"THINK BLUE"

Written by Sidney Ellis

ACT ONE

FADE IN

EXT. AN ALLEY - NIGHT CLOSE ON A BURGLAR ALARM

mounted high over the door of an electronics shop in an
exclusive shopping area (not a Mall). It is SHRILLING.

ANGLE TO SIGERSON'S POLICE CRUISER

parked behind the store, the door to which has been forced
open. A second Police Cruiser is also on the scene, but
no other officers are in view; they are apparently inside
the shop, checking on the burglary. SGT. EVELLE SIGERSON
a uniformed officer is a burly man of about 40 with a
deceptively genial air that masks his brutal nature. He
is reporting the situation over his car radio.

SIGERSON
...Dalheim's Electronics at
312 South Meredith. An apparent
robbery. Units L-88 and L-207
are on the scene. Notify Burglary.
This is Sgt. Evelle Sigerson,
out...

While he is reporting, three UNIFORMED POLICE OFFICERS
hurry out of the back door. They are LUTHER WESSON,
a handsome, black in his early 30's, TIM LAWSON, a beefy
man in his 40's and MICK DESMOND, late 30's whose heavy
drinking is beginning to show. All three are loaded
down with cartons of expensive hi-fi equipment, which
they proceed to stuff into the trunks of the two police
cruisers, working at top speed.

POV SHOT - FROM A LARGE PACKING CASE

Sigerson finishes his report, hurries to the rear of his
car to help with the loading of the cartons.

REVERSE ANGLE - ON DIZ

a black teenager, wearing a black T-shirt, black jeans and
a blue and white bandana like a sweat-band around his
head. He is curled up inside the packing crate, where he
has been sleeping off a fix. The feverish activity around the
store has awakened him and he cannot believe what he is seeing.

BACK TO SCENE

As the cops finish loading the cartons into the trunks
of the Cruisers and slam down the lids.

DIZ

Who's been watching, nervously, decides to decamp. As he
crawls out of the crate he accidentally kicks a tin can.

ON SIGERSON

reacting to the RATTLE of the empty can. He spins around,
spots Diz, frozen with fear like a cornered animal.

SIGERSON
What the hell...! Stay where
you are...!

As he runs toward him, Diz, tries to run for it. Sigerson
sticks out a foot, trips him and sends him sprawling.
Before Diz can scramble to his feet, Sigerson is on him.

DIZ
(struggling
frantically)
Hey, lemme go, Man! I ain't
gonna say nothin'!

Holding the boy with his left hand, Sigerson raises his
right and brings it down sharply in a judo chop, ending
Diz's pleas and his life, Off CAMERA, of course!

ANOTHER ANGLE

as Luther and the other two officers join Sigerson around
the pitiful body of the dead teenager. Luther hunkers
down, feels for a pulse in Diz's neck, finds none.

SIGERSON
(defensively)
He saw us!

He glares at Desmond and Lawson, challenging them to say
something. They look away. Now he turns to Luther. For
a moment Luther returns the look, his hatred nakedly apparent,
then he, too, looks away and down at:

DIZ

His dead eyes are half-open and a trickle of saliva leaks
from a corner of his slack mouth.

MATCH CUT TO

DIZ

lying now, in an un-zipped body-bag. The ANGLE WIDENS to
reveal MORT BLICK, an M.E., Hunter hunkered down beside
the body, examining the inside of the boy's arms, which
are heavily needle-tracked. Hunter stands nearby, watching
him. Opposite them, Dee Dee is kneeling down, checking the
contents of Diz's pockets; a few dollars in bills and change,
a comb, a switch-blade, some drug paraphernalia. The DRIVER
of the Coroner's wagon stands by, bored, waiting for them
to finish.

HUNTER
What is it, Mort, an O.D.?

Mort shakes his head, no.

MORT
Broken neck.

Sigerson comes up with SGT. ED BIEMEYER, a plainclothes cop
from burglary.

BIEMEYER
(to Dee Dee)
Any I.D. on him?

She shakes her head, no.

DEE DEE
But the blue bandana and
the black pants and shirt makes
him one of the Clips.

SIGERSON
What it looks like to me,
Ed, a bunch of these punks
busted in the door, grabbed
whatever they could carry
and took off. This one must
a jumped on when they were
rolling, lost his grip and
fell.

HUNTER
(skeptical)
What the Clips? They're kids,
They snatch old ladies'
purses, they roll drunks,
they swipe lunch money from
other kids. Sometimes they
cut each other up a little.
But this kind of team-work
burglary? I don't think so..

SIGERSON
(heatedly)
What team-work? It's a simple
smash and grab!
(flaring off Hunter's
look)
Hey, you're telling me what
goes down on my beat, Hunter?!
Look, while you're up there
with the other Homicide hot-
shots, me and my grunts are out
on the streets. Everyday,
every night! I know
what goes down here, I don't
need you telling me!

BIEMEYER
Yeah, well, maybe we oughta
sweat some of these street
gangs. The Clips and what's
the name of that other one?

He leads Sigerson off.

SIGERSON
The Creems...

BIEMEYER
Yeah, the Creems. Let's
bring some of the leaders
in tomorrow morning...

HOLD ON Hunter and McCall watching them go and exchanging
helpless looks. The M.E. rises from the examination of
the body.

MORT
(to Hunter)
I'll tell you one thing.
The kid didn't break his neck
falling off a moving vehicle.

HUNTER
How then...

MORT
I'll be able to tell you
after the P.M. Talk to you...
(to driver)
Okay, Finley, let's go home.

The driver goes to the body and zips up the body-bag.

FINLEY
(singing a la Don
Meredith)
Turn out the lights,
The party's over...

DEE DEE
(disgustedly)
Catchy tune. You oughta sing
it at the funeral. His
family'll love ya for it!

Play the moment and:

CUT TO.

EXT. PRECINCT PARKING LOT - DAY

A paddy-wagon is pulled up at the side (?) entrance and
some UNIFORMED COPS are herding a rowdy group (8) of Latino
JUVENILES, the CREEMS dressed in white T-shirts and baggy
chinos and wearing red and white bandana sweatbands, out
of the wagon and into the precinct.

INT. STAIRWELL - DAY

As the CREEMS are being herded up the stairs they confront
six CLIPS being escorted down the stairs. The CLIPS
are blacks, dressed in black T-shirts and jeans and blue
and white bandanas. There is no love lost between the
groups and the insults fly.

The fists and the feet start to fly.

ANGLE TO HUNTER AND McCALL

as they appear at the head of the stairs then wade into
the melee to help the uniforms restore order. One of the
blacks, LEON, a scrawny kid of 17, is being pounded by
two burly Creems. Hunter bulls through the crowd, pulls
Leon clear and leads him off to safety.

EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY

As Hunter, Dee Dee and Leon exit the precinct, Leon is
spitting and checking his teeth to make sure he's still
got all of them.

LEON
Man, they're crazy, you know that!

HUNTER
You're just as bad as them.
You're all crazy.

LEON
Not us, Hunter, you cops!
Bringin' us Clips and Creems
in here like this together.
I mean, you hadda know what
was gonna go down, you bring
us together.

DEE DEE
You kids got something against
joinin' the human race?

LEON
Hey, we are the human race.
Typical. I mean, nobody
likes nobody who ain't
one of their own, know what
I mean?

DEE DEE
(Sadly)
Know what you mean, Leon.

LEON
Anyway, thanks for keepin'
them Creems from stoppin'
my clock in there. I owe
you one

HUNTER
Stay cool, kid!

As he and Dee Dee start off:

LEON
Hey!
(they turn)
Them smash-and-grabs they're
tryin' to pin on us, it's
a bummer. We didn't do it.

HUNTER
I know. But keep tryin', kid,
and you'll grow into it.

LEON
Hey, not me. Hunter. Those
eight months on the Farm
you got me, convinced me.
I'm into break dancin'.
(a few steps to
demonstrate)
Anyway, about these heists...

