Hawaii Five-O (1968) s08e15 Episode Script
Wooden Model of a Rat
Yes, it's gonna be a very interesting exhibit, Lupin, very interesting.
I doubt it'll be a gold mine for pickpockets, though.
How many people in Honolulu have ever heard of netsuke? Ojime? Inro? Well, that's one of the reasons for the exhibition, Mr.
March.
It's an admirable art form and we'd like it to be more appreciated.
Who set that spotlight there, please? See, there's a glare here.
You can't see a thing.
Would? Please, come and fix it, please.
Yes, we wanna see the pieces, not our own reflections.
Think you're lighting a nightclub girlie show.
Some of these pieces are nothing more than tourist novelties, but some of them are superb artistry and great value.
- For instance - Just a minute, Lupin.
"Collection of Mr.
Steven McGarrett.
" - Steve McGarrett, the policeman? - Yes.
Yes, indeed.
There's some very fine pieces too.
Well, it's a modest collection.
I think he started collecting in the Korean War when he was with the Navy stationed in Japan.
He's added to it over the years.
- Valuable? - Well, to him, yes, extremely.
I'm fascinated.
Steve McGarrett.
Well, I'd very much like to see it.
Well, it'll be here by tomorrow afternoon.
I'm supervising the packing of it myself in the morning.
Are you, Lupin, are you? I grow more fascinated by the moment.
- You telephoned me, Mr.
March? - Yes, Suzari.
Yes, come in.
Come in.
Now, can you imagine where I have just been? Gustave Lupin's exhibition at the Museum of Oriental Art.
Now, what discovery do you suppose I made while I was there, Suzari? I'm composed entirely of ears, Mr.
March.
McGarrett collects netsuke.
What do you think of that? This interfering and irritating quidnunc of a cop is a collector.
Could you be more surprised, Suzari? You may perceive my astonishment, Mr.
March.
I can't perceive anything through those bottle bottoms you use for glasses, but I will accept your statement on its face value.
Now, my good friend, can you guess what I propose to do with this interesting discovery? Something of great benefit to us all, I am sure.
And you are so right.
What did the governor say, Steve? Well, it took him half an hour, but what it boils down to is lots of luck.
No cooperation? Well, he said he'd like to cooperate, but apparently, it's Washington who considers the whole thing trivial.
Smuggling is smuggling and theft is a rip-off.
When is it not trivial? Well, it's the Mona Lisa, I guess, not 50 or 1002-inch-high Japanese carvings whose names nobody can pronounce.
Does he know we have that diplomatic courier taped? If we'd been able to search luggage, we would have found the goods.
Danno, I told him that.
I told him that courier might have led us to the head of the whole operation if we had only been allowed to question him.
But the courier has diplomatic immunity and Well, the waiver would have to come from his own embassy.
So we have to watch a smuggling ring operate right under our noses and there's nothing we can do about it, is that it? Well, not quite Danno.
Not quite.
Those pieces are being fenced to someone here in Hawaii before they're being shipped to the mainland.
Now, let's find the dealer of stolen property.
He doesn't have diplomatic immunity.
If we can nail that fat cat, we can shut the whole operation down.
Professor Masaaki.
A pleasure to meet you, sir.
Yes, yes.
And you are Mr.
August March.
I was admiring some of your collection.
This one is exquisite.
Unsigned, but an undoubted Tomotaro.
I will stake everything on it.
You are correct, sir.
It is definitely a Tomotaro.
I can't quite adequately express my gratitude at your coming here, professor.
Now, I know it wasn't easy to leave your duties at the University of Yokohama.
Not at all.
May I be allowed a question? Please, please.
What a beautiful collection.
We have not met before this.
Why have you made this astonishingly generous invitation to me? I should think that would be self-evident, professor.
You are an acknowledged expert in the field of 18th to 19th century Oriental art.
Our museum is opening an exhibition tomorrow that I thought you would not want to miss.
I have read of the exhibition, Mr.
March.
But pardon my seeming lack of gratitude, but it seems to me it will be a somewhat humble display.
I am quite convinced that you will find certain pieces in it that will more than repay the inconvenience I've caused you.
Well, may I hasten to assure you again, there has been no inconvenience.
I am delighted.
Shall we have lunch? - I am honored.
- No, no, no.
It is I who am honored.
Where are you now, miss? All right, I'll tell you what.
Do you know where the Kapiolani War Memorial is? Good.
I'll meet you there in 15 minutes.
What was your name again, please? Thank you.
Duke? I just got a call from a Malinda Grant.
Says she's a friend of Kim Chung Lo.
The diplomatic courier we tried to arrest.
Yeah.
I'm going to meet her.
She won't talk over the phone, but she says it's important.
Good luck.
- Miss Grant? - Yes.
- You must be - Dan Williams, Five-0.
I really don't think we should stay here.
Is there anywhere we can go? Well, let's just walk.
You have something to tell me about Kim Chung Lo? Yes, I have a message for you.
Perhaps I should tell you that Kim and I are in love, and we've been living together for over a year now.
I see.
And after what happened the other day and all that publicity, well, his embassy is recalling him.
He doesn't wanna go.
Because of you? Well, he does have a wife and a child at home.
But he wants to stay here with me.
He wants to ask for political asylum, but But he knows he won't get it unless he's willing to tell exactly his involvement with the smuggling ring.
Yes.
And then they'll kill him, won't they? Well, they'll certainly try.
I've asked him to come to the police, and I've said that they'd protect him, but he says that he doesn't dare.
So I've come.
Mr.
Williams, if Kim tells you everything that he knows, will he be given asylum and will he be protected? He'll be given asylum and he'll be protected.
I'll see to that personally and then I'll pin a medal on him.
- Do you know where to reach her? - I have her address and number.
- Legitimate? - I checked it out myself.
Good.
How'd you leave her? We'll meet again tomorrow if she's satisfied with our assurances.
Danno, she can have my assurance in writing and in blood.
She'll contact her boyfriend.
If he agrees, she'll call either Duke or me and arrange for us to meet him.
Okay.
This could be the break we're waiting for.
Now, you and Duke stick close to the phones.
Yeah? McGarrett.
Who? All right, put him on.
Museum.
Yes, Mr.
Lupin.
Mr.
McGarrett, a disaster has just taken place.
What happened, Mr.
Lupin? What's the problem? A catastrophe, Mr.
McGarrett.
You must come at once.
Will you calm down, please? Have you notified the police? No, no, no, it is not a matter for the police, it is a matter for you.
Mr.
McGarrett, it is of the utmost importance.
You must come here at once.
Very well, Mr.
Lupin.
I'm on my way.
What is it, Steve? Museum.
Some disaster.
Hold the fort, will you, Danno? Can I see Mr.
Lupin, please? - Mr.
McGarrett.
- Yes, Mr.
Lupin.
All right, I don't see any catastrophe, any disaster.
Now, what's the problem? Would you follow me, please, Mr.
McGarrett? Mr.
McGarrett, this gentleman is Professor Masaaki of the University of Yokohama.
- Oh, yes, I've heard of you, professor.
- I am most honored.
Is there some problem? There would seem to be, Mr.
McGarrett.
My name is August March.
We've not met before this.
Yes, Mr.
March.
Gentlemen, now that I'm here, will somebody kindly explain to me why I'm here? - Professor? - Well, Mr.
McGarrett, I'm sure there is a perfectly satisfactory explanation, but this netsuke in your collection, Wooden Model of a Rat, was stolen six months ago from the Yokohama museum.
It is valued at $12,000, and has been the subject of the most intensive international search since its disappearance.
It is a matter of the most extreme puzzlement to me that it should be discovered in the private possession of the chief of the state police of Hawaii.
