The Streets of San Francisco (1972) s02e21 Episode Script
The Hard Breed
And here he comes.
Young Billy Davis from Dakota, Oklahoma, riding Nobody's Darling.
Ride him, Billy boy.
You'll tell them now.
From Austin, Texas, the leader for the all-around championship this year, Ken Johnson on High Tide.
High Tide comes on out and look at him twist it.
Won't get that cowboy's goose.
That's how he gets points in the judges' book.
Here comes the score for Ken Johnson.
It's a good one.
Seventy-one points.
That should be enough to clinch the title for him.
Hello, everybody, Keith Jackson, ABC's Wide World of Sports, from the Cow Palace in San Francisco.
The Grand National Rodeo.
Most of the top cowboys in America with some of the finest stock ever assembled, ready for a taste of the Old West.
Working with us to keep us up to date on what's going on, Lex Connelly, former champion cowboy himself now manager of the Cow Palace.
Lex, let's turn those cowboys loose.
All right, Keith, and the contest we're gonna see right now is the bull riding.
Bull riding.
Now, this is the one event Mo, we gotta go.
I know.
Tell me, how did a fashion designer get so hooked on the rodeo, huh? My grandmother had a ranch in Wyoming.
I spent my summers there.
Yeah? You hanging out with the cowboys, huh? Well, pick a winner.
Well, I think you'd have to say that it's gonna be one of the Johnson brothers.
Oh, it's down to the Johnson brothers.
It's down to the Johnson brothers.
Who are the Johnson brothers? This one is a real fine day for a rodeo game that came from Texas.
The family goes way back to when it was part Indian, things like that.
You know, none of this really makes a difference when you get on the bull Here's Sunny Bray's score.
Sixty-one points on that one.
And now, ready to go Mo, if we lose that table, we don't get another one.
They got a little thing called a waiting list.
Just one more ride, okay? I'm hungry.
Oh, no.
Oh, no.
This old boy's tough to fight and tough to hook, Clint.
Watch him.
I hear he's already put in for a pension.
Gonna be like riding whipped cream, Clint.
Yeah, you better take another look, brother.
I hear that he's a real honker.
Hey, Rosie, how about a kiss for luck? Where'd you get that? That ain't a way to ride.
Let me have it.
Well, how about you, Bo? Aren't you gonna wish me luck? You've lived this long without it.
Hey, Clint.
You drew on a bad one.
He's mean to fight.
You just do your job, I'll do mine.
Sure.
Hey, Rosie, how come you're so pretty and you're hooked up with such a ugly, ornery, bowlegged cuss as this? Let her buck.
He's now coming out.
He's wild.
Coming out.
Clint.
Somebody get a doctor.
No need, Dad.
He's dead.
Jesus.
God.
No.
It's like riding your headstone every second.
Enough.
Let's go.
You've seen it before, haven't you? People dying? Yeah.
Well, I haven't.
It's awful.
Well, it happened fast.
And he was doing something he wanted to.
Oh, boy.
Oh, boy.
- Hey, Roy.
- Bo.
- You all right? - Yeah.
You know, this was Clint's from the first day in foal.
Turned him into the best calf horse on the circuit.
Nobody could ride him like Clint.
Nobody will.
Where's Ken? He's with Rosie.
Where you been, Marty? I've been looking for you.
What is it, Marty? I just keep thinking if I could have got to that bull quicker, Clint-- It wasn't your fault.
I know that now.
I've been over there in the arena kind of mulling over in my head what happened and I found this.
I figure in all the excitement, it must have got buried in the dirt there.
It been cut clean nearly halfway.
Right, with a razor or sharp knife or something.
That rope come off the bull that Clint was riding.
Are you trying to tell me it was no accident? Oh, Roy, you know Clint was too good a hand to come off a bull like that or get caught with them hooves.
Roy, I'm telling you, Clint was killed.
He's got one foot up on the dashboard, he got one foot outside the window and he's holding on.
He turns over to me and looks at me, he's-- - Oh, no.
No, no, no.
- Oh, yes, yes, yes.
Sorry.
I apologize for busting in like this, Miss? Oh, Maureen, this is Lieutenant Michael Stone.
Maureen Mallory.
Maureen.
Oh, you're Mo.
Nice to meet you, lieutenant.
- Or is it? - No.
It could have been nicer.
We got a special request.
I'll fill you in on the way.
Well, why don't you take my car.
And I'll try to call you later, okay? Bye.
Sorry, Maureen.
Pretty expensive for a cop, isn't it? It's a very special occasion.
Yeah, she looks special.
I'll bet Juan Marichal wishes he had your pitch.
I just wish I had his salary.
Thank you very much.
So fill me in.
Well, the way I hear it, we've got thousands of witnesses.
A rodeo cowboy was riding a bull-- Now, wait a minute, I saw that on the television.
But it was an accident, unless you're gonna book the bull.
Well, I guess you didn't see it all, unless you saw the bull use a knife.
You got so many eyes on that girl, you can't see the television set.
If somebody did cut this partway, did they count on the rest of it giving? Yeah, they give without being cut sometimes.
When them bulls starts kicking, it's like hell with the lid off.
What would be the motive? I don't care about why, just who.
We'll do our best.
We're outsiders here, lieutenant.
Strangers.
Aside from Clint being my son, he was a man.
And no big-city red tape can change that.
Mr.
Johnson, if it was murder, we'll find out who did it.
If he finds the killer, he's gonna hang him.
Well, he did lose his son.
What did you get from the other cowboys? Well, everybody says it was an accident that was bound to happen sooner or later.
- How's that? - Clint used to hit it before each ride.
- Booze? - Booze, yeah, and pills.
Pain pills.
He had a bad leg, he never let it heal.
- Why did he keep riding? - Well, they're like that.
Look, I met one of those guys over there.
He used to ride with two broken wrists.
If a cowboy can crawl, he'll ride.
Yeah, I guess they are a hard breed, all right.
How about the rope? Well, each man usually handles his own, but Clint had somebody else who helped him.
- Who was that? - His brother.
Hello.
- Hello.
- Howdy, hi.
I'm Lieutenant Stone.
This is Inspector Keller.
- Hi.
- Which one of you is Jensen? Oh, that'd be me, lieutenant.
- Well, then you must be Bo Dobbs.
- Yes, sir.
I know you saw one of our officers before and you told him what you saw, but I'd like to ask you myself, if you don't mind? Anything we can do.
Thanks a lot.
I hear that you two go way back.
More years than I'd care to mention.
We were riding the circuit when there was nothing but dusty old towns.
Bo and me, we rode broncs together till our rumps turned into raw meat.
That's when I turned to clowning.
Bo handles the stock.
We been saving up to buy us a little ranch.
Fixing on going in together.
Well, how long have you known the Johnsons? Well, Roy and Bo, they go way back.
Before we even met, ain't it? Roy's a good old boy.
I sure hate to see him hurt this way.
What about Clint and his brother? Were they as close as you two? Oh, they were fierce when it came to competition.
But they respected one another.
Roy wouldn't have it no other way.
But weren't they doing the championships? Hey, now, wait a minute, you ain't thinking that Ken cut that rope, are you? No, I'm just trying to find a reason.
Well, if winning that championship was reason, the circuit would be lined with dead cowboys.
