'
Get out of the car.
'Move it!'
[g*nsh*t]
[engine revving]
[horn honking]
[engine revving]
[tires screeching]
[g*nshots]
- The hell are you doing? - Somebody's in the doorway--
Forget it!
[dramatic music]
[sirens wailing]
(male #) Freeze! Drop the w*apon! Now!
[indistinct radio chatter]
Get up against the wall.
Move! Up against the wall.
Spread 'em.
This guy is dead.
- Trying to rob him, pal? - Yes.
Yes, it was robbery.
Alright, you have the right to remain silent.
Any statement you make maybe used in evidence--
I understand, officer. I don't deny it.
I confess. I sh*t him.
[dramatic music]
(Spenser) No matter what their success in the ring
I've never known a boxer who doesn't
deep down inside enjoy training.
As the fatigue builds things get hazy, even dream like
and your fantasies take over.
Whack! You've staggered Marciano.
A right cross and there goes Ali.
Two jabs to open him up and then a left hook
and Holmes is hurt!
It's only a game.
They get your head in the right place.
Massages the old ego.
Some even say it's good for the soul.
You need resistance for a good session
on the heavy bag, Spenser.
Hey, Father O'Conner.
You wanna go a couple of rounds later?
[laughing] With you?
I don't think I'd look too good at mass on Sunday
with welts and bruises all over.
Eh, I've seen you in the ring a few times
you can hold your own.
Ah, now, Spenser
I'm merely a man of God, you know that.
Yeah, with a great right hook.
[laughs]
- How's business? - Slow.
- Good. - Good?
I'd like to hire you.
What, you in trouble?
Uh...new parishioner.
Husband and wife, actually, the Fuller's.
Morton Fuller confessed to m*rder last night.
Claims he sh*t a man named John Anthony.
Yeah, I read about it in the papers.
- Full confession, right? - Uh-hmm.
I don't, uh, know Mr. Fuller very well
but his wife Karen is devout.
She came to see me this morning.
She's convinced that her husband in innocent.
Innocent? With a confession?
I know, I know.
I can't share everything that she told me with you.
But, uh..
...I believe Mrs. Fuller when she says
that her husband didn't k*ll that man.
'Are you interested?'
Like I said, it's slow.
[instrumental music]
(Frank) This one is a slam dunk, Spenser.
Couple of blues find our boy standing over the body
with a Saturday night special in his hand
the barrels still warm, for cryin' out loud.
- They all should be this easy. - What's the motive?
Robbery. Victim was a rich man.
He was just on the wrong side of town.
I've seen his name in the paper a few times.
High roller, always throwin' big parties.
Gambling judges to Atlantic city.
(Frank) So the guy gets popped for his roll of bills.
One little detail, the big roll of bills
was found on the victim, not on the suspect.
That's 'cause our b*at cops got there before he could take it.
Alright, come on, what's a big time society guy like Anthony
doin' in the Combat Zone to begin with?
Come on, Spenser, what, you just fall off the back of a truck.
What's any guy doin' in the Combat Zone?
Yeah, maybe. But look here.
He kills the guy yards from his place of employment.
I mean, how dumb is that?
Where does it say that K*llers have to be smart?
Well, this one is, I mean, if he is the k*ller.
Says here he's got an advanced degree in civil engineering
from Cornell University.
Well, he wasn't drivin' no trains
when we found him, Spenser.
Mind if I nose around?
(Quirk) 'Nose around quietly, will ya?'
John Anthony was married into the Canning-Atlantic
banking fortune.
This family can throw a lot of weight around.
Trains?
Hey, don't bet the farm on this one, Spenser.
[indistinct chatter]
I'll make a statement later.
Later I'll make all the statements that I can, okay?
I told you, I don't need an attorney.
The law says you get one, Mr. Fuller.
And I urge you to cooperate, this is a m*rder charge.
A m*rder that I committed.
I am pleading guilty.
- Who are you? - Name is Spenser.
I'm a private cop.
Father O'Conner asked me to get involved.
What is this? Lawyers, priests, private eyes.
Can't people understand? I did it.
That's for the court to decide.
A waste of time.
I tried to rob the guy, he resisted
I sh*t him..
...and I got caught.
