| Bad Paper |
| Episode 29 Aired May 2, 1988 |
| Guest Stars: Nicholas Worth Efrain Figueroa as Sgt. Esteban Gutierrez Ja'net Dubois Geoffrey Thorne Stephen Gregory Dan Calfa -and- Madlyn Rhue as Sgt. Annie Hartung |
| Summary by R T Vancover / Canada |
| The story opens with a burglary in progress at Braxton's Super Foods. Three teenagers, Elston, Clay and Frankie, find more than the day's cash receipts as they open the store's old safe. What they find is a brown paper bag filled with neatly wrapped bills totally almost $70,000. In their excitement at the discovery of all this money, they fail to notice that the store's alarm has activated and police are on the way. LaFiamma and Lundy are close when the call comes over the radio, and are the first police to arrive at the scene. The detectives arrive just as the teens are leaving the building. LaFiamma gives a foot chase to one and just about catches when Frankie runs into the street, right into Lundy's Jimmy. The Knights speak to Frankie at the hospital, but since Mr Braxton doesn't want to press charges, claiming only a few dollars were stolen, Frankie is released. Braxton makes a call to Kansas City about the money being stolen, and a Button Man is sent down to look for the boys and find the stolen money. The man finds Frankie, and corners him on a roof top. To get information out of the teen the Button Man shoots Frank in the hand. Frank bolts and jumps from the top of the building onto the next but, unable to pull himself up with one hand, he falls to his death. At the crime scene, LaFiamma mentions that the method of shooting someone in the hand at close range reminds him of the mob. The next day the Knights pay a visit to Braxton's store and see the shooter walking through the store. Lundy asks, "Look familiar?" LaFiamma answers, "I know the type." The Knights also find a gun that Frankie was carrying, which is registered to Loretta Gibb's (Elston's mother). They go see her but she won't cooperate because she hates cops. Her husband was killed by police years back in a case of mistaken identity. Elston wants to give the money back, but Clay wants to keep it. They decide to sit and wait until things cool down. Clay takes some of the bills and goes on a shopping spree. Later Elston decides to give himself up. He takes the suitcase of money from its hiding place and goes to an abandoned house. The Knights go to Mrs Gibbs workplace, but she still doesn't trust them. When her employer comes down to ask who they are, our boys lie about having mixed up the addresses so Mrs Gibbs won't lose her job. Mrs Gibbs realizes that they are trying to help and tells them where they should looking for her son. From his hiding place, Elston calls Chicken to ask for help. When Chicken's answering machine comes on Elston leaves a message about the money and wanting to give himself up. The Knights find him in the abandoned house and arrest him. Annie tells them that the money is a very bad case of counterfeiting. Levon and Joey want Elston to meet the Button Man and get everything on tape but since Elston is a minor he needs his Mother's permission. They take the teen home where Elston explains to his Mom that he has to pay for his mistake. The phone rings and Elston answers it. It's Clay. The Button Man has him and wants the money in exchange for Clay's life. Elston agrees to bring the money and sneaks out his bedroom window because he knows his Mother won't agree. He waits for the Knights around the corner of his house. All three go to a building under construction where they are to meet the wiseguy on the 19th floor. Lundy takes the elevator to the 18th floor and walks up the stairs to the 19th. Joe and Elston take another elevator to the 19th. The Button Man has already killed Clay. Now he and Braxton wait for Elston. The wiseguy tells Braxton that he is to kill the boy as soon as they have the money. As the elevator door opens Elston steps out, LaFiamma pulls himself tight against the wall of the elevator. Clay is nowhere to be seen and Elston starts backing up when the shootout starts. Joey pushes Elston to one side and the battle begins between Joe and the wiseguy. Lundy arrives and kills Braxton. Joe kills the wiseguy who falls backwards, crashing through a window and falls down 19 stories to the ground. Joe and Levon take Elston to the station, stopping at his house on the way so he can assure his Mother that he is okay. The Knights hope that the charges will be dropped due to Elston's coorperation. |
| Executive Producer Jay Bernstein Producer John Ziffren Co-Producers Robin Bernheim, Robert Bielak and William Cairncross Director of Photography Roy H. Wagner, A.S.C. Written by John Miglis Directed by Jerry Jameson |
| updated February 11, 2008 |
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