All language subtitles for Rockford Files S05E15 The Deuce.DVDRip.NonHI.en.UNVSL

You're not dropping
the case, are you?

Well, I don't have much choice.

I still cannot accept the fact that
that maniac escapes conviction

all because of some
has-been gumshoe.

He does seem like a flake.

Do you have any
idea who's behind it?

No, but whoever it is, is trying to
cover their tracks with a backhoe.

I can get your PI ticket
pulled in 60 seconds flat!

ROCKFORD ON ANSWERING
MACHINE: This is Jim Rockford.

At the tone, leave your
name and message.

I'll get back to you.

Mr. Rockford, Arthur's
Hi-Fi. Your stereo is ready.

But since your warranty expired in
the two months it was in our shop,

you'll have to pay
the $60 on the repair.

Connors, he didn't
even play for the Padres.

Connors was an Angel!

Don't you remember?
The old Padre's

first baseman was Luke Easter.

I should never bet
with you, George.

Hey, Pete!

Give me one for
the road, will you?

Yeah.

All right, another dollar
says you can't tell me

who was center fielder

for the LA Angels, late '40s.

Gotcha! Dom Dallesandro!

Uh-uh, close, he
played left field.

The old center
fielder, Cecil Garriott.

Remember, they used
to call him the Rabbit?

Easy money, Johnson,
that's you, huh?

Oh, jeez, the Angels
were so good in them days.

Shuster at short,
Terwilliger at second.

Remember the Twig, huh?

All right, good night, Johnson.

See you tomorrow.
So long, George.

Drive carefully.

It's six blocks. I
can do that blind!

That's how he
usually does it, too.

Bird Dog to Home Plate.

Yeah, Bird Dog.

The Deuce is on the way, right
on schedule and looking real good.

10-4, Bird Dog. Bring him home.

Grunwald? Did you copy?

All right, honey. You're on.

Now we move on to the Angels,

bottom half of inning number four
in a scoreless game in Anaheim.

Big first baseman, Tony Montoya.

Montoya now
swinging a healthy back,

completely recovered from
knee surgery last winter.

Steve Butler's on the
mound for the Royals.

Windup pitch for Montoya.

A slider high and inside.

Been a pitcher's duel so far.

Butler has struck out four,
hasn't walked anybody,

has allowed but
two base runners.

Here's the next
pitch on the way...

Here's the next
windup by Butler.

Fastball grounded at third...

Oop, Bridges bobbles,
throws... Too late!

Montoya's safe on first...

Jack Finney's on deck.

Nobody out. The go
ahead run now at first base.

Beautiful starry night
here at the Big A.

No score, fourth inning.

A check of the runner at
first by Butler, the pitch...

Ladies and
gentlemen of the jury,

a man with a serious drinking
problem sits before you now.

A man with four
previous 502 arrests,

a man with two
previous 502 convictions,

a man who was driving
without insurance,

on a suspended license,

with a .19 blood alcohol count.

The evidence against George
Bassett is not only conclusive,

it is downright overwhelming.

Maybe if he had gone
to jail the last time,

Betsy Pruitt would
be alive today.

If we are ever
going to put a stop

to this wanton slaughter
on our highways,

then the first step is
in your capable hands.

There is only one rational
verdict, and that is guilty,

not of involuntary manslaughter,

not even of manslaughter,
but guilty as charged,

of murder in the second degree.

Murder in the second degree?

There's something
wrong somewhere.

Look, I have a nose
for this kind of thing.

It's my business!

Mr. Rockford, how many times
do we have to go through this?

There is no reasonable doubt.

Please sit down.
We'll take another vote.

No doubt? I mean, no doubt?

Look. Look. The natural
way to get out of a car

would put me in a position
with my back to the door,

facing the oncoming traffic.

So what?

She was hit from behind.

So she saw his headlights
at the last minute,

turned just before he hit her.

Reflex action I
think they call it.

Well, that is a possibility.

It's a good one, too.

Okay, that's settled.

I think we can
safely say that we're

going for our final ballot.

Another thing.

Another thing... Look...

If she was getting out of
the car to deal with a flat tire,

why did she leave
the keys in the ignition?

