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. 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.
lt'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.
ln the hit show, Badge of Honor,
the L.A. cops walk on water...
...as they keep the city
clean of crooks.
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...
...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.''
You're like Santa Claus with that list.
Except everyone on it's been naughty.
Guy's been out of Q two weeks.
Leave it for later.
We've got to pick up the booze
and get it to the station.
Hollywood, this is 6-Adam-7.
Have Central send a prowler
to 4216 Evergreen.
Parole violation:
assault arising from a family dispute.
We won't be here.
They'll see him.
Quit whining!
Quit whining all the time!
lt makes me sick!
Shut up!
Who the hell are you?
The ghost of Christmas past.
Dance with a man for a change?
What are you, a smart ass?
Youll be out in a year and a half.
l'll get cozy with your parole officer.
You touch her again, l'll have you
violated on a kiddie raper beef.
You know what they do
to kiddie rapers in Quentin.
You have someplace you can go?
Go get yourself fixed up.
Merry Christmas.
-Merry Christmas, ma'am.
-Let's go, Bud.
The guys'll be waiting.
What do you do on Badge of Honor?
l'm the technical advisor.
l teach Brett Chase
how to walk and talk like a cop.
Brett Chase doesn't
walk and talk like you.
That's because he's
the television version.
America isn't ready for the real me.
ls it true you're the one
who arrested Bob Mitchum?
Badge of Honor guys pretend.
But being the real thing
must be a thrill.
Why don't we go someplace quiet?
l'll give you the lowdown on Mitchum.
Big V. Jack Vincennes.
-May l have this dance?
-Of course.
This is Sid Hudgens
with Hush-Hush magazine.
-Hello, Karen.
-Hello yourself.
What's that about?
We did a piece, ''lngenue Dikes in
Hollywood.'' Her name got mentioned.
Jackie-boy...
...a friend just sold some reefer
to Matt Reynolds.
He's tripping the light fantastic
with Tammy Jordan.
Sorry, l lost you for a second, Sid.
Contract players, Metro. You pinch
them, l do a nice feature next issue.
-Plus the usual $50 cash.
-No, l need another $50.
Two $20's for two patrolmen, a dime for
the Hollywood Station watch commander.
Jackie, it's Christmas.
No, it's not.
lt's felony possession of marijuana.
Actually, it's circulation 36,000
and climbing.
There's no telling where this will 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?
l like to help people.
We heard 2 officers
were assaulted this evening.
-What do you think about that?
-Goes with the job.
l took the report.
Luckily, they're okay.
Aren't you young
to be watch commander?
lt's only tonight.
The married men have Christmas Eve off.
That's a good lead for the story.
Merry Christmas, Captain.
-Captain Smith.
-Drop the formalities, Bobby.
-lt's Christmas Eve, call me Dudley.
-l came up with a title for the story.
l'm calling it
''Silent Night with the LAPD.''
That's grand.
Now remember, Bobby, that's ''Smith.''
With an ''S.''
Thank you, gentlemen.
Merry Christmas.
Hold on there, lads.
Merry Christmas.
l saw the test results
on the lieutenant's exam.
First out of 23.
What'll it be, then?
Patrol Division?
lnternal Affairs? What?
l 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 willing to plant evidence
on a suspect you knew to be guilty...
...in order to insure an indictment?
-We've been over this.
-Yes or no?
No.
Would you beat a confession
out of a suspect you knew to be guilty?
Would you shoot
a hardened criminal in the back...
...in order to offset the chance
that some lawyer--
Then for the love of God...
...don't be a detective.
Work where you don't have
to make those kind of choices.
Dudley, l know you mean well...
...but l don't need to do it
the way you did...or my father.
At least get rid of the glasses.
l can't think of a man
on the Bureau who wears them.
lf l get held up,
you guys better be here.
Hi, Nick.
l need a delivery.
A case each of gin, rum, Scotch.
Sounds like a hell of a party.
Be right with you.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you, officer.
That obvious?
lt's practically
stamped on your forehead.
There you go.
See what he wants, Buzz.
Get lost, why don't you?
Down!
Get your fucking head down.
l got a license for that.
Cut me some slack.
l used to be a cop.
''Leland Meeks.''
Never heard of you.
They call me Buzz.
l don't give a rat's ass what
they call you. Keep your head down.
And stay there...Buzz.
You okay?
She's fine.
l'm not asking you, sir.
Somebody hit you?
lt's not what you think.
What is it, then?
You got the wrong idea, mister.
l'm fine.
But it's nice to know you care.
Drive safely.
What's going on?
You know him?
Yeah, l've seen him around.
He used to be a cop.
They're sitting in the dark,
goofing on the Christmas tree.
Put your camera right there.
When l walk out, l'll stop here. Get
the movie premiere in the background.
l like it. l like it.
''The Movie Premiere Pot Bust.''
When l walk out, l don't want
your floodlights in my eyes.
Consider it done.
You hear that, Chip?
Come on.
Get down.
Go! Pop them!
Freeze! Police!
Jesus Christ!
Come on.
Come on, let's go.
My family's coming in--
-lt'll be a nice Christmas gift.
-Hi, Tammy. Hi, Matt.
Right over here.
-Just turn.
-Hold it. Got it!
-The Movie Premiere Pot Bust!
-Take them in. l'll get the evidence.
''lt's Christmas Eve
in the City of Angels...
...and while decent citizens
sleep the sleep 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?
Yeah, subtle.
What took you?
My partner stopped
to help a damsel in distress.
His priorities are all screwed up.
Up to your old tricks again, Bud?
Hollywood Jack, what brings you
to our humble station house?
-How are you?
-Why are you here?
You know me.
Keeping the streets safe.
Take these two,
get them dressed and book them.
-The party's upstairs.
-Okay, l'll be right up.
What's that for?
You are watch commander tonight,
aren't you?
Yeah. So?
A gratuity from Hush-Hush magazine.
Buy yourself some new loafers.
No thanks, Jack.
You keep your payoff.
l'm not interested.
What the hell is this?
Six spics.
Mexicans, sir. The ones who assaulted
Brown and Helenowski.
l heard Helenowski bled 6 pints
and Brown's in a coma.
They have bruises
and muscle pulls.
lt's not what l heard.
Get them into lock up.
Stens, you guys hear what those taco
benders did to Helenowski and Brown?
Helenowski lost an eye, and they're
reading Brown his last rites.
That ought to make for
a very merry Christmas for them.
Hey, guys.
Guys.
They brought the Mexicans in.
They're downstairs.
-Let's do it.
-Come on, guys. Let's get them.
Stensland, the party's upstairs.