The rest of the Clips pile boisterously out of the door
onto the parking lot, interrupting. They are rumpled
and bruised and high with excitement.

DEE DEE
What about them...

Before Leon can reply, the other Clips spot him.

AD LIBS
Hey, Leon. Come on, Baby!
We're free! Yeah, tell 'em
pigs to go stuff it!
Yeah, they can't hold ya!

Leon acknowledges them with a wave, turns back to Hunter
and Dee Dee.

LEON
Catch ya later...

He starts off.

HUNTER
About those heists...

LEON
(over his shoulder)
Think blue, man...

And he's off and running with his friends. HOLD ON Hunter
and McCall, puzzled by the remark. The door to the parking
lot opens and four UNIFORMED COPS, exit, catching their
attention.

ON THE COPS - THEIR POV

as they move, joking and laughing, to their cars.

BACK TO HUNTER AND DEE DEE

DEE DEE
Think blue...?

Neither of them likes the thought! Hunter is about to go
after Leon to question him, further, when:

SMITTY (O.S.)
Hey, Hunter...!

They turn as SMITTY, a Uniform, hurries to them.

SMITTY
(continuing)
Got a call from Murfree's Bar.
They want you over there.
Charley Coster's pulling another
wing-ding.
Hunter's obviously under-joyed.

HUNTER
Yeah, okay, Smitty. Tell 'em
I'm on my way.

DEE DEE
You oughta tell Charley to lay
off the sauce. He can't
handle it anymore.

HUNTER
(cryptically)
It isn't the sauce he can't
handle. You coming?

DEE DEE
(shaking her head, no)
I'd rather have a root canal.
See you later.

And Hunter goes on his way.

CUT TO

INT. MURFREE'S BAR - DAY

No decor, no entertainment, no cuisine. The place is
crowded with off-duty cops doing some serious relaxing over
various and varied alcoholic beverages. The ANGLE is to
SGT.CHARLEY COSTER, seated alone at the bar. He is a big
man in his late 40's and nearly 30 years of police duty
is etched on his craggy face. He has been drinking to drown
the psychic pain that is consuming him. The booze hasn't
affected his speech or his equilibrium, nor has it eased
his pain. What it's done is made him mean as a wounded bear,
which is why the others at the bar are giving him space.

He gulps down his straight shot, bangs the empty glass
down on the bar.

CHARLEY
(to barmaid)
Do me again, Aggie.

Against her better judgment, she refills his glass and moves
away. Charley glowers at his neighbors, reacts to a young,
plainclothes COP'S distasteful look.

CHARELY
(belligerently)
You looking at me?
(the cop looks away)
Hey, you! You in the suit!
I'm talking to you.

He's got the young cop's attention, now.

CHARLEY
Yeah, you! You want something!

YOUNG COP
(to companion,
disdainfully)
These old guys that can't
handle their booze...

CHARLEY
I can handle my booze, kiddo.
And I can handle you, too!

He starts out of his chair. Hunter reaches INTO SHOT, takes
him by the shoulder. As Charley spins around, ready to take
him on.

HUNTER
(genially)
Whatta you say, Charley?
How you doing?

CHARLEY
Hey, Rick! I'm doing great!
And I'm just about to do a
lot better!

He starts to turn back toward the young cop, keyed up and
ready to fight. The cop is bristling and ready to go.
Hunter gives him a surreptitious, "cool it" gesture and the
cop's companion draws him away.

HUNTER
Yeah, well, whatta you say we
have a drink together first.

CHARLEY
With you, kid, any time.
(shouting to Aggie)
Hey, Aggie, pour one for
my friend, Rick here, too!

HUNTER
Let's take a table. I hate
drinking standing up. It's
too long a fall to the floor.

He eases Charley off the stool and away from the bar.
As they pass the young cop:

CHARLEY
I'll see you later, junior.

Hunter waves off the bristly cop and hurries Charley away
to a nearby table.

ANGLE TO TABLE

as Hunter slides Charley into a chair and joins him.

CHARLEY
Young punks think they're
tough...

HUNTER
Come on Charlie, forget it.
(a beat)
So... ?

Charley lower his eyes, stares down at his hands, flexes
them, then looks up at Hunter. His face shows anguish and
tears brighten his eyes.

CHARLEY
What's she doin' this to me
for? Why? I mean, I ain't
Mr. Right in her life, so
okay. Come out an' tell me,
Charley, it ain't workin' for
me, I ain't happy. I mean,
come right out with it, boom!
Don't go sneakin' around
behind my back with other
guys, makin' me look like
a jerk in front a my friends.

HUNTER
Hey, nobody thinks you're a
jerk, Charley.

CHARLEY
Yeah, well I feel like one.
Man, I don't know what to do.
I just don't know.

HUNTER
What do you want, Charley, a
divorce?

CHARLEY
(too quickly)
No!
(then)
I don't know. If she's gonna
keep cheatin' on me, yeah, I
suppose so. I got some pride,
you know.

HUNTER
So tell her, Charley. Tell
her how you feel.
(off his show of
reluctance)
It's the only way to straighten
things out with Vera.

CHARLEY
You're right, Hunter, that's
what I've gotta do. Tell her I
know what's been goin'
on and how I feel about it.
Get everything out in the open.
(grim determination)
Like right now.

He rises from the table.

CHARLEY
(continuing)
You're right Rick. I gotta
hit her with it, boom!

And on the "boom" we:

SMASH CUT TO;

EXT. AN OLDER APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY LOW ANGLE - SLO-MO

As VERA crashes through a sixth-story window.

OMITTED

EXT. THE STREET - DAY

People look upward, then horrified PASSERS-BY lean into SHOT
to stare at Vera's body. A MAN turns to look upwards again
CAMERA TILTS UPWARD toward the shattered window from which
she fell, ZOOMS IN for a CLOSE SHOT OF Charley as he leans
out and looks downward.

MATCH CUT TO:

INT. BOOKING AREA - DAY - CLOSE ON CHARLEY

Facing into CAMERA.

CHARLEY
I didn't do it, Hunter...

A brilliant FLASH OF LIGHT and the ANGLE WIDENS TO include
the POLICE TECHNICIAN, who is shooting mug shots of Charley.
Hunter stands to one side, out of camera range.

TECHNICIAN
Turn and face the wall, will ya
Sgt. Coster?

Charley turns for the profile shot. The Technician focuses,
shoots, and then turns off the lights and goes to lead Charley
to another part of the room to get his finger prints.
Hunter intercedes.

HUNTER
Let me talk to him another
minute, will you, Jack? Alone?

The Technician shrugs, moves off out of ear-shot.

HUNTER
Charley, there's four witnesses
heard you and your wife hollering
at each other for ten minutes
before she went out the window.
And a lady across the way
swears she saw you shove her.

CHARLEY
(emotionally)
They couldn't have! It wasn't
me! She was already out
the window by the time I got
to the apartment!

HUNTER
If it was that close, you had
to see the guy that did it!

CHARLEY
I just missed him. I heard the
fire escape door slam when I
was getting out of the elevator
and somebody running down
the stairs! It was probably
the guy, but I didn't see him!
Hell, I didn't know anything was
wrong until I got into the
apartment!

His eyes plead for belief. Hunter wants to grant it.

HUNTER
(a plea)
Charley, it's just you and me
here and I've got to know the
truth. Did you kill her?

CHARLEY
(anguished)
You know me better than that, Rick...!

HUNTER
(a harsh plea)
Tell me, Charley!

His eyes bore into Charley's. Charley doesn't flinch.

CHARLEY
(fervently)
I didn't kill her, Rick.
Swear to God.

He kisses the rosary. It's good enough for Hunter. He turns
away.

HUNTER
(to Technician)
I'm through, Jack.

As he starts out and the Technician takes over.

