The Rockford Files (1974) s05e22 Episode Script
A Different Drummer
Doc, do you do organ transplants? When I was in the hospital, I I saw fingers on the body move.
Have you ever seen an autopsy, Jim? What did he do in the Army? Psychological warfare.
A doctor? A patient.
An inmate.
Trustee.
A banana.
(PHONE RINGING) ROCKFORD ON ANSWERING MACHINE: This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
(BEEPS) WOMAN: Jim, this is Andrée at Tod's Food Mart.
Listen, there's a guy down here by the name of Angel Martin who's charged $110 worth of groceries to your account.
Is that okay with you? (MAN CHUCKLING) MAN: Watch it! (MAN SHOUTS) Where'd that moron come from? I don't know.
C'mon, let's get out of here Oh, no! Look at my front end! Forget about the truck! There's the cops! Come on! Come on! (ENGINE STALLING) This guy's out.
Call an ambulance.
You fellas okay? Yeah, sure, but the truck won't start.
You fellas been drinking? Drinking? Maybe one beer, that's all.
Jake One unconscious Bring the balloons.
We got a couple of deuces here.
WOMAN ON P.
A: Attention, please.
All patients waiting for emergency admitting, please form a line.
Fill this out.
I'll be back in a moment.
All right.
Oh, nurse, I'd like to make a phone call.
Stand against that wall.
Well, I ain't taking no breath thing, and I ain't blowing up no balloons.
One lousy beer.
That's your choice, mister, but if you don't take the test, you're gonna lose your license for six months and you're gonna go to jail.
I'm gonna check with the doctor, see if we can get outta here.
Hey, lookie here.
It's the guy that caused the accident.
You guys hit me from behind.
That's a dead-bang loss in court.
Yeah, except you ain't gonna tell it that way, or you're gonna buy yourself a lot of heartache.
Is that so? What my friend here is trying to say is you dummy up, or you start collecting lead for the recycling center.
Officer, these two dribblers just threatened my life.
Sir, I'll send my partner back to take a full report later.
Right now these gentlemen have a date with the county.
Come on, fellas.
Let's go.
Yeah, I just need to make a phone call, Nurse.
Are you in pain? Well, it's my head and my knee.
I get a little dizzy, I keep coming in and out.
It could be a concussion.
I'll get a neurologist.
I got a trick knee and it's locked, it's out.
And an orthopedist.
Oh, and I'll need to use the phone.
My father is expecting me.
He'll be a little worried so if I can I'll see what I can do about the pain.
Use the phone, is what I really need most.
I'm sorry about your son.
Everything possible was done to save him.
But it was too late.
Doctor Roberts just signed the death certificate.
I'm asking you to authorize a cornea transplant.
It would mean a lot to someone else.
Your son is dead.
We must operate now.
Can we think it over? There's not time.
I wish I could say there was.
This type of operation must be done immediately.
All right.
Thank you.
WOMAN ON P.
A: Doctor Kelly to Radiology.
Doctor Kelly to Radiology.
Thank you, so much.
Come on, darling.
WOMAN ON P.
A: Dr.
Roberts to CCU.
Dr.
Roberts to CCU.
Here we go.
Nurse, how long? You'll feel better in less than a minute.
No Uh I mean the telephone.
(GASPS) Hey.
Hey.
You shouldn't be here.
Hey, that man's alive.
Now just take it easy, sonny.
You've been having nightmares.
Hi, Dad.
You been here long? Oh, several hours.
The doc said that you still had some shock from the accident and a concussion.
That's what made you sort of lightheaded.
Oh, hey, the truck, did I ruin it? Aw, no, you can fix it.
All we got to do is take some dents out of the back end of the cab.
Back of the cab? Remember them two concrete blocks I was packing around in my truck to put under the planter on the porch? Well Did they go through the cab? Well, it's you that counts, anyway.
(GASPS) Oh, well.
But, that's all, right? Well, there was a little side damage.
A window on the passenger side.
It don't amount to nothing, though.
Nothing.
Oh, Dad, I'm sorry.
I know that truck was your pride and joy.
I just feel terrible.
Over that silly little old truck? It's just a toy of mine, anyway.
You know I like to monkey around with it and tinker with the engine and shine it.
I spend way too much time shining that thing, I'll tell you that.
Hey, the doc said that as soon as you come to, we can get out of here.
You know, they can get spare parts for trucks, but people, there ain't no spare parts available.
Oh, hey, Dad.
I saw something really weird when they brought me in here just before that shot of whatever the nurse gave me took me out.
Well, Terry, he said that it's gonna take quite a bit of time to get that window, so he's gonna loan me a new pickup.
Yeah, I gotta find out who that was.
Somebody was doing surgery.
Apparently the patient was dead, but Sonny, I I don't like hospitals much.
Why don't we get you out of here and get you home? (DOOR OPENING) Well, how are we today? How you doing today, Mr.
Rockford? How's the head? Stiff just like the rest of me.
That's typical.
Well, let's have a look here.
Can you move the leg? Oh, yeah, yeah.
Hey, Doc, do you do organ transplants? Well, they do them in the hospital.
I don't do them.
Well, this is certainly an old injury.
What is that, football? Yeah, that and the Army.
I've got some questions I'd like to ask you about something I saw.
It was surgery of a corneal transplant.
And I saw the hand on a body move.
Move? Forget about it.
Let me tell you something, you can leave anytime you wish.
I'll send in a nurse.
Oh, thanks, Doc.
Come on, let's get going.
Dad, I plainly saw I don't care what you saw.
Now I know you, sonny.
These folks here are good people and they're trying to do good for a lot of people.
But you, you go getting suspicious, you get your back up and then pretty soon you're trying to solve a case where there ain't no case.
Now ain't it bad enough you wrecked my truck without trying to wreck the whole medical profession? I'm going to get a taxi.
I prescribed a slight sedative in case you have trouble sleeping.
But if you get dizzy, you get yourself right back here, all right? All right.
Yeah, Doc.
I've been thinking about what I saw last night.
That boy was dead? That's right, Mr.
Rockford.
Killed in a motorcycle accident.
Wait a minute.
You don't buy that? Mmm.
You think that Lee Yost was in there cutting a healthy patient? All I know is I saw his hand move.
What's your problem? I told you.
Are you a doctor? No.
Oh, oh.
Well, let me tell you that a slight hand movement in a corpse that's less than an hour old is just nerves.
Nothing improper happened to that man.
And my advice to you is to take a couple of these, go home and go to sleep.
And leave the business of medicine to doctors, huh? Well, who is Lee Yost? Good night, Mr.
Rockford.
Hope you feel better.
If you knew anything about the Life Extension Foundation, I think probably you'd regret everything you just said.
The Life Extension Foundation? Well, sir, I don't see how that makes any difference.
All I'm trying to do is find out if the Life Extension Foundation is non-profit or not.
They're in the book.
Why don't you call them? Well, they're closed on Thursdays and I have to file this return this afternoon, or I'll get a terrible tongue lashing on Friday.
Just a moment.
One of these days you are gonna get yourself into real trouble using the Phone Company like that.
Aw, come on, Dad, the Phone Company? What do they care? Oh? You remember when you was growing up and you used to call the drugstore and you'd ask them, "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" Then you'd laugh and chuckle and say, "Let him out before he suffocates.
