The Six Million Dollar Man (1974) s01e07 Episode Script

Eyewitness to Murder

1 Everything fine here? Great.
Fine.
Charles, come here, please.
Will you take care of this right away? Table 14, thank you.
Ah, excellent.
How about some brandy? Yes, that would be nice.
Gentlemen? By all means.
Napoleon? Yes, certainly.
Sounds good.
Well, how about finishing off the wine.
Oh, it's great.
It makes me sleepy.
Ah, keep your wits about you now, Tom.
Okay, we'll try.
Enjoying your dinner, Mr.
Austin? Nicky, your chef's a winner.
But so temperamental.
Care for some more wine? No, just some coffee, please.
Okay.
Thank you.
Yeah, I'd like to place a collect call to New York City.
Hello? Uh, yeah, this is Hopper.
Yeah.
I'm with him now in a restaurant.
He's having his last meal only he doesn't know it.
So it's 11:30 now.
Tell Mr.
Ritchie the contract will be carried out at midnight tonight give or take a few minutes.
It looks good at NASA One.
Roger.
BCS Arm switch is on.
Okay, Victor.
Landing Rocket Arm switch is on.
Here comes the throttle.
Circuit breakers in.
We have separation.
Inboard and outboards are on.
I'm comin' forward with the side stick.
Looks good.
Ah, Roger.
I've got a blowout in damper three.
Get your pitch to zero.
Pitch is out.
I can't hold altitude! Correction.
Alpha Hold is off.
Threat selector is emergency.
Flight Com, I can't hold it! She's breaking up! She's breaking-- Steve Austin.
Astronaut.
A man barely alive.
We can rebuild him.
We have the technology.
We can make him better than he was.
Better, stronger, faster.
Gentlemen, I'd like to propose a toast.
To our work together.
Getting this indictment will be sweeter than any fee you'll ever receive in what I hope will be long and illustrious legal careers.
And a toast to you, sir.
The man of the hour.
Thank you, Tom, Gary, Dick.
Thank you, Mr.
Austin.
A cab, sir? Yes, please.
It might take a few moments at this hour.
Well, that's all right.
Still working late hours, I see.
Not much longer, Phillip.
Thank you oop-- Hey, you! Fella! Hey, stop! Wake me up out of a sound sleep you ask me to come down here and exert my influence to open up the police files.
What is this all about? I told you the killer was a pro, Oscar.
And this is where all the pros end up, in a mug file.
That's right, eventually they do.
But there are murders that go on every day.
That's what police departments are for.
Oh, I see.
Just forget about it and let somebody else take care of it, right? Right.
You know you’ve got a blind spot, Oscar? Hmm? You're so caught up with the loftier issues you can't see the simple fact that I witnessed a murder! You are forgetting the fact that our investment in you is precisely for these what did you say, "loftier issues"? Very good.
You're employed exclusively in situations that require your unique and special attention.
Now how's that for five o'clock in the morning? That's pretty good.
Flattery will get you nowhere, Oscar.
The day I see a murder and don't do anything about it this million bucks of technology I'm carrying around in my eye isn’t worth two cents.
Now you just relax while I finish these.
Even if you do find the photo, you can't tell anybody how you recognized him.
What are you talking about? Your bionic eye, pal, that's as classified as a missile site.
Now if you do find a photograph, I'll notify the police.
I'll do anything I can to satisfy your concern, but I can't let you get involved in this.
Well, he's not in here anyway.
But I know he was a pro, Oscar.
Pal, it's the middle of the night.
I'll drop you off at your hotel.
All right? All right.
Hello.
Yes, this is Oscar Goldman.
Well, yes, put him on.
Hello, sir.
Yes.
Yes, it is.
Yeah.
Yes.
All right, I'll get on it right away.
Yes, sir.
That was Washington.
What is it? Have you ever hear of a man called Lorin Sandusky? Yeah, I've heard of him.
A special prosecutor.
A very special prosecutor.
The man that you saw get killed tonight was a member of his staff.
Name of Tom Windom.
Well, then one of the other fellas must have been-- Sandusky.
The bullet was meant for him.
What did Washington want with you? Not me, pal.
Us.
To see that the special prosecutor remains alive while they get an indictment against Victor Ritchie.
The racketeer? The biggest there is.