SGT DELROY

bustles into the SCENE. He's about 40 and his dress and
manner identify him as a Parker Center cop.

DELROY
Aren't you finished with him
yet?

TECHNICIAN
Another five minutes.

As he goes about the business of taking Charley's prints:

DELROY
Hurry it up, will you? Central
Homicide wants him downtown.

HUNTER
What's your rush? He isn't
meat, he won't spoil.

Cox gives him a cold stare.

DELROY
A killer-cop? In my book he's already
rotten. .

The Technician has inked Charley's finger tips and is taking
his prints. It's too painful for Hunter to watch.

CUT TO

EXT. PRECINCT PARKING LOT - DAY ON McCALL

leaning against Hunter's car, waiting. She straightens up
as he comes out of the building and crosses to her. From
his expression, she knows all is not well. She waits for
him to tell her.

HUNTER
(brusquely)
Central Homicide's taking over
the case. They're moving
Charley downtown.

DEE DEE
S.O.P. when a cop's accused
of a major felony.

HUNTER
(bitterly)
Accused! The cop they sent
to pick him up already's
got him convicted.

Dee Dee maintains a judicious silence. Hunter reads
her doubts.

HUNTER
(hotly)
He's innocent, dammit!
I know he is!

DEE DEE
I understand your feelings,
Hunter. I mean you and Charley
go way back, I know...

HUNTER
(emotionally)
No, you don't know, McCall! I've
known Charley Coster since I was
a dumb kid running the streets!
He kicked my butt a lot, he slapped
me around, sometimes. But
the one thing he never did, he never
once lied to me! About anything!
(beat)
I don't care how it looks.
Charley Coster tells me he's in-
nocent...

He bites off the rest, turns and gets into the car. Dee Dee
hesitates a moment, thinks and then joins him.

INT. CAR - DAY HUNTER AND DEE DEE

HUNTER
Look, Central Homicide doesn't like
other cops messing around their
cases. You could get in trouble.

DEE DEE
I can get in trouble on
my own just as easy.
(fastens her seat belt)
So wherever you were going,
drive...

He gives up, fires up and drives off, secretly pleased at
having her aboard.

INT. ROBBERY RECORDS - DAY

Dee Dee has opened a desk-drawer containing Vera's personal
belongings. It's typical assortment: used cosmetics, a
nasal inhalator, headache pills, Alka Seltzer, a comb, brush,
emery boards, nail-polish, a plastic rain-hood, etc. Included
is an enlarged color snapshot of Charley and Vera posed against
an ND background in obviously happier times. She was a stunning
woman of about 30.

Hunter reaches into the drawer, extracts the photo and looks
at it.

HUNTER
Poor Charley...

INSERT THE PHOTO

HUNTER
I can see why he went for her.
But what'd she see in a 50 year-old
beat-cop?

Dee Dee pokes curiously through the stuff in the drawer.

DEE DEE
There was this police psychiatrist
once said he could tell everything
there was to know about a woman by
the junk she kept in her desk.

As she takes a large manila envelope to load Vera's things into:

Hunter drops the photo into it.

HUNTER
What's all this junk tell
you, besides she was part
pack-rat?

ON DEE DEE

She shoots him a look. Then picks up a lipstick uncaps it,
and sniffs it.

DEE DEE
She was living way beyond her
salary as a police clerk. This
stuff is twenty-two fifty
a pop.

Impressed, Hunter takes the lipstick from her, sniffs it.

HUNTER
Nice...

Dee Dee goes through the drawer, item by item, dropping each
into the envelope after commenting on it.

DEE DEE
She had some sinus trouble or hay
fever...lots of headaches and....

Hunter gets into the spirit of the game. He picks out a
travel folder...ROMANTIC RIO... to which an airline ticket
envelope is stapled.

HUNTER
And a yen to travel, it looks
like...

ADA (V.O.)
I'm sorry I had to keep you
waiting...

They turn as ADA comes to them. She is a plain-looking,
uniformed police woman in her 30's. She is carrying a half
dozen official file folders. Hunter stuffs the travel folder
and ticket envelope into his jacket pocket.

ADA
Current files are such a mess.
We needed extra help just to
keep up with the flood of burglary
reports even before we lost poor
Vera. Now...

HUNTER
(looking through files)
Same general area of the city, same
types of stores hit, same general
M.O... What were these reports
doing in Current Files? They
should have been sent to the
Special Files for further
investigation.

Ada peers at the files, puzzledly.

ADA
You're absolutely right, Sergeant.
(puzzled)
I don't understand it. Vera was
always extremely efficient...
(beat)
However -- she wasn't herself
the last week or so. It was
almost as if she knew...

She glances at them, looking for encouragement to go on.
They say nothing and she goes on, anyhow.

ADA
I shouldn't be telling you this -
one should never speak ill of the
dead -- but there were other men
and sooner or later her husband
had to find out...

DEE DEE
Other men. Some? A bunch?
What?

ADA
(lamely)
Actually, I only saw her with
one man. They were having lunch
together about a week before
she was...

She let's it hang for a moment. Then:

ADA
He was a black man.
(off Hunter's and Dee Dee's
cold looks, flustered)
I--I just mentioned it for
purposes of identification.

HUNTER
Sure. Well, thanks for your
time.

ADA
No trouble at all...

HUNTER
Mind if we take these?

He means Vera's personal things, which Dee Dee has been
stuffing into the envelope while they've been speaking.

ADA
I don't see why not...

Dee Dee is about to tell her but Hunter silences her with a
warning look. He takes the file folders from Ada.

HUNTER
You've been real helpful. Thanks.
McCall...?

She takes the manila envelope and goes off with him. Once the
are safely out of Ada's hearing:

DEE DEE
Hunter, we're stepping all over
Central Homicide's toes taking
this stuff.

She means the stuff in the envelope.

HUNTER
If they were on their toes
they'd have been here yesterday
and picked it up, but I don't
think they're gonna bother to
show up at all.

DEE DEE
You hope...

Hunter's mind is elsewhere. He stops, takes out the travel
folder and ticket envelope, looks at them and reads aloud:

HUNTER
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Coster...

DEE DEE
What is that?

HUNTER
A pair of airline tickets to
Rio, looks like. I wonder how
come Charley never said anything
about them?

DEE DEE
(dryly)
Maybe Vera was going to surprise him.

Off Hunter's look:

CUT TO

OMITTED

OMITTED

INT. FONTANA TRAVEL AGENCY - DAY

Hunter and McCall are waiting at the counter. LILY DOMINICI,
a robust woman in her 50's, comes up to them, carrying a ledger.

LILY
Here we are, Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Coster. Two tickets to Rio via
Miami, economy class. Flight
number 3704, departing LAX
11 PM on the 29th.

HUNTER.
Who made the reservations?

LILY
Mrs Coster. She phoned in and
gave me the number of her
husband's credit card. Either
she or her husband would present
the card and sign when they
picked up the tickets. It's
done that way all the time.

HUNTER
And did they pick them up?

LILY
(checking)
She did on the 18th. But then
on the 26th, Mr. Coster came
in and cancelled the reservations.

HUNTER
(dismayed)
The 26th! You're sure of
that date?

Lily shows him the ledger, points to the entry:

LILY
Black and white...

DEE DEE
On the 26th, Charley cancels
their vacation plans and on
the 27th she's dead.

She bites back the rest, but it's too late; Hunter's already
made the same connection and it's almost killing him!

EXT. ALLEY PARKING AREA - NIGHT

Dawn, actually. A delivery van is parked in the shadows
behind a block of expensive shops, one of which displays a
sign reading: QUALI-TONE, CUSTOM T.V. AND HI-FI.

DEE DEE(V.O.)
What time is it?

INT. DELIVERY VAN - HUNTER AND DEE DEE

on stake-out. Hunter is slouched down behind the wheel,
eyes closed. Dee Dee's butt is aching. Hunter forces his
eyes open and squints at his watch.

