The Rockford Files (1974) s02e11 Episode Script
Pastoria Prime Pick
Hey! Hey, come on, pally.
This is Spread them.
I've been kicked by your deputy, robbed by Vern Soper, someone tried to kill me, and I am registering an official complaint.
Wish I could help you.
Okay, book them for aiding, abetting and resisting, for openers.
I'll add to the list later.
They're holding my father and my attorney.
Son, you know I can't help you run from the law.
You just earned yourself a certificate of merit.
Thank you, Clifford.
Certificate of merit? He's a psycho.
You're looking at five to life.
This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
Hey, Jimbo.
Dennis.
Really appreciate the help on the income tax.
You wanna help on the audit now? Oh, stop your grumbling, mister.
You're just lucky I was on my way to Holtville to pick up them radials that I ordered for Harve Nyquist's Riviera.
Yeah, lucky.
My brakes go out, I have to lunch my transmission to get it to stop, and it only cost me $50 to get you to stop and turn around and tow me in.
Hey, you could still be out there.
The nearest phone is 10 miles away.
I stop to help you out and all I get for it is complaints.
And $50.
Yeah, well.
Pretty little town, ain't she? Never recognize her from five years ago.
It was just plain Pastoria back then.
Hey, you seen this guy around here in the last couple of days? Name's Ronny Brown.
Nope.
Why? A salesman over in Holtville told me he might have recognized the face.
He might have picked him up, given him a ride over here a couple of days ago and dropped him off here.
Thought he might be looking for work.
Well, he probably found it.
There's no unemployment in New Pastoria, I'll tell you that.
Listen, the food's good over at the Sierra.
Why don't you grab yourself a bite and I'll check out the damages, okay? I can remember when Pastoria was a place "A place where people came to work hard at starving to death.
" I remember it, too, Sheriff.
Oh, miss, I'll take my pie now.
Oh.
Hey, Sheriff.
Maybe you can give me some help.
My name's Larry Metcalf.
I'm with Great Western Casualty down in LA.
Mmm-hmm.
I'm looking for the beneficiary of a recent policy holder.
He's named Ronny Brown, he's about 24 years old.
Entered the area about two days ago.
No.
Are you sure? A man named Creekmore said he thought he gave him a lift into town.
Of course, I could have missed him, what with all the strangers we have through here these days.
Time was I knew every face that crossed that county line.
Well, anybody hiring new help lately? Oh, everybody's hiring, Mr.
Metcalf.
You might try the Agricultural Information Center.
It's on the edge of town.
Yeah, well, thanks, I'll give it a try then.
Well, it sure don't look good, Mr.
Metcalf.
Road vibrations must have jiggled all the connections loose from the master cylinder right here.
You know how the emergency cable crosses over the exhaust? Yeah.
Right behind the crankcase, yeah.
Yeah, right.
Well, something must have jammed the exhaust straight up into the frame and the frame just cut that cable clean.
I guess I could have done it when I bottomed out going across that shoulder.
Well, you sure messed up that trans, and there's no way that I can get one up here from LA before noon tomorrow.
And it won't be cheap, that's for sure.
Well, I can do without the note of cheer.
Yeah, well, I just got off the phone to Harve Nyquist, and he tells me he's gonna buy them radials from Chuck Miller, and that means that I gotta eat $190 won'th of rubber.
Take it easy on the man, Vern.
Seems his luck is running a little slow.
Yeah, well.
Don't take it personal.
Ain't been my day, either.
Look, I'll give you every break that I can.
In the meantime, why don't you check into the Pastoria Pines across the street? They got a coupon won'th five gallons of gas in every Bible.
Oh, yeah, I'll check in with you about 4:00.
Yeah.
Area code 213, the number is 555-9000, station to station, please.
This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
Wednesday, the 13th, This is Timmons.
Ronny came home.
My daughter's forgiven the bum and now they're both on me for sending you out to find him, which you didn't do.
So our deal's off.
If you want the rest of your fee, you'll have to sue me.
You can count on it, Timmons.
Wednesday, the 13th.
3:30.
You know, you're really lucky.
This is the last room and it was reserved.
Mr.
Ramsey called in and canceled not more than 10 minutes ago.
Hey, somebody left a suitcase in here.
Oh, I'll get it.
Oh, here, let me help you with that.
Thanks.
The can't's right outside.
You know, I hear they're giving Oh, no! Hey, fella.
Please! Why can't they leave her alone? It's just not fair! Now they're using me to get at her.
At who? My mother.
They can't stand it that she's a woman.
They can't? Oh, now, hey, hey, hey.
Stop that.
It's all right.
Pete! Hey, come on, pally.
This is Spread them.
Hey, I don't have any shinguards on and I got a bad knee.
Shut up.
RITA: Pete! Now, I told you this was gonna happen someday, Rita.
He didn't do a thing.
Well, what are you crying about, then? Not about anything he did.
That's right.
You wanna do some toe-stepping, why don't you get after the guy in that green station wagon? He can't have more than two or three minutes on you.
Pete, please.
It's the truth.
Yeah.
Did you see a green station wagon? No, but I wasrt looking for one, either.
What's this all about, anyway? I plan to find out.
And I'd better find that wagon.
Rita, I want you to get out of this job! Who was that? Pete Kolodny.
And he can get a whole lot meaner than that, too.
We're engaged.
I guess he thought that Yeah, yeah, I know what he thought.
What was that picture all about? It's a long story, Mr.
Metcalf.
Doesrt involve you, anyway.
Well, that's good.
That's the way I wanna keep it.
Well, don't worry.
They don't care about you.
Nobody around here messes with Rita.
I didn't mess around with anybody.
What's the bad news? You ought to be in jail.
All right, that's it, mister.
Now, you just get yourself a tow truck and you get your car You bet I will, pal! Oh, come on now, Vern.
Look, I was way out of line and I admit it, huh? Now, we've both had a bad day.
What do you say? Same thing I said before.
Get it out of here.
And if you don't, I'm gonna start charging you rental on the space you're using.
Well, you know I can't move it.
You've got the only tow truck for 70 miles.
You told me that yourself.
Come on, be reasonable, huh? I'll pay cash.
Cash, huh? I'll tell you, gonna take a substantial deposit before I start any work on it.
How substantial? $500, that's how substantial.
All right, let's see now.
There'll be a balance due of $162.
49, unless, of course, we run into something else.
Like what? Well, who can say? I mean, you said yourself you were all over that mountain.
You wouldn't wanna risk driving out of here with, say, loose linkage or a cracked drive shaft, now, would you? Yeah, no, I sure wouldn't, Vern.
No, I didn't think so.
Here, I'll get your receipt for you.
Hey, what do you think you're doing there? Drive shaft looks all right to me, Vern.
Tie rod's a little bent, but nothing that can't wait till I get back to LA.
Listen, only employees are allowed to work this hydraulic rack and that's a state law.
Now, get out of there before you hurt yourself and I got myself a lawsuit.
You worked on this yet? No, and I told you to get out of there.
Well, somebody's put a wrench to it.
Didrt you tell me this cable was cut by the frame, clean? Look, I didn't check it out myself.
Yeah, well, it looks to me like it's been burned with acid.
Acid? Something like that.
You could be right.
Someone over in Holtville tried to kill me.
Well, you better find the Sheriff.
I'll do that.
Well, I wish I could help you, but it's out of my hands.
They retired me about three years ago.
Now, don't get him started on that.
Mister, if you've got a complaint to file, you better trot it on down to that new municipal building.
See Sheriff Gladish.
I think I have all the details.
I'll get right on it.
Alert Holtville that we'll be working on an attempted 187 together.
Then call Vern Soper and tell him we're sending the lab team over and I don't want him to touch that Firebird until I say he can.
