SID: Come to Los Angeles.
The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting...
...and the orange groves stretch as far as the eye can see.
There are jobs aplenty and land is cheap.
Every workingman can have his own house...
...and inside every house, a happy, all-American family.
You can have all this. And who knows?
You could even be discovered...
...become a movie star, or at least see one.
Life is good in Los Angeles.
It's paradise on Earth.
That's what they tell you, anyway, because they're selling an image.
They're selling it through movies, radio and television.
In the hit show Badge of Honor, the L.A. cops walk on water...
...as they keep the city clean of crooks.
Yep, you'd think this place was the Garden of Eden.
But there's trouble in paradise...
...and his name is Meyer Harris Cohen, Mickey C to his fans.
Local L.A. color to the nth degree. And his number-one bodyguard...
[POPS]
...Johnny Stompanato.
Mickey C's the head of organized crime in these parts.
He runs dope, rackets and prostitution. He kills a dozen people a year...
...and the dapper little gent does it in style.
And every time his picture's on the front page...
...it's a black eye for the image of Los Angeles.
Because how can organized crime exist...
...in the city with the best police force in the world?
Something has to be done.
But nothing too original, because, hey, this is Hollywood.
What worked for Al Capone would work for the Mickster.
Mr. Cohen, you're under arrest. Nonpayment of federal income tax.
But all is not well.
Sending Mickey up has created a vacuum, and it's only a matter of time...
...before someone with balls of brass tries to fill it.
"Remember, dear readers, you heard it here first.
Off the record, on the q.t...
...and very hush-hush."
[MAN AND WOMAN SHOUTING]
You're like Santa Claus with that list, Bud, except everyone on it's been naughty.
Guy's been out of Q two weeks.
Leave it for Iater.
We gotta pick up the booze and get it to the station.
[GLASS SHATTERS]
HolIywood, this is 6-Adam-7.
Have Central send a prowler to 421 6 Evergreen.
ParoIe violation. Assault arising from a family dispute.
We won't be here, but they'lI see him.
[LAUGHING]
MAN: Quit your whining.
Quit whining all the time. It makes me sick.
Shut up.
-Who in the hell are you? -The ghost of Christmas past.
-Dance with a man for a change. -What are you, some kind of smart-ass?
[GRUNTING]
You'lI be out in a year and a haIf. I'Il get cozy with your paroIe officer.
You touch her again, I'll have you violated on a kiddie-raper beef.
You know what they do to kiddie rapers in Quentin.
You got somepIace you can go?
Go get yourself fixed up.
Merry Christmas, huh?
-Merry Christmas, ma'am. -Let's go, Bud.
The guys wiIl be waiting.
[MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO]
What do you do on Badge ofHonor, Jack?
I'm the, um, technicaI adviser.
I teach Brett Chase how to walk and talk Iike a cop.
Brett Chase doesn't walk and talk Iike you.
WeIl, that's because he's the teIevision version.
America isn't ready for the real me.
Is it true you're the one who arrested Bob Mitchum?
Mm-hm.
These Badge ofHonor guys like to pretend...
...but being the real thing must be a thriIl.
Why don't you and I go someplace quiet?
I'd love to give you the Iowdown on Mitchum.
-Big V. Jack Vincennes. -Hey.
-May I have this dance? -Of course.
Karen, this is Sid Hudgens from Hush-Hush magazine.
-Hello, Karen. -Hello, yourself.
Mm-hm.
What's that about?
We did a piece, "Ingénue Dykes in HolIywood." Her name got mentioned.
Hey, Jackie boy...
...a friend just soId some reefer to Matt ReynoIds.
He's tripping the light fantastic with Tammy Jordan.
Sorry, I lost you for a second, Sid.
Contract players, Metro. You pinch them, I do a nice feature next issue.
-PIus the usuaI 50 cash. -No, I need another 50.
Two 20s for two patroImen, and a dime for the watch commander.
Jackie, it's Christmas.
No, it's not.
It's felony possession of marijuana.
ActuaIly, it's circuIation 36,000 and climbing.
There's no telling where this is gonna go. Radio, television.
Once you whet the public's appetite for the truth, the sky's the limit.
Sergeant Ed Exley, son of the legendary Preston Exley.
Must be a hard act to follow.
Why not make a mark somewhere else? Why become a cop, Ed?
I like to help peopIe.
We heard two officers were assaulted this evening.
-What do you think about that? -Goes with the job.
I took the report. Luckily, they're okay.
Aren't you young to be watch commander?
It's only tonight.
The married men have Christmas Eve off.
-That's a good lead for the story. PHOTOGRAPHER: Sure.
OFFICER: Merry Christmas, captain.
-Captain Smith. -Drop the formaIities, Bobby.
-It's Christmas Eve. CaIl me Dudley. -I came up with a title for the story.
I'm caIling it "Silent Night With the L.A.P.D."
That's grand.
Now, remember, Bobby, that's "Smith." With an S.
[LAUGHING]
-Thank you, gentlemen. Merry Christmas. -Thank you.
SMITH: Hold on there, lads.
-Merry Christmas. -Merry Christmas to you.
I saw the test results on the lieutenant's exam.
First out of 23. What'Il it be, then?
PatroI Division? InternaI Affairs? What?
I was thinking Detective Bureau.
Edmund, you're a political animal.
You have the eye for human weakness, but not the stomach.
You're wrong, sir.
Would you be wiIling to plant evidence on a suspect you knew to be guilty...
...in order to ensure an indictment?
-We've been over this. -Yes or no?
No.
Would you beat a confession out of a suspect you knew to be guiIty?
No.
Would you shoot a hardened criminaI in the back...
...in order to offset the chance that some Iawyer--?
No.
Then for the love of God, don't be a detective.
Stick to assignments where you don't have to make those choices.
Dudley, I know you mean well...
...but I don't need to do it the way you did, or my father.
At least get rid of the glasses.
I can't think of a man in the bureau who wears them.
NICK: If I get heId up, you guys better be here.
Hi, Nick. I need a delivery.
A case each of gin, rum, Scotch.
That sounds Iike a helI of a party. Be right with you.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you, officer.
That obvious, huh?
It's practicaIly stamped on your forehead.
There you go, White.
PIERCE: See what he wants, Buzz.
Hey.
Get lost, why don't you?
Down. Get your fucking head down.
I got a license for that.
Cut me some slack. I used to be a cop.
"Leland Meeks." Never heard of you.
They calI me Buzz.
I don't give a rat's ass what they calI you. Keep your head down.
And stay there, Buzz.
-You okay? -She's fine.
I'm not asking you, sir.
-Somebody hit you? LYNN: It's not what you think.
What is it, then?
You got the wrong idea, mister. I'm fine.
But it's nice to know you care.
Drive safely.
What's going on?
-You know him? -Yeah, I've seen him around.
He used to be a cop.
[CHUCKLING]
They're sitting in the dark, goofing on a Christmas tree.
All right. Put your camera right there.
When I waIk out, I'Il stop here. Get the movie premiere in the background.
I like it. I Iike it. "The Movie Premiere Pot Bust."
When I waIk out, I don't want those floodlights in my eyes.
Big V, consider it done. You hear that, Chip?
All right, come on. Get down.
Go. Pop them.
[TAMMY SCREAMS]
Freeze. Police.
SID: HoId it. -Come on. Come on, let's go.
MATT: I got my family coming--
-It'll be a nice Christmas gift. SID: Hi, Tammy. Hi, Matt.
Right over here.
-Just turn. -Hold it. Got it.
-"The Movie Premiere Pot Bust." -Take them in. I'lI get the evidence.
[READS CARD]
It's Christmas Eve in the City of AngeIs...
...and while decent citizens sleep the sIeep of the righteous...
...hopheads prowl for marijuana...
...not knowing that a man is coming to stop them:
Celebrity crime-stopper Jack Vincennes...
...scourge of grasshoppers and dope fiends everywhere.
You like it, Jackie boy?
Yeah, subtle.
What took you?
My partner stopped to heIp a damsel in distress.
His priorities are all screwed up.
OFFICER: Up to your oId tricks again, Bud?
Bye.
OFFICER: Hollywood Jack, what brings you to our humbIe station house?
-How are you? -What are you doing here?
You know me. Keeping the streets safe, boys.
Take these two, get them dressed and book them.