Huh? She'd need
them to get to the jack.

Well, I doubt that she
intended to change it herself.

She was probably
gonna knock on a door

and use somebody's
phone and call the Auto Club.

Then she would take
her Auto Club card.

But she didn't, she
left it in her purse,

which was on the
front seat, remember?

Hey! Now I don't care if she was
standing in the middle of the road nude,

juggling little blue
and white balls.

Come on, the
cretin ran over her.

Now there's no
dispute about that.

He ran over her all right.

Then you got no
choice but to vote guilty.

Come on! You've
already taken up more time

than that man's worth.

Oh, is that right?

Yeah, that's right!

Well, I...

I have a reasonable doubt.

And I'm not changing my mind.

Tough! I'm sorry.

Your Honor, I move
that a mistrial be declared

and that all charges against
the defendant be dismissed.

A dismissal would
be a grievous injustice

to the deceased, Your Honor.

I'm inclined to agree
with you, Mr. Wheeler.

The motion for
dismissal is denied.

A new trial date will be set
and hopefully, at that time,

a jury can be impaneled

that will not find itself
hopelessly deadlocked

by the irresponsible and unyielding
decision of one of its members.

A decision, I might add,
that I consider an affront

to these chambers.

To mock justice and decency

with the willful
disregard for the...

Your Honor.

You're out of
order, Mr. Rockford.

Your Honor, in your
instructions to the jury,

you included the phrase,
"Beyond a reasonable doubt."

There are facts in this case...

One more word out
of you, Mr. Rockford,

and you are in contempt.

I would like to commend
the rest of the jury

for their time
and their diligence

in the deliberation
of this case.

Court is adjourned.

He's not gonna like this, Al.

He sure isn't.

I don't think that bozo put
a bug up anybody's nose,

but we'd better keep
our eye on this situation.

All right.

In a churchyard near the canyon

Where the myrtle doth entwine

There grow roses
and other posies

Fertilized by Clementine

I used to hug her

Now she's dead, I draw the line

Listen, boy scouts

Heed the warning to
this tragic tale of mine

Artificial respiration

Could have saved my Clementine

Who's there?

Supercitizen. I'm back from
the battle-scarred corridors

of civic obligation.

Oh, hi, sonny. I almost
didn't hear you come in.

Yeah, well, I would
have knocked,

but without a door, it
seemed rather pointless.

Oh, yeah, I'm taking them
off and planing them down.

That front door come off
real easy and this door did,

but this one here, I'm
working on, is a real killer.

Dad, do you mind if
I ask you something?

Huh?

Why?

Oh, you're getting
that tone in your voice.

Don't you remember
last rainy season

when the only way you could get
these doors open was to kick 'em open

and how mad it made you?

Yeah, the only
trouble with that is

when you performed the
same surgery over at your place,

the doors never did hang right.

They were binding
till the guy from A-1

came over and
replaced the hinges.

Well, that ain't gonna
happen this time.

And besides, it seems to me

that anytime a person does
something nice for another person,

without being asked,

then that other person ought to
show some small signs of gratitude

and not walk around
with a nose out of joint

first shot out of the box.

Dad, I'm sorry.

I'm really sorry.
It's just partly

this jury duty the
last couple of weeks.

I've had no cash flow,

I had to leave the
Collins case hanging fire...

You don't have to
worry about that thing.

The batteries leaked and
gummed the whole thing up.

How many times do I have
to tell you if you're going away,

take the batteries out of
the flashlights and radios?

Oh, swell! That's just swell!

Well, it don't matter anyways.

Mr. Collins called a
couple of days ago.

It was bad news, sonny. He
said he couldn't wait no longer.

He had to go with
another detective agency.

Well, Dad, if you had to fix
something, why didn't you fix that?

Well, now, it seems to me

that you're just a little too
teed off about your jury duties.

And frankly, it ain't too
pleasant to see neither.

It is your duty to accept your
responsibilities as a citizen,

and it is your
privilege to sit on a jury.

It's your God-given right!

Dad, I take it seriously.

I just wish I could say the
same about my 11 peers.