They was loving brothers.
Didn't they ever disagree about anything? What was it about? I expect they'll find out anyways.
Find out what? You tell them, Bo.
It It was Rosie.
- Rosie? That's Clint's wife? - Yeah.
Well, she ain't no bad girl, it's just-- Well, she's as pretty as a pair of pink slippers.
They fought over her? Well, they got into it a couple of years ago.
I still got me a split tooth from breaking it up.
Of course, that's before Clint and Rosie were married.
Before they were married, Rosie was Ken's girl.
Police wanna talk to us? Tomorrow.
I told them the little widow was so broken up over the whole thing that she just couldn't talk.
I still don't buy anyone would set out to kill Clint.
Somebody shaved that rope.
What do you think about that, girl? I don't know what to think about it.
Did you ever once, just once, care for him? I loved him till he started sipping into a bottle every day and somebody else's bed every night.
Damn you.
What are you doing? You know how it was with them.
What did you want her to say? Maybe Maybe Clint wasn't much of a husband to her.
But he was still a son to me and a brother to you.
Whoa, now.
Whoa, now.
Best leave her be.
But she needs someone, Bo.
I know, but not you.
You all right? See what I mean? Come on, let's git.
Unless you want something besides a cracked tooth.
Oh, Ken.
I know, Rosie.
- Where have you been all morning? - Well, I had to get my car.
It's after 9:00.
I went to pick you up at 7, you weren't home.
- Where does she live, Monterey? - Seven o'clock.
I knew it.
I knew you're gonna do that.
That's why-- That's why you went to pick up your car last night.
Lieutenant, very good.
Very, very, good.
You got a future with this department.
You're cruising.
I really mean it, you're cruising.
Listen, I've been cruising all morning.
Rosie Johnson.
She was born Rosalind Cummings in Odessa, Texas, 1944.
Folks were dirt farmers and she took off when she was 15.
She's been with the rodeo ever since.
She competed with the women on the circuit until she married Clint Johnson two years ago.
Where did you get that? Those cowboys get up with the chickens too, you know.
I guess they do.
- Is that all? - No.
Her husband has an insurance policy.
Fifty thousand dollars.
- And she is the beneficiary? - The only one, yeah.
So, what did you get, huh? Sitting in the nice comfort of your warm office while I was out there watching where I stepped? Well, I got in touch with the TV network - who filmed the rodeo.
- Good.
They said we could look at the tapes anytime we wanted to.
I ran a make on Ken Johnson.
He's got a record.
Here someplace.
Here it is.
"Disturbing the peace.
Drunk and disorderly.
Assault--" Nothing big, but there is a history of violence.
Yeah, sounds like he just got along-- I got the autopsy report on Johnson's brother.
The alcoholic content was 1.
2 percent.
One-point-two.
Okay, enough to be legally drunk.
And plenty out of control when you mix it with those painkillers he was taking.
That's a bad combination.
He could have fallen off that bull even if the rope wasn't cut.
Yup.
- What'd the lab say on that rope? - It was cut.
So, what do you think? I think for openers, we've got two people who might have wanted to see him dead.
First, his wife for the insurance.
And then his brother for his wife.
- How did he do? - Well, now, that's just like old times.
I make it 15.
9.
You shave that a little, you'll be sitting in for the state finals.
Morning.
Mrs.
Johnson? Yes, sir.
There's Lieutenant Stone.
He's the man trying to find out what happened to Clint.
Well, I better walk this horse out.
I'll see you, lieutenant.
Hey, that was quite a workout.
But not exactly the grieving widow? Now, I didn't say that.
Everybody has to sort of work that out for themselves.
You do know about the insurance money.
Yes, I do.
Fifty thousand dollars.
Give me a reason to wanna see Clint dead, wouldn't it? Maybe you'd like to tell me how you feel about that.
Just like I grew wings.
Are you planning on doing any flying? You're not very subtle, lieutenant.
That is how Ken Johnson goes from rodeo to rodeo, isn't it? Flies his own plane? Who told you about Ken and me? Well, it seems to be common knowledge.
It also must be common knowledge that we broke up a long time ago.
I heard that too.
But you don't wanna believe it, do you? You wanna believe the worst.
You wanna believe that maybe Ken and I tried to do something to get back together again, huh? Well, somebody cut that rope and I'm just trying to find out who had a reason.
I'd think you'd be interested in that too.
Unless you know already.
You gonna arrest me? No.
I reckon you don't do things any different here than we do back home.
I mean, it's still the United States.
You're innocent until you're proved guilty.
That's right.
How come you're trying to make me prove I'm innocent? I'm sure I don't know.
Unless you're feeling something else too.
- Like what? - Guilt? Fantastic.
So this is getting to be the going thing, huh? Well, you can make more rodeos, build up more points.
How'd your brother travel? Same way my dad did: Pickup truck.
My old man thinks a cowboy ought to travel with his stock, live with them, get to know them, rather than shipping them around to meet some fancy schedule.
Sounds like they were close.
They were.
Fact is, Clint tried to mirror Dad.
One of his problems.
Yeah, that could be tough.
I understand your father was world champion.
- Yeah.
- Didn't seem to bother you at all.
I wasn't under that kind of pressure.
Sent me to college instead.
That didn't take.
Now, he just figures me for an educated failure, no matter what I win.
Sometimes we get along pretty good.
Other times, it's like two bulls butting heads.
But you and your brother were close? Close as two brothers can be.
We were friends.
Rosie.
Now, I know she was your girl one time.
Did that ever cause any friction between you and your brother? Some at first.
Rosie knew a lot of guys before either one of us.
Clint knew that.
Did it bother Clint? Look, Ken, the autopsy report showed your brother was loaded on juice and pills.
Now, you just told me your brother had a problem living up to your father.
Did he have a problem with Rosie? That's none of your business.
Your brother was murdered.
That's what you say.
I say it was an accident.
We tied a bell on that old bull's neck and told old Charlie that he was riding a milk cow.
He was so drunk, he didn't even know the difference.
Hey, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna reverse it next time.
I'd give a lot of money to see Charlie try to milk the bull.
Rosie.
Lay off that stuff, will you? How come? I wanna talk to you.
About what? Well, you know that spread that Bo and me are always talking about getting? We found her.
- Where is it? - Well, it's in Montana.
Just a few miles out of Ennis.
It's got a pretty little creek runs through the middle of it.
And a good place for horses.
That's terrific, Marty.
I'm really happy for you.
Rosie, what are you gonna do with no one to look out for you, huh? Fifty thousand dollars will look after me just fine.
It won't last.
Only people last.
On that spread that Bo and me is gonna get, there's a place for you.
You think on it, will you? You can't keep just drifting along the circuit like this.
Thanks, Marty.
But I'll be just fine.
Hey, Ken.
Been wanting to catch up with you.
Still ready with one sweet offer for you wearing our shirts next season.
Later, huh? Rosie.
Come on.
I'm taking you home.
I was just looking out for her, Ken.
She's still a Johnson, Marty.
Reckon that makes her our lookout.
- Hey, Marty, Marty.
- Hey, Bo.
I didn't even know you was here.
Sit down.
I'm here.
Look, you and me gotta have us a talk, Marty.
Well, what about? Well, about old Clint.
About who cut that rope.
Let me ask you something.
