04x20 - Dead Man's Riddle

[bunniefuu]

- What's the matter? Why you slowing down?
- Highway Patrol up ahead.

You got good eyes.

I'm paid for, Mr. Tammaron.

Hey, what are
you thinking about?

Julie or Debbie?

Neither one. The hills.

Be nice someday if I had a place of my own,
away from all this asphalt and concrete.

You know, a place to keep my
horses. Fresh air, nobody around me...

nothing but peace and quiet.

[BARKING]

[BARKING]

Belay that, Rafferty.

Pfft. Cold out this morning.

You don't care, though, do you?

All you admirals never have
to stand foul-weather watch.

Oh. Poor little things.
What got into you?

Ain't it a pity?
They look half dead.

[TIRES SCREECHING]

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

Oh, no.

WOMAN [ON RADIO]: Any
unit position, a citizen's report.

Eleven-80, Taft Road at
Rodolphie, just occurred.

Fire and Ambulance rolling.
Units responding identify.

L.A. 15, Mary 3 and 4,
Westward 405. ETA, 7.

Hey, I'm sorry
about Captain Smith.

Phoned the station just a couple
of minutes before we got the call.

Fine, happy.

Went to check the gas
companies' processing plant.

I don't know, man.

Jon, the car Captain Smith rear-ended
was empty when Pete got here.

- What?
- No occupants.

Empty, and we got here fast.

Station's only three miles east.

He say anything?

Unconscious.

Yulin, Benny T.

Yulin's names on
the Datsun's plate.

Could've crawled out,
could've got thrown out.

What about the lady
in the cab back there?

Name of Janet Afferton.

That's all I got.
She's pretty upset.

You take it easy on yourself.
I'm gonna go talk to them, okay?

All right.

There had to be somebody in
that car. Was it just sitting here?

What can I tell
you? It was empty.

How about down
here? Any witnesses?

I don't know, Jon.

The guy's a Navy pensioner.

Chief petty officer. Max Amaral.

Employed to maintain
meters on the gas line.

He's wound kind of tight
and spaced kind of lose.

He's always kind of friendly with us,
but today he doesn't even wanna talk.

Divert all traffic that's
coming to this intersection...

- till I can get some guys to seal it off.
- Okay.

Hold up on your cleanup
and don't move a thing.

- All right, okay.
- Thank you.

L.A. 15, Mary 3...

we have some missing bodies
and one fatality from allied agency.

Contact Sergeant Getraer and
ask him to meet us here please.

WOMAN [ON RADIO]: 10-4, Mary 3.

Is the fire department car, the red
car, is that the only car you saw?

Yes. He just whooshed
by right past me.

So fast.

What would you say your speed
was, Mrs. Afferton, say 40?7

Oh, no. Oh, mercy, no.

I'm very careful.

Twenty, 25 every day.

It's very dangerous
through here.

- And you didn't see the accident happen?
- No, just the fire.

He must have just
smashed right into them.

Thank you. Please stay in the car because
I'm gonna have somebody drive you home.

Oh, thank you.

All right. Thank you.

Loud crash it was, woke
me out of a deep sleep.

- And you called the Highway Patrol?
- I did not. What's the use?

I moved out here for
some peace and quiet.

I called and I called
about those scuttle bums

racing their sporty cars
up and down the road...

ain't one thing been done.
Mufflers so loud you can't get any...

But, look, chasing those sporty
cars with our heavy patrol cars...

that's like chasing a
PT boat with a cruiser.

But now we have Camaros
and we can catch them...

Sure, now that somebody's dead.

Thank you, chief.

See you, fella.

[BARKING]

Careful what you say, Rafferty.

Loose lips sink ships.

Captain Smith rear-ended the sedan.
We're checking the hospitals for occupants.

I hate to say Smith is the
cause, but that's how it looks.

I think that Navy chief is
holding something back.

Benny Yulin has a severe concussion.
I don't think he was thrown over there.

And he didn't crawl over there because
there's not a mark on his clothing.