There are people who don't believe that, Mr. Fuller.
It's the truth.
What's the matter with you people?
Don't you understand?
Listen to me.
I'm guilty.
Spenser.
Thought you'd be sipping Mai Tais on Maui by now.
Postponed. I was thrown a m*rder case.
I should be on my way by the end of the month, though.
You're gonna handle a m*rder case in days?
The man was caught with a m*rder w*apon in his hand.
He also made a full confession to the arresting officers.
We expect a guilty plea at arraignment.
Are you talking about the John Anthony k*ller?
- Yeah, why? - I'm working on it too.
- But on the other side. - Oh, good luck.
With a confession? A first year law student couldn't blow this.
Have you gotten into this yet?
No, I just got the assignment this morning.
Oh, it's very interesting.
Your k*ller is a highly credentialed civil engineer
who's working as a fry cook in the Combat Zone.
A robbery that never took place.
Oh, a lot of neat stuff.
Happy prosecuting.
(Spenser) 'Mrs. Fuller, do you think your husband is capable of m*rder?'
I really feel as though I don't know him at all anymore.
There's no delicate way to ask this question, but..
...has Morton ever seen a therapist
a psychologist, psychiatrist--
- No. No, he hasn't. - Do you think he should?
Look, I know how private these things are.
I can only imagine what you're going through with this.
But if you care for Morton
'and if you want him to be cleared..'
'...you have to talk to me.'
'Otherwise..'
'...he could go to prison..'
'...for life.'
And then he'll be beyond our help.
There may be no changing that.
Five years ago..
...our only son Jimmy d*ed
in a car accident.
Morton's lost one job after another since that time.
I'm sorry.
And now this.
I'm tired, Mr. Spenser.
I'm tired of the pain.
[instrumental music]
(Spenser) No matter how often I saw it in my work
I could never brace myself against the sadness
of a family crumbling.
In this case a child dead.
And a husband acting out on absurd
and dangerous charade as a k*ller.
I had promised Father O'Conner my help.
But it wasn't for him that I would keep going.
It was for the frightened, hurt woman I just met.
You got friends on the outside.
Family, they come to visit you.
They bring the money.
I can't afford a $ a week.
I mean.. O-ow!
- I mean, that's extortion. - Oh!
You hear that, Keith? Extortion.
Call it insurance, pal.
Hey! Oh!
(Keith) This is a bad place to be without insurance.
[Birney clears throat]
Just make yourself at home, Birney.
Thank you. So, what else? Fuller case?
I thought this was supposed to be an easy one.
Smokin' g*n. Confession.
- What more do you need? - Priors would help.
Birney, this guy is squeaky clean.
Rita, you have a clear cut prima facie case for indictment
no matter how clean his record is.
I know.
I just have a bad feeling about this one.
'Look, our job is to build a good case for the state'
and to prosecute him to the best of our abilities.
Let the judge and jury decide his innocence.
Oh, come on, Birney, just pass it down the line?
Now, look, I know you're my boss
but you're also my friend.
So tell me as a friend
aren't we supposed to show some professional integrity here?
While you're agonizing, maybe you'd like to try to start
fielding some calls, they just started already.
- The Canning family? - Lot of power there.
Power to influence careers.
I don't want any holes in this one.
Right, prosecution for the people.
You know what your trouble is? You worry too much.
I give you a laugher, I hand it to you on a platter
and you still worry.
You're a very sick woman, Fiore.
- You need help. - Thanks, Birney.
[instrumental music]
London closed an hour ago, I've got the closing fix in gold.
- Fine. - I saw you coming.
- So I kept a Mr. Lunza on hold. - Oh, thank you.
And Mrs. Canning wants you to call her back.
Very good.
Uh, that'll be all, Ms. Phillips.
Good afternoon, Mr. Lunza, what can I do for you?
Now what the hell is going on?
- You saw the papers? - Yes, I saw them.
- Who is this confessor? - That's what I'm calling about.
We think he might've seen us.
He saw you and he's confessing?
It's beautiful, the investigation has stopped cold.
And what if he changes his mind, Lunza?
If he did see you, he could put you both away.
So what do you want us to do, huh?
- He's in police custody. - Stay on top of it.
If he gets out and starts talking, we'll all go down.