You ever seen this toadsticker before? No, I ain't never seen it before.
Don't start running me around in circles, Marty.
Oh, yeah, I recognize it now.
That's Ken's knife.
That's the one old Roy brought him from Mexico, ain't it? That's right.
You wanna know where I found it? Bo.
Maybe you already know where I found it, huh, Marty? Where you going, Bo? I'm gonna go tell Roy what happened.
There ain't no call for that.
I'll tell you what there ain't no call for, Marty.
There ain't no call for no little pink pretty like Rosie to go around messing up other people's lives.
I seen you sitting here with her.
And I seen them two sashaying out of here together.
And I know what's going on.
And Roy's gonna know the truth, Marty.
And this knife tells it all.
- Aren't you supposed to be clowning? - Well, I got-- I got my leg banged up during the little bareback.
Billy's filling in for me.
- You all right, now? - Oh, yeah.
Gonna be fine.
- Buy you a drink? - Well, I don't mind if I do.
That ain't why I come in here, though.
I wanted to show you before I show the police.
Bo found that in the sawdust back at the chutes.
- Kind of a foreign-looking deal, ain't it? - Yeah.
Look close, Roy.
Ain't them rope hairs on the blade? Why you giving this to me? Well, that ain't no store-bought knife.
I never seen one like it before.
And I figured maybe if you could put a face to it Well, I know how you're trying to find the cutter that You did right.
Buy this man a drink.
I was down.
He was just trying to cheer me up.
I don't see anything so wrong in that.
What you see don't matter, it's what other people are looking for.
They're looking to make you answer for Clint's death.
Well, I didn't want him dead.
I didn't.
Clint was the closest thing I ever came to love.
I thought once I had him, I wouldn't need anything else.
And then everything went sour on us.
I don't know what happened.
I didn't want him dead.
I didn't, I didn't.
Ken.
You got a minute? Yeah.
Sure, Dad.
Go on.
I'll talk to you later.
What you just saw there, don't go making anything out of it.
Wanna carve me a chew.
Lend me that jackknife of yours.
I haven't got it.
I'm talking about the one I gave you.
The one I picked up in Mexico.
I know what you're talking about.
I haven't got it.
Where is it? Just disappeared.
Lost it, I guess.
Well, where did you lose it? I don't know.
Chutes, maybe.
That's where Bo found it.
See them hairs? I'm betting they come from Clint's rope.
You know what you're saying? I know.
He was my brother.
Why would I wanna kill him? Because you wanted his woman.
And from what I just seen, you got her.
Oh, come on, no.
You-- - You going to the police? - Nope.
This is a family doing.
I'm not gonna fight you.
I said, I'm not gonna fight you.
Well, don't let me being your father stand in your way, because I don't consider you my son.
You take that damn tin plane of yours and fly it straight into devil's eyeball.
I don't wanna ever lay eyes on you again, you hear? Now git.
- Hey, I got something.
- Yeah, what? Did a rundown on all the cowboys by the chute last night.
- We got a new suspect.
- Yeah, who? Bo Dobbs.
Dobbs? How come--? Homicide, Stone.
What's that again? When? All right, we'll get right on it.
What's that? You were gonna tell me something about Dobbs.
Yeah, he had a son on the circuit two years ago.
He was in a bulldogging event and caught a horn through his leg because his partner was negligent.
And his partner was Clint Johnson.
That's right, and Bo Dobbs swears to this day that Clint was loaded.
But why does that put Dobbs on our list? Because the kid's crippled for life.
I give you a whole new wrinkle and you say to me? The phone call came from the Cow Palace.
Bo Dobbs is dead.
- Who found him? - I did.
He was just lying out there in the corral.
- Trampled? - Oh, no.
Bo been around too long.
He had too much sawy for anything like that.
Steve, comb the area.
See what you come up with.
Right.
Well, Bernie my friend, what have you got? I won't know for sure till we get him downtown, but it looks like a blow to the back of the head by a blunt instrument of some kind.
Nothing like a hoofprint or a horn.
- When did it happen? - I'd say less than an hour ago.
- Let me know for sure, will you? - Right.
Mike.
Yeah? Looks like part of a shirt.
Anybody recognize this? Was Bo murdered? Well, it looks that way, Mr.
Jensen.
Do you know anybody wearing a shirt like that? Bo was one of ours.
We'll handle it.
Yeah, we'll handle him.
Oh, hey, wait a minute.
Hold it right there.
I want no vigilante, homespun law here.
Now, is that clear or do I have to make it plainer? Dobbs was killed on my beat.
And I want that man just as bad as you do.
Now let me start again.
Does anybody recognize this shirt? Mr.
Jensen? Ken Johnson's wearing a shirt like that.
Who? Ken Johnson.
He was wearing a shirt like that.
Ken was wearing a shirt like this, all right.
Mr.
Johnson, your son has disappeared.
Now, do you have any idea where we can find him? Now, if you think this is just a family matter, you're wrong.
Well, before I tell you, I'm gonna have a say.
I run Ken off because Well, because I figured he killed Clint.
Well, don't you think that's for the police to decide? When it comes to Ken, it's still family.
But he wouldn't have killed Bo.
Put to it, a breed like Ken might kill a man for a woman.
Lot of good men been done in by shiny little thing like Rosie.
But when it comes to killing an old-timer like Bo, no.
That's a notch or two below a wolf.
And that ain't Ken.
Then I guess you'd better tell me why you think he killed Clint.
I lost one son, lieutenant.
Now you're asking me to lose the other.
I'm sorry.
Lieutenant.
It belongs to Ken.
Found behind the chutes.
These look like rope hairs.
You found it? No, Bo did.
I've had my say.
You most likely can find Ken at the airport.
That's his plane.
- Think you can stop him? - Let's give it a try.
What's the matter with you guys? Get off of there, Johnson.
Get down.
My old man sic you on me? Does this belong to you? I didn't kill Clint.
Then why were you trying to take off? My old man called it.
We had a blowout.
He's clean.
Is this part of your shirt? Looks like one I threw away.
Must've come off when he was tearing into me.
Why? Where did you get it? - Where'd you have this blowout? - Out by his trailer.
Why? Because it was found in the corral where Bo Dobbs was murdered.
You say you didn't know a thing about Bo Dobbs.
No, sir.
Then how did you get those bruises? I told you, my old man.
I never fought with Bo, just my old man.
Ask him.
Why would I wanna kill Bo? Because Bo found this knife and he gave it to your father.
You thought your father wouldn't talk and you fixed it so that Dobbs couldn't.
Oh, come on, it didn't happen that way.
I swear it didn't.
You went to the bar where you picked up your sister-in-law, - then went right to your father's trailer.
- Right.
And after you fought with your father, you went to the airport with a man you didn't even know.
Oh, come on.
I told you, his name is Garner or Gardner.
He's a salesman.
And he wanted you to endorse some shirts.
That's right.
Look, I've been trying to brush him off, but he tagged along when me and Rosie left the bar.
And then he cornered me again when I left my dad.
You can check it out.
We are.
When did you see this knife again? I told you, I don't remember exactly.
This morning sometime.
Did you get ahold of him? Did he tell you? Name is John Gardner.
He is a shirt representative with Western Sunset.
He's staying at the Bayshore Motel.
