The Streets of San Francisco (1972) s01e10 Episode Script

The Takers

Inspector, lieutenant.
- Harry.
- Steve, Mike.
- Who are they? - They're roommates.
Glenda Elliott and Stephanie Brown.
Airline hostess and a nurse.
- You finished, Harry? - Yeah.
Preliminary.
Just waiting to get them downtown.
- Let me see her first, huh? - Sure.
- Harry, you got pictures? - Got them all.
- Good.
- Yeah, looked like Rimfire.
22's.
Right.
Did you get the gun? No, I've got a squad outside checking the grounds, the hedges and pool.
- How many shots? - Five in the walls.
- Thirteen in the people.
- Eighteen? Eighteen shots? Yet all of them were fired from about this spot.
Now, they ejected all the shells, and that's what makes me think it's an automatic.
A psycho or somebody who didn't know how to handle a gun.
What do you think? Two guns, or this guy actually stop to reload? A guy, buddy boy? A.
22 is purse-sized.
All the misses at this range, try a woman.
Well, the motive wasn't robbery, that's for sure.
Look at these rocks.
Is this stuff real? No, I think it's those new synthetic things.
It's getting hard to tell the difference.
Anyway, there's still a few hundred bucks here.
These would be gone if the killer wanted the money.
- Anything on the killer? - No.
It's an in-and-outer.
Out of his mind.
- Or hers.
- Well, who got the most attention? Stephanie here.
Nine to Glenda's four.
All in the back? Yeah, except she's got one in her shoulder.
That would be shot number one.
- You figure her as the target? - Could be.
What time you give it, Harry? Oh, this morning, 9:30, 10:00.
Hey, did anybody get a line on this third girl here? None.
Okay, Harry, get them downtown.
- Thanks for waiting.
- Okay, Mike.
- How'd he get in? - There's no sign of forcible entry.
Either they let him in or the killer had a key.
Or the door was open.
What about the window entry? Not much chance.
It's too high.
There's no gutter out there, no latticework.
Besides, you can see that window from the pool.
Anything going on there, somebody would've seen it.
Prints? Well, we dusted the place, but they're pretty blurred.
- Well, who found the bodies? - The manager, Lou Watkins.
Yeah, I found them.
- Riley told me that they were - Who? Rex Riley.
He's one of the tenants.
Co-pilot for the same airline as Stephanie.
He was worried about her.
Knew she was in there and didn't get any answer when he knocked.
So I went up with him and opened the door.
You guys know the rest.
- Was the door locked? - Yeah, I had to use the master.
Now, you know anybody else who might have a key? Not that I know.
What about the two girls? Both of them knew their way around, that's for sure.
And they were lookers.
I mean, really beautiful.
Say, how about this one? Did you know her? Oh, yeah, yeah.
It's Lyn.
Lyn Chase.
She roomed with Stephanie for a while.
Glenda moved in when Lyn moved out.
- Has she been around since? - Not that I know.
- What kind of girl was she? - Nice.
I liked her.
Even her friends were nice, you know? You guys ought to talk to Riley.
He knew them all real good.
- Which apartment is he in now? - 248.
Stephanie came by the pool.
Came in on a night flight, said she was going up to change.
I take it you knew her quite well.
Yes, I knew her.
You said she came by the pool.
What time was that? I don't know.
About 9, 9:30 maybe.
- And you never left there after that? - No, I never left there after that.
I mean, not until I went up after Steph.
Ask anybody else out there with me.
- You didn't hear anything? - No.
No shots, no screams? No.
We We had the radio up full.
I had to keep everything jumping.
So you know who this is? Sure, that's Lyn Chase.
She's a stewardess for the airline we work for.
Actually, it was Lyn who introduced me to Stephanie.
I dated her a couple times and one night, I went up to the apartment, and that was the end of me.
End of a lot of guys, I'll tell you.
Maybe she was rotten to the core.
Who cared? Well, what was rotten about her? She was a taker, a real taker.
What's a taker? Oh, you know, somebody who leads you on and tries to get something out of you.
Money, a car, anything.
That's it.
They just take it, and it's, "Goodbye, Charlie.