And since I'm getting
this civics lecture,

why don't we talk about
the last three elections

in which you didn't vote?

Well, the... The... The first
one I had the grip. Yes, sir!

And the second one, that was
the presidential election and...

Don't you remember
how it was raining

and my tires is bald?
You remember everything.

And then the third election...

Well, you wouldn't
want me to tell L.J. that

I couldn't come to his
birthday party, would you?

Hello?

I'm going back to work.

Oh, Mrs. Bassett,
Mr. Bassett, come in.

Just have a seat on
the couch, if you like.

Mr. Rockford, we're sorry
to barge in on you like this,

but we wanted to tell you

how grateful we
are for what you did.

You saved him from jail.

I think I just
postponed it a while.

Not if you'll help us.
You're a private investigator.

You know something, don't you?

You saw something that could
clear George once and for all?

I just couldn't go along with
second degree murder, that's all.

They should have tried
you for manslaughter.

See, I told you,
Fran. Let's go, huh?

Why wouldn't you
go along with it?

The rest of the jury did.

Well, Mrs. Bassett...

You're the only hope George has.

Oh, come on, Franny, huh?

Well, it's the truth, and you
might as well face up to it.

Mr. Rockford's our
only real hope now.

Can you tell us now

why you held out for not guilty?

Oh, mainly because you
swore that Betsy Pruitt's back

was turned to you. They
couldn't shake you from that.

Yeah, like I said, it
all happened so fast,

and yet it was kind
of in slow motion.

She just sort of floated in front of
my car and her back was turned.

Well, nine times out of ten,
people will turn to face danger.

It's a reflex action,
self-protective.

Are you saying
this was a set-up?

You went into the same bar
every night, The Ramp Bar.

You'd roll in there about 5:00,

you would chew
the fat till 8:00 or so,

by which time you were drunk,

and then you would
drive on home.

I mean, it's a schedule
you could set your watch by.

So maybe you could
have been set-up.

And maybe we can find someone
with a motive to kill Betsy Pruitt.

Hello. Can I help you?

Yeah, well, the
manager sent me up.

I was thinking about renting and

she said this unit was
gonna become available

as soon as some
estate is settled.

But, hey, if you're
interested, you were here first.

Oh, no, I was just leaving.

Oh, yeah?

I don't know, maybe you know

how the apartment
situation is in this town.

What with the price of houses
going up and everything.

Do you have any idea

what a two-bedroom and a den
goes for over on the West side?

Have you any idea how
completely full of it you are?

What?

You're Rockford.

Look, I managed to get to LA the
last day of George Bassett's trial,

and they pointed you out to
me after you hung the jury.

How could you?

Well, look, Miss...

Bonnie Pruitt is my name.

And how dare you
come around here

after letting that creep get
away with killing my sister?

Yeah, well, actually, he hasn't
gotten away with anything yet.

You better leave, or
I'm calling the cops.

Well, now, the fact is, miss,
there's a couple of things

about your sister's death
that just don't add up.

Now.

Look,

I think you ought
to take it easy.

I'm sorry we had
to meet like this.

I bet if you tried,

you'd have a very
attractive smile.

That's probably one of the most

original lines anyone's
ever used on me.

Well, it's true.

And there's something
else that's true,

is that there is something
strange about your sister's death.

I came over here looking
for some kind of lead.

Would you happen to know anyone

who would want to
do this to your sister?

No.

But then I haven't seen
Betsy in over five years.

We weren't very close.

Mom and Dad couldn't stand the
thought of going through her things,

so I flew out here to
take care of it for them.

And I am running
a little late, as usual.

Oh, yeah, where are you going?

Back to Tulsa. Tulsa, huh?

Did you sell Betsy's car?

No, the attorneys
must have handled it.

That receipt copy
was in her mail.

Oh.

Oh, my plane leaves in two
hours. I'd better call a cab.

Oh, no, I'll drive you. The
cabs are very expensive in LA.

That is if you can even get one.

Now, I would like to go over
and take a look at Betsy's car.

Kabalkov is over in Inglewood,
isn't that what it says?

Okay. Thanks.

Maybe I should
take a look at it, too,

and see if we got a fair price.

Jim.

Jim.

