The Rockford Files (1974) s02e13 Episode Script
The Girl in the Bay City Boys Club
Your order, please? Call the police.
There's a guy following me in a white 1974 Datsun.
Tell them he took a shot at me.
Well, I'm afraid you've tailed the wrong man.
I'm not a board member, I'm a newspaper publisher.
They're gambling in there, aren't they? No, I didn't say they were gambling.
You got about $600 of my money there.
Don't figure on keeping it, 'cause I mean to get it back.
Mr.
Flanders is in charge of a labor union pension fund.
Now, I had a tip that he's been dipping into that fund for his personal use.
Look, I'm an innocent bystander.
They're usually the ones who get shot.
This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
Hi, sonny.
It's Rocky.
I got the bill and I've been trying to figure out what everybody owes on LJ's birthday party.
Tell me, did you have the pink lady? I haven't had a winning hand for hours.
Your cut, Mr.
Kiel.
I'm down $600, but deal me in anyway.
That'll cost you three blue ones.
That's gonna be a big help.
The gym still needs a lot of work, and a good press is money in the bank, Mr.
Kiel.
Well, I'm happy to do my part.
Come on, Sy, deal.
You know, it's amazing what you gentlemen have done in less than a year.
Well, I've been very fortunate to encounter some extremely generous people, Mr.
Keil, yourself included.
Oh, what am I doing? I'm just giving you a little free space in my newspaper, and who knows? You could pick up a few contributors, and the paper might get a commendation from the City Council.
Good public relations, good all the way around.
The board meeting's over.
You wanna play cards or what? Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
I'm in.
Not even a lousy gum wrapper.
Check the glove compartment.
Mostly bills, all current, nothing past due.
Made out to Keil? Yeah.
Aaron Keil.
Couple of them went to a newspaper.
Rest of them went to a home address.
It's 25514 Loma Linda Lane, Bel Air, Los Angeles, 900 I don't need the zip code.
He's not going on my Christmas card list.
Put it back like you found it.
Oh, you gentlemen were kind enough to ask me to sit in.
I kind of feel bad about taking your money.
Beginner's luck.
Isn't that what they call it? He ain't no beginner.
You got about $600 of my money there.
Don't figure on keeping it, 'cause I mean to get it back.
Mr.
Flanders, sportsmanship is part of the game.
Stuff sportsmanship.
I'm down $3,500 tonight.
In three and a half hours, you know the best hand I had, hmm? A pair of fours.
Yeah, I remember.
He had a possible straight, a possible flush You had a possible nothing and you raised.
Give it up, Paul.
You're not gonna get it back tonight.
Just somebody deal, okay? Mr.
Mosher's right.
Why don't we deal you out? The cards are running against you.
Next Thursday In, I'm in.
Three ladies, bless them.
Here's your other lady, and I quit.
I've had it.
Boy, when they're running cold, they're running cold.
Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee.
Yeah, you'll have to.
Not a bad night's work.
Wonder why I play poker so good? You don't.
You had the right cards.
Well, maybe you'll get them next week, Mr.
Flanders.
How about you, Mr.
Keil? Next Thursday? I wouldn't miss it.
Your order, please.
Call the police.
Your order, please.
That's it, you got it.
There's a guy following me in a white 1974 Datsun, California plates.
Tell the police I'll be headed south on Verdugo and for them to intercept.
Are you nuts, mister? Is this a rib? Just tell them he took a shot at me.
And, while you're at it, would you throw in a taco and a bag of fries? Out of the car, please.
All right, show me some identification.
Sorry.
Hey, I didn't know it was a lady.
Just a cup of coffee.
Make it two.
You wanted to talk? Well, where did you come from? That was the worst job of tailing anyone I've ever seen.
I don't do it for a living.
Good.
There were a couple of times I thought you were gonna end up in my trunk.
Who are you? What do you want? Who are you? Well, look, Miss, why don't we just swap IDs? That way we'll both know who we're talking to.
I said swap.
It's all right, it doesn't matter anyway.
My name's Kate Flanders.
Aaron Keil, I'm a newspaper publisher.
I met a Paul Flanders tonight.
Husband? Father? Stepfather.
Which brings us back to why you were following me.
I followed you because you came out of the Bay City Boys Club.
Is that supposed to make sense? It does to me.
It's personal.
Well, Miss Flanders, obviously you're after some kind of information, so why don't you just level with me, huh? Maybe I can give you a few answers.
Paul's a board member.
They meet every Thursday night.
Well, no board meeting lasts until 4:00 in the morning.
That's what time he got home last week.
And he spent the rest of the night pacing up and down.
So you decided to play gumshoe? They're gambling in there, aren't they? I didn't say they were gambling.
Oh, you don't have to.
Paul's been drawing thousands of dollars out of the bank without any explanation.
But, you see, I got my hands on the latest bank statement.
Now, there were four cancelled checks, all made out to cash, all endorsed by Paul, and all drawn on a Thursday.
You two must have a nice relationship.
Who are the other players? Ask your father.
No, he's my stepfather.
Oh, yes.
And the money isn't his, it's my mother's.
As far as she's concerned, Paul can do no wrong.
He could spend every penny of it and she'd go smiling off to the poorhouse.
Well, at least she sounds happy.
Well, you're pretty cavalier about somebody else's money.
So are you.
It doesn't bother you that my mother's being cheated? Nobody's being cheated.
At least, not as far as I can tell.
There's no dog-eared aces, nobody dealing seconds.
They break out a new deck of Bicycles every few hands.
I even made you a profit.
Here's $950 profit.
And the $5,000 stake you advanced me.
Doesrt that prove something, your winning? That was your first time in the game, Mr.
Rockford.
First few weeks I played, I won, too.
Isn't that a classic come-on? Yeah, but it doesn't prove the game's crooked.
Are you saying you won't work any further on it? It's your money, Mr.
Phelps.
I give you the facts, you make the decisions.
All I'm saying is the game looks clean.
If I stay on the case for three weeks, we still come up with the same conclusion, I don't want a hassle over the tab.
There won't be any hassle.
I'll pay you for tonight, and give you an advance.
You were invited back for next Thursday? Yeah.
Be there.
Mr.
Phelps, if you're sure they're running a scam, it'd be a lot cheaper just to go to the cops.
I thought I explained that.
If I'm wrong and I blow the whistle on some of Bay City's leading citizens, it makes for lousy public relations.
I'm a car dealer.
I have to sell to those people.
I don't wanna take a chance.
Do it my way, okay? Okay.
I'll let myself out.
Angel? Angel, are you down here? Angel.
Huh? Hey, turn on the light switch, will you, before I break my neck? Is that you, Jimmy? No, it's the night maid.
I come down here to check the wastebaskets for old chewing gum.
What time is it? Do you know what time it is? Yeah, well, it took me a little longer than I thought.
I really like your new office.
I parked Aarors car out at the front entrance.
Where's mine? It's around the side of the building, out in the alley.
Okay, thanks, Angel.
Thanks a lot.
I got you a good car, huh? Good cover, right? Yeah.
Well, what are friends for? You know what I mean? I wouldn't have done it for anybody else, buddy, but you.
Can you imagine what Aarord do to me if he'd found out I loaned you his car? He's not gonna find out.