" You didn't think you was gonna get in no trouble then, but remember what happened when they come over to our house? That was Mr.
Gelson.
He owned the drugstore.
Not the phone company.
The Life Extension Foundation is not a non-profit foundation.
It is not non-profit.
No, sir.
So you can't get a tax deduction for a gift.
I have to go now.
What is it, if it's not a non-profit foundation? Well, it's listed as a medical referral service, whatever that is.
Now, I really must go.
Excuse me, just one last question.
Yes! Do you have Prince Albert in a can? Prince Albert is a tobacco company, and it is not a California corporation.
Well, then, let him out before he suffocates.
Jerk.
Jerk.
You're never gonna grow up.
(BRAKES SCREECHING OUTSIDE) Oh, yes, I'm going to need to rent a car.
What do you have available? (GUNSHOT) Dad, get down! Get down! Get down! Stay down! Them the guys you was in the accident with? You may have a point.
Look, call Dennis, will you? I was also nosing around that guy Yost.
Will you please call Dennis? I will, Dad! As soon as I think I can get to that telephone without getting my head shot off! Hi.
Oh, hi.
Looking for Mr.
Yost? Yes.
I'm Jim Rockford.
I'm the representative for Medical Life magazine.
We're doing an article on Lee and his work.
All I have so far is just a great legend.
I want to call it "Yost to the Post.
" Huh? "Yost to the Post" like ah, horses to the post.
You see, we understand that Lee gets there in a hurry to save the lives of needy patients.
You're Miss Ms.
I'm not a feminist or anything.
But when you say "Miss" you're sort of putting us down.
Not as a group so much but, like, individually.
Right.
Well, about this article.
I never read medical magazines.
I know I should, but it's so creepy.
All about operations and everything.
And, boy, when I read about an illness, I get all the symptoms, like, before I get to the bottom of the page.
Hmm, yes.
Yes, well, Miss, uh, Ms.
, you didn't say your name? Oh, it's Sorel Henderson with one "S.
" Oh, but it's too late, because I have to go pick up the cross matches that Mr.
Yost wanted.
Thank you, Miss Ms.
Henderson.
Well, my time is your time, and your time is my time.
Right.
It's a lyric to a song.
I forget who sings it, but I love it.
"Your time is my time, my time is your time.
" I just love it.
I think it was Rudy Gernreich.
Well, see ya.
Check back later if you still want to see Lee about that newspaper article.
It's a magazine.
Oh, hi.
I got these bullet holes almost all patched up now.
Do you believe that car rental agency? I had my choice between that and a Japanese roller skate.
and it corners like the Forrestal.
Now that's gratitude for you.
(PHONE RINGING) Yeah? James Rockford? Yes.
This is Lee Yost.
I understand from my secretary you were down here today looking for me.
Yes.
And that you now have a job with American Medical.
Well, yeah, I do this and that.
Kind of a renaissance man.
Look, Mr.
Rockford, I understood you had some problems at the hospital the other day.
And, uh, quite frankly, I'd be glad to answer any questions you have.
Really? Really.
Pick a place.
Well, what I do is work out the logistics involved in transplantation situations.
Tissue matching, legal forms, transporting and delivery.
There are a couple dozen private individuals around the country doing the same thing.
Finding donors and matching them with recipients.
Well, who makes the decision on who gets what? Doctors.
The surgical implant team makes an evaluation on the basis of the probable success of the operation.
Well, about your enterprise.
Do you run that by yourself? Me and a part-time secretary.
I could get a federal grant or go non-profit status and try for charitable donations, but I'm hoping to be in something else soon.
Oh, yeah? Sometimes it gets pretty wearing.
I think about giving it up.
Yeah, well, I know how you feel.
I get to feeling that way about my work sometimes, but I like to eat too much.
Oh, I don't need the money.
There's an army retirement check in my box the first of each month.
You can live on that? I was a battalion commander when I was retired.
I inherited a few dollars.
I've got to get out here more.
It's beautiful.
Yeah.
You know, when I was in the hospital, I saw fingers on the body move.
I figured that's what happened.
You ever seen an autopsy, Jim? Only for a minute or so.
There's considerable movement after death.
Your medical training comes from the Army? Partly.
I also have paramedic training.
I don't know, you're such a relaxed guy.
You know, very cool.
I would think that a job like yours would be high pressure to the third power.
Well, I have a lot of outside interests.
Things that work off the adrenalin.
I'm a cross-country skier, I'm a freak for basketball.
No kidding.
Me, too.
Matter of fact, I'm teed off because I have to miss a game tonight because I'm going out of town.
But I get to see one tomorrow.
The Knicks play.
No, the Lakers play.
The Knicks will be there.
Even the curb bookies are giving 12 points.
Listen, why don't you come with me? I get a lot of extra tickets.
I thought you'd never ask.
I'll phone you tomorrow, we'll figure out when and where we meet.
All right.
Here, I'll get this one.
Okay, thanks.
I hope I've answered all your questions, Jim.
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
(MAN WHISTLING) MAN: Hi, it's the janitor.
You working late in there? Uh, how do you get a bulb replaced? That's an electrical deal.
I'm building maintenance.
I don't care whose department it is.
I gotta audit these books.
I could go blind waiting for them.
Do you think you could get me a bulb? You see, I'd have to go all the way down to the sub-basement, find out where the guy keeps the key, find the bulbs, it'd take one half an hour.
Yeah, well, I don't mind waiting.
I gotta be here all night and I don't want to leave the building in the morning with a guide dog.
Do you think you could get me a bulb? Okay, you got it.
This is one of my favorite offices.
It's like nobody's in here.
Really? (CAR HORN BLARING) DUMAS: Whoo! Hey hero! (BRAKES SCREECHING) Come on out and play! Wake up, Tinker Bell! (MAN LAUGHING) (MAN WHOOPING) (HOOTING) Come on out here! (CAR HORN BLARING) DUMAS: Drive it, Casey.
(ULULATING) (MEN LAUGHING) Hey, mister, you didn't get the message! Get outta here! CASEY: Hey, listen, you yahoo, you was supposed to keep your mouth shut! They got an arraignment on us.
Get outta here.
I've got a gun this time! Oh, big deal! You scare us like nothing! You go to court against us, and you're dead.
(GUN FIRING) ROCKFORD: I filed a complaint against Casey and Dumas right after they threatened me.
I've talked to Dennis twice about these yo-yos, but he says they're playing hard-to-find.
I don't think they'll be around here again.
Say, how was the basketball game? You and that Yost getting to be pretty good friends, aren't you? First the Laker game, and now he's asked you over to his house for brunch.
You're getting to be real pals.
Yeah, we're not pals, Dad.
I'm still a little concerned about him.
But you do like him? Oh yeah, he's a good enough guy on the surface, I guess.
Ah, you know, Dad, when I first got involved in this thing, I thought I had bungled onto somebody who was jumping the gun.
You know, moving on an organ donor before the last count.
Now I know that's impossible.
It's just too many checks and balances.
The hospital is very strict, the medical profession, they're very strict.
That boy was dead.
I told you that.
I told you that from the beginning.
