All language subtitles for The Rockford Files S05e05 Kill The Messenger_prob3

Deputy Chief Towne's wife,
somebody beat her to death.

And it's your hot potato?

You're looking for Angel?

I thought maybe he could tell me

where I could find a guy
named Captain Crunch.

What about a lady who's
not here to defend herself?

Well, she doesn't have to be.

Not as long as you're
slinging that load of whitewash.

What's troubling you?

Oh, Dad. I should've
stayed out of it.

You came up with something
gonna make it harder for him?

Something that's going
to make it impossible.

ROCKFORD ON ANSWERING
MACHINE: This is Jim Rockford.

At the tone, leave your
name and message.

I'll get back to you.

Jim, Chet, returning your call.

Sorry I missed you, but I'd
appreciate your calling back.

And if you call
again and I'm not in,

just leave your message
and I'll get back to you.

I'm the one that called.
It's that one over there.

Check out those
plates, will you?

It's been here
since Friday night.

Did you see who left it?

No, I'm the day man.

When I got here Saturday
morning, it was still dark,

and it was the
only car on the lot.

You know, I figured
somebody Friday night...

Somebody had gone off with somebody
and maybe would be back later for it.

But then this morning when I
got here, it's still here, and there's

this kind of smell.

Yeah. Roger.

Hey, Pete.

Is it on the hot sheet?

No. But it's hot.

What's that supposed to mean?

The registered owner
is Eugene W. Towne.

Deputy Chief Towne?

Are you gonna
investigate or not?

I'm telling you guys, something
in there is getting a little ripe.

We got probable cause.

I know what we got.

What's the basic rule
on the use of force?

Escalate or de-escalate

to the minimum force necessary
for the control of the suspect.

Right. Now, I'll give
you the suspect's action

and you give me
the officer's reaction.

Cooperation, compliance.

Verbalization.

Passive resistance.

Firm grip control.

Aggressive resistance.

Pain compliance.

What happened to
the training bulletins?

I didn't touch
anything on your desk.

They were right here.

Bodily attack. Control holds.

There was this paper on management
principles and that's very important.

What's that sticking out
from under the blotter?

What?

There.

Thanks.

Attack with dangerous weapons.

Suspect's action, attack
with dangerous weapons.

Officer's reaction?

Self-defense techniques.

That can include use of the
baton, kicks, body throws...

Thanks, okay.

Going up for lieutenant, huh?

Yeah.

Well, to each his own.

I gonna be signing
out now, Billings.

Okay, Sarge. Good luck.

Little last-minute
cramming, Becker?

Just brushing up, sir.

Mmm-hmm. If you don't
know it now, you don't know it.

This one's yours.

Yes, sir.

Oh, no.

I know it's a bad
time for you, Dennis,

but it's the only time
Bud could get away.

They wrote on
their Christmas card,

"Hope to get out there
one of these days."

They write that every year.

Well, one of these
days is tomorrow.

That's over there.

Dennis, if you're
worried about that exam...

I take the written the
day after tomorrow.

Just got to sweat out the oral.

Well, I've been shagging
questions for two hours.

You haven't missed one yet.

Do you think Little Den's
gonna mind sleeping down here?

There's just no
other place for him.

The kid's 12 years old. Why
do you call him Little Den?

Oh, they probably don't
call him that at home.

Just around us,
to avoid confusion.

He's named after Dennis.

Like our Scotty's named for
Bud. Bud's real name is Scott.

Oh?

Yeah. He and Dennis go way back.

They've been
friends since school.

Peggy, how about
getting some hot coffee?

Oh, sure.

Oh, listen, honey,
before I forget.

You know your
friend at Universal?

Do you think he could
arrange a special studio tour?

Oh, and a ride in a squad
car. That was on their list.

Little Den asked
for that himself.

That's really great, Dennis.

You know, having a kid named
after you. You must be proud of him.

I always kind of thought that
Scotty was named after me.

Yeah? Yeah.

You know, James Scott Rockford?

Funny the ideas you get.

I think I even mentioned
it to you a couple of times.

Yeah. Well, maybe you
did a couple of times.

Like on his last birthday when I
signed his card, "To my namesake."

Oh, yeah, there
was that time and...

Well, listen, I think I'm gonna
help Peggy with the coffee, okay?