" So, what you're saying is that when you went up to her apartment, Stephanie took you from Lyn? Manner of speaking, yes.
Stephanie take anyone else from Lyn? Not after that last guy.
Not after Phil Hewitt.
Lyn was gonna marry him.
He's a very together guy.
Straight, loaded.
- They even had the date set.
- Is that why Lyn moved out? You better believe it.
She went totally "flippo" when she found out what was going on.
Is Hewitt still around? No.
I haven't seen him for quite some time.
Did Stephanie ever give you a key to her apartment? Well, if she had, I wouldn't have gone out after Watkins to let me in, would I? - That could depend.
- On what? On whether or not you'd already used the key once today.
Lieutenant, anything else I can do to help you? Yes.
Yes, there is one more thing, Mr.
Watkins.
- Do you own a gun? - Yeah, I do.
Hey, wait a minute, you don't think I had anything to do with this, do you? What caliber? It's just a target model.
You know, something I keep around for kicks.
- What caliber? - Twenty-two.
Oh, Conroy.
Mr.
Watkins here is gonna give you a gun for Ballistics to check out.
Check out the rest of the building for guns.
Take it apart.
Excuse me.
I don't think I can get by.
Oh, yeah, I'll How was Santa Barbara? It's fine, fine.
- I meant the weather.
- Smog-free, balmy sky.
Nothing ever changes down there, Edna.
It's good climate.
Real good.
Well, the radio said that it rained from Big Sur clear down to the Mexican border.
Well, the radio wasn't in Santa Barbara.
Were you? I called you at 10:30, Edna.
Where were you? Well, I was here.
Were you, Edna? Oh, my The casserole.
Ten-thirty.
I let it ring ten times.
You didn't answer, Edna.
You probably dialed the wrong number.
I was here.
I hung up and dialed again.
I let it ring ten more times.
- Edna, where were you? - I've My hair.
I was washing my hair.
Flight four for New York now loading, Gate 7.
Flight four for New York now loading, Gate 7.
- Miss Chase.
Lyn Chase? - Yes.
Mike Stone.
Lt.
Stone.
Is there anywhere we could talk? I'd like to ask you a few questions.
I don't know.
I guess the lounge.
- What about? - Stephanie Brown.
- What's she into now? - She's dead.
Dead? - Accident? - I'm afraid not.
Let's step into the lounge, please.
I can't believe it.
I really can't believe it.
I mean, someone who'd do something like that would have to be a psychopath, wouldn't they? Not necessarily.
It could've been a friend.
A friend? It's possible the killer could've had a key or that he or she was let in by Stephanie.
Which means, I'm a suspect.
How long did you know them? I'd only met Glenda once or twice.
Steph I'd known about three years.
We flew together on the New Orleans run and ended up getting an apartment together.
I still can't believe it.
I mean, I could've been there too.
I only moved out about six weeks ago, you know.
- Why? - It was a mistake.
To move in, I mean.
Down deep, I'm a loner.
Steph, her life was one big, happy, we-never-close fling.
- Personality conflict? - No.
Not really.
Just the weird hours we worked.
It was impossible.
I was dead tired all the time.
And, well, I went out, found a nice, quiet apartment and moved.
It wasn't Steph.
She was super.
A super, wonderful person.
Rex Riley mean anything to you? No, not much.
He's one of our co-pilots.
I dated him.
I think he had a crush on Steph.
I don't know.
What about Phil Hewitt? What does he have to do with it? Well, his name was brought up.
Were you engaged to him? Not officially.
You know how it is these days.
Stay with a guy more than a week, you're engaged.
Where is he now? I don't know.
Last I heard, he was in the Caribbean someplace, I think.
Miss Chase, do you own a gun? A gun? No.
Do you still have that key to the apartment? As a matter of fact, no.
I returned it before I left.
Where were you at 10:00 this morning? Was that when it happened? I was on duty at 10 this morning.
West Central, Flight 302.
You can check it out.
We will.
Glenda Elliott.
Let me put it this way, Mr.
Keller.
The first thing a girl like that does when she hits the hall is get a roster of the doctors.
And she goes down it one by one in alphabetical order.
