The Rockford Files (1974) s01e00 Episode Script

1
Hey, you!
Got to get off or pay for the return trip.
We're at the beach.
I've got to meet somebody.
I got to stay here
until he gets here.
Don't make me throw you off.
Bye, Mr. Butler. That's right.
Yeah.
Beautiful.
Just relax.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
You did me good, Mr. Butler.
Just right.
Everything is gonna be
all right now.
Some of these cases
are still "possibles."
I don't have enough time to talk to
the people listed on the AR reports.
I don't like it better
than you do
but we don't have time to
screw around on dead-enders.
Okay.
How about this prosti Janet Nicolas.
You got anything good on that one?
At first we thought that
the pimp was good for it
but he's got an alibi
that won't quit.
Maybe it's a john.
I don't know.
Dump it.
How about this wine they found under
the pier? Butler. What's with him?
That looks like a mugging,
except for one thing.
He had a pretty good bauble on his finger.
A wedding ring with a half-karat stone.
We had it appraised for $200.
Some diamond. Probably
wouldn't scratch glass.
I got a hunch it's more than a mugging.
Let me hold onto it for a couple more days.
You got anything solid?
I got a feeling.
I got a hunch.
Dump it.
I settled up with Mort.
He's got the cabin all stocked
with Scotch.
We could really have
ourselves a hoot, Son.
What have you got that's so important,
you can't go fishing with your old man?
I ain't been a good father
or something?
Come on, Rocky,
don't get personal.
You're broke, right?
You should have took
over my rig, Jimmy.
You would have made
a heck of a good trucker.
But no, you got to be
Sam Spade or something.
You're a vicious old coot.
Ten bucks says
it's a bill collector.
Make it 20,
plus welching privileges.
Are you James Rockford?
Yes I am.
My name is Sara Butler.
I'd like to speak with you, if I may.
Sure. Come in.
I bet you're that Miss Butler
from the bank, right?
I beg your pardon.
This is my father,
Joseph Rockford.
How do you do?
Is this your office?
Yeah, it's cheap, it's tax
deductible, earthquake-proof
and when I get a job out
of town, I take it with me.
I'd like to hire you,
Mr. Rockford.
I'll be at Mort's cabin.
You got the number.
And don't forget
the welching privileges.
I won't.
Nice to have met you.
He's lost a bet. I gave him the
right to renegotiate the loss.
He'd get me drunk and we'll
settle for five bucks.
You want a cup of coffee?
No, thank you.
I hope you can afford me.
I'm sorry. What?
I like to get the business
out of the way up front.
I don't want to shock you, Miss Butler,
but I cost $200 a day, plus expenses.
Two hundred dollars?
Plus expenses.
And I only handle criminal
cases that are closed.
I get myself messed up
in a LAPD active file
I get my can shot off.
Tell me how you got this wonderful
finishing school approach, Mr. Rockford?
People come to me all the time
and they all have problems.
Sit down. I used to be softhearted
and I'd sit and listen.
But they couldn't
pay the freight.
So they'd leave
and be all depressed
and I'd be depressed
and it was turning me off my own
business, so now I do it this way.
If $200 is the price,
that's fine.
Money doesn't happen to be
my particular problem.
I have enough money to hire
a platoon of people like you.
That's Rockford with a "K."
Now, may I assume
I have your attention?
What is it that I can do
for you, Miss Butler?
My father was murdered.
The police don't seem to think
it was very important.
Just a skid row killing.
Skid row?
My father was a wine.
Two years ago, my mother died.
After she died, it seemed
to be all over for him.
I tried to make him forget, but he
started drinking and ended up a bum.
Two months ago
somebody killed him
and nobody seems to care
who did it but me.
Aren't the police on it?
There was a Detective Becker working on
it, but they closed the case
so he recommended
I come to you.
If homicide can't solve it, there's
a pretty good chance I can't, either.
I've just learned something
that I think changes that.
Did you tell the police?
Yes, but they still don't think
there's anything they can do.
What is it?
I'd like you to meet
my brother. He can tell you.
Could you wait outside,
Miss Butler?
I'd like to make a phone call.
Does that mean
you'll take the case?