I've got a plane to catch.

Just a minute.

There's something
here I don't understand.

I found this pebble
lodged between

the valve and the tire
stem... And see this door?

This door latch is jammed
in an open position.

Well, couldn't that have
happened during the accident?

Well, yeah, it could have,

but you see this armrest here?

It's got kind of a...
Well, it looks like a burn,

where somebody had looped a rope

through it under pressure.

I really don't understand
what you're getting at.

Yeah, I'll show you.

Now, let's just assume that
I'm not barking at the moon

and somebody really
wanted to make it look like

your sister was killed
by a drunk driver,

how would I go about it, huh?

First, I would park the car

and I would get out,
help myself to a flat tire,

then I'd jam the
door latch open.

I'd put Betsy behind the wheel.

She's either
unconscious or just been...

Here, you get in. You be Betsy.

I've been trying not
to be Betsy all my life.

Now, I'm gonna need some rope...

Yeah, here.

Now I'd get in this side.

Now, close the door.

Oh, oh, yeah, all
right, we'll just have to

pretend that it is closed. Here.

Now loop this
through the armrest

and then give it back to me.

That's right. Now, if
that door were closed,

you'd be pinned right
up against it, right?

Yes. Jim, what about my plane?

Now, all right, it's only
gonna be a minute.

Now, you see, timing is crucial.

I'd be working on a...

On a radio cue,

or I'd have that mirror
in exactly that position.

Hey, I'm getting
into this thing.

Yeah, well, is detective
work always like this?

No, as a matter of fact,

it usually is not
anywhere near like this.

Usually, I'm just sitting
outside of somebody's house.

But every once in a
while, you get one of these

physical layout things.

You know, you kind of recharge
your battery. But anyway, anyway,

here comes George, right?
And just at the right time,

one of my cohorts
will pull his car

out from the curb,
making George swerve,

and that is my cue

to let go of the
end of the rope.

The door will fly open with the
weight of your body against it

as I shove you out.

Oh! I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Yeah, you know a powerful man,

especially if he used both
feet instead of his hand,

could push you three
feet high and four feet out.

George couldn't have missed.

Okay, let's go.

Listen, I have an idea.

Why don't you postpone
your trip back to Tulsa?

Why?

Well, you're Betsy's
sister. You knew her well.

A lot of useful information
might occur to you along the way.

No, I really couldn't.

But, I'll sure call you

if I do think of anything else.

Bye for now.

He walked in on me. I
had to run a game on him.

What does he know?

Well, he doesn't
know who or why,

but he's sure got how nailed.

Oh, terrific!

Was the apartment dirty?

Was it!

Betsy kept a diary
on the whole thing.

I'm just glad I got it
packed before he showed.

We gotta do something
about him, and fast.

What's his next move?

Well, he's going to talk to Betsy's
employers tomorrow morning.

Then he's going our way.

I'm afraid that you're
talking to the wrong Horvath.

Betsy was my
brother's secretary.

Let me just see
if he's available.

Arthur,

I wonder if you could come
in here for a moment, please?

Thanks a lot. I
really appreciate it.

The info on the policy app
only said Horvath and Horvath.

Yes, Martin.

Arthur, this is Gary Osheroff,

he's with Fidelity Mutual.

It seems that poor Betsy had a
policy which no one was aware of,

and he's got to ask a few
questions before they can pay off.

It's just routine.
Background stuff.

It won't take more
than five minutes.

All right.

Come this way, please?

Thank you very much.

Would you have a
seat here, Mr. Osheroff?

I'm afraid you're
going to have to excuse

the condition of this room.
I have not had a chance

to office-break
my new secretary.

And it's chaos around here.

Oh, that's perfectly all right.

A messy office is the
mark of a busy man.

My office looks just like it.

You know, Betsy's death
came as quite a shock to me.

I mean, that was a waste.

I still cannot
accept the fact that

that maniac escaped conviction,

all because of some
has-been gumshoe on the jury

trying to act like
Sherlock Holmes

and toot his own tin horn.

Yeah, well, he does
seem like a flake.

Yeah, but, you know, in the
course of my investigation,

I've uncovered a few things that

strongly suggest her death
wasn't what it appeared to be.