All right, open the case, please.
- Is this the rat you're referring to? - Yes, that one.
This is a Tomokazu that I bought in Japan in a flea market in 1951 during the Korean War.
Excuse me, please, it is lttan.
It is signed on the side, and it was stolen from the Yokohama Museum six months ago.
All right, fellas.
Ladies and gentlemen, fall back, will you? Since when does the paper send a whole team to cover the opening of an art exhibition? Mr.
McGarrett, is it true you're investigating a ring of smugglers who specialize in Oriental art objects? Yes, it is.
How's it coming? Steve, what the hell is all this about? Well, according to this story, I've been adding to my personal collection with pieces seized during our smuggling investigation.
What do you think of that, John? My phone has been ringing off the hook and Western Union stock has probably jumped ten points since this morning.
- Was that piece stolen, Steve? - Yes, of course it was.
- But not by me.
- Well, naturally, not by you.
How in the world did it get to be a part of your collection? I don't know, John, but it's not part of my collection.
- It's not? - No.
No, mine was not an lttan.
He's the one who carved the stolen piece.
Mine was a Tomokazu.
Now, they both carved a lot of animals, including rats.
And they're quite similar until you study them carefully.
Well, how did the stolen one get into the exhibit and why? I can't tell you how, John, but the why is easy.
We've been on this smuggling investigation now for months.
I guess that somebody's beginning to feel the heat around here, so they arranged this.
Not the first time they tried to set me up.
The quickest way and the best way to cut an investigation short is to make a crook out of the investigator.
It's an old, old ploy.
But I've got a posse of editors and senators and outraged do-gooders hunting for your scalp right now.
Beginning to bother you, John? Don't know your old friend yet? Steve, please understand.
I've gotta follow it through.
Of course.
What do you think I'd want you to do? I arrived at Mr.
McGarrett's apartment at 9:00 Tuesday morning to pack his collection.
Did you pack everybody's collection personally? Of course not.
It was merely a gesture of respect, an act of courtesy.
I see.
What did you do after you packed the pieces? I remained there until the armored truck arrived, which it did at 10:15.
I then supervised the placing of the collection in the armored truck, ascertained that the vehicle was locked securely and then I returned here.
You didn't accompany the collection? Mr.
Williams, I am the director of this museum.
I don't ride about Honolulu in trucks.
I beg your pardon.
Okay, you came back here to wait for the collection.
What time did it arrive? Eleven-o-five.
- And what did you do then? - Well, I unpacked it, I catalogued it and then placed it in its case out there in the main hall.
So in other words, Mr.
Lupin, from 9:00 Tuesday until Professor Masaaki's discovery of the stolen rat, only you and the men in the armored car - were anywhere near that collection.
- Exactly.
I'd like to see the list when you unpacked the collection.
Oh, yes.
Yes, you may, you may.
It will bring you little joy, I'm afraid.
Number 19, I believe, is the item of primary interest to you.
I was there when Lupin packed the pieces.
I watched him wrap that Tomokazu of mine.
So, what it amounts to is that sometime between the packing at my place and the unpacking at the museum, somebody made a switch.
And that Tomokazu of mine turned into a stolen lttan.
Wanted, one sorcerer.
No.
No, Danno.
Wanted, one smuggler.
This department is not going to expend its energies on trying to solve a personal problem of mine, but neither can we ignore the obvious conclusion that that netsuke stolen from the Yokohama Museum was smuggled into Honolulu.
If we can find the man who received it, we'll be in direct contact with the head of this whole operation.
Now, that makes it a little more than a personal investigation to clear my name.
- Steve? - Yeah, Duke, what do you got? I just got a call from Miss Grant.
She's accepted your assurances.
She says she'll talk to her boyfriend later today.
We ought to get a definite answer by tomorrow.
- Well, that's something anyway.
- Steve? - Yeah.
- Masaaki's holding a news conference outside of the museum.
They're televising it now.
- Oh, here we go.
- Mr.
Masaaki I have made no accusation Mr.
Masaaki, was the netsuke stolen, Mr.
Masaaki, - and if it wasn't? - Netsuke, young man, netsuke.
And my name is pronounced Masaaki.
Can you prove that this statuette or whatever it is, is really stolen from the Yokohama Museum? I have just telephoned my colleague in Yokohama, Dr.
Hayabusa.
He will fly here at once with photographs of the lttan model and newspaper articles telling of the theft.
You will all be able then to judge for yourselves that I am telling the truth.
Can you tell us, professor, how the stolen piece came into McGarrett's possession? I cannot.
But I will say one thing to all of you.
Mr.
McGarrett is known throughout the world as a man of the highest principles and impeccable honesty.
To even suggest that he might be in any way be connected with the theft of the lttan would be a gross insult.
Mr.
Masaaki, is there gonna be an investigation? Can you tell us more about the netsuke? Is there gonna be? I've never been called a thief more politely in my whole life.
Isn't it perfect, Suzari? Absolutely perfect.
It's like winding up a doll.
All we had to do was invite him here and then sit back and watch him operate.
Independent of us.
Fantastic, don't you agree? I agree most wholeheartedly, Mr.
March.
However, there is one thing I believe that you will as wholeheartedly agree is not so fantastic nor even slightly desirable.
It must be serious.
I've noticed your sentences tend to become long and dreary whenever you come here to discuss something serious.
It is of utmost seriousness.
I've heard that Kim Chung Lo will be recalled from his consulate post here.
Well, I'm not surprised.
He was almost apprehended.
His country's undoubtedly embarrassed over the incident.
And he'll probably get those ears of his roundly boxed when he gets come.
Oh, he plans not to go home.
He has a mistress here he wishes not to leave.
He plans, I am told, to defect.
You're right.
It is serious.
And if he defects, he talks, correct? He'll sing like the proverbial nightingale.
You're a poet, Suzari.
However, the situation right now won't be served by poetry.
Check your sources carefully and if there's no mistake, see that the nightingale of your native land shuts up for good.
Very good, Mr.
March.
I will do exactly as you say.
Sit down, please.
- He says he'll talk to you.
- Good.
But what guarantee does he have? In here is a new passport, his picture, another name.
Also a checkbook and a savings account, in the new name, at a bank on the big island, and the key to an apartment in a housing complex at Hilo, together with a lease showing that he's been living there for the past eight months.
Once he tells us all he knows, he simply vanishes.
Kim Chung Lo disappears forever.
Only you and we will ever know where he is.
And if he decides to move when his lease expires, then we won't know.
Okay.
I think we better leave.
- Yes? - Mr.
March asked me to come and see you.
- May I come in? - Yes.
Single shot in the right temple, Steve.
And a suicide note to his wife, apparently, apologizing for the shame he's brought to her, their children, his country.
Danno, the man was about to ask for political asylum, he was about to tell us who was fencing the stolen pieces he was smuggling into this country.
Now, why the sudden switch? What about the girl he was in love with? No.
Now, suicide note or no suicide note, I want this treated as a homicide until somebody can prove to me that it wasn't.
Right.
Is this your buddy from Yokohama? This is Dr.
Hayabusa of the Yokohama Museum.
Doc, you got the proof with you that McGarrett stole that rat? Nobody has implied that Mr.
McGarrett Dr.
Hayabusa, what have you brought with you? Dr.
Hayabusa - Steve, it just hit the fan.
- What have I missed? A press conference at the Museum of Oriental Art.
Another one? That museum hasn't had so much publicity since it opened.
What happened now? Masaaki's friend, Hayabusa, presented a list of all the articles stolen from Yokohama Museum during that theft and that rat was only a part of it.
What else was taken? A masterpiece, it looks like.
