The Rockford Files (1974) s05e03 Episode Script
The Jersey Bounce
Somebody almost killed little Mary Carmony.
Hey! Hey, what's with you, man? You threatening us? Am I ever.
He was found in the shrubbery this morning.
I think I better read you your rights.
Why were you disbarred? Dismiss the case on a point of legal precedent.
Mr.
Ward, why don't you give me a break? Get a pail and start bailing.
Cut them off, Coop.
ROCKFORD This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
Jimmy, Angel.
Here's a tip, but his handwriting is bad.
Third son in the fifth race at Bell Meadows.
Wait a minute, could be fifth son in the third.
Wait, this might be next week's race.
Hey, Mickey, you going downtown? No.
What's his name went down to the store to get some brew.
Who's what's his name? You know, the guy, what's his name.
Here he comes, anyway.
Maniac, slow down.
Maniac.
Mary, you all right? I'm okay.
Thanks.
Get the beer, huh? Hey, what are you looking at? Now hold it, sonny.
Hold it.
Yeah, they done it all right.
But, well, the cops are there now, let them handle it.
They don't handle it.
You've told me 95 times.
I know, I know.
But, well, you see, that Eugene, he's got a clear shot right through his backyard to Georgina Street.
He can see the cops coming.
By the time they get here, he's got the music turned off and the squabbling all stopped.
Who knocked down the mailbox? Madonna, Officer, I wish I knew.
I'm in the house with my friends, right? We're listening to Carpenters.
All of a sudden, we hear a squeal.
We run to the window, there's a big cadi taking off down the block.
And his mailbox, ba-ba-bing, down for the count.
Says it was this Volkswagen.
Oh, gosh, Officer, this man is wrong.
I swear on my mother's grave.
He's old, am I right? Senile.
Yeah, go ahead.
Check for paint on the bumper.
How loud were these carpenters? Were they deliberately hammering loudly? No, Officer, the Carpenters are a singing group, real gentle and sweet.
He says you're playing hard rock on your stereo.
How loud was it? What difference does that make? The sound laws don't come on till 10:00 at night, am I right? Hey, hey.
Now, come on, huh? That's it? Now don't start nothing like you did Tuesday, sonny.
Maybe it just ain't worth it.
All right, Dad, I won't.
That's right.
It ain't worth it.
Look at them now.
Regular little angels, ain't they? Laying low for a while, but it'll all start up again tonight, busting the 10:00 noise rule and all.
There ain't nobody around here to prove what a hellhole they're making out of our neighborhood.
Yeah, well, we'll fix this mailbox, then we'll go get some R&R.
Hey, Fannon's boat.
All right.
You know, you could abide that rock and roll.
I even find my own foot tapping sometimes.
But that darn Eugene and his outfit, they don't make allowances for no one.
They never turn the music down.
And they've been hounding poor old Carl Gibbons over there.
They got him too scared to file charges.
Well, there.
That's about as good as new.
You could live with the Victrola turned up high, you could live with them fast cars.
But what I can't live with is Well, this stinking fear.
Yeah, well, you got your pole and your tackle box all ready to go? Yeah.
All right.
Oh, hey, listen, I'm sorry.
I got a phone call this morning.
Some business matters came up.
So, I'm just gonna have to drop you at Fannon's, and then I'm going to take off.
Ah, what a crummy day.
At the tone, the time will be 10:22 p.
m.
and 10 seconds.
At the tone, the time will be 10:22 Hey! Hey! and 20 seconds.
All right, all right.
All right, who wants to take count? Over here, over here.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
What do you want on yours? Tomatoes.
What do you want on yours? Hey, what's with you, man? You pick those out of there, briquette by briquette, and put them in that bag.
Go pick your feet.
Here, lady, you hold the bag for him.
Hey, what the hell you think you're doing, sonny Jim? This here's private property.
He's nuts, Eugene.
He said I ripped off his old man's charcoals.
I bought them charcoals myself, sonny Jim.
I'm not going to argue with you, Conigliaro.
I'm taking them back to my dad's, next door.
No kidding.
We was kind of thinking maybe you want to get down, you know? Like you done the other day.
You remember? When you hit me when I wasn't looking.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
When you broke the window? Yeah, well, it's kind of hard to see anything when you're running away.
I wasn't running, turkey.
Hey, you want to do the number? 'Cause I'm ready.
Come on.
Come on.
How about that, Harry High School.
Are you, by chance, referring to anybody who is present here at the festivity? Your dude's got a problem, let me and Drew in for a piece.
You're righteous hosts, and we don't feature negative vibes.
Come on, chicky.
What? You want me to go, huh? So all of you can jump me, is that what you want? No, I've got a better idea.
We will dance, but one at a time.
You threatening us? Am I ever.
You don't frighten me.
Oh, yes, I do.
You keep listening to that little voice way down inside you, Eugene, the one that keeps screaming at you, "Bounce back to Jersey.
" I don't believe that.
Hey, hey, hey.
All right.
Morning, sir.
Hey, what's going on? Is your name James Rockford, sir? Yeah.
Do you know a man by the name of Mac Amodeus, sir? No, why? What's the problem? Well, that's him, sir.
He was found in the shrubbery this morning.
It appears he was beaten to death.
Sometime last night, huh? He was a guest of a Mr.
Conigliaro and a Mr.
Long, next door.
Sir, witnesses over there have told us that you threatened several people at a party last night and Mr.
Amodeus was one of them.
Is that true? Sir, I think I better read you your rights, okay? I know my rights.
I didn't know this guy Amodeus and I certainly didn't kill him.
Yes, sir, but that's up to someone else to determine.
In the meantime, "You have the right to remain silent.
"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
"You have the right to an attorney.
" I thought we'd never get out of there.
I know that Deputy DA Cowan.
He's a real hamburger.
Hair-splitter extraordinaire.
However, he's got a heck of a case.
A heck of a case! How? I didn't do it.
Hmm.
The state can prove you threatened four men at that party, the deceased being one of them.
They can also prove a long-standing enmity between you and members of the Coniglio household.
Can we just slow down a minute, huh? I just spent the night in jail, and it's Conigliaro.
Right.
In a 187 PC, you got your big three.
Motive, weapon, opportunity.
Don't ever forget that.
In this case, weapon equals bruised knuckles and sprained thumb the police discovered on your right hand.
I got that in a fight with Eugene Conigliaro two days ago when he broke a window.
Hmm.
Look, Mr.
Ward, wait, wait, wait.
Your attitude is making me smell cyanide.
I didn't murder this guy.
Now, if you can't accept that fact as part of your working philosophy, I'll see that Harcourt and Lowe assign me a different attorney.
Oh, oh, oh.
Well, let's hold our collective horses a sec.
I didn't mean there's no hope.
Heck no.
But whether I believe you or not is nihil ad rem pertinet.
What matters here is strategy, and I've got one.
Yeah, well, I can't tell you how that makes me feel.
You know, I was sitting all alone in jail last night, I got to thinking about Beth not being with the firm any longer.
Oh, great gal, great gal.
I'm confident I can negotiate Cowan down from Murder one to Murder two.
Plea bargain? I'm not gonna bargain for anything.
I'm innocent of the crime.
All right, here's the short strokes.
Four and a half to seven? Or ten to twenty? I'm not going to cop a plea.
Jim? May I call you Jim? Hey, Jim, I don't know you, you don't know me.
Heck, you seem like a nice guy.
I remember Beth brought you to a Harcourt and Lowe Christmas party.
But the thing is, if we're gonna work together, you gotta realize that I work at my own pace, in my own way.
Oh, you do, huh? "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I "I took the one less traveled by "And that has made all the difference" Robert Frost.
Oh, bother, I know what that is.
It's the office calling about US versus OI' Dan'I Boone.
Who? It's a fascinating antitrust case.
Five years they've been taking it up the ladder.
Sumner Harcourt himself is going to argue it before the Supreme Court in about a month.
It's taken 10 years off the life of Wade G.
Ward, I can tell you.
Yeah, well, you really think you can handle two cases at once? Got to.
Anyway, the SEC avers that OI' Dan'I Boone Distillers acted in restraint of trade by buying several cocktail mixer corporations through their subsidiary, American Carbonated Inc.
Boy, it has been a bear.
Oh, fascinating.
I bet you can hardly put the briefs down.
Hi, Patty, what's up? Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
Look, Mr.
Ward, I really need a shower bad, but I do want to talk to you.
Yeah, we will, we will.