I'm going to have a psychiatrist talk to him
and see if we can convince him to repudiate his confession.
Good idea, I want it one better.
Find out who really k*lled John Anthony.
Do it fast if you can, the press had got Fuller tried
convicted and hung.
What's going on?
One of the prisoners just got knifed.
[dramatic music]
[instrumental music]
His wife just arrived.
I'll go talk to her.
So what happened?
I'm not sure.
I must've said something wrong and, uh, the next thing I know--
You got stuck with a shiv.
What did you expect? They're criminals.
- Now, wait a minute. - I haven't got the time.
But you're gonna have plenty of time to figure it out.
You better get used to the punishment.
Because that's where it's gonna be, day in and day out.
Month after month, year after year.
Somebody trying to make a name off of you.
Just like you made yours off of John Anthony.
- That's not the reasons. - What is?
You want your wife to suffer some more?
You think she's havin' a party out there?
It's time for the truth, Fuller.
If you've got a story to tell, you better start talkin'.
Did you k*ll John Anthony?
No.
No, I didn't.
[instrumental music]
(Spenser) Morton's statement got him out on bail.
It was possible he was innocent of m*rder
but still guilty of holding back the truth.
I had to know what really happened.
Well, you must, you must think I'm a fool.
No. You did a foolish thing.
There's a difference.
So what really happened that night?
Well, there's, uh..
There's not much to tell, I..
...I found the guy and, uh..
...pretended I k*lled him.
How long do you suppose it was after the sh**ting
that you showed up?
Oh, uh..
I'd say ten, maybe minutes.
Well, that's funny.
Police dispatch said there was a car at the scene
two minutes after there was a call in on the sh*ts.
Well, uh..
Well, maybe it was, uh, maybe it was sooner.
- Soon enough to see the k*ller? - No.
- Why? - Oh, just curious.
I mean, if you saw him and now you've retracted your confession
maybe he saw you.
They would come after me.
They?
Uh..
There were two of them.
Foreigners, they..
...they looked Latin.
- You know, Hispanic. - Did they see you?
Yes, they, uh..
...they sh*t at me.
Go on.
Well, the alley was pretty dark though, I don't..
I don't think they got a good look at me.
They didn't have to, your face was all over
the newspaper this morning.
[sighs] Oh, God, you're right.
Don't panic, I'll talk to the police about protection.
You are going back there tomorrow
and give 'em all this new information, you hear me?
Uh, yeah, okay, uh..
Can they get protection for me
and Karen fast?
It'll take a little while
but I'll arrange something till then.
I suggest you start remembering everything you saw that night.
[engine revving]
[sighs]
- Tough luck. - Terrific entrance.
(Spenser) Hey, I didn't make you miss.
You're the one with a stick in your hand.
Yeah, and you're the one with an "I need to talk to you"
look on your face.
Oh, I sure wasn't this way when I was playing
nine-ball for quarters.
Hm, straight pool, beans a game.
- Phew! How you doin'? - Down two.
Wanna make some of that money back?
When the game's over.
(male #) 'One fifty, that's game, Hawk.'
(Spenser) My pool playing friend was in no mood to work cheap.
But I had no choice.
Once Hawk was in place I was free to ask a few questions
of those who knew the victim best.
His own family.
There have been Canning's in Massachusetts
since the Mayflowers.
Since then the family has been a force to be reckoned with
in Boston's banking and political circles.
The mantel of power presently rested with Vera Canning.
Grandam and matriarch of the family.
And guardian of its fortunes.
I understand you're a friend of George Barlow's, Mr. Spenser?
Well, not a close personal friend.
But, uh, I saw him at the courthouse once.
How dare you lie to get in here. Harold!
It's very important, it's about John Anthony's m*rder.
It's alright, Harold.
John's death has devastated this family.
Especially my daughter.
I don't know how she can have a normal life
until that man is tried and convicted.
If you're talking about Morton Fuller, that may not happen.
I'm not sure I follow you, Mr. Spenser.
I talked to the chief of police myself last night.
And Fuller recanted his confession this morning.
Well, I hardly find that surprising
or significant.
It's very standard procedure, wouldn't you say?
Yes.
There's a growing body of evidence
that supports his innocence.