-The party's upstairs. -Okay, I'Il be right up. ExIey.
EXLEY: What's that for?
WeIl, you are watch commander tonight, aren't you?
Yeah. So?
A gratuity from Hush-Hush magazine. Buy yourself a new pair of loafers.
No, thanks, Jack. You keep your payoff.
I'm not interested.
[DOOR OPENS] [MEN SHOUTING]
[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
-What the hell's this? -Six spics.
Mexicans, sir. The ones who assaulted Brown and Helenowski.
I heard HeIenowski lost six pints of bIood and Brown's in a coma.
They're home with bruises.
-That's not what I heard. -Get these men into the lockup.
Stens, you guys hear what those taco benders did to HeIenowski and Brown?
Helenowski lost an eye, and they're reading Brown his last rites.
That ought to make for a very merry Christmas for HeIenowski and Brown.
Hey, guys. Guys. They brought the Mexicans in.
They're downstairs.
OFFICER 1 : Let's do it. OFFICER 2: Come on, guys. Let's get them.
StensIand, the party's upstairs.
This doesn't concern you.
Come on, guys. Haven't you got work to do?
Go back to the party.
-Come on, it's Christmas. Help me out. -Out of the way. Move it.
-I just got a few more questions. EXLEY: You don't aIl have to be down here.
Go.
Hey, White? You better put a Ieash on your partner before he kiIls somebody.
OFFICER: Teach him a lesson. Get him, Stens.
This is for ours, Pancho.
Get him, Stens.
Let me through.
No. He didn't do nothing.
What are you Iooking at? What are you Iooking at?
-Tell that Mexican to shut up. -Move. Move.
You're sick.
Stens!
-Stens. Hey. Hey. Come on. Come on. OFFICER: Don't break it up.
Get back. Get back.
-Yeah, and fuck your mother. -Fuck you.
-Come on! -Stop, officer. That's an order.
Hey.
Yeah, aIl right.
-You're aIl going in my report. -Let's go, ExIey.
[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
[INAUDIBLE]
POLICE CHIEF: "Bloody Christmas."
The press love to label.
You should know this is bigger than the police board.
The grand jury's convening. Indictments may be handed down.
-WiIl you testify? -No, sir. I won't.
District Attorney Loew?
You and Officer StensIand brought the liquor to the station.
StensIand was aIready drunk.
Do you see how appearing as a voluntary witness against him...
...could offset the damage you've done to yourself?
Sir, I won't testify against my partner or anyone eIse.
LOEW: This man is a disgrace.
Your badge and gun, officer. You're suspended from duty.
Dismissed.
POLICE CHIEF: Ed.
We need police witnesses to offset the damage done to the department.
-I'm asking you-- -Justice has to be served.
Of course I'Il testify.
I'm glad you feel that way, Edmund. Most of the men don't.
They think siIence and integrity are the same thing.
Not exactIy the image of the new L.A.P.D. we're trying to create.
WeIcome to Los Angeles, the city of the future.
-May I make a suggestion, sir? -By alI means.
The public wilI expect the department to protect its own...
...and sweep this under the carpet. Don't.
Shift the guilt to men whose pensions are secured.
Force them to retire.
But somebody has to swing, so indict, try and convict...
...Richard Stensland and Bud White.
Secure them jail time. The message wilI be very clear:
This department, your new L.A.P.D...
...will not tolerate officers who think they're above the Iaw.
Dick Stensland is an embarrassment as a poIiceman.
He's had rotten fitness reports from every CO he's served under...
...but Bud White is a valuabIe officer.
White's a mindIess thug.
No, Edmund.
He's just a man who can answer "yes" to those questions I've asked you.
POLICE CHIEF: The department and the pubIic need role models.
CIean-cut, forthright men the public can admire.
Sergeant, I'll promote you...
...to lieutenant, effective immediately.
Detective lieutenant.
Ed, you're 30.
Your father didn't make Iieutenant untiI he was 33.
I know that, sir.
I aIso know when he made Iieutenant, it was as a detective.
Before we start polishing our Iaurels...
...it'd look better if we had a corroborative witness.
That won't be easy to come by. The men hate a stool pigeon.
Jack Vincennes.
He hit one of the Mexicans and saw the whoIe thing.
A veteran like Vincennes might be wilIing to admit his own culpability...
...but he'd never rat out a felIow officer.
Jack's the technical adviser on Badge of Honor.
He lives for it.
That's the way to get to him.
I'd like you to observe, Ed.
CalI Sergeant Vincennes.
Bright kid.
You may well reap the benefit, Ed...
...but are you prepared to be despised in the department?
Yes, sir, I am.
So be it.
SMITH: WeIl, sergeant, we'lI get right to it.
Nine civiIian witnesses have identified you as hitting Ezekiel Garcia.
But we have a stellar witness who wiIl name names...
...and also testify that you hit back only after being hit.
-And? -And you will testify against three officers...
...who have already earned their pension...
...and plead ignorance to questions at the other men.
No, thanks. I'm not a snitch.
I'Il guarantee you a slap on the wrist, a brief suspension...
...followed by a temporary transfer from Narcotics to Vice.
When you transfer out of Vice, you'lI be back on the show.
The show?
Badge ofHonor, Vincennes.
We need to tone down your profile for a bit.
Jack...
...I doubt you've ever taken a stupid breath. Don't start now.
Okay, I'll do it.
POLICE CHIEF: The grand jury wilI hear your testimony tomorrow.
Dismissed, Vincennes.
And so it goes...
...detective lieutenant.
Ace them at the grand jury tomorrow, son.
Wear a smart-looking suit and ace them.
And, Ed, lose the glasses.
So you're the stellar witness.
I should have known. What's the chief throwing you?
-Throwing me? -Yeah, ExIey, what's the payoff?
You're the payoff expert.
I'm just doing my duty.
Come on, you're playing an angle here, college boy, right?
You're getting something so you don't have to hobnob with cops...
...who are gonna hate you for snitching.
WeIl, if they're making you detective, watch out.
Some bureau guys are gonna burn in this...
...and you're gonna work with friends of theirs.
What about you?
I'm snitching three old-timers who'lI be fishing in Oregon next week.
Next to you, I'm cIean...
...and smart.
MAN: Edmund J. Exley to chambers.
And remember...
...Bud White will fuck you for this if it takes him the rest of his Iife.
Captain, what do you want?
CalI me DudIey.
Dudley, what do you want?
Look, lad, I admire your refusaI to testify...
...and your loyalty to your partner.
I admire you as a policeman...
...particularIy your adherence to violence as a necessary adjunct to the job.
And I'm most impressed with your punishment of women-beaters.
Do you hate them, Wendell?
What do you want?
They're yours.
Go ahead, take them.
There's no goddamn biIl on me?
-Four witnesses recanted their testimony. -Why?
-They had a change of heart. -What about Stensland?
Your partner's through.
Departmental scapegoat on the chief's orders.
A year from his pension.
ExIey.
ExIey made his play and got what he wanted.
As a politician, he exceeds even myself.
The department needs smart men like ExIey...
...and direct men Iike you.
Look, lad, I need you for an assignment the chief's given me the go-ahead on.
A duty few men are fit for, but you were born for.
You'd be working out of Homicide down at City Hall.
Homicide?
Working cases?
Your talents lie elsewhere, WendeIl.
It's a muscle job.
You'lI do as I say and ask no questions. Do you follow my drift?
In TechnicoIor, sir.
SID: Meet Tony Brancato and Anthony Trombino...
...two rising lieutenants in the Mickey Cohen rackets.
With the dapper little gent in prison...
...who knows how far they'll go? The sky's the limit.
[GUNSHOTS]
Oh, well.
Meet Deuce Perkins, Mickey Cohen's narcotics lieutenant.
Could he be behind the hits?
Is he consolidating organized-crime power?
I suppose not.
One thing's for sure:
Two-man triggers are punching the tickets on the Mickster's muscle.
Meanwhile, rumor has it the L.A.P.D...
...has set up a not-so-welcome wagon to dishearten out-of-town criminal element...
...from filling the void left by Mickey's absence.
When I know more, dear readers, so will you.
Off the record, on the q.t...
...and very hush-hush.
SMITH: With Mickey Cohen in prison, Los Angeles is organized-crime free.
The chief wants to keep it that way.
[MAN GRUNTING]
Now, in Cleveland, you're an organized-crime associate...