Well, how's it going
with the questions?

I forgot where we left off.

Well, it doesn't matter. You
could just spot-check me.

Okay. We'll do homicide.

No.

What do you mean, no?

I said no.

You also said spot-check.

Surviving spouse or
close family members

are responsible for what
percentage of homicides?

80%, 42%, 26%?

I said I don't want to do
homicide. I know homicide.

I've only been working
it for eight years.

You don't want to ask me
the questions, just say so.

But I got no time
to fool around here.

Dennis.

And I got no time to
set up studio tours.

The McGowans want to go to
Universal? Fine! They set it up themselves.

What am I, some
kind of social director?

I'm a cop. I got a job to do.

Leave me alone and let me
do it! And Deputy Chief Towne...

Oh.

Oh.

Deputy Chief Towne's wife, Eileen
Towne, somebody beat her to death.

Oh, Dennis.

She was just an average lady,

middle-age, couple
of kids, grown, gone.

She worked as a
probation officer downtown.

And it's your hot potato?

I'm going to get some
chips or something.

My stomach's a mess.

Oh, poor Mrs. Towne.
Dennis is so upset.

Well, he has a right to be.

In the investigation
of the crime,

he's going to have to ask an awful lot
of questions, a lot of personal questions.

How's he going to do
that? Deputy Chief Towne?

Oh.

And that lieutenancy
means so much to him.

I wish I could help him.

He's tried so hard, Jim.

Peg, I'll ask around,

maybe I can get rid of
some of the preliminaries

and make it a
little easier for him.

Thanks.

You know, you're quite a friend.

Dennis won't forget it.

Miss Buettner?

Edgar Blasco, comptroller's
office. Who's in charge?

Huh?

Who's in charge? There must be somebody
in charge in this office, isn't there?

You mean Mr. Benbrook?

I imagine I do.

Miss Buettner, would you tell
Mr. Benbrook that Mr. Blasco is here?

Yeah, Leo, there's some
guy out here about money.

State, local,
federal, I don't know.

He'll be out tout de suite.

Him.

Oh, oh, Mr. Benbrook? Edgar
Blasco, comptroller's office.

Oh, boy.

Yep. Prop 13.

Well, I can't cut back. I can't.

We're right down to the
bone around here. Look.

Yeah, you've got quite a holding
pattern. But the people have spoken.

We're going to have to start
trimming the fat, Mr. Benbrook.

Let's see. You have how many
on staff here? What was that figure?

Fifteen. Fourteen.

One of our parole officers,
a Mrs. Towne, was killed.

You probably read
about it in the papers.

Now, look, we could divide her
caseload among the other officers.

I was going to fire her anyway.

We could make
it on a staff of 14.

But if you cut us
below that point...

Could we say that she was fired?

You know, if it went in the report
that way, it looks like you were trying.

It might obviate further cuts.

Yeah? Sure. We can say
she was fired. Put it down.

And the reason for termination?

Benbrook,

you know, I can fuzz
these statistics a little,

but I'm gonna have
to know the facts.

She was making it
with these turkeys.

What? I don't mean all of them.

But she was making out, you
know? The latest was this...

Captain Crunch.

File it Buettner, okay?

That's right. Captain Crunch.

You know, some broads are turned
on by violence, the heavy numbers.

We watch for that.

This Captain Crunch?
He was ripping off Ma Bell.

Had one of those
blue box things.

Been busted about 16 times.

Captain Crunch?

What kind of a guy would
take a name like that?

What difference does it make?

Deputy Chief Towne's wife,
she sure had a track record.

Yeah. Well, thank you
very much, Benbrook.

Hey, wait a minute.
How we doing here?

Oh, you're doing
fine. Just fine.

What are you tearing
up my place for?

There ain't no ticket here. What
would a ticket be doing here?

Because it's not at home.

Because after I dropped
the things off at the cleaners,

I came by here, we had dinner,

and then we went
to L.J.'s to play poker.

Well, then, why don't you go
back to L.J.'s and tear up his place?

Or better yet, tell
them you lost the ticket.

Nobody's gonna steal
your laundry, sonny.

I had two sport coats,
couple of shirts. Good shirts.

And I know there was
a cashmere sweater.

You know, I think you
got a burr under your tail

and it ain't over no missing
laundry ticket neither.