You can also tell him I want to see him in my office tomorrow morning to discuss his towing permit.
Three complaints in one month.
I'll have a talk with him.
I'd appreciate that.
Well, I'll be in touch as soon as I learn anything.
And I wanna thank you again for bringing Kolodny's rough stuff to my attention.
You know, we can't take care of these matters unless we know about them.
And there's nothing worse than a cop with an emotional problem.
I'll take care of it.
And one of my men will give you a lift back to your motel.
Hey! What Hey, you're breaking my We didn't figure on Dinaldi for having a partner until we caught up with him and he didn't have the suitcase.
You know, your switch might have worked, but Dinaldi was allergic to torture.
Most people are, Ramsey.
Hey, wrong man.
I'm not Ramsey.
He reserved this room.
MAN 1: It's here.
Hey, that suitcase was here when I checked in.
Yeah, sure, Ramsey.
Sure.
And it's still here.
Which makes you 200 pounds of fertilizer in an orange grove.
I am not Ramsey! All right, make it look like he walked out on his bill and then plant him with Dinaldi, and I'll meet you on the coast tomorrow.
You guys are making a mistake.
Get up and get dressed.
Hey, look, I know you're just following orders and somebody's gotta do the dirty work, but you got the wrong target.
You gotta believe that.
Get dressed.
All right, pal.
You force me to blow my cover.
I'm a federal narc.
I hate a talky hit.
You aren't listening, sport.
Please.
It's me, Rita.
Who's Rita? She's just a girl who works at the desk.
You've gotta get out of here.
All right, open the door two inches and get rid of her.
Any wider and she buys it, too.
Look, that photographer called my mom.
He said he's got proof I was having an affair at the motel with you.
And she believed him and she called Pete.
He's on his way.
People are always getting hurt 'cause of me.
I just can't take it anymore.
All right, just a minute.
Who's Pete? Pete Kolodny.
Ten to one that's him.
A cop? Oh, is he ever.
Don't you understand? He'll kill you.
He knows you filed a complaint against him.
You've gotta split.
Now.
My car's locked up in the gas station.
Take mine.
Brown and white Maverick parked behind the office.
Just leave it at the gas station in Holtville, the one where they rent the cars, okay? You're right.
Go! Hiya.
Remember me? How'd you get way out here? Well, it's a long story, but I'm in a little trouble.
Want some coffee? Yeah, yeah.
Thanks.
Sit down.
Your trouble have anything to do with the fella you're after? No.
There's somebody trying to kill me.
Did you give someone reason to want to kill you? No, no.
Well, somebody thinks I made a play for their girl, but I didn't.
You big city boys give me a kick.
Always messing with the local lovelies and then running for cover when the local Leroy wants to mess with you.
Well, this Leroy's got a gun.
Leroys usually do, Mr.
Metcalf.
New Pastoria to six-county grid.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Larry Metcalf, male Caucasian, approximately Suspect is wanted on charges of transporting, possession of narcotics, grand theft auto, resisting arrest, attempted kidnapping, contributing to delinquency of a minor, vandalism.
Mr.
Byrd, you've been warned about using official police frequencies.
Knock off the lip, son.
I got your dope dealer in custody.
Unit 3 to Central.
I'll take it.
I'm only a few miles from Byrd's place.
That's Kolodny.
You can't turn me over to him.
He's the local Leroy.
Put your hands flat on the table.
Don't give me any guff.
They may have retired me, but they didn't take away my momentum.
I'm still a cop.
Maybe they wear real uniforms now, carry pistols big enough to flatten a barn, drive high-speed cars.
You are not listening to me.
Maybe they got their own gas pump behind the new municipal building, but who was it just bagged the big dope dealer? Freeze! Been having a good time, creep? Get your hands up there.
Come on, let's go.
Come on, we're taking you in.
Wait a minute.
I must not be tracking.
We found the suitcase.
The one you abandoned with the car.
Brown.
The initials L.
M.
On it.
Your initials, Mr.
Metcalf.
My initials are J.
R.
, for James Rockford.
I'm a private investigator and I work with the LA police all the time.
It's very easy to explain, really.
Then you better start right now.
Well, I took the name Metcalf for a wife and child abandonment case.
I posed as an insurance adjuster.
If I tell people that I'm dogging a wayward spouse, they think I'm a heel and lie through their teeth, but if they think I'm helping someone come into an unexpected fortune, they'll finger the poor slob every time.
It doesn't make any difference whose initials are on the suitcase.
It's whose prints the lab finds that interests me.
It isn't my suitcase.
We've placed a $200,000 street value on that heroin.
That's the biggest bust in county history.
You're looking at five to life.
And knowing the way Judge Cline feels about narcotics, it's a lot closer to life than five.
What is this whole thing, a setup? What whole thing is that, Rockford? You're shaking me down, right? We've got a mountain of evidence against you, and we're just beginning our investigation.
Odds are we'll find more narcotics in your car.
Oh, come on.
Okay, okay.
I'll bite.
What's the tab on this scam, huh? What, a grand? Two? How about it, Sheriff? Could I walk for five? Try 10, in cash, any time before the arraignment.
After that, it'll be out of my hands.
Go suck an orange.
You should know better than to offer me a bribe.
That'll probably cost you another 14 years.
I wanna talk to my lawyer.
You'd think she'd have you sprung by now.
It always takes too long.
How'd you come up with the cash? I sold my pickup.
Oh, Dad, I'm sorry.
How much did you get for it? $3,000.
Three Well, it's won'th twice that much.
You're being held without bail.
Not unusual, considering the charges.
The charges are a crock.
Let me talk to the County Prosecutor and find out how hard he's gonna land on you, then we'll go from there, okay? Well, you just tell him that we've got a witness that that suitcase is not mine.
See what that does to his narcotics case.
We do? You bet.
The only trouble is that she's in on it.
You're gonna have to break her down on the stand.
Thanks, Charlie.
I won't be more than 10 minutes.
Mr.
Rockford? Am I supposed to know you? Oh, no.
No, my name's Karen Sanders.
You know my daughter, Rita.
I just paid $1,000 for the negative and the only copy of a photograph of you and Rita supposedly checking into a motel.
What is it? It just keeps coming, is that it? I am going to protect myself and my daughter and this town.
Now, someone is trying to tear me down.
Maybe they think if they do, the town will go with me.
Are you always this modest? My ideas built New Pastoria.
I organized the people into founding our own produce co-op.
That's why they elected me the mayor.
You are the mayor? And while the rest of our country is on its economic backside, we are up to our ears in prosperity.
Oh, lady, you're talking apples and oranges to a man who's worried about five to life.
I am not going to have a scandal, and I am not going to have my daughter involved in your sordid case in any way.
Yeah, well, she's my key witness, and my lawyer's gonna bust her little act wide open.
If you agree, I'll drop the attempted kidnapping and contributing charges.
And if you don't agree, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to add statutory rape.
I'm terribly sorry.
But it is entirely up to you.
The prints were smudged, and Mr.
Univaso is going to drop the narcotics charges.
I understand you can produce a witness who will testify that suitcase isn't yours.
No, I can't.
I see.
How big is your detective agency? He has a quarter-page ad in the yellow pages.
That big enough? I'm very well connected in LA and some of my people aren't too happy about this, either.
Now, whoever's pulling the strings can expect some very heavy stuff to come down.
The wheels are already turning.
What is that? Some sort of threat? Absolutely not.
My client is far too intelligent for that.
Well, I should hope so.
Our legal system tends to favor the cooperative spirit.
Well, then, we have nothing to worry about.
Good.
Now, you plead your client guilty to attempted bribery and grand theft auto.
I'll withdraw all the other counts and I'll try to get him off with a fine.
It may be a financial inconvenience, but the alternative could be 15 years in a state penitentiary.