And even if he does, what's he gonna do? He's your brother-in-law.
That's only because he's married to my sister.
I mean, as far as he's concerned, I'm not won'th spit.
Everybody around here knows that.
Especially the guy in the garage.
Well, now, wait.
You told me the guy in the garage would keep his mouth shut for $25.
Okay, I gave you the $25.
Well, he took it.
I mean, you drive off, half hour later, you're gone, he hits me up again.
I'm not scamming you, Jimmy.
I mean, I couldn't take no chances with Aaron.
Well, you're taking one with me.
Now, this afternoon you told me you were flat broke until the 15th, right? I loaned you $10, then I gave you $25 for the guy in the garage.
Knowing you, you probably gave him $5.
That means if I search you, you're gonna have $30 on you, and that's going to put a real strain on our friendship.
I'm gonna punch out.
Angel, come on, now, you're not gonna put in for overtime, really? Hey, I'm here, right? Fair's fair.
Hit the lights when I'm gone, would you? Jimmy, Jimmy, it's me, Jimmy.
Hey, Jimmy.
Jimmy, it's me.
Jimmy! Open up, man, it's me.
What are you doing here? Believe me, it wasrt my idea.
Hey, what's going on here? We've got a couple of questions we'd like to ask you, Mr.
Rockford.
Who are you? We're the grievance committee.
From the Bay City Boys Club.
The Club has a number of influential citizens involved in its work.
It's become something of a tradition on Thursday night, after the board meeting, to have a friendly game of cards.
And? It's a friendly game, and it's clean.
Now, we mean to keep it that way, so when we get a new player, we check him out.
Oh, and I said I was Aaron Keil, and you looked me up in the phone book, went out the house.
And found out that Mr.
Keil is in Yugoslavia.
Thanks, Angel.
What'd you want me to do, lie to them? Listen, they was waiting for me when I got home, and they was mean, not polite like they are now.
There's an explanation.
Oh, we figured there would be.
Your friend told us you're a private investigator.
Now, we'd like to know why the masquerade, what you're investigating, and who your client is.
Simple.
Well, it's not that simple.
The identity of a client is confidential.
You mean you won't tell us? Well, it's not that I won't, I can't.
Then you got a problem.
Get dressed.
You got a problem, I got a problem.
Tell them, Jimmy.
What's the matter with you, man? Did you take some kind of vows or something? Tell them.
All right, all right, I was hired by Mrs.
Paul Flanders.
Her husband's been losing heavily in the game.
And what he's been losing isn't his, it belongs to her.
Mrs.
Flanders says she loves her husband, she has a blind spot about him, and she's worried about her daughter.
She's afraid there won't be anything left for her.
So, Mrs.
Flanders hired me to find proof of the gambling and try to put a stop to it.
Something about that you didn't like? Oh, just one thing.
There isn't any Mrs.
Flanders.
Paul Flanders is a bachelor.
Is there a daughter? He's never been married.
Well, then there couldn't be a daughter.
Come on, get dressed.
You know, maybe there's something that you two guys ought to know about for your own protection.
My brother-in-law, Aaron, and me, we're like that.
Don't know who's on top.
And if anything ever happened to me, boy, there'd be no telling what he's liable to do.
Shut up.
Well, it was for your protection, you know.
I mean, if you got a beef against Jimmy But I'm an innocent bystander.
They're usually the ones who get shot.
Aaron wouldn't like that.
Get him, Angel! Hey, all right, all right, Angel.
I didn't know you had it in you.
I wanna go home.
Home ain't Bay City.
I'm taking you home.
I just got a stop to make first.
Let me out.
It's only gonna take a minute or two.
Ain't the time I'm worried about, it's the possibilities.
First you ask me for the loan of Aarors car, and I come that close to getting shot.
Dead.
Hey, you get dropped off somewheres for a little while, I mean, who knows what'll happen, you know what I mean? It gets so that saying hello to you turns into a high-risk proposition.
Relax, will you? This is gonna be a quick business meeting.
I wish you hadrt said that.
Can't go back to Aarors.
Them two gorillas is gonna be staking that out.
Can't go back to the newspaper.
They're liable to take it into their minds to drop by there.
Which means that I get docked.
No work, no pay.
That's one of Aarors ironclad rules.
You're a real pal.
Well, there ought to be somebody home this time of the morning.
I don't like it.
Oh, knock it off, Angel.
They're probably still asleep.
Thinking of buying it? Hi there.
No, is it for sale? Oh, yeah.
I am taking care of this place now.
Landscaped the whole thing by myself.
Put in them beautiful elm trees, all the flowers, the whole thing, and you ain't buying.
Yeah, I No, no, I was looking for Mr.
Phelps.
You know where I can find him? Yeah.
Garden of Eternal Rest over on Bexel.
Garden of Eternal Rest? Don't know where else they could put him.
He's dead.
But he can't be.
Angel, where are you going? Home.
Well, he can't be dead.
I just talked to him a few hours ago.
To Mr.
Phelps, you didn't.
He's been dead for two months.
You got a woman named Kate Flanders following you, only she's not Kate Flanders.
You got hired by a guy that's been dead for two months.
You got two goons who say they're from the Boys Club pulling guns on you.
Now, just what am I supposed to put down here? That don't make a whole lot of sense.
Well, I know it doesn't make sense, but I'm right in the middle of it.
Look, there's something going on around here and I just want to be on record with you guys.
So, you're on record.
That's all? What do you want, Mr.
Rockford? You want I should make out a bunch of John Doe complaints? Yeah, why not? I don't like paperwork.
Well, the least you could do is check out the Boys Club.
I could do that.
And if what you say is true, I could also arrest you for gambling.
Gambling for money is against the law, except where it's legal.
Yeah, well, thanks, Sergeant.
You've really been a big help.
Look, buddy, you're not the first PI that's tried to play games with this department.
You're getting paid to do a job.
Do it.
Don't try to hustle us into doing it for you.
Not unless you can come up with a lot better story.
Well, if you won't move on this thing, I'll just take it to the DA.
Gee, look at me, I'm shaking in my boots.
And look at me, I'm heading for the DA.
Look, miss, I know I came in without an appointment, and I know you're busy, but I've been waiting over there for 45 minutes for a meeting I can wrap up in 10.
There must be somebody in authority around here who's got a spare 10 minutes.
I'm sorry, Mr.
Rockford, we're really swamped today.
All right.
It's not your fault.
Thank you, Paul, I appreciate your coming in.
Mr.
Rockford, please.
Mr.
Kimball can't see you.
He has an appointment.
It's all right, Holly, I have a few minutes.
Well, Deputy DA, huh? That's pretty good for a man who's been dead two months.
But then, you're not Mr.
Phelps, are you? You're Mr.
Kimball.
Come in.
I don't like being suckered, Mr.
Kimball.
And I don't like your attitude.
Well, that's tough.
You lied to me.
Last night some woman followed me from the Boys Club, and she lied to me.
Wait a minute.
Then this morning a couple of goons show up at my trailer.
They said they were from the Boys Club, and they had guns and a lot of questions.
Well, I've got some questions, too.
I want to know what's going on.
Did you get any names? Did you tell them you were working for me? Well, I didn't know I was working for you.