This doesn't concern you.
Come on, guys.
Haven't you got work?
Go back to the party.
-Come on, it's Christmas, help me out.
-Move it!
l just got a few more questions.
You don't have to be here.
Go!
You better put a leash on your partner
before he kills somebody.
Teach him a lesson!
Get him, Stens!
This is for ours, Poncho.
Let me through!
No! He didn't do nothing!
What are you looking at?
Tell that Mexican to shut up!
Move!
You're sick!
That's it!
Don't break it up.
Get back! Get back!
Yeah, and fuck your mother!
Fuck you!
Stop, officer!
That's an order!
You'll all be in my report!
''Bloody Christmas.''
The press love to label.
You should know this is bigger
than the police board.
The grand jury's convening.
lndictments may be handed down.
Will you testify?
No, sir. l won't.
District Attorney Loew?
You and officer Stensland
brought the liquor to the station.
Stensland was already drunk.
Appearing as a
voluntary witness against him...
...could offset damage to yourself.
l won't testify against him,
or anyone else.
This man is a disgrace.
Your badge and gun, officer.
You're suspended from duty.
Dismissed.
We need police witnesses to offset
the damage done to the Department.
Justice has to be served.
Of course l'll testify.
l'm glad you feel that way, Edmund.
Most don't.
They think silence and integrity
are the same thing.
Not exactly the image of the...
...new LAPD we're trying to create.
Welcome to Los Angeles,
the city of the future.
-May l make a suggestion, sir?
-By all means.
The public will expect the Department
to 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 will be clear.
This Department...
...will not tolerate officers
who think they're above the law.
Dick Stensland is an embarrassment
as a policeman.
He's had rotten fitness reports
from every C.O. he's served under.
But Bud White is a valuable officer.
White's a mindless thug.
No, Edmund...
...but he can answer ''yes'' to those
questions l've asked you before.
The Department and the public
need role models.
Clean-cut, forthright men
the public can admire.
Sergeant...
...l'll promote you...
...to lieutenant...
...effective immediately.
Detective Lieutenant.
Ed, you're 30.
Your father didn't make lieutenant
till he was 33.
l know that, sir. When he made
lieutenant, it was as a detective.
Before we start polishing our laurels...
...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.
A veteran like Vincennes might be
willing to admit his own culpability...
...but he'd never rat out
a fellow officer.
Jack's the technical advisor
on Badge of Honor.
He lives for it.
That's how to get to him.
l'd like you to observe, Ed.
Call Sergeant Vincennes.
Bright kid.
You may reap the benefit...
...but are you ready to be despised
in the Department?
Yes, sir, l am.
So be it.
Sergeant, we'll get right to it.
Nine civilian witnesses have identified
you as hitting Ezekiel Garcia.
But we have a witness who will name
names and testify that you hit back...
...only after being hit.
You will testify against 3 officers...
...who have earned their pensions
and plead ignorance about the rest.
No thanks.
l'm not a snitch.
l'll guarantee you a slap on the wrist,
a brief suspension...
...followed by a temporary transfer
from Narcotics to Vice.
You transfer out of Vice,
you'll be back on the show.
The show?
Badge of Honor, Vincennes.
We need to tone down
your profile for a bit.
l doubt you've ever taken
a stupid breath. Don't start now.
Okay, l'll do it.
The grand jury will hear...
...your testimony tomorrow.
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.
l should have known.
What's the Chief throwing you?
Throwing me?
Yeah, Exley, what's the payoff?
You're the payoff expert.
l'm just doing my duty.
Come on, you're playing
an angle here, college boy.
You'll get something so you
don't have to hobnob with the cops...
...who'll hate you for snitching.
lf they're making you detective,
watch out.
Some Bureau guys will burn in this and
you'll be working with their friends.
What about you?
l'm snitching 3 old-timers who'll be
fishing in Oregon next week.
Next to you, l'm clean...
...and smart.
Edmund J. Exley to chambers.
And remember...
...Bud White will fuck you for this
if it takes the rest of his life.
Captain, what do you want?
Call me Dudley.
Dudley...
...what do you want?
Look, lad, l admire
your refusal to testify...
...and your loyalty to your partner.
l admire you as a policeman...
...and your adherence to violence
as a necessary adjunct to the job.
l'm impressed with your
punishment of women-beaters.
Do you hate them, Wendell?
What do you want?
They're yours.
Take them.
There's no bill on me?
-4 witnesses recanted their testimony.
-Why?
They had a change of heart.
Stensland?
Your partner's through.
Scapegoat on the Chief's orders.
A year from his pension.
-Exley!
-Exley got what he wanted.
As a politician he exceeds even myself.
The Department needs
smart men like Exley...
...and direct men...
...like you.
Look, l need you for an assignment
the Chief's given me.
A duty few men are fit for...
...but you were born for.
You'd be working
out of Homicide at City Hall.
Homicide?
Working cases?
Your talents lie elsewhere, Wendell.
lt's a muscle job.
You'll do as l say and ask no questions.
Do you follow my drift?
ln Technicolor, sir.
''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.
Oh, well.''
''Meet Deuce Perkins,
Mickey Cohen's narcotics lieutenant.
Could he be behind the hits?
ls he consolidating
organized crime power?
l suppose not.
One thing's for sure:
on the Mickster's muscle.''
''Meanwhile, rumor has it the LAPD...
...has set up a not-so-Welcome Wagon
to dishearten the criminal element...
...from filling the void left by
Mickey's absence.
When l know more, dear readers,
so will you.
Off the record, on the q.t...
...and very...
...Hush-Hush.''
With Mickey Cohen in prison,
Los Angeles is organized crime-free.
The Chief wants to keep it that way.
ln Cleveland, you're an
organized crime associate...
...in desperate need of re-education
in the ways of polite society.
l hear things.
Like those 2-men shooter teams.
They're 86ing Cohen's lieutenants.
What do you want?
We want you to go home.
Picture-book smut, men.
There's been a bunch of this
found at crime scenes lately.
Quality ranges from piss-poor to...
...very well done.
Look who's back from suspension.
We're honored, Sergeant Jack.
Look at that.
The Great Jerk-Off Case of 1953.
ls there someplace you'd rather be?
Yeah, working Narcotics,
looking for Cohen's missing H.
Yeah, finding 25 pounds of heroin
would get you plenty of ink.
You should've thought of that
before Bloody Christmas.
Make a major case. lt's the only way
you'll get out of here.
Dismissed, gentlemen.
Go get the facts, Jack.
Just the facts.
Whatever you desire.
Hi. l'd like to get a delivery
to Beverly Hills.
l don't know you.