What's troubling you?

Oh, Dad. I should've
stayed out of it.

I was just trying to
do Dennis a favor

and I should have
stayed out of it.

Out of what?

Chapman handed Dennis a
case that's a real career breaker.

I tried to come up
with some information,

make the job easier for him.

Oh, boy. You came up with something
gonna make it harder for him, huh?

Something that's going
to make it impossible.

How is Dennis going to tell Deputy Chief
Towne that his wife was having an affair

with the parolees she was
supposed to be counseling, huh?

Do you know what that does?

That gives the chief a terrific
motive for killing his wife.

Well, I'm not going to
tell him till after the exam.

Matter of fact, I'm
not going to tell him

till after I've checked
it out a little more.

Get some other opinions.

Who you gonna talk to?

If I can find him,

Captain Crunch.

Captain Crunch?

Later.

There he comes.
Yeah, look at him.

Hi.

He looks pretty
healthy to me, Jer.

You don't look like no guy
on his way to County General.

I'm not. I'm just
doing a few errands.

You want to get off my
car so I can go home?

This is your car?

That's right, pal.

What a beautiful
looking car, huh, Jer?

Oh!

Guess this belongs to you.

And this has to
belong to you too, huh?

Take your hands off of it.
Take your hands off of it!

Now you butt
out of this, turkey.

You go sniffing where
you don't belong,

we don't send
you to no hospital.

The deep-freeze
for you. Understand?

Yeah. Hey, what's
going on over there?

Hey, come on, let's split.
Somebody in there call the cops.

Are you all right, mister?

Hello?

Peg? This is Jim. Have you
heard any word from Dennis?

No. He's still down
at Hollywood High.

That written test takes forever.

Yeah, yeah. I tried
the station first.

I just thought maybe
you'd heard something.

You will be hearing from him?

Well, I'd better. The
McGowans just called.

Aren't they there? I thought
they were arriving yesterday.

Well, they were supposed to,

but their camper broke down
and they're stuck in Palmdale.

Now I could take
the Lavens' van,

but it's a stick shift and I
don't know how to drive it so...

Oh, I don't know. We'll
work something out.

Look, Peg, I've been
wrestling with this thing all night

and I keep coming
back to the fact that...

Well, it's unpleasant
and Dennis ought to know.

I'm not doing him any favors
keeping him in the dark. I...

Is there a message
in there somewhere?

Yeah, yeah.

Yesterday I made
some discreet inquiries

and Eileen Towne
was having an affair

with one of the parolees she
was supposed to be working with.

Oh.

Yeah. And from what I
gather, it's not the first.

So, tell Dennis, okay?

Well, Jim, maybe you'd better not
do anything until you talk to Dennis.

I got one more lead I want to follow
up and then after that, I am out of it.

Thanks, Peg.

Okay, bye.

Hey, Sarge!

Well, how'd it go?

I think I did pretty good.

I think I did better
than the last time.

That's great.

So, what's happening?
Anybody recognize the picture?

Uh, the picture.

You showed it
around, didn't you?

Well... Frank, I said
take Mrs. Towne's picture,

show it around the supermarket,
show it around the neighborhood,

see if anybody recognizes her.

Dennis, I know what you told me,

but, Dorie, she started having
these pains and I had to go home.

Frank, she's not
due until the 16th.

Dennis, this is our first baby.
Who knows? I got nervous.

Look, I explained it to you. The
Lamaze technique is completely different.

Dorie's not having this baby
alone. We're having it together.

And we're having this
murder investigation together.

And, so far, nothing's
been investigated.

I know. That's probably what Chief
Towne wants to talk to us about.

When?

Right now.

I asked to see you men in order
to establish some ground rules.

I neither expect, nor want,

any special attention because
of my position in this department.

As far as the department's
concerned, the victim is a Jane Doe.

Yes, sir.

And, if I may, that sort of professionalism
in the face of your tragic loss is,

if I may, inspirational, sir.

I will exercise one
prerogative of my position.

I want to be copied
on all reports.

Which one of you is the
officer in charge here?

Sergeant Becker, sir.

You have a preliminary
report ready?

Well, sir, no, sir.

Actually, sir, I've been kind of
bogged down in this lieutenant's exam.