HUNTER
Coming up five ayem.

DEE DEE
(bitching)
For five years I've had to lose
sleep checking out Pee Dee Intell-
igence tips. And you know how many
have panned out?

Hunter raises a hand, his thumb and forefinger forming a zero,

DEE DEE
So let's go home.

HUNTER
We'll give it another fifteen minutes.
If nothing goes down, we'll split.

DEE DEE
Another wasted night.

HUNTER
String enough of 'em together and
they give you a pension.

DEE DEE
You know how many nights like this
old Charley spent and they're not gonna
give him a pension. He'll be lucky
they don't give him the cyanide.

A car turns into the alley. They stiffen. It's a black and
white. They relax as it moves on up the alley and out of sight.

DEE DEE
It's cancelling those airline tickets
that's gonna nail him to the wall. If
he hadn't done that...

HUNTER
(bothered)
I know, I know. I'm gonna hit him
with it first chance I get.

Another vehicle. This time a black van. It enters the alley
cruises slowly at the shops, slowing even more as it comes
abreast of an expensive leather boutique. The radio in the
van is turned up, we can HEAR some CHATTER that could be police
radio traffic.

The light over the rear license plate is out. They strain
to see it until the van reaches the end of the alley, turns
onto the street and disappears.

DEE DEE
Did you catch the license number?

HUNTER
(writes it down)
Yeah. What do you think? Have we
lucked out on this stake-out?

DEE DEE
We're due for something good
to happen...

Someone reaches through his window and shoves a .38
revolver at him. And someone else shoves the barrel of
a .12 gauge shotgun through Dee Dee's window into her
face.

VOICE
Blink one eye and you're gone!

FADE OUT

END OF ACT ONE

************************************************************

ACT TWO

FADE IN

EXT. ALLEYWAY - NIGHT - MOMENTS LATER

Sigerson and the other uniformed cop, JENSEN (NO LINES),
have put away their guns and are relaxed.

Inside the delivery van. Hunter and Dee Dee are pissed-off.

HUNTER
Some lousy joke, Sigerson , you
coulda got somebody killed.

McCLOSKEY
What joke? The beat cops
spotted you and figured you were
a couple a wise guys casing one
of the stores here. I had to check
you out.

DEE DEE
If you'd a checked with the
watch commander like you shoulda,
he'd a told you we were on a
stake-out, here.

McCLOSKEY
What do you want me to do, McCall,
eat grass?
(to Hunter)
What're you doin' here anyhow?
-- You get demoted to burglary?

HUNTER
No, Sigerson , we're still on
homicide. That's what we're doin'
here -- you remember the dead
kid we found the other night.

McCLOSKEY
(stiffens just
a little)
You call that homicide?

HUNTER
That's what it's called. The M.E.
says somebody busted his neck --
probably with a judo chop.

And on that. Hunter fires up the van and pulls out, leaving
with an apprehensive look on his face.

INT. DELIVERY VAN - MOVING

It's practically daylight now. Dee Dee is pissed.

DEE DEE
Damn Sigerson! We were looking
down their throats, we'd of had
'em cold if he hadn't scared them
off! Stupid jerk!

HUNTER
Scared who off?

DEE DEE
The van, Hunter! They were gonna
hit that Hi Fi store!

HUNTER
Forget it, McCall, I don't think
that van had anything to do with
anything.

DEE DEE
Come on, Hunter! You wanna know
what I think? I think it was
the burglars!

HUNTER
Y'know what I think? I think it's
time we had a little chat with
Leon.

Off her puzzled look:

CUT TO:

EXT. HOLLYWOOD BLVD. - DAY

Leon and three other CLIPS are break dancing to the music
from a huge ghetto blaster on the sidewalk near the Mann's
Chinese.

Hunter drives up, waits until the number comes to an end,
then gets out of the car.

Leon spots him.

LEON
Heat!

And takes off! The other kids scatter, too, one of them
scooping up the blaster as he goes.

THE CHASE

Neither too long or too fast and ending in a nearby alley
with Leon spreading himself against a wall and waiting
for Hunter to catch up.

HUNTER
What the hell, Leon, all I wanted
was to talk to you.

LEON
I know, man, but I got my image
to think of! Come on, put the
cuffs on!

Hunter does him the favor, leads him off.

INT. HUNTER'S SEDAN - DAY

Dee Dee looks out in surprise as Hunter brings Leon to the
car in handcuffs and puts him in the back seat.

DEE DEE
What are you busting him for?

HUNTER
His image.

He gets into the car, fires up.

LEON
Hey, you can take off the cuffs now.

HUNTER
I think I lost my key.

He drives off.

LEON
I think I lost my voice.

Hunter digs the key from his jacket pocket, passes it across
to Dee Dee. She removes the cuffs.

LEON
So, my man?

HUNTER
So think blue, Leon.

LEON
Hey, Hunter, that wasn't nothin'
but a wise remark. You know.

HUNTER
Hey, McCall, what do you think
Leon, here, would get if we patted
him down and found a couple
of lee-roys on him?

LEON
(alarmed)
Hey, c'mon...

DEE DEE
With his priors? Six-eight months
on the Farm at least. Maybe a
year.

LEON
Come on, guys, you wouldn't!

Hunter swings the car toward the curb, brakes to a stop.

LEON
(panicking)
Okay, okay, I'm thinking blue!

HUNTER
(prompting)
So?

LEON
So those smash-an'-grabs the
Burglary Squad's been tryin' to
pin on us street gangs? The
word around is, the dudes who
are really responsible are the
ones bustin' our chops.

DEE DEE
You already said that, Leon. Spell
it out.

LEON
All I know is what's on the wind.

Hunter's had it with him. He climbs out of the car, goes
to the rear curbside door. Opens it.

HUNTER
Out Leon!

He reaches into the car and hauls Leon out onto the side-
walk, spins him around and shoves him against the car along-
side Dee Dee's window.

HUNTER
Spread! Let's see what you're
holding.

He starts the frisk. Leon tries to squirm away. Hunter
grabs him, slams him back against the car and holds him
there.

LEON
(panicked)
It's a cop name a Luther Wesson.
He's one of 'em.

HUNTER
One of who?

Leon remains silent until Hunter gives him a rough shake.

LEON
The cops that have been pullin'
all them store burglaries.

DEE DEE
Says who, Leon? You and who else?

Leon says nothing. Hunter gives him another, rougher
shake.

LEON
(in misery)
Oh, man, Hunter...
(off another rough
shake)

It was a bro. Diz. He says one
night he seen a buncha cops cleanin’
out that TV store on Benson. They
was runnin' in an’ outta there
like ants, loadin' the TV's in the
trunks of their police cars. Can
you dig it? In their police cars!

HUNTER
So how come this Diz recognized
Luther Wesson, is it?

LEON
Luther Wesson was his cousin.

Hunter and Dee Dee exchange looks. Then;

HUNTER
Where do we find this Diz?

LEON
Where his folks buried him. He
was the kid got his neck busted
the night that last smash-and-
grab went down.

DEE DEE
Cute, Leon. Using a corpse for
corroboration!

LEON
Gimme a break lady. You asked me
what I know, I told ya...

HUNTER
Leon, if you're shuckin' us...

LEON
Swear to God, Hunter!

Hunter loosens his grip and Leon takes off like.
They watch him go, then turn and get back into
Hunter's car.

INT. HUNTER'S CAR – DAY

As he fires up and drives off.

DEE DEE
Leave it to us to wind up with
the worst kind of case any cop
can get stuck with. A bunch
of rotten cops!

HUNTER
Because Leon says so? Hey, I'm
not gonna buy that until I get
a lot more proof than
just his word for it.

Play the moment.

INT. PRECINCT FILE ROOM - DAY - CLOSE ON FILE

featuring WESSON'S I.D. PHOTO. It is a handsome, light
complexioned black man in his 30's.