Go home, shower, but stay there.
By all means, don't go near the Coniglio house.
No, no, no, no, no.
That paragraph should be changed to read, "Whereas Eskimo Cola maintains its own sovereign board of directors, not answerable" Hello? Wade Ward, please.
Well, he's not here.
What time do you expect him home? This is not his home.
It's my home.
My name's Rockford.
Oh, I see.
You're the client.
I see what happened.
I'm John Cooper with the Corporation for Legal Research.
Wade was in here today and he put your phone number next to his name.
I just want to review some things with him.
Yeah, well, since he's having trouble with his own phone number, I'd sleep better if you'd review things with me.
Go ahead.
Well, no, Mr.
Rockford.
I really couldn't do that.
My company just does the research on a case and Wade's the attorney at record.
Ethically, I can only discuss the case with him, and he'll fill you in.
Sorry.
Corporation, Corporation, Corporation.
Corporation for Legal Research.
Research.
Corporation for Legal Oh! Boulevard, Beverly Hills.
Fool.
If this storm develops as I hope, you will have plenty to be afraid of before the night's over.
Go on.
It's nearly Hello? Yeah? I'm Jim Rockford.
I think you're the one I spoke to on the phone.
Oh? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
John, John Cooper.
She leave that door unlocked? If her coffee doesn't kill me, some neighborhood junkie will.
In Beverly Hills you have to expect that.
This is Beverly Hills.
Of course, Los Angeles is across the street there.
The border's that white line down the middle of the road.
The legal profession is very snobbish.
But most of our work is done by phone, so our law clients never know the difference.
Beverly Hills looks good on a letterhead and it brings them in.
Yeah.
Where'd you study marketing techniques? Midway at Pacific Ocean Park? Tell me you didn't let out a little sob of gratitude when you saw a Beverly Hills firm in your murder case.
Yeah, I've heard about you legal research firms.
You hire out to bona fide attorneys.
You do the legwork, you search precedent.
You even prepare the briefs.
It doesn't seem like it leaves an awful lot for attorneys like Wade to do, but some of the heavy theoretical groundwork and the cashing of checks.
You have a problem with Ward? Well, I was Beth Davenport's client when she was with Harcourt and Lowe, and this guy is no Beth Davenport.
Everybody have to be stamped the same? He's with the top law firm in town.
If Wade couldn't cut it, he wouldn't be there.
Now, I've told you, Rockford, I can't discuss the case with you.
Simple as that.
Coop? In here, Wade.
Oh, boy, what a day.
I just got out of a dinner meeting at H&L.
Started at 6:00.
That miserable US versus OI' Dan'I Boone.
Boy, that has been a bear.
Rockford.
Wade, Mr.
Rockford was just asking to see the data, but I told him it was impossible because Sure, what the heck.
Let's all hear it.
That way I won't have to sit through it twice.
Well, first of all, Nancy said you'd asked for a summary of Utah versus Liggett, but as soon as I read the case file, I figured she'd heard you wrong.
What is it? Precedent.
Judge held that the homicide charge against the defendant, Liggett, should be dismissed prior to the trial because he was defending his home against repeated assault.
Self-defense.
Isn't that how the case went, Coop? Oh, yeah, yeah.
But Well, let's say that's the case and you do have a point, Ward.
I'm not so sure that Utah versus Liggett is the precedent you want to cite.
We'll talk about that later.
Now, one of our people went out to the Conigliaro home to get an idea of what the party was all about, but Conigliaro and his friend, Mickey Long, refused to discuss it.
They said that they hope Rockford burns and they wouldn't do anything to help the defense.
Hmm.
That background would have been important.
But that's that.
Hostile witnesses.
Nothing you can do to make them talk till you get them in court.
You could depose them.
Au contraire, you can't depose witnesses in a criminal case.
What's the matter with you, Coop? File a civil action on Mr.
Rockford's behalf.
Sue Conigliaro and Long for damages, destruction of property.
And you can drop the suit at anytime, but you'll still have their sworn statements on record.
Now, you'll have a time problem, so you might have to go in under Title 20-17 A of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Pardon me, Coop, but that's just the kind of thinking that got you disbarred, buddy.
Heck, Coop, I'm sorry I let the old skeleton tumble out of the closet.
Okay, okay, I'll get ready to start an action on Long and Coniglio.
It's Conigliaro.
Mind if I join you? Well, I don't suppose this is just a coincidence.
No, no, I followed you.
I might as well cop out, to that anyway.
Hmm, but not to second-degree murder.
Mr.
Cooper, I watched you up there.
You seem to have more going for you than just, "Oh, boys" and "bears.
" But it's safe to say I have some deep concerns about Wade Ward.
So, if you were me, would you get a different attorney or do you think changing horses would be dangerous now? That's something you should talk over with your family and friends.
That's a personal problem.
A true diplomat.
There's just my dad, and he knows zip about the law.
He thinks nolo contendere is a Mexican bantamweight.
Mr.
Cooper, I could be facing a life sentence.
Hypothetically, now, one might start shopping around for other counsel.
One might obtain, well, from someone like me, a good list of names.
But at the same time, you shouldn't sell Wade short.
For one thing, he's familiar with your case.
Mmm-hmm.
Just the names of the principals and the nature of the crime he's a little shaky on.
What's yours? Oh Well, he feels like celebrating.
Give him an OI' Dan'I Boone, neat.
Everyone's a comedian.
Look, your preliminary is only days away.
And I'll be on the thing, and I'll work with Wade and see if maybe I can keep him from derailing when we hit the junction at Centerville.
If you're expecting him to derail, why are you protecting him? I'm not, not really.
And I don't think he will derail.
And even if he does, you could allege that Wade was incompetent counsel.
That even places some sympathy on your side.
Qualified witnesses would be forced to testify to that.
Would you? Would you testify that he was watching horror movies when we had our meeting? If it came to that.
It's not bad.
It's a little iffy, but it covers all the bases.
Now, there's something else.
Why did you get disbarred? It's a long story.
Is that why you've got your degree hanging upside down on your wall? My idea of a private joke.
Well, maybe this is a dumb question, but whatever it was that got you disbarred, were you right? Maybe you noticed the question of right and wrong is not within the purview of the law, only the question of legal and illegal.
Yeah, does seem strange.
Don't it, though? Bartender, I think I got him in a celebrating mood now.
He'll switch to OI' Dan'I Boone.
so I says, "Hey, sweet cheeks, "you can't prove I'm the one fathered the kid.
"And besides, you don't want it, have an abortion.
" She says, "It had to be you.
You the one "who pushed me down on the bed.
" I says, "Hey, go rotate.
"I ain't gonna pay you no money to support no brat.
"I'd rather smoke paraquat.
" Conigliaro and Long? It sure ain't The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Now, in your statements to the police, you two gentlemen averred that you did not personally know the victim, Mac Amodeus.
Remembering you're under oath, I ask you now to be absolutely certain that this is true.
It's true.
It was a open house, you know? We put up signs on telephone poles, and all kind of people come.
We got no control on who comes.
Can you state that beyond any doubt? Any glimmer or shred of uncertainty? Beyond any vague or shadowy Yeah.
Oh, tell Sumner I'll be right out.
Coop, it's OI' Dan'I Boone.
Could you keep everything warm? Do either one of you gentlemen know a woman named Dawn Nodzak from Redondo Beach? The place was packed.
I don't know this broad.
Why? Mac Amodeus was living with this Dawn Nodzak, and I was just going into the background.
I wonder if you might be able to add anything to that.
Hey, what are we, the Encyclopedia Britannicus? Look, are you gonna sue us? Sue us, or get off the pot.
Who started the beef between you and Mr.
Rockford, the one Mr.
Amodeus was in? Him, Rockford, and it wasn't the first time, you know.
He likes to swing on people.
That's a lie.
I never actually traded punches with either one of them.
Bull you didn't.
What about the other day? Tuesday.
When the window got broke? No one got hit.
That's a flat out lie.
You hit me, creep.
I still got the egg, right here.
Let the record show he pointed to a place beneath his right ear.
You told the cops I hit you on the right side of the jaw while you were standing up to me like John Garfield.
That's why the cops wouldn't believe me when I told them about the bruises on my right hand.
But now that they see that I was behind you, running after you, it'll be a different story.
The night was clear, and the moon was yellow And the leaves come tumbling down Hi, Joe.
Hey, Giuseppe.
Leave me alone, you bums.
I mean it.