A friend just gave me this number
and l wanted to find out if--
Would you grab a reverse directory
and shag a name and address for me?
Crestview-2239.
Hush-Hush, off the record
and on the q.t.
Sid, it's Vincennes.
Jackie, you back on narco?
l need some good copy.
l have something going with Vice.
Something juicy for the Sidster?
Tracking porn.
Arty, high-class stuff.
Know about Fleur-de-Lis?
Slogan's ''Whatever you desire.''
No, l've heard bupkes.
Get me some narco skinny.
l want to do an all-hophead issue.
Shvartze jazz musicians and movie stars.
You like it?
l'll talk to you later.
-What do you got?
-The number's not assigned.
Thanks, Ginger.
A bootleg.
Take it easy.
Tough break, Stens.
We're going to miss you.
Raw deal, Stensland.
Here comes the snitch.
Sorry about that, Lieutenant.
Stay out of trouble, Bud.
l got a few hours.
l'll buy you a drink.
Rain check.
l got a hot date.
Who is she and
what did you arrest her for?
lt's confidential.
Like that magazine that
Vincennes scams for. Hush-Hush.
l'll see you later in the week.
We'll do the town, on me.
Yeah. l'll bring
my wallet just in case.
-See you tomorrow.
-Hang on!
l'll walk down with you.
Punk kid.
Who is he trying to impress?
Yeah, l wonder.
Got himself a real career going.
Sergeant Williams, pick up, please.
Sergeant Williams?
ls there anybody up there in Homicide?
Anybody there?
Lieutenant Exley.
You've got a homicide downtown.
-The Nite Owl Coffee Shop.
-l got it.
lt's mine.
At least one person's dead.
l stopped for coffee.
No one comes through the front door.
Understand?
l want barricades at both ends
of the street. Make sure--
l took the call. lt's my case.
You don't want it and you can't have it.
l took the call.
lt's mine.
l'll make you my second-in-command.
Captain, over here, please.
The cook drew a gun and set it off.
The rest died in the men's room.
Sir...
...we got a total of 15 spent
l'm betting 3 men, 5-shot capacity
pumps, all of them emptying once.
Excuse me, we got an l.D.
on one of the victims.
lt's Dick Stensland.
At first, l thought
she was Rita Hayworth.
Yeah, me too.
Hell of a way to avoid prison.
What happened?
Appears 3 men held up a coffee shop.
The guy at the register pulled a .38,
so they killed him.
Then they killed everyone else.
Lieutenant, we're ready
with that Nite Owl l.D.
ls this your daughter?
l don't know.
We know this is difficult.
Take your time.
lt seems like my Susan.
But my Susan was a blonde,
not a redhead.
When was the last time you saw her?
Just before Christmas.
We'd fought.
l didn't like her boyfriend.
Mrs. Lefferts...
...does your daughter have
any distinguishing marks?
You got the wrong idea, mister.
l'm fine.
She has a birthmark on her hip.
lt's her.
My baby!
l'm sorry, Mrs. Lefferts.
Who's in charge of this investigation?
Captain Smith and myself.
Why?
''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.
He was a Nite Owl regular,
in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Robbery is the likely motive.
We have rubber glove smears
on the register and forensics...
...tend toward a trio of shooters.
We do have one hot lead.
Three Negro juveniles...
...were seen discharging shotguns
in Griffith Park.
A park ranger l.D.'d them
as driving a 1948-1950 Mercury coupe...
...maroon in color.
An hour ago a canvassing crew
found a news vendor...
...who saw a maroon Merc coupe
parked by the Nite Owl at 1 a.m.
DMV has come up with
a registration list of Merc coupes.
three names apiece.
lnterrogations will be led by
Lt. Edmund Exley.
Enough on that!
Gentlemen, just go out and get them.
Use all necessary force.
The people of Los Angeles demand it.
Dismissed.
Why not just put a bounty on them?
-Ready to roll?
-You take them, l got something to do.
What if one of these names--?
Get somebody else.
l got our assignments, Big V.
We go by this list, we got
zero chance of making this collar.
l got a guy who knows what happens south
of Jefferson. He'll put us at 50-50.
What are you doing?
lt's the same sort of thing
that got you in trouble before.
l'll take those odds.
We got it from here.
You two should
bring along a photographer.
l need an address on a customer
of yours. Her name is Lynn.
-That's all l got to go on?
-Yeah.
You already know who l mean,
so cough it up.
There's a billing address
and a delivery address.
Are you Pierce Patchett?
l am.
Are you soliciting for police charities?
Last time you called my office.
Go on down to the driveway.
We'll talk there.
What can l do for you?
-Where were you last night?
-l was here hosting a party.
Tell me about Dick Stensland.
l don't know him, Mr.--?
Officer White.
You know Sue Lefferts?
You know l do.
You saw me with her.
How did you find me?
Nick's Liquor. This is where
Lynn Bracken's booze bills go.
Of course.
Sue Lefferts died at the Nite Owl.
l'm investigating.
Everything all right?
Fine, Phillip, 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. Why?
l 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.
-Want to go downtown to discuss this?
-ls this official?
Somehow l have the feeling
this is more personal with you.
All right, then...
...are you concerned about criminal
matters peripheral to the murders?
-Not at the moment.
-You're not obligated to report them?
Why were Lefferts' eyes black?
l needed a Rita Hayworth
to fill out my little studio.
What little studio?
Well, there's Gardner, Russell,
Monroe, Turner....
Lynn Bracken is my Veronica Lake.
l use girls that look like movie stars.
Sometimes l employ a plastic surgeon.
When the work was done,
that's when you saw us.
lt's why her mom couldn't l.D. her.
Jesus fucking Christ!
No, Pierce Morehouse Patchett.
l sense you're on your best behavior,
but that's all l'm saying.
lf you persist,
we'll meet with my attorney.
Would you like Lynn Bracken's address?
l got her address.
Find Susan's killer, Mr. White.
l'll give you a handsome reward.
Whatever you desire!
l know you're not asleep.
What do you want?
My 5 bucks.
lt was the only one l had.
Right now?
Hey, doll face,
tell him to leave us alone.
l understand.
Okay, fine.
Oh, baby...
...bad news.
You have to go.
Go?
Something very important has come up
and you have to go.
l'll make it up to you.
l will, l promise.
Excuse me.
ls it the cops?
Miss Bracken...
...l'm Officer White.
l've been expecting you,
just not this soon.
Pierce called.
He told me what happened to Sue.
Everything all right, doll?
Want me to get rid of him?
Hit the road.
Maybe l will...
...maybe l won't.
LAPD. Get out of here
or l'll have your wife come get you.