...in desperate needs of reeducation in the ways of polite society.
I hear things.
Like those two-man shooter teams.
Bang, bang. They're eighty-sixing Cohen's lieutenants. TelI me, what do you want?
We want you to go home.
VICE CAPTAIN: Picture-book smut, gentlemen.
There's been a bunch of this found at coIlateral crime scenes Iately.
Quality ranges from piss-poor to very weIl done.
-Look who's back from suspension. -Here, Jack.
We're honored, Sergeant Jack.
Ah, Iook at that. The great jerk-off case of 1 953.
There someplace you'd rather be, Vincennes?
Yeah, working Narcotics, looking for Cohen's missing H.
Yeah, finding 25 pounds of heroin would get you pIenty of ink.
Maybe you shouId've thought of that before "Bloody Christmas."
Oh.
Make a major case, sergeant.
It's the only way you're getting out of here.
Dismissed, gentlemen.
Go get the facts, Jack.
Just the facts.
WOMAN: Whatever you desire.
Hi. I'd like to get a delivery to Beverly Hills.
I don't know you.
WeIl, a friend just gave me this number and I just wanted to find out if--
[PHONE CLICKS]
Ginger, you grab a reverse directory and shag a name and address for me?
Crestview 2239.
SID: Hush-Hush, offthe record, on the q.t.
Sid, it's Vincennes.
Jackie! Hey, you back on Narco? I need some good copy.
No, but I do have something going with Vice.
Something juicy for the Sidster?
Tracking porn. Arty, high-class stuff.
What do you know about Fleur-de-Lis? Slogan's "Whatever you desire."
No, I've heard bupkes.
Get me some Narco skinny. I want to do an aIl-hophead issue.
Shvartze jazz musicians and movie stars. You like it?
Yeah, I'Il talk to you later, Sid. What do you got?
-Number's not assigned, sergeant. -Thanks, Ginger.
A bootleg.
Hey.
Take it easy.
Tough break, Stens.
Good man. We're gonna miss you around here.
Raw deal, Stensland.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
OFFICER: Here comes the snitch.
Sorry about that, lieutenant.
[LAUGHING]
Stay out of trouble, Bud.
I got a couple hours. I'Il buy you a drink.
-Rain check. No, I got a hot date. -Come on.
Yeah? Who is she and what did you arrest her for?
It's confidential.
Like that magazine that Vincennes scams for. Hush-Hush.
I'Il see you later in the week.
We'lI do the town, on me.
Yeah. I'Il bring my walIet just in case.
OFFICER 1 : See you tomorrow. OFFICER 2: Hang on a minute.
I'Il waIk down with you.
OFFICER 1 : Punk kid. Who the helI is he trying to impress?
-Yeah, I wonder. -Got himseIf a real career going.
DISPATCHER [ON RADIO]: Sergeant Williams, pick up, please.
Sergeant Williams?
Is there anybody up there in Homicide?
Anybody there?
Lieutenant Exley.
You've got a homicide downtown.
-The Nite Owl Coffee Shop. -I got it. It's mine.
Sir, at least one person's dead. I stopped for coffee.
No one comes through the front door. Understand?
Yes, sir.
I want barricades at both ends of the street. Make sure--
Sir? I took the call. It's my case.
You don't want it, Edmund, and you can't have it.
-I took the calI. -It's mine.
I'Il make you my second-in-command.
PHOTOGRAPHER: Captain Smith? Over here, please.
OFFICER 1 : The back door. OFFICER 2: Nobody else inside.
Looks like the cook drew a handgun and set it off.
The rest were killed in the men's room.
Sir...
...we got a total of 1 5 spent 1 2-gauge Remington shotgun shells.
I'm betting three men, five-shot capacity pumps, aIl of them emptying once.
Excuse me, sir, we got an ID on one of the victims.
It's Dick StensIand.
MAN 1 : When I first saw her, I thought she was Rita Hayworth.
MAN 2: Yeah, me too.
EXLEY: Hell of a way to avoid a prison sentence.
You tell me what happened?
Appears three men held up a coffee shop.
The guy at the register puIled a .38, so they kiIled him.
Then they took everyone else out back and kiIled them too.
MAN: Lieutenant, we're ready with that Nite Owl ID.
CORONER: Is this your daughter, Mrs. Lefferts?
I don't know.
We know this is difficult. Just take your time.
It seems Iike my Susan...
...but my Susan was a bIond, not a redhead.
When was the last time you saw her?
Just before Christmas.
We'd fought. I didn't Iike her boyfriend.
CORONER: Mrs. Lefferts, does your daughter have any distinguishing characteristics?
You got the wrong idea, mister. I'm fine.
MRS. LEFFERTS: She has a birthmark on her hip.
It's her.
My baby.
[SOBBING]
I'm sorry, Mrs. Lefferts.
Who's in charge of this investigation?
Captain Smith and myseIf. Why?
SMITH: "The Nite Owl Massacre."
Hyperbole aside...
...this is a heinous crime that requires swift resolution.
Six victims.
One of them one of our own. Dick Stensland.
As it happens, he was a Nite Owl regular, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Robbery is the likeIy motive.
We have rubber-glove smears on the register...
...and preliminary forensics strongly tend towards a trio of shooters.
We do have one hot lead, so listen welI.
Three Negro juveniles...
...were seen discharging shotguns last night in Griffith Park.
A park ranger ID'd them as driving a 1 948 to 1 950 Mercury coupe...
...maroon in color.
An hour ago, a canvassing crew turned up a news vendor...
...who saw a maroon Merc parked across from the Nite OwI around 1 a.m.
DMV has come up with a registration list of Merc coupes.
Forty-eight two-man teams wilI shake three names apiece.
Interrogations wilI be led by Lieutenant Edmund ExIey.
[MURMURING]
Enough on that.
Gentlemen, just go out and get them. Use all necessary force.
The peopIe of Los Angeles demand it.
Dismissed.
Why not just put a bounty on them?
BILL: You ready to roIl?
Take them. I got something I gotta do.
-What if one of these names--? -Get somebody eIse.
OFFICER: WeIl, I got our assignments, Big V.
We go by this list, we got zero chance of making this colIar.
I got a guy who knows what's going on south of Jefferson.
-He can put us at fifty-fifty. -Jack, what are you doing?
Same sort of thing that got you in trouble last time.
EXLEY: I'Il take those odds.
We got it from here.
Between the two of you, you should bring a photographer.
I need an address on a customer of yours. Her name is Lynn.
-That's aIl I got to go on? -Yeah.
I think you aIready know who I mean, so cough it up.
NICK: There's a billing address and a delivery address.
Are you Pierce Patchett?
I am.
Are you soliciting for police charities? Last time you caIled at my office.
Go on down to the driveway. We'lI taIk there.
What can I do for you?
-Where were you last night? -I was here hosting a party.
-Tell me about Dick Stensland. -I don't know him, Mr...?
Officer White.
Sue Lefferts? You know her?
You know I do. You saw me with her.
How did you find me?
Nick's Liquor. This is where Lynn Bracken's booze bilIs go.
Of course.
Sue Lefferts died at the Nite OwI.
I'm investigating.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
-Everything all right? -Fine, PhilIip. Thank you.
What happened to the other guy, Buzz?
Buzz Meeks no longer works for me.
Lefferts looked beat-up Christmas Eve but didn't act it.
I think she'd been hit in the face with a tennis racket. She is--
Was a big doubles fan.
You're a known associate of a woman killed in a mass murder.
Wanna go downtown and discuss this officiaIly?
Is that what this is? Official?
Somehow I have the feeling this is more personaI with you, Mr. White.
All right, then...
...are you concerned about criminaI matters peripheraI to the Nite Owl murders?
-Not at the moment. -You wouldn't feeI obligated to report them?
Why were Lefferts' eyes black?
I needed a Rita Hayworth to fill out my little studio.
What littIe studio?
WeIl, there's Gardner, RusseIl, Monroe, Turner....
Lynn Bracken is my Veronica Lake.
I use girIs that look like movie stars.
Sometimes I employ a pIastic surgeon.
When the work had been done, that's when you saw us.
That's why her mother couldn't ID her.
Jesus fucking Christ.
No, Mr. White, Pierce Morehouse Patchett.
I sense you're on your best behavior, but that's aIl I'm gonna teIl you.