DEE DEE
Leon was telling the truth about
one thing, anyway. Luther's
a cop all right. Just barely.

ANGLE WIDENS to reveal Hunter and McCall alone in the file
room, checking over Wesson's file.

HUNTER
What do you mean, just barely?

DEE DEE
You remember a few years ago they
busted a bunch of cops in the Ken-
more Division for shaking down
some local merchants?

HUNTER
Luther was one of them?

DEE DEE
I.A. thought so, but they couldn't
pin anything on him. So they
transferred him over to our Divi-
sion. And you want to know who
approved the transfer? You ready
for this -- Sgt. Charles W. Coster.

HUNTER
(doggedly)
Charley's gotta approve every
transfer. It's part of his job...
(off Dee Dee's
look)
Besides, we don't know this is the
guy Vera was...

He breaks it off, abruptly, takes up the file and looks at
it, angrily. As. the CAMERA MOVES IN for a CLOSE SHOT of
Luther's photo:

HUNTER(v.o.)
(harshly)
Okay, okay, let's ask...!

MATCH CUT TO

INT. ROBBERY RECORDS - DAY - INSERT LUTHER'S PHOTO

ADA(v.o.)
That's him...

The ANGLE WIDENS and we see ADA looking at Luther's photo.
he hands it back to Hunter.

HUNTER
You only saw them together once,
right?

AGA
Yes, at lunch. But that wasn't
The first time they'd been to-
gether. Obviously.

HUNTER
(nettled)
What do you mean, obviously?
They were in a public place,
right?

ADA
Even in a public place you can
tell pretty well what a couple
is doing in private, if you know
what I mean...

Dee Dee moves in quickly to stifle Hunter's reply.

DEE DEE
Yeah, well, thanks again for your
cooperation. Come on, Hunter...

She starts to lead him off, remembers, turns back and
retrieves the photo. As she and Hunter go off:

ADA
(flatly)
Nice looking fella...

CUT TO

INT. JAIL VISITING ROOM - DAY -- ON CHARLEY

seated opposite Hunter and Dee Dee in one of the visitor's
cubicles. He's up-tight, bitter.

CHARLEY
How about that scuzz-ball, Luther!
I okay his transfer, give him a
second shot and what's he do?
Hits on my wife!

HUNTER
The guy was dirty, Charley. How
come you took him in?

CHARLEY
Sigerson knew him. He said he'd
been given a bum rap because he
was black and asked me to give
him a break.

DEE DEE
(taking her shot)
Is that why you killed her, Charley?
For making it with a black man?

CHARLEY
(hot)
How many times I gotta say it,
McCall? I didn't kill her!

He glares at her angrily.

HUNTER
Charley. I gotta ask you. The
day before she went out the
window, you cancelled a vacation
trip you'd planned with Vera...

CHARLEY
I never had no vacation trip
planned with Vera...

HUNTER
Charley, we talked to the travel
agency...

CHARLEY
(over-riding him)
You wanna hear my side or no? The
day before, I found a couple of
airplane tickets to Miami, charged
to my credit card. My card! Hey,
she's gonna go away with another
guy without telling me, that's
sleazy enough. But sticking me
with the tab?! You bet I cancelled!

DEE DEE
Charley, you said Vera had already
gone out the window when you got
home, right?

CHARLEY
I still say it.

DEE DEE
The guy from Central Homicide
figured how long it would take
to go from Murfree's to your
place. He says you had to have
got there ten minutes before
Vera died.

CHARLEY
(emotionally)
You two! You come here like you're
my friends...
(breaks it off and looks
at Hunter accusingly)
I left you at Murfree's, I was
a little drunk. Hot. I stopped
off at that little park halfway
between -- you know the one. I
sat there to cool down, think
over what I was going to say to
her.

HUNTER
If it wasn't you, Charley, who?
Who do you think could'a done it?

CHARLEY
Maybe she found another stud and
Luther was jealous. Or maybe --
hell, what do I know? You're the
homicide cop, Hunter. You figure
it out.

Play the moment, and;

CUT TO

EXT. HUNTER'S CAR - RUNBY - DAY

DEE DEE (V.O.)
Hunter, will you listen a minute?

INT. HUNTER'S CAR - DAY – MOVING

Hunter's driving.

DEE DEE
I'm not trying to nail Charley.
I'm just laying it out the way
it looks from Central Homicide's
point of view!

Hunter shrugs. She hesitates, continues.

DEE DEE
Okay. Charley is a watch commander.
He brings in Luther Wesson, a cop with
a bad rep. Vera, Charley's wife,
works as a clerk in Robbery Records.
Now, there's a series of burglaries
being pulled off and Vera doesn't
flag 'em for the special file.

HUNTER
(interrupting
impatiently)
And you think it all adds up to
what?

DEE DEE
When I add two and two I get four.
What do you get?

CUT TO

EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY

A stucco masterpiece in a decent neighborhood. LUTHER
WESSON sharply dressed and carrying a suitcase, comes out of
building, crosses to a late-model sedan parked at the curb,
tosses his suitcase into the back and climbs in behind the
wheel. Before he can fire up and pull away, Hunter's car
veers sharply over, cuts in front of him and pulls to a
stop, pinning him to the curb.

ANOTHER ANGLE

Hunter piles out of his car, crosses quickly to Luther
still in his car. Luther looks across at Hunter, startled,
Then, recognizing him:

LUTHER
Hunter, what the...?

Hunter leans in through Luther's window.

HUNTER
Gotta talk to you.

LUTHER
Look, man, I'm in kind of a rush.
Catch me at the Precinct later...

HUNTER
At the precinct, huh, Luther. Person-
nel tells me that you turned in your
badge this morning. So when were
you planning to go back to the
Precinct?

Luther looks trapped. He turns as if to bolt through the
passenger's side, pulls up short. Dee Dee has got out of
Hunter's car unnoticed and now stands blocking the passen-
ger's door. She smiles.

DEE DEE
Kind of a sudden decision, wasn't
it?

LUTHER
Not so sudden. I've been thinking
about it for a while.

HUNTER
For how long? Ever since Vera
Coster went out the window?

LUTHER
Who's Vera Coster?

DEE DEE
You quit your job so you can take
off for South America with a lady
and you don't even know her name?
Come on, Luther.

LUTHER
Hey, I didn't have anything to do
with that. That's Charley's pack-
age, man. I wasn’t anywhere near
there.

Irked, Hunter jerks open the door of Luther's car.

HUNTER
Come on, Luther, let's go someplace
where we can talk.

He grabs a fistful of Luther's jacket and yanks him out of
the car.

LUTHER
Hey, man, you can't...

Hunter can and does, manhandling Luther roughly from the
car into a nearby alleyway. Dee Dee follows.

EXT. THE ALLEYWAY DAY

As Hunter, hanging onto Luther's leather jacket, shoves him
ahead of him off the street. Hunter shoves him against the
wall before releasing him.

LUTHER
(protesting)
Go easy, Hunter, you'll
tear it...

HUNTER
Nice hunk of leather. You didn't
buy that on your salary did you?

LUTHER
What's it to you, Hunter, how I
spend my money?

HUNTER
Depends on how you got it. What
I hear is you and some other cops
are moonlighting as smash-and-
grab burglars.

LUTHER
Come on...!

HUNTER
(implacably)
Was Vera Coster in on it with you?
(no response)
How about your old pal, Sgt.
Sigerson?

LUTHER
(a moan of pain)
Oh, man Hunter. Where are you
getting all this garbage?

HUNTER
Is it true?

Luther moans. Hunter grabs another handful of Luther's
jacket and gives him a rough shake.

HUNTER
Gimme the courtesy of a reply,
Luther!

LUTHER
You guys got it all wrong, hey.
It isn't anything like that.

DEE DEE
So tell us.

LUTHER
It's, well, Vera and Sgt.
Sigerson , they were kind of
you know tight. Then this and
that happened and, you know, she
broke it off with him.