-Officer.
-Councilman.
-Would you care for a drink?
-Yeah, Scotch straight.
l was friendly with Sue Lefferts,
but we weren't friends.
Know what l mean?
You sorry she's dead?
Of course l 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, l know.
Patchett's running whores...
...cut to look like movie stars.
And, judging by his address,
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?
l don't know. l never heard of
the Nite Owl till today.
How'd she meet Patchett?
Pierce meets people.
Sue had dreams of Hollywood
and this is how they turned out.
Thanks to Pierce,
we still get to act a little.
Tell me about Pierce.
He's waiting for you to mention money.
Want advice, Miss Bracken?
lt's Lynn.
Miss Bracken...
...don't ever try to fucking bribe me...
...or l'll have you and Patchett
in shit up to your ears.
l remember you from Christmas Eve.
You have a thing
for helping women, don't you?
Maybe l'm just fucking curious.
-You say ''fuck'' a lot.
-You fuck for money.
There's blood on your shirt.
An integral part of your job?
-Yeah.
-Do you enjoy it?
When they deserve it.
Did they deserve it today?
l'm not sure.
-But you did it anyway.
-Yeah.
Like the half dozen guys
you screwed today.
Actually, it was only two.
You're different, Officer White.
You're the first man in years who didn't
tell me l 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 look like Veronica Lake.
No.
l'm really a brunette,
but the rest is me.
And that's all the news
that's fit to print.
lt's nice meeting you.
-l'd like to see you again.
-For a date...
...or an appointment?
l don't know.
-For a date, l'd know your first name.
-Forget l asked.
lt was a mistake.
Leonard Bidwell?
Come down here and talk to us.
How's the left these days?
What's it to you?
l saw you fight Kid Gavilan.
l like your style.
What do you want, Mr. Policeman?
You got a brother in Folsom.
l put him there.
Until 1970.
How'd you like to make it 1960?
l know the judge,
and Lieutenant Exley...
...is good friends with the D.A.
We're looking for 3 colored guys
who like to shoot shotguns.
One owns a maroon Mercury coupe.
-Want me to snitch?
-Want to buy your brother 10 years?
-lt was 10 years, right?
-Yeah, 10 years.
You don't have to say anything,
just look at this list...
...and point.
He's bad, so l'll just tell you.
Sugar Ray Collins.
Drives a maroon '49 coupe.
Beautiful ride.
Don't know about shotguns,
but he gets his thrills killing dogs.
He's righteous trash.
Look at that. lt's five minutes
from here. Thanks.
l'll hear from you...
...about my brother?
Keep it up, Lenny. Up!
There it is.
lt's in the back.
-One of ours.
-Shit, somebody beat us here!
Damn it!
My glasses!
You're kidding!
Well, just don't shoot me.
What are you doing here?
We were in the neighborhood.
-What do you got?
-Three 12-gauge pumps.
And cash.
So long, Vice.
Badge of Honor, here l come.
Fuck you!
This is our collar.
Quiet!
l'm ranking officer here.
We go as a team. End of story.
Right.
How many ways in?
Only one.
Up the stairs.
He's very serious.
Police!
Don't shoot!
-Don't move.
-Ace him, Jack!
Shut up.
Anxious, aren't you?
Don't kill them.
Back, back, back!
Get off me!
Against the wall!
-Put your hands up!
-Get over there.
Shut up!
Hands behind your back!
So...
...how's it feel
getting out of the office?
This came from forensics.
''Burning clothes.
Casitas Youth Camp....''
lt's crowded in here, White.
These guys killed Stensland.
The ejection marks
on the shells fired from the shotguns...
...are identical to those on the
shell casings found at the Nite Owl.
l want confessions, Edmund.
A night's stewing
has softened them up.
l'll break them, sir.
Are you sure golden boy
is up to the task, Cap?
l think you'd be surprised
what the lad is capable of.
You're 22.
Aren't you, Ray?
Did an officer work you over?
-You're 22, right?
-Why do you keep asking that?
You should've pulled
this caper years ago.
Get life,
do a little Youth Authority jolt...
...transfer to Folsom a big man...
...get yourself a sissy....
l don't truck with no sissies.
Louis.
What?
You did the Casitas Youth Camp
with Louis.
Why 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.
Louis gave it up at Casitas.
l was the boss jock in my dorm!
Louis was the sissy!
Louis gave it up for candy bars!
He ain't got the sense of a dog!
You like to shoot dogs.
Dogs got no reason to live.
Feel the same way about people?
What're you trying to say?
We got the shotguns.
l 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 incinerator.
Doesn't look good.
l ain't talking till l see a judge.
Were you on hop? You were passed out
when we arrested you.
Ty and Louis fuck with that shit,
not me.
Where do they get their stuff?
Man....
Give me one to feed the D.A.
lt'll make me look good...
...and l'll say Sugar Ray's not a punk
like his sissy partners.
Tell me one more thing
about Jones and Fontaine.
Where do they get drugs?
Roland Navarette.
He runs a hole-up on Bunker Hill.
And he sells red devils.
Exley's good, l'll give him that.
l'll take a break.
You know, Ray,
l'm talking about the gas chamber...
...and you haven't asked me
what this is about.
You got a big ''guilty'' sign
around your neck.
That was masterful, Edmund.
He's ready to go.
Give Jones the newspaper.
l want him primed.
Take the cuffs off, so he can read it.
Ray Collins just ratted you off.
Said the Nite Owl was your idea.
l think it was Ray's idea.
You talk, l think l can save your life.
and someone has to pay for it.
Now, it can be you,
or it can be Ray.
Louis, he called you queer.
-At Casitas, you took it up the ass.
-l didn't kill nobody! !
Son...
...you know what'll happen
if you don't talk.
You'll go to the gas chamber.
So admit what you did.
l didn't mean to hurt her.
-Maybe she's okay.
-Okay?
They're all in the morgue.
They were dead when you left them.
l just wanted to lose my cherry.
She don't die, so l don't die.
She don't die, so l don't die.
Louis, who's the girl?
What's her name?
Who are you talking about?
Was she at the Nite Owl?
Listen to me, was she at the Nite Owl?
-This paper shit ain't shit!
-Where's the girl?
You kill her?
Louis lost his cherry, but things
got out of hand. You made her bleed.
She bled on your clothes,
so you burned the clothes.
Who said that?!
Now, listen to me.
lf she's alive,
she's the only chance you've got.
-l think she's alive.
-You think?
Where is she now?
Did you leave her someplace?
Where is she?
What're you doing?!
Don't.
White!
Where's the girl?!
Put the weapon down!
Where's the girl?! !