When she comes to the interns, she moves on.
What's wrong with the interns? They're poor, Mr.
Keller.
They are the church mice of medicine.
- Is that what you wanted to know? - Yes, ma'am.
All indications are that the two young women were shot down in cold blood.
Informed sources in the police department have stated there seems to be no apparent motive for the crime and no arrests have been made.
As for Bay Area weather, rain is expected by Tuesday and should last through the night.
Anything on the news? Well, looks like we'll have rain by Tuesday.
That Stanyan Street, isn't that in your district? Yes, it is.
It's where they found the two girls.
I heard it on the news.
- Do you know the building? - It's one of the new ones.
Have you ever been in it? Well, Edna, I go into every building.
New ones get higher and higher.
More and more people.
Fewer and fewer sales.
Sweetheart, I have to go now.
I'll see you later.
You're not going out again today? Yes, there's a client I can see.
Make something today.
Edna, I hate this job.
Lord, how I hate it.
You'll never, never know, dear.
You'll never know.
All right, all right, wait a minute.
No.
Now, that does it.
Arthur, please, let's go home.
Let's just go back to Indiana.
- Edna, we can't.
- No, no, please, I mean it.
We don't have to stay here.
We could start all over again.
I could go back to work.
- You've made enough sacrifices.
- Oh, for heaven's sakes.
Nonsense.
Since when has working been a sacrifice? Darling, you know you could get your old job back at the post office.
Remember how they all liked you so much and you liked them? And we had fun.
I was the one who wanted to come to California.
Well, I was wrong.
I was so wrong.
Please, Arthur, please, let's go.
Now.
What about the things? Our furniture.
The heck with the furniture.
We could just send it.
You know, if we really wanted to, we could go right now.
We could go tonight.
Edna, let me think about it.
No.
- No.
- I'll see you in a little while.
- I've gotta go.
A little later.
- Arthur.
Arthur.
- Let me think it over.
- No.
No.
Yeah.
Flight 302.
Lyn Chase.
Are you sure? Well, what time did that flight leave? Yeah, I see.
All right, thanks.
No gun registration for Lyn Chase nationwide.
I could've saved you the trouble.
She left the airport at 7:20.
That would've placed her somewhere over the Rockies when those shots were fired.
And I thought I had the motive.
Phil Hewitt.
Now, wait a minute, that's the guy Riley said she was hung up on, right? Read on.
Owner of eight resort hotels in the Caribbean.
Married yesterday in San Juan.
You thought when she read that in the newspaper, she pulled out her.
22? She had to feel that she'd have been there if it hadn't been for Stephanie.
Come on.
I'll buy you a cup of coffee.
Haseejian's checking out the other tenants in the building to see if anything was seen or heard.
Nothing yet.
Three guns.
None of them.
22s.
Oh, yeah, Watkins' gun checked out negative.
Well, that only leaves Riley then, huh? Yeah.
And my feeling is, Mike, he's telling the truth.
You know, at least about those girls being takers.
Yeah.
What? I don't have any change.
I think I'm just about to be taken.
Come on.
Come on.
Too strong.
Anyway, about those girls.
According to the bank, Stephanie ran 22,000 through her account last year.
Glenda topped that with 26.
And Glenda had four moving violations in three different cars.
A Mercedes, T-Bird and a Porsche, registered to three different men.
Three for four.
Not bad.
Did you get the names? DMV's checking it out right now.
Stephanie was two for two.
She ran a red light and rolled a boulevard stop.
Ferrari and a Continental.
Do you think one of those guys got tired of being taken? No, I don't think so.
I don't think anybody would spray slugs all over just because they were taken for a hundred bucks, or somebody borrowed their car for three days without telling them.
No, I don't think so.
Now, you take the nurse.
- She was playing the doctors, right? - Right.
They know.
They chalk it up to experience.
But what if they didn't? They wouldn't use a gun.
They got pills, needles.
Yeah, Stone.
Yeah, we'll be right over.
Another nurse, another small-caliber weapon.
- Where? - Apartment on Telegraph Hill.
Killer ran.
Our boys have him cornered in Coit Tower.
- How good is he? - Good enough.