Too many questions, and an
officer in public service dead.

I'm gonna give it to MAIT.

- Who's MAIT?
- M-A-I-T.

Multidiscipline Accident
Investigation Team. All specialists.

Be careful and don't mess
up any of the evidence, hm?

GETRAER: Okay, thank you.

All right, bye.

Aah.

As you all know, we have
a new team psychiatrist...

Dr. Colleen Jacobs.

- Hello, sergeant.
- Hi.

Uh, Anderson, you knew
Sam Jacobs, County Sheriff.

- He was Colleen's father.
- Hello.

Anderson does
photography and graphics.

- Wells, Caltrans.
- Hello, doc.

Miller, laboratory.

And Ryan handles interrogations.

You already know Jon Baker.

Hi.

Look, sarge, the car
that Smith hit looks like

it's from Cornet Car
Rentals, from Bakersfield.

Bakersfield's checking it out.

And Benny Yulin, the Datsun
driver, still unconscious.

Uh, two men
reported the accident.

To us, at 703-15, to the
fire department at 702-40...

from an emergency phone almost
a mile east of the intersection.

Now, both calls were anonymous,
uh, people hiding something...

so don't expect any help.

Okay, get out there
while the evidence is fresh.

I get the feeling that one good
witness would clear this up.

- See you later.
- Bye-bye. Bye.

MAN: See you.

So, uh, this is
where it happened?

Yeah. Taft Road and
Rodolphie, the intersection.

[TIRES SCREECH]

And a widow named
Janet Afferton.

She was in shock when
Ponch talked to her.

You ought to talk to
Chief Amaral first, though.

Maybe Amaral's lying
because he doesn't like cops.

Yeah, Ponch told me about that.

Now, you'll be working
with Jon and Ponch.

It's their incident, they
were the responding officers.

You still teaching at UCLA?

Yes, but, uh, this
is what I really want.

Yeah, well, why
blow the opportunity?

I mean, exceeding the speed limit.
How'd you like me to arrest you...

and take you into my
custody for a while?

I'm sorry. Heh.

Oh, Jon, I've wanted to do police
work all my life, because of Dad, I guess.

It's my first case.

I'm so glad for the chance.

I gue... I guess I'm just
uptight about this interview.

With Chief Amaral?

Ah, a pretty lady can
handle a Navy man anytime.

Besides, Ponch is out there
softening him up already.

Just drop me off
at the intersection.

[BARKING]

No, I did not call
no Highway Patrol.

[DOG BARKING]

Belay that, Rafferty.

The man used that
word, chief. Belay.

His call was
tape-recorded. Every call is.

Chief, now, you've
served your country.

We depend on people like you. Now,
the man who made that call is important.

Maybe he saw the cars or
knows who caused the accident.

Well, I ain't saying
what caused it...

but if them cops tape-recorded
me, I guess they know I made the call.

I told one other lie too.

I said I was asleep.
Well, I wasn't.

I was out here
checking my plants.

Must have been a quick freeze last
night because some of them was frostbit.

Now, I was standing
just about here when...

When I heard the crash.

[WHOOSHING]

Uh, I never noticed nothing else, but I
thought I might be able to help somebody...

so I went to check to
see what happened.

I got partway to the top
when I heard this big expl*si*n.

Then I kept on going.

Time I got here, I
see three cars burning.

So I run back down, and that's
when I made the phone call.

S-4, 7 Adam. From a
standing start back there...

I'm at the emergency telephone in a
minute, 20. Eighty seconds, do you copy?

S-4, Barry, 10-4. Now
get back to your roadblock.

10-4.

Hey, sarge, I had no
trouble getting Amaral to talk.

I used a little courage,
ingenuity and charm.

In other words, you,
uh, left it to Dr. Jacobs.

Right, that way, we
make a wonderful team.

[BOTH CHUCKLE]

Back-timing from his call, we
put the wreck at 7 a.m. sharp.

BAKER: Hey, sarge.