Sylvester Fitch, 109 Avalon...
...brown corner house, upstairs.
-Just give me one minute.
-You got it.
Nobody moves.
We're going in the front.
Stay put until l give the word.
He went around back!
l'm Lieutenant Exley.
l'm sorry to ask you this.
l need to know when they left you.
Get her to the hospital.
Excuse me.
Give your career a rest.
Leave her alone.
A naked guy with a gun?
Who'll believe that?
Get the fuck away from me.
How'll it look in your report?
lt'll look like justice.
That's what the man got.
Justice.
You don't know the meaning of the word.
You think it means
getting your picture in the paper.
Go after criminals for a change.
Stensland got what he deserved
and so will you.
lt's best to stay away
when his blood is up.
His blood's always up.
Perhaps you should
stay away from him altogether.
Raymond Collins, Ty Jones
and Louis Fontaine.
They are considered armed and dangerous.
Repeat.
The Nite Owl suspects have escaped.
How'd they get out the window?
They jumped from the 2nd floor.
Girl said they left her at 12.
They could get to the Nite Owl by 1.
The question was,
where did they get their drugs?
l haven't gotten that far yet.
''Roland Navarette
lives on Bunker Hill, runs a hole-up--''
Anyone seen Jack Vincennes?
ls something up?
l need some backup.
-What?
-Nothing. Let's go.
This should be it.
Nobody moves!
You're under arrest.
Don't shoot, man!
Don't move! Don't move!
There he is.
You did good, kid.
You should've seen this place.
Blood everywhere.
Who would have thought?
Shotgun Ed.
Somebody get him cleaned up.
Come on.
Edmund J. Exley
has amassed a brilliant record...
...in his 7 years
with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Recently, he evinced spectacular bravery
in the line of duty.
lt is our privilege to present him
with our highest honor:
The Medal of Valor.
-What kind of car was it?
-lt was a Ford.
My husband always drove a Ford.
l know what they look like.
Excuse me, ma'am.
Just the facts. Light or dark?
Light. And that's really
all l remember, Officer.
Thank you.
You've been a big help.
Cut!
That's a print.
Big Jack!
He's back!
Jack's back.
Tell Mr. Patchett
l have no intention of changing my vote.
lt may surprise some that an official
would admit to making a mistake...
...but after due consideration...
...l am changing my position
on the matter before the council.
''Go west, America,''
was a slogan of Manifest Destiny.
Today is that last step westward
with no stop signs...
...no traffic signals, from downtown...
...to the beach in 20 minutes.
What were you going to 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.
l wondered when you'd
knock on my door again, Officer White.
lt's Bud.
Bud.
Why me?
l don't know.
This election...
...is about the future
of law enforcement in Los Angeles.
City Councilman Rogers
represents that future.
So let's dig deep...
...and get a moral man re-elected.
Ellis Loew wants to say a few words.
Thank you, Brett Chase.
The talented star of Badge of Honor.
Let me tell you,
l am so thrilled to be here.
Big V.
Good to see you back.
-How they hanging, Sid?
-Down around my ankles.
You tight with the D.A., Jackie?
Yeah.
He tried to throw me off the force
last Christmas.
How about some payback, big-time?
Plus the usual 50 dollar donation
to the Jack Vincennes retirement fund.
-Did you know the D.A. was a swish?
-No kidding?
Remember Matt Reynolds? Christmas Eve?
''The Movie Premiere Pot Bust''?
-He just got off the honor farm.
-What's he doing here?
Reynolds is acey-deucey,
not to mention broke.
l'm getting him
to fuck the D.A. for $100.
That's twice the $50
you got for wrecking his career.
-Come here, come here.
-Jesus, don't bring him--
That's D.A. Loew right there.
You need a drink?
Yeah.
Look after him.
Matt, this is Jack.
No secrets between me and him.
-How you doing?
-l'm okay. How're you?
l'm good.
Have we met before?
Yeah.
Was it at a party?
lt was something like that.
Fleur-de-Lis party, right?
Right.
Fleur-de-Lis.
''Whatever you desire.''
Dope, hookers that
look like movie stars....
Pierce Patchett has it all.
You could say that again.
Pierce, he's not like regular guys.
l dig him, but...
...you know...
...he scares me too.
Really?
How?
When l came out to L.A. this isn't
exactly where l saw myself ending up.
Yeah, well...
...get in line.
Your courage, kid. Drink up.
l don't think l should do this.
lt's not like you don't know how.
Jack's connected to Badge of Honor.
Pull this off, you'll get a part.
l smell a comeback, don't you, Jack?
The D.A.'s free.
Go introduce yourself. Go on.
Tell him about the opening on the show.
l'm pretty sure l can get you
a part on this show.
But...
...that's later on.
Tonight, go on over there
and pretend it's an acting job.
Like show biz.
Acting, that's it.
Right.
No one's going to know about this?
No.
lt'll be our secret.
-Show biz.
-That's it. Go on.
Show biz.
lf Reynolds works his charms,
which l know he will...
...they'll be at the
Hollywood Center Motel, room 203.
Meet me there at midnight
for a photo shoot.
And maybe we can work in
the Hollywood sign this time.
What do you know
about Pierce Patchett?
l know what you know.
He's rich. lnvested in the freeways,
which'll make him richer. Why?
l just keep hearing rumors, you know.
High-class porn, drugs,
hookers that look like movie stars.
Patchett's what l call twilight.
He ain't queer or Red.
He cannot help me
in my quest for prime sinnuendo.
As though Badge of Honor would
touch that guy with a 10-foot pole...
...after he's been Hush-Hush
cover boy twice in one year.
See you soon.
Midnight. l guarantee all kinds
of illegal activity.
Another?
Yeah.
Kid?
Come on, you don't have to do this--
Thank you for what you did for me...
...for killing 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 l remember.
Thank God.
You remember what time
the Negroes left you, right?
ln your statement, you said
they left you at midnight.
They might have.
They ''might'' have?
l don't know what time they left me.
l wanted them dead.
Would anyone care
that they raped a Mexican girl...
...if they hadn't killed
those white people at the Nite Owl?
l did what l had to do for justice.
Exley, over here.
Smile, lnez.
ls he your hero?
Fellas, how about this? ''Rape Victim
Wheeled Out by Nite Owl Hero.''
All they get is Veronica Lake.
l get Lynn Margaret Bracken.
''Bisbee?''
l grew up there.
l'm going back in a couple of years,
open up a dress shop.
The girls in Bisbee
need a little glamour.
Where'd this come from?
l was 12. My dad went after my mother
with a bottle. l got in the way.
So you saved her.
Not for long.