How large of a financial inconvenience are we discussing? A ballpark figure? $15,000.
If your client declines the County's generosity, I'll prosecute all charges to the fullest.
The arraignment's at You have until then to decide.
What's that all about? It's called plea bargaining.
It's also called It was a rather severe example of the art.
And what happened to our witness? I felt like an idiot! Well, how many years does contributing, attempted kidnapping, and statutory rape add up to? Seventy-five, give or take a decade.
That's what happened to her.
You upgraded him to 15! Creekmore called him in at 10.
He sounds like a man who can raise it.
Let's put them on the speaker.
It wouldn't surprise me if this rip-off went all the way up to the judge.
I don't think so.
I've checked him out, and based on everything I've heard, I have to respect it.
Should I count on that? I didn't say he was lenient.
He has a reputation for punishing to the maximum.
I'm not sure I can walk you clean, Jim.
It's too stacked here.
Plead guilty to the lesser charges and we'll get it reversed like that in a higher court.
Come on, Rockford, listen to the lady.
If you think the judge is fair, then I want my day in court.
All right, Jim, it's your choice.
Looks like we're gonna go all the way with this one, buddy.
He'll never know what hit him.
Possession of narcotics for sale, transporting narcotics, grand theft auto, resisting arrest, destruction of private property, assault and battery, assaulting an officer of the law, attempted bribery, vandalism, and reckless driving.
Plead your client.
Not guilty, Your Honor, on all charges.
And so we have before us a man who came here under an assumed name, carrying enough narcotics to destroy the life of every young person in this town.
Now, Your Honor, not only does the County have an abundance of hard evidence, but in every instance it is corroborated by the sworn statements of officers of the law and some of New Pastoria's most respected citizens.
There is no doubt that the County can substantiate these charges and I move that the accused be bound over for trial and held without bail until that time.
Does the defense have a statement before I rule on the well-considered charges? Yes, Your Honor.
The defense is rather impressed at the speed with which the County was able to amass this formidable display of evidence, but it is my client's contention that all of it is either irrelevant, circumstantial, fabricated, andlor falsified.
That does not surprise me, considering the weight of the charges.
The accused is hereby ordered to stand trial on all charges Hold on a minute, Russ.
I got something to say.
Sorry, Emmett, this is not your territory anymore.
Who says it ain't? I'm the one who brung the destruction of private property and the assault and battery charges against him, and I want them dropped.
Your Honor, the County is charging the accused, not Mr.
Byrd or any other private citizen.
Counselor? But in view of his lifetime of service, we will consider his wishes and request that the accused be held over on all but those charges.
Thank you, Counselor.
It is so ruled.
The trial date is set at five weeks from today.
Bail is set to $25,000.
Hearing is dismissed.
That's gonna leave us awful shy on bail money.
We only have to come up with 10% of it and that gives us $500 to spare.
Just get me out of here before he changes his mind.
Shouldrt take too long.
Here he comes.
What took you so long? We finally used my credit rating.
This fella here says he has your suitcase.
In my trunk.
I found it behind the tool shed.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
You know, he's another one.
He invites me in, pours me coffee, pulls a gun, calls the cops, has me arrested, then presses charges, drops the charges, brings me my suitcase.
See what I mean about this town? What made you finally change your mind about the charges? Well, I was there when Vern Soper toted in his bags and I didn't see any brown one.
Something else been bothering me since then, too.
Oh, yeah? What's that? Harve Nyquist sold his Riviera, bought himself a little foreign matchbox about three weeks ago.
Terrific! Terrific? Harve Nyquist never ordered any radials.
Ronny Brown never even heard of New Pastoria or Creekmore.
No wonder I couldn't figure it.
I thought it all started at the motel.
Give me the Travel Inn in Holtville, please.
Creekmore must have been the roper.
He bought my insurance adjuster cover and figured it'd be a good job, so he lied about Ronny Brown, sent me up here.
And then he had a super wrench do a number on my brakes.
Yeah, then he just called ahead to the Pastoria players.
Cashier, please.
What's that got to do with the radials? Well, Soper lied about having to go pick them up just to cover the fact that he was out there waiting for me.
He knew I was coming.
He's smart.
So, if we knew who Creekmore called Hi, hon, Gene Creekmore.
What can I do for you, Mr.
Creekmore? Well, I hope you can save my neck.
You see, my company ships on bills of lading that are computer-coded to the customer's PO number and then cross-coded to the billing address's telephone number.
Can't be too careful when you're dealing in pharmaceuticals.
What can I do for you, Mr.
Creekmore? Well, I lost my phone book.
I did.
And I had to call in the Pastoria order from memory, and I must have missed a number, because the computer punched out the bills of lading, but it kicks back the invoice every time and my tail's in a wringer.
There is oxadynaphenomomital lost in the shuffle, and there's just no way for me to trace it unless I get the number, which I can't do without my phone book.
Well, what can I do for you, Mr.
Creekmore? Oh, well, all I need is the telephone numbers that I called on Tuesday night.
I'll hold while you get them off my bill.
Man, I don't know why you're not in more trouble than you are in.
You made three calls, Mr.
Creekmore.
All to the same number.
555 6631.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, of course, that Hey, thank you, and I owe you a good time next trip.
Right.
Well, there's an answering machine hidden in the woodwork somewhere.
Creekmore calls a machine? Yeah.
What a program.
Can it be busted? If we can't connect Creekmore to the man and the man to the machine, we can't bust their game.
How do they keep it all straight? Official county documents in official county files, kept by official county crooks.
You're gonna have to unpack your tape recorder, and, Rocky, I'm gonna need your flight bag.
Look, why wasrt somebody on him the moment he made bail? We can't be everywhere.
We're working three different programs.
Oh, come on now, Cliff, you had the dress manufacturer cooled off by 5:00, the guy from Austin was drunk in his Sierra until 9:00, and Rita's been holed up with that feed lot manager on the murder beef.
A guy went ape, Gil.
We had to pull the raid a day early.
Creekmore didn't tell us he had a gun, either.
We picked a gravy, 245, but Rita almost got shot.
Well, listen, you know Friday is my committee night.
And with the lemon festival only four weeks away, I simply don't have time for these interruptions.
Rockford broke into my file.
Well, you're having a terrific day, aren't you? I heard all about it.
And I don't want you putting Rita with a man like that again.
Look, she can handle it.
Oh, I know she can handle it.
I simply don't want her to have to.
Now, is anything missing? The file on James Rockford.
It's hard to say what else.
Look, we have a big play coming in tomorrow.
I recommend putting it on hold.
How big? Fifty base.
Can Rockford hurt us with anything he saw or took? I wouldn't rule it out.
We've overcome too many obstacles to pull out now.
We're so close to coming around the corner.
You bring the 50 home and issue an APB on Rockford, state-wide.
If you take him in the county, kill him.
Rocky, we're moving.
Beth? I blew it.
We gotta go.
I am an officer of the court.
I can't help you escape from the law.
Here, they even kept balance sheets.
Your law engineered over 500 felony convictions in two years, they collected two and a half million dollars in fines, and they probably extorted twice that much from people who paid off bribes to Gladish.
How can you get that many convictions without developing a pattern? Univaso had me on eight counts, right? It is his option to press any combination of them he wants, which gives him a couple of thousand just in my case alone.
Now, the next mark is gonna be framed on a whole different set of beefs.
They never repeat themselves.
Okay, I'm coming, I'm coming.
You are talking about our judicial system.
You can't get a conviction without evidence.
We have all the evidence they need.
I mean, 90% of them plead guilty to lesser charges.
And then if the sentence is always a fine, then it's paid and off they go.
The other 10% are doing hard time.
Well, what about appeals? Surely a higher court would reverse.