I thought I was working for a Mr.
Phelps.
Now, I repeat, what's going on? Sit down.
You want an explanation, sit down.
A few weeks ago, an informant, the name doesn't matter, a reliable informant came to see me about the Bay City Boys Club.
He claimed they were playing high-stakes poker there, and that the game was rigged.
Now, you sat in with them last night.
You know the caliber of men involved.
But does the caliber of men have anything to do with why you didn't just bust the game like you would any crapshoot in a downtown alley? I'm a political realist, Mr.
Rockford, but I will bust a game.
First I have to know if the game is rigged.
Well, all you have to do is just push one of those little buttons on your desk.
You've got the entire police force and the District Attorney's Office who'll work with you.
Why bring me into it? Because if the game is crooked, they may have bought protection from the cops.
Or from this office.
If they have, I wanna know that, too.
Then I bust the entire operation.
I don't believe you.
It would make our working relationship more pleasant if you did.
We don't have a working relationship.
It's in the Garden of Eternal Rest.
You've had clients before who didn't completely level with you.
Yeah.
And every time I found out about it, the same thing happened.
I quit.
Get me Captain Auden, LAPD.
Yes, sir.
And Doyle's waiting.
Not now.
It's urgent, sir.
Okay, but first get me Captain Auden.
Is this where you flex all those legal muscles? They're considerable, Mr.
Rockford.
Oh, I'll bet they are.
Captain Auden on line three.
That you, Sam? Burt Kimball.
Yeah, yeah, it has been.
How've you been? Good.
And Vi? Let's do dinner next week, okay? Listen, Sam, I have a little problem I thought maybe you can give me some help with.
There's a private investigator, lives in Malibu.
James Rockford.
Ever hear of him? Yeah, yeah, that's the guy.
It occurs to me it might be time for a short refresher course in acceptable behavior toward the authorities.
Can you hold on a minute, Sam? I'm about to suggest that Captain Auden suspend your license for a few months.
Go ahead and suggest it.
He could do it.
Yeah, yeah, then I'd appeal, and there'd have to be a hearing.
What I've been investigating and why would all have to come out in the open.
So unless you're absolutely clean in all this, and I have a hunch you're not, you're gonna have a lot of explaining to do.
You want to finish your conversation? Sam? Sorry, I got an emergency over at the courthouse.
Rockford? Forget about it, Sam.
We'll handle it on this end.
Be in touch.
Don't get any ideas, Rockford.
I'm gonna see to it that they jerk your ticket after I wrap this case.
I'm not having the lid blown by some penny-ante PI.
So, let me give you a little advice Don't.
Don't lean, don't hassle, and don't threaten.
I happen to be in a very bad mood.
Miss Doyle, Mr.
Kimball will see you now.
Oh, thank you.
Miss Doyle.
Mr.
Rockford, please, wait a minute.
Please.
All right, I lied to you.
No.
Well, there's no need for sarcasm.
I had a reason.
Well, everyone I've met lately has a reason.
What, do you get points around here for not telling the truth? Mr.
Rockford, Mr.
Rockford, what right do you have to be so sanctimonious? You lied to me.
You told me your name was Aaron Keil, newspaper publisher, phony ID and all.
Well, that was business.
Oh, and I was out for a little madcap fun? I lied to protect an investigation I'm involved in.
Now, what's so wrong about that? Apparently nothing.
It seems to go on around here all the time.
I am with the District Attorney's office and I'm investigating Paul Flanders.
Your late stepfather? Mr.
Flanders is in charge of a labor union pension fund.
Now, I had a tip that he's been dipping into that fund for his personal use.
I had another tip that he's been losing the money at that poker game every Thursday night.
I even tried to get into the game.
But they don't allow girls in the Bay City Boys Club.
What union? What? What's the name of the union? The American Brotherhood of Affiliated Machine and Textile Workers.
What's the address? Street.
What floor? What is this? What floor? Second floor.
What's the name of Mr.
Flanders' secretary? Well, that would Mr.
Rockford, I've only told you this because I need your help.
That's too bad.
Mr.
Rockford.
You're lying, Burt Kimball's lying, and the two of you ought to watch it.
That's the kind of thing that can shake a persors faith in public officials.
Mr.
Rockford, it's Kate Doyle.
Go away.
Mr.
Rockford.
I'm busy.
Please.
Miss Doyle, I didn't get much sleep last night.
I'm trying to recoup my losses.
"Kate" would be friendlier.
I'm not feeling friendly, Kate.
Five minutes? I need help and I think you're in a position to give it to me.
Now before you say no, hear me out.
Well, before I say no, the kind of help I give costs $200 a day, plus expenses.
I'm authorized to make a financial commitment.
Well, I'm not interested.
Hey, now, don't I get my full five minutes? Sit down.
For the past two years, I've been a Deputy District Attorney in Bay City.
Now, I know what our office is like.
Believe me, it's a clean operation.
Well, I've only had the pleasure of meeting you and Burt Kimball.
And we have both lied to you.
Now, don't read things into that that aren't true.
That is not a reflection on the office.
Well, what difference does it make what I think of the office? Well, I'm proud of it.
I'm proud of the work we do.
My father spent his whole life reading the law.
Not practicing it, just reading it.
He was too busy supporting a family to afford the luxury of law school.
But he helped me to get through.
And he taught me to respect the law, in spirit and in fact.
I know that doesn't mean anything to you, but I want you to understand why I care so much, why it's so important to me.
Why? What's so important? What Burt Kimball's been doing.
Burt has always had the reputation for being a tough prosecutor, and he earned it.
But for the past three months he's been plea bargaining where there was no need for it, where we had good, solid cases.
Why, he refused to prosecute in two instances where I know we had the accused cold on criminal charges, a narcotics bust and a prostitution ring.
Now, Burt hired you.
I know because I've been following him.
Why? He thought they were running a crooked card game at the Boys Club.
He said he'd lost a bundle.
Then he could be under pressure because of his losses.
Heavy losses, heavy pressure.
As a District Attorney, he can't afford to let a mess like that go public.
If he's in deep and he can't pay off, that gives somebody a very nice lever.
And it's being used to influence the disposition of cases.
No, but the cases are unrelated.
There were different people involved every time.
Were they all criminal cases? And I know where you're going with that, and you're wrong.
There has never been any organized crime in Bay City.
Looks like there is now.
May I use your phone? Yeah.
We'll see him this afternoon.
When did that become "we"? I just want you there to corroborate the fact that he hired you, and why.
Holly? It's Kate Doyle.
I'm on my way in.
Would you ask Mr.
Kimball to wait for me, please? I have something important to discuss.
Well, tell him to cancel his meeting.
I'll be there in half an hour.
Holly says he's leaving the office about 4:00.
We should be able to make it.
Please? It's five to four.
He should still be here.
Does he have an assigned parking place? Mmm-hmm.
In the underground garage.
Okay.
We wait for him there, we can't miss him.
Which one's Kimball's car? Over there.
Thanks for coming with me.
You didn't have to, you know.
Not legally.
I know.
Well, then why did you? Oh, I don't know, maybe Maybe it was because you said "please".
Oh, dear God.
Is he We've gotta make a police report.