-l'm sorry. lt's none of my business.
-He tied me to the radiator.
l watched him beat my mother to death
with a tire iron...
...and he left me there.
Three days before
a truant officer found us.
They never found the old man.
ls that why you became a cop?
To get even?
Maybe.
Do you like it?
l used to.
Now it's all strong-arm,
sitting duck stuff.
lf l could...
...get a chance to work Homicide...
...like a real detective....
That prick, Exley,
he shot the wrong guys.
Whoever killed Stensland's still around.
l know it in here. l know it.
Something's wrong
with the Nite Owl.
l just can't prove it, that's all.
l'm not smart enough.
l'm just the guy they bring in
to scare the other guy shitless.
You're wrong.
You found Patchett. You found me.
You're smart enough.
Bud White! What brings you down
to the basement?
l got a couple of Nite Owl questions.
Don't know if you read the papers,
but that case is closed.
Anything bother you about it?
The fact that the pack-up boys haven't
hauled this shit out of here yet.
The suspects' 3 shotguns match
the strike marks on the shell casings.
What more do you want?
There's blood on the wall here.
l thought everyone got shot
in the men's room.
That is Stensland's blood.
Blow to the head. Probably unconscious
when they dragged him in the john.
Did they hit anyone else?
No, but he was a cop.
Probably tried to do something.
Grilled cheese, black coffee.
Someone was sitting next to him.
Yeah, Patti DeLuca, the night shift
waitress, and a Susan Lefferts.
Susan Lefferts.
Yeah, what about her?
You're welcome!
Mrs. Lefferts?
l'm Officer White, LAPD.
Tell me about the boyfriend
you mentioned at the coroner's office.
l told you l didn't
approve of that boyfriend.
He was too old for you.
And you let him be fresh with me.
They came here one day
when l wasn't home.
Mrs. Jensen next door said...
...she saw Susie's boyfriend
and another man and...
...she heard a ruckus.
What was his name?
We weren't properly introduced.
Susie gave him a nickname,
Muns or Luns.
Stens?
Was it Stens?
Maybe.
l don't know.
Look.
That's him.
That's him.
You said a neighbor heard a ruckus.
Was it outside?
lnside?
Outside.
And then Mrs. Jensen said
they kept going under the house.
You have to leave now, officer.
-What's through here?
-Just a room full of old things.
Don't move that!
Don't mind the smell.
l think a rat died behind the wall.
My Susie was a good girl.
She was never
in any kind of trouble at all!
''Leland Meeks.''
Never heard of you.
They call me Buzz.
Was it a rat?
Yeah, a great big one.
Here.
Compliments of the Police Department.
Stomach of the week
from a motel homicide.
Unemployed actor had frankfurter,
french fries, alcohol and sperm.
Hell of a last supper, don't you think?
Anything bothering you
about the Nite Owl case?
That you guys
won't let it get filed away.
-What do you mean?
-Bud White grilled me on it today.
Bud White?
He's not as dumb as l thought.
Did he say where he was going
after he talked to you?
Let my daughter rest in peace!
Mrs. Lefferts,
l want to ask a few questions.
Officer White already checked
under the house.
Under the house?
-Where?
-Out back.
All he found was rodents.
l need an l.D. on this as soon as
possible. Talk only to me on this one.
l need your help.
l'm busy right now. Why don't you ask
your boys in Homicide?
l can't. l need someone
outside of Homicide.
Tail Bud White until he goes
on duty this evening.
Do me a real favor and leave me alone.
You make the Negroes
for the Nite Owl killings?
What?
lt's a simple question.
Why in the world
do you want to dig deeper...
...into the Nite Owl killings...
...Lieutenant?
Rollo Tomasi.
ls there more or do l have to guess?
Rollo was a purse snatcher.
My father ran into him off-duty.
He shot my father 6 times
and got away clean.
No one knew who he was.
l made the name up to give
him personality.
What's your point?
Rollo Tomasi's the reason
l became a cop.
l wanted to catch the guys
who thought they could get away with it.
lt was supposed to be about justice.
Then somewhere along the way
l lost sight of that.
Why'd you become a cop?
l don't remember.
What do you want, Exley?
l want to solve this thing.
Nite Owl was solved.
No.
l want to do it right.
Even if it means
paying the consequences?
All right, college boy, l'll help.
But there's a case your boys
in Homicide don't care about.
They think it's just another
Hollywood ''homo''-cide. But l don't.
You help me with mine,
l'll help you with yours.
Deal?
Deal.
Johnny Stompanato.
Officer Wendell White.
How's tricks, paesano?
l ain't your paesano.
l ain't in the snitch business anymore.
You know a guy named Buzz Meeks?
Works for Pierce Patchett.
Should l?
You're muscle for hire.
Meeks is muscle for hire.
You tell me.
Yeah, l remember now.
Meeks is a run-down ex-cop.
Same as you're going to be some day.
That's all you'll get.
Keep your 20 bucks.
What do l get if l give you
your balls back, you wop cocksucker?
There was a rumor going around...
...that Meeks had a line
on a large supply of H.
And?
And nothing!
He skipped out.
Bullshit.
How would Meeks get his hands
on a large supply of heroin?
You're right.
lt's probably bullshit.
Even if he did,
he could never unload it.
Not without drawing
all kinds of attention.
Maybe that's why he's under a house
in Elysian Park not smelling too good...
...paesano.
Maybe White's
not so dumb after all.
We got Rita Hayworth at the morgue,
and now Veronica Lake with White.
l think your case and my case
are connected. lt's Fleur-de-Lis again.
Fleur-de-Lis?
''Whatever you desire.''
Porno.
High-class whores
cut to look like movie stars.
Who knows what else. Reynolds,
the kid that got killed, was involved.
So is Pierce Patchett.
The millionaire?
l think we should go talk to him.
First l want to brace Stompanato.
Want an autograph?
Write to MGM.
Since when do two-bit hoods
and hookers give out autographs?
What?
LAPD. Sit down.
Who in the hell do you think you are?
Take a walk, honey.
-You are making a large mistake.
-Get away from our table.
Shut up.
A hooker cut to look like Lana Turner
is still a hooker.
-She just looks like Lana Turner.
-She is Lana Turner.
She is Lana Turner.
How was l supposed to know?
l believe the Nite Owl's
your area of expertise, Mr. Exley.
l saw you on television
getting your medal.
And you're...
...that other Hollywood
celebrity policeman, aren't you?
The Veronica Lake look-alike works
for you. She's one of your whores.
A vulgar term.
Why's she seeing Bud White?
Why do men and women
usually see each other?
Let's try this on for size:
Fleur-de-Lis.