A two hour drive to Redondo Beach is a long way to go.
I just hope we get something from this Dawn Nodzak.
She was living with the late Mac Amodeus.
Let's face it, we haven't got much else.
There's her place.
I would have thought Mac Amodeus lived in a garage.
That license plate.
I think I know who owns that.
Artie Nodzak.
Pop Warner type big shot up in LA.
Bunch of porno houses, string of hookers, horses out at Bell Meadows Raceway.
Yeah, that's Artie Nodzak, all right.
The guy that's with him is named Georgie something, Georgie Ryan.
Would you like some coffee? No, thank you, Mrs.
Nodzak.
Miss.
Oh, wasn't that your husband we just saw leaving? The reason I'm asking is we were both admiring that handsome car.
Oh, that.
That was my brother, Artie.
He'll be glad to hear it.
That car's his whole personality.
Mr.
Amodeus was a plumber? Now, we understand that you lived here together.
Did you accompany him to the party the night he died? I just can't think why anyone would want to kill Mac.
He was really a gentle guy.
He was always worried about the whales and things.
He was worried about them, like, what would happen to them.
He had this record of whales singing to each other and Like, when he'd get ripped, he'd put it on, and sometimes he'd even cry.
Whales singing to each other.
I mean, that really blew him away.
That's the kind of guy he was.
Excuse me, but how did you get the bruises? Oh, I'm such a klutz.
I was going down to the laundry room and I fell down the stairs.
Did Mac do that to you? Why, Dawn? What happened? Nothing special.
I said something that got him mad.
He would kind of do this once in a while.
That's how come I didn't go to the party with him.
My face.
Oh, he wasn't really violent or anything.
My theory is Well, actually, Mac was a real poetic guy.
He was always talking about signing up on the Calypso with Jacques Cousteau, or writing down some of the lyrics in his head and selling them to a band.
He knew a guy who knew the Eagles.
But that's a full-time job, and he had the plumbing thing.
He was really a frustrated poet and ecologist I think.
And that's how come he used to blow up.
That's my theory, anyway.
I assume that your brother Artie knew that Mac was beating you up.
Yeah.
Yell, yell, yell, all the time.
But what did he know? Right.
Listen, if you want to talk some more, you'll have to come back later, okay? I'm kind of co-chairperson at this women's group.
We're having a consciousness-raising session.
I gotta make coffee and all.
I really need this meeting.
I think it'll help get Mac's death out of my mind for a while.
That's my theory, anyway.
I hope Dawn likes this album.
Like, who needs heavy metal when they're experiencing grief? I'd say we came up with some interesting stuff.
You do, huh? Mostly whales and a singing act.
But I agree.
Dawn Nodzak sleeping with Mac Amodeus, and he's whacking her around for recreation.
Now, Dawn's brother gets wind of this, so he sends two apes to dance on Mac's head.
That's my theory, anyway.
Now, what's yours? I think we should run it past Wade.
Of course, it's not something you want to throw out at the preliminary, but Well, why not? Well, suppose you do go to trial, you're blowing your strategy.
The DA is lying in the weeds just waiting for you.
He should kick it out at the preliminary.
I don't want to even have to worry about a trial.
Look, don't worry.
I talked to Wade.
He says he's trim.
He feels he's ready.
Yeah, to cop to second.
Wade Ward was brought into that firm by Gene Lowe himself.
Beth told me Gene Lowe died at 42 years old of a heart attack.
Brought on by worry.
Your Honor, the defense would like to present in its behalf a sworn deposition taken at civil proceeding number 16345 in which Mr.
Eugene Conigliaro contradicts his own testimony regarding the injury to Mr.
Rockford's hand.
Yeah, that was a prior fight that caused the bruises.
He lied.
Well, it's possible Mr.
Rockford's hand was injured at a prior time.
However, that does not exclude the possibility of brass knuckles, chains, or other mechanical devices.
Yeah, but So stipulated, Mr.
Cowan.
If the court will allow me a moment? I'm in trouble, Coop.
That's all I had.
And this Cowan isn't the hamburger I remember.
You bet you're in trouble.
Recall Conigliaro and Long and go after their testimony.
But how? I mean, nobody's denying the threats were made.
Get a pail and start bailing.
The party, Wade, the party.
Noise, dope, confusion.
Was all that going on? Mr.
Long, how much narcotics had you ingested on the night of the party? I didn't use no narcotics.
I never do.
That is, I'm not a narcotics user of any sort.
Were you ever arrested in the state of New Jersey for possession of narcotics? Yeah, I think I was.
Once.
I submit you were under the influence of narcotics, sir.
A mammoth party given to celebrate the extension of unemployment benefits by the State of New Jersey to your colleague, Mr.
Conigliaro.
I submit you were highly narcotized, and I could produce witnesses who would so stipulate.
No.
We drank beer, that's all.
Me and Eugene.
In fact, I remember we split a case, but no dope.
So, half a case of beer.
Twelve bottles, if I remember my fraternity days correctly.
Boogie-woogie music thundering around your ears.
And yet, and yet, you managed to hear every threat, to get every nuance of hate in Mr.
Rockford's low voice, as Mr.
Conigliaro called it.
That's all.
I have no cross examination, but I would like to call Mr.
Joseph Rockford to the stand, please.
Now, I'm going to take you to two days before the party in question.
A window had been broken.
Now, according to Mr.
Conigliaro, your son said to him at that time, "I'd like to kill you guys.
" Did he say that? Well, I mean Oh, brother.
What I mean is No, that's all.
Thank you.
You may step down, Mr.
Rockford.
Your Honor, if I may, a great deal has been heard here in camera regarding the rancorous feeling existing between the Rockfords, pere et fils and Mr.
Long, Mr.
Conigliaro, and their party guests.
But I feel this court should be aware of another grievance against the deceased Mr.
Amodeus.
If need be, I can call one Dawn Nodzak to testify that Mac Amodeus had done her repeated bodily injury.
Miss Nodzak is the sister of an underworld figure with a record of violent crime, Mr.
Arthur Nodzak.
I leave it to the court to draw its own conclusions.
And I'd like to remind the court of its option at this juncture to dismiss the case on a point of legal precedent.
Certainly, we have heard instance after instance of pillage and harassment by Messrs.
Long and Conigliaro against the home and person of Joseph Rockford.
They've even admitted such themselves.
Present in the Magna Carta is the guarantee Cite your precedent, Mr.
Ward.
Utah versus Liggett, Your Honor.
In that matter, the judge dismissed the case, holding the defendant acted in self-defense when he killed two men of a party of several who were trying Utah v.
Liggett refers to Indians, does it not? Wasn't the Liggett home under attack by Comanches? I mean, wasn't a shed completely razed? Wasn't the limb of a family member completely blown off? Yes.
Mr.
Ward, why don't you give me a break? I find that there is sufficient evidence to indicate that the defendant, James Rockford, did commit the crime, and I hereby bind him over to Department Four of the Superior Court on July 9th for arraignment and for subsequent proceedings.
He's not the same man he was five years ago, Jim.
Look, I feel personally responsible Coop, forget about that for now.
Pay attention.
We got a definite tie up.
Now, Georgie Ryan, that's Artie Nodzak's muscle, he was in that courtroom.
Nodzak wants to keep an eye on my case.
Because if I'm headed for state college, he knows he's in the clear.
I'll tell you something else weird.
The whole time Ryan was in the room, Eugene and Mickey Long, too, were looking in the back trying to get his eye.
Oh, yeah? Yeah.
You thinking about a contract? Artie Nodzak pays these two salamis to croak a guy who's beating up his sister.
Pie in the sky? Blueberry.
Would they be stupid enough to make a hit and then leave the body in front of their house? Yeah, I guess they would.
You know, Jim, Nodzak is a functioning adult.
And he'd pay those two to make a hit for him? And they wouldn't have done it for revenge because Dawn told us that she didn't even know them.
Yeah, well, I'm just looking for a connection, Coop.
Do you remember what Eugene was talking about the day of the deposition out in the hall? Some girl he got pregnant.
So what? Yeah, well, it's straw-grasping time, right? I just remember that when we went to see Dawn, there were these two young women, remember, that went in to see her on a consciousness-raising session.
And one was pregnant.
Right.
Jim, I think the California Obstetric Society could give you figures showing that in any one week there could be several pregnancies.
Yeah, I told you, I'm just looking for a connection.
Who knows, maybe poor taste in men is it.