Let somebody else find him.
No, no, we have to make a report.
Look, they caught up with Kimball.
Now they know I'm in it somehow, so they're gonna be looking for me.
You and I walk into a police station, they're gonna know you're in it.
Now, I don't know about you, but I got some plans for the future.
In order for them to work out, I first have to have a future.
Now, get in.
I've never done anything like that before in my life.
We should have made that report.
Listen, if it'll make you feel any better, we will.
As soon as we have something solid to report to the police.
Are you sure your friend won't mind us just stopping by like this? Oh, he We should have phoned first.
He's been holed up here all day long.
He'll be happy as a clam to have company.
Go away.
Angel, open up.
You got no right pushing your way in here.
I could have you arrested.
I thought you said he was a friend.
Oh, he is.
Angel! Are you sure nobody tailed you? Yeah, I'm sure.
That's all I need, them two guys finding out where I live.
You shouldn't ought to do that to me, Jimmy.
Would I ever do that kind of thing to you? You did at 6:00 this morning.
You want some coffee? Hmm.
Yeah, make yourselves at home.
Relax, Angel.
We just needed a nice, quiet, safe place to do some thinking.
Uh-huh.
And who popped into your mind? Me.
That's a real good deal.
I spent the whole day trying to stay away from you.
What, do you want to see me dead? No.
No, I don't want to see you dead and I don't want to see me dead, either.
Do you really think those two men who came to your trailer this morning were the ones who killed Burt? Who's Burt? Well, they could be.
They took a very business-like approach to violence.
Who's Burt? Oh, he was my client.
Or was my client.
He was the Deputy District Attorney in Bay City.
District Attorney? Well, you never told me about that one, did you? First you got me mixed up with a couple of bone crushers, now you got me mixed up with the law.
I'm a Deputy DA.
I'm sorry, this is Kate Doyle.
Angel Martin.
It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Doyle.
Did you get her some cream and sugar? I've been thinking about what you said.
You really believe Burt was taken over by the mob? Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, George Welles founded the Boys Club, so it has to be his operation.
Now, let's say that he was out to open up a new territory for organized crime.
He needed key men who were legitimate.
So he got them in a crooked card game, let them win a little, lose a lot, and blackmail them.
Burt Kimball was used for case fixing? What about the others in the game? Yeah.
Well, I can only guess.
Ted Thatcher's a banker.
That comes in handy when you're dealing in dirty money, and Sy Mosher's theater chain would be a good outlet for pornographic movies.
Now, Paul Flanders.
Paul Flanders is in control of a union pension fund.
That's instant financing.
How do we prove it? We find out how the game was rigged.
And I had an idea I was working on, then everything went sour, and I never got around to it.
The city engineers.
It might help if I knew what we were looking for.
Any structural changes to the building.
But the whole gym is new.
No, no, no, just to this one office.
Nothing.
What does that mean? Well, it means that if they were using a peephole, they'd have to put in a false ceiling for crawl space, but they didn't.
Back to square one.
No.
No, they re-wired.
They put in a new power box.
Well, this is Miss Doyle from the District Attorney's Office.
I haven't done anything wrong.
I don't hold you responsible, Miss.
I don't even hold the power company responsible.
It's the Bay City Boys Club I'm after.
Then why don't you talk to them? Well, don't get snippy, Miss.
That's what I plan to do as soon as you give me the ammunition I need.
Now, I'd like to see a record of their bills.
I can't do that.
Well, you gonna let them keep on doing me like they have been? What have they been doing? Look, I know they're stealing my power.
They put in a machine shop over there, and whomp! It shows up on my bill.
So I just filed a complaint with Miss Doyle.
Now, you can either cooperate, or we'll get a court order.
Nobody could do what he's suggesting.
How long would it take you to get a court order? Well, go ahead, just go ahead and get one.
I'll wait for you here.
All right.
I'll get the records.
Which months do you want? Oh, a random sampling.
A year ago, six months, and the current charges.
I don't feel right getting information this way.
It's dishonest.
Yeah, and fast, too.
Look, I checked out the game.
I couldn't find anything wrong.
We ruled out the peephole.
So if there is something crooked, it'll probably show up here.
One year ago, six months ago and current.
They're using three times the power they used a year ago.
But the figures for the past six months are consistent.
Their bills are worse than mine.
I must have been wrong.
In the future, please check your facts before you go around filing complaints.
And don't let him off too easy, Miss.
He made me miss my bus home.
Here, take a cab.
Well, what's using up all that power? Well, it could be TV cameras.
They could have them spotted around the room to pick up every hand.
If we go in there with a search warrant and you're wrong Oh, we're not using a search warrant.
No, I'll stake out the Club tonight when I'm sure it's deserted.
I'll get in.
How? Oh, I'll get in.
If you're thinking of breaking and entering, I'm an officer of the Court.
And one of your colleagues was murdered today.
So, I'll get in, I'll check out the room.
When I've located the cameras, I'll come out and report to you, you get your search warrant and make your bust, all nice and legal.
I'm going with you.
Oh, no.
Well, either I go with you, or while you're staking out the Boys Club, I'm gonna have a couple of Bay City's finest staking you out, and when you try to get in, they're going to arrest you.
You're learning.
Those are illegal.
Yeah, and so is what we're doing.
Hell, I'll have to get those draperies.
And we have to chance a little light in here or I won't be able to find anything.
Stand by that lamp.
When I tell you, hit the switch.
Now.
Well, how do we know where to start looking? Well, anywhere where there's a good vantage point of the card table.
Ideally, it'd be up there.
Don't touch that thing.
It's very sensitive.
You'll activate it, and the whole fire department will be here in two minutes.
I won't activate it.
It's not a sprinkler head.
It's a camera lens.
Are you sure? It's so small.
Yes, it's probably got a magnification lens built into it.
Well, it's solid.
They wouldn't need a crawl space for a camera operator.
They'd just need a feed to a monitoring station.
Probably some other cameras around, but one's good enough for a bust.
Let's get out of here.
No, wait a minute.
Now, the camera operator sees what all the players are holding and what they discard.
But how does he transmit that information to the person he's working with? George Welles is the man in the game.
Now, he's probably wired to get the signals electronically and in code.
It's been done before, and very successfully.
Let's go.
I want those cameras out of here tonight.
Well, nobody knows about them but us.
Look, I want them out.
Let's move! In there.
Hurry! Get up there.
Hurry! He's coming! He's coming! The exit! The exit! Psst.
Quick.
Officer Officer, there's three men with guns coming out that door right now.
Thanks.
Well, thank you.
They're letting me prosecute this one personally.
You guarantee a conviction? With the evidence we have, how can I miss? All three of them are charged with murder and at least a dozen other felonies.
Hey, did you find out why they shot Burt Kimball? Burt was beginning to unravel.
They were afraid he was gonna bring the whole thing down.
Well, in a way, he did.
For a DA, he really didn't understand the criminal mind.
You know, speaking of the criminal mind, you have a tendency to bend a lot of rules.
Such as? Carrying a lock pick, breaking and entering, destruction of private property Those are all chargeable offenses.
Yeah, you know what's worse? I had an accomplice.
I know.
Oh, hey, if you're gonna look that unappy now, I think you and I should have a talk.