That's a pea-shooter he's got up there.
Nothing like a.
30-06.
Yeah, unless he gets you between the eyes.
- Get back in.
- Mike.
We want him alive, don't we? Come on.
Now, listen.
Sit as far in the middle as you can.
One swing around that statue, and then slam on your brakes when you get to the front door.
- Right? - Right.
Is that a deal? Let's go.
Freeze.
Put it down.
Get around here.
Yes, I know my rights.
And, no, I don't want any attorney.
Okay, so I shot her.
What does that have to do with you? She didn't lie to you.
She lied to me.
So you killed her.
If I had enough ammo, would have been up here forever.
Forever.
Forever's just about where you're headed for, son.
No way, baby, no way.
Two years in a head farm, eating public chow, and I'm back in circulation.
You watch.
What about those two girls you shot this morning? How you gonna get out of that? What? "What?" 1410 Stanyan Street, a nurse and her roommate.
Shot with a.
22 caliber automatic.
- No.
- Oh, yes, yes.
Ten o'clock this morning, where were you? In Sequoia.
I went up there with Stella.
Stella Davis, the girl he shot.
You can prove that? Yeah.
Campsite 14.
- When did you get back to town? - About two hours ago.
I swear.
I dumped Stella off.
She had a shift at the hospital.
I said goodbye and I left.
But I forgot my bread.
It was in her purse.
- I went back, and walked in on them.
- On who? I walked in them, and she was already with an intern.
Already.
Already.
Yeah, that's right.
Tim Duran, 5-foot-9, dark brown hair, 25 years old.
Campsite 14.
You do? Okay.
And your name is Ranger Kelly? Right.
Brad Kelly.
All right, sir, you've been a very big help.
Thank you.
Goodbye.
He was there.
Even picked up a citation for an illegal campfire.
Eight forty-five this morning.
What now? A woman.
There's got to be a woman around somewhere with a.
22 automatic in her purse.
You and your women.
Stone's office.
Norm, how you doing? Wait a second.
Haseejian's got something.
Yeah, 9:45 this morning.
Right? Thirty's, dishwater-blond hair.
Flat shoes.
And a brown print dress.
Brown print dress? That's right.
One of the new tenants saw her? Nancy Evers.
My first day in this pad, and two of my next-door neighbors bite the dust.
Terrific, Lou.
Just a couple more minutes, ma'am.
Look, sergeant, I've told you.
You tell them, okay? It was 9:30, 9:45.
And this lady was sort of standing outside of that apartment.
- All right, Miss Evers.
- A very average-looking lady.
Thirty-eight maybe.
Flat shoes.
She had on a brown print dress and mousy blond hair.
- Mike.
- Yeah.
You remember him? Yeah, he's the guy that had us blocked this morning.
- Did you see the logo on the bag? - No.
"Jewels by Jacques.
" Remember the synthetics up in the room? Maybe.
Check him out.
Maybe the manager will let you use the phone.
Right.
- Well, Norm, what have you got? - What kept you? Lieutenant, this is Nancy Evers.
She's the tenant that saw the lady in the brown dress.
- How do you do? - I'll be inside.
- Thank you for waiting.
- Okay.
You want to hear about the plain lady standing outside of those kids' apartment, right? I'd like that, right.
Yes, that's right.
Think it'd be in your Stanyan Street district.
Well, do you have a sales record for either a Glenda Elliot or a Stephanie Brown? Yeah, I can wait.
Could you close that door, please? Thank you.
You know that salesman who was going out as we came in? Yeah.
How long was he here? - Today? - Yeah.
I don't know.
I noticed him when Miss Evers was telling us about that lady she saw.
Yeah.
Nothing, huh? All right, may I have the name of the salesman for that district, please? L-A-V-E-R-Y.
Lavery.
His first name? Arthur.
May I have his home address, please? Yeah, yeah, I can wait.
How did you know that? How many little guys named Lavery could there be? - Go on.
- I didn't even know him.
I just remember Stephanie and Glenda laughing at him.
How they used to put him on.
Get him all worked up.
Then talking about how they'd sure love to have that jewelry if they could just work it out some way.
- Must've found a way.