I took the written this morning.
And that's out of the way.

Oh, and Officer Dusenberg
had this medical emergency.

His wife is expecting a baby.

You haven't done anything yet?

Not anything? Is that
what you're saying?

Well, we're gonna get
right on it, Lieutenant.

Chief Towne, these men will
be disciplined and reassigned.

When I want privilege, Lieutenant, I'm
quite capable of demanding it for myself.

They stay on the case.

I'll expect a report on
my desk in the morning.

That's all.

Becker, I want to see that report
before it goes to Chief Towne

and it better show me some damned
good police work or, believe me,

you've got as much chance of
making lieutenant as he does.

Sarge, your wife's on the phone.

I can't talk to her
now. Tell her...

I'll take it, I'll take it.

Chapman's pretty sore, huh?

Towne is the one
that got me worried.

He stands there like a block
of ice, and I feel like the Titanic.

Yeah?

Oh, Peggy. Yeah, I'm
a little busy here, okay?

Yeah, it went pretty good. I'll
tell you about it later tonight.

What? Palmdale!

Peggy, I can't drive
up to Palmdale.

I'm in the middle of a
murder investigation.

What message?

Mrs. Towne? That's impossible.

Why are you telling me this?

Peggy, I can't
talk about it here.

Listen, if Rockford calls,
you tell him to stay out of it.

What's he trying to do, ruin me?

Quite a day, huh? Yeah.

You know, that exam today,
it wasn't as bad as I expected.

In fact, it was
kind of interesting.

I mean, some of the
questions like surviving spouse.

Close family members are responsible
for what percentage of homicides?

Statistics, they always
kind of interested me.

Come on, Dennis, you're
not talking about statistics,

you're talking
about Chief Towne.

Look, you know the man.
He couldn't have killed his wife.

You know, Frank,
speaking as professionals,

and as I said, and as
you know, statistically,

Chief Towne is our
most likely suspect.

You mean we're going
to have to question him?

We're going to have to. How would
it look if we didn't question him?

You didn't say anything
about that back in the office.

Oh, come on, it wasn't the
time. The man was grief-stricken.

When?

Tomorrow.

Yeah.

Frank, since we're gonna
have to question Chief Towne,

maybe we ought to be thinking
what would his motive be.

Uh-huh. Like what?

Well, hypothetically
speaking, it could be money.

He could have money problems.

Or she could have been terminally
ill and he was trying to spare her.

Like a mercy killing.

Yeah, that happens. We
had one of those last year.

Yeah. But I don't think you'd beat
someone to death in a mercy killing.

Yeah.

Excuse me.

Then, hypothetically speaking,
there's always adultery.

Adultery? Well, hold it. Wait a
minute. Why did you say adultery?

It's a possibility, right?

And we're police officers and
we got to deal in possibilities.

I'd rather have facts, but...

Hey, wait a minute, Dennis.

You know how Chief Towne used to
have those little dinners over at his house

for like young, promising
guys in the department?

Yeah.

You remember how
he stopped having those

little dinners about
eight, nine months ago?

You hear something?

Yeah...

Well, what?

Mrs. Towne, she was supposedly
making it with some of the younger guys.

Now that's just a rumor,
though. Just gossip.

Yeah, gossip. But we don't
deal in gossip or in rumors.

Hey, Rockford. Long time, huh?

Hey, Junior, how you been?

Don't ask. What'll it be?

Oh, beer, I guess.

I've been looking for Angel
Martin. You seen him around?

Well, Angel's not one of
your boozers, you know?

He come in mostly for the chili.

I had to close my kitchen down a
couple of weeks ago. I lost my cook.

That's too bad.

Well, it could've been
worse. He only got 30 days.

You're looking for Angel?

You got some kind of
game going or something?

Oh, no, no.

I was looking to buy a
little information, that's all.

You know Angel. He's got
a line on every scam in town.

I thought maybe he could tell me

where I could find a guy
named Captain Crunch.

You gonna do a little
long-distance dialing?

You know him?

I might.

Yeah, I know him. He
come in for the chili, too.

Do you know
where I can find him?

I might.

Look, Rockford, I don't
like taking your money.

But, as you can see,

with the kitchen closed, my
clientele has gone right down the toilet.

Junior, where can I find him?