Well, why isn't Yost non-profitable? Every legitimate service that does that kind of work is non-profit.
They work through the system.
They supply organs to patients.
It's a wonderful life-saving work.
All I know is that the hospitals and the doctors aren't involved.
But Yost, somehow he's different.
I'd like to know whether he's the one who tried to kill me the first time.
I don't know.
It seems to me if two fellas are going to be friends, you can't start out being friends by investigating him.
Well, did you ever think of the possibility that maybe he's buddying up to me just to keep tabs on me? Well, it was them two cowboys that wrecked my car that tried to kill you, and Becker will get them, don't you worry.
And his office is like a stage set.
There's nothing personal around anywhere.
I am standing here just hoping that my son did not break into that good man's office.
How do I look? Oh, you look fine.
(ALL CHATTERING) I can understand your misgivings.
As a doctor I often feel that once the secrecy and fear is taken out of transplantation, public response will eliminate donor shortages.
How long have you known Lee? I don't, really.
To tell you the truth, I don't like the guy.
There's no reason.
I mean, he's personable enough.
But something seems missing.
He's different.
I don't know, I just don't like the way he works.
Too smooth, too self-interested.
You're eating his food.
You're drinking his scotch.
I guess both of us are here to get a little closer to Lee.
Yeah.
Well, I think I'll hit the buffet table again like a real hypocrite.
Nice talking to you, Dr.
Addison.
You too, Jim.
"Yost to the Post"? Oh, hi there.
How's Rudy Gernreich? I brought this over for you.
Oh, for me? Thank you, thank you.
I have a wonderful spot where we can go and talk.
"Your time is my time, my time is your time.
" Huh? Remember the lyric? No.
My time is your time Oh, yeah, yeah.
That's cute.
(CHUCKLES) Go out here? Yeah.
It always looks better on somebody else's plate.
Mmm.
How's the life extension business? The beat goes on.
Sonny and Cher? You and Lee must be pretty busy.
Oh yeah, like really.
He's a wonderful man, really wonderful.
I'm so glad that you and he are seeing more of one another, because he needs more friends.
He doesn't have many, you know.
Yeah, I know.
A lot of admirers, but not many friends.
It's his way.
Here's something that maybe you could use for your magazine article, Mr.
Rockford.
Jim.
See.
I had a lot of trouble getting a job after finishing business school.
Not because I'm stupid or anything but they give you these typing and mental qualifications tests.
And I get really bummed out behind tests, you know.
So I never do too well.
No, I can't believe that.
Neither can anyone.
But anyway, I didn't do any better on the test for the Life Extension job, but Lee, he said he liked my attitude, and, before you know it, he gave me the job.
And now, get this, Jim.
I was not on the job more than two days when I get sick as a dog.
And when I say dog, I mean Great Dane.
I had to go to the hospital.
Well, he held the job for me.
He paid the hospital bill.
He's really a sweet man.
And I can be late or Yeah, you must be swamped with all the legal work and medical records.
That's funny you should ask, because that's what I asked.
I said, "Mr.
Yost, don't you want me to do some of that?" And he kind of looked at me and gave me kind of a funny kind of smile and he said, "No, Sorel, I'd rather do it myself.
" Just like in that commercial where they say, "No, I'd rather do it myself.
" Like that? Yeah, like that.
I'm gonna go get some seconds.
I'll be right back.
Uh, okay.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING) Oh, Jim.
Dead battery and blocking the drive.
I was just looking for a place to, uh You found it, Jim.
Listen, there's a terrific dessert coming.
Chocolate mousse cake.
Great.
I'll be right with you.
SOREL: Oh, Jim.
Jim.
Call me at the office, Jim.
(CAR SCREECHING) (CAR SCREECHING) (EXPLOSIONS SOUNDING) DOCTOR: Well, your blood's clean, Mr.
Rockford.
From what you've said, I'd guess you inhaled some carbon monoxide fumes.
That's what I thought too.
But you seem fine otherwise.
That oxygen should clear your head.
You'll be better in the morning.
Yeah, things are starting to clear up for me now.
Jim, you have any idea how this happened? Yeah, I think so.
The car was in good shape when I got to your place but someone tampered with the exhaust system while I was there.
But who? Well, Jim's been having trouble with a couple of guys over an accident.
Oh, not those two lumps, Dennis.
They work with stolen handguns and a lot of macho stuff.
You know, a lot of mouth.
No, that's not their style.
You were outside during the party.
Sure, I told you where I was.
Jim, are you suggesting Your hands were dirty, just like they'd be after working on a car.
Whatever happened to you scrambled your brains a little.
No, I think this just brought it out into the open.
I've been watching you, Yost.
Just like you've been watching me.
I thought we were friends.
Playing it right to the wall, huh? We'd better go.
You're gonna need to make some careful moves now.
No more chocolate mousse, no shots from the bushes.
Rigged exhausts.
How could you be so wrong about someone? She is something.
When that rental car cooled off, we found a piece of flex pipe wrapped around the muffler.
It's hard to tell now, but it could have fed exhaust fumes up from the tail pipe through the floor.
And if you're right about Yost, I think he'll leave you alone now.
I don't know, Dennis.
He's different.
Now, I've had two pile-ups in two days.
My Firebird comes home tomorrow.
If I was smart, I'd just have them put it on a truck and send it home in a foam-rubber crate.
Here, Mr.
Rockford, I want to write you a prescription.
(DOG BARKING) ROCKFORD: I promised Lee I'd look him up when I got out.
You hear that a lot in the Army but I meant it.
So, here I am.
You say you were buddies? Yes, that's right.
You make friends quickly in the Army.
You lose track in a hurry, too.
Well, the Yosts are Lucy's people.
Lee was my sister's boy.
Well, does he have any other relatives around here? No.
Maybe you could leave your name and address.
Then you expect to hear from him? No.
But you could leave your name anyway.
Yes, ma'am, I'll do that.
Do you think there's anyone in town that might help an old friend of Lee's? (DOOR OPENING) Thank you, Mrs.
Grange, thank you very much.
EVAN: Lucy's uncomfortable with strangers.
ROCKFORD: Oh, well, I didn't mean to upset her.
Talking about Lee upsets her all right.
Yeah.
Why's that? Game's over, mister.
I looked in your car.
Now give me straight answers.
Where'd you get this address? Off a package in Yost's office.
What is it you really want? Information on Lee Yost.
You must be out to get him.
You could have saved your tricks, mister.
I'd like to see him locked up tight with the key in my pocket.
Yeah, you tipped your hand when you said you were his friend.
Lee never had one.
Ever! Not even as a boy? No, he was worse then.
As he got older you could see him learning to cover things up.
Hiding how he felt.
That boy never had any sense of wrong and right.
No conscience at all.
He did things I get sick over today, but nothing ever bothered him.
I used to think the boy had no memory, then I saw he remembered everything.
He just didn't care.
There were a lot of smiles around here when the Army took him at 17.
I sure hate to think what they used him for.
Well, that package in Yost's office was dated, oh, two years ago.
That'd be when he was in the VA Hospital.
In Los Angeles? Yeah.
What happened? I didn't look into it.
He wrote for Lucy to hold his mail, and a few months later we got a postcard with a forwarding address on it.
You know, one of those post office forms.