If you persist, I'Il meet you with my attorney.
Now, would you Iike Lynn Bracken's address?
I got her address.
Find Susan's killer, Mr. White.
I'Il give you a handsome reward.
Whatever you desire.
WOMAN: Come on. I know you're not asleep.
You talking to me? What do you want?
My 5 bucks.
It was the only one I had.
LYNN: Right now?
MAN: Hey, dolI face, teIl him to leave us alone.
I understand. Okay, fine.
Oh, baby...
...bad news.
You have to go.
Go?
Something very important has come up and you have to go...
...but I'll make it up to you, okay?
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
I will, I promise. Excuse me.
Is it the cops?
Miss Bracken, I'm Officer White.
I've been expecting you, just not this soon.
Pierce calIed. He toId me what happened to Sue.
Everything alI right, doll? Want me to get rid of him?
Hit the road, pal.
Maybe I wilI...
...maybe I won't.
L.A.P.D., shit-bird. Get out of here or I'll calI your wife to come get you.
-Officer. -Councilman.
-Would you care for a drink? -Yeah, Scotch straight.
I was friendIy with Sue Lefferts, but we weren't friends.
You know what I mean?
You sorry she's dead?
Of course I am.
What kind of question is that?
Do you know why Pierce is humoring you?
Use words like that, you might make me mad.
-But do you know? -Yeah, I know.
Patchett's running whores cut to look like movie stars.
And judging by his address, probably something bigger on the side.
He doesn't want any attention.
That's right. Our motives are selfish, so we're cooperating.
So cooperate. Why was Susan Lefferts at the Nite Owl?
I don't know. I never heard of the Nite Owl tiIl today.
-How did she meet Patchett? -Pierce meets people.
Sue came on a bus with dreams of HolIywood and this is how they turned out.
Thanks to Pierce, we stiIl get to act a little.
TeIl me about Pierce.
He's waiting for you to mention money.
-You want some advice, Miss Bracken? -It's Lynn.
Miss Bracken, don't ever try to fucking bribe me or threaten me...
...or I'lI have you and Patchett in shit up to your ears.
I remember you from Christmas Eve.
You have a thing for heIping women, don't you, Officer White?
Maybe I'm just fucking curious.
-You say "fuck" a lot. -You fuck for money.
There's blood on your shirt. Is that an integral part of your job?
-Yeah. -Do you enjoy it?
-When they deserve it. -Did they deserve it today?
I'm not sure.
-But you did it anyway. -Yeah.
Just like the half-dozen guys you screwed today.
WeIl, actualIy, it was only two.
You're different, Officer White.
You're the first man in five years who didn't telI me I look like Veronica Lake.
You look better than Veronica Lake.
Pierce Patchett?
He takes a cut of our earnings and invests it for us.
He doesn't let us use narcotics and he doesn't abuse us.
Can your policeman's mentality grasp those contradictions?
He had you cut to Iook like Veronica Lake.
No.
I'm realIy a brunette, but the rest is me.
And that's all the news that's fit to print.
It was nice meeting you, officer.
-I'd like to see you again. -You asking for a date, or an appointment?
I don't know.
-For a date, I shouId know your first name. -Forget I asked.
It was a mistake.
Leonard BidwelI?
Come on down here and talk to us.
-How's the Ieft these days? -What's it to you?
Oh, I saw you fight Kid GaviIan. I like your style.
What do you want, Mr. PoIiceman?
You got a brother in Folsom. I know, I put him there.
UntiI 1 9-fucking-70.
How'd you like to make it 1 960?
I know the judge, and Lieutenant ExIey here...
...is very good friends with the DA.
Yeah.
We're looking for three coIored guys who Iike to pop off shotguns.
One owns a maroon Mercury coupe.
-Wanna give me a snitch jacket? -Wanna buy your brother 1 0 years?
-It was 1 0 years, right? -Yeah, 1 0 years.
You don't have to say anything, just look at this Iist...
...and point.
He's bad, so I'll just tell you.
Sugar Ray CoIlins.
Drives a maroon '49 coupe.
Beautiful ride.
Don't know about shotguns, but he gets his thrills kiIling dogs.
He's righteous trash.
Look at that. It's five minutes from here. Thanks.
So I'll hear from you, right?
-About my brother? -Keep it up, Lenny. Up.
VINCENNES: There it is. It's in the back.
-One of ours. -Shit, somebody beat us here.
-Damn it. -What?
-My glasses. -You're kidding.
WeIl, just don't shoot me.
What are you guys doing here?
We were just in the neighborhood.
What do you got?
Three 1 2-gauge pumps, an empty box of double-aught buck, and some cash.
So long, Vice. Badge ofHonor, here I come.
-Fuck you, Vincennes. This is our colIar. -Quiet.
I'm ranking officer here. We go as a team. End of story.
Yeah, right.
-How many ways in? -Only one. Up the stairs.
He's very serious.
-Police. -Don't shoot.
No!
-Don't move. -Ace him, Jack.
-Shut up. -Anxious, aren't you?
Don't kilI them.
BREUNING: Hey. -Back, back, back.
-Man, get off me. -Against the wall. Against the wall.
-Put your hands up. BREUNING: Get over there. Come on.
Now, shut up. Hands behind your back.
So...
...how's it feeI getting out of the office?
[OFFICERS CHATTERING]
OFFICER: This just came up from Forensics.
"Burning clothes.
Casitas Youth Camp...."
-It's crowded in here, White. -These guys killed Stensland.
Ejection marks on the shells from the suspects' shotguns...
...are identicaI to the marks on the sheIl casings at the Nite Owl.
I want confessions, Edmund.
A night's stewing ought to have softened them up.
Oh, I'lI break them, sir.
Are you sure Golden Boy is up to the task, cap?
Oh, I think you'd be surprised what the Iad is capable of.
EXLEY: You're 22. Aren't you, Ray?
Did one of the officers work you over?
-You're 22, right? -Why do you keep asking that?
Twenty-two makes it a gas-chamber bounce.
You should've pulIed this caper years ago.
Get life, do a IittIe Youth Authority jolt...
...transfer to Folsom a big man.
-Get yourself a sissy.... -Hey, I don't truck with no sissies.
-Louis. -What?
You did the Casitas Youth Camp with Louis.
Why do you keep asking me about Louis? His business is his business.
Sugar, Louis told me you went sissy up at Casitas.
You couldn't do the time, so you got a big white boy to look after you.
Said they called you "Sugar" because you gave it out so sweet.
SUGAR: Louis gave it up at Casitas, man. I was the boss jock in my dorm.
Louis was the sissy.
Louis gave it up for fucking candy bars. He ain't got the sense of a goddamn dog.
-I heard you like to shoot dogs. -Dogs got no reason to live.
-You feeI the same way about people too? -What you trying to say?
-We got the shotguns, Ray. -I don't own no shotguns.
Why were you throwing clothes in the incinerator?
Say what?
A neighbor said she saw you throwing clothes in the backyard incinerator.
It doesn't look good.
I ain't got shit to say till I see a judge.
Were you on hop? You were passed out when we arrested you. You hopped up?
Ty and Louis fuck with that shit, not me.
Where do they get their stuff?
-Man.... -Come on.
Give me one to feed the DA. It'Il make me Iook good...
...and I'lI say Sugar Ray's not a punk like his sissy partners.
All right, Raymond.
Tell me one more thing about Jones and Fontaine.
Where do they get drugs?
Roland Navarette.
[INAUDIBLE]
He runs a hole-up on Bunker Hill.
And he sells red deviIs.
-ExIey's good, I'Il give him that. EXLEY: I'm gonna take a break.
You know, Ray, I'm talking about the gas chamber...
...and you haven't even asked me what this is about.
You got a big "guiIty" sign around your neck.
That was masterful, Edmund. This one's ready to go.
Give Jones the newspaper. I want him primed.
Take the cuffs off, so he can read it.
Ray Collins just ratted you off. Said the Nite OwI was your idea.
I think it was Ray's idea. You talk, I think I can save your life.
[SOBBING]
Son, six peopIe are dead, and someone has to pay for it.
Now, it can be you, or it can be Ray.
Louis, he called you queer.
-Said at Casitas, you took it up the ass. -I didn't kiIl nobody!
Son...
...you know what's gonna happen to you if you don't taIk.