Eugene and Mac are both cut from the same bolt of cloth.
If you're going to go out with them, you're going to need consciousness-raising.
Either that or a helmet and shovel.
Boy, we're so far off from the murder, we're in a different time zone.
We start off with Eugene, Mickey and Artie Nodzak.
I think it's worth trying to find the pregnant lady.
Maybe that women's group can give us her name.
Okay, but I'll tell you out front, the only part of this I can really buy is Artie Nodzak.
And I know a guy like that's got to have too much street smarts to hire Conigliaro and Long.
Way too much smarts.
The men's can is the same as in a regular restaurant.
Well, what are we gonna do? I mean, if I gotta eat raw fish, I'm gonna ralph right in his lap.
I wish he'd picked Vito's Little Napoli or a steakhouse.
Oh, here he is.
Hey, Mr.
Nodzak.
Hey, over here.
Mr.
Nodzak, over here.
Drink, Mr.
Nodzak? We're having amaretto and cream.
It's a nice place.
I almost went over to Japan when I was in the airborne, but then they give me a section eight Hey, so let's hear it.
The guy who works for me at the track says you told him I should know who did me a big favor in the sister department.
You know, for a week, I didn't believe it.
Let's just say, Mr.
Nodzak, that it was me and Mickey who helped a certain party who was nothing but trouble cross the river.
You killed Mac Amodeus? Why? Because this scoongell was nothing but a thorn in your ear, am I right? It would do us grave honor, Mr.
Nodzak, if you would consider this thing which has been done as a token of respect from Eugene and me to you.
Hey, Mickey, you mind? Now, what my associate says is true, Mr.
Nodzak.
But in addition to that, it's sort of our way of saying, "Hey, here's a couple of guys ain't afraid to go all the way.
"Here's a couple of guys got their sunroofs down, "got their diamonds in the back.
"Couple of guys you can entrust with your whole thing there.
" You idiots.
Excuse me? Who asked you? Who asked you to croak that zero, huh? Nobody.
We done it on our own.
We heard he was gonging on your sister and that ain't right.
Ah! So, in other words, you did me a favor.
And now I'm gonna repay you by giving you a job or a piece of my action.
No, no, not a piece of the action.
Not right away, but we did Hey, what do you think this is? A movie? And I'm some guy who's got cotton stuffed in his cheeks and goes around mumbling and passing out favors? Do you have any concept of what you guys did? Who looks good for this murder, huh? A guy from Malibu, Jerry Rockford.
Oh, is that how you planned it? To hang it on Rockford? No.
You wanna know the truth, we were kind of surprised when the pigs busted him for it.
But what the hell, huh? As they say, you don't look inside the Trojan horse.
Hey, pinhead, supposing the charge against Rockford doesn't hold, huh? You know who's on the hook? Me.
I got the connections, the motive, the whole shot.
You know, my name came up in court today.
Well, look, why don't we order? Maybe we'll all feel a lot better if we eat some rice or fish or something.
You know, I'm gonna promise you something.
Now, I'm not going to stand for no murder heat.
You creeps better hope that this charge sticks on Rockford.
Otherwise, and I don't care how it looks image-wise, I'm bringing you both in to the police.
And if I bring you in on a roller board, it's all the same to the cops.
Which is exactly what I'm gonna do, just because of the aggravation factor I feel here.
We killed a guy for nothing.
I ain't never gonna get ahead.
What do you gotta do? It ain't happening for me in Jersey.
I come out here, I'm still in the toilet, looking out.
I see it happening for other guys.
I mean, what do you gotta do? It should have been someone we hated.
See, even though Eugene Conigliaro is the father of this baby, all right, he keeps saying no.
But who knows better than me? The thing is, he keeps denying it because I need some financial help.
Well, maybe something could be done about getting you some.
Legal action, I mean.
We'll have to give it some thought.
That'd be great.
See, I met him at Papa Doc's, on the Strip.
I saw him on the floor and, boy, that was it.
As soon as I saw him dancing, I knew he was Italian.
Celeste, did you ever mention to Eugene that Mac was slapping your girlfriend Dawn around and Artie was mad? I think so.
Yeah.
Once he was being just horrible about the baby, and I started crying, and I said, "You're as bad as this guy I know in Redondo.
"He beats up on this friend of mine all the time.
" Then I mentioned Dawn and Mac and Dawn's brother, Artie.
What is all this? Celeste, you know the kind of man Eugene is.
This might be worse than you think.
There's a good chance that he's a murderer.
Dear God.
Coop, I'd make book that they did it just to make points with Nodzak.
Can you believe it? These geniuses commit a murder on spec.
Abbott and Costello meet The Godfather.
Pathetic.
But until we hear them say it or find material evidence, we're just doing guesswork.
Yeah.
Eugene, it's me.
Take a walk until your hat floats.
No, wait, Eugene.
It's not about the baby, it's about Artie Nodzak.
Eugene, I know what happened.
Dawn Nodzak told me.
And, listen, I think you're in danger.
Yeah? But if you want to know what's gonna happen, then you have to agree to help me support the baby.
So that's how come all of a sudden you're so interested in saving my life, huh? You're a cheap trick, you know that, Celeste? All right, I'll come in with some bread.
So, what'd she say? She said Artie's getting madder and madder.
He didn't appreciate what you did.
In fact, he's been doing nothing but complain because it made him look guilty.
He's coming to get you.
You and Mickey, tomorrow.
Him and a man named Ryan.
He says he's going to do awful things to your hands and your face, and then he turns you over to the police.
Wait, wait, Celeste, wait.
Listen, you got to get word to this Dawn to tell her brother.
You see, I got a plan.
I been thinking.
It's foolproof.
You got to tell her.
Plan? What are you talking about? I'm gonna kill Mickey.
What? Then Then you really did kill Mac? Yeah, yeah, me and Mickey.
But the important thing is you gotta tell Artie Nodzak Hey, Eugene, what you say we go downtown? You can't see I'm on the phone? It's my old lady.
She's calling from Jersey.
I'll be out in a minute, Mick.
Yeah.
So how's cousin Carmela? Celeste? You gotta tell Artie that I'm gonna kill Mickey and put the body over by Rockford's trailer.
And maybe I'll throw the weapon in Rockford's car.
This way the cops will find him and think Rockford did it.
Just another victim in the feud.
And there ain't a jury in the world that won't think Rockford's a killer after all the trouble he had with us.
You got that? Now, you tell Artie that this is the answer to everybody's problems.
I gotta go.
Hey, Mick, what do you say we go down to the ocean? Now? It's too cold.
What cold? I know a guy down there.
We'll score some dust and we'll hit one of the bars on the ocean.
Maybe we'll pick up some skirt.
All right.
I met this guy the other day.
Great dust.
Yeah? He lives in one of these trailers around here someplace.
Over there.
You coming? Yeah, yeah.
What are you doing? The zipper on my jacket broke.
It's stuck.
It won't work, Conigliaro.
It's all over.
What's happening, Eugene? Cut them off, Coop.
Cut them off from their car.
Hold it.
Hold it.
Hold it.
Now, drop that thing.
The cops are on their way.
They're not gonna send you to barber school.
Let them come.
I ain't gonna be here.
All right, come on.
Take it easy.
Stop him, Smitty! Hey, Coop, I got mine.
Actually, it's probably the best thing could have happened.
You know, it ain't the first time this mailbox has been knocked down.
I was always gonna put it on a nice iron post and sink it in concrete like a proper one.
Excuse me, but can we stick to the subject at hand? I mean, if you're not going to pay Wade Ward a cent, that's one thing.
I agree.
I agree.
But, you see, I'm a subcontractor, and I was just wondering who's going to pay my fees? And of course I can't charge you what a full-blown attorney would since my license has been taken away, but Really? Well, I mean, I can't go into court for you or anything like that.
But my advice is informed over a number of years of experience and Yeah, well, that's very interesting, you know.
In my line of work, I'm always coming up against legal questions.
Yeah, Coop, Coop, I think we ought to have a talk, I really do.
Something about maybe an informal type of retainer thing.
Well, there are lots of good attorneys around.
Real ones.
Like Wade Ward? No, you're good.
You really are.
I told you that the first time we met.
Yeah, but there's nothing wrong with a guy trying to cut his operation costs.
I think we ought to have a talk, Coop.
Well, I'll tell you what.
Why don't we pay the bill first and then we'll talk? Well, sure, sure.
Let's go on in the house, have a beer.