Lee never liked it here.
He said it smelled of fertilizer and sweat.
He nagged at his folks to move someplace else.
His mother laughed and said they'd move when the house burned down.
So? The next day it burned.
His ma died in it.
And that's when he was nine years old.
Look, Mr.
Whatever Fieldenhausen from the Psychological Evaluation Center in Concord.
I've showed you my identification, Doctor.
All of the patients here are protected by anonymity.
If you want to see Mr.
Yost's file, you'll need a court order.
Excuse me, please.
Hey, mister.
They can't tell you anything about Yost.
First general order is "say nothing.
" I overheard you asking about him.
You know Yost? Come here.
I'm the shaver.
For those who can't do it themselves.
I get into all the wards.
Intensive care, neuropsychiatric, eye, ear, nose and throat! When did you last see Yost? That's when he was released.
I could use some cash.
You're kidding.
Things really that tough out there? They're that tough.
Yost was here faking traumatic anxiety.
He had an ambulance service.
Something went wrong.
Some people died in a fire.
Now this is speculation.
But I think he was preparing a legal defense for the fire in case he was indicted.
But you know he was faking? Without question.
People with his condition have to learn the symptoms.
They never experience any real anxiety or conflict.
What was Yost's real condition? The condition is always the same but they keep coming up with different names.
Some people in prison study law.
I study the human head.
I've read everything.
I could practice this stuff if they'd ever let me out.
My basic approach is Freudian, of course.
Well, whose isn't? Uh, tell me about Yost's problem.
It wasn't a problem for him, he was adjusted.
You see, Yost is a C.
P.
I.
, a constitutional psychiatric inferior.
Sociopathic personality, moral insanity, it's all the same thing.
Could you say that simply? No morals.
No yesterdays.
No compassion.
How could he function in the Army all that time? (SCOFFS) He was a natural.
Once he got himself under control.
You see, Yost learns quickly.
Instead of making wallets, his therapy was assisting in surgery.
He was like one of the staff.
What did he do in the Army? Psychological warfare.
How about that? Here's a smiler.
Casey and Dumas are being held in Bakersfield on a hit and run charge.
All right, Rocky will be glad to hear that.
Dennis, this ambulance service of Yost's was under investigation when it was burned down.
With the records.
Now the arson investigation was dropped when they had no more evidence.
Looks like they didn't have any.
Arson was suspected because the motive was there.
Next! All right, this accident report on the donor that I saw in the hospital.
Here, read it! Now this could be a set-up.
There's no witnesses.
A hit and run on a side road.
An anonymous phone call to the hospital to make sure the boy gets to the hospital in a hurry and Yost was waiting at the hospital with the release form for the parents.
Billings, get me an aspirin.
Isn't that his business? Yeah, but this donor was a rare blood type.
An unusual tissue match.
Yost did the tissue match at the hospital? I believe he already had one.
Just like a dozen others he's got on file.
All rare blood types with current tissue matches and with releases.
Now, these are healthy people, Dennis.
While Yost waits for? A buyer.
Billings! Wealthy people don't wait in line for anything, Dennis.
I've got this banging headache, Jim.
Yost lives well, you know.
He covers it with stories about inherited money.
A colonel's pension.
A colonel's pension, huh? Now I went to his place.
I found a Bronze Star leveling a bureau in his bedroom.
So I checked it out.
He wasn't a colonel.
He was a sergeant.
Yost has spent most of his life spreading tragedy and nobody has ever stopped him.
Nobody's figured it out until now? Just an old man up in Oxnard and a guy at the VA Psychiatric Hospital.
A doctor? A patient.
An inmate.
A trustee.
A banana.
You've missed Lee by a few minutes.
I wanted to talk to you.
I waited until he left.
Actually, I've been around for quite a while, just poking around.
Poking? Yeah.
Did you know that Lee had you tissue-typed while you were in the hospital? Why would he do that? Well, the only reason I can think of is he has you tagged as a donor.
That's why you're working here.
I don't believe anything you say.
I saw your medical records before he took them home.
Your blood type is AB negative, right? He took the records home because he knew I'd seen them.
Why would he have them computerized? One single file drawer with a couple dozen folders? The folders are coded.
The people are all unusual blood types, like you, all tissue-typed and ready.
You see, I think that every once in awhile, when Yost gets the right customer, he arranges an accident.
Don't, don't call him.
I've got a subpoena working for those records.
I'm calling the exchange.
This is Sorel, I'm leaving.
You fit the plan, you know.
You wouldn't suspect him and you're close.
You're saying that he's kept me here because I'm not bright enough to notice anything wrong? Too trusting.
I don't believe you.
I don't know what to think.
I'm going home.
You're sure? Well, yeah.
What do you think? (DOORBELL RINGING) I didn't know what to do.
You did the right thing.
Make yourself a drink.
I think Rockford's a mental case.
What else did he say? Can I get something for you, Lee? Straight scotch, lots of ice.
LEE: Had dinner yet? No, I've been too upset.
It's just the opposite with me.
I eat when I'm upset.
I'm kinda confused, Lee.
Yeah, I can see that.
And I don't blame you.
See what loose talk can do? (SCREAMS) No, no.
Please! Please, I hate shots.
No, Lee! Lee! (GROANS) (GASPING) Here, hold this.
Now call the police, huh? Tell them to notify Lieutenant Becker.
What's the phone number? Just ask the operator.
Oh, how do you spell the lieutenant's name? Oh, here! I could have done that.
Yeah.
That fight really didn't do any lasting damage to that knee.
The swelling will go down in a day or two.
I really want to thank you for what you did.
And I'm sorry for having been so hostile about Lee Yost.
You certainly proved right.
It's just that I knew that that boy was dead.
Well, Yost is a psychological freak.
One in a million.
He never should have been let out of a mental hospital.
So, how'd it go, you two? Not too good.
They act like this, I may not leave 'em my liver.
Besides, it's been servicing me too good for too many years.
And my kidneys, too.
I'm sorry, but we do like to keep our donors under a certain age limit.
I mean, no offense, but we'll be happy to take anything that your son wants to give.
You can have it all.
I think it's great work you're doing here.
I'd be happy to volunteer.
Well, great.
Thanks.
Thanks.
We'll do all the necessary work and then your driver's license will be amended to say that you're a donor.
All right, thank you, Doc.
Thank you.
I've never heard of such a thing.
An age limit on kidneys.
SOREL: Now that I'm out of a job, maybe I'll get into something really challenging.
ROCKFORD: Yeah.
Like what? SOREL (MISPRONOUNCING "ASTRONOMER"): Well, I always wanted to be an astronomer.
ROCKFORD: No, that's pronounced "astronomer.
" SOREL: Oh, well, same job, no matter what.
Looking at the stars and wondering if there are other types of life out there.
ROCKY: I got me as good a liver as any Any liver in the country.
Sorel wants to be an astronomer, Dad.
Isn't that great? I'd like to see that Dr.
Bosca, whatever his name, I'd like to see his kidneys.
I bet they ain't no better than mine.
Some things improve with age.
I wonder if there's life out on those stars, like Mars.
Mars is a planet, not a star.
My heart's been beating once a second for almost 70 years.
You can't knock that.