We'll talk to your brother first,
then I'll let you know. I'll be right out.
I'd like to run a credit check
on a Miss Sara Butler.
Now that's dumb, Sara.
I mean, that's just plain dumb.
I don't want to talk to you, mister,
so you and my sister can just take a hike.
I'm not talking to anybody
about my father.
He was just a drunk.
The hell with him.
He treated you like a queen.
Bought you presents,
told you how pretty you were.
I got to carry his golf bags on
Saturday and take out the garbage.
So you go ahead, Sara,
you have sympathy.
But sympathy is an emotion
that's counterproductive.
Would you rather I take Mr. Rockford
to meet your Mrs. Elias?
You wouldn't.
Come on, Mr. Rockford.
There's someone I'd like you to meet.
Sara, wait a minute.
You can't do this.
Watch me.
You're a cop, huh?
No. What I am, sonny, is about 50 pounds
heavier and one hell of a lot meaner.
So you better straighten up your act.
I don't think I like you.
Yeah, okay.
But just don't bother Mrs. Elias.
I mean, it's not even important.
Sara thinks it's a big deal,
but it's not.
Tell me about it anyway.
This lady that I make deliveries
to got kind of interested in me.
She heard about my mother dying
and my father getting killed.
She found out that I wanted
to be a doctor. That's all.
That's not all, Nick.
Tell him everything.
She's offered to put me
through medical school.
That's all?
I told you it wasn't much.
Will you tell him the rest?
She orders her pharmaceuticals
from this drugstore
and has them delivered
to her house in Bet Air.
You see?
No.
Why would she deal with this drugstore?
There's 15 or 20 that are closer to her.
She just does. Sara,
don't blow this for me.
How many times does a guy get a chance
to be put through medical school?
Don't mess it up.
The medical profession needs
more sweet guys like you.
All right. Yeah, thank you.
What's wrong?
I was just beginning
to like you.
I like you, too.
While we were out slapping
your brother around
I had somebody run
a credit check on you.
Guess what I found out?
What?
You laid
some bad paper on me.
People who like each other hardly
ever do that sort of thing.
How stupid of me.
That's my household account.
I'm sorry. I wrote it
on the wrong bank
Knock it off, Sara.
These guys tell me that you're the only
one in town with worse credit than me.
I had to do that.
This is important to me.
He was my father.
Somebody killed him.
They choked him with a necktie.
They took his shoes
and left him on the beach.
They're not gonna get away with it.
Not if I have anything to say about it.
I'm sorry about that check
but nobody would listen to me.
Will you please take
this case, Mr. Rockford?
Don't you see
how strange it is?
Why would she deal with that pharmacy?
It doesn't make sense.
What's that got to do
with your father's death?
I don't know, but it is strange, isn't it?
Admit that.
All right, it's strange,
but it's not that strange.
Now that you've seen Nick,
how many women do you think
would be interested in
sending him to medical school?
But we haven't seen
Mrs. Elias yet.
She may look like she got
dredged up out of the LA river.
Nick says Mrs. Elias
is very attractive.
All right, Sara. I say
that is a little odd, but
it's still pretty thin.
I don't see how
I can help you.
What is it with you?
Are you independently wealthy
or just on some kind of
big case or something?
What do you do for a living when
you're not writing bad checks?
I have a small bikini shop.
How much do you make?
Two hundred a week
after expenses.
So you really can't
afford me.
No.
If I don't think
I can solve this case
and I go ahead and take
everything you make in one week
for one day of my time,
what does that make me?
I don't think
that's your problem.
I think it makes me
an unprincipled jerk.
Since I don't have any real close
friends, I have to get along with myself.
So I don't take cases where I think
I'm wasting my time or your money.
If you had any.
Wait a minute.
What are you doing for dinner tonight?
What?
I know this restaurant out in the Valley.
It's really very lovely. If you're free
Sara, don't do that.
All right I'll look into it for an
hour or so, just for fun. No charge.
If it looks like it's gonna
develop, I'll take it on.
Good.
Here. Don't drop it.
It may bounce up and hit you in the chin.
Funny, very funny.
I don't know, Jimmy.
Go figure.