Here, I'll get that.
No, I got it.
I got it.
All right, you take it.
Hey! Hey, what's with you, man? You threatening us? Am I ever.
He was found in the shrubbery this morning.
I think I better read you your rights.
Why were you disbarred? Dismiss the case on a point of legal precedent.
Mr.
Ward, why don't you give me a break? Get a pail and start bailing.
Cut them off, Coop.
ROCKFORD This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
Jimmy, Angel.
Here's a tip, but his handwriting is bad.
Third son in the fifth race at Bell Meadows.
Wait a minute, could be fifth son in the third.
Wait, this might be next week's race.
Hey, Mickey, you going downtown? No.
What's his name went down to the store to get some brew.
Who's what's his name? You know, the guy, what's his name.
Here he comes, anyway.
Maniac, slow down.
Maniac.
Mary, you all right? I'm okay.
Thanks.
Get the beer, huh? Hey, what are you looking at? Now hold it, sonny.
Hold it.
Yeah, they done it all right.
But, well, the cops are there now, let them handle it.
They don't handle it.
You've told me 95 times.
I know, I know.
But, well, you see, that Eugene, he's got a clear shot right through his backyard to Georgina Street.
He can see the cops coming.
By the time they get here, he's got the music turned off and the squabbling all stopped.
Who knocked down the mailbox? Madonna, Officer, I wish I knew.
I'm in the house with my friends, right? We're listening to Carpenters.
All of a sudden, we hear a squeal.
We run to the window, there's a big cadi taking off down the block.
And his mailbox, ba-ba-bing, down for the count.
Says it was this Volkswagen.
Oh, gosh, Officer, this man is wrong.
I swear on my mother's grave.
He's old, am I right? Senile.
Yeah, go ahead.
Check for paint on the bumper.
How loud were these carpenters? Were they deliberately hammering loudly? No, Officer, the Carpenters are a singing group, real gentle and sweet.
He says you're playing hard rock on your stereo.
How loud was it? What difference does that make? The sound laws don't come on till 10:00 at night, am I right? Hey, hey.
Now, come on, huh? That's it? Now don't start nothing like you did Tuesday, sonny.
Maybe it just ain't worth it.
All right, Dad, I won't.
That's right.
It ain't worth it.
Look at them now.
Regular little angels, ain't they? Laying low for a while, but it'll all start up again tonight, busting the 10:00 noise rule and all.
There ain't nobody around here to prove what a hellhole they're making out of our neighborhood.
Yeah, well, we'll fix this mailbox, then we'll go get some R&R.
Hey, Fannon's boat.
All right.
You know, you could abide that rock and roll.
I even find my own foot tapping sometimes.
But that darn Eugene and his outfit, they don't make allowances for no one.
They never turn the music down.
And they've been hounding poor old Carl Gibbons over there.
They got him too scared to file charges.
Well, there.
That's about as good as new.
You could live with the Victrola turned up high, you could live with them fast cars.
But what I can't live with is Well, this stinking fear.
Yeah, well, you got your pole and your tackle box all ready to go? Yeah.
All right.
Oh, hey, listen, I'm sorry.
I got a phone call this morning.
Some business matters came up.
So, I'm just gonna have to drop you at Fannon's, and then I'm going to take off.
Ah, what a crummy day.
At the tone, the time will be 10:22 p.
m.
and 10 seconds.
At the tone, the time will be 10:22 Hey! Hey! and 20 seconds.
All right, all right.
All right, who wants to take count? Over here, over here.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
What do you want on yours? Tomatoes.
What do you want on yours? Hey, what's with you, man? You pick those out of there, briquette by briquette, and put them in that bag.
Go pick your feet.
Here, lady, you hold the bag for him.
Hey, what the hell you think you're doing, sonny Jim? This here's private property.
He's nuts, Eugene.
He said I ripped off his old man's charcoals.
I bought them charcoals myself, sonny Jim.
I'm not going to argue with you, Conigliaro.
I'm taking them back to my dad's, next door.
No kidding.
We was kind of thinking maybe you want to get down, you know? Like you done the other day.
You remember? When you hit me when I wasn't looking.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
When you broke the window? Yeah, well, it's kind of hard to see anything when you're running away.
I wasn't running, turkey.
Hey, you want to do the number? 'Cause I'm ready.
Come on.
Come on.
How about that, Harry High School.
Are you, by chance, referring to anybody who is present here at the festivity? Your dude's got a problem, let me and Drew in for a piece.
You're righteous hosts, and we don't feature negative vibes.
Come on, chicky.
What? You want me to go, huh? So all of you can jump me, is that what you want? No, I've got a better idea.
We will dance, but one at a time.
You threatening us? Am I ever.
You don't frighten me.
Oh, yes, I do.
You keep listening to that little voice way down inside you, Eugene, the one that keeps screaming at you, "Bounce back to Jersey.
" I don't believe that.
Hey, hey, hey.
All right.
Morning, sir.
Hey, what's going on? Is your name James Rockford, sir? Yeah.
Do you know a man by the name of Mac Amodeus, sir? No, why? What's the problem? Well, that's him, sir.
He was found in the shrubbery this morning.
It appears he was beaten to death.
Sometime last night, huh? He was a guest of a Mr.
Conigliaro and a Mr.
Long, next door.
Sir, witnesses over there have told us that you threatened several people at a party last night and Mr.
Amodeus was one of them.
Is that true? Sir, I think I better read you your rights, okay? I know my rights.
I didn't know this guy Amodeus and I certainly didn't kill him.
Yes, sir, but that's up to someone else to determine.
In the meantime, "You have the right to remain silent.
"Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
"You have the right to an attorney.
" I thought we'd never get out of there.
I know that Deputy DA Cowan.
He's a real hamburger.
Hair-splitter extraordinaire.
However, he's got a heck of a case.
A heck of a case! How? I didn't do it.
Hmm.
The state can prove you threatened four men at that party, the deceased being one of them.
They can also prove a long-standing enmity between you and members of the Coniglio household.
Can we just slow down a minute, huh? I just spent the night in jail, and it's Conigliaro.
Right.
In a 187 PC, you got your big three.
Motive, weapon, opportunity.
Don't ever forget that.
In this case, weapon equals bruised knuckles and sprained thumb the police discovered on your right hand.
I got that in a fight with Eugene Conigliaro two days ago when he broke a window.
Hmm.
Look, Mr.
Ward, wait, wait, wait.
Your attitude is making me smell cyanide.
I didn't murder this guy.
Now, if you can't accept that fact as part of your working philosophy, I'll see that Harcourt and Lowe assign me a different attorney.
Oh, oh, oh.
Well, let's hold our collective horses a sec.
I didn't mean there's no hope.
Heck no.
But whether I believe you or not is nihil ad rem pertinet.
What matters here is strategy, and I've got one.
Yeah, well, I can't tell you how that makes me feel.
You know, I was sitting all alone in jail last night, I got to thinking about Beth not being with the firm any longer.
Oh, great gal, great gal.
I'm confident I can negotiate Cowan down from Murder one to Murder two.
Plea bargain? I'm not gonna bargain for anything.
I'm innocent of the crime.
All right, here's the short strokes.
Four and a half to seven? Or ten to twenty? I'm not going to cop a plea.
Jim? May I call you Jim? Hey, Jim, I don't know you, you don't know me.
Heck, you seem like a nice guy.
I remember Beth brought you to a Harcourt and Lowe Christmas party.
But the thing is, if we're gonna work together, you gotta realize that I work at my own pace, in my own way.
Oh, you do, huh? "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I "I took the one less traveled by "And that has made all the difference" Robert Frost.
Oh, bother, I know what that is.
It's the office calling about US versus OI' Dan'I Boone.
Who? It's a fascinating antitrust case.
Five years they've been taking it up the ladder.
Sumner Harcourt himself is going to argue it before the Supreme Court in about a month.
It's taken 10 years off the life of Wade G.
Ward, I can tell you.
Yeah, well, you really think you can handle two cases at once? Got to.
Anyway, the SEC avers that OI' Dan'I Boone Distillers acted in restraint of trade by buying several cocktail mixer corporations through their subsidiary, American Carbonated Inc.
Boy, it has been a bear.
Oh, fascinating.
I bet you can hardly put the briefs down.
Hi, Patty, what's up? Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
Look, Mr.
Ward, I really need a shower bad, but I do want to talk to you.
Yeah, we will, we will.
Go home, shower, but stay there.