I mean, a long, long talk.
There's a guy following me in a white 1974 Datsun.
Tell them he took a shot at me.
Well, I'm afraid you've tailed the wrong man.
I'm not a board member, I'm a newspaper publisher.
They're gambling in there, aren't they? No, I didn't say they were gambling.
You got about $600 of my money there.
Don't figure on keeping it, 'cause I mean to get it back.
Mr.
Flanders is in charge of a labor union pension fund.
Now, I had a tip that he's been dipping into that fund for his personal use.
Look, I'm an innocent bystander.
They're usually the ones who get shot.
This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
Hi, sonny.
It's Rocky.
I got the bill and I've been trying to figure out what everybody owes on LJ's birthday party.
Tell me, did you have the pink lady? I haven't had a winning hand for hours.
Your cut, Mr.
Kiel.
I'm down $600, but deal me in anyway.
That'll cost you three blue ones.
That's gonna be a big help.
The gym still needs a lot of work, and a good press is money in the bank, Mr.
Kiel.
Well, I'm happy to do my part.
Come on, Sy, deal.
You know, it's amazing what you gentlemen have done in less than a year.
Well, I've been very fortunate to encounter some extremely generous people, Mr.
Keil, yourself included.
Oh, what am I doing? I'm just giving you a little free space in my newspaper, and who knows? You could pick up a few contributors, and the paper might get a commendation from the City Council.
Good public relations, good all the way around.
The board meeting's over.
You wanna play cards or what? Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
I'm in.
Not even a lousy gum wrapper.
Check the glove compartment.
Mostly bills, all current, nothing past due.
Made out to Keil? Yeah.
Aaron Keil.
Couple of them went to a newspaper.
Rest of them went to a home address.
It's 25514 Loma Linda Lane, Bel Air, Los Angeles, 900 I don't need the zip code.
He's not going on my Christmas card list.
Put it back like you found it.
Oh, you gentlemen were kind enough to ask me to sit in.
I kind of feel bad about taking your money.
Beginner's luck.
Isn't that what they call it? He ain't no beginner.
You got about $600 of my money there.
Don't figure on keeping it, 'cause I mean to get it back.
Mr.
Flanders, sportsmanship is part of the game.
Stuff sportsmanship.
I'm down $3,500 tonight.
In three and a half hours, you know the best hand I had, hmm? A pair of fours.
Yeah, I remember.
He had a possible straight, a possible flush You had a possible nothing and you raised.
Give it up, Paul.
You're not gonna get it back tonight.
Just somebody deal, okay? Mr.
Mosher's right.
Why don't we deal you out? The cards are running against you.
Next Thursday In, I'm in.
Three ladies, bless them.
Here's your other lady, and I quit.
I've had it.
Boy, when they're running cold, they're running cold.
Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee.
Yeah, you'll have to.
Not a bad night's work.
Wonder why I play poker so good? You don't.
You had the right cards.
Well, maybe you'll get them next week, Mr.
Flanders.
How about you, Mr.
Keil? Next Thursday? I wouldn't miss it.
Your order, please.
Call the police.
Your order, please.
That's it, you got it.
There's a guy following me in a white 1974 Datsun, California plates.
Tell the police I'll be headed south on Verdugo and for them to intercept.
Are you nuts, mister? Is this a rib? Just tell them he took a shot at me.
And, while you're at it, would you throw in a taco and a bag of fries? Out of the car, please.
All right, show me some identification.
Sorry.
Hey, I didn't know it was a lady.
Just a cup of coffee.
Make it two.
You wanted to talk? Well, where did you come from? That was the worst job of tailing anyone I've ever seen.
I don't do it for a living.
Good.
There were a couple of times I thought you were gonna end up in my trunk.
Who are you? What do you want? Who are you? Well, look, Miss, why don't we just swap IDs? That way we'll both know who we're talking to.
I said swap.
It's all right, it doesn't matter anyway.
My name's Kate Flanders.
Aaron Keil, I'm a newspaper publisher.
I met a Paul Flanders tonight.
Husband? Father? Stepfather.
Which brings us back to why you were following me.
I followed you because you came out of the Bay City Boys Club.
Is that supposed to make sense? It does to me.
It's personal.
Well, Miss Flanders, obviously you're after some kind of information, so why don't you just level with me, huh? Maybe I can give you a few answers.
Paul's a board member.
They meet every Thursday night.
Well, no board meeting lasts until 4:00 in the morning.
That's what time he got home last week.
And he spent the rest of the night pacing up and down.
So you decided to play gumshoe? They're gambling in there, aren't they? I didn't say they were gambling.
Oh, you don't have to.
Paul's been drawing thousands of dollars out of the bank without any explanation.
But, you see, I got my hands on the latest bank statement.
Now, there were four cancelled checks, all made out to cash, all endorsed by Paul, and all drawn on a Thursday.
You two must have a nice relationship.
Who are the other players? Ask your father.
No, he's my stepfather.
Oh, yes.
And the money isn't his, it's my mother's.
As far as she's concerned, Paul can do no wrong.
He could spend every penny of it and she'd go smiling off to the poorhouse.
Well, at least she sounds happy.
Well, you're pretty cavalier about somebody else's money.
So are you.
It doesn't bother you that my mother's being cheated? Nobody's being cheated.
At least, not as far as I can tell.
There's no dog-eared aces, nobody dealing seconds.
They break out a new deck of Bicycles every few hands.
I even made you a profit.
Here's $950 profit.
And the $5,000 stake you advanced me.
Doesrt that prove something, your winning? That was your first time in the game, Mr.
Rockford.
First few weeks I played, I won, too.
Isn't that a classic come-on? Yeah, but it doesn't prove the game's crooked.
Are you saying you won't work any further on it? It's your money, Mr.
Phelps.
I give you the facts, you make the decisions.
All I'm saying is the game looks clean.
If I stay on the case for three weeks, we still come up with the same conclusion, I don't want a hassle over the tab.
There won't be any hassle.
I'll pay you for tonight, and give you an advance.
You were invited back for next Thursday? Yeah.
Be there.
Mr.
Phelps, if you're sure they're running a scam, it'd be a lot cheaper just to go to the cops.
I thought I explained that.
If I'm wrong and I blow the whistle on some of Bay City's leading citizens, it makes for lousy public relations.
I'm a car dealer.
I have to sell to those people.
I don't wanna take a chance.
Do it my way, okay? Okay.
I'll let myself out.
Angel? Angel, are you down here? Angel.
Huh? Hey, turn on the light switch, will you, before I break my neck? Is that you, Jimmy? No, it's the night maid.
I come down here to check the wastebaskets for old chewing gum.
What time is it? Do you know what time it is? Yeah, well, it took me a little longer than I thought.
I really like your new office.
I parked Aarors car out at the front entrance.
Where's mine? It's around the side of the building, out in the alley.
Okay, thanks, Angel.
Thanks a lot.
I got you a good car, huh? Good cover, right? Yeah.
Well, what are friends for? You know what I mean? I wouldn't have done it for anybody else, buddy, but you.
Can you imagine what Aarord do to me if he'd found out I loaned you his car? He's not gonna find out.
And even if he does, what's he gonna do? He's your brother-in-law.