- Yeah.
Yes.
721 Logan.
Thank you very much.
Oh, darling.
I'm so glad we're going.
I'm so glad.
So glad.
Edna, what's done is done.
Honey, l I don't care.
I still love you.
Listen.
I was at the apartment building today.
L I know what happened now.
I know that you I know that you were there.
Listen, sweetheart, stay in the house.
Don't answer the door, no matter what.
Don't answer the door.
Take ten minutes, then get a cab and come to the airport.
- Arthur.
- Edna, do it! Do it! Somehow, I think he lives alone.
Or with a lady wearing flat shoes - and a brown print dress.
- All right.
All right.
Hey, he can't handle that thing.
- Hang back.
- If we do, we're gonna lose him.
And if you don't, he'll kill somebody else.
Eight-one to headquarters.
We're pursuing a blue Ford sedan.
Hang on.
Hey, call an ambulance! - Mrs.
Lavery? - Yes.
- Where's Arthur? - He's still in surgery.
Thanks, sarge.
Mrs.
Lavery, your husband has internal injuries, his legs are broken, he's fighting for his life.
- Where? Where? - No.
I'll tell you what.
No.
What? - Why don't we have a cup of coffee? - No.
I think it would be better.
There's nothing you can do, so let's Let's go in here and have a cup of coffee.
Mrs.
Lavery.
Mrs.
Lavery.
Someone said they saw you in an apartment building.
Oh, oh, yes, yes.
Yes, I know that.
That wasn't Arthur's fault.
You don't know what it means to be Arthur.
To get up early in the morning and lug that big, heavy case.
And knock on door after door after door.
Eat alone with some newspaper and try to make some kind of quota.
And then coming home exhausted and humiliated.
Would you like to live like that? Can't say I would.
Anyway, it isn't hard to figure out what What happened.
I mean, what Arthur's reaction would be when he knocked on that door and those two girls answered it.
They would have invited him in and even maybe given him a cup of coffee.
He would've probably given them every sample he had left in the case.
- Had he been there before? - Oh, of course.
I'm sure of that.
But, listen, nothing happened.
If that's what you're thinking.
Those two girls were probably just, oh, you know, playing with him, like a couple of cats with a mouse.
How did you know he was seeing them? I noticed that a lot of his good samples were gone.
So I asked him about them.
And it was the first time in my life I have ever seen Arthur look guilty.
I mean, about anything.
So he said somebody took them out of his case when he had left it in the car for a few minutes.
But, of course, I knew that wasn't true.
And then I found out about the flowers.
Flowers? What flowers? Arthur really splurged.
He bought them flowers.
Fifteen dollars' worth.
But he Poor darling, he put them on our charge card.
So I found out the address.
And then I had the key so You had the key? How did you get it? Well, I've got the key right here.
That's it, l Yes.
I got that out of Arthur's coat pocket.
I decided I would just go there.
I was going to see to it that they left Arthur alone.
For good.
Did you kill them? Why, no.
What? I didn't kill them.
They were already dead.
Door was ajar and I just shoved it open, and there they were.
It was awful.
I had to turn and run.
Do you know what you're saying? You're saying that your husband killed them.
No.
It just doesn't make sense.
Exhibit A in her own trial, and she hands it right over to us.
With a story that says her husband did it.
That doesn't add up either.
- He ran.
- I know he ran.
Let's just take a good look at the Laverys, buddy boy.
Two little people leading quiet little lives.
He spends his days lugging that case around going door to door, and she spends hers sitting at home waiting for him.
- What do they have, right? - Exactly.
Just each other.
Yeah.
Why would she wanna lay the blame on him? Maybe she was jealous.
- Hell hath no fury.
- Oh, come on.
I didn't see any fury in her eyes.
What I saw was love, hurt, and a lot of concern for a little guy fighting for his life.
- You know what I think? - What? I think that she's telling us exactly what she thinks happened.
Her husband met these two girls.
They turned him on, he couldn't handle it, and he took the wrong way out.
You know, that still doesn't square with your woman theory.
Well, it doesn't square with Lavery either.
You put him under the glass a minute.
All right.