If I didn't have to
keep this job, I'd quit.
So quit.
You don't know what it's like
being on parole.
You got sprung
by the Governor. But me
I got to check in once a week with
some fish called Norman Carter
and I got to tell him
how it's going.
If my brother-in-law didn't own this
paper, I'd never have gotten out of prison.
No, I'm stuck, baby.
I'm stuck.
I'm sorry to hear it, Angel.
Yeah, well,
I probably had it coming.
I did that bank job.
Yeah?
When we were in prison, you must have
told me 100 times you were innocent.
Well, I wasn't.
How about you?
Did you do that thing?
No, I was bad-rapped.
Sure.
Look, I told you.
Come on, be straight with me.
You were in
on that robbery, right?
Wrong.
I don't believe you.
Nobody ever did.
Look, did you find
what I wanted?
Yeah. I looked through
some old society columns
I came up with this stuff
on that Elias twitch.
Here you go.
Take a look at that.
That's kind of strange, huh?
Yeah. Sure is.
When did her husband die?
What's the date?
It was in June of last year.
Here it is.
Thank you, Angel.
Let's have dinner.
I can't.
It's a condition of parole.
I can't hang around with
anybody I did time with.
Well, when you get off then.
Hey, Jimmy.
Just between us.
You were dirty, right?
You did that thing.
No.
Come on, I'm not gonna tell anybody. What
the hell? I just wanna know for myself.
No. I never pulled that job.
All right
if that's the way you want to be about
it, I didn't do the bank job, either.
I never thought you did.
I didn't.
See you, Angel.
The file is closed.
I thought it was a mistake.
But we're getting a homicide
a night down here
and I've got to devote all my time
to the ones that look solvable.
Dennis, let me have a look
at the file, will you?
I can't do that, Jim.
I can't even tell you about it.
Let's face it, every time you get lucky
and you solve one of these dead cases
it makes us look stupid.
My captain hates you.
Dennis, look.
If you could tell me,
what would you say?
If I could tell you, I'd tell you that
the guy had a $200 diamond on his finger.
And for my money that doesn't
check out as a robbery.
That's if I could tell you.
I see.
Well, I think I'm gonna poke
around a little.
If you get anything solid,
you'll let me know, right?
Right. And thanks for nothing.
♪♪
I thought you said
this place was informal.
What are you laughing at?
Nothing.
Listen, I thought we could
work out a deal.
I'm sorry,
I don't have specials anymore.
It's 200 a day,
plus expenses.
Why so expensive?
It's not expensive.
It's just a little less than a
good plumber would make
if he doesn't work
on the weekends.
Besides, it's dangerous.
Strange thing
about unsolved cases.
There's always someone in the shadows
who doesn't want them reopened.
You'd be surprised
how nasty they can be.
What if I paid you
on the installment plan?
I did that once and got stiffed.
Ended up in Small Claims Court.
Would you care for cocktails?
Scotch and water, please.
Make it two.
I'm trying to hire you but I guess
you just don't want to work for me.
You're not trying to hire me,
you're trying to chisel me.
How big an installment?
Twenty-five dollars a week.
Is that all?
I'll pay you,
Mr. Rockford, I promise.
That means if I work for you for one day,
you owe me $25 a week for eight weeks.
Are you sure
that's what you want to do?
Okay, we got a deal.
Why did you take it?
I looked into Mrs. Elias's background.
I found something strange.
Three years ago,
she was a dancer here in LA.
Did a lot
of TV variety shows.
Why is that strange?
She married a man
by the name of William Elias.
Mr. Elias was 68 years old
and looked like he'd been
dumped out of a vacuum cleaner.
But he had $10 million.
So they were married in Las Vegas and
on their wedding night, he croaked.
But I don't see how that ties
in with my father's death?
I don't either.
It didn't even happen within 10
months of when your father was killed.
But Nick's
medical school offer
that's also strange,
and I don't like coincidences.
So, I'll look into it
for a day or so.
Thank you, Mr. Rockford.
My father is Mr. Rockford.
I'm Jim.
Thank you, Jim.
I don't mind telling you
that his widow, Mrs. Elias
was treated very badly
by the authorities.