That's only because he's married to my sister.
I mean, as far as he's concerned, I'm not won'th spit.
Everybody around here knows that.
Especially the guy in the garage.
Well, now, wait.
You told me the guy in the garage would keep his mouth shut for $25.
Okay, I gave you the $25.
Well, he took it.
I mean, you drive off, half hour later, you're gone, he hits me up again.
I'm not scamming you, Jimmy.
I mean, I couldn't take no chances with Aaron.
Well, you're taking one with me.
Now, this afternoon you told me you were flat broke until the 15th, right? I loaned you $10, then I gave you $25 for the guy in the garage.
Knowing you, you probably gave him $5.
That means if I search you, you're gonna have $30 on you, and that's going to put a real strain on our friendship.
I'm gonna punch out.
Angel, come on, now, you're not gonna put in for overtime, really? Hey, I'm here, right? Fair's fair.
Hit the lights when I'm gone, would you? Jimmy, Jimmy, it's me, Jimmy.
Hey, Jimmy.
Jimmy, it's me.
Jimmy! Open up, man, it's me.
What are you doing here? Believe me, it wasrt my idea.
Hey, what's going on here? We've got a couple of questions we'd like to ask you, Mr.
Rockford.
Who are you? We're the grievance committee.
From the Bay City Boys Club.
The Club has a number of influential citizens involved in its work.
It's become something of a tradition on Thursday night, after the board meeting, to have a friendly game of cards.
And? It's a friendly game, and it's clean.
Now, we mean to keep it that way, so when we get a new player, we check him out.
Oh, and I said I was Aaron Keil, and you looked me up in the phone book, went out the house.
And found out that Mr.
Keil is in Yugoslavia.
Thanks, Angel.
What'd you want me to do, lie to them? Listen, they was waiting for me when I got home, and they was mean, not polite like they are now.
There's an explanation.
Oh, we figured there would be.
Your friend told us you're a private investigator.
Now, we'd like to know why the masquerade, what you're investigating, and who your client is.
Simple.
Well, it's not that simple.
The identity of a client is confidential.
You mean you won't tell us? Well, it's not that I won't, I can't.
Then you got a problem.
Get dressed.
You got a problem, I got a problem.
Tell them, Jimmy.
What's the matter with you, man? Did you take some kind of vows or something? Tell them.
All right, all right, I was hired by Mrs.
Paul Flanders.
Her husband's been losing heavily in the game.
And what he's been losing isn't his, it belongs to her.
Mrs.
Flanders says she loves her husband, she has a blind spot about him, and she's worried about her daughter.
She's afraid there won't be anything left for her.
So, Mrs.
Flanders hired me to find proof of the gambling and try to put a stop to it.
Something about that you didn't like? Oh, just one thing.
There isn't any Mrs.
Flanders.
Paul Flanders is a bachelor.
Is there a daughter? He's never been married.
Well, then there couldn't be a daughter.
Come on, get dressed.
You know, maybe there's something that you two guys ought to know about for your own protection.
My brother-in-law, Aaron, and me, we're like that.
Don't know who's on top.
And if anything ever happened to me, boy, there'd be no telling what he's liable to do.
Shut up.
Well, it was for your protection, you know.
I mean, if you got a beef against Jimmy But I'm an innocent bystander.
They're usually the ones who get shot.
Aaron wouldn't like that.
Get him, Angel! Hey, all right, all right, Angel.
I didn't know you had it in you.
I wanna go home.
Home ain't Bay City.
I'm taking you home.
I just got a stop to make first.
Let me out.
It's only gonna take a minute or two.
Ain't the time I'm worried about, it's the possibilities.
First you ask me for the loan of Aarors car, and I come that close to getting shot.
Dead.
Hey, you get dropped off somewheres for a little while, I mean, who knows what'll happen, you know what I mean? It gets so that saying hello to you turns into a high-risk proposition.
Relax, will you? This is gonna be a quick business meeting.
I wish you hadrt said that.
Can't go back to Aarors.
Them two gorillas is gonna be staking that out.
Can't go back to the newspaper.
They're liable to take it into their minds to drop by there.
Which means that I get docked.
No work, no pay.
That's one of Aarors ironclad rules.
You're a real pal.
Well, there ought to be somebody home this time of the morning.
I don't like it.
Oh, knock it off, Angel.
They're probably still asleep.
Thinking of buying it? Hi there.
No, is it for sale? Oh, yeah.
I am taking care of this place now.
Landscaped the whole thing by myself.
Put in them beautiful elm trees, all the flowers, the whole thing, and you ain't buying.
Yeah, I No, no, I was looking for Mr.
Phelps.
You know where I can find him? Yeah.
Garden of Eternal Rest over on Bexel.
Garden of Eternal Rest? Don't know where else they could put him.
He's dead.
But he can't be.
Angel, where are you going? Home.
Well, he can't be dead.
I just talked to him a few hours ago.
To Mr.
Phelps, you didn't.
He's been dead for two months.
You got a woman named Kate Flanders following you, only she's not Kate Flanders.
You got hired by a guy that's been dead for two months.
You got two goons who say they're from the Boys Club pulling guns on you.
Now, just what am I supposed to put down here? That don't make a whole lot of sense.
Well, I know it doesn't make sense, but I'm right in the middle of it.
Look, there's something going on around here and I just want to be on record with you guys.
So, you're on record.
That's all? What do you want, Mr.
Rockford? You want I should make out a bunch of John Doe complaints? Yeah, why not? I don't like paperwork.
Well, the least you could do is check out the Boys Club.
I could do that.
And if what you say is true, I could also arrest you for gambling.
Gambling for money is against the law, except where it's legal.
Yeah, well, thanks, Sergeant.
You've really been a big help.
Look, buddy, you're not the first PI that's tried to play games with this department.
You're getting paid to do a job.
Do it.
Don't try to hustle us into doing it for you.
Not unless you can come up with a lot better story.
Well, if you won't move on this thing, I'll just take it to the DA.
Gee, look at me, I'm shaking in my boots.
And look at me, I'm heading for the DA.
Look, miss, I know I came in without an appointment, and I know you're busy, but I've been waiting over there for 45 minutes for a meeting I can wrap up in 10.
There must be somebody in authority around here who's got a spare 10 minutes.
I'm sorry, Mr.
Rockford, we're really swamped today.
All right.
It's not your fault.
Thank you, Paul, I appreciate your coming in.
Mr.
Rockford, please.
Mr.
Kimball can't see you.
He has an appointment.
It's all right, Holly, I have a few minutes.
Well, Deputy DA, huh? That's pretty good for a man who's been dead two months.
But then, you're not Mr.
Phelps, are you? You're Mr.
Kimball.
Come in.
I don't like being suckered, Mr.
Kimball.
And I don't like your attitude.
Well, that's tough.
You lied to me.
Last night some woman followed me from the Boys Club, and she lied to me.
Wait a minute.
Then this morning a couple of goons show up at my trailer.
They said they were from the Boys Club, and they had guns and a lot of questions.
Well, I've got some questions, too.
I want to know what's going on.
Did you get any names? Did you tell them you were working for me? Well, I didn't know I was working for you.
I thought I was working for a Mr.