DEE DEE
And became your lady, right?

Luther's reply is a shrug.

HUNTER
So, if that's all it is, why are
you running away?

LUTHER
Hey, Charley threw her out of the
window, didn't he? I could be
next.

DEE DEE
Why? He didn't do anything
to Sigerson. So why are you
so scared?

LUTHER
(a cornered rat)
Hey, you got something on me, read
my rights and take me in and book
me. Otherwise, get off my case!

HUNTER
You want it that way, Luther, you've
got it!

He spins Luther away from the wall, shoves him ahead of him
toward the cars. Luther goes along for a few steps, sud-
denly bolts.

ANOTHER ANGLE

As Luther takes off and Hunter and McCall start after him.

AN N.D. SEDAN

the Driver unidentifiable, slows down as it comes abreast
of Luther. SHOTS are fired from the car and Luther goes
down. Hunter and McCall hit the deck, too, then jump up,
drawing their guns, and try for a shot at the car. But
it is already out of range.

Dee Dee tries to get a clear look at the car's license plate
before it disappears around the first corner.

DEE DEE
(frustrated)
Dammit, I could only get the first
half of the plate, Hunter. Did you
catch it...?

She turns, sees Hunter bending over Luther, feeling for a
pulse in his neck. He looks across at her, shaking his head.
Luther's dead.

FADE OUT

END OF ACT TWO

***********************************************************

ACT THREE

FADE IN

EXT. PRECINCT PARKING LOT DAY

Hunter drives into the lot, parks the heap in an empty slot
and he and Dee Dee get out. As they head for the precinct
entrance, they walk right past the murder car parked near
the door. A MOTOR POOL WORKER, in cover-alls and rubber
boots is washing the car.

DEE DEE
(as they go)
It's probably a waste of time,
but I'll run what I got of that
license number through DMV.
Maybe we'll get lucky.

Hunter's look tells her what he thinks their odds are.

DEE DEE
(continuing)
Where'll you be if I need you?

HUNTER
Sigerson's office.

INT. TACTICAL SERGEANT'S OFFICE - DAY

Hunter is confronting Sigerson across his desk, the tension
between them, heavy.

SIGERSON
...Hey, you've got to know
more'n I do. You were right
there when Luther got gunned
down, all I got is a report.
Next question.

HUNTER
Let's talk about Vera Coster.

SIGERSON
Charley's wife? Everybody's
free lunch. So what?

HUNTER
So both of them were connected
to you and both of them have
wound up murdered.

Sigerson rises slowly from behind his desk, leans forward,
supporting his bulk on his knuckles and glowers at Hunter.

SIGERSON
I hate dancing without music,
so play it out, Hunter.

HUNTER
There's a bunch of rotten cops
in this Precinct who've pulled
a half-dozen store burglaries
these past couple of months.
Luther was in on it. So was
Vera...

Sigerson has heard enough; he comes around to the front
of his desk.

SIGERSON
Take that garbage, and dump
it on I.A.'s carpet, not
mine.

HUNTER
I haven't finished, Sigerson,
They were in it, but they
weren't running it. Somebody
else was... you!

SIGERSON
I don't have to listen to this!
Get out!

He hits Hunter's shoulder with the heel of his hand, tries
to crowd him out of his office.

SIGERSON
(continuing)
Come on, out...!

He hits/shoves him again. That's all Hunter will take. He
doubles Sigerson over and sends him down to his knees,
gasping for breath, with a sharp one-two to his mid-
section.

Sigerson makes no effort to get back on his feet.

SIGERSON
(gasping)
You're crazy, Hunter. If I was
doing what you say, why would
I kill my own partners?

HUNTER
Her because she dropped you for Luther,
And you killed Luther to shut him up.

SIGERSON
(a weezy laugh)
Thanks, Hunter. You just made
the case against Charley Coster
iron-clad!

HUNTER
No way, Sigerson. When Luther
Wesson was gunned down, Charley
was in jail.

SIGERSON
You didn't know? The DA decided
to go for murder two! They
kicked him loose on bail at ten
o'clock this morning.

Off Hunter's dismay.

SIGERSON
(continuing, derisively)
Fits poor old Charley like a
glove, doesn't it?

INT. PRECINCT FILE ROOM - DAY

Hunter and Dee Dee are at a reading table covered with
files. She finishes glancing at a file folder, puts it
aside and reaches for another one. While she's checking
the contents:

DEE DEE
I don't like Sigerson any more'n
you do. But he's right. The
collar fits Charley.

HUNTER
It's Sigerson, and I'm gonna
nail him for it!

Something in the file has caught her eye.

DEE DEE
(absently)
Yeah, well don't go out and bet
the family jewels on it.

HUNTER
What do you have?

DEE DEE
The inventory of what they found
in Vera's closet and drawers.
You wanna hear?
(she reads it anyhow)
Designer jeans and dresses,
enough to stock a boutique.
Twenty-two pairs of shoes, the
cheapest seventy bucks a pair.
A ton of gold chains, real
gold, not plate, and panty-hose
at forty bucks a pair, for
crying out loud.

HUNTER
You're telling me Vera was a
thief okay, no argument. Does that
make Charley a thief?

DEE DEE
Look, he was going to retire, right?
Vera knew his pension wouldn't even
cover the cost of her pantyhose, so
she suckered him into it to pad their
retirement fund. Then, when he found
out after she'd made him a thief, she
was gonna run out on him, boom, out the
window.
(off Hunter's anguish)
Charley wouldn't be the first decent
man driven to commit murder by a rotten
wife...

Hunter gropes in vain to find the words to refute her
analysis. But there's more:

DEE DEE
(continuing reluctantly)
There's something else. Charley
was watch commander when all
six burglaries went down.

Hunter takes the blow grimly.

HUNTER
Guess we'd better go talk to
Charley...

INT. CHARLEY'S APARTMENT NIGHT

Charley is seated at the dinette table eating a bowl of
canned chili and saltines, which he washes down with
canned diet coke. Hunter and Dee Dee are also there;
Hunter at the table with Charley, Dee Dee at the window
that Vera went out of.

She turns away from the window to confront Charley. She's
just reached the end of her patience.

CHARLEY
(exploding with bitterness
at Dee Dee)

Twenty years a cop, eight citations,
commendations up to my eyeballs and
you're saying not only did I shove
my wife out the window, but I turned
crooked, too!

McCALL
Charley, the record shows it,
black on white, those burglaries
went down on your watches. I'm
just asking what if anything you
saw or heard that'd give us a
lead...

CHARLEY
The hel1 with ya, McCall...

HUNTER
Come on, Charley, don't be like
that. We're trying to help you.

CHARLEY
Sure, right into the slammer!
You and the whole damn Pee Dee.

HUNTER
Charley...

CHARLEY
(continuing)
Twenty years I gave 'em. My
whole life...

HUNTER
(interrupting)
Stop feeling sorry for yourself
a minute and tell me something.
When you were Watch Commander
those nights, was Sigerson
your Tac Sergeant?

CHARLEY
(irked)
Come on, Sigerson's a good
friend.

HUNTER
Such a good friend, he was having
it on with Vera before Luther came
along.

It's a kick in the balls.

CHARLEY
(weakly)
I don't believe it.

HUNTER
It's true.
(beat)
Charley, somebody inside the precinct
was running a burglary ring. If it
wasn’t! you, it had to be somebody
else -- I think it was Sigerson.

Charley isn't listening.

CHARLEY
(hurting)
We used to be partners.
He was best man at my wedding.

Play the moment and:

EXT. BAR - NIGHT - POV THROUGH WINDSHIELD

A blue-collar bar in a run-down neighborhood. Sigerson, out
of uniform, rounds the corner, enters the bar.

OMITTED

INT. HUNTER'S CAR HUNTER AND DEE DEE

reacting.