I'm not sure that I fully appreciate
your interest in all this, Mr. Spenser.
Eh, the same as yours.
I want to know who k*lled your son-in-law.
I just don't happen to think that
Morton Fuller's the guy we're looking for.
- Is this about John? - Darling.
You should be resting, this will only upset you.
I'm Elizabeth Anthony.
Ms. Anthony, I'm sorry about your husband.
- Thank you. - My name is Spenser.
I'm a private investigator, I'd like to ask you and your mother
a few questions.
Elizabeth, you needn't say anything.
It's alright, mother.
What would you like to know, Mr. Spenser?
Well, to begin with
had your husband had any death threats?
No. No, not that I know of.
Look, I don't mean to be disrespectful
but the newspaper described him as a free spender.
'Did he have any unpaid debts?'
That is none of your business.
I know what you're getting at.
But our finances were in order.
John was the vice president at the bank
in charge of Central and South American investments.
His salary of $, was more than adequate.
Did you give him any money?
Really, Mr. Spenser.
I'm afraid I didn't have any money to give.
It's all in a trust until my th birthday.
If you can think of anything that might help
give me a call.
Good day, Mr. Spenser.
[instrumental music]
(Spenser) Arrogant rich people don't seem to like me.
I make them nervous.
Truth is, it's on purpose.
I enjoy it, could be a fatal personality flaw. I don't know.
But instead of feeling sorry for myself
I went back to the alley where John Anthony was k*lled.
Morton Fuller had told me something
that needed checking out.
[music continues]
(Spenser) And when I found what it was I was looking for
there was someone else I wanted to share that information with.
Spenser, I know all about the retraction.
In fact, I was expecting it.
And you're still going ahead with the case?
Of course I am.
I'm a sworn officer of the court
who happens to have enough evidence
to warrant prosecuting Morton Fuller for m*rder.
I know you can prosecute, but can you convict?
Yes.
Unless you know something that I don't.
I.. So happens, I just gave Marty Quirk a slug
taken from a door yards from where John Anthony was sh*t.
'Now, Morton Fuller says the real k*ller'
sh*t at him in the alley that night.
I'd say this is a giant step towards
corroborating his story.
Look, Spenser, right now it's a b*llet.
No more and no less.
Uh-huh. No more, no less.
But I wouldn't book that flight to Maui.
[scatting]
[dramatic music]
(Spenser) Having found the b*llet and giving it to Marty Quirk
I had no other loose ends to tie up.
So I joined Hawk on the stake-out at the Fuller house.
I thought it was the friendly thing to do.
[music continues]
- Damn! - Let's go.
(Spenser) Hold it!
What?
(Hawk) Down inside.
[g*nsh*t]
[screaming]
[g*nshots]
[intense music]
[g*nsh*t]
[g*nshots]
[dramatic music]
[sobbing]
[indistinct radio chatter]
The Fuller's are pretty lucky.
Yeah, you can't say the same for el corpso over there
couple of big holes in him.
Looks like a ..
., huh? Does that ring a bell, Spenser?
I hired Hawk to bodyguard the Fullers.
- He was doin' his job. - Yeah, I can see that.
Would you mind telling him I wanna see him downtown?
I'll tell him. You got any leads on the dead man?
No ID, he had some foreign currency on him
from some countries in the Caribbean.
He also had a tattoo on his left hand, right here.
That ain't from Providence, you know what I mean, Spenser?
(Martin) 'Tattoo could be a g*ng symbol.'
Like the Marielitos, feds are checkin' on it now.
We'll get an ID on him, sooner or later.
I guess this is one of the two guys that Fuller saw
who k*lled John Anthony.
- Are you on that kick again? - 'Spenser--'
That slug I gave you..
...check it against the one's you find here
you're gonna get a match.
How's Karen?
She's upstairs.
She's leaving.
I can't believe she's really going.
Well, stop her, talk to her.
I can't..
I can't say the right things anymore.
[indistinct radio chatter]
You're leaving?
Yes, I have to.
We were almost k*lled, for God's sake.
You don't know him, Mr. Spenser, I do.
I swear, he wanted this to happen.
You actually think he wants to die.
Yes, damn it.
It's the only way he feels he can atone.
Atone for what? Your son?
