Original subtitles

Here we are. Except Brian.

Hello? Did you get my message?

All right, here's what I want you to do.

Yes, slowly, please, so I can write it down.

Yes.

Yes, I understand.

Yes, I have that.

Please.

Is she all right?

The kid's okay, I told you.

Well, come here, will you?

That's your mother.

Mama!

Oh, Leslie, darling, don't cry.

Listen, my... Oh, please let me talk to her again. Listen, she's not well. She's

under a doctor's... Did you recognize the voice?

Honey, did you recognize the voice?

What did they say?

He wants money.

How much money?

He wouldn't even let me talk to her.

Oh, you called? No.

We can't do this alone.

He said he'd kill her if we called the police.

We can get help.

Well, I come.

What do you want to do with yourself?

All right, could you get that, please?

Hindsight? Of course.

Just a minute.

Chief?

Hello?

Hello, Bob. This is Barbara.

You take my little girl.

I need you, Pop.

Is that who I think it is?

Nobody's thinking.

Are you, really?

I guess not.

After all this time, to open it up all over again.

And in such a horrible way.

See?

Thank you.

Mark brought along some of Aunt Ruby's blueberry muffins.

She's found a new recipe.

And she told Mark that she would not be satisfied.

Unless we gave her our final culinary critique.

They're delicious.

I think they're just exactly the way you like them.

No, I... I don't know why... What does that mean?

Barbara Jones is a name that was given to me a little over a year ago.

Before then, I don't know who I was. Chief?

Chief?

Are you all right?

Yes, thank you.

Maybe it's like something stronger.

Pilot gave me the keys to the liquor cabinet.

No, thanks, Eve.

Oh, well, I was in a panic at first.

But that passes.

There's nothing really an amnesia victim can do but just wait.

It's sort of like being an orphan child in an institution. You just sit and

hope and pray that someday somebody will come along and say, you belong to me.

Bob, please try to understand what I'm going to say.

I want you to drop the case.

That's impossible.

Someone's trying to kill you.

We have to find out who it is.

I don't want to know who it is. I just want to see you and be with you and not

have anything spoil it.

Yeah.

Uh -huh.

Send him in.

Your husband.

I may come looking for you someday.

Will you be there?

Chief Ironside.

Uh -oh, Dick.

Barbara's home in case there's another call.

How's she taking it?

Well, she's not falling apart, but she's close to it.

Oh, the station wagon is out front.

Thank you.

We'll take the luggage out.

I'm glad you came.

You didn't send them away to say that.

You're right.

Under normal circumstances, you'd be the last man on earth I'd want to see.

Well, these aren't normal circumstances, and we have more important things to

talk about.

What's the sheriff done so far?

We haven't called the sheriff. You haven't called him?

You might as well know the whole truth.

If Barbara had let me call the sheriff, I wouldn't have let her call you.

I'd put you in the caretaker's cottage.

You'll be quite comfortable there.

I'm glad you came, Bob.

Please come inside.

I was like they kidnapped.

Late yesterday, around six o 'clock.

Why didn't you call the sheriff?

Well, I didn't know. Not until I got the note telling me not to call.

Then you weren't here when it happened.

No, I was shopping in town.

Josh found me.

Who was with the girls?

Frida. She's sort of a live -in babysitter.

How much did they ask for?

$200 ,000.

Well, before we do anything else, we'll have to notify the local authorities and

the FBI.

No!

They said we'd never see Ledley alive again. And you're going to do everything

they say, pay the money and hope for the best?

Yes. Then why call me?

Well, so we won't do anything wrong and get them upset and panic them. You're

the one who's panicking.

And they're depending on that.

No.

Barbara, there's only one way to deal with kidnappers. You go along with them,

tell them you'll pay the money, make all the arrangements and at the same time

make every effort to find out who they are and where the child is.

Now, that takes manpower, and manpower we don't have.

Mom, please.

Please.