Listen, these are Yulin's skid marks.
He ran that stop sign over there...

and he was breaking as
he was going into the turn.

There's just no
way he could stop.

Right here, this is an
acceleration skid mark.

Yulin's skid mark lays over it.

Someone hot-rodded out of
here before Yulin tried to stop.

The question is,
how long before?

Okay. Collision, 7 sharp.

Anonymous call from the roadside
phone, about three minutes later.

An eight- or 10-minute walk to that
phone, but Baricza drove it in 80 seconds.

So the caller drove, the guy
who left the acceleration skid.

Maybe.

There is another car
involved somehow.

Find it, we may
find all the answers.

Harlan, what are you doing?

Calculating collapsibility.

Using factory specs, I estimate
that that car impacted this car...

at 45 miles an hour.

When they hit?

Are you saying Captain Smith
approached that intersection that fast?

Then the Datsun collided.

It's not what I say, sergeant.
It's what the damage says.

Is Jon here yet? Call from
Sergeant Harper up in Bakersfield.

Oh, I'll take it.

- Hello.
- Baker?

No, this is Joe Getraer.

Oh, Joe, hi.

Yes, on your LTD.

Cornet rented out two of those
last night, both to salesmen.

On the one you have there, no
word from the renter, but I have his ID.

Oh, good, give it to me.

Noren. Got it.

Hey, thanks, Bob.

Yeah, I'll call you.

Bye-bye.

Hey, sarge. Yulin's still unconscious.
The fire department has a duplicate sedan.

They're gonna send it
over here to meet me.

Good.

Jon, I think Yulin was racing,
and I think he was behind.

I think the leading
racer's our missing car.

Now, it makes its rolling
stop and bugs on through.

The LTD is coming
up, Smith behind it.

It wants to go up Rodolphie, panic
stops when it sees the leading racer.

But doesn't see Yulin coming.

Smith rear-ends the LTD...

right in front of Yulin, who
has run through the stop sign...

he plows into them both.

Now, the leading racer stops...

Its driver helps the LTD driver.

They both get out Yulin
before the wreck explodes.

They leave, and the missing racer
drives back to the roadside telephone...

to call the fire department.

Still leaves Smith
with a lot of the blame.

Oh, yeah.

There's a car here from
the fire department. Red.

All right. Look, sarge, you know,
maybe the acceleration skid marks...

had nothing to do
with the accident.

What if the two guys, the
LTD and the missing car...

were working together, some
kind of criminal action, car thievery?

A different missing car?

Miller.

- Okay, Jon, do your thing.
- See you later.

[PHONE BUZZES]

Sergeant Harper.

Oh, yeah, Joe.

Second sedan?

Cornet rented out two, right.

Grab that second one
for me, will you, Bob?

See how far it was driven and
check for evidence of contraband.

It's probably been through a
carwash. They always do that.

Well, there's always something
that doesn't wash, right?

Right. Thanks, pal.

I want you to put that car out there,
what's left of it, through a sieve, hm?

Wells, this is Jon. I'm at the process
plant, ready to run my speed test.

Is the roadblock ready?

Yeah, Jon, it's Baricza.

I'm up here in the
Camaro. No traffic so far.

10-4, Jon. Come on.

[TIRES SCREECHING]

BARICZA: Who the
heck are these guys?

Stay right there!

Wells, it's Baricza.
Racer coming fast.

- He got past me.
- Traffic, Jon, hold it.

[TIRES SCREECHING]

- Hey, look, I'm sorry.
- Yeah, that's great.

Just get on over there.
Come on now. Let's go.

Well, look, if Jon
never got it over 45...

there is no way Smith
was going 45 when he hit.

Because he did break before impact.
The brakes on his car are still frozen.

Harlan says he was. Going 45.

Grossie, somebody is wrong.

I know, I know. Who?

Hey, Anderson.

Look, did you, uh...? Did you
take some pictures over here?

Of what? Everything happened
on Rodolphie or the other side.

There's some tire marks
here. They're almost wiped out.

- Make some casts of these.
- Jon, why?