Car accident?
Morton was driving.
That's what this has been all about.
You wanna tell me about it?
We waited a long time to have children.
Maybe too long.
When we finally did have Jimmy
uh, we found out I couldn't have anymore children.
What happened?
Uh..
It was supposed to be
a surprise birthday party.
Mort was supposed to pick him up from school.
Coming home and..
...another car ran a red light and..
Sorry.
He would've been ten years old.
Ten years old.
Is that when things started falling apart?
Mm-hm.
Yeah.
Don't you see, he's trying to punish himself
for the guilt he feels.
Has he tried to get help?
He won't admit there's anything wrong.
It's so obvious.
He's never forgiven himself.
How about you, Mrs. Fuller?
Have you forgiven him?
Your playmate doesn't have a name yet
but he's from the Caribbean.
- Was from the Caribbean. - Right.
Eh, well, island boys in town
not too hard to find his aider and abettor.
I'll need you for a while longer.
Well, your nickel, babe.
Fuller said that there was
a truck in the alley that night.
Now why do you suppose a driver would see what he saw
and didn't report it, huh?
Maybe 'cause the trucker see a little crime.
Or maybe 'cause the trucker do a little crime heself.
Exactly.
Hey, well, I know a couple of guys who play
that kinda game in the area
I shall find out who the midnight driver was.
Great, after that I'd like you back on Fuller
in case our friend from down south decides to try again.
I gotta check another lead.
Babysittin' the dude would be boring.
Oh, yeah, you were bored stiff last night, weren't you now?
In case you get too restless
you might drop by Quirk's office.
He requested a little, uh, conference, you know.
- Just for the record. - Mm.
Broken a record talkin' to the man.
(Spenser) The dead sh**t at Fuller's was foreign.
Fuller said the K*llers in the alley looked for him
and Elizabeth Anthony said her husband
worked in foreign investments at the bank.
Now the way I figure it, three foreigns is worth looking into.
Mr. Spenser, Mr. Niles will see you now.
Thank you.
- Mr. Spenser. - Mr. Niles.
Thank you for seeing me.
Certainly. I believe you're, uh, working with Mrs. Canning.
Uh, yes, well, we have mutual interest, you might say.
Now this is about John Anthony.
Oh, a shame! A damn shame!
John will be missed here. He had a..
- He had a great future here. - Mm.
Uh, what can I do for you?
Well, uh, according to his wife
John was earning $, a year.
Mm, that's not out of line for a man in his position.
And what was that may I ask?
He was in charge of international investments.
He was also Mrs. Canning's son-in-law
which meant he could do anything he wanted.
That's provided he could do it for under $, a year, huh?
I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for, Mr. Spenser.
Well, I'm tryin' to understand how he could afford
a $ a month florist charges
a revolving line of credit at Louies'.
Uh, and a lot more on that kind of salary.
Obviously, we're talking nepotism here.
There's no law against spoiling your children.
Oh, there is in the Canning family.
At least when it comes to sons-in-laws.
I talked to Mrs. Canning and she said that
other than this job, he was receiving
no other financial support from the family.
Frankly, I'm surprised to hear that.
- May I sit down? - Be my guest.
May I be candid? I don't think John was mugged.
'I think he d*ed for a different reason.'
'And I think that reason had something to do with'
how he got his extra money.
I was hoping you could shed some light on that thought for me.
I'm sorry, Mr. Spenser, but I really can't help you.
Ah, also I must get going
I'm in quite a rush, if you'll excuse me..
- Certainly. Thank for your ti-- - You're welcome.
(Spenser) Now perhaps that Niles was another busy, hardworking
banker rushing off to an appointment.
Maybe that's why I got so little time with him
and so little information.
Then again, maybe I just got what we PIs
technically call "The fast shuffle."
[dramatic music]
- What are these? - Look at them, mother.
(Vera) Alright.
(Vera) Good Lord, Elizabeth!
Where did you get these?
I found them among John's things.
In our room.
'I don't know exactly what they all mean'
but I can read.
I mean, they're illegal transactions.
- 'Who are you calling?' - Spenser.
- 'Those papers can help him.' - No.
Do not bring that man into this.
Why, mother? Why, will he be an embarrassment, too?