Really? What are you getting at?

I think she might
have been murdered.

You bet your life she
was, by a drunk driver!

And as soon as he's
convicted, I'll tell you something,

we are, on behalf of
the family, suing Bassett,

The Ramp Bar,
and that bartender.

Ah, you're going
to be very busy.

Yeah, but I don't think that
Bassett is completely responsible,

and if it wasn't an
accidental death,

my company's
position is going to be

somewhat modified, payment-wise.

You know, Mr. Osheroff, I was very
familiar with Betsy's financial affairs,

and I don't seem to recall any
policy issued by Fidelity Casual.

Well, it was a recent one. That's
the reason for our suspicions.

You know, at first we
suspected the beneficiary,

Betsy's sister, she
lives out of state.

That sounds like Rockford!

Betsy doesn't have a sister.

I think we better
pull this guy's drapes.

Medium height,
kind of reddish hair?

She has a very attractive
smile. She's very attractive.

Lives in Tulsa, name's Bonnie.

I'm afraid you have your wires
crossed, Betsy was from Michigan.

Excuse me just a minute.

Yes, Martin, what is it?

Rockford?

Oh, yeah, look, I
can explain this.

I don't know what your
game is, Mr. Rockford,

but I'm gonna report you to
the D.A. Now you get out of here!

Yeah, well that seems
like very sound legal advice.

Yeah.

All right, you better put that
thing down and get out of my car.

My name is Ed Chandler,
and I'm connected in this city,

all the way up to
the Mayor's office.

Well, you're about
to be connected to

some weights that are
going off Point Mugu.

Hey, you guys got the wrong man!

I'm a cop! Really,
I'm a deputy chief.

You're a fourth-rate PI.

Well, let me take
a shot in the dark.

Bonnie Pruitt told
you that, right?

Don't know any Bonnies. Get in.

Yeah, that's probably
not her real name anyway.

Any woman who
wouldn't stick around

to help clear her
own sister's death...

Divorce or no
divorce, I really have to

learn to listen to those
little voices I hear.

That's between you and them.

Personally, I don't even
know what you're talking about.

Yeah, well, either
she was in this car,

or you both wear the
same perfume, Mary.

Shut up!

One false move out of you
and I'll blow your head off.

Well, I'll tell you guys,

I guess I better level with you.

You know, I wouldn't
even be in this whole thing

if it wasn't for
this guy Bassett.

Hey, really, really, I did
some checking on this lush.

You're not going to believe
it, this guy is worth over

a million and a half bucks!

Yeah, he's like one of these
guys you read about in the paper.

You know, he lives in a little
hole-in-the-wall like a squirrel.

He's got all this money
and nobody knows it.

Well, you're not gonna
believe what I found out.

I guess I could share this
with somebody if really had to,

but you gotta
promise me one thing.

Look out!

Hey, you all right,
man? Check this ride out!

Hey, you got a driver's license?

Now, wait... Wait a minute!

Just... Hey, hey.
It's a little accident.

It was a big accident.

I didn't even have a chance
to get their license number.

I would have gone to the cops,
but I didn't have a whole lot of proof,

so as soon as I picked
up my car, I called you.

I figured you'd want to know.

Do you have any
idea who's behind it?

No, but whoever it is, is trying to
cover their tracks with a backhoe.

If they don't reopen
their investigation soon,

there's not gonna
be any evidence left.

I seriously doubt if it'll be
reopened, Mr. Rockford,

and the new trial's been
set for next Wednesday.

Can't you get a continuance?

I'll try.

But George Bassett was
voted example of the month,

and the D.A.'s office
is going for the throat.

I even feel a little
sorry for poor Norman.

Poor Norman?

The prosecutor.

It was supposed to be a lock,

and he's really been on
the carpet for blowing it.

I'm lucky you were on the jury.

Well, I'm not.

I mean, I've been on a
thousand complex cases,

but this one has just
too many slamming doors

and mean people!

I heard you were
in the building.

I also heard from Arthur
Horvath that you were

"on the case,"
whatever that means.

Seems self-explanatory.