Professional curiosity.

A car stopped here
and then backed out...

so the guy could get out,
just like the Mustang did.

We matched this cast with
the tires of the car that Smith hit.

It matched... I mean,
matched perfectly.

So, what's your thinking?

Okay, let's say that the LTD is standing
still. If Smith would have run into that...

it would've knocked it
forward. That didn't happen.

They were interlocked, as if they
were moving in different directions.

So let's say the LTD was
coming from a different direction...

but he has to break and
cut short on Rodolphie...

because the unknown
racer barrels through.

Therefore, he backs up, he's gonna
take another sh*t at Rodolphie...

not seeing Smith coming
from the opposite direction.

This car moving backwards,
both cars moving...

and you have the
speed at impact.

The tire marks from the
impact fire are destroyed.

That doesn't explain
the missing car, but...

maybe the guy that
Smith hit wasn't hurt and

he's hiding because
he feels he's to blame.

I buy that.

Well, Jon, if your theory is
correct, it takes the onus off Smith.

That I like.

Doctor, stay close
to Benny Yulin.

Ryan's at the hospital now.

If Yulin regains
consciousness...

- he can clear this all up.
- I'll be there.

Come on.

- Sergeant Getraer.
- That's right.

Grady Brooks. I'm a salesman.

Seems like you asked
the Highway Patrol in

Bakersfield to hold a
car I rented up there.

- That's right.
- Now, I'm only in L.A. overnight...

but I assure you that car is
not involved in anything illegal.

Well, thank you, Mr. Brooks.

May I ask you what
it was involved in?

Company business.

My firm and I hope you'll
accept my word on it.

I have a sedan here...

rented by another salesman
by the name of Noren.

I'm told it traveled
almost exactly the

same distance as the
one you say you rented.

Are you and Mr. Noren
with the same company?

Noren. Noren.

I don't know a Mr. Noren.

[CHUCKLES]

Bakersfield.

Yeah, this is Getraer, L.A.

Sergeant Harper's
holding that sedan for me.

Yeah, that's the one.

Uh, why don't you load it
up and truck it on down here.

Okay. Thank you.

I smell you, cousin. Why don't you
identify yourself as a fellow officer...

and tell me what
this is all about?

I spent all night on it.

One wheel cover and
one bumper guard missing.

No evidence of
contraband or major injury.

But here, on the
windshield, bloodstains.

On the passenger side?

- Probably had two people in it.
- Oh.

The speedometer analysis puts the
car at zero miles an hour on impact.

That's good for your
theory he was backing up.

But it was in forward gear.

That's bad for your theory.

Dr. Jacobs, telephone.

Chief Amaral. Won't
talk to anyone else.

Rafferty likes
you, I can see that.

People think I'm foolish
because Rafferty talks to me.

I understand him.

Birds talk to me, plants, trees.

Talking to my flowers
just before the wreck.

I know what caused that wreck.

You know?

What, you... You saw?

Firemen's the best
friends I got up here.

They're saying that
captain's to blame.

Can't have that,
wasn't his fault.

There's only one
thing I ask of you...

don't repeat this to no
cops that don't need to know.

All right.

I don't believe in ghosts,
spirits, people vanishing.

But this I saw, and
no foolishness to it...

I heard a sound.

[MAKES WHIRRING
NOISE THEN SWOOSHES]

Flying saucers, UFOs,
whatever you call them things.

Them drivers, they seen it too.
Or it caused them to lose control.

My eyes were on it...

and I heard the crash.

Grady Brooks is trying to muscle
me off this case, Captain Haskell.

I mean, whose cop is he?
State, federal, county, what?

Brooks has a problem,
that's all I can give

you. Except he wants
to know how far you'll go.

Back to Ned Smith's widow with
the truth, and I don't care where from...

Grady Brooks, from
the MAIT team, whoever.

Thought you believed Captain
Smith was not the cause.

That's what I wanna believe,
that's what I wanna tell that woman.