Oh, pelicans! Look, pelicans! Pelicans, Dad.
Have you ever seen an autopsy, Jim? What did he do in the Army? Psychological warfare.
A doctor? A patient.
An inmate.
Trustee.
A banana.
(PHONE RINGING) ROCKFORD ON ANSWERING MACHINE: This is Jim Rockford.
At the tone, leave your name and message.
I'll get back to you.
(BEEPS) WOMAN: Jim, this is Andrée at Tod's Food Mart.
Listen, there's a guy down here by the name of Angel Martin who's charged $110 worth of groceries to your account.
Is that okay with you? (MAN CHUCKLING) MAN: Watch it! (MAN SHOUTS) Where'd that moron come from? I don't know.
C'mon, let's get out of here Oh, no! Look at my front end! Forget about the truck! There's the cops! Come on! Come on! (ENGINE STALLING) This guy's out.
Call an ambulance.
You fellas okay? Yeah, sure, but the truck won't start.
You fellas been drinking? Drinking? Maybe one beer, that's all.
Jake One unconscious Bring the balloons.
We got a couple of deuces here.
WOMAN ON P.
A: Attention, please.
All patients waiting for emergency admitting, please form a line.
Fill this out.
I'll be back in a moment.
All right.
Oh, nurse, I'd like to make a phone call.
Stand against that wall.
Well, I ain't taking no breath thing, and I ain't blowing up no balloons.
One lousy beer.
That's your choice, mister, but if you don't take the test, you're gonna lose your license for six months and you're gonna go to jail.
I'm gonna check with the doctor, see if we can get outta here.
Hey, lookie here.
It's the guy that caused the accident.
You guys hit me from behind.
That's a dead-bang loss in court.
Yeah, except you ain't gonna tell it that way, or you're gonna buy yourself a lot of heartache.
Is that so? What my friend here is trying to say is you dummy up, or you start collecting lead for the recycling center.
Officer, these two dribblers just threatened my life.
Sir, I'll send my partner back to take a full report later.
Right now these gentlemen have a date with the county.
Come on, fellas.
Let's go.
Yeah, I just need to make a phone call, Nurse.
Are you in pain? Well, it's my head and my knee.
I get a little dizzy, I keep coming in and out.
It could be a concussion.
I'll get a neurologist.
I got a trick knee and it's locked, it's out.
And an orthopedist.
Oh, and I'll need to use the phone.
My father is expecting me.
He'll be a little worried so if I can I'll see what I can do about the pain.
Use the phone, is what I really need most.
I'm sorry about your son.
Everything possible was done to save him.
But it was too late.
Doctor Roberts just signed the death certificate.
I'm asking you to authorize a cornea transplant.
It would mean a lot to someone else.
Your son is dead.
We must operate now.
Can we think it over? There's not time.
I wish I could say there was.
This type of operation must be done immediately.
All right.
Thank you.
WOMAN ON P.
A: Doctor Kelly to Radiology.
Doctor Kelly to Radiology.
Thank you, so much.
Come on, darling.
WOMAN ON P.
A: Dr.
Roberts to CCU.
Dr.
Roberts to CCU.
Here we go.
Nurse, how long? You'll feel better in less than a minute.
No Uh I mean the telephone.
(GASPS) Hey.
Hey.
You shouldn't be here.
Hey, that man's alive.
Now just take it easy, sonny.
You've been having nightmares.
Hi, Dad.
You been here long? Oh, several hours.
The doc said that you still had some shock from the accident and a concussion.
That's what made you sort of lightheaded.
Oh, hey, the truck, did I ruin it? Aw, no, you can fix it.
All we got to do is take some dents out of the back end of the cab.
Back of the cab? Remember them two concrete blocks I was packing around in my truck to put under the planter on the porch? Well Did they go through the cab? Well, it's you that counts, anyway.
(GASPS) Oh, well.
But, that's all, right? Well, there was a little side damage.
A window on the passenger side.
It don't amount to nothing, though.
Nothing.
Oh, Dad, I'm sorry.
I know that truck was your pride and joy.
I just feel terrible.
Over that silly little old truck? It's just a toy of mine, anyway.
You know I like to monkey around with it and tinker with the engine and shine it.
I spend way too much time shining that thing, I'll tell you that.
Hey, the doc said that as soon as you come to, we can get out of here.
You know, they can get spare parts for trucks, but people, there ain't no spare parts available.
Oh, hey, Dad.
I saw something really weird when they brought me in here just before that shot of whatever the nurse gave me took me out.
Well, Terry, he said that it's gonna take quite a bit of time to get that window, so he's gonna loan me a new pickup.
Yeah, I gotta find out who that was.
Somebody was doing surgery.
Apparently the patient was dead, but Sonny, I I don't like hospitals much.
Why don't we get you out of here and get you home? (DOOR OPENING) Well, how are we today? How you doing today, Mr.
Rockford? How's the head? Stiff just like the rest of me.
That's typical.
Well, let's have a look here.
Can you move the leg? Oh, yeah, yeah.
Hey, Doc, do you do organ transplants? Well, they do them in the hospital.
I don't do them.
Well, this is certainly an old injury.
What is that, football? Yeah, that and the Army.
I've got some questions I'd like to ask you about something I saw.
It was surgery of a corneal transplant.
And I saw the hand on a body move.
Move? Forget about it.
Let me tell you something, you can leave anytime you wish.
I'll send in a nurse.
Oh, thanks, Doc.
Come on, let's get going.
Dad, I plainly saw I don't care what you saw.
Now I know you, sonny.
These folks here are good people and they're trying to do good for a lot of people.
But you, you go getting suspicious, you get your back up and then pretty soon you're trying to solve a case where there ain't no case.
Now ain't it bad enough you wrecked my truck without trying to wreck the whole medical profession? I'm going to get a taxi.
I prescribed a slight sedative in case you have trouble sleeping.
But if you get dizzy, you get yourself right back here, all right? All right.
Yeah, Doc.
I've been thinking about what I saw last night.
That boy was dead? That's right, Mr.
Rockford.
Killed in a motorcycle accident.
Wait a minute.
You don't buy that? Mmm.
You think that Lee Yost was in there cutting a healthy patient? All I know is I saw his hand move.
What's your problem? I told you.
Are you a doctor? No.
Oh, oh.
Well, let me tell you that a slight hand movement in a corpse that's less than an hour old is just nerves.
Nothing improper happened to that man.
And my advice to you is to take a couple of these, go home and go to sleep.
And leave the business of medicine to doctors, huh? Well, who is Lee Yost? Good night, Mr.
Rockford.
Hope you feel better.
If you knew anything about the Life Extension Foundation, I think probably you'd regret everything you just said.
The Life Extension Foundation? Well, sir, I don't see how that makes any difference.
All I'm trying to do is find out if the Life Extension Foundation is non-profit or not.
They're in the book.
Why don't you call them? Well, they're closed on Thursdays and I have to file this return this afternoon, or I'll get a terrible tongue lashing on Friday.
Just a moment.
One of these days you are gonna get yourself into real trouble using the Phone Company like that.
Aw, come on, Dad, the Phone Company? What do they care? Oh? You remember when you was growing up and you used to call the drugstore and you'd ask them, "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" Then you'd laugh and chuckle and say, "Let him out before he suffocates.