He tells it just like Ken, even down to the airport gate he dropped him off at.
He's willing to sign a statement, anything.
I told you.
I told you, I didn't do it.
What's he doing here? I asked him to come.
He said you couldn't have done it.
It is plain you didn't buy his word.
It's not his word I'm questioning, it's yours.
I hear you were fixing to take off.
You did kind of put the wind on my back.
- How's it look? - Well, it looks as though he's clear as far as Dobbs is concerned.
But you still think I killed Clint.
I think two people had good reason to cut that rope.
- Ken and Rosie? - That's right.
- And I don't figure it was Rosie.
- Why not? Because cutting that rope wouldn't guarantee that her husband would die.
But I might have just to win that championship? - Did you? - No.
But you did help your brother cinch that rope around the bull.
I tell you what, lieutenant.
The way Clint was hitting the booze and the pills, I didn't need to cut this to beat him.
He was beating himself.
But he must have thought you did when he brought this knife to your father.
Bo didn't bring me the knife, Marty did.
Wait a minute.
- Jensen brought you that knife? - Yeah.
And he said Dobbs found it? That's right.
Said he'd found it behind the bull chutes.
Can we run that network tape? Yeah, yeah, sure.
Why? I wanna see something.
Excuse me.
Here.
All right, could you hold it right there, please? Look at that.
What? What is the first thing the clown's supposed to do when a rider goes down? They start waving off the bull.
Then that's what Jensen should be doing.
Is that right? Well, Marty's getting on a bit now.
Works the barrel mostly.
Doesn't take chances like the rest of the boys.
But he is not taking any chances at all.
He's just standing there.
He could have done something, couldn't he? - I guess he could-- - All right, let me put it another way.
He's done everything right since then, hasn't he? Steve, get it out, will you? I don't know, Mike.
I'm trying to put the pieces together.
I remember Mo telling me the clown's supposed to keep the bull away from the rider when he's down.
I sort of half remember seeing this one clown standing there.
It was Jensen.
And Jensen found the rope.
Jensen brought us the knife.
He found Dobbs.
He could have seen Ken and his father fighting.
Found that piece of shirt.
- Could have planted it by Dobbs too.
- Yeah.
Don't ask me why.
I haven't found the motive.
But Jensen was the guy that got us thinking about Ken and Rosie in the first place, remember? Yeah, the fight.
The split tooth.
Mr.
Johnson, did Ken and Clint really have that fight? Yeah, they sure did.
That girl's bad news clean through.
But Jensen doesn't see her that way, does he? What? No, he thinks she's kind of special, right? - Marty? - Sure.
He was with Rosie when you went to see her, right? And Ken said he was with her at the tavern.
And you remember how he defended her when we asked about Ken and Clint fighting over her? Yeah.
I sure do: "Pretty as a pair of pink slippers.
" Get up there.
Rosie.
Rosie, what are you doing? I'm getting out of here.
Well, you can't pull up stakes and go just like that.
I got to.
For Ken's sake.
If I stick around here, I'll mess him up same way I did Clint.
Well, hold on a spell, huh? I'll get me that spread up in Montana.
You could go there.
That's sweet, Marty, but I'll probably going back to Texas.
No.
You ain't running out on me now.
It's gonna be special for us.
Not like it was with Clint and maybe Ken.
It's you and me.
That's the way I always planned it.
You know, the more I think about it, the more I think you could be right.
Old Marty was always around paying Rosie special attention.
And with Clint dead and Ken in jail, he could figure he might have a chance.
Hey, he could have killed Clint and framed Ken.
The more I think about it, I think I was wrong.
Why's that? Jensen wasn't around the chutes long enough to cut that rope.
Well, not really.
Maybe he didn't cut the rope.
But you said the lab said it was.
I didn't say when.
Only Jensen said that.
- That's right.
- Wait a minute, you're losing me.
Remember when I asked you about the rope, you said sometimes it broke without being cut? Yeah.
Maybe that's what happened.
Maybe it just broke.
You mean, it could have been an accident? An accident that Jensen made look like murder by cutting the rope afterwards.
To frame Ken.
And getting Rosie for himself.
It's possible.
Let's turn up here.
I ain't never stop thinking about you.
- Not since Fort Worth.
- Marty.
I know you ain't never said nothing about it since, but, well, you think about it too, don't you? Marty, Clint and I had a fight that night.
I was at loose ends and I had too much to drink.
That night meant everything to me, everything.
You don't know what it's like following the rodeos around all by yourself, traveling on the road and-- Well, after a while, a fella gets wondering what's gonna happen to him when he gets old and he got nobody.
Well, that night gave me something to aim for.
Marty, we've had a lot of fun.
We've had a lot of laughs.
You always could make me laugh.
- But that's it.
- I ain't talking about laughs.
I'm talking about what we had that night.
We had one night.
That was it.
Oh, we had more.
Much more.
And we're gonna have us a ranch too.
You and me.
I'm not going away with you.
You still don't understand, do you? You don't have to think of Clint and Ken.
I fixed them.
What have you done? Oh, nothing bad.
Except for Bo.
He didn't understand and he wouldn't let us be together.
Oh, my God, you killed them.
You killed them both.
I didn't kill him.
It was the booze Clint was taking.
The booze and all them pills, that's what killed him.
When the rope broke and he got tossed in the dirt, it was just like it happened for you and me.
We both wanted him dead.
You as much as me.
I know that.
It was easy for me, huh? All I had to do is just hold back a couple of seconds.
I knew he was so full of booze, he couldn't scramble away from the bull.
And then I seen how easy it'd be to fix it so that Ken was gone too.
But Bo, he seen me take Ken's knife.
And he knew how I felt about you.
He figured out what I'd done.
He was going to tell Roy about it and I couldn't have that.
That's crazy.
You are crazy.
Don't you call me that.
Get your hands off me.
Can't you see I love you like I don't love nothing else? Don't you touch me.
How's Roy? Hold it, Marty.
Just hold it.
Roy, Clint? He make it? Did I get there in time? Yes, Marty.
You did fine, just fine.
Clint? I guess everybody'd like to buy back one moment in their lives.
Maybe he was lucky enough to have his.
Our next contestant, from Silverton, Oregon, is Teddy White riding Heavy Bob.
Oh, you'll be wanted.
Bucks on a dime, so ride him high.
Still thorny as ever and giving orders, ain't you? Just speaking from past experience.
I've seen my shadow many times on the ground.
Mr.
Johnson.
Well, if it ain't the law dogs.
Last day, huh? Yep.
Go from here to Denver.
Just came to say goodbye.
And wish you good luck.
Oh, thanks.
And thanks for getting me out of a tight one.
- Now, where's Rosie? - She left this morning, back to Texas.
She'll make out.
Gotta go.
Ride him good.
Hey, don't forget what I told you.
You'll be landing fork up.
Biggest rule-giver since Moses, isn't he? - Hey.
Hey, popcorn.
- Hey.
- I'll pay for it.
- I got it.
- No, let me.
- I got it.
- How much? - You paid last time.
Let me.
Twenty-five.
Two, here.
Next time.
- How much did you pay for it? - Two.
And now, out of Chute Number 1, from Austin, Texas, is Kenny Johnson riding Whiz Bang.
Yes, sir, riding him at both ends.