Barbara, the last thing I want to do is to hurt you.

but I'm a police officer with knowledge of a crime, and I have to report that

crime. If you want me to leave after... I suppose you'll do what you think is

best. Whatever I say.

Get me the sheriff's office.

There's some food.

And there's aspirin in there. Take him.

What are you doing here? It's broad daylight.

I brought the stuff you wanted and I had to tell you.

Tell me what?

There's people at the ranch from San Francisco.

Police.

You sure?

Just got the call.

Then what are we going to do?

Well, the first thing you do is get back to town before somebody knows you're

missing. Yeah, but that ain't going... The second thing is just settle down.

Settle down, huh?

As long as we're getting such reliable information from the ranch, then we know

every move they're going to make, don't we?

Yeah. So we don't have nothing to worry about, right?

Okay.

Go on, get back to town.

Wait a minute.

Go on.

I'll be here tonight.

A kidnapping.

Right out here in the boondocks.

I can't get over it.

You've been jumping around like a bullfrog ever since I got off that

Almost act like you're happy about it.

Well, shoot, I'm sorry it happened to one of our people, but long as it did,

I'm... Well, you're off a pretty big job, and I consider it like an

Opportunity? Something like this happened in my own backyard, and I'm at

state capitol.

Now the FBI and that San Francisco cop's got a running start on me.

Why didn't you get a hold of me anyhow?

Well, I tried to.

How was I supposed to know you were out at that motel?

Oh, come on.

Look, you solved this in your assent with the head of state highway patrol.

Well, that might be stretching it a bit.

I reckon it wouldn't hurt me none if I did solve it.

You will.

I don't mind telling anybody my Uncle Bud's the best law officer there is.

I always thought you said that just because I got you your job.

First I knew about it, well, Frida came running into my kitchen and screeching

her head off.

But however I knew it was going to happen.

Bad money. Why do you say bad money?

Hainted.

Her uncles wheezed the money out of all the people around here, and finally he

was killed for it.

Now Mrs. Richards got it. Before Frida came in, did you hear any cars pass by

the highway?

Cars?

No. If anything evil passed by here, I'd sure know it. You know my vibrations.

Vibrations.

It's like real material.

What work do you do on the ranch, Josh?

When things get sick, I fix them.

Stick? I'm going to stop working and die.

Handyman or doctor?

No, freely.

No one's blaming you for anything.

I'm blaming myself.

If I hadn't been walking around daydreaming.

Leslie was in bed with a temperature, and I thought she was safe.

Then Tracy came running down and said that her sister was gone.

And that's when you went upstairs and found the open window?

Yes, sir.

Oh, hi, Sheriff.

Hello, Freda.

Sheriff. Good to see you again, Chief Ironside.

I could wish it had been under better circumstances. Now, just give me a

and I'll bring you up to date. Now, Freda, where did you find that note?

On Leslie's pillow.

All right, thank you. That'll be all.

You've been a great help.

There's a lot away from San Francisco.

It's an important case for him. He and the girl's mother are old friends.

Oh? Yeah, she had amnesia. He helped her, brought her back to her family.

Well, there's more to it than that, isn't there?

A crystal ball, standard FBI equipment.

I just have a habit of reading between the lines.

You just read the fine print, man.

He's trying to save some time by getting all the statements you'll need.

Oh, this is Mr. Torrance from the FBI.

Sir, it's nice to meet you. Glad to know you. I tapped into the telephones to

intercept and record any telephone calls from possible kidnappers.

Also, my men are circulating through town, questioning possible strangers.

You people sure don't let the dust settle, do you?

I'm sure you'd agree that all speed is necessary.

Eve, collect all the notes we've made. Have them typed with duplicates for the

sheriff, would you please?

Right, sir. I'm soon taking my own statements.

You know, I'm rather close to these folks.

Of course, but we couldn't wait and you were out of town.