You'lI go to the gas chamber. So for God's sake, admit what you did.
I didn't mean to hurt her.
-Maybe she's okay. -Okay?
These people are alI in the morgue. They were dead when you left them.
I just wanted to lose my cherry. She don't die, so I don't die.
Louis, who's the girl? What's her name?
Who are you talking about?
Was she at the Nite Owl?
Louis, listen to me. Was she at the Nite Owl?
[SOBBING]
-This newspaper shit ain't shit. -Where's the girl?
Did you kiIl her?
You wanted Louis to lose his cherry. That wasn't enough.
Things got out of hand. You made her bleed.
She bled on your clothes, so you burned the clothes.
Who toId you that?
Now, Iisten to me.
If that girl is aIive, she's the onIy chance you've got.
-I think she's aIive. -You think? Then where is she now?
Did you leave her someplace? Sell her out?
-Tell me where she is. WHITE: Move.
What are you doing, man? Don't.
White.
-One in six. Where's the girl? -White, I have this under control.
-Put the weapon down. -Where is the girl?
[CLICKING]
-SyIvester. -What?
SyIvester Fitch, 1 09 Avalon...
...brown corner house, upstairs.
[OFFICERS CHATTERING]
-Captain, just give me one minute. -You got it.
Nobody moves. The rest of us are going in the front.
Stay put untiI I give the word.
[MUSIC PLAYING ON TV]
[MAN CHUCKLING]
[LAUGHING]
[GRUNTING]
OFFICER: He went around back, sir.
Miss, I'm Lieutenant ExIey. I'm sorry to ask you this.
-I need to know what time they left you. -Get her to the hospital. Excuse me.
Give your career a rest.
Leave her aIone.
A naked guy with a gun? You expect anyone to believe that?
Get the fuck away from me.
-How's it gonna look in your report? -It'll Iook Iike justice.
That's what the man got. Justice.
You don't know the meaning of the word.
Yeah? WelI, you think it means getting your picture in the paper.
Go after criminals for a change, instead of cops.
StensIand got what he deserved and so wiIl you.
SMITH: Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[GRUNTING]
OFFICER: Take it easy. Come on, Bud.
Come on. Let it go.
It's best to stay away when his blood is up.
His blood's aIways up.
You should stay away from him altogether.
DISPATCHER: Raymond Collins, Ty Jones and Louis Fontaine.
They are considered armed and extremely dangerous.
Repeat. The Nite Owl suspects have escaped.
How did they get out the window?
They jumped from the second fIoor.
GirI made her statement. Jigs Ieft her at midnight.
Time to be at the Nite Owl by 1 .
The question was where did they get their drugs. What was the answer?
I haven't gotten that far yet.
"RoIand Navarette, lives on Bunker Hill, runs a hole-up--"
Anyone seen Jack Vincennes?
-Is something up, lieutenant? -I need some backup. Come on.
-What? -Nothing. Let's go.
This should be it.
404.
[ELEVATOR DINGS]
Nobody moves.
-Stay right there. You're under arrest. -Don't shoot.
-PIease don't shoot. -Don't move. Don't move.
[SHATTERS]
[ELEVATOR DINGS]
[GRUNTING]
There he is. You did good, kid.
OFFICER 1 : You shouId've seen the pIace. It was a nightmare. Blood everywhere.
Who wouId have thought? Shotgun Ed.
OFFICER 2: Shotgun Ed. -Somebody get him cleaned up.
Come on, kid.
POLICE CHIEF: Edmund J. Exley has amassed a brilliant record...
...in his seven years with the Los Angeles Police Department.
RecentIy, he evinced spectacular bravery in the line of duty.
It is our priviIege to present him with our highest honor:
The Medal of VaIor.
BRETT: What kind of car was it? WOMAN: It was a Ford.
My husband aIways drove a Ford. I know what they look like.
Excuse me, ma'am. Just the facts. Light or dark?
Light. And that's reaIly aIl I remember, officer.
Thank you, ma'am. You've been a big heIp.
DIRECTOR: Cut. That's a print.
-Hey, Big Jack. MAN: He's back.
Hey. Jack's back. Ha-ha.
[TALKING INDISTINCTLY]
TeIl Mr. Patchett that I have no intention of changing my vote.
It may surprise some that a man in office would admit to making a mistake...
...but after due consideration...
...I am changing my position on the matter before the counciI.
[MURMURING]
"Go west, America," was the sIogan of Manifest Destiny.
Today is that last step westward with no stop signs...
...no traffic signaIs, from downtown to the beach in 20 minutes.
[TALKING INDISTINCTLY]
[MAN GRUNTING]
What were you gonna start with?
Prostitution?
Gambling?
Go back to Jersey, sonny. This is the City of the Angels...
...and you haven't got any wings.
Nice to see you again. Take care.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
I wondered when you might knock on my door again, Officer White.
It's Bud.
Bud.
Why me?
I don't know.
This election...
...is about the future of Iaw enforcement in Los Angeles.
City Councilman Rogers represents that future.
So let's dig deep...
...and Iet's get a moral man re-eIected. Ellis Loew would like a few words.
Thank you. Thank you, Brett Chase, the very taIented star of Badge ofHonor.
Let me tell you, I am so thrilled to be here on the set of Badge ofHonor.
SID: Big V. Jackie.
Good to see you back.
-How they hanging, Sid? -Down around my ankles.
-You tight with the DA, Jackie? -Oh, yeah. Yeah.
He tried to throw me off the force last Christmas.
How about some payback, bigtime?
Plus the usuaI $50 donation to the Jack Vincennes retirement fund.
-Did you know the DA was a swish? -No kidding.
Uh....
Remember Matt ReynoIds? Christmas Eve? "The Movie Premiere Pot Bust"?
-He just got off the honor farm. -What's he doing here?
ReynoIds is acey-deucey, not to mention broke.
I'm getting him to fuck the DA for 1 00 bucks.
That's twice the 50 you got for wrecking his career.
-Hey, Matt. Come here, come here. -Jesus, don't bring him--
That's DA Loew right there.
Yeah.
You need a drink, kid?
-Yeah. -Jack, look after him a minute.
Matt, this is Jack. No secrets between me and him.
-How you doing? -Oh, I'm okay. How are you?
I'm good. Yeah.
Have we, uh, met before?
Yeah.
-Was it at a party? -WeIl, it was something Iike that.
Fleur-de-Lis party, right?
Right.
Fleur-de-Lis.
"Whatever you desire."
Dope, hookers that look like movie stars....
-Pierce Patchett has it aIl. -Ha-ha-ha.
Boy, you couId say that again.
Pierce, he's not like regular guys. I mean, I dig him, but...
...you know, he, um, scares me too.
Really? How?
When I came out to L.A., this isn't exactIy where I saw myself ending up.
Yeah, welI, get in line.
That's courage, kid. Drink up.
You know, I don't think I shouId do this.
It's not Iike you don't know how.
And Jack here's got connections with Badge of Honor.
You puIl this off, there'Il be a part for you.
I smell a comeback, don't you, Jack?
Go on. The DA's free. Go introduce yourseIf. Go on.
TaIk to him, Jack. TeIl him about the opening on the show.
Oh, yeah. I'm pretty sure I can get you a part on this show.
But, uh, that's later on.
You know, tonight, just go on over there and pretend it's an acting job.
-Like show biz. -Acting, that's it.
-Right. -Yeah.
-No one's gonna know about this, right? -No.
It'Il be our secret.
Okay. AlI right.
-Show biz. -That's it. Go on.
Show biz. Man.
If Reynolds works his charms, which I know he wilI...
...they'll be at the HolIywood Center Motel, Room 203.
Meet me there at midnight for a photo shoot.
Maybe we can work in the HolIywood sign this time.
What do you know about Pierce Patchett?
Patchett? I know what you know. He's very rich.
Just invested in freeway construction, which is gonna make him richer.
Why do you ask?
I just keep hearing rumors, you know.
High-cIass porn, drugs, hookers that look Iike movie stars.
Ha. Patchett's what I call twiIight. He ain't queer and he ain't red.
He cannot heIp me in my quest for prime "sinnuendo."
[CHUCKLES]
As though Badge ofHonorwouId touch that guy with a 1 0-foot poIe...
...after he's been Hush-Hush cover boy twice in one year.
See you in a few hours, Sid.