" You didn't think you was gonna get in no trouble then, but remember what happened when they come over to our house? That was Mr.
Gelson.
He owned the drugstore.
Not the phone company.
The Life Extension Foundation is not a non-profit foundation.
It is not non-profit.
No, sir.
So you can't get a tax deduction for a gift.
I have to go now.
What is it, if it's not a non-profit foundation? Well, it's listed as a medical referral service, whatever that is.
Now, I really must go.
Excuse me, just one last question.
Yes! Do you have Prince Albert in a can? Prince Albert is a tobacco company, and it is not a California corporation.
Well, then, let him out before he suffocates.
Jerk.
Jerk.
You're never gonna grow up.
(BRAKES SCREECHING OUTSIDE) Oh, yes, I'm going to need to rent a car.
What do you have available? (GUNSHOT) Dad, get down! Get down! Get down! Stay down! Them the guys you was in the accident with? You may have a point.
Look, call Dennis, will you? I was also nosing around that guy Yost.
Will you please call Dennis? I will, Dad! As soon as I think I can get to that telephone without getting my head shot off! Hi.
Oh, hi.
Looking for Mr.
Yost? Yes.
I'm Jim Rockford.
I'm the representative for Medical Life magazine.
We're doing an article on Lee and his work.
All I have so far is just a great legend.
I want to call it "Yost to the Post.
" Huh? "Yost to the Post" like ah, horses to the post.
You see, we understand that Lee gets there in a hurry to save the lives of needy patients.
You're Miss Ms.
I'm not a feminist or anything.
But when you say "Miss" you're sort of putting us down.
Not as a group so much but, like, individually.
Right.
Well, about this article.
I never read medical magazines.
I know I should, but it's so creepy.
All about operations and everything.
And, boy, when I read about an illness, I get all the symptoms, like, before I get to the bottom of the page.
Hmm, yes.
Yes, well, Miss, uh, Ms.
, you didn't say your name? Oh, it's Sorel Henderson with one "S.
" Oh, but it's too late, because I have to go pick up the cross matches that Mr.
Yost wanted.
Thank you, Miss Ms.
Henderson.
Well, my time is your time, and your time is my time.
Right.
It's a lyric to a song.
I forget who sings it, but I love it.
"Your time is my time, my time is your time.
" I just love it.
I think it was Rudy Gernreich.
Well, see ya.
Check back later if you still want to see Lee about that newspaper article.
It's a magazine.
Oh, hi.
I got these bullet holes almost all patched up now.
Do you believe that car rental agency? I had my choice between that and a Japanese roller skate.
and it corners like the Forrestal.
Now that's gratitude for you.
(PHONE RINGING) Yeah? James Rockford? Yes.
This is Lee Yost.
I understand from my secretary you were down here today looking for me.
Yes.
And that you now have a job with American Medical.
Well, yeah, I do this and that.
Kind of a renaissance man.
Look, Mr.
Rockford, I understood you had some problems at the hospital the other day.
And, uh, quite frankly, I'd be glad to answer any questions you have.
Really? Really.
Pick a place.
Well, what I do is work out the logistics involved in transplantation situations.
Tissue matching, legal forms, transporting and delivery.
There are a couple dozen private individuals around the country doing the same thing.
Finding donors and matching them with recipients.
Well, who makes the decision on who gets what? Doctors.
The surgical implant team makes an evaluation on the basis of the probable success of the operation.
Well, about your enterprise.
Do you run that by yourself? Me and a part-time secretary.
I could get a federal grant or go non-profit status and try for charitable donations, but I'm hoping to be in something else soon.
Oh, yeah? Sometimes it gets pretty wearing.
I think about giving it up.
Yeah, well, I know how you feel.
I get to feeling that way about my work sometimes, but I like to eat too much.
Oh, I don't need the money.
There's an army retirement check in my box the first of each month.
You can live on that? I was a battalion commander when I was retired.
I inherited a few dollars.
I've got to get out here more.
It's beautiful.
Yeah.
You know, when I was in the hospital, I saw fingers on the body move.
I figured that's what happened.
You ever seen an autopsy, Jim? Only for a minute or so.
There's considerable movement after death.
Your medical training comes from the Army? Partly.
I also have paramedic training.
I don't know, you're such a relaxed guy.
You know, very cool.
I would think that a job like yours would be high pressure to the third power.
Well, I have a lot of outside interests.
Things that work off the adrenalin.
I'm a cross-country skier, I'm a freak for basketball.
No kidding.
Me, too.
Matter of fact, I'm teed off because I have to miss a game tonight because I'm going out of town.
But I get to see one tomorrow.
The Knicks play.
No, the Lakers play.
The Knicks will be there.
Even the curb bookies are giving 12 points.
Listen, why don't you come with me? I get a lot of extra tickets.
I thought you'd never ask.
I'll phone you tomorrow, we'll figure out when and where we meet.
All right.
Here, I'll get this one.
Okay, thanks.
I hope I've answered all your questions, Jim.
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
(MAN WHISTLING) MAN: Hi, it's the janitor.
You working late in there? Uh, how do you get a bulb replaced? That's an electrical deal.
I'm building maintenance.
I don't care whose department it is.
I gotta audit these books.
I could go blind waiting for them.
Do you think you could get me a bulb? You see, I'd have to go all the way down to the sub-basement, find out where the guy keeps the key, find the bulbs, it'd take one half an hour.
Yeah, well, I don't mind waiting.
I gotta be here all night and I don't want to leave the building in the morning with a guide dog.
Do you think you could get me a bulb? Okay, you got it.
This is one of my favorite offices.
It's like nobody's in here.
Really? (CAR HORN BLARING) DUMAS: Whoo! Hey hero! (BRAKES SCREECHING) Come on out and play! Wake up, Tinker Bell! (MAN LAUGHING) (MAN WHOOPING) (HOOTING) Come on out here! (CAR HORN BLARING) DUMAS: Drive it, Casey.
(ULULATING) (MEN LAUGHING) Hey, mister, you didn't get the message! Get outta here! CASEY: Hey, listen, you yahoo, you was supposed to keep your mouth shut! They got an arraignment on us.
Get outta here.
I've got a gun this time! Oh, big deal! You scare us like nothing! You go to court against us, and you're dead.
(GUN FIRING) ROCKFORD: I filed a complaint against Casey and Dumas right after they threatened me.
I've talked to Dennis twice about these yo-yos, but he says they're playing hard-to-find.
I don't think they'll be around here again.
Say, how was the basketball game? You and that Yost getting to be pretty good friends, aren't you? First the Laker game, and now he's asked you over to his house for brunch.
You're getting to be real pals.
Yeah, we're not pals, Dad.
I'm still a little concerned about him.
But you do like him? Oh yeah, he's a good enough guy on the surface, I guess.
Ah, you know, Dad, when I first got involved in this thing, I thought I had bungled onto somebody who was jumping the gun.
You know, moving on an organ donor before the last count.
Now I know that's impossible.
It's just too many checks and balances.
The hospital is very strict, the medical profession, they're very strict.
That boy was dead.
I told you that.
I told you that from the beginning.
Well, why isn't Yost non-profitable? Every legitimate service that does that kind of work is non-profit.