Ivory crane, signed Mitsuhiro.
Valued $14,000.
John, I recovered that piece three months ago on a raid on a local dealer.
Now, that was returned to the museum in Yokohama.
We have a receipt for it.
Exactly.
That piece was recovered.
Your rat wasn't.
Don't you see what that looks like? You kept the piece for yourself.
Oh, come on, John.
If I were so stupid as to have taken the piece in the first place, do you think I'd be doubly stupid by putting it on display with my name on it? I don't think so.
But who knows what a jury will think? The damaging fact is the piece was found in your collection and you can't explain how it got there.
You just mentioned a jury? Steve, I've gotta present this evidence before a grand jury.
I've got no choice.
It is clearly a possible case of grand theft art.
You're all heart, John.
And August March paid your plane fare both ways and he's footing the bill for all this as well.
Mr.
March is a very generous man.
He must also be quite a wealthy one too.
You sound as if you didn't know him very well.
Oh, but, Mr.
Williams, I had never met him until I arrived in You and March didn't know each other until you met him here? Exactly.
Professor, tell me how you How did you first notice the stolen model in Steve McGarrett's collection? Oh, yes.
Mr.
March had sent his car to take me to the opening of the exhibition.
He sent his car to pick you up? As I say, his generosity is boundless.
I'd have to agree with that.
Okay, you went to the museum Yes.
The opening was to be at 1:00.
There was to be a special showing a short time before that for special guests and the press.
And the press? It's unusual, isn't it? I should think so, yes.
A small exhibition of netsuke, ojime, inro, miniatures, special items of interest only to a small group of collectors.
So why should there be so many reporters and photographers? It's a good question.
Okay, professor, you went in the hall, you looked around And I came in front of Mr.
McGarrett's collection and saw the lttan.
- You recognized it at once? - The instant my eyes fell upon it.
Was March with you at that moment? Let me think.
He might have been, but I am not certain.
What I mean was, he didn't particularly draw you towards McGarrett's collection? Oh, no, no.
I'm quite certain that the discovery was made entirely unaided by myself.
I see.
Well, thank you, professor.
I cannot see how a mystery can be made of my invitation to Masaaki.
After all, I am a fellow of the museum here in Honolulu.
I'm also a patron of the museum in Yokohama.
What could be more natural than to invite a man of his reputation to see our exhibit? As to my great munificence and generosity, I maintain those rooms at the hotel for the convenience of my business associates, and I use my company credit card for the airline tickets.
Both are charged as expenses.
The tax deduction is enormous.
I pad my accounts outrageously.
- Should I be telling you this? - You already have.
What line of business are you in, Mr.
March? Something to do with the arts.
Alas, it is so prosaic, it shames me to refer to it.
I sell tractors.
- Tractors? - Imagine.
August March, the great patron of the arts, how does he make his living? By selling tractors, cultivators, earthmovers, and other sorts of agricultural implements.
- Business must be pretty good.
- Oh, it's fantastic.
Branches everywhere.
Manila, Singapore, Yokohama, everywhere.
To the world, I am August March, a hard-nosed two-fisted business tycoon with a 90-digit computer for a heart.
But to August March, who is August March? A man who is happy only when he is at home, among his beautiful works of art.
Yeah.
All of which he can afford only because he has inherited the ability to sell more devices that dig holes in the ground than anybody else.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Don't say it never snows in Honolulu, Steve.
I've just been in a blizzard.
That August March is something else.
Fill me in, Danno.
Well, for openers, he's a patron of the Yokohama Museum where the theft occurred.
Secondly, he's a fellow of the Museum of Oriental Art here in Honolulu where the piece was discovered.
Three, Professor Masaaki who discovered the piece.
March flew him here.
Sure gets around.
Saipan, Sydney, Manila, Singapore.
Wait a minute.
Manila? Yeah, he has a branch office there.
Manila? Merchant Seaman Dan Muzekian, do you remember him? Yeah, he's the one who smuggled the stolen ivory crane netsuke into the country.
Yeah, it was a Mitsuhiro crane.
Anyway, Muzekian claimed that somebody approached him in Manila just before his ship sailed and offered him a hundred dollars to bring a package back into Honolulu.
Boy, how dumb can you get, huh? Muzekian got caught by the U.
S.
Customs and, of course, the contact never showed up.
Oh, something else, Steve.
- What's that? - I checked a few city desks.
They all got calls the day of the exhibit, suggesting they send photographers and reporters.
Whoever it was said something interesting might happen.
A little obvious, wasn't it? I think it's time we ran a check on Mr.
August March, Danno.
- McGarrett.
- Steve, Chin.
I've made two trips in that armored car from your apartment to the museum.
Now, each one was within five minutes of the time it took them to move your collection.
There's no way that truck could have stopped anywhere, except for a traffic light.
Okay, Chin.
Thank you.
The pieces weren't switched during packing because I was there.
And Lupin unpacked the case.
Well, let's find out if he was alone when he unpacked it, Danno.
But consider this possibility.
What if the substitution was made by somebody who was already in the armored car, someplace between my apartment and the museum? By somebody who was hiding in the back, let's say, huh? Were the pieces packed separately, like moving men pack cups and saucers? The usual way, tissue paper and then some plastic popcorn.
Then whoever switched them had to know which one it was in - unless he unwrapped all of them.
- Yeah.
Or Or unless that particular piece was marked.
Which puts it right back into the lap of Mr.
Gustave Lupin.
Mr.
Williams, I have answered every question you have asked me.
I have told you all I know about this matter.
Just a couple more questions, that's all.
A couple? Two? Yes.
Very well.
Two.
Two questions and no more.
What are they? When you unpacked and catalogued McGarrett's collection, - were you alone? - I was alone, Mr.
Williams.
And that door was securely locked.
I see.
Mr.
Lupin, you unpacked the collection, you packed the collection.
Why is it you didn't notice that one of the pieces was the stolen lttan? Mr.
Williams, netsukes are not my major field.
Now Did you come directly back from Steve's apartment? - You said two questions.
- Did you stop somewhere on the way? - Mr.
Williams - Maybe at August March's house.
I won't answer.
You said two questions.
I answered both of them.
- I have said all I intend to say.
- Yeah.
I think you have.
Thank you.
Lupin, Lupin, you're overwrought.
You're overwrought.
Sit down and let me pour you a drop to cool your fears and your fevers.
Now, I tell you, they suspect me.
They suspect you too.
I could see the direction his questions were taking.
They are men of small minds, Lupin.
Naturally, they suspect you.
And me.
And everybody.
That's the way they solve crimes.
They consider everyone guilty.
When you cast your net over every fish in the pond, you can't avoid catching the one you're after.
Now, will you sit down and relax? No, I will not relax.
Oh, and what will you do instead? Nothing.
I will have nothing more to do with this whole affair.
I came here only to tell you that I have washed my hands of this whole dirty business.
As of now, I will have nothing more to do with it.
As you wish.
I hadn't contemplated calling on you for additional services in any case.
Well, it's just as well.
I'm sure it is.
Now will you sit down and have a drink? No.
Thank you.
Goodbye.
Goodbye, Lupin.
Suzari.
Take off your magnifying glasses and put on your thinking cap.
You are to make me a masterpiece.
Our overly fidgety and tiresomely tense director of the Museum of Oriental Art.
Mr.
Gustave Lupin.
Lupin lived alone except for a cook and a houseboy.
The houseboy let in a visitor around 9:30 last night.
Any description? An Oriental gentleman wearing thick glasses between 40 and 50.
Well, that's a big help.
Oriental between 40 and 50 wearing thick glasses.
Anything else? Lupin excused the houseboy for the evening.