Yeah, midnight. I guarantee aIl kinds of iIlegal activity.
[GIGGLES]
[CHUCKLING]
[WHISPERS INDISTINCTLY]
BARTENDER: Another, Jack? -Yeah.
Kid?
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Matt?
Come on, kid, you don't have to do the--
Thank you for what you did for me...
...for kilIing those animals who raped me.
Will you thank Officer White for me, please?
Sure.
Seeing him come through the door is about the only thing I remember.
Thank God.
You remember what time the Negroes left you, right?
In your statement, you said they left you at midnight.
They might have.
-What do you mean, they might have? -I don't know what time they left me.
I wanted them dead.
Would anyone care that they raped a Mexican girl...
...if they hadn't killed those white people at the Nite OwI?
I did what I had to do for justice.
PHOTOGRAPHER: Inez? Exley, over here. SmiIe, Inez.
So is he your hero, Miss Soto?
FeIlas, how about this? "Rape Victim WheeIed out of HospitaI by Nite OwI Hero."
Hey.
All they get is Veronica Lake.
I get Lynn Margaret Bracken.
Bisbee?
Mm-hm.
I grew up there.
I'm going back in a coupIe of years, open up a dress shop.
The girls in Bisbee need a littIe glamour.
[CHUCKLING]
Where'd this come from?
When I was 12, my oId man went after my mother with a bottle. I got in the way.
So you saved her.
Not for Iong.
-I'm sorry. It's none of my business. -He tied me to the radiator.
I watched him beat my mother to death with a tire iron...
...and he Ieft me there.
Three days before a truant officer found us.
They never found the old man.
Is that why you became a cop?
To get even?
Maybe.
Do you like it?
I used to.
Now it's all strong-arm, sitting-duck stuff.
I mean, if I could....
If I could get a chance to work Homicide...
...like a real detective....
That prick Exley, he shot the wrong guys.
Whoever killed Stensland's stiIl around. I know it in here. I know it.
There's something wrong with the Nite Owl.
I just can't prove it, that's aIl.
I'm not smart enough.
I'm just the guy they bring in to scare the other guy shitIess.
You're wrong.
You found Patchett. You found me.
You're smart enough.
Bud White. What brings you down to the basement?
I got a couple of Nite OwI questions.
Don't know if you read the papers, but that case is closed.
Anything bother you about it, Ray?
The fact that the pack-up boys haven't hauled this shit out of here yet.
We got three shotguns taken from the suspects...
...which match the strike marks on the sheIl casings.
What more do you want?
There's blood on the wall here.
I thought everyone got shot in the men's room.
That is Stensland's blood.
StensIand?
Blow to the head. Probably unconscious when they dragged him in the john.
Did they hit anyone else?
No, but he was a cop. He probably tried to do something.
GriIled cheese, black coffee. Someone sitting next to him.
Two of the victims were women?
Yeah, Patti DeLuca, the night shift waitress, and a Susan Lefferts.
Susan Lefferts.
Yeah, what about her?
You're welcome.
WHITE: Mrs. Lefferts.
Mrs. Lefferts? I'm Officer White, L.A.P.D.
TeIl me about the boyfriend. The one you mentioned at the coroner's office.
I told you I didn't approve of that boyfriend.
He was too old for you. And you Iet him be fresh with me.
They came here one day when I wasn't home.
Mrs. Jensen next door said...
...she thought she saw Susie's boyfriend and another man...
...and she heard a ruckus.
-What was the boyfriend's name? -We weren't properly introduced.
Susie gave him a nickname, "Muns" or "Luns."
Stens? Was it Stens?
-Maybe. I don't know. -Look at a picture for me.
That's him. That's him.
You said a neighbor heard a ruckus.
Was it outside? Inside?
Outside.
And then Mrs. Jensen said they kept going under the house.
You have to Ieave now, officer.
-What's through here? -Just a room fuIl of oId things.
Don't move that.
Phew.
Don't mind the smelI. I think a rat died behind the wall.
My Susie was a good girI.
She was never in any kind of troubIe at aIl.
Phew.
[COUGHING]
[GRUNTING]
WHITE: "Leland Meeks." Never heard of you.
They call me Buzz.
[GASPING]
Was it a rat?
Yeah, a great big one.
Here. CompIiments of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Stomach of the week from a moteI homicide.
UnempIoyed actor had frankfurter, french fries, alcohol and sperm.
HelI of a last supper, don't you think, lieutenant?
Anything bothering you about the, uh, Nite Owl case?
Yeah, the fact that you guys won't let it get filed away.
-What do you mean? -Bud White grilIed me on it this morning.
-Bud White? -You know, he's not as dumb as I thought.
Did he say where he was going after he talked to you?
Let my daughter rest in peace.
Mrs. Lefferts, I just wanna ask a few questions.
Officer White already checked under the house.
Under the house?
-Where? -Out back.
All he found was rodents.
I need an ID on this as soon as possible. You talk onIy to me on this one.
Vincennes, I need your help with something.
I'm busy right now. Why don't you just go ask some of your boys in Homicide?
I can't. I need someone outside of Homicide.
I want you to tail Bud White tiIl he goes on duty this evening.
Do me a reaI favor and leave me aIone.
Do you make the Negroes for the Nite OwI kiIlings?
-What? -It's a simple question.
Why in the world do you wanna go digging any deeper...
...into the Nite Owl kilIings, lieutenant?
RolIo Tomasi.
Is there more to that, or am I supposed to guess?
RolIo was a purse snatcher.
My father ran into him off-duty...
...and he shot my father six times and got away clean.
No one even knew who he was.
I made the name up to give him personality.
What's your point?
RolIo Tomasi's the reason I became a cop.
I wanted to catch the guys who thought they could get away with it.
It was supposed to be about justice.
Then somewhere along the way, I lost sight of that.
Why'd you become a cop?
Huh.
I don't remember.
-What do you want, Exley? -I just wanna solve this thing.
-Nite Owl was soIved. -No.
I wanna do it right.
Even if it means paying the consequences?
Mm-hm.
All right, coIlege boy, I'lI help...
...but there's a case your boys in Homicide don't care about.
They think it's just another HolIywood "homo-cide," but I don't.
You heIp me with mine, I'Il help you with yours.
-Deal? -Deal.
Johnny Stompanato.
Officer Wendell White. How's tricks, paisano?
I ain't your paisano.
I ain't in the snitch business anymore.
You know a guy named Buzz Meeks?
Works for Pierce Patchett.
Should I?
You're muscle for hire. Meeks is muscIe for hire.
You tell me.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I remember now.
Meeks is a run-down ex-cop. Same as you're gonna be someday.
And that's all you're gonna get.
And you can keep your 20 bucks.
[GRUNTING]
What do I get if I give you your balls back, you wop cocksucker?
Okay. Okay.
There was a rumor going around...
...that Meeks had a Iine on a Iarge supply of H.
-And? -And nothing. He skipped out.
[TALKING INDISTINCTLY]
Bullshit.
How would Meeks get his hands on a Iarge supply of heroin?
You're right. It's probably buIlshit.
Even if he did, he couId never unload it.
Not without drawing aIl kinds of attention.
Maybe that's why he's under a house in Elysian Park and he don't smelI too good...
...paisano.
[TALKING INDISTINCTLY]
Maybe White's not so dumb after all.
EXLEY: We got Rita Hayworth at the morgue, and now Veronica Lake with White.
I think your case and my case are connected. It's FIeur-de-Lis again.
Fleur-de-Lis?
Yeah. "Whatever you desire."
Porno.
High-cIass whores cut to look like movie stars.
Who knows what else. ReynoIds, the kid that got killed, was involved.
So is Pierce Patchett.
The millionaire?
Yeah, I think we should go talk to him.
First I wanna brace Stompanato.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHATTERING]
[CLEARS THROAT]
Want an autograph? Write to MGM.
Since when do two-bit hoods and hookers give out autographs?
-What did you say to me? -L.A.P.D. Sit down.
Who the helI do you think you are?
Take a walk, honey, before I haul your ass downtown.
-You are making a large mistake. -Get away from our tabIe.
Shut up.
A hooker cut to look Iike Turner is still a hooker.
-Hey! -She just Iooks Iike Lana Turner.
-She is Lana Turner. -What?
She is Lana Turner.
How was I supposed to know?