Show them how it's done, Kenny boy.
Ride them, cowboy.
Young Billy Davis from Dakota, Oklahoma, riding Nobody's Darling.
Ride him, Billy boy.
You'll tell them now.
From Austin, Texas, the leader for the all-around championship this year, Ken Johnson on High Tide.
High Tide comes on out and look at him twist it.
Won't get that cowboy's goose.
That's how he gets points in the judges' book.
Here comes the score for Ken Johnson.
It's a good one.
Seventy-one points.
That should be enough to clinch the title for him.
Hello, everybody, Keith Jackson, ABC's Wide World of Sports, from the Cow Palace in San Francisco.
The Grand National Rodeo.
Most of the top cowboys in America with some of the finest stock ever assembled, ready for a taste of the Old West.
Working with us to keep us up to date on what's going on, Lex Connelly, former champion cowboy himself now manager of the Cow Palace.
Lex, let's turn those cowboys loose.
All right, Keith, and the contest we're gonna see right now is the bull riding.
Bull riding.
Now, this is the one event Mo, we gotta go.
I know.
Tell me, how did a fashion designer get so hooked on the rodeo, huh? My grandmother had a ranch in Wyoming.
I spent my summers there.
Yeah? You hanging out with the cowboys, huh? Well, pick a winner.
Well, I think you'd have to say that it's gonna be one of the Johnson brothers.
Oh, it's down to the Johnson brothers.
It's down to the Johnson brothers.
Who are the Johnson brothers? This one is a real fine day for a rodeo game that came from Texas.
The family goes way back to when it was part Indian, things like that.
You know, none of this really makes a difference when you get on the bull Here's Sunny Bray's score.
Sixty-one points on that one.
And now, ready to go Mo, if we lose that table, we don't get another one.
They got a little thing called a waiting list.
Just one more ride, okay? I'm hungry.
Oh, no.
Oh, no.
This old boy's tough to fight and tough to hook, Clint.
Watch him.
I hear he's already put in for a pension.
Gonna be like riding whipped cream, Clint.
Yeah, you better take another look, brother.
I hear that he's a real honker.
Hey, Rosie, how about a kiss for luck? Where'd you get that? That ain't a way to ride.
Let me have it.
Well, how about you, Bo? Aren't you gonna wish me luck? You've lived this long without it.
Hey, Clint.
You drew on a bad one.
He's mean to fight.
You just do your job, I'll do mine.
Sure.
Hey, Rosie, how come you're so pretty and you're hooked up with such a ugly, ornery, bowlegged cuss as this? Let her buck.
He's now coming out.
He's wild.
Coming out.
Clint.
Somebody get a doctor.
No need, Dad.
He's dead.
Jesus.
God.
No.
It's like riding your headstone every second.
Enough.
Let's go.
You've seen it before, haven't you? People dying? Yeah.
Well, I haven't.
It's awful.
Well, it happened fast.
And he was doing something he wanted to.
Oh, boy.
Oh, boy.
- Hey, Roy.
- Bo.
- You all right? - Yeah.
You know, this was Clint's from the first day in foal.
Turned him into the best calf horse on the circuit.
Nobody could ride him like Clint.
Nobody will.
Where's Ken? He's with Rosie.
Where you been, Marty? I've been looking for you.
What is it, Marty? I just keep thinking if I could have got to that bull quicker, Clint-- It wasn't your fault.
I know that now.
I've been over there in the arena kind of mulling over in my head what happened and I found this.
I figure in all the excitement, it must have got buried in the dirt there.
It been cut clean nearly halfway.
Right, with a razor or sharp knife or something.
That rope come off the bull that Clint was riding.
Are you trying to tell me it was no accident? Oh, Roy, you know Clint was too good a hand to come off a bull like that or get caught with them hooves.
Roy, I'm telling you, Clint was killed.
He's got one foot up on the dashboard, he got one foot outside the window and he's holding on.
He turns over to me and looks at me, he's-- - Oh, no.
No, no, no.
- Oh, yes, yes, yes.
Sorry.
I apologize for busting in like this, Miss? Oh, Maureen, this is Lieutenant Michael Stone.
Maureen Mallory.
Maureen.
Oh, you're Mo.
Nice to meet you, lieutenant.
- Or is it? - No.
It could have been nicer.
We got a special request.
I'll fill you in on the way.
Well, why don't you take my car.
And I'll try to call you later, okay? Bye.
Sorry, Maureen.
Pretty expensive for a cop, isn't it? It's a very special occasion.
Yeah, she looks special.
I'll bet Juan Marichal wishes he had your pitch.
I just wish I had his salary.
Thank you very much.
So fill me in.
Well, the way I hear it, we've got thousands of witnesses.
A rodeo cowboy was riding a bull-- Now, wait a minute, I saw that on the television.
But it was an accident, unless you're gonna book the bull.
Well, I guess you didn't see it all, unless you saw the bull use a knife.
You got so many eyes on that girl, you can't see the television set.
If somebody did cut this partway, did they count on the rest of it giving? Yeah, they give without being cut sometimes.
When them bulls starts kicking, it's like hell with the lid off.
What would be the motive? I don't care about why, just who.
We'll do our best.
We're outsiders here, lieutenant.
Strangers.
Aside from Clint being my son, he was a man.
And no big-city red tape can change that.
Mr.
Johnson, if it was murder, we'll find out who did it.
If he finds the killer, he's gonna hang him.
Well, he did lose his son.
What did you get from the other cowboys? Well, everybody says it was an accident that was bound to happen sooner or later.
- How's that? - Clint used to hit it before each ride.
- Booze? - Booze, yeah, and pills.
Pain pills.
He had a bad leg, he never let it heal.
- Why did he keep riding? - Well, they're like that.
Look, I met one of those guys over there.
He used to ride with two broken wrists.
If a cowboy can crawl, he'll ride.
Yeah, I guess they are a hard breed, all right.
How about the rope? Well, each man usually handles his own, but Clint had somebody else who helped him.
- Who was that? - His brother.
Hello.
- Hello.
- Howdy, hi.
I'm Lieutenant Stone.
This is Inspector Keller.
- Hi.
- Which one of you is Jensen? Oh, that'd be me, lieutenant.
- Well, then you must be Bo Dobbs.
- Yes, sir.
I know you saw one of our officers before and you told him what you saw, but I'd like to ask you myself, if you don't mind? Anything we can do.
Thanks a lot.
I hear that you two go way back.
More years than I'd care to mention.
We were riding the circuit when there was nothing but dusty old towns.
Bo and me, we rode broncs together till our rumps turned into raw meat.
That's when I turned to clowning.
Bo handles the stock.
We been saving up to buy us a little ranch.
Fixing on going in together.
Well, how long have you known the Johnsons? Well, Roy and Bo, they go way back.
Before we even met, ain't it? Roy's a good old boy.
I sure hate to see him hurt this way.
What about Clint and his brother? Were they as close as you two? Oh, they were fierce when it came to competition.
But they respected one another.
Roy wouldn't have it no other way.
But weren't they doing the championships? Hey, now, wait a minute, you ain't thinking that Ken cut that rope, are you? No, I'm just trying to find a reason.
Well, if winning that championship was reason, the circuit would be lined with dead cowboys.
They was loving brothers.