They felt she had killed him because
of the amount of money involved
and also because
she was 30 years younger.
The fact that he died
on their wedding night.
That all sounds
pretty reasonable.
Maybe, but you should have
seen his respiratory system.
His arteries were hard enough to
pound through two inches of concrete.
There is no way it could have been induced
by electric shock or drugs or something?
No. As I said, Mr. Rockford
Mr. Elias had a cousin who was
trying to cut himself into the will.
He had four different doctors
examine the body after I did.
They all came
to the same conclusion.
Mr. Elias died of a very natural
and inevitable heart attack.
Thank you.
Mr. Rockford?
Are you planning
to reopen the case?
Because if you are and you're
interested in a medical opinion
you're wasting your time.
Thank you
for seeing me, Doctor.
Hello.
Hello. Mrs. Elias?
I don't know whether you remember
me, but this is Dr. Seelman.
Yes, of course
I remember, Doctor.
You did the autopsy
on William.
I didn't want to bother you,
but there is a man up here
who seems quite interested in
the coroner's report I filed,.
How strange.
I felt very badly about the way you
were treated when your husband died.
Thank you, Doctor.
You wouldn't happen to have his name?
Yes I do. I have his card.
James Rockford.
It says that he's a private investigator
who specializes in closed cases.
There's no address
on the card.
I see. Thank you
very much, Doctor.
Mrs. Elias
if you ever get up
to Las Vegas
I hope we might
see each other.
Yes, of course, Dr. Seelman.
I still have your number.
Let's make a date and plan on it.
Could I call you back later?
Of course.
Yes, I'm always in the office.
Thank you very much, Doctor.
Goodbye.
Yes.
Jerry, telephone.
Hello.
Hello, Jerry, it's Milly.
I was just about to call you.
Where's this week's check?
Forget the check. It'll be there.
I've got to see you.
I think we're in trouble.
Hi.
Hi.
I just got back from Vegas.
The coroner who did the autopsy says,
that Mr. Elias died of a heart attack.
He swears it's legit.
There is no possibility it was induced.
If there was some connection between my
father and Mr. Elias, maybe he's lying.
Why?
Maybe she paid him.
There were four other
doctors involved.
If you want my opinion,
it's a dead end.
Does that mean
you're off the case again?
I didn't charge you for the time,
10 hours, driving up to Vegas and back.
Must
put in seven cents
a mile and the gas
and the time I spent working on it up
there and the two phone calls here.
It comes to $75. It's tax deductible.
This is your receipt.
What kind of a jerk are you?
My own kind, I guess.
Look, Sara, I'm sorry.
I know you want to find out
who killed your father, but
If you wanna take the advice
of a friend, forget it.
Even if you find out
who killed him
he'll still be dead and you won't
feel any better about it. Believe me.
You don't know
anything about it.
You're standing there with your seven
cents a mile and your two phone calls
and you're trying to tell me
about my father.
I'm going to find out
who killed him.
It was nice knowing you, Sara.
I think you better bury your
father before he buries you.
Yes?
It's Jim Rockford.
I was thinking there's still one
other thing I could look into.
What's wrong? You just figure
out you're overdrawn at the bank?
You don't have to get smart.
I might take a look
at Mrs. Elias.
If she's sending eight other
guys through medical school
maybe you'll give up
on all this.
How about it?
If that's the case, we got a deal?
You there?
Yes.
Tell you what I'll do.
I'll make this half-price.
Thank you, Jim. But don't hurt
Nick's chances for medical school.
Damn it!
What's wrong?
I tore my picture.
I'll call you later.
You don't look much
like a dean of admissions.
What do I look like?
You look like a truck driver
in a suit.
I'm not.
Actually, being a dean of admissions
is quite a challenging job.
Most people
don't realize it, but
at Mollar we have at least 1,200
applications for every opening.
Twelve hundred.
What a job you must have
screening them out.
I had no idea.
Most of those
are multiple applications.
That means they are people who are
also applying to other medical schools.
I see. What is it
you want of me, Dean
Simpson. Carter Simpson.
It says that you're the one
who is going to pay for
Nicholas's education
at Mollar.