[CHUCKLING]
PIERCE: I believe the Nite OwI's your area of expertise, Mr. ExIey.
I saw you on television getting your medal.
And you're...
...that other HoIlywood celebrity poIiceman, aren't you?
The Veronica Lake look-alike works for you. She's one of your whores, correct?
-A vulgar term. -Why's she seeing Bud White?
Why do men and women usualIy see each other, Mr. ExIey?
Let's try this on for size: Fleur-de-Lis.
"Whatever you desire."
An actor named Matt ReynoIds.
No? Nothing?
-No? -We want some answers, Patchett.
We alI want something.
DISPATCHER: Lieutenant Exley, come in. -Guy's as cool as they come.
Lieutenant Exley, come in, please. Over.
This is Exley.
The coroner wants to talk to you. He says he has your ID.
TeIl him Sergeant Vincennes is coming in to talk to him.
-Roger. -I'll drop you at your car.
-Where the helI are you going? -Lynn Bracken's.
I'm gonna find out why Patchett has her seeing Bud White.
See you at the Frolic Room.
Oh, great. You get the girI, I get the coroner.
[RINGS]
Hush-Hush, off the record and on the q.t.
Hey, I was just coming up to see you. You get that ID?
Thank God for dental records. Stiff used to be a cop. LeIand Meeks.
Buzz Meeks?
-You knew him? -Of him.
He was around when I joined the force. Bad rep. Thanks.
Hey. "Just the facts," Jack. "Just the facts."
Anything else, sergeant?
Leland Meeks worked Vice '39-'41 . I need to see his arrest records.
Okay.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Miss Bracken, I'm Lieutenant ExIey.
I know who you are. Bud told me alI about you.
Is that so?
And what did White have to say?
He said you were smart.
He aIso said you were a coward, and that you'd screw yourseIf to get ahead.
WeIl, let's concentrate on my smarts.
Pierce Patchett made you, didn't he? Taught you how to dress, taIk and think.
I am very impressed with the results...
...but I need answers.
And if I don't get them, I'm gonna take you and Patchett down.
Pierce Patchett can take care of himseIf.
And I'm not afraid of you.
And you forget one thing, lieutenant...
...Pierce aIso taught me how to fuck.
And he telIs you who to fuck. Why does he have you fucking Bud White?
What makes you think I'm not seeing Bud because I want to?
[SCOFFS]
It wouId be easier for you if there was an angle, wouldn't it?
You're afraid of Bud because you can't figure out how to play him.
He doesn't foIlow the same rules of politics as you do.
It makes him dangerous.
-I can handle Bud White. -Can you?
I see Bud because I want to.
I see Bud because he can't hide the good inside of him.
I see Bud because he makes me feel like Lynn Bracken...
...and not some Veronica Lake look-alike who fucks for money.
I see Bud because he doesn't know how to disguise who he is.
I see Bud for aIl the ways he's different from you.
Don't underestimate me, Miss Bracken.
The way you've underestimated Bud White?
Fucking me and fucking Bud aren't the same thing, you know.
Stop talking about Bud White.
[CHUCKLES]
Come on.
Shit.
Jack Vincennes.
It's going on midnight, Jack.
I need two minutes, Dudley.
It's important.
Good thing for you my wife and daughters are at the beach in Santa Barbara.
-Do you remember Buzz Meeks, Dudley? -A disgrace as a police officer.
Straight D fitness reports from every CO he ever served under. What about him?
Twelve years ago, he was on a Vice roust with Dick Stensland.
They questioned Pierce Patchett about a blackmail scam.
Patchett had Sid Hudgens photographing prominent businessmen with hookers.
Anyway, charges were dropped. Insufficient evidence.
You were the supervising officer on that case.
I was wondering if you remember anything about it.
What's this aIl about, boyo?
Part of it has to do with a murder. I've been working with Ed Exley on it.
You're Narco, Jack, not Homicide.
Since when do you work with Edmund ExIey?
It's a private investigation.
Ah.
I messed something up. I'm trying to make amends.
Don't start trying to do the right thing, boyo.
You haven't had the practice.
Buzz Meeks and Dick Stensland. Hmm.
So, what does ExIey make of this?
I haven't toId him yet. I just came from the records room.
[GRUNTING]
Have you a vaIediction, boyo?
RolIo...
...Tomasi.
[CHUCKLING]
SMITH: Sergeant Vincennes was killed by a .32 slug to the heart.
Time of death, approximately 1 a.m.
Although he was found in Echo Park, forensics indicates the body was moved.
I want two-man teams to scour that entire neighborhood.
Our justice must be swift and merciIess.
That is alI.
[CHATTERING]
Edmund, might I have a word with you?
We're trying to run down a lead on an associate of Vincennes.
The records check has Ied to a dead end.
What's the name?
RolIo Tomasi.
You ever heard Vincennes mention him?
No. No, I haven't.
WeIl....
It's probably nothing. Still...
...keep your eyes open, eh, boyo?
I know it's unlikely, but suppose, just for a moment...
...somebody did have that much heroin, who would they go to to move it?
-White, in my office. -Captain. Look, just give me a name.
Mickey Cohen.
Captain?
I could use your fearsome habits at the Victory MoteI.
Uh, when?
Now, WendeIl.
Right.
CIose the door, lad.
You're a bit of a puzzlement to me these days, WendeIl.
You don't seem to be your old cruel self anymore.
And I had such grand plans for your future.
What pIans?
You have your extracurricular activities and I have mine.
We must have a clarification session one of these days.
However, right now...
...we're gonna brace a man who may know who kiIled Jack Vincennes.
So the question is...
...can I count on you, lad?
-Yes or no? -Yes, sir.
I wanna know everything you and Jack Vincennes talked about last night.
Start with the ID on the corpse.
An ex-cop. Leland "Buzz" Meeks.
An ex-cop?
What did Jack say? Did he know him?
OnIy by reputation.
Wendell, this is Sid Hudgens.
I'm willing to cooperate. There's no need to tie me down.
It's for your own safety.
Now, what can you telI us about Sergeant Jack Vincennes?
HolIywood Jack? The Big V?
I can teIl you he's on the night train to the big adiós.
I didn't have anything to do with him getting killed, if that's what you mean.
-But you were business associates. -What's that got to do with anything?
Okay, okay, so we worked together.
It was an information exchange.
I got him first-class collars, he got me good stories.
We were friends, for chrissake.
We'lI drop that for the moment.
Care to comment on Pierce Patchett?
Patchett? You think he had something to do with Vincennes getting iced?
Wendell, I'd like full and docile cooperation on every topic.
Okay, okay, okay. All right.
Everybody knows that Patchett's worth a boatload of greenbacks.
But the man has hobbies too.
He bankrolls B-movies under the table.
And try this one on:
He's rumored to be a periodic heroin sniffer.
All in all, a powerful behind-the-scenes strange-o.
-And? -And what?
[GRUNTING]
Reciprocity, Mr. Hudgens, is the key to every relationship.
He runs call girIs.
Primo taiI fixed up to Iook like movie stars.
-And? -BIackmail shit.
In my car, in the trunk, under the rug....
Patchett got me to photograph this cop screwing this gorgeous sIut named Lynn.
Looks just like Veronica Lake.
Wendell. Wendell. Leave him be. I said, Ieave him be.
-Get him off me. Get him away from me. -Back off, Wendell. Back off.
I wouIdn't trade places with Edmund ExIey right now for aIl the whiskey in Ireland.
SID: Dudley.
Dudley, I thought you were gonna let the dumb bastard kilI me.
And you, Iearn to puIl your punches a Iittle better.
You can uncuff me now, felIas.
FeIlas....
Dudley, we had a deal.
You, me and Patchett, we're a team.
[MUMBLING]
Hush-hush.
-Anything? CLERK: Nothing.
Meeks never made an arrest the entire time he worked Vice?
Someone must've pulled the files.
What about the daily report books?
They'd be buried in the basement.
Find them.
[SIGHS]
Did you talk to Exley?
Come in out of the rain.
I wanna know what happened with Exley.
Just come in.
Are you gonna teIl me what happened with you and Exley?
We talked.
-So teIl me about him. -Later.
No! Now.
You fucked him.
I thought I was helping you.
Bud, I'm gIad you're here. I need you to see this.
Wait.
[YELLING]
[MUMBLING]
[GUN COCKS]
Dudley kiIled Jack.