Yeah, well, I guess I'd better talk to Mr. and Ms. Richards. Ms. Richards is

resting. Mr. Richards is with his younger daughter.

I think I'll send her to the Washington lab or something. We got our own photo

lab here. We'll take care of that.

Of course.

Sheriff, would you like to see the room she was taken from?

Yeah, I suppose I better.

Come on, baby.

Well, it's a beginning.

Any of you find out anything startling?

I don't know if it's startling, but it is surprising.

All right, surprise me.

Josh, as soon as the child was missed, he grabbed a car and went into town

looking for Barbara. She told us that.

Did she tell you why he went looking for her instead of Vic?

No, she didn't.

Vic hasn't lived in this house for the past month.

Did Josh say why?

Trial separation.

Did you?

Did you tell?

Only that I heard you scream and came running.

I told Mr.

Ironside that I was daydreaming.

Did he believe you?

But, Josh, it's not right.

I mean lying to them.

Maybe if I told the truth, it'd help get Leslie back.

Come on.

That you were with me instead of in the house?

How can that help?

Yes, it's very important.

Yes, I see.

Much important.

Yes, Mrs. Besson.

Yes, it's very important.

I'm sorry that we have to keep you checking every few minutes.

But it's much important that you have an operator on duty at all times.

Yes, I see.

Well, thank you very much for your cooperation.

Fine. Thank you.

Goodbye.

I thought you were resting.

Now? When that man might call any minute?

Bob, isn't there something else?

Is it all we can do, just wait?

For the time being.

I'm sorry I'm being so difficult.

I suppose I'm not helping much.

You've been under a lot of tension, I understand.

You have to forgive me.

There's nothing to forgive.

Well, I call you for help.

You drop everything you're doing. Heaven knows what it does to your personal

life. You rush here to help and I turn on you.

That shouldn't happen to people who...

She

needs to lie down for a while.

I'm too restless, Vic. I'll be all right.

It's getting cold.

Do you want me to get you a sweater? No, I'll go in.

I don't think I ever really said thank you.

I've done nothing.

Just a minute.

Eve? They're ready with the chase.

Ed? All set.

Yes. You know who this is?

Yes, I recognize your voice.

What about the money?

We have it.

Good. I'll get a pencil.

Yeah, a pencil, yes.

Yes, all right.

All right.

Yes. Drop the money off the road.

One mile south of the junction of Route 30 and Route 81.

Exactly one mile here.

Yes, one mile.

Yeah, and come along.

Not with any of those screws you got over at your house.

We're watching you.

You make one wrong move, and you can forget about your kid.

They pay?

They'll pay.

Good. I better get back. What's your rush?

Nobody's going to be looking for you this time of the night.

Got a cigarette?

How's the kid?

Sleeping.

I think she's still got that fever.

Well, give her some of that aspirin.

What she needs is a doctor.

She'll get one soon enough.

We'll bet if we don't get that kid back all right.

You know you're like an old lady, I swear.

Whatever happened to you? In the old days, you had plenty of guts.

You know what you need?

You need a drink.

No.

I ain't had a drink in ten years now.

Not since that night at the bar, huh?

If only I hadn't been so drunk.

42 cents worth of change. That bum called me a liar and a thief. You know I

never stole anything in my life.

But you didn't have to beat him to death. Who held him? Who held him?

You know, if I'd opened my mouth and told that to the police, you'd be in

stinking prison with me.

All right, what do you want from me? You said you wanted me to help. I'm helping

you. That don't mean I have to like it, do I?

You think I like it? You think I like sneaking in the middle of the night in

town? You think I like swiping the kids from our folks?

You think that's how I get my kicks?

Well, then why are you?

Because I spent ten years cooped up like an animal.

Because I'm no kid anymore.

Because I want a bundle of kids so I can live the rest of my life with style.

Well, what do you know?

You never got out of those hills.

Go on back to your crummy job.

And keep in touch with the ranch.

I don't want you missing if there's a message.