Didn't they ever disagree about anything? What was it about? I expect they'll find out anyways.
Find out what? You tell them, Bo.
It It was Rosie.
- Rosie? That's Clint's wife? - Yeah.
Well, she ain't no bad girl, it's just-- Well, she's as pretty as a pair of pink slippers.
They fought over her? Well, they got into it a couple of years ago.
I still got me a split tooth from breaking it up.
Of course, that's before Clint and Rosie were married.
Before they were married, Rosie was Ken's girl.
Police wanna talk to us? Tomorrow.
I told them the little widow was so broken up over the whole thing that she just couldn't talk.
I still don't buy anyone would set out to kill Clint.
Somebody shaved that rope.
What do you think about that, girl? I don't know what to think about it.
Did you ever once, just once, care for him? I loved him till he started sipping into a bottle every day and somebody else's bed every night.
Damn you.
What are you doing? You know how it was with them.
What did you want her to say? Maybe Maybe Clint wasn't much of a husband to her.
But he was still a son to me and a brother to you.
Whoa, now.
Whoa, now.
Best leave her be.
But she needs someone, Bo.
I know, but not you.
You all right? See what I mean? Come on, let's git.
Unless you want something besides a cracked tooth.
Oh, Ken.
I know, Rosie.
- Where have you been all morning? - Well, I had to get my car.
It's after 9:00.
I went to pick you up at 7, you weren't home.
- Where does she live, Monterey? - Seven o'clock.
I knew it.
I knew you're gonna do that.
That's why-- That's why you went to pick up your car last night.
Lieutenant, very good.
Very, very, good.
You got a future with this department.
You're cruising.
I really mean it, you're cruising.
Listen, I've been cruising all morning.
Rosie Johnson.
She was born Rosalind Cummings in Odessa, Texas, 1944.
Folks were dirt farmers and she took off when she was 15.
She's been with the rodeo ever since.
She competed with the women on the circuit until she married Clint Johnson two years ago.
Where did you get that? Those cowboys get up with the chickens too, you know.
I guess they do.
- Is that all? - No.
Her husband has an insurance policy.
Fifty thousand dollars.
- And she is the beneficiary? - The only one, yeah.
So, what did you get, huh? Sitting in the nice comfort of your warm office while I was out there watching where I stepped? Well, I got in touch with the TV network - who filmed the rodeo.
- Good.
They said we could look at the tapes anytime we wanted to.
I ran a make on Ken Johnson.
He's got a record.
Here someplace.
Here it is.
"Disturbing the peace.
Drunk and disorderly.
Assault--" Nothing big, but there is a history of violence.
Yeah, sounds like he just got along-- I got the autopsy report on Johnson's brother.
The alcoholic content was 1.
2 percent.
One-point-two.
Okay, enough to be legally drunk.
And plenty out of control when you mix it with those painkillers he was taking.
That's a bad combination.
He could have fallen off that bull even if the rope wasn't cut.
Yup.
- What'd the lab say on that rope? - It was cut.
So, what do you think? I think for openers, we've got two people who might have wanted to see him dead.
First, his wife for the insurance.
And then his brother for his wife.
- How did he do? - Well, now, that's just like old times.
I make it 15.
9.
You shave that a little, you'll be sitting in for the state finals.
Morning.
Mrs.
Johnson? Yes, sir.
There's Lieutenant Stone.
He's the man trying to find out what happened to Clint.
Well, I better walk this horse out.
I'll see you, lieutenant.
Hey, that was quite a workout.
But not exactly the grieving widow? Now, I didn't say that.
Everybody has to sort of work that out for themselves.
You do know about the insurance money.
Yes, I do.
Fifty thousand dollars.
Give me a reason to wanna see Clint dead, wouldn't it? Maybe you'd like to tell me how you feel about that.
Just like I grew wings.
Are you planning on doing any flying? You're not very subtle, lieutenant.
That is how Ken Johnson goes from rodeo to rodeo, isn't it? Flies his own plane? Who told you about Ken and me? Well, it seems to be common knowledge.
It also must be common knowledge that we broke up a long time ago.
I heard that too.
But you don't wanna believe it, do you? You wanna believe the worst.
You wanna believe that maybe Ken and I tried to do something to get back together again, huh? Well, somebody cut that rope and I'm just trying to find out who had a reason.
I'd think you'd be interested in that too.
Unless you know already.
You gonna arrest me? No.
I reckon you don't do things any different here than we do back home.
I mean, it's still the United States.
You're innocent until you're proved guilty.
That's right.
How come you're trying to make me prove I'm innocent? I'm sure I don't know.
Unless you're feeling something else too.
- Like what? - Guilt? Fantastic.
So this is getting to be the going thing, huh? Well, you can make more rodeos, build up more points.
How'd your brother travel? Same way my dad did: Pickup truck.
My old man thinks a cowboy ought to travel with his stock, live with them, get to know them, rather than shipping them around to meet some fancy schedule.
Sounds like they were close.
They were.
Fact is, Clint tried to mirror Dad.
One of his problems.
Yeah, that could be tough.
I understand your father was world champion.
- Yeah.
- Didn't seem to bother you at all.
I wasn't under that kind of pressure.
Sent me to college instead.
That didn't take.
Now, he just figures me for an educated failure, no matter what I win.
Sometimes we get along pretty good.
Other times, it's like two bulls butting heads.
But you and your brother were close? Close as two brothers can be.
We were friends.
Rosie.
Now, I know she was your girl one time.
Did that ever cause any friction between you and your brother? Some at first.
Rosie knew a lot of guys before either one of us.
Clint knew that.
Did it bother Clint? Look, Ken, the autopsy report showed your brother was loaded on juice and pills.
Now, you just told me your brother had a problem living up to your father.
Did he have a problem with Rosie? That's none of your business.
Your brother was murdered.
That's what you say.
I say it was an accident.
We tied a bell on that old bull's neck and told old Charlie that he was riding a milk cow.
He was so drunk, he didn't even know the difference.
Hey, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna reverse it next time.
I'd give a lot of money to see Charlie try to milk the bull.
Rosie.
Lay off that stuff, will you? How come? I wanna talk to you.
About what? Well, you know that spread that Bo and me are always talking about getting? We found her.
- Where is it? - Well, it's in Montana.
Just a few miles out of Ennis.
It's got a pretty little creek runs through the middle of it.
And a good place for horses.
That's terrific, Marty.
I'm really happy for you.
Rosie, what are you gonna do with no one to look out for you, huh? Fifty thousand dollars will look after me just fine.
It won't last.
Only people last.
On that spread that Bo and me is gonna get, there's a place for you.
You think on it, will you? You can't keep just drifting along the circuit like this.
Thanks, Marty.
But I'll be just fine.
Hey, Ken.
Been wanting to catch up with you.
Still ready with one sweet offer for you wearing our shirts next season.
Later, huh? Rosie.
Come on.
I'm taking you home.
I was just looking out for her, Ken.
She's still a Johnson, Marty.
Reckon that makes her our lookout.
- Hey, Marty, Marty.
- Hey, Bo.
I didn't even know you was here.
Sit down.
I'm here.
Look, you and me gotta have us a talk, Marty.
Well, what about? Well, about old Clint.
About who cut that rope.
Let me ask you something.
You ever seen this toadsticker before? No, I ain't never seen it before.