If Benny Yulin's
family files on this, I'm

gonna have to drag her
through interrogation...

on the mental state and
intimate life of her dead husband.

[PHONE BUZZES]

Yeah, Getraer.

Yes?

Hey, great.

Look, find Dr. Jacobs
and get her there at once...

and please tell Officer
Ryan to go ahead.

I gotta get to the hospital.

Benny Yulin has regained
consciousness, they're gonna let him talk.

Ryan, you talk to him?

Not yet. They won't let me.

- Won't let you? Who?
- That guy.

Brooks.

Brooks!

Jon, I used to hear Dad talk about
the rule of first event. What is it?

If you don't slow down,
they'll carry us to the hospital.

Sorry.

Okay, uh, say you ran
into a fence, all right?

That's the incident.

But before that, you ran off
the road, that's the first event.

Okay, well, what if you
and the sergeant are right?

The missing driver was
racing Benny Yulin...

but he wasn't involved
in the actual accident.

Noncontact felony
hit-and-run, if he was the cause.

Even if he didn't know
the accident happened?

I think the missing driver knew.

No, I mean, supposing.

If he didn't, by the rule of first
event, where does he stand?

Mmm. There may be
proximate cause, I don't know.

There's no way to tell until we
find out exactly how it went down.

All I'm asking is a little
interservice cooperation.

I must know what that man says.

That man is our witness.
His doctor said no.

Look, nobody knows what you're up to.
Either you let us into your confidence...

or you get your information through
channels, if you have the authority.

- Where's Jon?
- He's on his way.

Go on in. You too.

You're forcing me to
go to your superiors.

Heh. Again? You've already
been there, I haven't been to yours.

But I'm warning you...

If I find out that you're obstructing
justice, I'm coming after you.

It would be perfectly normal if
you were unable to recall much...

at this time, Mr. Yulin.

So do you remember the accident?

[SIGHS]

I don't know what happened. I...

Mr. Yulin, we know that you live out there
and that you were driving pretty fast...

but that's okay.

There's nothing to worry about,
we're only here to ask for help.

YULIN: I was—-

I was driving to work...

Just tooling along,
you know, by myself.

People are always racing out there,
Mr. Yulin, people who live there...

people from other areas...

but I guess that you,
uh, know all about that.

Yeah.

Not me.

It's against the law.

I'm a law-abiding citizen.

There was a brown sedan, we
thought it might have run in front of you.

Remember it?

Man, I don't know what happened.

Well, someone pulled
you out of that car.

Someday you may wanna
help us find out who...

80 you can say thanks
for saving your life.

Thank you, Mr. Yulin.

Well, he was
racing, no question...

and he knows something, but he's
smart enough not to incriminate himself.

I'll just keep on looking
for someone who saw.

Yeah, well, we may
just have someone.

I'm sorry, Mr. Yulin
wasn't much help, was he?

He never did see the
LTD, but Ryan fed it to him...

and he's sharp enough to know it
would've helped him if he remembered.

Anyway, there's, uh, nothing
more you can do. Thank you.

Okay, then, if you're sure.
I'll be at UCLA. Bye-bye.

Bye.

Sarge, the 228's
parked out in front.

Colleen doesn't know about it.
Do you mind riding with Ryan?

Yeah, sure.

All right. Ahem.

Let's race.

Well, you didn't
know me after all.

[SIREN CHIRPING]

[SIGHS]

Officer, I didn't know it
was a police car. I was...

Colleen, you drive
fast when you're uptight,

and you've been
uptight since this began.

Now, I did this because
I want you to tell me why.

When I found out what we were
investigating, I could see my life ruined.

I swear I was gone. I
didn't know what happened.

There was not a thing
I could say to help.

Wrong.

Would've helped a lot to know that you were
the one who made the acceleration skid.

You never saw the
car that Smith hit?

No, I... I caught a glimpse of the fire
sedan as I was turning off Taft Road.

Knowing that would
have saved us a lot of time.

It also sh**t down your
theory and mine, Jon.