Why, get out of here!

Screw's good over at your house.

We're watching you.

You make one wrong move, and you can forget about your kid.

Well, when I have at least one thing, you serve time, use the word screw for

belief. Then you ought to have him on file.

Oh, we must have.

If we can get a print on him, we'll have him identified within an hour.

How you doing?

This is good.

I'm getting a good signal.

Well, you should. You're right on top of it.

It's covered. How's it now?

Still good.

I thought you had to have two of them direction finders to make them work, you

know, to intersect.

Not anymore.

This will tell us which direction and exactly how far away it is. All we have

do is to follow it.

I'll be doggone. You know, any week now we'll all be replaced by computers.

Haven't you ever heard of human computers?

All right, Ed, you can load up the suitcase as soon as Mark glues the

back. Then don't let it out of your sight.

Don't worry.

Chief, the helicopter's due at the airport in about half an hour.

Be ready in a minute.

Helicopter? What do you need a helicopter for?

We want to look at the drop area.

Well, shoot, I could have showed you that.

You'll have a better chance of going unnoticed this way, don't you think?

Well, I suppose.

We'll be back in a couple of hours.

Well, I got a mess of work to do myself.

I'll be seeing you people.

Page brushed again, huh? What are you talking about? You're letting them walk

all over you. You're about as needed here as a fifth wheel.

Oh, come off it, kid.

That's the FBI in there and San Francisco's top detective.

Yeah, and you're the sheriff here.

Look, they've handled more kidnappings than you've handled drunks.

Well, they've got all kinds of equipment going for them.

Well, what do you expect me to do anyhow?

Something.

How's it going to look? I mean, a sheriff just standing around while they

off all the credit.

You think that's going to help you get the new job?

Don't you go up throwing that job at me, boy. Get in this car and drive.

Okay, fine.

Forget it. You let them do it all and you won't have to worry about heading up

to highway patrol. You won't even be re -elected sheriff.

Josh, fill it up. It should take about ten gallons.

Got you.

Hi. Hi, Carl.

We'd better get our shopping done.

You coming with me?

Uh, yeah, in a minute. I want to get a cold drink.

Josh, I thought we were going to see each other last night.

I stayed in my room.

Josh, don't close me out.

Would you like a cold drink, honey?

Yeah, I'd love one.

It's nice and cold.

Thanks.

I'm sorry. Believe me, I don't want to.

It's funny. Every time I get close to something that I run, every time I

myself I wouldn't, I drop an anchor. Then do it. But you don't understand.

Oh, look.

I'm going to have to tell you eventually.

Tell me what?

Before I came here and before we knew each other.

I got in trouble.

A felony arrest and a conviction.

That Ironside, the policeman.

He's going to find out about it, then what?

Don't you see?

He's going to tie it in with the kidnapping.

But if you run away, it'll look worse.

That's why I'm still here.

Josh, there's no reason for you to run.

You didn't do anything wrong.

Did you?

No. Then stay.

Stay for me.

Hey, Josh, how's everything under the hood? Everything's all right, Carl.

All the doggies went into the house and had a big meeting.

But they had to leave their tails outside.

And why did they have to do that?

Because that was the polite thing to do.

Of course it was.

And all of a sudden, somebody yelled out, Fire!

And all the little dogs ran out of the house.

And they took the first tail they could find.

And that's why... What? And that's why doggies always sniff tails.

Because they're looking for their own.

Who in the world ever told you that?

When is he coming back?

Soon, dear.

How come I didn't get to go with her?

Do you always go everywhere with your sister?

No, she's older.

When will I be older?

Soon enough, my dear.

Tracy. Yes? Tracy.

Time for supper.

I want to eat with Uncle Robert.

You better run along now. We're going to eat later.

When am I going to get to eat later?

Oh, come on, Tracy. I'll go back with you.

There you are.

Here.

You open the gate for me.

Well, we've been over it and over it. Thank you very much.