I'll go see Sandusky.
At five o'clock in the morning? Yes, at five o'clock in the morning.
What's so funny? A minute ago this whole thing was a yawn to you.
Now you’re into it up to your neck.
A minute ago, that was a nobody, somebody I didn't know but this is something else.
Oscar, how could you believe that? I don't have time to argue with you, pal.
In exactly 28 hours, the statute of limitations runs out on Victor Ritchie's crimes and Lorin Sandusky is the only man that can bring it before the Federal Grand Jury.
When does Sandusky go to court? 9:00 AM Tuesday.
Yeah, I'd like to place a call to New York City.
Room 314.
Hello.
Tell Mr.
Ritchie the accident was unavoidable Mr.
Ritchie doesn't like to hear about accidents.
That's why he hired you.
Look, don't worry.
I can assure you Lorin Sandusky will be dead by nine o'clock tomorrow morning.
Well believe me, Mr.
Goldman I share the government's concern but I've been a prosecutor for 20 years and threats against my life are just part of the job.
I can't afford to let them bother me.
I appreciate that, Mr.
Sandusky, but anything that has to do with security I'm going to have to make the decisions.
Now is there anything you're gonna need between now and tomorrow at nine o'clock? No, no I'll be in conference with my staff around the clock.
We want to make absolutely certain our case against Richie is air-tight.
Tom's death has a-- Tom's death has turned us into angry men, Mr.
Goldman.
I understand that, Mr.
Sandusky.
Now is there any reason why you might have to leave the hotel between now and tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM? Only at one o'clock.
There's a preliminary filing of papers at the courthouse this afternoon.
I'll see what I can do about cancelling that for you.
No, no.
You mustn’t do that.
It's part of the judicial process.
Ritchie's lawyers know it.
Everything has to be legally proper.
They might try again.
Considering the statute of limitations and the case I have against Ritchie I would think so.
I got that hotel wrapped up as tight as a drum.
I've got police in the corridors, in the stairways, in the elevators.
Mandrake the Magician couldn't get in.
That may not be enough, Oscar.
Remember this killer's a pro.
If you see him again, Steve, would you recognize him? I'm positive.
All right.
Sandusky doesn't budge from that hotel until one o'clock.
That'll give us time, time to track the man down.
How? By stopping people in the street? Well, you can start by looking up a man I used to know a man that we in Intelligence used to call a stool pigeon.
But Oscar, I'm no detective.
That's your bag.
Steve, you're as good as anybody now.
Tell him Oscar Goldman sent you.
I'll have a hot dog.
Your name Dorsey? Yeah.
Oscar Goldman sends his regards.
Oscar Goldman? What does he want? A little ketchup.
Huh? Ketchup.
Oh.
Now tell me about Victor Ritchie.
Hey, I don't have anything to do with him! Come on, Dorsey, I don't want to play games.
Now, Oscar tells me you've been passing out information since you were in short pants.
Now who would Victor Ritchie call in for a hit? Listen, a guy like Ritchie he's got plenty of soldiers in his own organization for that kind of thing.
Well, I tell you what, you write down their names and if you're lucky, you won't see me again.
Yeah.
Be right with you.
Just these three? Maybe somebody else somebody I heard about from out of town.
I don't know his name, I swear.
All I know is that he's supposed to have the perfect cover.
Yeah, which is what? You hire this guy, but you never see him.
They call him The Big Buy.
Guarantees performance.
Never misses.
That's what I thought.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
329ORF.
Your information's correct.
That is one of our rentals.
But that car was stolen yesterday afternoon.
Well, thank you very much.
If you find the car, give me a ring.
Anything? Well, just what you investigators call spinning your wheels.
Dorsey confirmed there's a big-time hit man in town but he doesn't know who.
The license plate I saw was from a stolen rent-a-car.
It's almost one.
Time for the prosecutor to leave.
Come on, let's go.
Well, Oscar, there's one more thing.
What's that? I don't know what you did in the old days but the minute I mentioned your name, Dorsey turned white.
What'd you do? Use a rubber hose? Me? Certainly not.
Sure Mr.
Goldman? Yes.
Lieutenant Tanner.
Oh, yes, Lieutenant, you're in charge of this floor, aren't you? Mmm-hm.