Down a couple of blocks
over on Main. The Savoy Hotel.

You know how he's registered?

Sure. His name is Nick Donofrio.

Rockford, you didn't
pay for the beer, man.

Okay, okay, okay.

Forget it. Forget it.

See you, Junior.

Okay.

It's him, Nick. Split!

Hey, hey, come here! Come here!

Watch it, man,
watch it! Watch it.

Why'd you send that
goon after me, Nick?

I didn't, man, I swear.

I just got out of the hospital
this morning. Look at me.

Do I look like I'm sending
people around to beat people up?

I didn't have nothing to
do with it. That's the truth.

Bandit tells me what he done.

I tell him, "Please,
don't do me no favors."

Look, I'm in pain. I
got to take my pain pill.

Why'd Bandit think he
was doing you a favor?

I'm just right down
the hall, okay?

I got my pills in the bathroom.

Okay. You was
at the parole office.

Mutual friend hears you
talking about me and Mrs. Towne

like there was something
there, which there was not.

He follows you out, he
takes your license number,

he tells Bandit about it.

Now, let me get my pills,
man. You ever been in pain?

I'm in pain.

You are busted up pretty
good. What happened?

Touch football. It's murder.

Touch football?

Uh-huh.

Hey, Nick, why don't
you level with me, huh?

I mean, nobody's accusing you of killing
Mrs. Towne, just going to bed with her.

I didn't put the move on her.

She come on to me.

She's my parole officer. What
am I supposed to say, no?

So, we got together
a couple of times.

Okay, half a dozen.

Ten.

It's not like I'm the
only one, you know.

I got to get the pill.

You should have given your
statement to the police at the hotel.

I told them I wanted to
give the statement to you.

Nick Donofrio is the parolee Mrs.
Towne was playing slap and tickle with.

Will you shut up with that?

What you're talking
about is rumor, gossip.

Fact. Before Nick got blown
away, he admitted the relationship.

Oh, on the word
of a known felon.

Well, you can take
that to the bank.

What about a lady who's
not here to defend herself?

Well, she doesn't have to be.

Not as long as you're
slinging that load of whitewash.

Let's go into the coffee room.

Oh, Dennis, I have to call
Dorie. It's time for her nap.

Dennis, I really should
talk to you alone about this.

Dusenberg's working
the case with me.

Anything you got to say,
you can say in front of him.

I'll call her later.

Okay, go.

Okay.

As much as it pains
you to know the facts,

Mrs. Towne had a
very salty lifestyle.

You just check her out
at the Satyr Motel, huh?

Someone found out about
her romance with Nick Donofrio,

didn't like it, and put
Nick in the hospital.

That same someone started
beating on Mrs. Towne,

only he didn't stop
till she was dead.

Now do any likely
suspects come into mind?

Any suspects at all, huh?

Yeah. A young guy, around 30,
blond hair, blue, maybe hazel eyes.

In your words, that's the
guy on the fire escape.

That doesn't happen to
be Deputy Chief Towne.

Dennis, after 20 years on the
force, you don't think he knows

enough ex-junkies and ex-cons that he
could pressure into making a hit for him?

I don't know. I got to question
Deputy Chief Towne tomorrow.

Maybe I'll ask him.

Is that right,
Frank? That's right.

Dennis, I'm sorry. I didn't
want to bring you bad news.

I wanted to help, that's all.

Believe me, I'm
not gonna forget it.

Oh, Dennis.

What are you writing?

What do you mean,
"What am I writing?"

The manager of the hotel
identified Mrs. Towne's picture,

said she was here with a man
answering the description of Nick Donofrio

on more than one occasion.
That's what I'm writing.

That's going in the report?

Of course it goes in the report.

Dennis, Chief Towne
is gonna see that.

I'm not writing the
report for Chief Towne.

What's another way
of saying adult motel?

Temporary domicile?

Yeah, that's better.

I figure I don't have to mention
anything about the waterbed.

I mean, what's a waterbed
got to do with anything, right?

Right.

Oh, what about the
closed-circuit TV?

Well, we've got no proof they
used that thing. No proof whatsoever.

I'm going to leave that out.

Yeah.

Oh, and Frank, we got to
talk to the chief tomorrow.

Yeah, yeah. No way
around it. Tomorrow.

Frank, first thing
in the morning.