He wants you to kilI me.
He showed you the photo, didn't he?
Didn't he?
Think. Goddamn you, think!
Get the fuck out of here.
[PANTING]
Dudley.
I checked the daiIy report books.
Dudley, Buzz Meeks and Stensland go way back.
I knew Stensland lied to me.
Lefferts' mother ID'd StensIand as Lefferts' boyfriend.
StensIand pretended he didn't know Meeks or her the night that I met...
...Lynn.
StensIand and Meeks...
...what the heIl were they up to?
I don't know, but I think Stens kilIed Meeks over heroin.
What heroin?
Johnny Stompanato told me that Meeks had heroin for sale.
Meeks ends up dead.
StensIand dies at the Nite Owl.
It wasn't the Negroes.
The rape victim lied in her statement.
The first guys to the Mercury coupe were Breuning and CarIisle.
Dudley's guys.
They planted the shotguns.
And they'd have kiIled the Negroes, too, if Jack and I hadn't shown up.
Dudley framed them because they were Negroes and had records.
He knew there'd be no questions asked...
...if they were killed resisting arrest.
Somehow this is aIl connected to Jack's angle.
Sid Hudgens...
...the pictures to blackmail EIlis Loew....
A kid got murdered.
If we're gonna figure this out, we need to work together.
Why are you doing this?
The Nite Owl made you.
You wanna tear alI that down?
With a wrecking ball.
You wanna help me swing it?
Let's go see EIlis Loew.
Find out what the district attorney knows.
May I--?
Hey. You can't go in there.
Want me to call the police, Mr. Loew?
Ask for Captain Dudley Smith.
TeIl him we're having a discussion about the death of an actor at a moteI.
These are the police.
What do you want?
I want DA bureau men to tail Dudley Smith and Patchett 24 hours a day.
I want you to get a judge to authorize wiretaps on their home phones.
I want authorization to check their bank records.
On what evidence?
CalI it a hunch.
AbsoIutely not.
Dudley Smith is a highIy decorated member of this department.
I'm not gonna smear his and Patchett's name--
Without what?
Them smearing yours first?
What do they have? Pictures of you and Matt Reynolds with your pants down?
You have any proof?
The proof had his throat sIit.
So far, you're not denying it.
I'm not gonna dignify this with answers.
Now, if you gentlemen wilI excuse me...
...I have a press conference for Jack Vincennes that I have to prepare for.
Unless you came in to wipe my ass, I believe we're through.
Don't puIl that good-cop-bad-cop crap. I practicaIly invented it.
So what if some homo actor is dead.
Boys, girls, 1 0 of them get off the bus to L.A. every day.
[YELLING]
-PulI him off me, ExIey! -I don't know how.
I know you think you're the A-number-one hotshot, but here's the juice.
If I take you out, 1 0 lawyers wilI take your place tomorrow.
They just won't come on a bus.
[SCREAMING]
All right! Okay!
Dudley and Patchett, they-- Oh, my God.
I wouIdn't play ball, so they set me up. I gave in, but the kid heard everything...
-...so they kiIled him. -Why?
-What are Dudley and Patchett up to? -Taking over Mickey Cohen's rackets.
Because of those pictures, I couldn't prosecute them.
Oh, Jesus. Help me up.
[WHIMPERING]
Is that how you used to run the good-cop-bad-cop?
Patchett?
Looks like his bodyguard had a confIict of interest.
Suicide note.
Says he kilIed Jack because Jack had figured out a pornography scam.
Slicing himself open wasn't his idea.
-Two of his fingers are broken. -They must have held him there.
Or drugged him.
I'd say Dudley's tying up his loose ends.
Patchett's dead. He sent you after me.
Lynn.
West HoIlywood.
-They're closer than we are. -I'll get the car. Keys.
Hey. We took her to the station for safekeeping.
Hold her as Joan Smith. And no one sees her unless I okay it.
Somebody worked her over. She wouldn't say who.
-See you, Exley. -Sure.
-We shouId talk to Lynn. -You do it.
What are you gonna do?
I'm gonna talk to Sid Hudgens.
Compliment him on his performance at the Victory MoteI.
-Remember, Bud, we need evidence. -I'll get the evidence.
[DOOR OPENS]
Are you okay?
You okay?
Bud hates himself for what he did.
I know how he feeIs.
I need to know what you can give me on DudIey Smith.
He's a poIice captain. He's in business with Patchett.
I've never heard of him.
Do you have somepIace you can stay?
I'Il be okay.
OFFICER 1 : Nobody goes in without officiaI ID.
OFFICER 2: He's okay. Let him through.
What happened?
Somebody beat him to death and stoIe a bunch of files.
Must have dug up garbage on the wrong guy.
We got it narrowed down to 1 000 suspects.
Sergeant White...
...Dispatch got a calI for you.
Lieutenant Exley wants you to meet him at the Victory Motel.
You wanted to meet here?
-You called it. I thought Hudgens was-- -Hudgens is dead.
Let's get out of here.
It's too Iate.
You figured this was a setup and showed up anyway?
A lot of bad stuff happened here.
It's as good a place as any for it to end.
Here. Clip.
All I ever wanted was to measure up to my father.
Now's your chance.
He died in the line of duty, didn't he?
[CHUCKLING]
[GLASS SHATTERS]
Bud.
[MEN WHISTLING]
MAN: Goddamn it!
[GUN COCKS]
-You okay? -Yeah.
Come on. Easy. Come on.
Move!
[GRUNTING]
RolIo Tomasi.
-Who is he? -You are.
You're the guy who gets away with it.
Jack knew it and so do I.
[GUNSHOT]
[SIRENS WAILING]
Are you gonna shoot me or arrest me?
Good Iad.
Always the politician.
Let me do the talking.
After I'm done, they'lI make you chief of detectives.
Hold up your badge so they'll know you're a policeman.
MAN: You think you can talk your way out of this, lieutenant?
No...
...but I think I can tell the truth.
During our investigation...
...of events surrounding the Nite Owl case...
...Jack Vincennes, Bud White and I Iearned the foIlowing.
Your golden boy's throwing his whole life away.
The three Nite OwI suspects...
...while guilty of kidnapping and rape...
...were innocent of the multiple homicides at the Nite OwI.
The actual gunmen were most likely...
...Los Angeles Police Department officers Michael Breuning and WilIiam CarIisIe...
...and a third man...
...who may or may not have been Captain Dudley Smith.
The objective:
The eIimination of another poIice officer...
...Richard Stensland...
...who, along with former L.A.P.D. Officer Leland "Buzz" Meeks...
...also committed multipIe homicides on behaIf of Captain Smith...
...and then betrayed him over 25 pounds of heroin...
...the retrievaI of which...
...was the uItimate motivation behind the Nite Owl killings.
Beginning with the incarceration of Mickey Cohen...
...Captain Smith has been assuming control of organized crime in Los Angeles.
This incIudes the assassinations...
...of an unknown number of Mickey Cohen lieutenants...
...the systematic blackmaiI of city officials...
...and the murders of Susan Lefferts, Pierce Patchett, Sid Hudgens...
...and Sergeant Jack Vincennes.
Captain Smith admitted as much to me...
...before I shot him at the Victory MoteI.
That's it.
WeIl...
...the press is gonna have a fieId day.
This-- Christ, it'll stain the department for years.
Decades.
If we can get the kid to play baIl...
...who's to say what happened?
Maybe Dudley Smith died a hero.
MAN: Good idea. -If we get the press to pIay.
POLICE CHIEF: You wanna tell me what you're smiling about?
A hero.
MAN: How'd he know what we're talking about?
He couIdn't have heard us.
And?
In this situation...
...you'll need more than one.
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
POLICE CHIEF: It is with great pleasure that I present this award...
...to Detective Lieutenant Edmund Exley...
...two-time Medal of VaIor recipient.
Next year, the L.A.P.D. wilI move into its new facility.
With leaders like Edmund Exley...
...the image of fat cops steaIing appIes wilI be left behind...
...and Los Angeles wilI finaIly have the police force it deserves.
You just couldn't resist.
They're using me, so for a whiIe, I'm using them.
Come on.
Hey.
Thanks for the push.
Yeah.
CongratuIations, Lieutenant Exley.
Some men get the world...
...others get ex-hookers and a trip to Arizona.
-Bye. -Bye.