He has a room and a bath above the garage, separate from the house.
He didn't see anything, he didn't hear anything.
When he came down this morning, there was Lupin, hanging in the living room.
Danno, right now more than anything else, I want you to find that Oriental gentleman between 40 and 50 with thick glasses.
This is all we've got left.
I don't know what use they'll be to you.
They're only inventories dating to 1968.
You never know, miss.
Thank you.
Oh, by the way, this seems to be Mr.
Lupin's engagement book for this year.
January, February and March are all filled in.
April and May, they're completely blank.
His appointment starts in again the 1 st of June.
Mr.
Lupin was out of the country during April and May.
Oh, and why was that? He always traveled during those months.
Visiting museums, inspecting collections, making acquisitions for the museum.
I see.
Where did he go? That would be under foreign itinerary.
Foreign itinerary? Here it is.
Thank you.
Wait a minute.
Manila? May 8th through May 14th.
I remembered something here.
"On May 12th, I was approached on Avenida Street near Azcarraga in Manila by a man who offered me a hundred dollars if I'd carry a package to Honolulu for him.
" This is the testimony of Seaman Dan Muzekian at his preliminary hearing.
Has Muzekian been transferred to a federal prison on the mainland yet? Not yet.
Take this photograph of Lupin out to Halawa Jail.
- And see if he recognizes him.
- Okay, Steve.
Che Fong is looking at some blood samples now.
He ought to have something for you pretty soon.
In the meantime, look at these.
Look at these rope marks, how deeply they've cut into the tissue.
It's like tire tracks.
Fascinating, doctor.
What am I looking for? It's what you won't find.
Blood.
No bleeding from these abrasions, not a drop.
He was dead before the rope was put around his neck? That's exactly what I mean.
It's called killing yourself the hard way.
That's him.
The man that approached you in Manila? Yeah, that's him.
- Che.
- Yeah? Oh, here you are.
Say, did Doc Bergman mention finding any needle marks on the cadaver? No.
Needle marks? He died of an overdose of drugs, a massive overdose.
Now, either Lupin was a drug addict or someone held him down and pumped him full.
A drug addict.
I'm quite certain, Mr.
McGarrett, that you didn't come here to admire my collection, but now that you're here, what do you think? You're right, I didn't come here to admire it.
But now that I'm here, I wouldn't mind examining bills of sale for all of these objects.
I resent that.
Unlike your collection, Mr.
McGarrett, mine has never come under the scrutiny of a grand jury.
Not yet.
In order to make your visit as brief as possible, I should like to state categorically that I have no knowledge of your personal problem with the Tomokazu netsuke.
I can shed no light on your continuing investigation into the smuggling of artworks, and I'm completely unaware of any reason for Gustave Lupin's suicide.
Murder.
- Pardon me.
- You said suicide.
Your friend, Lupin, was murdered.
Poor baby.
I had no idea.
And Kim Chung Lo was murdered.
I'm afraid I know nothing of any Kim Chung Lo.
You do now, Mr.
March.
You know two things about him: That he was murdered and that I know he was murdered.
Think about it.
It sounds authentic, Steve.
Lupin was mainlining H to the tune of $200 a day.
The museum paid him 22,000 a year.
Well, that wouldn't get him very far.
No, but it's getting us someplace.
- Steve? - Yeah, Duke, what do you got? I think this answers the description.
It's still wet.
There's a back view of him going into March's house about an hour before this, and six or seven shots of delivery vans and other people, but I thought you'd wanna see this one right away.
Yeah.
Oriental.
Forty to 50, thick glasses, all right.
Okay.
Show this picture to Lupin's houseboy.
If he confirms the fact that this is the man who visited Lupin last night, I want a 24-hour stakeout on March's house and I want this man picked up.
We've got a pretty good make on you, Suzari.
You've been placed in Lupin's home within three hours of the coroner's estimate of the time of his death.
Now, that's enough to hold you on right there.
We want more.
I wanna know the full involvement of your employer, March, in the smuggling of artworks in and out of Hawaii.
Mr.
March is not my employer, he's merely Merely what? - Acquaintance.
- You can call him anything you want.
I wanna know where he stands.
I wanna know where he stands in this operation.
Is he running it alone? Does he have an organization? I don't know anything about an organization.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Okay, Suzari, let me explain something to you.
You're facing a murder rap.
Maybe two.
Murder in the first degree.
Now, I can throw the book at you.
I have enough evidence to put you away for the rest of your natural life.
Steve.
Yeah, Danno.
My God.
Yeah? Hang on, John.
Steve, it's Manicote.
Yeah, John? Yeah, I just read it.
No, no, I understand.
No sorrier than I am.
I have a few loose ends to tie up, and I'll surrender myself in the morning.
Right.
Okay, John.
Okay.
Where have you been? I called you.
I said come at once.
I was stopped at the gate.
- By whom? - Mr.
McGarrett's men.
They took me with them to his office.
And he questioned me.
He questioned me at great length.
- He questioned you? About what? - About you, Mr.
March.
And smuggling, the consulates, the merchant marine.
He questioned me and he threatened me.
Threatened you? About what? About the killings of Mr.
Lupin and Mr.
Kim.
And then he let me go.
Why did he do that? Because of this, Mr.
March.
He's no longer the police, Mr.
March, as you can see.
So he cannot question me anymore.
But even before this, when he was allowed to question me, I told him nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
So you see, your plan has worked to perfection.
McGarrett's been indicted.
Suzari.
Suzari.
In a world growing dark with treachery and boorishness, you remain a searchlight of loyalty and good breeding.
How am I ever to repay you, my good friend, for all your many services on my behalf? You will give me the rat, Mr.
March.
What rat? The rat of McGarrett's you had me substitute with the stolen netsuke.
The day I hid in the armored car? That will be my payment: The rat.
You're an idiot.
Mr.
March, I've committed thefts for you, I've undertaken smuggling for you, I have twice murdered for you.
And I've paid you a fortune.
I'm grateful.
However, I'm thinking what might be on your mind.
This Suzari, he's beginning to be a problem, he knows too much, and one day, I must be finished with him the same way I was finished with Mr.
Lupin and Mr.
Kim.
I can assure you, such a thought has never occurred to me.
Perhaps not.
But I think I will have the rat, Mr.
March.
If I have the rat, it'll be termed insurance.
Go to hell, Suzari.
If you so wish it, Mr.
March.
Before I go, may I use your telephone, please? To call Mr.
McGarrett? All right.
This rat? As I said before, you're an idiot.
Don't move, Mr.
March.
Put the gun down.
Nice and easy.
Hand me the rat.
Frisk him, Danno.
Not only are you an idiot, you're a rat.
My Tomokazu.
Without this, we had no case.
But with it, we can prove that you ordered the substitution, and that means that you had the stolen lttan in your possession all along.
You have no proof.
His word against mine.
August March.
August March, respected patron of the arts, who knew how to use people's weaknesses against them.
Lupin's drug habit, Kim Lo Chung's Hawaiian mistress.
Use their weaknesses to force them to do what they didn't wanna do.
Well, the state is gonna force you to do something for a long, long time, Mr.
March.
Brace yourself, McGarrett.
My army of lawyers will bury you.
But legally, of course.
Book them.
Murder one.
Who would have thought indicting you would crack the case for us? Yeah.
March was so eager to see me nailed, he never stopped to wonder why we released Suzari.
- Pretty good-looking collection.
- Beautiful collection, Danno.
But not nearly so beautiful as the one we've got out there in the car.
John.
McGarrett.
You know those details that I said I wanted to clear up before turning myself in? Yeah.
Well, I just cleared them up.