8:00 a.m. I'll be there.

That's it. Everybody out.

All right, I've had it. All out.

That's a gyp. Who wants to
ride around in a parking lot?

The parking lot's the
best I can do, Little Den.

My name's Roy.
Stop calling me that.

Your name is Roy Dennis McGowan,

and everybody calls you
Little Den 'cause they like you.

It's a dumb name. Little Den.

That's not a dumb name.

Don't you call that a dumb name!

I said knock it
off. Knock it off!

Hey, honey, I'll see you later.

Talk to you and good luck.

What's wrong with Sissy?

Sergeant Becker.

Hi, Dennis, it's Frank.

Yeah? What? You gonna be late?

Listen, Dennis, I really
hate to do this to you.

I know we have that meeting
with Chief Towne this morning.

I mean, I wouldn't
want to miss that.

But, Dennis, it's
Dorie. It's her time.

We're already in breathing
Level A. Oh, hang on, Dennis.

Two.

Now come on, Dorie, breathe in.

Blow.

Breathe in.

Blow.

Hi, Dennis?

Yeah, yeah. Is she all
right? What's Level A?

Well, it's nothing
to worry about.

We're still in Labor
Diagram One.

But you know how
these things can escalate.

Look, if you can't get away...

Hey, I can get away. Dorie's
a cop's wife. She understands.

I know. But you'll
want to be with her.

I'll go see the chief myself
and I'll check back with you later.

And, hey, best of
luck to you and Dorie.

Thanks, Dennis.

Yes.

Sergeant Becker to see you, sir.

Send him in.

I've been going through your
package, Sergeant. Quite a package.

You don't mind my looking
over your package, do you?

No, sir.

You here to make a report to me?

Not exactly, sir.

Maybe you haven't had time to start
your investigation, Sergeant. Is that it?

Oh, no, sir. The investigation is
underway. As a matter of fact...

Yes, Sergeant?

In order for the investigation

and the report to be full and complete,
and with all due respect to you, sir,

I'm going to have to
ask you a few questions.

Your wife was gone
for the entire weekend.

Could you tell me, sir, why
you didn't report her missing?

I thought she'd gone to
our place in Palm Desert.

Her mother left her a
little house down there.

Eileen liked to just
get away sometimes.

Being married to a police officer,
whether high, low or in between,

can be pretty rough, sir.

Well, there's a lot
of stress and strain,

and sometimes a lot of anger.

Wives get the feeling of
coming in second to the job.

And sometimes they
overreact in different ways.

Sir, you knew Mrs. Towne was
engaged in an extramarital affair

with one of her parolees.

That's it, Sergeant.

The interview is over.

No, sir. I'm afraid it isn't.

I'll have to ask you to
account for your whereabouts

from Friday last
till Sunday last.

And I'd like to caution you,
sir, to be as accurate as possible

because your answers will
be checked for verification.

I don't know why you didn't get all
this stuff when you were here before.

Okay, calendar

and call sheets. That's it?

Yeah, that ought to give us
an idea of the appointments,

how much time spent
on the telephone,

overall picture of the workload.

We don't want to hack away at
the essential services, you know.

That's not what the people want.

Well, the people don't
know what they want.

Now, this is Mrs. Towne's day?

Yeah. Friday.

Mmm-hmm. Officer Kempner, the
Hollywood division. He called three times.

That's 10:55, 10:57 and 10:58.

Three times in three minutes.

I wonder why?

What difference does it make?
So she got a lot of phone calls.

Three times in three minutes.
She was hanging up on him.

That probably makes it personal.

Mr. Blasco,

what's that got to do with
the comptroller's office?

I'm surprised you
ask, Miss Buettner.

Private calls on county
telephones. Really.

Hold it. I got it. Thanks.

Officer Dusenberg.

Yeah, Frank, this is Jim
Rockford. Is Dennis around?

No. He's down at City Hall, south, taking
the oral. You want to leave a message?

Do you know an Officer Kempner?

Rudy Kempner? Yeah, sure. Why?

Dennis gave me his
phone number the other day

and I don't know
what I did with it.

But Rudy's been talking about
some property up at Big Bear

and, well, from what I
hear, it's going to sell.

I'd hate to see
him miss out on it.

Well, you need his number?