And since you are not related
to Nicholas Butler
we just wanted to make sure that you're
willing to pay for the whole four years.
What we're trying to determine
is just how
deep your interest
in Nicholas really is.
I don't think that came out
the way I wanted it.
Nick Butler is a very bright young man,
whose mother and father are both dead.
I'm very wealthy,
so I've decided to do this boy a favor.
Does that answer
your question?
Yes, almost.
Just one other thing.
The school would like to know if you
could set up some sort of trust
to guarantee
the full four years.
Believe me, it's not that we
don't trust your word
it's just that we have to have
certain guarantees.
After all, it's going to come
to almost $15,000 a year.
Call my attorney.
He'll take care of all the arrangements.
That's wonderful. Thank you.
You know, Mrs. Elias
since you are interested,
we have other needy applicants.
Perhaps you'd be interested
in helping some of them.
No, Nick is
my only charity case.
Goodbye.
That's a lovely pool.
It is.
Must be comfortable
on a warm day like this.
Goodbye, Dean Simpson.
Call my attorney.
What was he doing here?
What are you doing here?
You don't even know
who he is, do you?
Yes I do.
His name is Simpson.
His name is Rockford and he's
the man you sent me to follow.
What is this $8.62?
That's tax. There's no sales
tax on a personal service.
It's not a sales tax.
It's a federal tax.
It's part of the fee. I just break it
down separately for my own records.
Who's buying the hotdogs?
Me.
I have to tell you something.
You certainly have been
a new experience for me.
Sara, if Mrs. Elias had said anything
I could sink my teeth into
I would have kept on. But I called her
attorney and he's setting up the trust.
I don't know
what her interest in Nick is.
But I'm at a dead end.
I even tried to get friendly
but she wasn't buying.
Maybe your rates
were too high.
No need to get nasty.
This is the second time you've quit and
I'm still getting these slips of paper.
I'm not even sure you're really off
this case. I'm not sure, either.
You go home.
I'll call you later.
Hey!
♪♪
Hello, Jim.
How are you, Harry?
The usual?
Yeah, please.
What are you gonna have?
Bourbon and water.
Hey, pal,
I got myself a real problem.
Could you loan me $20?
I'm with this girl from the office
I figured, I put enough booze in her and
let her watch the acrobatic dancers
I could make a score
but I'm running out of dough.
I put 10 scotch and sodas in that broad,
she's drinking me under the table.
Just let me have that $20.
Give me your address, I'll mail it to you.
I'm awfully sorry.
I'm good for it.
Everybody knows I'm good for it, pal.
You've got to be one of the
dumbest-looking apes I ever saw.
Of course, you big muscle-bound
guys, you're usually compensating
for feelings of inadequacy.
Meaning?
You know, queer.
That's fine, mister.
That's just right.
Everything is gonna be
all right.
The trouble with karate, Jerry, is it's
based on the ridiculous assumption
that the other guy
will fight fair.
You're making a big mistake.
You better tell me
what you're up to, Jerry
otherwise I'll leave you here for the
weirdos that hang out in this joint.
I come into this toilet
and you sucker-punch me.
You got a big problem, mister.
I saw you following me
yesterday, Jerry.
I just refuse to believe that
anybody would be ridiculous enough
to follow me in
a red Cadillac convertible.
There you are again today,
chrome hubcaps and all.
Let's get that straight,
Jerry.
I know you're following me.
What I don't know is why.
Okay, so I've been
following you.
I thought you was that guy that
was seeing this chick I know.
She asked me to scare you off.
I can see
you're the wrong guy.
What do you do for a living?
Nothing.
Nothing? There are all kinds of nothing.
What's your flavor?
I play the ponies.
All right, Jerry, one more time and
I'm gonna have to mark you up, son.
Why are you following me?
You just help yourself, mister,
and then you get out of the country.
Because I'm gonna find you and when
I do I'm gonna mess you up real--
I'm sorry. I didn't know
the room was being used.
It's okay. We're almost through.
I'll just wait outside.
It's okay. You can stay.
Jerry, one other thing.
If you hear back
from some people
that somebody's looking
through your background
into your bank account,
business associates
don't worry about it,
it'll just be me.
Goodnight, Harry.