HUNTER
There you go! Lawson, Desmond
and now Sigerson . The whole
gang.

DEE DEE
They could be three good friends
meeting for a beer, you know.

HUNTER
Lawson and Desmond were the first
two officers on the scene in every
one of the six burglaries. They
were riding shotgun on the stakeout
we were on. They're the gang.

DEE DEE
Ex-gang. With Vera and Luther
dead and Sigerson knowing we're
onto them, they're not going to
pull another job. And that leaves
Charley up you know where.

HUNTER
I think they're gonna do it again.

DEE DEE
Be logical, Hunter, they know
we're looking down their throats.

HUNTER
Forget logic. With guys like
this, stealing can become an
addiction, like dope.
(a beat)
Go with me on this, McCall.
A couple of days...

She doesn't like it, but she'll do it.

INT. BAR - SIGERSON, DESMOND AND LAWSON

seated in a booth in the rear, huddled over their beers.

LAWSON
...My guy at the distributors
tells me they're delivering a
brand new shipment on Thursday.
Prima stuff. I talked to Gooch
and he said he'd give us two
hundred a unit.

SIGERSON
(flatly)
I said, no, not for any price.

DESMOND
Come on, Mac, it's the best score
we've had...

SIGERSON
Smarten up, you guys! Hunter
knows the set-up. We pull one
more job and he'll be all over
us like a tent. No, we're
quitting while we're ahead.

LAWS ON
Okay, Mac, you don't wanna do
it, don't. It ain't so tough.
Me and Des and Jensen can do
it ourselves.

SIGERSON
What's the matter with you two?
That dead kid makes it a murder
rap with special circumstances.
You so bored breathing air you
want to try cyanide?

DESMOND
You killed that kid, Mac, all
by yourself. It's your package.

LAWSON
(under his breath)
And he ain't the only one...

Sigerson catches it. He spins on Lawson.

SIGERSON
You say something, Lawson?

LAWSON
I -- I was just- agreein' with
Des.

SIGERSON
You were, huh?
(beat)
Look! You were in for the
burglaries, you're in for the
murder. Same as me. So if I
go up the flue, you go with me.
I promise you...

He breaks off as the WAITER comes up to him, leans down and
whispers something into his ear. It's disturbing news
judging from Sigerson’s reaction. As he mulls it over:

CUT TO

INT. HUNTER'S CAR - DEE DEE AND HUNTER

still parked outside the bar. Dee Dee is restless,

DEE DEE
...it's a big waste of time
sitting out here. I mean,
they could be plotting to
bust into the Treasury Depart-
ment Federal Reserve vault and
make off with a ton of gold and
how would we know, sitting out
here in the cold. Besides, I'm
getting hungry.

HUNTER
Give it some time, McCall.
I want to see where Sigerson
goes after he leaves here...

He lets his voice trail off as he sees;

THE WAITER - POV

emerging from the car, carrying two cups of coffee on a
tray. He makes a bee-line for Hunter's car, taps at
Hunter's window.

ANGLE

as Hunter rolls down his window, the Waiter presents
them with the coffee.

WAITER
With Sgt. Sigerson's com-
pliments. He'd of sent out
something stronger but he knows
you're on stakeout duty and it
wouldn't be proper.

HOLD ON their dismay and:

OMITTED

FADE OUT

END OF ACT THREE

*************************************************************

ACT FOUR

FADE IN

INT. PRECINCT - DAY

The usual activity as Hunter and McCall enter SCENE and
make their way to their respective desks.

DEE DEE
(as they move)
...I told you. Sigerson was too
smart to pull another job under
your nose. Didn't I tell you?

HUNTER
One thing in this world I hate,
it's a person who says I told
you so.

Dee Dee's phone is RINGING. She picks it up.

DEE DEE
(into phone)
McCall...yeah, right. You got
it?...
(reacting)
You're sure of that?...Right,
thanks.

She hangs up, puzzledly, turns to Hunter.

DEE DEE
That was DMV. They checked the
partial plate number we caught
on the Fairlane that Luther was
shot from, and it matches one of
ours.

SMASH CUT TO

INT. MOTOR POOL SERVICE BAY - DAY

Hunter and Dee Dee are conferring with the MOTOR POOL
CLERK, a beefy man wearing oil stained coveralls. He
is holding an open ledger, checking for something.

CLERK
(finding what he
was looking for)
Here it is. 2-M-Z-J-3-3-7.
'82 Fairlane.

HUNTER
(impatiently)
Checked out to Sgt. Evelle
Sigerson, right?

CLERK
Nope. Sgt. Charley Coster. If you
want Sgt. Sigerson's vehicle,
it' s....

He starts to look it up.

HUNTER
Don't bother.
(to Dee Dee)
Charley was in custody for three
days. Maybe somebody else...
(to Supervisor)
Did anybody else use that car
during that period?

CLERK
I'll check it out.

He returns to the ledger.

CLERK
Anyone used it, it will be in
here. Now, what dates we talking
about?

HUNTER
The fourteenth of this month will
be good enough.

The Clerk finds the appropriate page, runs his finger
down until he finds what he's looking for.

CLERK
Here we go. 2-M-Z-J-3-3-7.
Checked out at 10:44 AM, returned
at 4:09 PM by — Sgt. Charles W.
Coster, badge # 3435.

Hunter snatches the book from the clerk to see for himself.
Once again, there's no mistake.

HUNTER
Returned at 4:09. Luther was shot
at 3:45. I guess that does it for
Charley.

Dee Dee has again found something.

DEE DEE
Wait a minute, Hunter. Take a look
at this.

She's referring to an entry in the ledger. Hunter leans in
to look.

OMITTED

INSERT - THE LEDGER ENTRY

The focus avoids showing the date, so that all WE SEE is:

(the license #) 2MZJ337, (the make) FAIRLANE, (time out)
10:44 AM, (time in) 4:09 PM, (and the signature) CHARLES W.
COSTER, SGT. Dee Dee's finger points to the entry under
"time in". The "4" in "4:09" looks like it could have been
written with two different pencils, one sharper than the
other.

DEE DEE
Take a good look at that four.

BACK TO SCENE

Hunter peers at it more closely.

DEE DEE
Looks like it was written with two
different pencils, one sharper than
the other.

HUNTER
Like maybe somebody changed a one
to a four?
(to Clerk)
Do you remember what time Sgt.
Coster actually returned this
vehicle?

CLERK
On the 14th? No, I wasn't
on duty that day. My day off.

Hunter's heard enough. He reaches across the counter for
the phone, dials.

CLERK
Hey, is that an official call?

HUNTER
No, I'm calling my bookie...
(into phone)
Charley, Rick Hunter...

INT. CHARLEY'S APARTMENT - DAY ON CHARLEY

In the living room, on the phone. He is visibly depressed.

CHARLEY
Rick.

INTERCUT BETWEEN HUNTER AND CHARLEY AD-LIB

HUNTER
Charley, this is very important.
Did you use your official car
the day you got out of
jail?

CHARLEY
What difference does it
make...?

HUNTER
Charley, it's important.
Did you use the car?

CHARLEY
Yeah. I had some errands to
run and they let me use it.

HUNTER
You remember what time you took
the car out and when you brought
it back?
(no response)
Charley, don't check out on me!
Charley...!

The reason Charley isn't answering, he's riffling through
a stack of receipts on the table. He pulls out the one he's
looking for and returns to the phone.

CHARLEY
Rick? I took the car out at
10:44 and brought it back
in at 1:09.

HUNTER
(suspiciously)
How come you got it down so pat?

CHARLEY
Because I can read what's stamped
on the receipt they gave me when
I brought the car back.

HUNTER
You've got a receipt? God bless
your methodical soul, Charley.
Look, put your shoes on and bring
that receipt down to the Precinct.

CHARLEY
You're spinning your wheels,
Hunter. Not that I don't
appreciate it, but it's a
waste of time. I'm gone.
They're gonna throw me away...