Powers that be tell me you've got a free ticket to come and go with the special prosecutor.
That's right.
This is my associate, Steve Austin.
He's also in on the free ticket.
I'll take all the help I can get on this one.
Good.
I'll tell Sandusky it's time to leave.
Excuse me.
Austin, weren't you an astronaut or something? That's right.
Well, what're you doin' in this business? Well, Goldman's got something on me.
Hello? Yeah, I know they doubled their guards.
It doesn't matter.
Look, I'm going over to the courthouse this afternoon.
Don't worry about a thing.
I said it doesn't matter.
Okay? Good.
Let's go.
Come on.
Let's go.
What'd you do with my door? This'll more than cover it.
You mind telling me your name? Steve Austin.
Well, let me be the first to tell you, Mr.
Austin you just made a giant blunder.
No chance.
You're my man.
Let's go.
His name is John Hopper.
I've never seen him before.
He's the man who shot Tom.
How do you know that? Someone saw him.
Last night? Yes.
In the alley between the buildings? Actually, it was on a rooftop.
Well, as a cross-examiner, I'd have no trouble challenging that testimony.
It was too dark for a positive identification.
I'll explain it to you later.
The important thing is we've got him.
Well Tomorrow morning I've got Victor Ritchie and I've a good amount of work to do, so if you'll excuse me.
I don't know where you get your information, but I don't think he's our man.
Well, I'd be surprised if he didn't have a good story, Lieutenant.
He's in town from Milwaukee staying at the Hotel Royal.
He's a salesman, machine parts.
It checks.
I'm much more interested in where he was at midnight last night.
I was getting to that.
I think you better have a look at this with me.
We all set up? Let's roll it.
That's very sweet.
Well, it's been very nice talking to you, Miss Williams.
Please give my regards to the people in Richmond.
Huh? Bless her.
Okay, now then our next guest on the Out-Of-Towner Show is a gentleman named John Hopper from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Let's have a big welcome for him, huh? Well, John, what brings you to town? Um, I’m a salesman.
Oh, what do you sell? Say, excuse me.
This isn't-- Okay, freeze it there.
It's a local talk show, it's on from 11:00 to 1:00.
This is a tape of last night's show.
That's him all right.
What time was the show taped? You know the answer to that? Yes, sir.
It's a live show.
This thing started at 12:03.
Windom was shot at midnight.
There's no way that Hopper could have fired that rifle.
Well, look, Lieutenant, hold him anyway until Sandusky's in front of the Grand Jury at 9:00 in the morning.
On what charge? Jaywalking! Anything! Mr.
Goldman, I'd bend the law if I had something to go on but all I've got is a salesman from Milwaukee with an air-tight alibi.
He's not our man.
Look, I know-- Thank you, Lieutenant.
You're free to go, Mr.
Hopper.
Okay, thank you.
I apologize.
Oh, that's all right.
I'm a law-and-order man myself, you know? I understand how these things happen.
First chance we get we'll have your bionic eye checked.
Maybe the infrared's on the blink, Steve.
Oscar, I know what I saw! Listen, you're the 6 million dollar man, but you're not infallible.
Even a bionic eye can distort at a distance.
Well, I'll see you later, Oscar.
Where're you going? Until 9:00 in the morning I'm gonna cover Hopper like a blanket.
Steve, you made a mistake, let's let it go at that.
Let's stay close to Sandusky.
No, you stay with Sandusky.
I'm gonna go with Hopper.
Pal, I could order you.
I know, pal.
I'll be in touch.
Yeah.
Yeah, I still can't figure out how he made me on the rooftop.
Yeah, but I was picked up and that's never happened before.
Never happened before.
Look, all I know is this Austin character's into my life and I want him off my back for the next 16 hours.
Now whatever it costs, spend it.
Tomorrow's a big payday.
Excuse me, do you have a John Hopper registered here? I'll check.
Yes.
Yes, we do.
Room 314.
Thank you.
Where's the house phone? Next window over.
314, please.
Sorry, sir, he's been out of his room all morning.
Thank you.
Can I help you, sir? Yes, are you the manager? I am the proprietor, Henley is the name, at your service.
You remind me of someone, oh, it's on the tip of my tongue.
Are you in the cinema? No, sir.
My name is Steve Austin.