Door to door, like you said, right? He's just trying you make it.
He opens one door to some very, very heavy action.
Two lovely ladies give him a key, which says open day or night.
And if he sees the key is missing, what does he figure? His wife found it.
And if he found the girls dead? That she'd probably killed them.
So they both think the other one's guilty - and they try to protect each other.
- Like you said before, - what else do they have? - Right.
I don't know, Mike.
I don't know.
All I know for sure is that Lavery had a key and either one of them could've opened the door.
- Nothing.
- Here.
- Same number.
- It's the wrong key? Mike.
- 223.
- Yeah, stamped 223.
It doesn't fit.
Be my guest.
Wait a minute.
Wait one minute.
Maybe it does fit the m.
o.
On those two girls.
Listen.
Riley said they were takers, right? All right, how do you take someone like Arthur Lavery? You put this key in his hand and you put a hole right through that man's mind.
- And they knew it.
- Sure they knew it.
They created images in his head.
They got him going, then they gave him this.
They knew he'd never use it.
- Does it make sense? - Makes a lot of sense.
Fits the two girls and it fits the Laverys.
- Terrific.
Takes us right back to zero.
- No, no.
Take us right back to the one person who had a real motive.
Could've had a key to that lock.
Okay, Lyn Chase.
Lyn Chase.
Lyn Chase.
That's right.
Here we are.
SFO to Denver, Flight 302.
Departed 7:20, arrived Denver, 9:02.
Then Denver to Chicago and back.
How about that? Terrific.
You say Lyn Chase was on that airplane? Yeah.
Lyn Chase.
ETA? Estimated Time of Arrival.
Estimated time of arrival.
ETA.
- Two fifty-five.
- Two fifty-five.
It fits.
She could've been back when you saw her.
I know it fits.
Anybody can see that it fits.
Young man.
Is it possible? Do the stewardesses sometimes switch, you know? "You take my flight, I'll take yours"? It's against the rules.
That's not what he asked.
- It happens.
- So then this is not absolute proof that one of your crew members is on a given flight at a given time.
- No.
- Right.
What gets into San Francisco around the same time? Around 3:00? Okay.
How about Flight 86, returns from San Diego at 2:55 via L.
A.
What time did it leave? Eleven.
That's half-day duty though.
Is that gonna help you? It could help.
What time did the first flight return from Chicago, Denver to San Francisco? Chicago to SFO.
Three twenty-two.
Storm front and headwinds.
- Three twenty-two? - Three twenty-two.
Three twenty That's it.
She's lying.
The flight that she was supposed to arrive on landed 20 minutes after I talked to her.
If she wasn't on that flight to Chicago, then she could've been in that apartment at 9:30.
Is Lyn Chase on duty now? Yes, she's on the evening flight to Seattle, departing Gate 31.
Get on the PA and stop her.
Would West Central Airways stewardess, Lyn Chase, report to Operations, please.
Lyn Chase.
Report to West Central Airways Operations.
Flight 19 now arriving Gate 2 from Chicago.
- Hi, Paul.
- Hi, Lyn.
Hey, Lyn.
Lyn! Wait a minute, Lyn! - What happened? - Stewardess tripped the detector.
I don't know what with, but Mike, she's down below.
Be careful.
- Get those people away from there.
- Right.
Now, you have a right to remain silent.
- You have a - What's the difference? You have the gun.
Was it really worth it? Eighteen shots? I didn't know Glenda was there.
She came in and saw me.
- After you'd hit Stephanie? - Yes.
Because of Phil Hewitt? He loved me.
He was the beginning of my life.
She took him.
She didn't want him.
She didn't care about him.
She took him.
And my life.
So I took hers.
You know, I'm certainly glad the little guy's gonna make it.
Yeah.
It's sure gonna take him a while to pay that company back for those synthetics.
Especially with the salary he's gonna get from the post office.
You know, I can understand why he'd wanna quit sales though.
Driving all over town.
Knocking on doors.
Lousy hours.
Taking lip from people who don't wanna be bothered.
Sounds very familiar.
- I thought you'd see it.
- Wait a minute.
Why don't you drive? We'll break up the monotony.
Good idea.

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