Will he be at our checkpoint?

He's outside right now waiting for us to go with him. I wish we had a clearer

idea.

Molly's waiting for you.

Thank you for coming back with me, Uncle Robert.

My pleasure.

Now get along.

Mike, packed and ready to go.

Transmitter? I double -checked. Tiles found in no unidentified prints in the

bedroom or on the window. And no strangers reported in the area did end

Better luck tonight.

Barbara, I want to talk about the trial separation.

All the time I lived at the motel, I kept asking myself, who's on trial? Me?

marriage? The separation?

Please, Vic, now is not the time to discuss. It really is. Here we are, the

of us, in a crisis situation.

It should bring us closer together. But it didn't. All because you saw him

again.

I don't know how to answer that.

There is no answer, not now.

We've got to get Leslie back and try and put our lives in order.

Barbara, I love you.

You can't remember how much I've always loved you since we grew up together.

But if we're to go on together, I've got to be a husband, not a custodian.

Find her.

Interstate trucker.

Nevada plate.

Does he look like he's slowing down?

No.

Anything from Torrance?

Not a peep.

How long till dawn?

Oh, maybe half an hour or so.

Looks like there's something else coming.

Red pickup truck, same as before.

That makes four passes.

He's slowing down.

Looks like we struck pay dirt.

Maybe.

He's stopped. He's looking around.

Hey, we ought to be moving in.

That's not the idea, deputy.

Now he's backing up.

Now he's taking off again.

He's seen something. He's scared off.

Nothing he could see.

That many passes and then stopping. Aren't you going to do something?

Nothing for us to do yet.

You got jurisdiction here. Are you just going to stand here while that man gets

away?

No. Let's pick him up.

Are you insane?

We're supposed to follow him back to where he has the girl.

We can't follow him unless he picks up the money.

Get in the car, Dave.

Mark? Dad?

You can't stop in here.

What's wrong with you fellas?

Huh?

Hey, what's the matter? I've never seen him before. You know him, baby? No, I

don't. What's the matter? Do you guess we ought to be driving around at night?

What was you driving for?

The first time for strawberries, the second time for orange juice, and the

time I was for pickles.

Right now I'm looking for a dog.

Boy, that's a crock if I ever heard one. Ain't no crock.

It's our first baby.

I just go get what my wife wants.

Right now, she wants that hound dog. Yeah, well, we can check that out for

In case you're not tuned to the police frequency, Sheriff, there's a missing

persons report.

Seems a hysterical lady says her dog and her husband are missing in a red

pickup.

I'm sorry, fellas.

Come on, fellas.

Don't be a kiddy. Sit down.

when the sheriff's department can't help a citizen stuck on the road.

I begged you not to call the sheriff.

No way I could stop him. It doesn't repair the damage, but I am sorry.

You were so sure you were right. Why couldn't you have done it my way?

I was right. I made the right move, but it was with the wrong man.

Our fine sheriff.

I wonder what he's planning next.

Offering the man a plane ticket out of town?

I don't know what his plans are. At this point, I'm not interested.

What does that mean?

It means when you're near a glass in the road, you don't go barefooted.

Now, I'm proceeding without the sheriff.

I thought you couldn't. I thought it was his jurisdiction.

Barbara, I'll find a way.

You... You and the children are what's important now.

Not a squabble with local authorities.

I don't care. I just played it the way I saw it. Then you must be blind.

Evening, Ms. Richards.

Well, I guess I know what you're all thinking.

That I messed it up.

Well, maybe I did and maybe I didn't.

Why couldn't you stay out of it like everybody else? The transmitter would

led you right to the place they're holding lightly.

Well, I'm not too sure about that.

You know, we got a lot of mountains and canyons and passes up here.

Sometimes our TV signal gets mixed up.

That's why we're on a cable.

Now, the same thing could have happened to that transmitter.

I just thought it all over and decided to take a chance rather than let that

get away.