How dare you hang a jury on me,

then turn around
and work the case?

Now, wait just a minute, Norman.

He has an interesting theory,

and I think you
should listen to it.

Rockford, I may not be able
to get you for jury tampering,

I may not be able to get
you for obstructing justice,

but I can get your PI ticket
pulled in 60 seconds flat!

Which is how long you
have to get out of the building

and off the case! Is that clear?

There, you see?

Another slamming door.

Hey!

Mr. Rockford! Wait up!

You're not dropping
the case, are you?

Well, I don't have much choice.

Either I lose my life
or I lose my license.

I'm sorry, Karen.
It just isn't worth it.

What isn't worth
it? George Bassett?

Oh, come on now,
don't put that on me.

I'm sorry. But you do think
he's innocent, don't you?

He's an unwitting accomplice.

Which makes him innocent.

Look, I'm a public defender,

and my caseload
includes a lot of people

that the system
is really ripping off.

And I was bugged
that I even got assigned

such a deserving loser
as George Bassett.

I mean, I really
believed he was guilty.

You put up a good defense.

No.

He got due process
and that's all.

Look, what I'm trying to say is,

I'd like to help you on this.
We could work together.

You could lose your job.

If I can lose my job for trying
to prove my client's innocence,

then it isn't worth much.

You could lose your life.

With you around?

I gotta tell you, Karen, I
am nowhere on this thing.

Will you stick with it?

You sure this is the place?

Yeah. 29, Cove Road.

Okay.

How's it handle?

Oh, no guts. Lousy front end.

The mechanic
really worked it over.

Perfect!

Now, let's go get good
old George Bassett

and put this thing on
ice once and for all.

I knew Mr. Rockford would
come through. Franny!

This lady works
for Mr. Rockford.

He's cracked the case. He wants
to see me at The Ramp right away!

Mr. Rockford didn't
have a secretary.

I'm not his secretary,
Mrs. Bassett.

I'm one of his operatives. He
sent me out to pick up your husband

so he can verify
his theory of time

relative to the distance ratio.

And I am running a little late.

What're we waiting for?

But you remember
what the judge said

when he granted bail.

Are you really sure you
ought to be going to a bar?

Franny, there's
nothing to worry about.

I've been on the wagon
a whole nine days now!

Come on.

Hey, watch it!
Get me out of here!

Jim, what is... Don't ask.

I'll tell you one thing, though,

if my dad wasn't such
a lousy handyman,

I'd have an
air-conditioned head.

Who is that? Oh,
it's one of the guys

that jumped me in the
underground garage.

Let's see if we can
get him inside. Help me.

Come on, Mary. Here we go.

I sure never thought I'd be
sitting in this place drinking coffee.

What do you think has
happened to Mr. Rockford?

Oh, he had to pick
up Mr. Noble first,

Mr. Rockford's chief operative,

and then they were
going to the D.A.'s office

to try and convince Wheeler

to come here for
the demonstration.

I sure owe that man a lot.

Mr. Rockford?

Is there a Bonnie in here?

Yes! Excuse me.

Here you go.

Hello.

Yeah, we've been
here ten minutes.

Look, I can't handle him
alone, now get over here!

He won't drink the coffee.
He wants another bourbon.

Okay.

Make it fast.

Double bourbon, please.

Oh, go a little easy on it,
honey. This isn't our first stop.

That was Mr. Rockford.

And?

He did it, Mr. Bassett.

He convinced the D.A. to
open a new investigation.

You mean I'm out of
it? I'm out of this mess?

You're on your way. Phew.

Oh, the D.A. said you'd have
to do a couple of weeks in detox.

Well, that's great 'cause
I'm not drinking anyway.

Well, I am!

I know what Mr. Rockford
went through to pull this off.

Yeah.

Believe me, it's a real triumph.

He and Mr. Noble will
be over in a few minutes,

and they'll explain
all the details.

But, as far as I'm concerned,

the celebration
starts right now.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I didn't think.

Oh, no, that's all right. It really
doesn't bother me. Honest.

Are you sure?

Yeah. I'm sure.

Let me out! Let me out!

Who killed Betsy Pruitt?

Let me out! I can't breathe!