Don't start running me around in circles, Marty.
Oh, yeah, I recognize it now.
That's Ken's knife.
That's the one old Roy brought him from Mexico, ain't it? That's right.
You wanna know where I found it? Bo.
Maybe you already know where I found it, huh, Marty? Where you going, Bo? I'm gonna go tell Roy what happened.
There ain't no call for that.
I'll tell you what there ain't no call for, Marty.
There ain't no call for no little pink pretty like Rosie to go around messing up other people's lives.
I seen you sitting here with her.
And I seen them two sashaying out of here together.
And I know what's going on.
And Roy's gonna know the truth, Marty.
And this knife tells it all.
- Aren't you supposed to be clowning? - Well, I got-- I got my leg banged up during the little bareback.
Billy's filling in for me.
- You all right, now? - Oh, yeah.
Gonna be fine.
- Buy you a drink? - Well, I don't mind if I do.
That ain't why I come in here, though.
I wanted to show you before I show the police.
Bo found that in the sawdust back at the chutes.
- Kind of a foreign-looking deal, ain't it? - Yeah.
Look close, Roy.
Ain't them rope hairs on the blade? Why you giving this to me? Well, that ain't no store-bought knife.
I never seen one like it before.
And I figured maybe if you could put a face to it Well, I know how you're trying to find the cutter that You did right.
Buy this man a drink.
I was down.
He was just trying to cheer me up.
I don't see anything so wrong in that.
What you see don't matter, it's what other people are looking for.
They're looking to make you answer for Clint's death.
Well, I didn't want him dead.
I didn't.
Clint was the closest thing I ever came to love.
I thought once I had him, I wouldn't need anything else.
And then everything went sour on us.
I don't know what happened.
I didn't want him dead.
I didn't, I didn't.
Ken.
You got a minute? Yeah.
Sure, Dad.
Go on.
I'll talk to you later.
What you just saw there, don't go making anything out of it.
Wanna carve me a chew.
Lend me that jackknife of yours.
I haven't got it.
I'm talking about the one I gave you.
The one I picked up in Mexico.
I know what you're talking about.
I haven't got it.
Where is it? Just disappeared.
Lost it, I guess.
Well, where did you lose it? I don't know.
Chutes, maybe.
That's where Bo found it.
See them hairs? I'm betting they come from Clint's rope.
You know what you're saying? I know.
He was my brother.
Why would I wanna kill him? Because you wanted his woman.
And from what I just seen, you got her.
Oh, come on, no.
You-- - You going to the police? - Nope.
This is a family doing.
I'm not gonna fight you.
I said, I'm not gonna fight you.
Well, don't let me being your father stand in your way, because I don't consider you my son.
You take that damn tin plane of yours and fly it straight into devil's eyeball.
I don't wanna ever lay eyes on you again, you hear? Now git.
- Hey, I got something.
- Yeah, what? Did a rundown on all the cowboys by the chute last night.
- We got a new suspect.
- Yeah, who? Bo Dobbs.
Dobbs? How come--? Homicide, Stone.
What's that again? When? All right, we'll get right on it.
What's that? You were gonna tell me something about Dobbs.
Yeah, he had a son on the circuit two years ago.
He was in a bulldogging event and caught a horn through his leg because his partner was negligent.
And his partner was Clint Johnson.
That's right, and Bo Dobbs swears to this day that Clint was loaded.
But why does that put Dobbs on our list? Because the kid's crippled for life.
I give you a whole new wrinkle and you say to me? The phone call came from the Cow Palace.
Bo Dobbs is dead.
- Who found him? - I did.
He was just lying out there in the corral.
- Trampled? - Oh, no.
Bo been around too long.
He had too much sawy for anything like that.
Steve, comb the area.
See what you come up with.
Right.
Well, Bernie my friend, what have you got? I won't know for sure till we get him downtown, but it looks like a blow to the back of the head by a blunt instrument of some kind.
Nothing like a hoofprint or a horn.
- When did it happen? - I'd say less than an hour ago.
- Let me know for sure, will you? - Right.
Mike.
Yeah? Looks like part of a shirt.
Anybody recognize this? Was Bo murdered? Well, it looks that way, Mr.
Jensen.
Do you know anybody wearing a shirt like that? Bo was one of ours.
We'll handle it.
Yeah, we'll handle him.
Oh, hey, wait a minute.
Hold it right there.
I want no vigilante, homespun law here.
Now, is that clear or do I have to make it plainer? Dobbs was killed on my beat.
And I want that man just as bad as you do.
Now let me start again.
Does anybody recognize this shirt? Mr.
Jensen? Ken Johnson's wearing a shirt like that.
Who? Ken Johnson.
He was wearing a shirt like that.
Ken was wearing a shirt like this, all right.
Mr.
Johnson, your son has disappeared.
Now, do you have any idea where we can find him? Now, if you think this is just a family matter, you're wrong.
Well, before I tell you, I'm gonna have a say.
I run Ken off because Well, because I figured he killed Clint.
Well, don't you think that's for the police to decide? When it comes to Ken, it's still family.
But he wouldn't have killed Bo.
Put to it, a breed like Ken might kill a man for a woman.
Lot of good men been done in by shiny little thing like Rosie.
But when it comes to killing an old-timer like Bo, no.
That's a notch or two below a wolf.
And that ain't Ken.
Then I guess you'd better tell me why you think he killed Clint.
I lost one son, lieutenant.
Now you're asking me to lose the other.
I'm sorry.
Lieutenant.
It belongs to Ken.
Found behind the chutes.
These look like rope hairs.
You found it? No, Bo did.
I've had my say.
You most likely can find Ken at the airport.
That's his plane.
- Think you can stop him? - Let's give it a try.
What's the matter with you guys? Get off of there, Johnson.
Get down.
My old man sic you on me? Does this belong to you? I didn't kill Clint.
Then why were you trying to take off? My old man called it.
We had a blowout.
He's clean.
Is this part of your shirt? Looks like one I threw away.
Must've come off when he was tearing into me.
Why? Where did you get it? - Where'd you have this blowout? - Out by his trailer.
Why? Because it was found in the corral where Bo Dobbs was murdered.
You say you didn't know a thing about Bo Dobbs.
No, sir.
Then how did you get those bruises? I told you, my old man.
I never fought with Bo, just my old man.
Ask him.
Why would I wanna kill Bo? Because Bo found this knife and he gave it to your father.
You thought your father wouldn't talk and you fixed it so that Dobbs couldn't.
Oh, come on, it didn't happen that way.
I swear it didn't.
You went to the bar where you picked up your sister-in-law, - then went right to your father's trailer.
- Right.
And after you fought with your father, you went to the airport with a man you didn't even know.
Oh, come on.
I told you, his name is Garner or Gardner.
He's a salesman.
And he wanted you to endorse some shirts.
That's right.
Look, I've been trying to brush him off, but he tagged along when me and Rosie left the bar.
And then he cornered me again when I left my dad.
You can check it out.
We are.
When did you see this knife again? I told you, I don't remember exactly.
This morning sometime.
Did you get ahold of him? Did he tell you? Name is John Gardner.
He is a shirt representative with Western Sunset.
He's staying at the Bayshore Motel.
He tells it just like Ken, even down to the airport gate he dropped him off at.