What about Chief Amaral? He
told you something. What was that?

He thinks it was caused
by a flying saucer.

- What?
- A flying saucer?

Yeah.

- Sergeant.
- Yeah.

That second sedan from
Bakersfield just pulled up.

Thanks, Harlan.

Doctor, you're innocent as far
as the accident is concerned.

I know that now.

But I am so embarrassed and I
am deeply ashamed of myself.

Look, I'll find someone
to give you a ride

home. We'll get your
car tomorrow, all right?

[SIGHS]

Hey, Miller, take
a look at this.

MILLER: Hmm.

That, friend, is a bloodstain.

We're checking all the
hospitals near Bakersfield.

Oh, this place
is secure for now.

But, frankly, sir, for my level, the
CHP sergeant is uncontrollable.

Noren's not badly hurt.

Mr. Tammaron is due to
testify tomorrow. He's fine.

Fine?!

My protection almost gets
me k*lled in a car crash...

and some traffic cop's gonna
burn my safe house and I'm fine?

Oh, yeah, I'm fine.

Oh, good. Thank you, sir.

Boss will handle
Getraer from Sacramento.

Wants me back in L.A. to
stay on top of things there.

Brooks, if word gets out
that I'm even in the country...

you'll never see me on a witness
stand, and that's a promise.

What are you
looking for, Harlan?

Soil samples from places
car washes won't wash.

Hey, Miller, didn't you say you were
missing a wheel cover from the wreck?

The sedan?

Yeah, left rear.

Anderson!

- We better pick up Colleen.
- I don't know. Is she still with us?

I don't know, we
gotta see Chief Amaral.

She can help pave the way.

Get a sh*t of this.

MILLER: Stuck in the left tire.

GETRAER: Okay, add
it up for me, come on.

Okay, now, bloodstain on the
seatbelt of the second sedan.

GETRAER: Mm-hm.

Bloodstain on the
windshield of the wreck.

Now, the lab says they match,
and the tire print matches both cars.

So injured victim
from wrecked sedan...

driven away in rear seat of
second sedan. Convincing?

Convincing, but not conclusive.

This reflector was beside
the tire tracks Jon found...

run over by second sedan, which
picked up a piece of the glass in its tire.

At the accident's site,
beyond question. Conclusive?

Conclusive. We
have our missing car.

Now, how did it get
there, and who was in it?

How do we wrap this up?

He'll be out in just a minute.

Just remember,
he dreads ridicule.

Where are you going?

You're gonna call the
entire MAIT team out here.

It's hard enough facing you.

Doc, not telling you how to treat a
patient, but it's you you have to face...

so why not now?

Hm?

Thanks, Ponch.

Come on.

The lady says you need to know.

I don't believe in UFOs or stories
about them kidnapping people...

but this I saw.

I won't be told I'm foolish. I'll deny it
to anyone that asks me, understand?

All right. Just show
us where it landed.

AMARAL: I didn't say it landed.

It just vanished, up there.

Hey, Ponch, flying saucer.

Watch your step.

Hey, Jon!

- All right.
- Jon was right, the LTD was headed north.

Amaral saw the flying saucer
before he heard the crash...

because the car threw the
wheel cover here on the curve.

And right here, it went out of control and
skidded backwards into the intersection.

- Couldn't have stopped.
- Skidded? A hundred feet?

Ponch, there's not
a single tire mark.

No oil slick, no mud, and
water wouldn't stand here.

So, what would
vanish without a trace?

Ice. Black ice.

[MOUTHS] Black ice.

And remember the chief
said his plants were frostbit?

Yes, but what's black ice?

That's a frozen
mist, a thin coating.

It's transparent like glass. The
pavement shows through to black.

There was no ice at that
intersection, not when I drove through.

No, it was in the sunlight,
and you turned to the right.

Then the sun hit
this part of the road.

Plus the heat from the fire, the
ice melted off before we got here.

Wells, we need proof.

I'll talk to the weather people.