By all means, don't go near the Coniglio house.
No, no, no, no, no.
That paragraph should be changed to read, "Whereas Eskimo Cola maintains its own sovereign board of directors, not answerable" Hello? Wade Ward, please.
Well, he's not here.
What time do you expect him home? This is not his home.
It's my home.
My name's Rockford.
Oh, I see.
You're the client.
I see what happened.
I'm John Cooper with the Corporation for Legal Research.
Wade was in here today and he put your phone number next to his name.
I just want to review some things with him.
Yeah, well, since he's having trouble with his own phone number, I'd sleep better if you'd review things with me.
Go ahead.
Well, no, Mr.
Rockford.
I really couldn't do that.
My company just does the research on a case and Wade's the attorney at record.
Ethically, I can only discuss the case with him, and he'll fill you in.
Sorry.
Corporation, Corporation, Corporation.
Corporation for Legal Research.
Research.
Corporation for Legal Oh! Boulevard, Beverly Hills.
Fool.
If this storm develops as I hope, you will have plenty to be afraid of before the night's over.
Go on.
It's nearly Hello? Yeah? I'm Jim Rockford.
I think you're the one I spoke to on the phone.
Oh? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
John, John Cooper.
She leave that door unlocked? If her coffee doesn't kill me, some neighborhood junkie will.
In Beverly Hills you have to expect that.
This is Beverly Hills.
Of course, Los Angeles is across the street there.
The border's that white line down the middle of the road.
The legal profession is very snobbish.
But most of our work is done by phone, so our law clients never know the difference.
Beverly Hills looks good on a letterhead and it brings them in.
Yeah.
Where'd you study marketing techniques? Midway at Pacific Ocean Park? Tell me you didn't let out a little sob of gratitude when you saw a Beverly Hills firm in your murder case.
Yeah, I've heard about you legal research firms.
You hire out to bona fide attorneys.
You do the legwork, you search precedent.
You even prepare the briefs.
It doesn't seem like it leaves an awful lot for attorneys like Wade to do, but some of the heavy theoretical groundwork and the cashing of checks.
You have a problem with Ward? Well, I was Beth Davenport's client when she was with Harcourt and Lowe, and this guy is no Beth Davenport.
Everybody have to be stamped the same? He's with the top law firm in town.
If Wade couldn't cut it, he wouldn't be there.
Now, I've told you, Rockford, I can't discuss the case with you.
Simple as that.
Coop? In here, Wade.
Oh, boy, what a day.
I just got out of a dinner meeting at H&L.
Started at 6:00.
That miserable US versus OI' Dan'I Boone.
Boy, that has been a bear.
Rockford.
Wade, Mr.
Rockford was just asking to see the data, but I told him it was impossible because Sure, what the heck.
Let's all hear it.
That way I won't have to sit through it twice.
Well, first of all, Nancy said you'd asked for a summary of Utah versus Liggett, but as soon as I read the case file, I figured she'd heard you wrong.
What is it? Precedent.
Judge held that the homicide charge against the defendant, Liggett, should be dismissed prior to the trial because he was defending his home against repeated assault.
Self-defense.
Isn't that how the case went, Coop? Oh, yeah, yeah.
But Well, let's say that's the case and you do have a point, Ward.
I'm not so sure that Utah versus Liggett is the precedent you want to cite.
We'll talk about that later.
Now, one of our people went out to the Conigliaro home to get an idea of what the party was all about, but Conigliaro and his friend, Mickey Long, refused to discuss it.
They said that they hope Rockford burns and they wouldn't do anything to help the defense.
Hmm.
That background would have been important.
But that's that.
Hostile witnesses.
Nothing you can do to make them talk till you get them in court.
You could depose them.
Au contraire, you can't depose witnesses in a criminal case.
What's the matter with you, Coop? File a civil action on Mr.
Rockford's behalf.
Sue Conigliaro and Long for damages, destruction of property.
And you can drop the suit at anytime, but you'll still have their sworn statements on record.
Now, you'll have a time problem, so you might have to go in under Title 20-17 A of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Pardon me, Coop, but that's just the kind of thinking that got you disbarred, buddy.
Heck, Coop, I'm sorry I let the old skeleton tumble out of the closet.
Okay, okay, I'll get ready to start an action on Long and Coniglio.
It's Conigliaro.
Mind if I join you? Well, I don't suppose this is just a coincidence.
No, no, I followed you.
I might as well cop out, to that anyway.
Hmm, but not to second-degree murder.
Mr.
Cooper, I watched you up there.
You seem to have more going for you than just, "Oh, boys" and "bears.
" But it's safe to say I have some deep concerns about Wade Ward.
So, if you were me, would you get a different attorney or do you think changing horses would be dangerous now? That's something you should talk over with your family and friends.
That's a personal problem.
A true diplomat.
There's just my dad, and he knows zip about the law.
He thinks nolo contendere is a Mexican bantamweight.
Mr.
Cooper, I could be facing a life sentence.
Hypothetically, now, one might start shopping around for other counsel.
One might obtain, well, from someone like me, a good list of names.
But at the same time, you shouldn't sell Wade short.
For one thing, he's familiar with your case.
Mmm-hmm.
Just the names of the principals and the nature of the crime he's a little shaky on.
What's yours? Oh Well, he feels like celebrating.
Give him an OI' Dan'I Boone, neat.
Everyone's a comedian.
Look, your preliminary is only days away.
And I'll be on the thing, and I'll work with Wade and see if maybe I can keep him from derailing when we hit the junction at Centerville.
If you're expecting him to derail, why are you protecting him? I'm not, not really.
And I don't think he will derail.
And even if he does, you could allege that Wade was incompetent counsel.
That even places some sympathy on your side.
Qualified witnesses would be forced to testify to that.
Would you? Would you testify that he was watching horror movies when we had our meeting? If it came to that.
It's not bad.
It's a little iffy, but it covers all the bases.
Now, there's something else.
Why did you get disbarred? It's a long story.
Is that why you've got your degree hanging upside down on your wall? My idea of a private joke.
Well, maybe this is a dumb question, but whatever it was that got you disbarred, were you right? Maybe you noticed the question of right and wrong is not within the purview of the law, only the question of legal and illegal.
Yeah, does seem strange.
Don't it, though? Bartender, I think I got him in a celebrating mood now.
He'll switch to OI' Dan'I Boone.
so I says, "Hey, sweet cheeks, "you can't prove I'm the one fathered the kid.
"And besides, you don't want it, have an abortion.
" She says, "It had to be you.
You the one "who pushed me down on the bed.
" I says, "Hey, go rotate.
"I ain't gonna pay you no money to support no brat.
"I'd rather smoke paraquat.
" Conigliaro and Long? It sure ain't The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Now, in your statements to the police, you two gentlemen averred that you did not personally know the victim, Mac Amodeus.
Remembering you're under oath, I ask you now to be absolutely certain that this is true.
It's true.
It was a open house, you know? We put up signs on telephone poles, and all kind of people come.
We got no control on who comes.
Can you state that beyond any doubt? Any glimmer or shred of uncertainty? Beyond any vague or shadowy Yeah.
Oh, tell Sumner I'll be right out.
Coop, it's OI' Dan'I Boone.
Could you keep everything warm? Do either one of you gentlemen know a woman named Dawn Nodzak from Redondo Beach? The place was packed.
I don't know this broad.
Why? Mac Amodeus was living with this Dawn Nodzak, and I was just going into the background.
I wonder if you might be able to add anything to that.
Hey, what are we, the Encyclopedia Britannicus? Look, are you gonna sue us? Sue us, or get off the pot.
Who started the beef between you and Mr.
Rockford, the one Mr.
Amodeus was in? Him, Rockford, and it wasn't the first time, you know.
He likes to swing on people.
That's a lie.
I never actually traded punches with either one of them.
Bull you didn't.
What about the other day? Tuesday.
When the window got broke? No one got hit.
That's a flat out lie.
You hit me, creep.
I still got the egg, right here.
Let the record show he pointed to a place beneath his right ear.
You told the cops I hit you on the right side of the jaw while you were standing up to me like John Garfield.
That's why the cops wouldn't believe me when I told them about the bruises on my right hand.
But now that they see that I was behind you, running after you, it'll be a different story.
The night was clear, and the moon was yellow And the leaves come tumbling down Hi, Joe.
Hey, Giuseppe.
Leave me alone, you bums.
I mean it.
A two hour drive to Redondo Beach is a long way to go.