He's willing to sign a statement, anything.
I told you.
I told you, I didn't do it.
What's he doing here? I asked him to come.
He said you couldn't have done it.
It is plain you didn't buy his word.
It's not his word I'm questioning, it's yours.
I hear you were fixing to take off.
You did kind of put the wind on my back.
- How's it look? - Well, it looks as though he's clear as far as Dobbs is concerned.
But you still think I killed Clint.
I think two people had good reason to cut that rope.
- Ken and Rosie? - That's right.
- And I don't figure it was Rosie.
- Why not? Because cutting that rope wouldn't guarantee that her husband would die.
But I might have just to win that championship? - Did you? - No.
But you did help your brother cinch that rope around the bull.
I tell you what, lieutenant.
The way Clint was hitting the booze and the pills, I didn't need to cut this to beat him.
He was beating himself.
But he must have thought you did when he brought this knife to your father.
Bo didn't bring me the knife, Marty did.
Wait a minute.
- Jensen brought you that knife? - Yeah.
And he said Dobbs found it? That's right.
Said he'd found it behind the bull chutes.
Can we run that network tape? Yeah, yeah, sure.
Why? I wanna see something.
Excuse me.
Here.
All right, could you hold it right there, please? Look at that.
What? What is the first thing the clown's supposed to do when a rider goes down? They start waving off the bull.
Then that's what Jensen should be doing.
Is that right? Well, Marty's getting on a bit now.
Works the barrel mostly.
Doesn't take chances like the rest of the boys.
But he is not taking any chances at all.
He's just standing there.
He could have done something, couldn't he? - I guess he could-- - All right, let me put it another way.
He's done everything right since then, hasn't he? Steve, get it out, will you? I don't know, Mike.
I'm trying to put the pieces together.
I remember Mo telling me the clown's supposed to keep the bull away from the rider when he's down.
I sort of half remember seeing this one clown standing there.
It was Jensen.
And Jensen found the rope.
Jensen brought us the knife.
He found Dobbs.
He could have seen Ken and his father fighting.
Found that piece of shirt.
- Could have planted it by Dobbs too.
- Yeah.
Don't ask me why.
I haven't found the motive.
But Jensen was the guy that got us thinking about Ken and Rosie in the first place, remember? Yeah, the fight.
The split tooth.
Mr.
Johnson, did Ken and Clint really have that fight? Yeah, they sure did.
That girl's bad news clean through.
But Jensen doesn't see her that way, does he? What? No, he thinks she's kind of special, right? - Marty? - Sure.
He was with Rosie when you went to see her, right? And Ken said he was with her at the tavern.
And you remember how he defended her when we asked about Ken and Clint fighting over her? Yeah.
I sure do: "Pretty as a pair of pink slippers.
" Get up there.
Rosie.
Rosie, what are you doing? I'm getting out of here.
Well, you can't pull up stakes and go just like that.
I got to.
For Ken's sake.
If I stick around here, I'll mess him up same way I did Clint.
Well, hold on a spell, huh? I'll get me that spread up in Montana.
You could go there.
That's sweet, Marty, but I'll probably going back to Texas.
No.
You ain't running out on me now.
It's gonna be special for us.
Not like it was with Clint and maybe Ken.
It's you and me.
That's the way I always planned it.
You know, the more I think about it, the more I think you could be right.
Old Marty was always around paying Rosie special attention.
And with Clint dead and Ken in jail, he could figure he might have a chance.
Hey, he could have killed Clint and framed Ken.
The more I think about it, I think I was wrong.
Why's that? Jensen wasn't around the chutes long enough to cut that rope.
Well, not really.
Maybe he didn't cut the rope.
But you said the lab said it was.
I didn't say when.
Only Jensen said that.
- That's right.
- Wait a minute, you're losing me.
Remember when I asked you about the rope, you said sometimes it broke without being cut? Yeah.
Maybe that's what happened.
Maybe it just broke.
You mean, it could have been an accident? An accident that Jensen made look like murder by cutting the rope afterwards.
To frame Ken.
And getting Rosie for himself.
It's possible.
Let's turn up here.
I ain't never stop thinking about you.
- Not since Fort Worth.
- Marty.
I know you ain't never said nothing about it since, but, well, you think about it too, don't you? Marty, Clint and I had a fight that night.
I was at loose ends and I had too much to drink.
That night meant everything to me, everything.
You don't know what it's like following the rodeos around all by yourself, traveling on the road and-- Well, after a while, a fella gets wondering what's gonna happen to him when he gets old and he got nobody.
Well, that night gave me something to aim for.
Marty, we've had a lot of fun.
We've had a lot of laughs.
You always could make me laugh.
- But that's it.
- I ain't talking about laughs.
I'm talking about what we had that night.
We had one night.
That was it.
Oh, we had more.
Much more.
And we're gonna have us a ranch too.
You and me.
I'm not going away with you.
You still don't understand, do you? You don't have to think of Clint and Ken.
I fixed them.
What have you done? Oh, nothing bad.
Except for Bo.
He didn't understand and he wouldn't let us be together.
Oh, my God, you killed them.
You killed them both.
I didn't kill him.
It was the booze Clint was taking.
The booze and all them pills, that's what killed him.
When the rope broke and he got tossed in the dirt, it was just like it happened for you and me.
We both wanted him dead.
You as much as me.
I know that.
It was easy for me, huh? All I had to do is just hold back a couple of seconds.
I knew he was so full of booze, he couldn't scramble away from the bull.
And then I seen how easy it'd be to fix it so that Ken was gone too.
But Bo, he seen me take Ken's knife.
And he knew how I felt about you.
He figured out what I'd done.
He was going to tell Roy about it and I couldn't have that.
That's crazy.
You are crazy.
Don't you call me that.
Get your hands off me.
Can't you see I love you like I don't love nothing else? Don't you touch me.
How's Roy? Hold it, Marty.
Just hold it.
Roy, Clint? He make it? Did I get there in time? Yes, Marty.
You did fine, just fine.
Clint? I guess everybody'd like to buy back one moment in their lives.
Maybe he was lucky enough to have his.
Our next contestant, from Silverton, Oregon, is Teddy White riding Heavy Bob.
Oh, you'll be wanted.
Bucks on a dime, so ride him high.
Still thorny as ever and giving orders, ain't you? Just speaking from past experience.
I've seen my shadow many times on the ground.
Mr.
Johnson.
Well, if it ain't the law dogs.
Last day, huh? Yep.
Go from here to Denver.
Just came to say goodbye.
And wish you good luck.
Oh, thanks.
And thanks for getting me out of a tight one.
- Now, where's Rosie? - She left this morning, back to Texas.
She'll make out.
Gotta go.
Ride him good.
Hey, don't forget what I told you.
You'll be landing fork up.
Biggest rule-giver since Moses, isn't he? - Hey.
Hey, popcorn.
- Hey.
- I'll pay for it.
- I got it.
- No, let me.
- I got it.
- How much? - You paid last time.
Let me.
Twenty-five.
Two, here.
Next time.
- How much did you pay for it? - Two.
And now, out of Chute Number 1, from Austin, Texas, is Kenny Johnson riding Whiz Bang.
Yes, sir, riding him at both ends.
Show them how it's done, Kenny boy.
Ride them, cowboy.