Yeah, sure. Sure.
Hold on. Wait a minute.

Okay, here it is.

555-7760. Got that?

Got it.

Here's his address. 13209 Lomita
Place, West Hollywood. No zip.

Got it, thanks.

Oh, oh, Jim...

Hey, Rudy.

You just missed Rockford.

Jim Rockford. He called about
that property up in Big Bear.

They got a buyer or something.
He lost your phone number.

You give it to him?

Yeah, your address, too.
That was okay, wasn't it?

I mean, he sounded like he really
wanted to get in touch with you.

Yeah, yeah, Frank, that's okay.

It's time Rockford
and I got together.

Dennis said he didn't want
you helping him none, sonny.

How come you don't
just give him everything

you got and let him
go on through himself?

Oh, I can see his reaction when I
tell him to check out another cop.

Where is this guy?

Hello.

Oh, Officer Kempner? Yeah.

Yeah, this is Harvey
Eubanks, New Bedford Life.

I've been trying to get
hold of you all afternoon.

Yeah, I just got home.

What can I do for
you, Mr. Eubanks?

Yeah, well, you see, we're offering
a very interesting insurance package.

It's designed
specifically to handle the

problems unique to the
law enforcement officer.

Yeah. Yeah, that sounds
like something I could use.

Well, good, good.

All we have to
do is just sit down

and lay it all out in
dollars and cents.

Well, I'll be home
all afternoon.

Why don't you come
by, say, within the hour?

That'll be fine. We have on
our records here that you're

on Lomita in West
Hollywood. Is that correct, sir?

That's right. I'll
be waiting for you.

Fine, fine.

Sergeant Becker.
Sergeant Dennis Becker.

Yes?

Come in, Sergeant. Come in.

I believe you know
Deputy Chief Towne.

That's Commander Righter,
Commander Harmell and Mr. Massett,

and I'm Commander Alverez.
Please be seated, Sergeant.

Thank you, sir.

Well, Sergeant, I see this isn't
your first try at a lieutenancy.

No, sir.

Why do you think it's taking
you so long to make it?

I don't know, sir. I believe I've
always done well on my written test.

Upper 10%. But you
haven't made it, Sergeant.

No, sir. I think I've
lost points on my orals.

Why is that, Sergeant?

Well, sir, I guess I have a
tendency to freeze up, sir.

Do you think that's a
desirable quality in an officer?

A tendency to freeze up?

No, sir.

I'm not going to pull
any punches, Sergeant.

In looking over your
previous rating reports,

there's one fact that's
weighed heavily against you.

And as far as I'm concerned,
it's going to continue to do so.

Could you tell me
what that is, sir?

Your association with ex-cons.

Sir?

Specifically, your association
with a man named James Rockford.

Jim's no ex-con.

I mean, he is, but he's
received a full pardon.

And there's no conflict of interest
there. None whatsoever, sir.

Would you mind, Commander?

Of course not.

You realize, don't you, that it would
probably mean a change of assignment?

How do you feel about getting back
into uniform, going back on patrol?

I wouldn't like that, sir.

You like your
present assignment?

Yes, sir.

Sometimes it gets a
little rough but, yes, sir.

The way I look at it,

well, some people never
find their niche in life.

I think I found mine.

And I think I can
continue to do a good job

if I'm allowed to
remain there, sir.

Hey, Dennis,
Dennis, how'd it go?

What are you doing
here? Dorie? The baby?

Oh, that was a false alarm.

Well, come on, how'd it go?

Chief Towne sat
in with the board.

No kidding.

I might as well get
used to being a sergeant.

That's where I'm gonna stay.

Well, come on, it's not like
he was actually on the board.

You don't think he had
something to say after I left?

You don't think he gave
them a couple of opinions?

Oh, and I finally found out what's
been holding me back all these years.

Rockford. My ex-con buddy.

No kidding.

Dusenberg, do I
look like I'm kidding?

All these years I've been trying to
make lieutenant, I never stood a chance.

I had Rockford hanging
around my neck like a...

An albatross.

What's the use?

Oh, by the way, your buddy
Rockford called in a while back.

Sure he called in. He's always
calling in. What'd he want this time?

Rudy Kempner's number.

He was going to go over to his house, talk
to him about some property up in Big Bear.