Nobody ever appears.
Now, come on, would you risk reopening an indecent exposure, lewd act, child molesting charge against yourself just to clear yourself from a grand theft auto charge? Not this kid.
Jim, I can't even think in those terms! All right, all right.
I'm sorry, I was wrong about the judge.
Which means that you should have given that Sheriff his rotten bribe.
I would have if I'd had the money.
Jim, we've gotta do something.
All set, sonny.
All right, you're both clean.
I want you to drop me outside of town.
And get hold of Becker, give him everything in this bag.
It should be enough.
What are you gonna do, Jim? Out.
Hey.
Wait a minute.
Who do you think you are? Search the trunk.
You can't do that.
You need a warrant for that.
Check the rooms.
Hey, that ain't no way to treat a lady.
Hey, where's Rockford? ambulance injury, 1760 Sycamore, Code 2.
All right, you're both under arrest.
Okay, book them for aiding, abetting and resisting, for openers.
I'll add to the list later.
Get back out on the road.
That joker can't be too far yet.
Go.
Unit 3 to Unit 1.
Got the Ford on Bludecker Road.
Abandoned.
Tank's empty.
Tires about an hour cold.
Suitcase still in it.
Copy.
Fred, call me on the landline.
All right, boys, he's on foot.
Let's get down on him.
Pattern 4, converge in section 3.
Use Route 209 and bring in on all charges You can't stay out of it, can you? What did you come here for? You know I got to turn you in.
Oh, no.
You arrest me.
Son, I can't arrest anybody.
Sure you can.
Citizers arrest.
You just put me in protective custody.
And if I do, then what? Can you get me out of the county? Son, you know I can't help you run from the law.
Now, wait a minute.
If you do that, you're just calling in a goon squad.
And I know that may not bother you, but they're holding my father and my attorney, and I can't do anything about it unless I get this evidence to someone I can trust.
Evidence? That's right, I got enough in here to bring the whole thing down.
Just get me to Detective Sergeant Becker, LAPD.
How about it? You know, I been saying there's something wrong around here for a long time.
All units, run a 2920 for 10 miles an hour, lights out.
Kolodny, you run a reverse four at 70 with everything shaking.
Don't worry about them.
I was running this county with my lights out before any of them deputies was born.
Come on, let's go.
I gotta make a call first.
Meet me at Green River Bridge.
496, receiving It's working.
for 2889 It's half in code.
Come on, let's get out of here.
We have an appointment with Judge Cline.
Emmett, I couldn't discuss his case with him, even if I wanted to.
Well, he's got new evidence.
Then his lawyer can submit it through proper channels.
No, she can't.
She's in jail, kidnapped by the police.
The police do not kidnap people.
They do in New Pastoria, every day.
Rockford here broke into the municipal building last night.
There's an APB out on him.
Don't worry, Russ, he's my prisoner.
Emmett, you can't have a prisoner.
I do now.
Look, just hear the man out.
Then I'll do whatever you say.
Well, you don't have to listen to me, Judge.
Here.
Just read these, huh? Wait here.
Yeah, it was.
It was a speed trap town back in them days, but Well, it was survival, is all.
Listen, you are wrong about Russ.
I sure hope so.
If not, I'm dead.
Oh.
I can't accept it.
I knew it.
You don't know a thing! Half the crime in this country is caused by lenient judges.
Thank God I'm not one of them.
But I don't hold people for ransom, either.
A man owes me something if he admits to committing a felony in my county, and I'm gonna be sure he pays it.
Russ? What if it's true? How can it be, Emmett? Go on.
Take him down the mountain and turn him in before you get in trouble, too.
I knew it.
All right, if you say so, Russ.
But what if it is true? It's not true, Emmett.
It can't be.
There's no way to prove it.
Look, why don't we nose through Soper's records? See how many of your confessed felons came into town behind his rig? Circumstantial.
Where's the link? You would have to be able to prove that he knew the man was coming.
There's one due in this afternoon.
What? Well, here's the call he made on me.
Man adjust injures.
Five base, 10 top.
Try GTA.
Front, 11501.
Back, wise guy, so use heavy hammer, maybe a 2611.
1400 Wednesday, 18975.
Orange peel Bird, cal zero-G The last part told him when I'd be coming in, where, what I'd be driving, and what'd be wrong with it.
The first part you can figure out for yourself.
GTA means Grand Theft Auto.
A 11501, narcotics? A narcotics back? Well, that's the charge Univaso offers to drop if you plead guilty to the front.
The hammer is just a little something to make you like the offer.
In my case it was good old statutory rape, hand-carried by the Mayor.
Karen? Why, she couldn't possibly be mixed up in this.
Pastoria would still be an exploited, impoverished county if she hadrt come along with her dreams.
Terrific.
You finally admitted there's something to be mixed up in.
Now, don't get a smart mouth.
This is a lot easier on you, no matter what you've been through.
Well, let's just see how easy it's gonna be on the next guy.
Electronic.
50 base, 75 top, but feel higher.
And with three, religious.
496 receiving front natural for a 288 back and a 187 hammer.
Great annuity shot.
1500 Saturday, Eight Mile Grade.
Black cab, I'll 94 old faithful.
No CW.
Piece of cake.
Well, Creekmore says this guy should be won'th about $50,000.
How's he gonna get it, Judge? By the numbers.
A receiving stolen property front, a child molesting back.
Oh, no.
Right, right.
They're gonna make him think he killed somebody.
This kind must bribe out every time.
There's no court, no records.
Looks like a blackmail follow-up, too.
Your proof should be on something called the Eight Mile Grade.
All right.
I've seen enough.
Good.
Let's get to a phone, call the highway patrol or anyone else we can think of.
Emmett, you're county sheriff again.
That is, if you feel up to it.
I'm up to it.
Then let's start with Soper.
Hey, now, wait a minute, let's go get some help.
Titles aren't gonna mean a thing once they know we're onto them.
They're gonna hit us like the Marines.
We'll handle this.
Now, you just wait in the car and you won't get hurt.
Come on.
You're under arrest, Soper.
How's that again? Look, it'll go a lot easier with you if you come quietly.
Hey! They're onto us.
I'm on the Eight Mile Grade.
Rockford's here.
We got trouble.
What do you think you're doing? Soper, what's happening up there? Give me your cuffs.
Unit 1 to Unit 3.
Did you copy, Sheriff? All right.
Back this tow truck up and play out the cable.
Got it.
Mister, this is police business.
Hey, get your hands off me.
Easy.
Take it easy.
Here, I'll do that, Judge.
All right.
Sheriff, if you and Kolodny are at the Eight Mile Grade, you're almost on them.
He's coming up fast.
Keep your eye on Soper.
Okay, Sheriff, hook it on that big tree across the road.
Right.
Right, I'll have to play out some more cable.
Go on.
All right, Sheriff, move your car in the middle of the road! All right, Judge, when I give you the word Yes.
Now! Slow down! Stop it, stop it! All right, back up.
Back up! Is he all right? Yeah, he seems to be.
Come on now.
Up here.
Karen, I'd give anything if it werert true.
I'm the best thing that ever happened to this county, and you know it, Russ.
We could have turned the corner in six months, too.
And then Pastoria County could have become a nationally respected, self-supporting, legitimate And built on the bodies of a lot of innocent people.
Is there a town which hasn't been built that way, Mr.
Rockford? What about LA? Or Chicago? And as for you, you burned plenty of people right along with us.
I didn't bring the charges.
Oh, really, Russ, a fine is nothing more than a legally-demanded ransom in anybody's court.
No, Karen.
It's a bill that's come due.
Well, a big one's come due to the county today.
Come on, let's go get your fingers dirty.
Oh, speaking of bills, Judge, I figure there's gonna be a long line.