Yeah.
I've got the rats.
Both of them.
And they're not carved ones either.
Yeah.
I doubt it'll be a gold mine for pickpockets, though.
How many people in Honolulu have ever heard of netsuke? Ojime? Inro? Well, that's one of the reasons for the exhibition, Mr.
March.
It's an admirable art form and we'd like it to be more appreciated.
Who set that spotlight there, please? See, there's a glare here.
You can't see a thing.
Would? Please, come and fix it, please.
Yes, we wanna see the pieces, not our own reflections.
Think you're lighting a nightclub girlie show.
Some of these pieces are nothing more than tourist novelties, but some of them are superb artistry and great value.
- For instance - Just a minute, Lupin.
"Collection of Mr.
Steven McGarrett.
" - Steve McGarrett, the policeman? - Yes.
Yes, indeed.
There's some very fine pieces too.
Well, it's a modest collection.
I think he started collecting in the Korean War when he was with the Navy stationed in Japan.
He's added to it over the years.
- Valuable? - Well, to him, yes, extremely.
I'm fascinated.
Steve McGarrett.
Well, I'd very much like to see it.
Well, it'll be here by tomorrow afternoon.
I'm supervising the packing of it myself in the morning.
Are you, Lupin, are you? I grow more fascinated by the moment.
- You telephoned me, Mr.
March? - Yes, Suzari.
Yes, come in.
Come in.
Now, can you imagine where I have just been? Gustave Lupin's exhibition at the Museum of Oriental Art.
Now, what discovery do you suppose I made while I was there, Suzari? I'm composed entirely of ears, Mr.
March.
McGarrett collects netsuke.
What do you think of that? This interfering and irritating quidnunc of a cop is a collector.
Could you be more surprised, Suzari? You may perceive my astonishment, Mr.
March.
I can't perceive anything through those bottle bottoms you use for glasses, but I will accept your statement on its face value.
Now, my good friend, can you guess what I propose to do with this interesting discovery? Something of great benefit to us all, I am sure.
And you are so right.
What did the governor say, Steve? Well, it took him half an hour, but what it boils down to is lots of luck.
No cooperation? Well, he said he'd like to cooperate, but apparently, it's Washington who considers the whole thing trivial.
Smuggling is smuggling and theft is a rip-off.
When is it not trivial? Well, it's the Mona Lisa, I guess, not 50 or 1002-inch-high Japanese carvings whose names nobody can pronounce.
Does he know we have that diplomatic courier taped? If we'd been able to search luggage, we would have found the goods.
Danno, I told him that.
I told him that courier might have led us to the head of the whole operation if we had only been allowed to question him.
But the courier has diplomatic immunity and Well, the waiver would have to come from his own embassy.
So we have to watch a smuggling ring operate right under our noses and there's nothing we can do about it, is that it? Well, not quite Danno.
Not quite.
Those pieces are being fenced to someone here in Hawaii before they're being shipped to the mainland.
Now, let's find the dealer of stolen property.
He doesn't have diplomatic immunity.
If we can nail that fat cat, we can shut the whole operation down.
Professor Masaaki.
A pleasure to meet you, sir.
Yes, yes.
And you are Mr.
August March.
I was admiring some of your collection.
This one is exquisite.
Unsigned, but an undoubted Tomotaro.
I will stake everything on it.
You are correct, sir.
It is definitely a Tomotaro.
I can't quite adequately express my gratitude at your coming here, professor.
Now, I know it wasn't easy to leave your duties at the University of Yokohama.
Not at all.
May I be allowed a question? Please, please.
What a beautiful collection.
We have not met before this.
Why have you made this astonishingly generous invitation to me? I should think that would be self-evident, professor.
You are an acknowledged expert in the field of 18th to 19th century Oriental art.
Our museum is opening an exhibition tomorrow that I thought you would not want to miss.
I have read of the exhibition, Mr.
March.
But pardon my seeming lack of gratitude, but it seems to me it will be a somewhat humble display.
I am quite convinced that you will find certain pieces in it that will more than repay the inconvenience I've caused you.
Well, may I hasten to assure you again, there has been no inconvenience.
I am delighted.
Shall we have lunch? - I am honored.
- No, no, no.
It is I who am honored.
Where are you now, miss? All right, I'll tell you what.
Do you know where the Kapiolani War Memorial is? Good.
I'll meet you there in 15 minutes.
What was your name again, please? Thank you.
Duke? I just got a call from a Malinda Grant.
Says she's a friend of Kim Chung Lo.
The diplomatic courier we tried to arrest.
Yeah.
I'm going to meet her.
She won't talk over the phone, but she says it's important.
Good luck.
- Miss Grant? - Yes.
- You must be - Dan Williams, Five-0.
I really don't think we should stay here.
Is there anywhere we can go? Well, let's just walk.
You have something to tell me about Kim Chung Lo? Yes, I have a message for you.
Perhaps I should tell you that Kim and I are in love, and we've been living together for over a year now.
I see.
And after what happened the other day and all that publicity, well, his embassy is recalling him.
He doesn't wanna go.
Because of you? Well, he does have a wife and a child at home.
But he wants to stay here with me.
He wants to ask for political asylum, but But he knows he won't get it unless he's willing to tell exactly his involvement with the smuggling ring.
Yes.
And then they'll kill him, won't they? Well, they'll certainly try.
I've asked him to come to the police, and I've said that they'd protect him, but he says that he doesn't dare.
So I've come.
Mr.
Williams, if Kim tells you everything that he knows, will he be given asylum and will he be protected? He'll be given asylum and he'll be protected.
I'll see to that personally and then I'll pin a medal on him.
- Do you know where to reach her? - I have her address and number.
- Legitimate? - I checked it out myself.
Good.
How'd you leave her? We'll meet again tomorrow if she's satisfied with our assurances.
Danno, she can have my assurance in writing and in blood.
She'll contact her boyfriend.
If he agrees, she'll call either Duke or me and arrange for us to meet him.
Okay.
This could be the break we're waiting for.
Now, you and Duke stick close to the phones.
Yeah? McGarrett.
Who? All right, put him on.
Museum.
Yes, Mr.
Lupin.
Mr.
McGarrett, a disaster has just taken place.
What happened, Mr.
Lupin? What's the problem? A catastrophe, Mr.
McGarrett.
You must come at once.
Will you calm down, please? Have you notified the police? No, no, no, it is not a matter for the police, it is a matter for you.
Mr.
McGarrett, it is of the utmost importance.
You must come here at once.
Very well, Mr.
Lupin.
I'm on my way.
What is it, Steve? Museum.
Some disaster.
Hold the fort, will you, Danno? Can I see Mr.
Lupin, please? - Mr.
McGarrett.
- Yes, Mr.
Lupin.
All right, I don't see any catastrophe, any disaster.
Now, what's the problem? Would you follow me, please, Mr.
McGarrett? Mr.
McGarrett, this gentleman is Professor Masaaki of the University of Yokohama.
- Oh, yes, I've heard of you, professor.
- I am most honored.
Is there some problem? There would seem to be, Mr.
McGarrett.
My name is August March.
We've not met before this.
Yes, Mr.
March.
Gentlemen, now that I'm here, will somebody kindly explain to me why I'm here? - Professor? - Well, Mr.
McGarrett, I'm sure there is a perfectly satisfactory explanation, but this netsuke in your collection, Wooden Model of a Rat, was stolen six months ago from the Yokohama museum.
It is valued at $12,000, and has been the subject of the most intensive international search since its disappearance.
It is a matter of the most extreme puzzlement to me that it should be discovered in the private possession of the chief of the state police of Hawaii.
All right, open the case, please.