He doesn't know Rudy Kempner.

Dennis, I'm just telling
you what he said.

Well, he lies all the time.

Rudy Kempner?

Yeah, you know, it's funny.

It didn't hit me at the time, but
I got to thinking about it later.

You know those rumors
we were talking about?

Mrs. Towne and some of the
younger guys in the department?

Well, I heard that
Rudy was one of them.

Young guy, blond hair,
blue eyes, around 30.

The fire escape.

Come on.

Coming.

Okay, get down there.

Put your hands on your
head. Come on, move it.

Frank Dusenberg
knows I'm out here.

Yeah, sure. You came by, we
talked about property, you left.

I'll move your
pretty little car later.

How many people
you going to kill?

This has got to stop someplace.

It stops with you.

What about Dusenberg when
he starts asking questions, huh?

About an accident?

Hey, you're not thinking
this thing through, Rudy.

I don't know about the other
killings, but maybe you can cop a plea.

Crime of passion,

temporary insanity, I don't
know. But you try to kill me...

Look, any more conversation,
I'll pop you right here.

Get in there. Come on, move it.

Frank, that's Rockford.

Well, they're not going
to get away with that.

I wasn't a Malibu policeman
for 10 years for nothing.

Hey, what are you doing?

What are you doing, Cliff?
Cliff, you stay out of this.

We're police officers,
I'm telling you!

Get off of there!
We're police officers!

Look at this lunatic.

What's he doing?
What's this guy doing?

You all right, Officer?

Hands in the air, Rudy.

Read it and sign it.

You still sore, Dennis?

Just read the statement.
Let's wrap it up.

Dennis, I was wrong. It takes
a big man to admit he's wrong.

I didn't deal myself in because I
thought you'd mangle the case.

I wanted to help. I wanted
you to make lieutenant.

Oh, that's great
coming from you.

Shut up, Frank.

What do you mean, coming
from me? I happen to be his friend.

His friend. You're the reason
he's stalled at sergeant.

Frank.

I'm the reason? Yeah.

Will you just read
the statement?

I'll handle the PR angle
from my end, Chief.

The media gets a short prepared
statement from you and that's it.

You won't have to
field any questions.

It's a little late to try to preserve my
wife's reputation, isn't it, Lieutenant?

Yes, sir. Oh, I mean, sir,

the department will put out another
statement covering Rudy Kempner.

The one bad apple doesn't
spoil the barrel. Things like that.

Sergeant, well done.

Thank you, sir. It
was a team effort.

No. This is all yours, Sergeant.
You're a good cop, Becker.

You weren't afraid to take on a case
nobody around here wanted to touch.

I knew he would be the right
man to handle the job, Chief.

You see, a few years
in administration,

you get a gut instinct
for that sort of thing.

You stood up to
me. I respect that.

You were tough and
you were compassionate.

That's a rare combination.

How does it feel,
Dennis? You're a hero.

Hey, Peggy, this is a
swell idea. Neat party.

Hey, sonny, how come
you don't do nothing like this?

You know, solve a big case
and then throw a nice party.

Because it'd be too
long between drinks.

I love a good winner.

Hey, I'm a little surprised
by the invitation anyway.

I thought I'd been drummed off your A-list.
And I'm not going to apologize again.

Well, maybe it's a good
thing you interfered.

I might have missed that
connection with Kempner.

Not you, Dennis.
You're too good a cop.

Deputy Chief Towne said
that in a roomful of people.

Yeah, Dennis, I wish I could have
been a little more active in the case.

You know, given you
a little more support.

Well, how could you,
with Dorie and all?

Not knowing one minute from the next when
you'd have to take her to the hospital.

Oh, Dorie's not due for another
five weeks. I just asked her.

I'd better go see
how she's feeling.

Okay. Has everybody got a glass?

Got mine. Except for you. Okay.

Now we are going
to have a toast.

Bud? Molly? Okay, are you ready?

To my husband, come here,

Lieutenant Becker.

All right. All right!

That's right. I made it, and Deputy Towne
called me himself and he said, "That's it."

That's great, Dennis, that's
really great. A lieutenant.

I told you, Rocky. I told
everybody he was going to do it.

A lieutenant. That's great.

There's only one problem.
Lieutenant Chapman.

From here on out, I
got to call him Doug.