Goodnight, Jim.
I'm back on the case.
My regular rates.
What took you so long?
We got somebody
interested in us.
Which means I turned over at
least one of the right rocks.
Come on, I want you to get
dressed in something sexy.
I'm gonna offer you a chance
to get some of your money back.
I don't know that I--
I don't have time to argue.
Now remember,
something slinky.
Slow down. I'm gonna end up looking
like the Bride of Frankenstein.
We only got a few more blocks to go.
I'm gonna let you off across the street.
Remember, he's the big muscle-bound ape
with a black turtleneck and a plaid coat
and he's probably got a nice
bruise on his right jaw.
You hit him?
You bet.
How brave. Hope that
doesn't cost me extra.
You keep up this chickenhearted
routine of yours and it sure will.
Okay, where's the poison?
It's not poison. What do you take me for?
It's knockout drops.
Here.
How much money
am I gonna earn back?
I usually pay my operatives $20
an hour for this sort of thing.
Twenty dollars an hour to pick up some
guy who's probably an emotional cripple
and is gonna try and rape me?
He's not gonna
try and rape you.
I won't do it
for less than 50.
Who sic'ed you on to me?
The cops.
It figures. All right, 50.
♪♪
Come on trampy.
Just don't talk too much.
I can handle it.
Yeah, I think you can.
What I want to know is,
what does the other guy look like?
He's trashed up good.
I must have busted half his ribs for him.
Yeah?
I really like a man who can
handle himself, you know.
Is that right, baby?
That's great 'cause you're in
for a real treat tonight.
Okay, baby,
the social hour is over.
Don't rush me, Jerry.
I got to get in the mood.
Mood for what? We're not in
high school. Come here.
Why don't we just finish
these first, okay?
You got to be the squirreliest
chick I was ever with.
Wait a minute.
What's wrong?
I know where I seen you.
You used to 90 WW“
Frankie Baden Come here.
I never knew a Frankie Bader.
How about if I get you a drink?
You all right?
Yeah. He's in there.
Did you have to let him
paw you like that?
Paw me?
What are you talking about?
I saw you outside the bar,
playing slap and tickle.
I was right across the street.
What is this?
Forget it. We got to
go through this place.
What was I suppose to do?
I was trying to pick him up.
I said forget it. Let's move.
I don't want him
to wake up and catch us.
Why? Are you afraid of him?
You're damn right I am.
Look through
those drawers there.
What are we looking for?
We'll know when we find it.
What's that?
Those are losing tickets
at the track.
Some big-time gambler we got here.
He saves his old tickets.
Did you find something?
Yeah, his trophy case.
We made one nice connection.
Who is it?
That's Mrs. Mildred Elias.
Yeah, here it is.
This stuff is dusty.
They tried to get me down here
at first to get into re-filing.
I told them it took me half an hour
to find a name in the phone book.
Sara, could I have a picture
of your father, please?
You think these two
guys are mixed up together?
Police buried the wrong one?
No, they died 10 months apart.
Mr. Elias had an open-casket
funeral with all his friends there.
Is this all you need, Jim? Yeah.
Could I keep this, Angel?
Sure.
Thanks.
Me and Jimmy go way back
along ways together.
We was in the pen together.
We were both framed.
Jim, were you really
in prison?
Does it matter?
Of course it matters.
I spent five years
in a state pen.
For what?
Armed robbery.
Did you do it?
Would you believe me if I said no?
Probably not.
Then let's don't mess with it.
I'm sorry, Jim.
That was really mean.
If you told me you were innocent,
I'd believe you. I really would.
It's not important
to me anymore. It used to be.
I wanted everybody
to know I was innocent.
The Governor gave me a pardon,
said it never happened.
I took that pardon and I had it framed
and I put it up on the wall in my office.
Then one day I looked at it
and suddenly it wasn't important
anymore, so I took it down.
And you think I ought to
take my father's picture down?
I won't tell you
what to do, Sara.
I gave up that habit
while I was in prison.
That's one of the more constructive
things I learned while I was there.
Somebody killed him and whoever
it is ought to be caught.
The trick is not to
get caught yourself.
You're talking to an expert.