Who killed Betsy Pruitt?

You know, Gene Krupa was always
a big idol of mine when I was a kid.

I'm pretty sure that I remember
some of those great licks.

I think Cherokee went
something like this.

Cut it out! Cut it out!

I swear I'll kill you!

And then there was Stompin'
At The Savoy, remember that?

I'm getting sick!
I'm gonna throw up!

Then who killed her?

Al Corbett.

All right.

Here we go.

Now, what was Betsy, the
lookout at The Off Ramp Bar, huh?

Do you want to wear
that thing again...

No, no, no, no! until your
memory comes back?

No, I was the lookout.

She drove the other car
that forced him to swerve.

She also did the research
to find the perfect drunk for it.

But it was Corbett who
planned it all. For Horvath.

Horvath, huh? What did he
have against his secretary?

No, no.

Not him.

We're working for the
older brother, Martin.

He keeps Corbett's
PI firm on retainer.

We do all kinds of
things for him, odd jobs...

All right, all right,
but what did Martin

have against Arthur's
secretary? And make it fast, huh?

I'm getting the urge to play
Big Noise from Winnetka.

She was having
an affair with Arthur.

Well, anyway,
the affair went sour

and she started
blackmailing him.

That's when Martin
called Corbett in

and they decided to kill her.

Now that's it!
Honest! That's all!

Why was she blackmailing Arthur?

I don't know! I
swear I don't know!

Corbett probably does.

Where's Corbett?

He's with George Bassett by now.

They're gonna take him to The
Ramp Bar, get him drunk and kill him.

I gotta get over there.

Oh, look, I hate to say this,

but that wasn't the most admissible
confession I've ever witnessed.

Confession? What confession?

I haven't confessed to anything!

You know how to handle a gun?

Point and shoot, right?

That's right. If he gets salty,

you get on the
phone, call the police.

They'll be here to pick this
turkey up in five minutes.

Are you sure this doesn't
bother you, Mr. Bassett?

Oh, yeah, I'm sure.

Well, I'll have one
little pull with you.

I mean, what would
that hurt, right?

Right.

No!

I'm sorry, it's
just I... I've...

I got a real problem with
this and I gotta face it.

I'm not gonna face it
right here, so I better leave.

Oh... Mr. Noble, what happened?

Where's Mr... We got
some real big trouble.

What do you mean trouble?
Where's Mr. Rockford?

We were jumped!
They know Rockford's

the only one who can
testify against them.

What've they done to him?
Said they were gonna take

him up to Decker's
Point, get rid of him.

Who did? We
better call the cops!

I did! They said
they'll roll a unit,

but I don't know
how long it'll take 'em.

There's a 40-car pileup
on the Foothill Freeway.

And they probably won't be able
to spring a unit for at least an hour.

Well, we gotta do something!

What?

Well, I'll tell you
the truth, pal.

I got a wife and a
couple of kids, you know?

Oh, sure.

I'll go myself.

No, you stay put, I'll go.

How many were there
and what are they driving?

Three or four in
a big, green car.

That's all I need to know.

You should have stopped him.

He's in no condition
to be driving.

But you heard him.

He's driving up
to Decker's Point.

You should have stopped him.

Has George Bassett
been in here today?

Who?

He was sitting over there with
a couple of people. Just left.

Do you know where they went?

Well, he was on
some kind of a toot,

driving up to Decker's Point.

Do you have a phone I can use?

Yeah, sure.

Um...

Come on, come on!

Hey, Dennis, this is Jim.

There's gonna be a
killing up at Decker's Point.

Now I want you to
call the nearest station

and get somebody up there as
soon as you can, and I mean soon!

I'll try to stall them
as long as I can.

Yeah, right.

Thanks, pal.

There he is.

We'll nail him when
he hits the crest.

There's a bottle in
the glove compartment.

He'll just be another
drunk in a canyon.

Okay, let's drop-kick this
deuce into the next canyon.

It didn't go over! - I know.

One more push ought to do it.

Let's go!

Easy, George. I'll help you.

Arthur Horvath got
so mad when he heard

Martin had his
girlfriend killed,

he hasn't stopped talking since.

