A woman, Angie, looks out the window of her apartment and sees a car pull up and three men come inside. The leader, Ross Wilson, knocks at Angie's door. She finally answers and Ross asks where Karl is. Ross and his men barge in and search the place, but find no sign of Karl... unaware that Karl is hanging on the windowsill. Angie says that she doesn't know where Karl is, and Ross tells her that Karl has broken parole and is going back, and there's no sign of him at Lucky's. Once they leave, Angie tells helps Karl back into the apartment. He admits that he doesn't know what to do, and Angie says that they need Lucky to help them.
On the Fortuna, Lucky and Andamo are eating in Lucky's cabin and complain about the salad dressing. The maitre d' confirms that Karl didn't show and they talk to Angie, who is filling in for Karl. She explains that Karl is a parolee and asks them to come with her. Lucky figures that they can't operate without a salad man and goes with Angie to the apartment. Karl explains that he was sent up for manslaughter with his hands, but Lucky doesn't care as long as Karl doesn't give him any trouble. He tells Lucky that he was working in the kitchen and a dishwasher--a drifter--got into an argument and threw a knife. Karl held him and accidentally killed him. Ross is Karl's parole sponsor, and wants to send Karl back to prison for violating parole. Karl insists that he and Angie are going to get married and he wouldn't screw it up, and explains that Ross wanted him to murder Joe Hardiman on the liquor control board. Lucky says that he'll do what he can while Karl stays out of sight.
Lucky returns to the Fortuna and finds Ross and his men waiting for him. Ross demands to know where Karl is, and Lucky demands a search warrant. The parole sponsor says that he can have the restaurant shut down, and that the two thugs with him are his deputies. Unimpressed, Lucky angrily orders him off the Fortuna and the three men leave. Lucky tells Andamo that they'd better visit Joe and warn him.
The next day, the two men go to Joe's office and ask if he has any disagreements with Ross. Joe figures that they work for Ross and orders them out. He says that he's ready to expose Ross' liquor syndicate and won't be pushed into a premature move against him. Lucky tells him to make his move quickly and be careful, and leaves with Andamo.
Back in his office, Lucky calls Karl and tells him to come out to the Fortuna. He gets Ross' phone number and calls the man, and says that he wants to see him. He then says that Joe told him that he's got the goods on Ross, and Ross invites him to meet him at The Planters club at 9 pm. Once Ross hangs up, a man shoots him dead, burns his files, and walks out.
At 9 pm, Lucky and Andamo wait for Ross and after an hour, figure that they've been stood up. As they leave, George Spotts watches them from a table and follows them out. He meets with another man, Harry Fenneman, who takes up following Lucky and Andamo. They go to a newsvendor, and the man prepares to shoot them. A truck pulls up, blocking his shot, and Fenneman fires and hits the newsvendor's stack of papers. Fenneman killer runs off and Lucky goes after him, but loses him in the darkness. When he goes back, he sees a headline about Joe being killed.
Ross meets with Fenneman and complains that he failed to kill Lucky. Fenneman begs Ross not to send him back, threatening to blow the whistle on him, but Ross figures that no one will believe that Ross ordered Fenneman to murder three people. The ex-con asks for one last chance, and Ross agrees .
Lucky meets with Karl and confirms that Spotts, Fenneman, and a third man Sam Burns are parolees sponsored by Ross. They talk to Sam, who claims that he's sick. he refuses to talk to them. Lucky asks where they can find Spotts and Fenneman, but Sam refuses to talk. Once Lucky and Andamo leave, Sam calls a number.
The two men track down Spotts at The Planters, and he claims that he drove Ross to a concert. They ask where he can find Fenneman, and tells them where they can find the parolee at the freight company where he works. Sam calls Fenneman and tips him off. Lucky and Andamo watch, and then grab Fenneman and take his gun. He says that he was at the concert as well, and they figure he killed Joe with the gun. When Lucky claims that Joe's secretary took photostats of his files to the DA and Ross is confessing, and he's pinning Joe's murder on Fenneman. Fenneman says that he had to do Ross' bidding or Ross would send him back to prison.
As they take Fenneman to the DA, Ross and Spotts arrive and hold them at gunpoint. Fenneman realizes that Lucky lied and goes for him, and Andamo and Lucky jump the three men. Spotts runs and Andamo knocks out Fenneman, and Lucky finally drops Ross. Spotts doubles back and shoots Ross, just as Rovacs and his men arrive. He says that Spotts called him, and Andamo tries to explain before tripping and hitting his face on a crate.
Later, Karl and Angie come to the ship and thank Lucky for his help. Karl offers to invent a special dish for Lucky and Andamo, and Andamo wants some raw steak to put on his eye.
Written by Gadfly on Feb 10, 2018