Just like John? Just like this police investigation?
You don't really care who k*lled him or why!
- That is not true! - 'Don't lie, mother.'
It doesn't become you.
You will..
...not speak to me like this.
What I care about is this family, our business
and our name. I'll handle this.
[door slams]
(Spenser) 'What's wrong with the doorbell?'
Too time-consuming.
Found Mr. Morton here on the Mystic Bridge
lookin' like he wanted to take a swan dive.
Oh, Morton.
[sighs] My wife's gone, my son is gone.
I've got nothing left.
Oh, yeah, I found out who you're midnight truck driver was, too.
Works for the Landry delivery service.
'His name be one Ken Green.'
I don't think he was delivering food
to the poor though that night.
You have a couple more hours of babysitting left?
Oh, yeah. Me and Brother Morton gettin' real close.
Hmm? Take off your coat.
Rest..
(Spenser) With Hawk's information, finding the driver wasn't hard.
To persuade him to tell the truth
well, that might just be another matter.
- Looking for Ken Green. - So?
So my name is Spenser, I'm a private cop.
Just want to ask him a few questions.
So what do you want with me?
Ah, you, uh, you kept the truck out
the night of November the th?
Yeah, well, sometimes they let me take it home. So what?
Yeah, but you didn't take the truck home
the night of November th.
You took it to an alley in the Combat Zone
the night John Anthony was k*lled.
- Who says? - Eyewitness.
He saw your truck and you saw the k*lling.
Look, pal, you got no right to hassle me like this.
Look, we can either talk about what you saw that night
or we could talk about what was in your truck.
And what you were doin' there that night.
[intense music]
[banging]
(Spenser) Hey!
[music continues]
(Martin) 'You're saying the trucker saw what went down'
'on the John Anthony sling?'
Not all of it, but he did get a license number
on the k*ller's car, you might wanna run a make on it.
Now, hold it, how come this so-called trucker
never came to us earlier?
He was delivering stolen auto parts.
He thought you guys might frown on that sorta thing.
What about the b*llet that they got?
Well, forensics says it matches
what they found at the Fuller House.
So it looks like your guy might be off the hook.
- Rita know? - I just called her.
Now, what are we gonna do with him?
- Keep him here for safekeeping. - Spenser, what..
Are you gonna follow the license plate trail?
I'll keep you informed.
Mrs. Canning, what a pleasant surprise.
Will you excuse us please, Miss Phillips?
What I have to say won't take very long.
You sound like we have a problem.
'You do.'
I've allowed you a free hand
in running this department because you made it profitable.
When your foreign operations topped six million
I thought you're a miracle worker.
But now I find you're nothing but a common criminal..
'Sit down!'
Had I known what you intended to do when I put you in charge
I would've fired you.
The bank, it's been doing very well
thanks to my efforts to--
Launder drug money.
I want it stopped, at once.
Your dearly beloved son-in-law
is deeply into this, you should remember that.
You still don't understand, do you, Mr. Niles?
I don't give a damn about John Anthony!
I'm here to clean up your mess.
I want your resignation within the hour. That's an order.
And if I choose to ignore it?
I'll go to the police.
And ruin the bank's reputation as well as your family's name?
I don't think so.
Cannings will survive an investigation.
Will you?
Rita, you take things too personal. Be a team player.
Follow orders and do your job.
My job is to prosecute criminals
for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
not to railroad some poor guy into a trial he can't win
because someone's pulling political strings.
Well, look, you haven't been in this job long enough
to tell me who I should or shouldn't pay attention to.
It's all political!
Unless you want to stay at the same level forever.
Don't tell me the thoughts of a judgeship
haven't entered your mind.
You're right, Birney, I do have ambitions.
But I guess I'm just a little picky
about the road I take to fulfill them.
Well, I don't think you have much choice in the matter.
Wrong. You can drop the case or you can try it yourself.
But if you force me to try it, I'll resign.
[laughs] You can't be serious.
Watch me.
(Hawk) 'Ah, that's the dude who tried to cancel'
'your subscription to life.'
(Spenser) 'The man in the double-breasted is named Niles.'
'He's a corporate officer of Can-Atlantic'
and John Anthony's boss.
Strange bad fellows, my man.