They work through the system.
They supply organs to patients.
It's a wonderful life-saving work.
All I know is that the hospitals and the doctors aren't involved.
But Yost, somehow he's different.
I'd like to know whether he's the one who tried to kill me the first time.
I don't know.
It seems to me if two fellas are going to be friends, you can't start out being friends by investigating him.
Well, did you ever think of the possibility that maybe he's buddying up to me just to keep tabs on me? Well, it was them two cowboys that wrecked my car that tried to kill you, and Becker will get them, don't you worry.
And his office is like a stage set.
There's nothing personal around anywhere.
I am standing here just hoping that my son did not break into that good man's office.
How do I look? Oh, you look fine.
(ALL CHATTERING) I can understand your misgivings.
As a doctor I often feel that once the secrecy and fear is taken out of transplantation, public response will eliminate donor shortages.
How long have you known Lee? I don't, really.
To tell you the truth, I don't like the guy.
There's no reason.
I mean, he's personable enough.
But something seems missing.
He's different.
I don't know, I just don't like the way he works.
Too smooth, too self-interested.
You're eating his food.
You're drinking his scotch.
I guess both of us are here to get a little closer to Lee.
Yeah.
Well, I think I'll hit the buffet table again like a real hypocrite.
Nice talking to you, Dr.
Addison.
You too, Jim.
"Yost to the Post"? Oh, hi there.
How's Rudy Gernreich? I brought this over for you.
Oh, for me? Thank you, thank you.
I have a wonderful spot where we can go and talk.
"Your time is my time, my time is your time.
" Huh? Remember the lyric? No.
My time is your time Oh, yeah, yeah.
That's cute.
(CHUCKLES) Go out here? Yeah.
It always looks better on somebody else's plate.
Mmm.
How's the life extension business? The beat goes on.
Sonny and Cher? You and Lee must be pretty busy.
Oh yeah, like really.
He's a wonderful man, really wonderful.
I'm so glad that you and he are seeing more of one another, because he needs more friends.
He doesn't have many, you know.
Yeah, I know.
A lot of admirers, but not many friends.
It's his way.
Here's something that maybe you could use for your magazine article, Mr.
Rockford.
Jim.
See.
I had a lot of trouble getting a job after finishing business school.
Not because I'm stupid or anything but they give you these typing and mental qualifications tests.
And I get really bummed out behind tests, you know.
So I never do too well.
No, I can't believe that.
Neither can anyone.
But anyway, I didn't do any better on the test for the Life Extension job, but Lee, he said he liked my attitude, and, before you know it, he gave me the job.
And now, get this, Jim.
I was not on the job more than two days when I get sick as a dog.
And when I say dog, I mean Great Dane.
I had to go to the hospital.
Well, he held the job for me.
He paid the hospital bill.
He's really a sweet man.
And I can be late or Yeah, you must be swamped with all the legal work and medical records.
That's funny you should ask, because that's what I asked.
I said, "Mr.
Yost, don't you want me to do some of that?" And he kind of looked at me and gave me kind of a funny kind of smile and he said, "No, Sorel, I'd rather do it myself.
" Just like in that commercial where they say, "No, I'd rather do it myself.
" Like that? Yeah, like that.
I'm gonna go get some seconds.
I'll be right back.
Uh, okay.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING) Oh, Jim.
Dead battery and blocking the drive.
I was just looking for a place to, uh You found it, Jim.
Listen, there's a terrific dessert coming.
Chocolate mousse cake.
Great.
I'll be right with you.
SOREL: Oh, Jim.
Jim.
Call me at the office, Jim.
(CAR SCREECHING) (CAR SCREECHING) (EXPLOSIONS SOUNDING) DOCTOR: Well, your blood's clean, Mr.
Rockford.
From what you've said, I'd guess you inhaled some carbon monoxide fumes.
That's what I thought too.
But you seem fine otherwise.
That oxygen should clear your head.
You'll be better in the morning.
Yeah, things are starting to clear up for me now.
Jim, you have any idea how this happened? Yeah, I think so.
The car was in good shape when I got to your place but someone tampered with the exhaust system while I was there.
But who? Well, Jim's been having trouble with a couple of guys over an accident.
Oh, not those two lumps, Dennis.
They work with stolen handguns and a lot of macho stuff.
You know, a lot of mouth.
No, that's not their style.
You were outside during the party.
Sure, I told you where I was.
Jim, are you suggesting Your hands were dirty, just like they'd be after working on a car.
Whatever happened to you scrambled your brains a little.
No, I think this just brought it out into the open.
I've been watching you, Yost.
Just like you've been watching me.
I thought we were friends.
Playing it right to the wall, huh? We'd better go.
You're gonna need to make some careful moves now.
No more chocolate mousse, no shots from the bushes.
Rigged exhausts.
How could you be so wrong about someone? She is something.
When that rental car cooled off, we found a piece of flex pipe wrapped around the muffler.
It's hard to tell now, but it could have fed exhaust fumes up from the tail pipe through the floor.
And if you're right about Yost, I think he'll leave you alone now.
I don't know, Dennis.
He's different.
Now, I've had two pile-ups in two days.
My Firebird comes home tomorrow.
If I was smart, I'd just have them put it on a truck and send it home in a foam-rubber crate.
Here, Mr.
Rockford, I want to write you a prescription.
(DOG BARKING) ROCKFORD: I promised Lee I'd look him up when I got out.
You hear that a lot in the Army but I meant it.
So, here I am.
You say you were buddies? Yes, that's right.
You make friends quickly in the Army.
You lose track in a hurry, too.
Well, the Yosts are Lucy's people.
Lee was my sister's boy.
Well, does he have any other relatives around here? No.
Maybe you could leave your name and address.
Then you expect to hear from him? No.
But you could leave your name anyway.
Yes, ma'am, I'll do that.
Do you think there's anyone in town that might help an old friend of Lee's? (DOOR OPENING) Thank you, Mrs.
Grange, thank you very much.
EVAN: Lucy's uncomfortable with strangers.
ROCKFORD: Oh, well, I didn't mean to upset her.
Talking about Lee upsets her all right.
Yeah.
Why's that? Game's over, mister.
I looked in your car.
Now give me straight answers.
Where'd you get this address? Off a package in Yost's office.
What is it you really want? Information on Lee Yost.
You must be out to get him.
You could have saved your tricks, mister.
I'd like to see him locked up tight with the key in my pocket.
Yeah, you tipped your hand when you said you were his friend.
Lee never had one.
Ever! Not even as a boy? No, he was worse then.
As he got older you could see him learning to cover things up.
Hiding how he felt.
That boy never had any sense of wrong and right.
No conscience at all.
He did things I get sick over today, but nothing ever bothered him.
I used to think the boy had no memory, then I saw he remembered everything.
He just didn't care.
There were a lot of smiles around here when the Army took him at 17.
I sure hate to think what they used him for.
Well, that package in Yost's office was dated, oh, two years ago.
That'd be when he was in the VA Hospital.
In Los Angeles? Yeah.
What happened? I didn't look into it.
He wrote for Lucy to hold his mail, and a few months later we got a postcard with a forwarding address on it.
You know, one of those post office forms.
Lee never liked it here.