When did you think it over, Sheriff? In the last half hour when you knew you'd

have to justify what you did?

Hey, man, you can't talk here like that. Mr.

Ironside, maybe we don't operate up here the same way you do down in San

Francisco. But this is still my county, and I'm going to run it the way I see

fit. From here on out, I'm taking over.

We don't have to cooperate with you, Sheriff.

No, that's true, you don't.

But I'm going to try to get your child back whether you cooperate with me or

not. If I have to, I'll have this house watched so close that you won't be able

to move from one room to the other without me knowing about it.

And I'll get a court order and have your telephone tapped, too.

Now, you don't want to put me to all that trouble, do you?

Am I still welcome around here?

Of course he's welcome.

Isn't he, Barbara?

Of course.

Good.

Davey, do you think you can operate this tape machine?

With one hand.

We'll just use both of them.

Where's Torrance? Torrance said he'd rather do his job than stand around and

argue over jurisdiction.

That's my sentiment exactly.

I hope you feel the same way.

Well, now the way I see it, this kidnapper's going to lay low the rest of

night. So we'll be back here bright and early tomorrow morning and be ready for

him. Come on, baby, let's go.

You said you were going to go ahead without the sheriff.

Yes.

But why make waves until there's something to go ahead with?

You mean you're stalled?

Well, there's still the routine procedures, but the kidnapper himself is

best bet.

Unless we frightened him off for good.

You got a minute to talk, Chief?

Why not?

Well, there's something I'd like to tell you about.

Go ahead.

It's not easy.

Well, sit down, make it easy.

Well, I've done it. Coast for a while and, uh, well, you know how things are

back there.

I mean, uh, I was busted.

Los Angeles a little over three years ago.

Marijuana, possession and use. Pleaded guilty and pulled six months as a first

offender at the sheriff's on our farm.

Neither a model prisoner nor a bad one.

You know. Of course we know.

You think we'd let you wander around here without checking you out? Well, how

come you never said anything? Why should I?

You paid your dues.

You stayed clean.

You know what I thought?

I thought I'd be a number one suspect.

Look, Josh.

Everyone in this whole house is a number one suspect.

Not because they have a record.

Just because they're here.

I'm here, Ben.

Been waiting for you. My vibrations told me you was coming.

Did your vibrations tell you there's someone outside watching?

Why wasn't I warned?

I wasn't worth a hundred yards of money when suddenly the police and the sirens

and everything started butting loose. You couldn't, Ben, aren't you?

You couldn't or you wouldn't.

Why do you think I had Carl sit at the filling station all day? He was waiting

to hear from you. I was at the ranch. I was listening in on all the phones. I

couldn't call Carl. By the time I got home, he was gone.

Perfect set -up.

You and that lame -brained brother are ruining it for me.

Ben.

Let her go.

There's too many of them. The FBI, the police.

Please, Ben.

That's what you want, isn't it, old sweetheart?

Me to go back where I came from and leave you alone, huh?

Yes, Ben.

You've been playing the respectable lady for so long, you'd just die if they

knew you had a husband.

You're not my husband. Oh, pardon me, your common -law husband.

That's better, huh?

Ben. And a jailbird to boot.

Please, Ben.

And what about our kid? How about that? Ben, his new folks are good to him. It's

been ten years. Please, Ben, leave him alone.

You know, you've been living a lie for ten years. Nobody caught up with you.

Maybe I'll just do something about that.

Ben.

I'll do what you say.

That's my girl.

That's my old Molly.

Now, let me see.

Look, I'm going to give you a note to give her. You tell her you found out a

to work.

You tell her to fix those phones so that nobody else can hear.

How's she going to do that?

She loves that kid of hers.

She'll find a way.

Do you want to know how Sherlock Holmes finally defeated Arch -Nemesis Moriarty

by cheating death?

So does Dr.

Watson. And we'll find out at 10 .35 after Goodnight Sweetheart, next.