(Spenser) 'All ties to the bank.'
- May I? - Embrace the charges.
(Spenser) 'Marty? Yeah, we got the tail on the license number.'
Well, if I knew where they were goin' I'd tell you right now.
Yeah, I'll call you when we get there.
[dramatic music]
[fire crackling]
[instrumental music]
Make sure to stir the ashes, mother.
We wouldn't want anyone to find out the family's secrets.
[sighs] What is it you want, Elizabeth?
The truth.
Who k*lled Johnny?
Was it someone from the bank? Is that why you're covering up?
I don't want to see the bank implicated.
I also don't want to see you hurt
any more than you have been.
You never cared about me or how I felt.
And you always hated John.
If you must know the truth, John Anthony was a thief.
- That's a lie! - No, it isn't.
These papers prove it.
I pleaded with you not to marry him.
But you, you were in love.
So, I accepted your playboy, I gave him a place at the bank.
Within a month, he was stealing.
Wh.. I don't believe this.
Our auditors caught him..
...and I had him moved into foreign investments.
[scoffs] 'At least he wouldn't be handling cash.'
What I didn't know was that I'd be putting him
in the hands of an even bigger thief.
Mr. Niles?
It was Niles who was paying him off.
Trying to keep him quiet.
You think Niles had John k*lled?
- I presume. - Very good, Mrs. Canning.
Although, I'm afraid it won't do you very much good now.
I wouldn't bother with that if I were you.
The butler won't be answering the phone for a while.
What do you want?
Our last meeting troubled me, uh, Mrs. Canning.
I thought we had a good business relationship.
'Now I hear you're going to the police.'
There's no need. I've destroyed all of John's papers--
(Niles) 'But you could've made copies'
and now your daughter knows as well.
She won't say a thing.
I can't afford to take the risk.
I'm flying out of the country this evening
and I'd like to return soon with no complications.
You were the one who had my husband k*lled.
He was a very greedy man.
What are you going to do with us?
As you say, Mrs. Canning, we're going to clean up the mess.
Forget it, Niles. Police are on the way.
(Niles) 'You're not in a very strong negotiating position'
Mr. Spenser, we have hostages here, it could get messy.
Yes, it could.
[clatters]
Just like a ball-peen hammer.
[dramatic music]
(Spenser) Some cases are full of irony.
Just as some lives are full of grief.
When I dropped Elizabeth and her mother off at Marty's
to give their statements, I knew it would be months.
Maybe years, before they would learn
to trust one another again.
But the Cannings would survive.
The question now was, could Morton Fuller?
Karen told me about your son.
She told you about the car accident?
She said it wasn't your fault.
She's very trusting.
At least she used to be.
She still is, Morton.
Perhaps..
Perhaps you can tell her what really happened.
You never have, you know.
I can't.
You've had it hidden inside long enough.
You've gotta get it out if you ever expect the pain to die.
[sobs]
Karen..
...I lied.
I lied to you.
I lied to everyone.
Yeah, I wasn't in the office..
'...before I picked up Jimmy.'
I was in a bar.
I was drinking..
...to, to celebrate my new job.
I wasn't drunk, but I..
What happened to the other driver?
He, uh, it was manslaughter.
- And he got six months. - And he's done with it.
Morton, I'm not sayin' it's fair, but..
...why do you think you have to pay for it
for the rest of your life?
I-I keep telling myself..
...that if I had been stone-cold sober..
Stone-cold sober, there was no way..
No way I could've..
I could've missed that other car.
Why can't you accept that?
You make it sound so easy.
How am I supposed to forget everything?
Forgive myself..
...for what I've done.
You can get help, Morton.
There are professionals who can help you
deal with this kind of thing.
Please, Morton, please.
I beg you.
I love you. Please.
I love you.
Oh, I love you.
[mellow music]
So, what do you think?
It's hard to tell.
He had a lot of pain visited on them.
And they visited a lot on each other.
They've still got some healing ahead of them.
But, at least it's a start.
Yeah. Want a lift?
Yeah, I gotta get back to the church.
We're having our monthly paper drive.
Oh, Spenser, as long as you're with me..
...do you might lending us a hand?
I know, for the greater good.
[laughs]
[instrumental music]
[theme music]
[music continues]
end