''Whatever you desire.''
An actor named...
...Matt Reynolds.
No? Nothing?
We want some answers.
We all want something.
The guy's as cool as they come.
Lieutenant Exley,
come in, please. Over.
Exley.
The coroner wants to talk to you.
He says he has your l.D.
Tell him Sergeant Vincennes
is coming in to talk to him.
-l'll drop you at your car.
-Where are you going?
Lynn Bracken's.
To find out why Patchett has her seeing
Bud White. See you at the Frolic Room.
Oh, great. You get the girl.
l get the coroner.
Hush-Hush, off the record
and on the q.t.
l was just coming up to see you.
You get that l.D.?
Thank God for dental records.
Stiff used to be a cop. Leland Meeks.
Buzz Meeks?
-You knew him?
-Of him.
He was around when l joined the force.
Bad rep. Thanks.
''Just the facts,'' Jack.
''Just the facts.''
Anything else?
Leland Meeks worked Vice '39-'41.
l need to see his arrest records.
Miss Bracken...
...l'm Lieutenant Exley.
l know.
Bud told me all about you.
ls that so?
And what did White have to say?
He said you were smart.
He also said you were a coward, and that
you'd screw yourself to get ahead.
Let's concentrate on my smarts.
Pierce Patchett made you, didn't he?
Taught you how to dress, talk and think.
l am very impressed with the results.
But l need answers.
And if l don't get them,
l'll take you and Patchett down.
Pierce Patchett
can take care of himself.
And l'm not afraid of you.
And you forget one thing, Lieutenant...
...Pierce also taught me how to fuck.
And he tells you who to fuck.
Why does he have you fucking Bud White?
What makes you think
l'm not seeing Bud because l want to?
lt would 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 follow
the same rules of politics as you do.
lt makes him dangerous.
l can handle Bud White.
Can you?
l see Bud because l want to.
l see Bud because
he can't hide the good inside of him.
l see Bud because he makes me feel
like Lynn Bracken...
...and not some Veronica Lake look-alike
who fucks for money.
l see Bud because he doesn't
know how to disguise who he is.
l see Bud for all the ways
he's different from you.
Don't underestimate me.
The way you've underestimated Bud White?
Fucking me and fucking Bud
aren't the same thing.
Stop talking about Bud White.
Come on.
Shit.
Jack Vincennes.
lt's going on midnight.
l need 2 minutes, Dudley.
lt'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
C.O. he ever served under. Why?
with Dick Stensland.
They questioned Pierce Patchett
about a blackmail scam.
Patchett had Sid Hudgens photographing
prominent businessmen with hookers.
Anyway, charges were dropped.
lnsufficient evidence.
You were the supervising officer on
that case. Remember anything about it?
What's this about, boyo?
lt has to do with a murder
l've been working with Ed Exley on.
You're Narco, Jack, not Homicide.
Since when do you work
with Edmund Exley?
lt's a private investigation.
l messed something up.
l'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.
So, what does Exley make of this?
l haven't told him yet.
l just came from the records room.
Have you a valediction, boyo?
Rollo...
...Tomasi.
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.
l want 2-man teams
to scour that entire neighborhood.
Our justice must be swift...
...and merciless.
That is all.
Might l have a word with you?
We're trying to run down a lead
on an associate of Vincennes.
The records check has led to a dead end.
What's the name?
Rollo Tomasi?
You ever heard Vincennes mention him?
No. No, l haven't.
lt's probably nothing. Still...
...keep your eyes open, boyo.
l know it's unlikely, but suppose,
just for a moment...
...somebody had a lot of heroin,
who would they go to to move it?
White, in my office.
Captain. Look, just give me a name.
Mickey Cohen.
Captain?
l could use your fearsome
habits at the Victory Motel.
When?
Now.
Close the door, lad.
You're a bit of a
puzzlement to me these days.
You don't seem your old cruel self.
And l had such
grand plans for your future.
What plans?
You have your extracurricular activities
and l have mine.
We must have a clarification session
one of these days.
However...
...right now...
...we'll brace a man who may know
who killed Jack Vincennes.
So the question is...
...can l count on you, lad?
-Yes or no?
-Yes, sir.
l want to know everything you and
Jack Vincennes talked about last night.
Start with the l.D. on the corpse.
An ex-cop.
Leland ''Buzz'' Meeks.
An ex-cop?
Did Jack know him?
Only by reputation.
This is Sid Hudgens.
l'm willing to cooperate.
No need to tie me down.
lt's for your own safety.
What can you tell us
about Jack Vincennes?
Hollywood Jack? The Big V?
l can tell you he's on
the night train to the Big Adios.
l had nothing 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, so we worked together.
lt was an information exchange.
l got him first-class collars, he got me
good stories. We were friends.
We'll drop that for the moment.
Care to comment on Pierce Patchett?
You think he had something to do
with Vincennes getting iced?
Wendell, l'd like full and docile
cooperation on every topic.
Okay, okay, okay. All right.
Everyone knows 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 heroin sniffer.
All in all, a powerful
behind-the-scenes strange-o.
And?
And what?
Reciprocity, Mr. Hudgens, is the key
to every relationship.
He runs call girls.
Primo tail fixed up
to look like movie stars.
And?
Blackmail shit.
ln my car, in the trunk,
under the rug....
Patchett got me to photograph this cop
screwing this gorgeous slut named Lynn.
She looks like Veronica Lake.
Leave him!
l said leave him be!
Get him away from me!
Back off!
Back off!
l wouldn't trade places with Exley right
now for all the whiskey in lreland.
Dudley, l thought you were going to
let the dumb bastard kill me!
Learn to pull your punches
a little better.
You can uncuff me now, fellas.
Fellas...
...we had a deal.
You, me, Patchett, we're a team.
Hush-hush.
-Anything?
-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.
Did you talk to Exley?
Come in out of the rain.
l want to know
what happened with Exley.
Just come in.
Are you going to tell me
what happened with Exley?
We talked.
Tell me about him.
Later.
Now!
You fucked him.
You fucked him.
l thought l was helping you.
l'm glad you're here.
l need you to see this.
Wait....
Dudley killed Jack.
He wants you to kill me.
He showed you the photo, didn't he?
Didn't he?
Think! ! Goddamn you, think! !
Get out!
l checked the daily report books.
Dudley, Buzz Meeks and
Stensland go way back.
l knew Stensland lied to me.
Lefferts' mother l.D.'d
Stensland as Lefferts' boyfriend.
Stensland pretended he didn't know
Meeks or her the night that l met...
...Lynn.
Stensland and Meeks...