- Is this the rat you're referring to? - Yes, that one.
This is a Tomokazu that I bought in Japan in a flea market in 1951 during the Korean War.
Excuse me, please, it is lttan.
It is signed on the side, and it was stolen from the Yokohama Museum six months ago.
All right, fellas.
Ladies and gentlemen, fall back, will you? Since when does the paper send a whole team to cover the opening of an art exhibition? Mr.
McGarrett, is it true you're investigating a ring of smugglers who specialize in Oriental art objects? Yes, it is.
How's it coming? Steve, what the hell is all this about? Well, according to this story, I've been adding to my personal collection with pieces seized during our smuggling investigation.
What do you think of that, John? My phone has been ringing off the hook and Western Union stock has probably jumped ten points since this morning.
- Was that piece stolen, Steve? - Yes, of course it was.
- But not by me.
- Well, naturally, not by you.
How in the world did it get to be a part of your collection? I don't know, John, but it's not part of my collection.
- It's not? - No.
No, mine was not an lttan.
He's the one who carved the stolen piece.
Mine was a Tomokazu.
Now, they both carved a lot of animals, including rats.
And they're quite similar until you study them carefully.
Well, how did the stolen one get into the exhibit and why? I can't tell you how, John, but the why is easy.
We've been on this smuggling investigation now for months.
I guess that somebody's beginning to feel the heat around here, so they arranged this.
Not the first time they tried to set me up.
The quickest way and the best way to cut an investigation short is to make a crook out of the investigator.
It's an old, old ploy.
But I've got a posse of editors and senators and outraged do-gooders hunting for your scalp right now.
Beginning to bother you, John? Don't know your old friend yet? Steve, please understand.
I've gotta follow it through.
Of course.
What do you think I'd want you to do? I arrived at Mr.
McGarrett's apartment at 9:00 Tuesday morning to pack his collection.
Did you pack everybody's collection personally? Of course not.
It was merely a gesture of respect, an act of courtesy.
I see.
What did you do after you packed the pieces? I remained there until the armored truck arrived, which it did at 10:15.
I then supervised the placing of the collection in the armored truck, ascertained that the vehicle was locked securely and then I returned here.
You didn't accompany the collection? Mr.
Williams, I am the director of this museum.
I don't ride about Honolulu in trucks.
I beg your pardon.
Okay, you came back here to wait for the collection.
What time did it arrive? Eleven-o-five.
- And what did you do then? - Well, I unpacked it, I catalogued it and then placed it in its case out there in the main hall.
So in other words, Mr.
Lupin, from 9:00 Tuesday until Professor Masaaki's discovery of the stolen rat, only you and the men in the armored car - were anywhere near that collection.
- Exactly.
I'd like to see the list when you unpacked the collection.
Oh, yes.
Yes, you may, you may.
It will bring you little joy, I'm afraid.
Number 19, I believe, is the item of primary interest to you.
I was there when Lupin packed the pieces.
I watched him wrap that Tomokazu of mine.
So, what it amounts to is that sometime between the packing at my place and the unpacking at the museum, somebody made a switch.
And that Tomokazu of mine turned into a stolen lttan.
Wanted, one sorcerer.
No.
No, Danno.
Wanted, one smuggler.
This department is not going to expend its energies on trying to solve a personal problem of mine, but neither can we ignore the obvious conclusion that that netsuke stolen from the Yokohama Museum was smuggled into Honolulu.
If we can find the man who received it, we'll be in direct contact with the head of this whole operation.
Now, that makes it a little more than a personal investigation to clear my name.
- Steve? - Yeah, Duke, what do you got? I just got a call from Miss Grant.
She's accepted your assurances.
She says she'll talk to her boyfriend later today.
We ought to get a definite answer by tomorrow.
- Well, that's something anyway.
- Steve? - Yeah.
- Masaaki's holding a news conference outside of the museum.
They're televising it now.
- Oh, here we go.
- Mr.
Masaaki I have made no accusation Mr.
Masaaki, was the netsuke stolen, Mr.
Masaaki, - and if it wasn't? - Netsuke, young man, netsuke.
And my name is pronounced Masaaki.
Can you prove that this statuette or whatever it is, is really stolen from the Yokohama Museum? I have just telephoned my colleague in Yokohama, Dr.
Hayabusa.
He will fly here at once with photographs of the lttan model and newspaper articles telling of the theft.
You will all be able then to judge for yourselves that I am telling the truth.
Can you tell us, professor, how the stolen piece came into McGarrett's possession? I cannot.
But I will say one thing to all of you.
Mr.
McGarrett is known throughout the world as a man of the highest principles and impeccable honesty.
To even suggest that he might be in any way be connected with the theft of the lttan would be a gross insult.
Mr.
Masaaki, is there gonna be an investigation? Can you tell us more about the netsuke? Is there gonna be? I've never been called a thief more politely in my whole life.
Isn't it perfect, Suzari? Absolutely perfect.
It's like winding up a doll.
All we had to do was invite him here and then sit back and watch him operate.
Independent of us.
Fantastic, don't you agree? I agree most wholeheartedly, Mr.
March.
However, there is one thing I believe that you will as wholeheartedly agree is not so fantastic nor even slightly desirable.
It must be serious.
I've noticed your sentences tend to become long and dreary whenever you come here to discuss something serious.
It is of utmost seriousness.
I've heard that Kim Chung Lo will be recalled from his consulate post here.
Well, I'm not surprised.
He was almost apprehended.
His country's undoubtedly embarrassed over the incident.
And he'll probably get those ears of his roundly boxed when he gets come.
Oh, he plans not to go home.
He has a mistress here he wishes not to leave.
He plans, I am told, to defect.
You're right.
It is serious.
And if he defects, he talks, correct? He'll sing like the proverbial nightingale.
You're a poet, Suzari.
However, the situation right now won't be served by poetry.
Check your sources carefully and if there's no mistake, see that the nightingale of your native land shuts up for good.
Very good, Mr.
March.
I will do exactly as you say.
Sit down, please.
- He says he'll talk to you.
- Good.
But what guarantee does he have? In here is a new passport, his picture, another name.
Also a checkbook and a savings account, in the new name, at a bank on the big island, and the key to an apartment in a housing complex at Hilo, together with a lease showing that he's been living there for the past eight months.
Once he tells us all he knows, he simply vanishes.
Kim Chung Lo disappears forever.
Only you and we will ever know where he is.
And if he decides to move when his lease expires, then we won't know.
Okay.
I think we better leave.
- Yes? - Mr.
March asked me to come and see you.
- May I come in? - Yes.
Single shot in the right temple, Steve.
And a suicide note to his wife, apparently, apologizing for the shame he's brought to her, their children, his country.
Danno, the man was about to ask for political asylum, he was about to tell us who was fencing the stolen pieces he was smuggling into this country.
Now, why the sudden switch? What about the girl he was in love with? No.
Now, suicide note or no suicide note, I want this treated as a homicide until somebody can prove to me that it wasn't.
Right.
Is this your buddy from Yokohama? This is Dr.
Hayabusa of the Yokohama Museum.
Doc, you got the proof with you that McGarrett stole that rat? Nobody has implied that Mr.
McGarrett Dr.
Hayabusa, what have you brought with you? Dr.
Hayabusa - Steve, it just hit the fan.
- What have I missed? A press conference at the Museum of Oriental Art.
Another one? That museum hasn't had so much publicity since it opened.
What happened now? Masaaki's friend, Hayabusa, presented a list of all the articles stolen from Yokohama Museum during that theft and that rat was only a part of it.
What else was taken? A masterpiece, it looks like.
Ivory crane, signed Mitsuhiro.
Valued $14,000.