I'd kind of like to get mine settled before the rush.
This is Spread them.
I've been kicked by your deputy, robbed by Vern Soper, someone tried to kill me, and I am registering an official complaint.
Wish I could help you.
Okay, book them for aiding, abetting and resisting, for openers.
I'll add to the list later.
They're holding my father and my attorney.
Son, you know I can't help you run from the law.
You just earned yourself a certificate of merit.
Thank you, Clifford.
Certificate of merit? He's a psycho.
You're looking at five to life.
This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
Hey, Jimbo.
Dennis.
Really appreciate the help on the income tax.
You wanna help on the audit now? Oh, stop your grumbling, mister.
You're just lucky I was on my way to Holtville to pick up them radials that I ordered for Harve Nyquist's Riviera.
Yeah, lucky.
My brakes go out, I have to lunch my transmission to get it to stop, and it only cost me $50 to get you to stop and turn around and tow me in.
Hey, you could still be out there.
The nearest phone is 10 miles away.
I stop to help you out and all I get for it is complaints.
And $50.
Yeah, well.
Pretty little town, ain't she? Never recognize her from five years ago.
It was just plain Pastoria back then.
Hey, you seen this guy around here in the last couple of days? Name's Ronny Brown.
Nope.
Why? A salesman over in Holtville told me he might have recognized the face.
He might have picked him up, given him a ride over here a couple of days ago and dropped him off here.
Thought he might be looking for work.
Well, he probably found it.
There's no unemployment in New Pastoria, I'll tell you that.
Listen, the food's good over at the Sierra.
Why don't you grab yourself a bite and I'll check out the damages, okay? I can remember when Pastoria was a place "A place where people came to work hard at starving to death.
" I remember it, too, Sheriff.
Oh, miss, I'll take my pie now.
Oh.
Hey, Sheriff.
Maybe you can give me some help.
My name's Larry Metcalf.
I'm with Great Western Casualty down in LA.
Mmm-hmm.
I'm looking for the beneficiary of a recent policy holder.
He's named Ronny Brown, he's about 24 years old.
Entered the area about two days ago.
No.
Are you sure? A man named Creekmore said he thought he gave him a lift into town.
Of course, I could have missed him, what with all the strangers we have through here these days.
Time was I knew every face that crossed that county line.
Well, anybody hiring new help lately? Oh, everybody's hiring, Mr.
Metcalf.
You might try the Agricultural Information Center.
It's on the edge of town.
Yeah, well, thanks, I'll give it a try then.
Well, it sure don't look good, Mr.
Metcalf.
Road vibrations must have jiggled all the connections loose from the master cylinder right here.
You know how the emergency cable crosses over the exhaust? Yeah.
Right behind the crankcase, yeah.
Yeah, right.
Well, something must have jammed the exhaust straight up into the frame and the frame just cut that cable clean.
I guess I could have done it when I bottomed out going across that shoulder.
Well, you sure messed up that trans, and there's no way that I can get one up here from LA before noon tomorrow.
And it won't be cheap, that's for sure.
Well, I can do without the note of cheer.
Yeah, well, I just got off the phone to Harve Nyquist, and he tells me he's gonna buy them radials from Chuck Miller, and that means that I gotta eat $190 won'th of rubber.
Take it easy on the man, Vern.
Seems his luck is running a little slow.
Yeah, well.
Don't take it personal.
Ain't been my day, either.
Look, I'll give you every break that I can.
In the meantime, why don't you check into the Pastoria Pines across the street? They got a coupon won'th five gallons of gas in every Bible.
Oh, yeah, I'll check in with you about 4:00.
Yeah.
Area code 213, the number is 555-9000, station to station, please.
This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
Wednesday, the 13th, This is Timmons.
Ronny came home.
My daughter's forgiven the bum and now they're both on me for sending you out to find him, which you didn't do.
So our deal's off.
If you want the rest of your fee, you'll have to sue me.
You can count on it, Timmons.
Wednesday, the 13th.
3:30.
You know, you're really lucky.
This is the last room and it was reserved.
Mr.
Ramsey called in and canceled not more than 10 minutes ago.
Hey, somebody left a suitcase in here.
Oh, I'll get it.
Oh, here, let me help you with that.
Thanks.
The can't's right outside.
You know, I hear they're giving Oh, no! Hey, fella.
Please! Why can't they leave her alone? It's just not fair! Now they're using me to get at her.
At who? My mother.
They can't stand it that she's a woman.
They can't? Oh, now, hey, hey, hey.
Stop that.
It's all right.
Pete! Hey, come on, pally.
This is Spread them.
Hey, I don't have any shinguards on and I got a bad knee.
Shut up.
RITA: Pete! Now, I told you this was gonna happen someday, Rita.
He didn't do a thing.
Well, what are you crying about, then? Not about anything he did.
That's right.
You wanna do some toe-stepping, why don't you get after the guy in that green station wagon? He can't have more than two or three minutes on you.
Pete, please.
It's the truth.
Yeah.
Did you see a green station wagon? No, but I wasrt looking for one, either.
What's this all about, anyway? I plan to find out.
And I'd better find that wagon.
Rita, I want you to get out of this job! Who was that? Pete Kolodny.
And he can get a whole lot meaner than that, too.
We're engaged.
I guess he thought that Yeah, yeah, I know what he thought.
What was that picture all about? It's a long story, Mr.
Metcalf.
Doesrt involve you, anyway.
Well, that's good.
That's the way I wanna keep it.
Well, don't worry.
They don't care about you.
Nobody around here messes with Rita.
I didn't mess around with anybody.
What's the bad news? You ought to be in jail.
All right, that's it, mister.
Now, you just get yourself a tow truck and you get your car You bet I will, pal! Oh, come on now, Vern.
Look, I was way out of line and I admit it, huh? Now, we've both had a bad day.
What do you say? Same thing I said before.
Get it out of here.
And if you don't, I'm gonna start charging you rental on the space you're using.
Well, you know I can't move it.
You've got the only tow truck for 70 miles.
You told me that yourself.
Come on, be reasonable, huh? I'll pay cash.
Cash, huh? I'll tell you, gonna take a substantial deposit before I start any work on it.
How substantial? $500, that's how substantial.
All right, let's see now.
There'll be a balance due of $162.
49, unless, of course, we run into something else.
Like what? Well, who can say? I mean, you said yourself you were all over that mountain.
You wouldn't wanna risk driving out of here with, say, loose linkage or a cracked drive shaft, now, would you? Yeah, no, I sure wouldn't, Vern.
No, I didn't think so.
Here, I'll get your receipt for you.
Hey, what do you think you're doing there? Drive shaft looks all right to me, Vern.
Tie rod's a little bent, but nothing that can't wait till I get back to LA.
Listen, only employees are allowed to work this hydraulic rack and that's a state law.
Now, get out of there before you hurt yourself and I got myself a lawsuit.
You worked on this yet? No, and I told you to get out of there.
Well, somebody's put a wrench to it.
Didrt you tell me this cable was cut by the frame, clean? Look, I didn't check it out myself.
Yeah, well, it looks to me like it's been burned with acid.
Acid? Something like that.
You could be right.
Someone over in Holtville tried to kill me.
Well, you better find the Sheriff.
I'll do that.
Well, I wish I could help you, but it's out of my hands.
They retired me about three years ago.
Now, don't get him started on that.
Mister, if you've got a complaint to file, you better trot it on down to that new municipal building.
See Sheriff Gladish.
I think I have all the details.
I'll get right on it.
Alert Holtville that we'll be working on an attempted 187 together.
Then call Vern Soper and tell him we're sending the lab team over and I don't want him to touch that Firebird until I say he can.
You can also tell him I want to see him in my office tomorrow morning to discuss his towing permit.