I just hope we get something from this Dawn Nodzak.
She was living with the late Mac Amodeus.
Let's face it, we haven't got much else.
There's her place.
I would have thought Mac Amodeus lived in a garage.
That license plate.
I think I know who owns that.
Artie Nodzak.
Pop Warner type big shot up in LA.
Bunch of porno houses, string of hookers, horses out at Bell Meadows Raceway.
Yeah, that's Artie Nodzak, all right.
The guy that's with him is named Georgie something, Georgie Ryan.
Would you like some coffee? No, thank you, Mrs.
Nodzak.
Miss.
Oh, wasn't that your husband we just saw leaving? The reason I'm asking is we were both admiring that handsome car.
Oh, that.
That was my brother, Artie.
He'll be glad to hear it.
That car's his whole personality.
Mr.
Amodeus was a plumber? Now, we understand that you lived here together.
Did you accompany him to the party the night he died? I just can't think why anyone would want to kill Mac.
He was really a gentle guy.
He was always worried about the whales and things.
He was worried about them, like, what would happen to them.
He had this record of whales singing to each other and Like, when he'd get ripped, he'd put it on, and sometimes he'd even cry.
Whales singing to each other.
I mean, that really blew him away.
That's the kind of guy he was.
Excuse me, but how did you get the bruises? Oh, I'm such a klutz.
I was going down to the laundry room and I fell down the stairs.
Did Mac do that to you? Why, Dawn? What happened? Nothing special.
I said something that got him mad.
He would kind of do this once in a while.
That's how come I didn't go to the party with him.
My face.
Oh, he wasn't really violent or anything.
My theory is Well, actually, Mac was a real poetic guy.
He was always talking about signing up on the Calypso with Jacques Cousteau, or writing down some of the lyrics in his head and selling them to a band.
He knew a guy who knew the Eagles.
But that's a full-time job, and he had the plumbing thing.
He was really a frustrated poet and ecologist I think.
And that's how come he used to blow up.
That's my theory, anyway.
I assume that your brother Artie knew that Mac was beating you up.
Yeah.
Yell, yell, yell, all the time.
But what did he know? Right.
Listen, if you want to talk some more, you'll have to come back later, okay? I'm kind of co-chairperson at this women's group.
We're having a consciousness-raising session.
I gotta make coffee and all.
I really need this meeting.
I think it'll help get Mac's death out of my mind for a while.
That's my theory, anyway.
I hope Dawn likes this album.
Like, who needs heavy metal when they're experiencing grief? I'd say we came up with some interesting stuff.
You do, huh? Mostly whales and a singing act.
But I agree.
Dawn Nodzak sleeping with Mac Amodeus, and he's whacking her around for recreation.
Now, Dawn's brother gets wind of this, so he sends two apes to dance on Mac's head.
That's my theory, anyway.
Now, what's yours? I think we should run it past Wade.
Of course, it's not something you want to throw out at the preliminary, but Well, why not? Well, suppose you do go to trial, you're blowing your strategy.
The DA is lying in the weeds just waiting for you.
He should kick it out at the preliminary.
I don't want to even have to worry about a trial.
Look, don't worry.
I talked to Wade.
He says he's trim.
He feels he's ready.
Yeah, to cop to second.
Wade Ward was brought into that firm by Gene Lowe himself.
Beth told me Gene Lowe died at 42 years old of a heart attack.
Brought on by worry.
Your Honor, the defense would like to present in its behalf a sworn deposition taken at civil proceeding number 16345 in which Mr.
Eugene Conigliaro contradicts his own testimony regarding the injury to Mr.
Rockford's hand.
Yeah, that was a prior fight that caused the bruises.
He lied.
Well, it's possible Mr.
Rockford's hand was injured at a prior time.
However, that does not exclude the possibility of brass knuckles, chains, or other mechanical devices.
Yeah, but So stipulated, Mr.
Cowan.
If the court will allow me a moment? I'm in trouble, Coop.
That's all I had.
And this Cowan isn't the hamburger I remember.
You bet you're in trouble.
Recall Conigliaro and Long and go after their testimony.
But how? I mean, nobody's denying the threats were made.
Get a pail and start bailing.
The party, Wade, the party.
Noise, dope, confusion.
Was all that going on? Mr.
Long, how much narcotics had you ingested on the night of the party? I didn't use no narcotics.
I never do.
That is, I'm not a narcotics user of any sort.
Were you ever arrested in the state of New Jersey for possession of narcotics? Yeah, I think I was.
Once.
I submit you were under the influence of narcotics, sir.
A mammoth party given to celebrate the extension of unemployment benefits by the State of New Jersey to your colleague, Mr.
Conigliaro.
I submit you were highly narcotized, and I could produce witnesses who would so stipulate.
No.
We drank beer, that's all.
Me and Eugene.
In fact, I remember we split a case, but no dope.
So, half a case of beer.
Twelve bottles, if I remember my fraternity days correctly.
Boogie-woogie music thundering around your ears.
And yet, and yet, you managed to hear every threat, to get every nuance of hate in Mr.
Rockford's low voice, as Mr.
Conigliaro called it.
That's all.
I have no cross examination, but I would like to call Mr.
Joseph Rockford to the stand, please.
Now, I'm going to take you to two days before the party in question.
A window had been broken.
Now, according to Mr.
Conigliaro, your son said to him at that time, "I'd like to kill you guys.
" Did he say that? Well, I mean Oh, brother.
What I mean is No, that's all.
Thank you.
You may step down, Mr.
Rockford.
Your Honor, if I may, a great deal has been heard here in camera regarding the rancorous feeling existing between the Rockfords, pere et fils and Mr.
Long, Mr.
Conigliaro, and their party guests.
But I feel this court should be aware of another grievance against the deceased Mr.
Amodeus.
If need be, I can call one Dawn Nodzak to testify that Mac Amodeus had done her repeated bodily injury.
Miss Nodzak is the sister of an underworld figure with a record of violent crime, Mr.
Arthur Nodzak.
I leave it to the court to draw its own conclusions.
And I'd like to remind the court of its option at this juncture to dismiss the case on a point of legal precedent.
Certainly, we have heard instance after instance of pillage and harassment by Messrs.
Long and Conigliaro against the home and person of Joseph Rockford.
They've even admitted such themselves.
Present in the Magna Carta is the guarantee Cite your precedent, Mr.
Ward.
Utah versus Liggett, Your Honor.
In that matter, the judge dismissed the case, holding the defendant acted in self-defense when he killed two men of a party of several who were trying Utah v.
Liggett refers to Indians, does it not? Wasn't the Liggett home under attack by Comanches? I mean, wasn't a shed completely razed? Wasn't the limb of a family member completely blown off? Yes.
Mr.
Ward, why don't you give me a break? I find that there is sufficient evidence to indicate that the defendant, James Rockford, did commit the crime, and I hereby bind him over to Department Four of the Superior Court on July 9th for arraignment and for subsequent proceedings.
He's not the same man he was five years ago, Jim.
Look, I feel personally responsible Coop, forget about that for now.
Pay attention.
We got a definite tie up.
Now, Georgie Ryan, that's Artie Nodzak's muscle, he was in that courtroom.
Nodzak wants to keep an eye on my case.
Because if I'm headed for state college, he knows he's in the clear.
I'll tell you something else weird.
The whole time Ryan was in the room, Eugene and Mickey Long, too, were looking in the back trying to get his eye.
Oh, yeah? Yeah.
You thinking about a contract? Artie Nodzak pays these two salamis to croak a guy who's beating up his sister.
Pie in the sky? Blueberry.
Would they be stupid enough to make a hit and then leave the body in front of their house? Yeah, I guess they would.
You know, Jim, Nodzak is a functioning adult.
And he'd pay those two to make a hit for him? And they wouldn't have done it for revenge because Dawn told us that she didn't even know them.
Yeah, well, I'm just looking for a connection, Coop.
Do you remember what Eugene was talking about the day of the deposition out in the hall? Some girl he got pregnant.
So what? Yeah, well, it's straw-grasping time, right? I just remember that when we went to see Dawn, there were these two young women, remember, that went in to see her on a consciousness-raising session.
And one was pregnant.
Right.
Jim, I think the California Obstetric Society could give you figures showing that in any one week there could be several pregnancies.
Yeah, I told you, I'm just looking for a connection.
Who knows, maybe poor taste in men is it.
Eugene and Mac are both cut from the same bolt of cloth.