HUNTER
(impatiently)
I don't have time to deal with
this kind of garbage, Charley.
You got a morale problem, go
down to St. Paul's. Work with
some kids, shoot some baskets,
talk to Father Dern. After you
bring me that receipt! Now get
on your horse!

And he hangs up.

ON CHARLEY

He hangs up the phone too, sits there, staring down at
something half covered by some papers. His service revolver,
And it's triggering some disturbing thoughts.

BACK TO HUNTER

He's staring at the phone. It's as if he can almost sense
what's going through Charley's mind. Now he throws it off
and turns to Dee Dee.

HUNTER
Come on, baby...

DEE DEE
Baby?!

HUNTER
A rose by any name. Come on...!

He grabs her by the arm and drags her off.

DEE DEE
Where are we going?

HUNTER
To bust Sigerson for the murder
of Luther Wesson.

DEE DEE
On what evidence?

HUNTER
His face -- when I cuff him.

And they're gone. As the Clerk goes into the office
to put the ledger away, he goes to the phone and dials
an intercom number.

CLERK
(into phone)
Sigerson? This is Ziggy. Look,
I dunno if this is important or
not, but Rick Hunter was just in
here asking about...

CUT TO

INT. PRECINCT - DAY

The usual activity as Hunter and Dee Dee hurry into SCENE
and approach the Tac Sergeant's office. Desmond, working
at a desk outside the office, calls to stop them:

DESMOND
Hey...

They ignore him, push into the office. It's empty. They
turn, exit and come over to Desmond's desk.

HUNTER
Where's Sigersen?

DESMOND
He got a call and he went out. I
tried to tell ya...

HUNTER
A call from who?

DESMOND
He didn't tell me...and I didn't
ask.

Hunter, worried, thinks for a moment then snatches up the
phone on his desk, quickly dials.

CUT TO

INT. CHARLEY'S APARTMENT - DAY

He's about to exit the apartment when the phone RINGS.
He veers over to answer it.

CHARLEY
(into phone)
Yeah?

INTERCUT BETWEEN CHARLEY AND HUNTER AD-LIB

HUNTER
Charley, this is Rick...

CHARLEY
I'm comin', I'm comin'! I was
halfway out the door when...

HUNTER
(over-riding)
I called to tell you to watch
out for yourself. I think
Siqerson's on his way over there.
I think he's gonna try and kill
you...

CHARLEY
(startled)
Sigerson....?! We were friends
before I even met you...

HUNTER
Some friend, I think he
murdered Vera and set you up
for it...

CHARLEY
(shaken)
I can't believe it, Rick...

HUNTER
I'll explain it to you when
you get down here. Meantime you
get out of there. And
if you see Sigerson, run...

CHARLEY
No, no. No way Rick. I don't
want to hear about him and Vera
from you. I'm gonna hear it from
him.

He hangs up the phone.

CUT TO

HUNTER

HUNTER
(into phone)
Charley, don't be a jerk.
Charley...Charley!

He realizes he's holding a dead phone, slams it down, whirls
around and runs off, leaving Dee Dee to run after him.

EXT. CHARLEY'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY

Sigerson drives up in his cruiser, parks in front of the
building.

ANGLE TO SIGERSON

Before alighting from the car, he pauses to check the load
of his service revolver. Satisfied, he gets out of the
car, and goes into the building.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

Sigerson enters SCENE via the fire stairs, goes directly
to the door of Charley's apartment. He puts his ear close
to the door, listens for a moment, then takes a plastic
strip from his pocket and starts diddling the lock.

INT. CHARLEY'S APARTMENT - DAY - POV THE DOOR

As Sigerson_ unlocks the door and slips into the apartment.
His pistol is in his hand, but hidden from our view. As
he turns to ease the door shut, Charley steps into CAMERA'S
view. He, too, has his gun in his hand.

CHARLEY
Hold it right there, Evelle...

Sigerson spins around and does a dive-roll, causing
Charley's hasty SHOT to miss. Sigerson's return SHOT
hits Charley and he goes down. In a near-panic,
Sigerson bolts from the room.

EXT. -APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY

Hunter's car speeds into SCENE, skids to a stop alongside
Sigerson's cruiser. As Hunter and Dee Dee pile out of
their car, Sigerson dashes out of the front entrance of
the building.

Sigerson already has his gun in hand and is able to get off
the first SHOT. Hunter and Dee Dee dive for cover, clawing
for their weapons. Sigerson takes off down the street.

HUNTER
(to Dee Dee)
See if Charley's okay...

And he's off and running after Sigerson while she runs into
the apartment building.

VARIOUS SHOTS

Sigerson dashes across the street and up the driveway of a
one family home. A moment later, Hunter runs into SCENE.
He hesitates, uncertain which way to go.

Sigerson runs across the backyard of the house, through a
clothesline full of clothes. He comes out and trips over
a wheelbarrel full of garden tools. CRASH! A neighbor's
dog begins to BARK FRANTICALLY.

Directed by the commotion, Hunter sprints across the outraged
HOUSEWIFE, whose laundry is now a shambles and towards the
alleyway behind it.

As Hunter runs into the alleyway, CRUNCH, Sigerson swings a
garbage can into him, knocking him sprawling to the ground,
dazed and nearly out of it.

Sigerson dashes off towards a seven foot wooden fence. He
tries to go over it in a running vault, slips and as he
grabs the top of the fence, he becomes hooked on a large
rust hook screwed to the wood. As he tries, frantically
to extricate himself, Hunter, bloody and shaken walks into
SHOT. He watches Sigerson squirming like a worm on a
fish-hook, then, with careful deliberation, reloads his
gun.

SIGERSON
(sensing his doom)
Hunter, don’t...Please!

Hunter lets him sweat it for a long beat, then, uncocking
and bolstering his gun:

HUNTER
You've the right to remain silent,
Sigerson - for all the good it's
gonna do you...!

FREEZE FRAME

FADE OUT

END OF ACT FOUR

TAG

FADE IN

INT. MURFREE'S BAR - DAY - ON CHARLEY COSTER

As he walks in and surveys the bar looking for Hunter and Dee
Hot music plays off the juke box in the background. Hunter
and Dee Dee are not at the bar, but the young officer with
whom Charley had his trouble earlier in our story is sitting
there. He and Charley exchange glowering looks.

HUNTER (V.O.)
Over here, Charley.

Charley turns and sees:

HUNTER AND DEE DEE

in a booth for four.

CHARLEY

as he mouths "later" and sits down at the bar. He glowers
at the young officer.

CHARLEY
(pointing finger)
I'll talk to you after I order my drink.

HUNTER AND DEE DEE

They exchange glances. What in the hell is Charley doing?'

BARMAID

comes over to take Charley's order.

CHARLEY
Gimme a ginger ale and hold the
rocks.

The barmaid looks at Charley in surprise and goes off to
fill the order.

HUNTER AND DEE DEE

they look at each other: "ginger ale"?

AT BAR

The young officer and Charley are exchanging glares. The
barmaid puts the ginger ale in front of Charley. He picks
it up and moves over to the stool next to the young officer.
The young officer tenses ready for another confrontation.

CHARLEY
Yeah, it's ginger ale. But that
don't mean I can't buy you a
real drink.
(smiles)
What're ya having?

The young cop slowly grins as he realizes Charley is apologizing
for the other day.

CHARLEY
(to barmaid)
Whatever my friend's having,
it's on me.

Charley picks up his ginger ale and walks over to join:

HUNTER FND DEE DEE

as Charley sits down next to Hunter and across from Dee Dee.

CHARLEY
Dee Dee, did I ever tell you what
this guy...
(jerks head toward Hunter)
was like fifteen, twenty years ago?

DEE DEE
Nope.

CHARLEY
You got five hours?

On Hunter's and Dee Dee's laugh we:

FADE OUT

THE END