I did a little filming on the moon once, but-- The astronaut, Colonel Austin! Of course.
I knew you were a celebrity of some kind.
Well, what can I do for you, Colonel Austin? I was hoping you could provide me some information about one of your customers a John Hopper from Milwaukee? Hopper, yes, machine parts as I recall.
Wears our clothes rather well, if I may say so.
Do you recall the last time he was in? Oh, yes.
It couldn't've been more than a couple of days ago.
He knew exactly what he wanted, a traditional blue, gray, and brown.
Two of each.
Two of each? Without vests.
Well, is that kind of unusual? Oh, not at all.
Our establishment is over 80 years old, Colonel Austin and known throughout the country, I might add.
Executives of a conservative bent often order two of each when they happen to be in the city.
I see.
Well, thank you very much, Mr.
Henley.
Colonel Austin, if you don't mind my asking what was the moon actually like? Well, have you ever been in the middle of Wyoming on a clear night? No, no, I don't believe I have.
Well, that's what it was like being on the moon.
Really? Wyoming.
I must visit there sometime.
Are you sure the truck was trying to run you down? Oscar, you've played the skeptic long enough.
Was it Hopper at the wheel? I was a little bit busy at the time.
But what does it take to convince you? To get my neck broken? You have a point.
You don't have much faith.
I haven't lost the faith, pal.
I just can't figure out how Hopper could be at two places at once.
Well, he was, Oscar.
I saw him.
All I gotta do is find out how.
I'll be at his hotel.
Room, sir? Uh, 314, please.
Yeah, thank you.
Where have you been?! Leading our friend Mr.
Austin on a tour of the town.
Well, the boys said he was dead! The boys were wrong.
Anyways, I don't like it, John.
I mean, every time I make a move, this Austin character turns up.
Maybe we shouldn't go through with this contract.
No, we'll go through with it just as we planned.
You know this Austin character might be something special he's not that special, not for us.
You got something else in mind? Trust me, little brother.
I promise by 9:00 tomorrow morning that Austin will take care of himself.
You ready? Yeah, I guess I'm ready, but I still don't like the feel of it.
Why don't you relax? By the time you hit Sandusky at 9 o'clock, I'll be downstairs firming up our alibi.
Steve Austin? If it'll make you feel better, I'll have Austin countersign a check for the hotel bill.
Okay? Yeah.
Hey, make sure he's hot on my tail before you leave.
Just a few minutes.
No sense in giving a sniper an edge.
I've picked out a new route from here to the courthouse.
How long will it take? Same as yesterday, 13 minutes.
Is the courthouse well staked out? Practically every cop in town is either down at the courthouse here at the hotel or along that limo route.
Sounds all right.
The prosecutor should be ready to leave in exactly 4 minutes.
He'll be ready.
I'll make a last minute security check between here and the street.
He's in the coffee shop across the street from the hotel.
Doesn't look like he's in a hurry to go anywhere.
Good.
We're 20 minutes away from getting inside that courthouse.
He's coming out now.
Oscar, see you later.
Time to go.
Mr.
Goldman, I have to be there in 13 minutes.
I know.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm nervous, too.
Hopper! Mr.
Sandusky, a few questions, please? Mr.
Sandusky! What are you? Just a man who knows what he sees.
Let's go.
Mr.
Hopper, your brother’s waiting.
Well, how'd you know? Let's just say I've got an eye for details.
Let's go.
Let's everybody have some more.
Good, thank you.
It's good stuff.
It is, isn't it? Excuse me just a minute.
A little more Champagne? Yes, thank you.
You know, I've been puzzling about something for the past three weeks.
Mr.
Austin, were you the person who recognized Hopper on the rooftop the night of the killing? Yes, I did.
Amazing.
How did you recognize him in the dark like that? Well, I eat a lot of carrots.
I see.
Um, excuse me.
That's very interesting.
Well, gentlemen, I'd like to propose a toast.
To the Grand Jury for returning indictments on all counts.
Yeah! We got outta that one all right.
Yeah.
Oscar, what if the man I saw killed turned out to be a nobody what would you really have done? Here we go.
I don't deal with nobodies, pal.
Well then let's drink to all the nobodies Victor Ritchie stepped on all these years, huh? I'll drink to that.

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