Three complaints in one month.
I'll have a talk with him.
I'd appreciate that.
Well, I'll be in touch as soon as I learn anything.
And I wanna thank you again for bringing Kolodny's rough stuff to my attention.
You know, we can't take care of these matters unless we know about them.
And there's nothing worse than a cop with an emotional problem.
I'll take care of it.
And one of my men will give you a lift back to your motel.
Hey! What Hey, you're breaking my We didn't figure on Dinaldi for having a partner until we caught up with him and he didn't have the suitcase.
You know, your switch might have worked, but Dinaldi was allergic to torture.
Most people are, Ramsey.
Hey, wrong man.
I'm not Ramsey.
He reserved this room.
MAN 1: It's here.
Hey, that suitcase was here when I checked in.
Yeah, sure, Ramsey.
Sure.
And it's still here.
Which makes you 200 pounds of fertilizer in an orange grove.
I am not Ramsey! All right, make it look like he walked out on his bill and then plant him with Dinaldi, and I'll meet you on the coast tomorrow.
You guys are making a mistake.
Get up and get dressed.
Hey, look, I know you're just following orders and somebody's gotta do the dirty work, but you got the wrong target.
You gotta believe that.
Get dressed.
All right, pal.
You force me to blow my cover.
I'm a federal narc.
I hate a talky hit.
You aren't listening, sport.
Please.
It's me, Rita.
Who's Rita? She's just a girl who works at the desk.
You've gotta get out of here.
All right, open the door two inches and get rid of her.
Any wider and she buys it, too.
Look, that photographer called my mom.
He said he's got proof I was having an affair at the motel with you.
And she believed him and she called Pete.
He's on his way.
People are always getting hurt 'cause of me.
I just can't take it anymore.
All right, just a minute.
Who's Pete? Pete Kolodny.
Ten to one that's him.
A cop? Oh, is he ever.
Don't you understand? He'll kill you.
He knows you filed a complaint against him.
You've gotta split.
Now.
My car's locked up in the gas station.
Take mine.
Brown and white Maverick parked behind the office.
Just leave it at the gas station in Holtville, the one where they rent the cars, okay? You're right.
Go! Hiya.
Remember me? How'd you get way out here? Well, it's a long story, but I'm in a little trouble.
Want some coffee? Yeah, yeah.
Thanks.
Sit down.
Your trouble have anything to do with the fella you're after? No.
There's somebody trying to kill me.
Did you give someone reason to want to kill you? No, no.
Well, somebody thinks I made a play for their girl, but I didn't.
You big city boys give me a kick.
Always messing with the local lovelies and then running for cover when the local Leroy wants to mess with you.
Well, this Leroy's got a gun.
Leroys usually do, Mr.
Metcalf.
New Pastoria to six-county grid.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Larry Metcalf, male Caucasian, approximately Suspect is wanted on charges of transporting, possession of narcotics, grand theft auto, resisting arrest, attempted kidnapping, contributing to delinquency of a minor, vandalism.
Mr.
Byrd, you've been warned about using official police frequencies.
Knock off the lip, son.
I got your dope dealer in custody.
Unit 3 to Central.
I'll take it.
I'm only a few miles from Byrd's place.
That's Kolodny.
You can't turn me over to him.
He's the local Leroy.
Put your hands flat on the table.
Don't give me any guff.
They may have retired me, but they didn't take away my momentum.
I'm still a cop.
Maybe they wear real uniforms now, carry pistols big enough to flatten a barn, drive high-speed cars.
You are not listening to me.
Maybe they got their own gas pump behind the new municipal building, but who was it just bagged the big dope dealer? Freeze! Been having a good time, creep? Get your hands up there.
Come on, let's go.
Come on, we're taking you in.
Wait a minute.
I must not be tracking.
We found the suitcase.
The one you abandoned with the car.
Brown.
The initials L.
M.
On it.
Your initials, Mr.
Metcalf.
My initials are J.
R.
, for James Rockford.
I'm a private investigator and I work with the LA police all the time.
It's very easy to explain, really.
Then you better start right now.
Well, I took the name Metcalf for a wife and child abandonment case.
I posed as an insurance adjuster.
If I tell people that I'm dogging a wayward spouse, they think I'm a heel and lie through their teeth, but if they think I'm helping someone come into an unexpected fortune, they'll finger the poor slob every time.
It doesn't make any difference whose initials are on the suitcase.
It's whose prints the lab finds that interests me.
It isn't my suitcase.
We've placed a $200,000 street value on that heroin.
That's the biggest bust in county history.
You're looking at five to life.
And knowing the way Judge Cline feels about narcotics, it's a lot closer to life than five.
What is this whole thing, a setup? What whole thing is that, Rockford? You're shaking me down, right? We've got a mountain of evidence against you, and we're just beginning our investigation.
Odds are we'll find more narcotics in your car.
Oh, come on.
Okay, okay.
I'll bite.
What's the tab on this scam, huh? What, a grand? Two? How about it, Sheriff? Could I walk for five? Try 10, in cash, any time before the arraignment.
After that, it'll be out of my hands.
Go suck an orange.
You should know better than to offer me a bribe.
That'll probably cost you another 14 years.
I wanna talk to my lawyer.
You'd think she'd have you sprung by now.
It always takes too long.
How'd you come up with the cash? I sold my pickup.
Oh, Dad, I'm sorry.
How much did you get for it? $3,000.
Three Well, it's won'th twice that much.
You're being held without bail.
Not unusual, considering the charges.
The charges are a crock.
Let me talk to the County Prosecutor and find out how hard he's gonna land on you, then we'll go from there, okay? Well, you just tell him that we've got a witness that that suitcase is not mine.
See what that does to his narcotics case.
We do? You bet.
The only trouble is that she's in on it.
You're gonna have to break her down on the stand.
Thanks, Charlie.
I won't be more than 10 minutes.
Mr.
Rockford? Am I supposed to know you? Oh, no.
No, my name's Karen Sanders.
You know my daughter, Rita.
I just paid $1,000 for the negative and the only copy of a photograph of you and Rita supposedly checking into a motel.
What is it? It just keeps coming, is that it? I am going to protect myself and my daughter and this town.
Now, someone is trying to tear me down.
Maybe they think if they do, the town will go with me.
Are you always this modest? My ideas built New Pastoria.
I organized the people into founding our own produce co-op.
That's why they elected me the mayor.
You are the mayor? And while the rest of our country is on its economic backside, we are up to our ears in prosperity.
Oh, lady, you're talking apples and oranges to a man who's worried about five to life.
I am not going to have a scandal, and I am not going to have my daughter involved in your sordid case in any way.
Yeah, well, she's my key witness, and my lawyer's gonna bust her little act wide open.
If you agree, I'll drop the attempted kidnapping and contributing charges.
And if you don't agree, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to add statutory rape.
I'm terribly sorry.
But it is entirely up to you.
The prints were smudged, and Mr.
Univaso is going to drop the narcotics charges.
I understand you can produce a witness who will testify that suitcase isn't yours.
No, I can't.
I see.
How big is your detective agency? He has a quarter-page ad in the yellow pages.
That big enough? I'm very well connected in LA and some of my people aren't too happy about this, either.
Now, whoever's pulling the strings can expect some very heavy stuff to come down.
The wheels are already turning.
What is that? Some sort of threat? Absolutely not.
My client is far too intelligent for that.
Well, I should hope so.
Our legal system tends to favor the cooperative spirit.
Well, then, we have nothing to worry about.
Good.
Now, you plead your client guilty to attempted bribery and grand theft auto.
I'll withdraw all the other counts and I'll try to get him off with a fine.
It may be a financial inconvenience, but the alternative could be 15 years in a state penitentiary.