John, I recovered that piece three months ago on a raid on a local dealer.
Now, that was returned to the museum in Yokohama.
We have a receipt for it.
Exactly.
That piece was recovered.
Your rat wasn't.
Don't you see what that looks like? You kept the piece for yourself.
Oh, come on, John.
If I were so stupid as to have taken the piece in the first place, do you think I'd be doubly stupid by putting it on display with my name on it? I don't think so.
But who knows what a jury will think? The damaging fact is the piece was found in your collection and you can't explain how it got there.
You just mentioned a jury? Steve, I've gotta present this evidence before a grand jury.
I've got no choice.
It is clearly a possible case of grand theft art.
You're all heart, John.
And August March paid your plane fare both ways and he's footing the bill for all this as well.
Mr.
March is a very generous man.
He must also be quite a wealthy one too.
You sound as if you didn't know him very well.
Oh, but, Mr.
Williams, I had never met him until I arrived in You and March didn't know each other until you met him here? Exactly.
Professor, tell me how you How did you first notice the stolen model in Steve McGarrett's collection? Oh, yes.
Mr.
March had sent his car to take me to the opening of the exhibition.
He sent his car to pick you up? As I say, his generosity is boundless.
I'd have to agree with that.
Okay, you went to the museum Yes.
The opening was to be at 1:00.
There was to be a special showing a short time before that for special guests and the press.
And the press? It's unusual, isn't it? I should think so, yes.
A small exhibition of netsuke, ojime, inro, miniatures, special items of interest only to a small group of collectors.
So why should there be so many reporters and photographers? It's a good question.
Okay, professor, you went in the hall, you looked around And I came in front of Mr.
McGarrett's collection and saw the lttan.
- You recognized it at once? - The instant my eyes fell upon it.
Was March with you at that moment? Let me think.
He might have been, but I am not certain.
What I mean was, he didn't particularly draw you towards McGarrett's collection? Oh, no, no.
I'm quite certain that the discovery was made entirely unaided by myself.
I see.
Well, thank you, professor.
I cannot see how a mystery can be made of my invitation to Masaaki.
After all, I am a fellow of the museum here in Honolulu.
I'm also a patron of the museum in Yokohama.
What could be more natural than to invite a man of his reputation to see our exhibit? As to my great munificence and generosity, I maintain those rooms at the hotel for the convenience of my business associates, and I use my company credit card for the airline tickets.
Both are charged as expenses.
The tax deduction is enormous.
I pad my accounts outrageously.
- Should I be telling you this? - You already have.
What line of business are you in, Mr.
March? Something to do with the arts.
Alas, it is so prosaic, it shames me to refer to it.
I sell tractors.
- Tractors? - Imagine.
August March, the great patron of the arts, how does he make his living? By selling tractors, cultivators, earthmovers, and other sorts of agricultural implements.
- Business must be pretty good.
- Oh, it's fantastic.
Branches everywhere.
Manila, Singapore, Yokohama, everywhere.
To the world, I am August March, a hard-nosed two-fisted business tycoon with a 90-digit computer for a heart.
But to August March, who is August March? A man who is happy only when he is at home, among his beautiful works of art.
Yeah.
All of which he can afford only because he has inherited the ability to sell more devices that dig holes in the ground than anybody else.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Don't say it never snows in Honolulu, Steve.
I've just been in a blizzard.
That August March is something else.
Fill me in, Danno.
Well, for openers, he's a patron of the Yokohama Museum where the theft occurred.
Secondly, he's a fellow of the Museum of Oriental Art here in Honolulu where the piece was discovered.
Three, Professor Masaaki who discovered the piece.
March flew him here.
Sure gets around.
Saipan, Sydney, Manila, Singapore.
Wait a minute.
Manila? Yeah, he has a branch office there.
Manila? Merchant Seaman Dan Muzekian, do you remember him? Yeah, he's the one who smuggled the stolen ivory crane netsuke into the country.
Yeah, it was a Mitsuhiro crane.
Anyway, Muzekian claimed that somebody approached him in Manila just before his ship sailed and offered him a hundred dollars to bring a package back into Honolulu.
Boy, how dumb can you get, huh? Muzekian got caught by the U.
S.
Customs and, of course, the contact never showed up.
Oh, something else, Steve.
- What's that? - I checked a few city desks.
They all got calls the day of the exhibit, suggesting they send photographers and reporters.
Whoever it was said something interesting might happen.
A little obvious, wasn't it? I think it's time we ran a check on Mr.
August March, Danno.
- McGarrett.
- Steve, Chin.
I've made two trips in that armored car from your apartment to the museum.
Now, each one was within five minutes of the time it took them to move your collection.
There's no way that truck could have stopped anywhere, except for a traffic light.
Okay, Chin.
Thank you.
The pieces weren't switched during packing because I was there.
And Lupin unpacked the case.
Well, let's find out if he was alone when he unpacked it, Danno.
But consider this possibility.
What if the substitution was made by somebody who was already in the armored car, someplace between my apartment and the museum? By somebody who was hiding in the back, let's say, huh? Were the pieces packed separately, like moving men pack cups and saucers? The usual way, tissue paper and then some plastic popcorn.
Then whoever switched them had to know which one it was in - unless he unwrapped all of them.
- Yeah.
Or Or unless that particular piece was marked.
Which puts it right back into the lap of Mr.
Gustave Lupin.
Mr.
Williams, I have answered every question you have asked me.
I have told you all I know about this matter.
Just a couple more questions, that's all.
A couple? Two? Yes.
Very well.
Two.
Two questions and no more.
What are they? When you unpacked and catalogued McGarrett's collection, - were you alone? - I was alone, Mr.
Williams.
And that door was securely locked.
I see.
Mr.
Lupin, you unpacked the collection, you packed the collection.
Why is it you didn't notice that one of the pieces was the stolen lttan? Mr.
Williams, netsukes are not my major field.
Now Did you come directly back from Steve's apartment? - You said two questions.
- Did you stop somewhere on the way? - Mr.
Williams - Maybe at August March's house.
I won't answer.
You said two questions.
I answered both of them.
- I have said all I intend to say.
- Yeah.
I think you have.
Thank you.
Lupin, Lupin, you're overwrought.
You're overwrought.
Sit down and let me pour you a drop to cool your fears and your fevers.
Now, I tell you, they suspect me.
They suspect you too.
I could see the direction his questions were taking.
They are men of small minds, Lupin.
Naturally, they suspect you.
And me.
And everybody.
That's the way they solve crimes.
They consider everyone guilty.
When you cast your net over every fish in the pond, you can't avoid catching the one you're after.
Now, will you sit down and relax? No, I will not relax.
Oh, and what will you do instead? Nothing.
I will have nothing more to do with this whole affair.
I came here only to tell you that I have washed my hands of this whole dirty business.
As of now, I will have nothing more to do with it.
As you wish.
I hadn't contemplated calling on you for additional services in any case.
Well, it's just as well.
I'm sure it is.
Now will you sit down and have a drink? No.
Thank you.
Goodbye.
Goodbye, Lupin.
Suzari.
Take off your magnifying glasses and put on your thinking cap.
You are to make me a masterpiece.
Our overly fidgety and tiresomely tense director of the Museum of Oriental Art.
Mr.
Gustave Lupin.
Lupin lived alone except for a cook and a houseboy.
The houseboy let in a visitor around 9:30 last night.
Any description? An Oriental gentleman wearing thick glasses between 40 and 50.
Well, that's a big help.
Oriental between 40 and 50 wearing thick glasses.
Anything else? Lupin excused the houseboy for the evening.
He has a room and a bath above the garage, separate from the house.