Phelps.
Now, I repeat, what's going on? Sit down.
You want an explanation, sit down.
A few weeks ago, an informant, the name doesn't matter, a reliable informant came to see me about the Bay City Boys Club.
He claimed they were playing high-stakes poker there, and that the game was rigged.
Now, you sat in with them last night.
You know the caliber of men involved.
But does the caliber of men have anything to do with why you didn't just bust the game like you would any crapshoot in a downtown alley? I'm a political realist, Mr.
Rockford, but I will bust a game.
First I have to know if the game is rigged.
Well, all you have to do is just push one of those little buttons on your desk.
You've got the entire police force and the District Attorney's Office who'll work with you.
Why bring me into it? Because if the game is crooked, they may have bought protection from the cops.
Or from this office.
If they have, I wanna know that, too.
Then I bust the entire operation.
I don't believe you.
It would make our working relationship more pleasant if you did.
We don't have a working relationship.
It's in the Garden of Eternal Rest.
You've had clients before who didn't completely level with you.
Yeah.
And every time I found out about it, the same thing happened.
I quit.
Get me Captain Auden, LAPD.
Yes, sir.
And Doyle's waiting.
Not now.
It's urgent, sir.
Okay, but first get me Captain Auden.
Is this where you flex all those legal muscles? They're considerable, Mr.
Rockford.
Oh, I'll bet they are.
Captain Auden on line three.
That you, Sam? Burt Kimball.
Yeah, yeah, it has been.
How've you been? Good.
And Vi? Let's do dinner next week, okay? Listen, Sam, I have a little problem I thought maybe you can give me some help with.
There's a private investigator, lives in Malibu.
James Rockford.
Ever hear of him? Yeah, yeah, that's the guy.
It occurs to me it might be time for a short refresher course in acceptable behavior toward the authorities.
Can you hold on a minute, Sam? I'm about to suggest that Captain Auden suspend your license for a few months.
Go ahead and suggest it.
He could do it.
Yeah, yeah, then I'd appeal, and there'd have to be a hearing.
What I've been investigating and why would all have to come out in the open.
So unless you're absolutely clean in all this, and I have a hunch you're not, you're gonna have a lot of explaining to do.
You want to finish your conversation? Sam? Sorry, I got an emergency over at the courthouse.
Rockford? Forget about it, Sam.
We'll handle it on this end.
Be in touch.
Don't get any ideas, Rockford.
I'm gonna see to it that they jerk your ticket after I wrap this case.
I'm not having the lid blown by some penny-ante PI.
So, let me give you a little advice Don't.
Don't lean, don't hassle, and don't threaten.
I happen to be in a very bad mood.
Miss Doyle, Mr.
Kimball will see you now.
Oh, thank you.
Miss Doyle.
Mr.
Rockford, please, wait a minute.
Please.
All right, I lied to you.
No.
Well, there's no need for sarcasm.
I had a reason.
Well, everyone I've met lately has a reason.
What, do you get points around here for not telling the truth? Mr.
Rockford, Mr.
Rockford, what right do you have to be so sanctimonious? You lied to me.
You told me your name was Aaron Keil, newspaper publisher, phony ID and all.
Well, that was business.
Oh, and I was out for a little madcap fun? I lied to protect an investigation I'm involved in.
Now, what's so wrong about that? Apparently nothing.
It seems to go on around here all the time.
I am with the District Attorney's office and I'm investigating Paul Flanders.
Your late stepfather? Mr.
Flanders is in charge of a labor union pension fund.
Now, I had a tip that he's been dipping into that fund for his personal use.
I had another tip that he's been losing the money at that poker game every Thursday night.
I even tried to get into the game.
But they don't allow girls in the Bay City Boys Club.
What union? What? What's the name of the union? The American Brotherhood of Affiliated Machine and Textile Workers.
What's the address? Street.
What floor? What is this? What floor? Second floor.
What's the name of Mr.
Flanders' secretary? Well, that would Mr.
Rockford, I've only told you this because I need your help.
That's too bad.
Mr.
Rockford.
You're lying, Burt Kimball's lying, and the two of you ought to watch it.
That's the kind of thing that can shake a persors faith in public officials.
Mr.
Rockford, it's Kate Doyle.
Go away.
Mr.
Rockford.
I'm busy.
Please.
Miss Doyle, I didn't get much sleep last night.
I'm trying to recoup my losses.
"Kate" would be friendlier.
I'm not feeling friendly, Kate.
Five minutes? I need help and I think you're in a position to give it to me.
Now before you say no, hear me out.
Well, before I say no, the kind of help I give costs $200 a day, plus expenses.
I'm authorized to make a financial commitment.
Well, I'm not interested.
Hey, now, don't I get my full five minutes? Sit down.
For the past two years, I've been a Deputy District Attorney in Bay City.
Now, I know what our office is like.
Believe me, it's a clean operation.
Well, I've only had the pleasure of meeting you and Burt Kimball.
And we have both lied to you.
Now, don't read things into that that aren't true.
That is not a reflection on the office.
Well, what difference does it make what I think of the office? Well, I'm proud of it.
I'm proud of the work we do.
My father spent his whole life reading the law.
Not practicing it, just reading it.
He was too busy supporting a family to afford the luxury of law school.
But he helped me to get through.
And he taught me to respect the law, in spirit and in fact.
I know that doesn't mean anything to you, but I want you to understand why I care so much, why it's so important to me.
Why? What's so important? What Burt Kimball's been doing.
Burt has always had the reputation for being a tough prosecutor, and he earned it.
But for the past three months he's been plea bargaining where there was no need for it, where we had good, solid cases.
Why, he refused to prosecute in two instances where I know we had the accused cold on criminal charges, a narcotics bust and a prostitution ring.
Now, Burt hired you.
I know because I've been following him.
Why? He thought they were running a crooked card game at the Boys Club.
He said he'd lost a bundle.
Then he could be under pressure because of his losses.
Heavy losses, heavy pressure.
As a District Attorney, he can't afford to let a mess like that go public.
If he's in deep and he can't pay off, that gives somebody a very nice lever.
And it's being used to influence the disposition of cases.
No, but the cases are unrelated.
There were different people involved every time.
Were they all criminal cases? And I know where you're going with that, and you're wrong.
There has never been any organized crime in Bay City.
Looks like there is now.
May I use your phone? Yeah.
We'll see him this afternoon.
When did that become "we"? I just want you there to corroborate the fact that he hired you, and why.
Holly? It's Kate Doyle.
I'm on my way in.
Would you ask Mr.
Kimball to wait for me, please? I have something important to discuss.
Well, tell him to cancel his meeting.
I'll be there in half an hour.
Holly says he's leaving the office about 4:00.
We should be able to make it.
Please? It's five to four.
He should still be here.
Does he have an assigned parking place? Mmm-hmm.
In the underground garage.
Okay.
We wait for him there, we can't miss him.
Which one's Kimball's car? Over there.
Thanks for coming with me.
You didn't have to, you know.
Not legally.
I know.
Well, then why did you? Oh, I don't know, maybe Maybe it was because you said "please".
Oh, dear God.
Is he We've gotta make a police report.
Let somebody else find him.
No, no, we have to make a report.