If we can recreate the dew
point, the, uh, temperature...

the wind velocity, the wind
chill factor, precipitation...

Wells, yes or no?

Maybe. Just maybe.

Okay, Jim, I appreciate it. I'll be
right over, all right? Thank you.

They have a car waiting
similar to the one Smith had.

Good. A five-point
safety harness.

Right. I'm not with the MAIT
team, but I like to be involved.

Well, Brooks got to Sacramento,
and Sacramento got to me.

We have to make out a report
tonight on where we stand.

Okay. With the help of
a timely pre-dawn frost,

Wells is gonna try
to create black ice...

to see if it lasts till 7 a.m.,
the time of the collision.

What is Baker doing
with that duplicate car?

Try to show that it skidded
into the intersection backwards.

Hmm. Well, what if he hits one of
those high-pressured gas pipes?

It'll blow like Hiroshima.

Look, why don't you
tell Grady Brooks that

there's a cop who is
willing to risk his neck...

to try to find out
why a fireman d*ed.

Interservice cooperation.

Maybe he should watch.

Melting pretty fast now.

Will it last till 72

Ten minutes? Sure.

Grossman, go to the
van, call the hospital and

see if Poncherello's
come up with anything.

Yes, sir.

At least we proved that there
was ice or could have been.

Yeah, well, let's go
see what I can prove.

Uh, Jon, if Benny Yulin is talking,
we may not have to do this...

but if we do, uh,
don't get fancy.

Oh, don't worry,
sarge, I'm a lousy driver.

Okay, everybody, down the hill.

[ENGINE STARTS]

- Has Baker driven the test yet?
- You're five minutes early.

Hoping to hear something
helpful from the hospital.

I understand Officer
Baker's running a serious risk.

- Right.
- Will we avoid that if I tell you...

that I know the accident
was unavoidable?

We can't take that
to a coroner's jury.

Sergeant, I'm protecting a man
once very big with the underworld...

back in this country
from voluntary exile.

Chief witness for
the government...

trying to prove that
organized crime...

Is plotting to rob the naval
oil reserves near Bakersfield.

There are billions involved...

and more contracts on this
man than flies at a picnic.

We used back roads
to bring him in secretly.

It was an uncontrollable skid.

We're very sorry
the fireman d*ed.

- Is that it?
- I can't give you more.

Brooks, we need facts, evidence.

We need a witness.

Okay, Wells, I'm ready.

10-4, Jon, stand by
one. We'd better get it on.

Just a second there, Wells.

Ponch is at the hospital
with Ryan and Colleen.

Yulin admits he was
racing, still swears he

doesn't remember how
the accident happened.

Thanks, Grossie.

Look, uh, I'm gonna
run something by you.

You tell me if I'm wrong.

That second sedan was
following the first sedan...

riding shotgun
in that operation.

The Porsche and the Datsun
were the only cars traveling fast.

They were racing on Rodolphie...

traveling toward the
intersection on a collision course...

toward Ned Smith in the
fire sedan and your two LTDs.

The only really innocent man in the bunch
was Ned Smith, the man who was k*lled.

You probably spun
out too, on the curb...

but the ice was chewed
up So you never lost it.

The wreck blew up, and
you couldn't do anything.

Somebody would see
the fire and call for help.

So you took off, and I know you
didn't call the fire department...

because I checked
the voice tapes...

and you wouldn't let
your witness drive himself.

You didn't see the collision, you would've
said something. You know who did?

Your witness and his driver.

They were in it.

Look, Brooks, we need them.

- Joe...
- I'm warning you in the strongest terms.

- If my witness...
- Look, I warn you, cop to cop...

- if Baker gets one bruise on him...
- Joe. Sergeant!

Okay, Jon, bring it on.

Okay, 10-4.

All right, hold it, I'll
give you your witness.

Jon, stop.

[ON RADIO] Stop, Jon.

[TIRES SCREECHING]

[ENGINE STARTS]

GETRAER: Hey, watch the ice.

Now I suppose you're gonna tell
us you have friends at City Hall.