He didn't see anything, he didn't hear anything.
When he came down this morning, there was Lupin, hanging in the living room.
Danno, right now more than anything else, I want you to find that Oriental gentleman between 40 and 50 with thick glasses.
This is all we've got left.
I don't know what use they'll be to you.
They're only inventories dating to 1968.
You never know, miss.
Thank you.
Oh, by the way, this seems to be Mr.
Lupin's engagement book for this year.
January, February and March are all filled in.
April and May, they're completely blank.
His appointment starts in again the 1 st of June.
Mr.
Lupin was out of the country during April and May.
Oh, and why was that? He always traveled during those months.
Visiting museums, inspecting collections, making acquisitions for the museum.
I see.
Where did he go? That would be under foreign itinerary.
Foreign itinerary? Here it is.
Thank you.
Wait a minute.
Manila? May 8th through May 14th.
I remembered something here.
"On May 12th, I was approached on Avenida Street near Azcarraga in Manila by a man who offered me a hundred dollars if I'd carry a package to Honolulu for him.
" This is the testimony of Seaman Dan Muzekian at his preliminary hearing.
Has Muzekian been transferred to a federal prison on the mainland yet? Not yet.
Take this photograph of Lupin out to Halawa Jail.
- And see if he recognizes him.
- Okay, Steve.
Che Fong is looking at some blood samples now.
He ought to have something for you pretty soon.
In the meantime, look at these.
Look at these rope marks, how deeply they've cut into the tissue.
It's like tire tracks.
Fascinating, doctor.
What am I looking for? It's what you won't find.
Blood.
No bleeding from these abrasions, not a drop.
He was dead before the rope was put around his neck? That's exactly what I mean.
It's called killing yourself the hard way.
That's him.
The man that approached you in Manila? Yeah, that's him.
- Che.
- Yeah? Oh, here you are.
Say, did Doc Bergman mention finding any needle marks on the cadaver? No.
Needle marks? He died of an overdose of drugs, a massive overdose.
Now, either Lupin was a drug addict or someone held him down and pumped him full.
A drug addict.
I'm quite certain, Mr.
McGarrett, that you didn't come here to admire my collection, but now that you're here, what do you think? You're right, I didn't come here to admire it.
But now that I'm here, I wouldn't mind examining bills of sale for all of these objects.
I resent that.
Unlike your collection, Mr.
McGarrett, mine has never come under the scrutiny of a grand jury.
Not yet.
In order to make your visit as brief as possible, I should like to state categorically that I have no knowledge of your personal problem with the Tomokazu netsuke.
I can shed no light on your continuing investigation into the smuggling of artworks, and I'm completely unaware of any reason for Gustave Lupin's suicide.
Murder.
- Pardon me.
- You said suicide.
Your friend, Lupin, was murdered.
Poor baby.
I had no idea.
And Kim Chung Lo was murdered.
I'm afraid I know nothing of any Kim Chung Lo.
You do now, Mr.
March.
You know two things about him: That he was murdered and that I know he was murdered.
Think about it.
It sounds authentic, Steve.
Lupin was mainlining H to the tune of $200 a day.
The museum paid him 22,000 a year.
Well, that wouldn't get him very far.
No, but it's getting us someplace.
- Steve? - Yeah, Duke, what do you got? I think this answers the description.
It's still wet.
There's a back view of him going into March's house about an hour before this, and six or seven shots of delivery vans and other people, but I thought you'd wanna see this one right away.
Yeah.
Oriental.
Forty to 50, thick glasses, all right.
Okay.
Show this picture to Lupin's houseboy.
If he confirms the fact that this is the man who visited Lupin last night, I want a 24-hour stakeout on March's house and I want this man picked up.
We've got a pretty good make on you, Suzari.
You've been placed in Lupin's home within three hours of the coroner's estimate of the time of his death.
Now, that's enough to hold you on right there.
We want more.
I wanna know the full involvement of your employer, March, in the smuggling of artworks in and out of Hawaii.
Mr.
March is not my employer, he's merely Merely what? - Acquaintance.
- You can call him anything you want.
I wanna know where he stands.
I wanna know where he stands in this operation.
Is he running it alone? Does he have an organization? I don't know anything about an organization.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Okay, Suzari, let me explain something to you.
You're facing a murder rap.
Maybe two.
Murder in the first degree.
Now, I can throw the book at you.
I have enough evidence to put you away for the rest of your natural life.
Steve.
Yeah, Danno.
My God.
Yeah? Hang on, John.
Steve, it's Manicote.
Yeah, John? Yeah, I just read it.
No, no, I understand.
No sorrier than I am.
I have a few loose ends to tie up, and I'll surrender myself in the morning.
Right.
Okay, John.
Okay.
Where have you been? I called you.
I said come at once.
I was stopped at the gate.
- By whom? - Mr.
McGarrett's men.
They took me with them to his office.
And he questioned me.
He questioned me at great length.
- He questioned you? About what? - About you, Mr.
March.
And smuggling, the consulates, the merchant marine.
He questioned me and he threatened me.
Threatened you? About what? About the killings of Mr.
Lupin and Mr.
Kim.
And then he let me go.
Why did he do that? Because of this, Mr.
March.
He's no longer the police, Mr.
March, as you can see.
So he cannot question me anymore.
But even before this, when he was allowed to question me, I told him nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
So you see, your plan has worked to perfection.
McGarrett's been indicted.
Suzari.
Suzari.
In a world growing dark with treachery and boorishness, you remain a searchlight of loyalty and good breeding.
How am I ever to repay you, my good friend, for all your many services on my behalf? You will give me the rat, Mr.
March.
What rat? The rat of McGarrett's you had me substitute with the stolen netsuke.
The day I hid in the armored car? That will be my payment: The rat.
You're an idiot.
Mr.
March, I've committed thefts for you, I've undertaken smuggling for you, I have twice murdered for you.
And I've paid you a fortune.
I'm grateful.
However, I'm thinking what might be on your mind.
This Suzari, he's beginning to be a problem, he knows too much, and one day, I must be finished with him the same way I was finished with Mr.
Lupin and Mr.
Kim.
I can assure you, such a thought has never occurred to me.
Perhaps not.
But I think I will have the rat, Mr.
March.
If I have the rat, it'll be termed insurance.
Go to hell, Suzari.
If you so wish it, Mr.
March.
Before I go, may I use your telephone, please? To call Mr.
McGarrett? All right.
This rat? As I said before, you're an idiot.
Don't move, Mr.
March.
Put the gun down.
Nice and easy.
Hand me the rat.
Frisk him, Danno.
Not only are you an idiot, you're a rat.
My Tomokazu.
Without this, we had no case.
But with it, we can prove that you ordered the substitution, and that means that you had the stolen lttan in your possession all along.
You have no proof.
His word against mine.
August March.
August March, respected patron of the arts, who knew how to use people's weaknesses against them.
Lupin's drug habit, Kim Lo Chung's Hawaiian mistress.
Use their weaknesses to force them to do what they didn't wanna do.
Well, the state is gonna force you to do something for a long, long time, Mr.
March.
Brace yourself, McGarrett.
My army of lawyers will bury you.
But legally, of course.
Book them.
Murder one.
Who would have thought indicting you would crack the case for us? Yeah.
March was so eager to see me nailed, he never stopped to wonder why we released Suzari.
- Pretty good-looking collection.
- Beautiful collection, Danno.
But not nearly so beautiful as the one we've got out there in the car.
John.
McGarrett.
You know those details that I said I wanted to clear up before turning myself in? Yeah.
Well, I just cleared them up.
Yeah.
I've got the rats.
Both of them.
And they're not carved ones either.
Yeah.