He said it smelled of fertilizer and sweat.
He nagged at his folks to move someplace else.
His mother laughed and said they'd move when the house burned down.
So? The next day it burned.
His ma died in it.
And that's when he was nine years old.
Look, Mr.
Whatever Fieldenhausen from the Psychological Evaluation Center in Concord.
I've showed you my identification, Doctor.
All of the patients here are protected by anonymity.
If you want to see Mr.
Yost's file, you'll need a court order.
Excuse me, please.
Hey, mister.
They can't tell you anything about Yost.
First general order is "say nothing.
" I overheard you asking about him.
You know Yost? Come here.
I'm the shaver.
For those who can't do it themselves.
I get into all the wards.
Intensive care, neuropsychiatric, eye, ear, nose and throat! When did you last see Yost? That's when he was released.
I could use some cash.
You're kidding.
Things really that tough out there? They're that tough.
Yost was here faking traumatic anxiety.
He had an ambulance service.
Something went wrong.
Some people died in a fire.
Now this is speculation.
But I think he was preparing a legal defense for the fire in case he was indicted.
But you know he was faking? Without question.
People with his condition have to learn the symptoms.
They never experience any real anxiety or conflict.
What was Yost's real condition? The condition is always the same but they keep coming up with different names.
Some people in prison study law.
I study the human head.
I've read everything.
I could practice this stuff if they'd ever let me out.
My basic approach is Freudian, of course.
Well, whose isn't? Uh, tell me about Yost's problem.
It wasn't a problem for him, he was adjusted.
You see, Yost is a C.
P.
I.
, a constitutional psychiatric inferior.
Sociopathic personality, moral insanity, it's all the same thing.
Could you say that simply? No morals.
No yesterdays.
No compassion.
How could he function in the Army all that time? (SCOFFS) He was a natural.
Once he got himself under control.
You see, Yost learns quickly.
Instead of making wallets, his therapy was assisting in surgery.
He was like one of the staff.
What did he do in the Army? Psychological warfare.
How about that? Here's a smiler.
Casey and Dumas are being held in Bakersfield on a hit and run charge.
All right, Rocky will be glad to hear that.
Dennis, this ambulance service of Yost's was under investigation when it was burned down.
With the records.
Now the arson investigation was dropped when they had no more evidence.
Looks like they didn't have any.
Arson was suspected because the motive was there.
Next! All right, this accident report on the donor that I saw in the hospital.
Here, read it! Now this could be a set-up.
There's no witnesses.
A hit and run on a side road.
An anonymous phone call to the hospital to make sure the boy gets to the hospital in a hurry and Yost was waiting at the hospital with the release form for the parents.
Billings, get me an aspirin.
Isn't that his business? Yeah, but this donor was a rare blood type.
An unusual tissue match.
Yost did the tissue match at the hospital? I believe he already had one.
Just like a dozen others he's got on file.
All rare blood types with current tissue matches and with releases.
Now, these are healthy people, Dennis.
While Yost waits for? A buyer.
Billings! Wealthy people don't wait in line for anything, Dennis.
I've got this banging headache, Jim.
Yost lives well, you know.
He covers it with stories about inherited money.
A colonel's pension.
A colonel's pension, huh? Now I went to his place.
I found a Bronze Star leveling a bureau in his bedroom.
So I checked it out.
He wasn't a colonel.
He was a sergeant.
Yost has spent most of his life spreading tragedy and nobody has ever stopped him.
Nobody's figured it out until now? Just an old man up in Oxnard and a guy at the VA Psychiatric Hospital.
A doctor? A patient.
An inmate.
A trustee.
A banana.
You've missed Lee by a few minutes.
I wanted to talk to you.
I waited until he left.
Actually, I've been around for quite a while, just poking around.
Poking? Yeah.
Did you know that Lee had you tissue-typed while you were in the hospital? Why would he do that? Well, the only reason I can think of is he has you tagged as a donor.
That's why you're working here.
I don't believe anything you say.
I saw your medical records before he took them home.
Your blood type is AB negative, right? He took the records home because he knew I'd seen them.
Why would he have them computerized? One single file drawer with a couple dozen folders? The folders are coded.
The people are all unusual blood types, like you, all tissue-typed and ready.
You see, I think that every once in awhile, when Yost gets the right customer, he arranges an accident.
Don't, don't call him.
I've got a subpoena working for those records.
I'm calling the exchange.
This is Sorel, I'm leaving.
You fit the plan, you know.
You wouldn't suspect him and you're close.
You're saying that he's kept me here because I'm not bright enough to notice anything wrong? Too trusting.
I don't believe you.
I don't know what to think.
I'm going home.
You're sure? Well, yeah.
What do you think? (DOORBELL RINGING) I didn't know what to do.
You did the right thing.
Make yourself a drink.
I think Rockford's a mental case.
What else did he say? Can I get something for you, Lee? Straight scotch, lots of ice.
LEE: Had dinner yet? No, I've been too upset.
It's just the opposite with me.
I eat when I'm upset.
I'm kinda confused, Lee.
Yeah, I can see that.
And I don't blame you.
See what loose talk can do? (SCREAMS) No, no.
Please! Please, I hate shots.
No, Lee! Lee! (GROANS) (GASPING) Here, hold this.
Now call the police, huh? Tell them to notify Lieutenant Becker.
What's the phone number? Just ask the operator.
Oh, how do you spell the lieutenant's name? Oh, here! I could have done that.
Yeah.
That fight really didn't do any lasting damage to that knee.
The swelling will go down in a day or two.
I really want to thank you for what you did.
And I'm sorry for having been so hostile about Lee Yost.
You certainly proved right.
It's just that I knew that that boy was dead.
Well, Yost is a psychological freak.
One in a million.
He never should have been let out of a mental hospital.
So, how'd it go, you two? Not too good.
They act like this, I may not leave 'em my liver.
Besides, it's been servicing me too good for too many years.
And my kidneys, too.
I'm sorry, but we do like to keep our donors under a certain age limit.
I mean, no offense, but we'll be happy to take anything that your son wants to give.
You can have it all.
I think it's great work you're doing here.
I'd be happy to volunteer.
Well, great.
Thanks.
Thanks.
We'll do all the necessary work and then your driver's license will be amended to say that you're a donor.
All right, thank you, Doc.
Thank you.
I've never heard of such a thing.
An age limit on kidneys.
SOREL: Now that I'm out of a job, maybe I'll get into something really challenging.
ROCKFORD: Yeah.
Like what? SOREL (MISPRONOUNCING "ASTRONOMER"): Well, I always wanted to be an astronomer.
ROCKFORD: No, that's pronounced "astronomer.
" SOREL: Oh, well, same job, no matter what.
Looking at the stars and wondering if there are other types of life out there.
ROCKY: I got me as good a liver as any Any liver in the country.
Sorel wants to be an astronomer, Dad.
Isn't that great? I'd like to see that Dr.
Bosca, whatever his name, I'd like to see his kidneys.
I bet they ain't no better than mine.
Some things improve with age.
I wonder if there's life out on those stars, like Mars.
Mars is a planet, not a star.
My heart's been beating once a second for almost 70 years.
You can't knock that.
Oh, pelicans! Look, pelicans! Pelicans, Dad.