I spent five years
of my life in that trap.
It's hard to climb out.
You're a sentimentalist.
How strange.
Not really.
I'll catch a plane for Vegas in
the morning and call you then.
It's gonna cost you, sweets.
I know it's gonna cost.
You just get the plane.
It'll run you $10,000.
That includes everything.
Okay, stay handy.
Morrie, I'm buying you
so don't bring in
any out-of-work bouncers.
I'll be at the casino.
All right.
What are you gonna do,
kill somebody else?
Shut up. No, I won't shut up.
I don't want any killing.
I never knew
about that old man, Butler.
I don't want to be a part
of any more killings.
You got us in trouble and
if I could get away with it
I'd pull your chain right now.
I need $20,000.
Give it to me.
No, I won't.
Jerry, are you crazy?
Jerry! The money! My money!
Wow.
I almost killed
the Golden Goose.
I kill you, I'm out of
business, right, baby?
I need $20,000.
I'm not gonna pay you
to kill someone.
Please, Jerry.
Hey, baby
we're not gonna kill anybody.
We're just gonna rough them up
a little and then buy them off.
Give me the money.
I don't have $20,000 here.
I'll have to get it
in the morning.
Okay. I'll spend the night.
Won't that be fun?
Sara?
I want you to tell me about your father.
The last year or so.
There's some connection between
your father and the late Mr. Elias.
We have to find it.
There's not much to tell,
really.
He used to be an advertising account
executive and then after mother died
he just went downhill.
I used to go to skid row
and try and bring him home
but it never did any good.
All he ever wanted to do was drink.
One time I couldn't find him for three
weeks and I was afraid that he was dead
and that they'd buried him
and I'd never know where.
So I took time off from my work to look
for him and then I couldn't find him.
One day I was in St.
Anne's Mission and I looked up
and there he was
and he was so drunk
So I took him out and I fed him
and I asked him where he'd been.
He said he'd been
to the desert for his health.
And then another time-- When was that?
What was the date?
It was sometime last year.
I can't remember.
I think I know when it was.
It was the first two weeks
in June.
That's right. That is when it was.
How did you know?
Come on, let's get going.
Where are we going?
Pick up something at my place,
make a phone call. We're going to Vegas.
Come on, get going. For what?
Get dressed.
I'll explain later.
In the name of the saints.
All right, I'm coming.
Hello?
Hi, Rocky. It's me.
Hey, Jimmy, you gonna
get up here after all?
No. I need some help.
I'll help you bait a hook
if you can get up here.
They're really biting, Jimmy.
You still buddies with the guy in the
City Administrator's office in Las Vegas?
Yeah.
I have to get into City Hall
in Las Vegas tonight.
Can't do it, Jimmy.
Why not?
He lives in a trailer park
and he ain't got no phone.
Trailer park?
What are you talking about?
Well, he ain't exactly
a City Administrator.
But you said--
I know what I said,
but I was exaggerating a little.
Is he an Assistant
City Administrator?
Just what is he, Dad?
He's a janitor in the
City Administrator's office.
You're some kind of a liar.
I wasn't lying. I wouldn't lie, Jimmy.
Now, think about it.
What I said was that he was cleaning
up in the City Administrator's office.
That's what I said.
Rocky, does he have a set of keys?
Can he get me into City Hall?
I don't know. It's Saturday.
I'll pay you $50,
plus welching privileges.
Jim, you're not in any trouble, are you?
No, Dad, I'm okay.
Okay, I'll see you in five hours.
Right,
What's that?
That's my gat.
You mean you didn't have a gun
on when I picked up Jerry?
No, why?
What if he'd tried to rape me
or something?
He wouldn't do
a thing like that.
Besides, I don't have
a permit to carry a gun.
Okay, I'm gonna ask you
once more and I want an answer
why are we going to Vegas?
I got a wild idea.
If it's right,
it might explain everything.
All right.
Tell me what it is.
I'm superstitious.
You're just afraid if you're
wrong, you'll look stupid.
That, too.
What I need to know is,
who performed the wedding ceremony
for Mr. and Mrs. William Elias?
It was June of last year.
Pretty important,
to get us up at 6:00a.M?
It is.