If you're going to go out with them, you're going to need consciousness-raising.
Either that or a helmet and shovel.
Boy, we're so far off from the murder, we're in a different time zone.
We start off with Eugene, Mickey and Artie Nodzak.
I think it's worth trying to find the pregnant lady.
Maybe that women's group can give us her name.
Okay, but I'll tell you out front, the only part of this I can really buy is Artie Nodzak.
And I know a guy like that's got to have too much street smarts to hire Conigliaro and Long.
Way too much smarts.
The men's can is the same as in a regular restaurant.
Well, what are we gonna do? I mean, if I gotta eat raw fish, I'm gonna ralph right in his lap.
I wish he'd picked Vito's Little Napoli or a steakhouse.
Oh, here he is.
Hey, Mr.
Nodzak.
Hey, over here.
Mr.
Nodzak, over here.
Drink, Mr.
Nodzak? We're having amaretto and cream.
It's a nice place.
I almost went over to Japan when I was in the airborne, but then they give me a section eight Hey, so let's hear it.
The guy who works for me at the track says you told him I should know who did me a big favor in the sister department.
You know, for a week, I didn't believe it.
Let's just say, Mr.
Nodzak, that it was me and Mickey who helped a certain party who was nothing but trouble cross the river.
You killed Mac Amodeus? Why? Because this scoongell was nothing but a thorn in your ear, am I right? It would do us grave honor, Mr.
Nodzak, if you would consider this thing which has been done as a token of respect from Eugene and me to you.
Hey, Mickey, you mind? Now, what my associate says is true, Mr.
Nodzak.
But in addition to that, it's sort of our way of saying, "Hey, here's a couple of guys ain't afraid to go all the way.
"Here's a couple of guys got their sunroofs down, "got their diamonds in the back.
"Couple of guys you can entrust with your whole thing there.
" You idiots.
Excuse me? Who asked you? Who asked you to croak that zero, huh? Nobody.
We done it on our own.
We heard he was gonging on your sister and that ain't right.
Ah! So, in other words, you did me a favor.
And now I'm gonna repay you by giving you a job or a piece of my action.
No, no, not a piece of the action.
Not right away, but we did Hey, what do you think this is? A movie? And I'm some guy who's got cotton stuffed in his cheeks and goes around mumbling and passing out favors? Do you have any concept of what you guys did? Who looks good for this murder, huh? A guy from Malibu, Jerry Rockford.
Oh, is that how you planned it? To hang it on Rockford? No.
You wanna know the truth, we were kind of surprised when the pigs busted him for it.
But what the hell, huh? As they say, you don't look inside the Trojan horse.
Hey, pinhead, supposing the charge against Rockford doesn't hold, huh? You know who's on the hook? Me.
I got the connections, the motive, the whole shot.
You know, my name came up in court today.
Well, look, why don't we order? Maybe we'll all feel a lot better if we eat some rice or fish or something.
You know, I'm gonna promise you something.
Now, I'm not going to stand for no murder heat.
You creeps better hope that this charge sticks on Rockford.
Otherwise, and I don't care how it looks image-wise, I'm bringing you both in to the police.
And if I bring you in on a roller board, it's all the same to the cops.
Which is exactly what I'm gonna do, just because of the aggravation factor I feel here.
We killed a guy for nothing.
I ain't never gonna get ahead.
What do you gotta do? It ain't happening for me in Jersey.
I come out here, I'm still in the toilet, looking out.
I see it happening for other guys.
I mean, what do you gotta do? It should have been someone we hated.
See, even though Eugene Conigliaro is the father of this baby, all right, he keeps saying no.
But who knows better than me? The thing is, he keeps denying it because I need some financial help.
Well, maybe something could be done about getting you some.
Legal action, I mean.
We'll have to give it some thought.
That'd be great.
See, I met him at Papa Doc's, on the Strip.
I saw him on the floor and, boy, that was it.
As soon as I saw him dancing, I knew he was Italian.
Celeste, did you ever mention to Eugene that Mac was slapping your girlfriend Dawn around and Artie was mad? I think so.
Yeah.
Once he was being just horrible about the baby, and I started crying, and I said, "You're as bad as this guy I know in Redondo.
"He beats up on this friend of mine all the time.
" Then I mentioned Dawn and Mac and Dawn's brother, Artie.
What is all this? Celeste, you know the kind of man Eugene is.
This might be worse than you think.
There's a good chance that he's a murderer.
Dear God.
Coop, I'd make book that they did it just to make points with Nodzak.
Can you believe it? These geniuses commit a murder on spec.
Abbott and Costello meet The Godfather.
Pathetic.
But until we hear them say it or find material evidence, we're just doing guesswork.
Yeah.
Eugene, it's me.
Take a walk until your hat floats.
No, wait, Eugene.
It's not about the baby, it's about Artie Nodzak.
Eugene, I know what happened.
Dawn Nodzak told me.
And, listen, I think you're in danger.
Yeah? But if you want to know what's gonna happen, then you have to agree to help me support the baby.
So that's how come all of a sudden you're so interested in saving my life, huh? You're a cheap trick, you know that, Celeste? All right, I'll come in with some bread.
So, what'd she say? She said Artie's getting madder and madder.
He didn't appreciate what you did.
In fact, he's been doing nothing but complain because it made him look guilty.
He's coming to get you.
You and Mickey, tomorrow.
Him and a man named Ryan.
He says he's going to do awful things to your hands and your face, and then he turns you over to the police.
Wait, wait, Celeste, wait.
Listen, you got to get word to this Dawn to tell her brother.
You see, I got a plan.
I been thinking.
It's foolproof.
You got to tell her.
Plan? What are you talking about? I'm gonna kill Mickey.
What? Then Then you really did kill Mac? Yeah, yeah, me and Mickey.
But the important thing is you gotta tell Artie Nodzak Hey, Eugene, what you say we go downtown? You can't see I'm on the phone? It's my old lady.
She's calling from Jersey.
I'll be out in a minute, Mick.
Yeah.
So how's cousin Carmela? Celeste? You gotta tell Artie that I'm gonna kill Mickey and put the body over by Rockford's trailer.
And maybe I'll throw the weapon in Rockford's car.
This way the cops will find him and think Rockford did it.
Just another victim in the feud.
And there ain't a jury in the world that won't think Rockford's a killer after all the trouble he had with us.
You got that? Now, you tell Artie that this is the answer to everybody's problems.
I gotta go.
Hey, Mick, what do you say we go down to the ocean? Now? It's too cold.
What cold? I know a guy down there.
We'll score some dust and we'll hit one of the bars on the ocean.
Maybe we'll pick up some skirt.
All right.
I met this guy the other day.
Great dust.
Yeah? He lives in one of these trailers around here someplace.
Over there.
You coming? Yeah, yeah.
What are you doing? The zipper on my jacket broke.
It's stuck.
It won't work, Conigliaro.
It's all over.
What's happening, Eugene? Cut them off, Coop.
Cut them off from their car.
Hold it.
Hold it.
Hold it.
Now, drop that thing.
The cops are on their way.
They're not gonna send you to barber school.
Let them come.
I ain't gonna be here.
All right, come on.
Take it easy.
Stop him, Smitty! Hey, Coop, I got mine.
Actually, it's probably the best thing could have happened.
You know, it ain't the first time this mailbox has been knocked down.
I was always gonna put it on a nice iron post and sink it in concrete like a proper one.
Excuse me, but can we stick to the subject at hand? I mean, if you're not going to pay Wade Ward a cent, that's one thing.
I agree.
I agree.
But, you see, I'm a subcontractor, and I was just wondering who's going to pay my fees? And of course I can't charge you what a full-blown attorney would since my license has been taken away, but Really? Well, I mean, I can't go into court for you or anything like that.
But my advice is informed over a number of years of experience and Yeah, well, that's very interesting, you know.
In my line of work, I'm always coming up against legal questions.
Yeah, Coop, Coop, I think we ought to have a talk, I really do.
Something about maybe an informal type of retainer thing.
Well, there are lots of good attorneys around.
Real ones.
Like Wade Ward? No, you're good.
You really are.
I told you that the first time we met.
Yeah, but there's nothing wrong with a guy trying to cut his operation costs.
I think we ought to have a talk, Coop.
Well, I'll tell you what.
Why don't we pay the bill first and then we'll talk? Well, sure, sure.
Let's go on in the house, have a beer.
Here, I'll get that.
No, I got it.
I got it.
All right, you take it.