Well, why was she
blackmailing Martin?

Martin handled the legal work

for a ring of
professional thieves.

When Betsy Pruitt
found out about it,

Martin called in Corbett for
a little preventive homicide.

Nice guys.

Oh, Mr. Rockford, before we go,

about your fee...

Oh, hey, hey, don't worry.

You'll pay me, I'll see to that,

but after you get your life
a little more reorganized.

Well, you saved my bacon,
mister, and I'm grateful.

Yeah, I know, George.

No, I mean it. I'm never gonna
touch another drop as long as I live.

One day at a time, huh?

Well, that's what they say at
the meetings. One day at a time.

You're a saint.

Thank you for all you've done.

George is very grateful.

Fran's right.

Well, we'll say goodbye,
and thanks for coming over.

Thank you. Good night, George.

My dad fixed the door.

Thanks again.

One day at a time, George.

Nice people, really.

Yeah, they are.

You know something,

I deal with juries all the time,

and a lot of jurors are really
vacant in the courtroom.

Well, they're thinking
about something else.

To find someone like you

who really takes
jury duty seriously,

it's a pretty rare thing.

Well, you know, it's a couple
of weeks out of your life.

It's no big deal.

When you think about it,

you know people's lives are being
decided down in that courtroom.

If I could tell you
the number of people

who try to weasel out of it...

Boy, you know, I
think that really stinks.

Hey, you know, I'm hungry.

I could go for dinner, a couple
of cocktails. How about you?

Well, thank you.

I think that would be very nice.

All right, all right.

Hey, do you like football?

I got a couple of tickets to
the UCLA game on Saturday.

Ah, my alma mater.

Actually, I hate football... Oh.

But it might be very nice also.

Oh, sonny! You're on.

Sonny! Oh, yeah, Dad.

Open the door.

Hey. Yeah, hey, come...
Oh, give me it. Give me that.

Come on in.

Oh, Dad, this is Karen Hathaway.

This is my dad,
Joseph Rockford. Hi.

Karen was the public defender
on George Bassett's case.

Oh, is that so?
They were nice folks.

I'm glad it turned
out okay for them.

Hey, what's with the toolbox?

Well, I was down at the
Do-Right Builder's supply

and I seen they
was having a sale

on these here smoke detectors.

Did you get the new hinges?

Oh, no, they didn't
have the right size.

You know, I was talking
to a salesman down there,

and he was telling me
how people are always

getting trapped by the flames.

Burned in their bed
or overcome by smoke.

So I got four of them.

These two are for you
and I got two for me.

Dad, I really don't want any
of these smoke detectors.

I mean, really, the
place is too small.

I'm gonna cook bacon over there,

they're both gonna go off.

Did Jim here ever tell you

how he almost
didn't sit on that jury?

No.

Oh, he was screaming
like a banshee.

He was telling about all the
important work he couldn't give up,

and, of course, there
was that fishing trip, too.

Dad, now there's
something I want to tell you.

Are you listening to me?
Can I get your attention?

I do not want any holes in
the ceiling. Do you hear me?

But Jim here, he tried to
get a note from his doctor

saying it would be bad for
his back sitting in a jury box.

An old war injury.

Yeah, well, I do have
a bad back from Korea.

I mean, there's nothing
strange about that.

Oh, how terribly awful for you.

'Course, when he did find out

that he was gonna have
to sit in the jury anyway,

you should have been
here to hear the yelling.

He was stomping around
and kicking the bureau and...

Yeah, Karen, you want to go?

The restaurant up the
highway is gonna be jammed.

Oh, do you really
think we should?

I mean, I'd hate to think
of your suffering in a booth

with your back
in that condition.

It don't bother him, really.

It don't bother him at all.

He got it falling out of the
back end of a truck in school.

That's how he got it.

'Course, what really
turned Jim around

was when I explained to him

how his very own
ancestors fought

and struggled for others
to have the right to vote.

Why, do you know
that Josiah Rockford,

that's Jim's great uncle,

he was even wounded in
the Spanish-American War

fighting for the
rights of others

to vote and sit on juries
and so forth like that?

Now, of course, if you
can't vote because...