Look, they caught up with Kimball.
Now they know I'm in it somehow, so they're gonna be looking for me.
You and I walk into a police station, they're gonna know you're in it.
Now, I don't know about you, but I got some plans for the future.
In order for them to work out, I first have to have a future.
Now, get in.
I've never done anything like that before in my life.
We should have made that report.
Listen, if it'll make you feel any better, we will.
As soon as we have something solid to report to the police.
Are you sure your friend won't mind us just stopping by like this? Oh, he We should have phoned first.
He's been holed up here all day long.
He'll be happy as a clam to have company.
Go away.
Angel, open up.
You got no right pushing your way in here.
I could have you arrested.
I thought you said he was a friend.
Oh, he is.
Angel! Are you sure nobody tailed you? Yeah, I'm sure.
That's all I need, them two guys finding out where I live.
You shouldn't ought to do that to me, Jimmy.
Would I ever do that kind of thing to you? You did at 6:00 this morning.
You want some coffee? Hmm.
Yeah, make yourselves at home.
Relax, Angel.
We just needed a nice, quiet, safe place to do some thinking.
Uh-huh.
And who popped into your mind? Me.
That's a real good deal.
I spent the whole day trying to stay away from you.
What, do you want to see me dead? No.
No, I don't want to see you dead and I don't want to see me dead, either.
Do you really think those two men who came to your trailer this morning were the ones who killed Burt? Who's Burt? Well, they could be.
They took a very business-like approach to violence.
Who's Burt? Oh, he was my client.
Or was my client.
He was the Deputy District Attorney in Bay City.
District Attorney? Well, you never told me about that one, did you? First you got me mixed up with a couple of bone crushers, now you got me mixed up with the law.
I'm a Deputy DA.
I'm sorry, this is Kate Doyle.
Angel Martin.
It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Doyle.
Did you get her some cream and sugar? I've been thinking about what you said.
You really believe Burt was taken over by the mob? Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, George Welles founded the Boys Club, so it has to be his operation.
Now, let's say that he was out to open up a new territory for organized crime.
He needed key men who were legitimate.
So he got them in a crooked card game, let them win a little, lose a lot, and blackmail them.
Burt Kimball was used for case fixing? What about the others in the game? Yeah.
Well, I can only guess.
Ted Thatcher's a banker.
That comes in handy when you're dealing in dirty money, and Sy Mosher's theater chain would be a good outlet for pornographic movies.
Now, Paul Flanders.
Paul Flanders is in control of a union pension fund.
That's instant financing.
How do we prove it? We find out how the game was rigged.
And I had an idea I was working on, then everything went sour, and I never got around to it.
The city engineers.
It might help if I knew what we were looking for.
Any structural changes to the building.
But the whole gym is new.
No, no, no, just to this one office.
Nothing.
What does that mean? Well, it means that if they were using a peephole, they'd have to put in a false ceiling for crawl space, but they didn't.
Back to square one.
No.
No, they re-wired.
They put in a new power box.
Well, this is Miss Doyle from the District Attorney's Office.
I haven't done anything wrong.
I don't hold you responsible, Miss.
I don't even hold the power company responsible.
It's the Bay City Boys Club I'm after.
Then why don't you talk to them? Well, don't get snippy, Miss.
That's what I plan to do as soon as you give me the ammunition I need.
Now, I'd like to see a record of their bills.
I can't do that.
Well, you gonna let them keep on doing me like they have been? What have they been doing? Look, I know they're stealing my power.
They put in a machine shop over there, and whomp! It shows up on my bill.
So I just filed a complaint with Miss Doyle.
Now, you can either cooperate, or we'll get a court order.
Nobody could do what he's suggesting.
How long would it take you to get a court order? Well, go ahead, just go ahead and get one.
I'll wait for you here.
All right.
I'll get the records.
Which months do you want? Oh, a random sampling.
A year ago, six months, and the current charges.
I don't feel right getting information this way.
It's dishonest.
Yeah, and fast, too.
Look, I checked out the game.
I couldn't find anything wrong.
We ruled out the peephole.
So if there is something crooked, it'll probably show up here.
One year ago, six months ago and current.
They're using three times the power they used a year ago.
But the figures for the past six months are consistent.
Their bills are worse than mine.
I must have been wrong.
In the future, please check your facts before you go around filing complaints.
And don't let him off too easy, Miss.
He made me miss my bus home.
Here, take a cab.
Well, what's using up all that power? Well, it could be TV cameras.
They could have them spotted around the room to pick up every hand.
If we go in there with a search warrant and you're wrong Oh, we're not using a search warrant.
No, I'll stake out the Club tonight when I'm sure it's deserted.
I'll get in.
How? Oh, I'll get in.
If you're thinking of breaking and entering, I'm an officer of the Court.
And one of your colleagues was murdered today.
So, I'll get in, I'll check out the room.
When I've located the cameras, I'll come out and report to you, you get your search warrant and make your bust, all nice and legal.
I'm going with you.
Oh, no.
Well, either I go with you, or while you're staking out the Boys Club, I'm gonna have a couple of Bay City's finest staking you out, and when you try to get in, they're going to arrest you.
You're learning.
Those are illegal.
Yeah, and so is what we're doing.
Hell, I'll have to get those draperies.
And we have to chance a little light in here or I won't be able to find anything.
Stand by that lamp.
When I tell you, hit the switch.
Now.
Well, how do we know where to start looking? Well, anywhere where there's a good vantage point of the card table.
Ideally, it'd be up there.
Don't touch that thing.
It's very sensitive.
You'll activate it, and the whole fire department will be here in two minutes.
I won't activate it.
It's not a sprinkler head.
It's a camera lens.
Are you sure? It's so small.
Yes, it's probably got a magnification lens built into it.
Well, it's solid.
They wouldn't need a crawl space for a camera operator.
They'd just need a feed to a monitoring station.
Probably some other cameras around, but one's good enough for a bust.
Let's get out of here.
No, wait a minute.
Now, the camera operator sees what all the players are holding and what they discard.
But how does he transmit that information to the person he's working with? George Welles is the man in the game.
Now, he's probably wired to get the signals electronically and in code.
It's been done before, and very successfully.
Let's go.
I want those cameras out of here tonight.
Well, nobody knows about them but us.
Look, I want them out.
Let's move! In there.
Hurry! Get up there.
Hurry! He's coming! He's coming! The exit! The exit! Psst.
Quick.
Officer Officer, there's three men with guns coming out that door right now.
Thanks.
Well, thank you.
They're letting me prosecute this one personally.
You guarantee a conviction? With the evidence we have, how can I miss? All three of them are charged with murder and at least a dozen other felonies.
Hey, did you find out why they shot Burt Kimball? Burt was beginning to unravel.
They were afraid he was gonna bring the whole thing down.
Well, in a way, he did.
For a DA, he really didn't understand the criminal mind.
You know, speaking of the criminal mind, you have a tendency to bend a lot of rules.
Such as? Carrying a lock pick, breaking and entering, destruction of private property Those are all chargeable offenses.
Yeah, you know what's worse? I had an accomplice.
I know.
Oh, hey, if you're gonna look that unappy now, I think you and I should have a talk.
I mean, a long, long talk.