How large of a financial inconvenience are we discussing? A ballpark figure? $15,000.
If your client declines the County's generosity, I'll prosecute all charges to the fullest.
The arraignment's at You have until then to decide.
What's that all about? It's called plea bargaining.
It's also called It was a rather severe example of the art.
And what happened to our witness? I felt like an idiot! Well, how many years does contributing, attempted kidnapping, and statutory rape add up to? Seventy-five, give or take a decade.
That's what happened to her.
You upgraded him to 15! Creekmore called him in at 10.
He sounds like a man who can raise it.
Let's put them on the speaker.
It wouldn't surprise me if this rip-off went all the way up to the judge.
I don't think so.
I've checked him out, and based on everything I've heard, I have to respect it.
Should I count on that? I didn't say he was lenient.
He has a reputation for punishing to the maximum.
I'm not sure I can walk you clean, Jim.
It's too stacked here.
Plead guilty to the lesser charges and we'll get it reversed like that in a higher court.
Come on, Rockford, listen to the lady.
If you think the judge is fair, then I want my day in court.
All right, Jim, it's your choice.
Looks like we're gonna go all the way with this one, buddy.
He'll never know what hit him.
Possession of narcotics for sale, transporting narcotics, grand theft auto, resisting arrest, destruction of private property, assault and battery, assaulting an officer of the law, attempted bribery, vandalism, and reckless driving.
Plead your client.
Not guilty, Your Honor, on all charges.
And so we have before us a man who came here under an assumed name, carrying enough narcotics to destroy the life of every young person in this town.
Now, Your Honor, not only does the County have an abundance of hard evidence, but in every instance it is corroborated by the sworn statements of officers of the law and some of New Pastoria's most respected citizens.
There is no doubt that the County can substantiate these charges and I move that the accused be bound over for trial and held without bail until that time.
Does the defense have a statement before I rule on the well-considered charges? Yes, Your Honor.
The defense is rather impressed at the speed with which the County was able to amass this formidable display of evidence, but it is my client's contention that all of it is either irrelevant, circumstantial, fabricated, andlor falsified.
That does not surprise me, considering the weight of the charges.
The accused is hereby ordered to stand trial on all charges Hold on a minute, Russ.
I got something to say.
Sorry, Emmett, this is not your territory anymore.
Who says it ain't? I'm the one who brung the destruction of private property and the assault and battery charges against him, and I want them dropped.
Your Honor, the County is charging the accused, not Mr.
Byrd or any other private citizen.
Counselor? But in view of his lifetime of service, we will consider his wishes and request that the accused be held over on all but those charges.
Thank you, Counselor.
It is so ruled.
The trial date is set at five weeks from today.
Bail is set to $25,000.
Hearing is dismissed.
That's gonna leave us awful shy on bail money.
We only have to come up with 10% of it and that gives us $500 to spare.
Just get me out of here before he changes his mind.
Shouldrt take too long.
Here he comes.
What took you so long? We finally used my credit rating.
This fella here says he has your suitcase.
In my trunk.
I found it behind the tool shed.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
You know, he's another one.
He invites me in, pours me coffee, pulls a gun, calls the cops, has me arrested, then presses charges, drops the charges, brings me my suitcase.
See what I mean about this town? What made you finally change your mind about the charges? Well, I was there when Vern Soper toted in his bags and I didn't see any brown one.
Something else been bothering me since then, too.
Oh, yeah? What's that? Harve Nyquist sold his Riviera, bought himself a little foreign matchbox about three weeks ago.
Terrific! Terrific? Harve Nyquist never ordered any radials.
Ronny Brown never even heard of New Pastoria or Creekmore.
No wonder I couldn't figure it.
I thought it all started at the motel.
Give me the Travel Inn in Holtville, please.
Creekmore must have been the roper.
He bought my insurance adjuster cover and figured it'd be a good job, so he lied about Ronny Brown, sent me up here.
And then he had a super wrench do a number on my brakes.
Yeah, then he just called ahead to the Pastoria players.
Cashier, please.
What's that got to do with the radials? Well, Soper lied about having to go pick them up just to cover the fact that he was out there waiting for me.
He knew I was coming.
He's smart.
So, if we knew who Creekmore called Hi, hon, Gene Creekmore.
What can I do for you, Mr.
Creekmore? Well, I hope you can save my neck.
You see, my company ships on bills of lading that are computer-coded to the customer's PO number and then cross-coded to the billing address's telephone number.
Can't be too careful when you're dealing in pharmaceuticals.
What can I do for you, Mr.
Creekmore? Well, I lost my phone book.
I did.
And I had to call in the Pastoria order from memory, and I must have missed a number, because the computer punched out the bills of lading, but it kicks back the invoice every time and my tail's in a wringer.
There is oxadynaphenomomital lost in the shuffle, and there's just no way for me to trace it unless I get the number, which I can't do without my phone book.
Well, what can I do for you, Mr.
Creekmore? Oh, well, all I need is the telephone numbers that I called on Tuesday night.
I'll hold while you get them off my bill.
Man, I don't know why you're not in more trouble than you are in.
You made three calls, Mr.
Creekmore.
All to the same number.
555 6631.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, of course, that Hey, thank you, and I owe you a good time next trip.
Right.
Well, there's an answering machine hidden in the woodwork somewhere.
Creekmore calls a machine? Yeah.
What a program.
Can it be busted? If we can't connect Creekmore to the man and the man to the machine, we can't bust their game.
How do they keep it all straight? Official county documents in official county files, kept by official county crooks.
You're gonna have to unpack your tape recorder, and, Rocky, I'm gonna need your flight bag.
Look, why wasrt somebody on him the moment he made bail? We can't be everywhere.
We're working three different programs.
Oh, come on now, Cliff, you had the dress manufacturer cooled off by 5:00, the guy from Austin was drunk in his Sierra until 9:00, and Rita's been holed up with that feed lot manager on the murder beef.
A guy went ape, Gil.
We had to pull the raid a day early.
Creekmore didn't tell us he had a gun, either.
We picked a gravy, 245, but Rita almost got shot.
Well, listen, you know Friday is my committee night.
And with the lemon festival only four weeks away, I simply don't have time for these interruptions.
Rockford broke into my file.
Well, you're having a terrific day, aren't you? I heard all about it.
And I don't want you putting Rita with a man like that again.
Look, she can handle it.
Oh, I know she can handle it.
I simply don't want her to have to.
Now, is anything missing? The file on James Rockford.
It's hard to say what else.
Look, we have a big play coming in tomorrow.
I recommend putting it on hold.
How big? Fifty base.
Can Rockford hurt us with anything he saw or took? I wouldn't rule it out.
We've overcome too many obstacles to pull out now.
We're so close to coming around the corner.
You bring the 50 home and issue an APB on Rockford, state-wide.
If you take him in the county, kill him.
Rocky, we're moving.
Beth? I blew it.
We gotta go.
I am an officer of the court.
I can't help you escape from the law.
Here, they even kept balance sheets.
Your law engineered over 500 felony convictions in two years, they collected two and a half million dollars in fines, and they probably extorted twice that much from people who paid off bribes to Gladish.
How can you get that many convictions without developing a pattern? Univaso had me on eight counts, right? It is his option to press any combination of them he wants, which gives him a couple of thousand just in my case alone.
Now, the next mark is gonna be framed on a whole different set of beefs.
They never repeat themselves.
Okay, I'm coming, I'm coming.
You are talking about our judicial system.
You can't get a conviction without evidence.
We have all the evidence they need.
I mean, 90% of them plead guilty to lesser charges.
And then if the sentence is always a fine, then it's paid and off they go.
The other 10% are doing hard time.
Well, what about appeals? Surely a higher court would reverse.
Nobody ever appears.