How important?
I didn't say anything to him.
It'll come out of your end, Rocky.
Forget the Shakedown, Arnie.
He ain't going for it.
And wilt thou pledge thy troth
to her in all love and honor?
In all duty and service.
In all faith and tenderness.
joined in marriage,
I require him now to make it known
or ever after
to hold his peace.
Louis Delgado, wilt thou have
this woman to be thy wife?
I will.
I figure it's this next street
up here, but I can't tell.
Look at your map.
I looked at the map
but I can't figure it out.
Read the numbers.
I'm reading the numbers.
You may kiss the bride.
Thank you.
Mr. Baker.
Where, here?
Yes.
Get in and lie down.
Get in!
Jerry, let's go!
Just keep coming, baby,
you're doing fine.
What the hell's wrong with you?
Shut up and don't lose him.
Come on.
We're not losing him.
We're not gaining on him, either.
Come on.
Hold on.
Mildred and
her $10 million bridegroom
left the wedding party
in LA.
They flew to Vegas, checked into a
motel and then old man Elias died.
Before the wedding?
You've got the rest of it figured out?
Yeah.
She calls Jerry Grimes and tells
him she just lost $10 million.
Jerry says, "Did you
sign all the papers
"license, and all that?"
She says, "Yeah, but he died."
Jerry says, "Just sit tight. Throw an
electric blanket on him, keep him warm
"and I'll be there soon
as I can with a substitute.
"Then you can get married,
and then call the doctor."
So he picks up my father
because the age was right.
Your father hangs around
Vegas for a while.
When he gets back to LA,
he sobers up long enough
to figure out that Mrs. Elias
inherited $10 million.
He wouldn't do that.
I mean, he wouldn't blackmail them.
Maybe he wouldn't.
But they killed him.
I wish we would've
caught them. I
We'll turn it back to the cops
and eventually they will.
At least, we'll get it
out of the inactive file.
Hang on.
Get down.
We hit him.
You fellas need a lift?
Turn around.
Move back here.
Put your hands on your head.
Stop right there.
Move.
All right, up you go.
Up. Inside.
Inside.
In. All the way in.
In.
Go ahead, honey,
you're driving.
Fine. Get off of me.
Get your hands off me, I'm coming.
One more time, where did you get it?
What?
The gun. You ain't got
no permit to carry a gun.
You're missing
the whole point.
These two guys tried to kill a minister
by the name of Baker. We witnessed it.
Did you call Detective Becker in Los Angeles
and give him the information I gave you?
Yeah.
And?
He said he'd call back
after he'd checked it.
What about the signature cards
in the minister's record book?
Did you have them checked
against the marriage license?
We're doing all of that.
But in the meantime,
where did you get that gun?
I don't know how to
tell you this
but you just can't go around shooting
down light aircraft with handguns.
Yeah, this is Mitchell.
Yeah, okay.
Do you know
this Rockford fellow?
I'm not done with him yet.
I've got a whole omelet
cooking up here.
I'm holding two guys
on suspicion of murder.
There's gonna be an FAA
investigation into that crash
I got a minister
in a hospital.
I don't know, I'm just gonna hold
everybody till I get it figured out.
Okay, I'll tell him.
That was Becker in LA. He said to
tell you they picked up Mrs. Elias.
Are you really gonna hold him?
You better believe it.
I gotta see him. He's my son.
Relax, pop,
we got him in custody.
What's he in for
this time?
Shooting down alight aircraft
with a handgun.
All right, Rockford, let's go.
What's the charge?
How about vitamin deficiency?
How about material witness?
You can go.
Can I have a moment
with him, please?
Jim, I'm really sorry.
I feel so responsible for this.
They can't hold me too long.
I'll only charge you half-price
for the time I spend in jail.
You're kidding.
Yeah.
Come on.
Take care of her,
will you, pop?
Look at that.
Back in the pokey again.
The last time,
it took me five years to get him out.
I had to hock my truck and
everything to pay for the lawyers.
I haven't got anything
to hock anymore.
Who's gonna pay for his lawyers this time?
Maybe I can.
The belt.
I'll bet you don't get
many winners around here.
Ain't that the truth.