...what the hell were they up to?
l don't know. But l think
Stens killed Meeks over heroin.
What heroin?
Johnny Stompanato told me
that Meeks had heroin for sale.
Meeks ends up dead.
Stensland dies at the Nite Owl.
lt wasn't the Negroes.
The rape victim lied in
her statement.
The first guys to the Mercury coupe
were Breuning and Carlisle.
Dudley's guys.
They planted the shotguns.
They'd have killed the Negroes too
if Jack and l 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 all connected
to Jack's angle.
Sid Hudgens...
...the pictures
to blackmail Ellis Loew....
A kid got murdered.
To figure this out,
we need to work together.
Why are you doing this?
The Nite Owl made you.
You want to tear all that down?
With a wrecking ball.
Want to help me swing it?
Let's go see Ellis Loew.
Find out what
the District Attorney knows.
You can't go in there.
-Want me to call the police, Mr. Loew?
-Ask for Capt. Dudley Smith.
Tell him we're discussing an unemployed
actor's death at a Sunset Strip motel.
These are the police.
What do you want?
l want D.A. bureau men to tail Dudley
Smith and Patchett 24 hours a day.
l want you to get a judge to authorize
wiretaps on their home phones.
l want authorization
to check their bank records.
On what evidence?
Call it a hunch.
Absolutely not.
Dudley Smith is a highly decorated
member of the department.
l won't smear his and
Patchett's name without--
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 slit.
So far, you're not denying it.
l won't dignify this with answers.
Now if you gentlemen will excuse me...
...l have a press conference for Jack
Vincennes that l have to prepare for.
Unless you came to wipe my ass,
l believe we're through.
Don't pull that good cop-bad cop crap.
l practically invented it.
So what if some homo actor is dead.
Boys, girls, ten of them
get off the bus to L.A. everyday.
Pull him off me! !
l don't know how.
l know you think you're the A-number-one
hotshot, but here's the juice.
lf l kill you, 10 lawyers
will take your place tomorrow.
They just won't come on a bus.
Okay!
Dudley and Patchett, they....
Oh, my God!
l wouldn't play ball so they set me up!
l gave in!
But the kid heard everything...
...so they killed him.
Why?
-What are Dudley and Patchett up to?
-Taking over Mickey Cohen's rackets.
Because of those pictures
l couldn't prosecute them!
Oh, Jesus!
Help me up!
ls that how you ran
the good cop-bad cop?
Patchett?
Looks like his bodyguard
had a conflict of interest.
Suicide note.
Says he killed Jack because Jack had
figured out his pornography scam.
Slicing himself open wasn't his idea.
are broken.
They held him there.
Or drugged him.
Dudley's tying up his loose ends.
Patchett's dead.
He sent you after me.
Lynn.
West Hollywood Sheriff.
-They're closer than we are.
-l'll get the car. Keys!
We took her to the station
for safekeeping.
Hold her as Joan Smith.
And no one sees her unless l okay it.
Someone worked her over.
She wouldn't say who.
See you, Exley.
We should talk to Lynn.
You do it.
What will you do?
l'm going to talk to Sid Hudgens.
Compliment him on his
performance at the Victory Motel.
Remember, Bud, we need evidence.
l'll get the evidence.
Are you okay?
You okay?
Bud hates himself for what he did.
l know how he feels.
l need to know what you
can give me on Dudley Smith.
He's a police captain
in business with Patchett.
l've never heard of him.
Do you have a place to stay?
l'll be okay.
Nobody goes in without official l.D.!
He's okay. Let him through.
What happened?
Someone beat him to death,
and stole a bunch of files.
Must have dug up garbage
on the wrong guy.
We got it narrowed down
to 1000 suspects.
Sergeant White...
...dispatch got a call for you.
Lieutenant Exley wants you
to meet him at the Victory Motel.
You wanted to meet here?
-You called it. l thought Hudgens was--
-Hudgens is dead.
Let's get out of here.
lt's too late.
You figured it was a set-up
but came anyway?
A lot of bad stuff happened here.
lt's as good a place
as any for it to end.
Clip.
All l ever wanted was to
measure up to my father.
Now's your chance.
He died in the line of duty, didn't he?
Goddamn it!
You okay?
Yeah.
Come on. Easy.
Move!
Rollo Tomasi.
Who is he?
You are.
You're the guy who gets away with it.
Jack knew it.
And so do l.
Are you going to shoot me...
...or arrest me?
Good lad.
Always the politician.
Let me do the talking.
After l'm done,
they'll make you Chief of Detectives.
Hold up your badge...
...so they'll know you're a policeman.
You think you can talk
your way out of this, Lieutenant?
No...
...but l can tell the truth.
During our investigation...
...of events surrounding
the Nite Owl case...
...Jack Vincennes, Bud White
and l learned the following:
Your golden boy's
throwing his whole life away.
The 3 Nite Owl suspects...
...while guilty of
kidnapping and rape...
...were innocent of the
multiple homicides at the Nite Owl.
The gunmen were most likely...
...Los Angeles police officers
Michael Breuning and William Carlisle...
...and a third man...
...who may or may not have been
Captain Dudley Smith.
The objective:
The elimination of
another police officer...
...Richard Stensland...
...who, along with former LAPD officer
Leland ''Buzz'' Meeks...
...also committed multiple homicides
on behalf of Captain Smith...
...and then betrayed him...
...over 25 pounds of heroin...
...the retrieval of which...
...was the ultimate motivation
behind the Nite Owl killings.
Beginning with the incarceration
of Mickey Cohen...
...Capt. Smith has been assuming control
of organized crime in Los Angeles.
This includes the assassinations
of Mickey Cohen lieutenants...
...the systematic blackmail
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 l shot him...
...at the Victory Motel.
That's it.
Well...
...the press will have
a field day.
Christ!
lt'll stain the Department for years.
Decades.
lf we can get the kid to play ball...
...who's to say what happened?
Maybe Dudley Smith died a hero.
-Good idea.
-lf we get the press to play.
Want to tell me what
you're smiling about?
A hero.
How'd he know what we said?
He couldn't have heard us.
ln this situation...
...you'll need more than one.
lt is my pleasure to present this award
to Detective Lieutenant Edmund Exley...
...two-time Medal of Valor recipient.
Next year the LAPD
will move into its new facility.
With leaders like Edmund Exley...
...the image of fat cops stealing apples
will be left behind...
...and Los Angeles will finally
have the police force it deserves.
You just couldn't resist.
They're using me.
So for a while, l'm using them.
Come on.
Thanks for the push.
Congratulations, Lieutenant Exley.
Some men get the world...
...others get ex-hookers
and a trip to Arizona.