Now, come on, would you risk reopening an indecent exposure, lewd act, child molesting charge against yourself just to clear yourself from a grand theft auto charge? Not this kid.
Jim, I can't even think in those terms! All right, all right.
I'm sorry, I was wrong about the judge.
Which means that you should have given that Sheriff his rotten bribe.
I would have if I'd had the money.
Jim, we've gotta do something.
All set, sonny.
All right, you're both clean.
I want you to drop me outside of town.
And get hold of Becker, give him everything in this bag.
It should be enough.
What are you gonna do, Jim? Out.
Hey.
Wait a minute.
Who do you think you are? Search the trunk.
You can't do that.
You need a warrant for that.
Check the rooms.
Hey, that ain't no way to treat a lady.
Hey, where's Rockford? ambulance injury, 1760 Sycamore, Code 2.
All right, you're both under arrest.
Okay, book them for aiding, abetting and resisting, for openers.
I'll add to the list later.
Get back out on the road.
That joker can't be too far yet.
Go.
Unit 3 to Unit 1.
Got the Ford on Bludecker Road.
Abandoned.
Tank's empty.
Tires about an hour cold.
Suitcase still in it.
Copy.
Fred, call me on the landline.
All right, boys, he's on foot.
Let's get down on him.
Pattern 4, converge in section 3.
Use Route 209 and bring in on all charges You can't stay out of it, can you? What did you come here for? You know I got to turn you in.
Oh, no.
You arrest me.
Son, I can't arrest anybody.
Sure you can.
Citizers arrest.
You just put me in protective custody.
And if I do, then what? Can you get me out of the county? Son, you know I can't help you run from the law.
Now, wait a minute.
If you do that, you're just calling in a goon squad.
And I know that may not bother you, but they're holding my father and my attorney, and I can't do anything about it unless I get this evidence to someone I can trust.
Evidence? That's right, I got enough in here to bring the whole thing down.
Just get me to Detective Sergeant Becker, LAPD.
How about it? You know, I been saying there's something wrong around here for a long time.
All units, run a 2920 for 10 miles an hour, lights out.
Kolodny, you run a reverse four at 70 with everything shaking.
Don't worry about them.
I was running this county with my lights out before any of them deputies was born.
Come on, let's go.
I gotta make a call first.
Meet me at Green River Bridge.
496, receiving It's working.
for 2889 It's half in code.
Come on, let's get out of here.
We have an appointment with Judge Cline.
Emmett, I couldn't discuss his case with him, even if I wanted to.
Well, he's got new evidence.
Then his lawyer can submit it through proper channels.
No, she can't.
She's in jail, kidnapped by the police.
The police do not kidnap people.
They do in New Pastoria, every day.
Rockford here broke into the municipal building last night.
There's an APB out on him.
Don't worry, Russ, he's my prisoner.
Emmett, you can't have a prisoner.
I do now.
Look, just hear the man out.
Then I'll do whatever you say.
Well, you don't have to listen to me, Judge.
Here.
Just read these, huh? Wait here.
Yeah, it was.
It was a speed trap town back in them days, but Well, it was survival, is all.
Listen, you are wrong about Russ.
I sure hope so.
If not, I'm dead.
Oh.
I can't accept it.
I knew it.
You don't know a thing! Half the crime in this country is caused by lenient judges.
Thank God I'm not one of them.
But I don't hold people for ransom, either.
A man owes me something if he admits to committing a felony in my county, and I'm gonna be sure he pays it.
Russ? What if it's true? How can it be, Emmett? Go on.
Take him down the mountain and turn him in before you get in trouble, too.
I knew it.
All right, if you say so, Russ.
But what if it is true? It's not true, Emmett.
It can't be.
There's no way to prove it.
Look, why don't we nose through Soper's records? See how many of your confessed felons came into town behind his rig? Circumstantial.
Where's the link? You would have to be able to prove that he knew the man was coming.
There's one due in this afternoon.
What? Well, here's the call he made on me.
Man adjust injures.
Five base, 10 top.
Try GTA.
Front, 11501.
Back, wise guy, so use heavy hammer, maybe a 2611.
1400 Wednesday, 18975.
Orange peel Bird, cal zero-G The last part told him when I'd be coming in, where, what I'd be driving, and what'd be wrong with it.
The first part you can figure out for yourself.
GTA means Grand Theft Auto.
A 11501, narcotics? A narcotics back? Well, that's the charge Univaso offers to drop if you plead guilty to the front.
The hammer is just a little something to make you like the offer.
In my case it was good old statutory rape, hand-carried by the Mayor.
Karen? Why, she couldn't possibly be mixed up in this.
Pastoria would still be an exploited, impoverished county if she hadrt come along with her dreams.
Terrific.
You finally admitted there's something to be mixed up in.
Now, don't get a smart mouth.
This is a lot easier on you, no matter what you've been through.
Well, let's just see how easy it's gonna be on the next guy.
Electronic.
50 base, 75 top, but feel higher.
And with three, religious.
496 receiving front natural for a 288 back and a 187 hammer.
Great annuity shot.
1500 Saturday, Eight Mile Grade.
Black cab, I'll 94 old faithful.
No CW.
Piece of cake.
Well, Creekmore says this guy should be won'th about $50,000.
How's he gonna get it, Judge? By the numbers.
A receiving stolen property front, a child molesting back.
Oh, no.
Right, right.
They're gonna make him think he killed somebody.
This kind must bribe out every time.
There's no court, no records.
Looks like a blackmail follow-up, too.
Your proof should be on something called the Eight Mile Grade.
All right.
I've seen enough.
Good.
Let's get to a phone, call the highway patrol or anyone else we can think of.
Emmett, you're county sheriff again.
That is, if you feel up to it.
I'm up to it.
Then let's start with Soper.
Hey, now, wait a minute, let's go get some help.
Titles aren't gonna mean a thing once they know we're onto them.
They're gonna hit us like the Marines.
We'll handle this.
Now, you just wait in the car and you won't get hurt.
Come on.
You're under arrest, Soper.
How's that again? Look, it'll go a lot easier with you if you come quietly.
Hey! They're onto us.
I'm on the Eight Mile Grade.
Rockford's here.
We got trouble.
What do you think you're doing? Soper, what's happening up there? Give me your cuffs.
Unit 1 to Unit 3.
Did you copy, Sheriff? All right.
Back this tow truck up and play out the cable.
Got it.
Mister, this is police business.
Hey, get your hands off me.
Easy.
Take it easy.
Here, I'll do that, Judge.
All right.
Sheriff, if you and Kolodny are at the Eight Mile Grade, you're almost on them.
He's coming up fast.
Keep your eye on Soper.
Okay, Sheriff, hook it on that big tree across the road.
Right.
Right, I'll have to play out some more cable.
Go on.
All right, Sheriff, move your car in the middle of the road! All right, Judge, when I give you the word Yes.
Now! Slow down! Stop it, stop it! All right, back up.
Back up! Is he all right? Yeah, he seems to be.
Come on now.
Up here.
Karen, I'd give anything if it werert true.
I'm the best thing that ever happened to this county, and you know it, Russ.
We could have turned the corner in six months, too.
And then Pastoria County could have become a nationally respected, self-supporting, legitimate And built on the bodies of a lot of innocent people.
Is there a town which hasn't been built that way, Mr.
Rockford? What about LA? Or Chicago? And as for you, you burned plenty of people right along with us.
I didn't bring the charges.
Oh, really, Russ, a fine is nothing more than a legally-demanded ransom in anybody's court.
No, Karen.
It's a bill that's come due.
Well, a big one's come due to the county today.
Come on, let's go get your fingers dirty.
Oh, speaking of bills, Judge, I figure there's gonna be a long line.
I'd kind of like to get mine settled before the rush.