Original subtitles

I want to, uh, file an assault

and battery complaint,

and I'll give you a tip on a kidnapping.

(security alarm ringing)

(sirens and brakes screeching)

I was told that you were very reliable.

Reliable... but chicken.

Would ya let go of my hand?

I think you're gonna break my fingers.

If our stock goes down two, three points,

it could cost the company in the neighborhood

of $10 million.

Did I catch over my limit, or what?

Uh, you're under arrest.

(phone ringing)

This is Jim Rockford.

At the tone, leave your name and message.

I'll get back to you.

(machine beeping)

Hey, Jimmy.

This here's Teeta Skerritt,

remember me?

From the Army.

I'm stuck here in town.

How about I come over and bunk with you, buddy?

I don't care whether that happens or not.

Listen, Morrie, you are up to your sweet tail

in stock options and fringes,

so don't give me a lot of bull

about what you can do or what you can't do.

You just get it done,

or I'm gonna cut off your water

and leave you swingin' in the breeze.

Okay, you do that, then you get back to me.

See the Center City Finance quotes?

Yeah, it's fallin' outta bed.

Down five-eighths.

We keep the pressure on and the rumors flyin',

we'll be able to pick up that thing for pocket change.

You seen Alec Morris around the last couple of days?

No, why?

Ah, Murray says he called in sick.

He's been acting funny, talkin' about resigning.

Maybe you better find him.

Why worry?

I expect he's okay.

Look, Stan, when I wanna argue,

I go home to Phyllis.

Find him.

I wanna take his blood pressure.

Okay, yeah.

I'll have him here tomorrow at 9:00 AM.

(knocking)

Are you Jim Rockford?

Uh, yeah, sorry, can't shake hands,

but I've been fixin' my garbage disposal--

been pawin' around down in there.

I...

Oh, w-well, may I come in?

It depends on what you want.

You buying, selling, or collecting?

I'm hoping I might arrange for your services.

Buying.

Come on in.

I, uh... I'm sorry, but I'm always

a little cautious about men

wearing pinstriped suits with briefcases.

Oh?

Yeah, I'm, uh, I'm a sucker for the encyclopedia.

In my lifetime,

I have bought three complete sets.

You're joking, of course.

Yeah.

Uh, you said you were interested in my service.

Well, I, um...

Are we alone, Mr. Rockford?

You're lookin' at the whole spread.

Well, if what I say sounds slightly bizarre,

I hope you'll, uh...

Uh...

Say, uh, you any good at fixing garbage disposals?

Huh?

Well, have you tried the reset button?

Yeah, yeah, nothin'.

Uh, come on over, you can kibitz

while I try to fix this thing.

Yeah, well, go ahead.

Well, I'm involved in something very dangerous,

Mr. Rockford, and I'm involved very deeply.

And what I need is somebody to act as a go-between,

a kind of... liaison agent

between me and several federal agencies.

It'll depend on several inquires

that I've made, and--

Don't do that.

What?

Well, put your hand in there like that

when the switch is on.

Oh.

Thanks.

Uh...

What'd you say you were involved in, Mr. uh...

I'd rather not tell you my name just yet.

Would you mind if I didn't?

Uh, look, it's your name.

You should be able to give it out or keep it as you like.

Would you hand me that broom, please?

Well, would you-- are you willing to act

in such a capacity, Mr. Rockford?

You said it was dangerous.

How dangerous?

I'm not certain.

Yeah, well, in all candor, if it's really dangerous, uh,

I don't think I'd be particularly interested.

I don't understand.

I was told that you were very reliable.

Reliable... but chicken.

Uh, would you flip the switch for me, please?

Look, uh, I don't mean to be glib,

but if you don't tell me what the trouble is,

I'm not gonna agree to help you.

It's as simple as that.

It's so bizarre, I don't think anybody

will believe me, and that's...

Well, that's part of the problem, you see.

(knocking)

Oh, that's, uh, that's my dad.

He said he'd come over and help me fix this thing.

He's the one that jammed it up.

Ooh!

Hey, fella, will you give me a little help here?

(knocking)

Hey, Jimmy?

Ya in there, son?

Hey, sonny, ya in there?

Here.

You okay?

What happened?

I don't know,

wait a minute, wait a minute.

Yeah, I'm all right, I'm all right.

Look, I told ya to stay away from that thing

till I got here, you're supposed to turn

the current off first!

Otherwise you'll get burned good and brown.

Oh, no.

Ya didn't get hit.

It was the disposal, wasn't it?

Yeah, yeah, it was the disposal, Rocky.

Gimme a hand, will ya?

You ain't on a case, right?

Right, I'm not on a case.

What ya lookin' for?

Guy in a pinstriped suit carryin' a briefcase.

Somebody hit ya.

All right, Rocky, just don't come down on me now, okay?

Aw, Jim, if you wasn't such a--

- Well, what are you doin'? - I'm callin' Doc Wheaton.

I don't wanna see Doc Wheaton.

Well, that's tough!

Look, I'm your father.

I got an interest in whether or not

your head is leakin' on the inside.

Now, you're gettin' so dumb,

I'm gonna have to take you out for walks

and hold your hand in the market!

Ugh, you're funny, Rocky, you're funny.

Not really.

All right, all right, you wanna be a dummy.

All right, go ahead.

But if I was you, I'd get myself a helmet,

and I'd sleep in it!

'Cause them head-smashers are startin' to line up

for turns at you!

Rocky, Rocky, I'm okay.

Really, I am.

Did ya try the reset button?

Yeah.

Did ya try the broom handle?

Yeah.

Are you gonna call the cops?

Oh, I don't think they'd wanna fix it for me.

That ain't really very funny.

Now, you get on that phone, and you call the cops,

and you tell 'em what happened!

Okay, I'll call 'em!

Lieutenant Becker, please.

(phone ringing)

Becker.

Yeah, Dennis, this is Jim.

Uh, you gonna be around for about an hour or so?

Yeah, what's up?

I want to, uh, file an assault

and battery complaint,

and I'll give you a tip on a kidnapping.

Who got beat up?

Who else?

Are you Mr. Rockford, the private detective?

Yes ma'am.

Uh, could I speak to you for a moment?

Well, sure.

Would you care to sit down?

Well, what is it?

Have you been working for a man named Alec Morris?

I don't think so.

He said if anything happened to him,

I should get in touch with Jim Rockford.

What does he look like?

Uh, he's six foot, he weighs 180 pounds, he--

Is his hair graying?

Then you do know where he is?

Well, he came to my place last night.

He didn't tell me what his name was

or what he wanted,

he just told me that he needed a go-between.

We never got too far into it,

'cause two men broke into my place,

and they knocked me out, grabbed him, and left.

Oh, no.

Well, who is he?

My husband.

Alec is my husband.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Morris, I didn't know.

He wouldn't talk about it.

But something in that company scared him.

Where does he work?

Fiscal Dynamics, Incorporated.

The conglomerate?

Alec is the head computer programmer for the company.

Will you help me find him?

Well, Mrs. Morris, it's an open police case,

and I don't work on open cases.

The police?

Well, how are they involved?

I didn't call them.

I did.

Alec told me not to call the police.

He was very firm about it.

Well, he was kidnapped and I was assaulted.

Now, when things like that happen,

the usual procedure is to go to the police and tell them.

But don't you see?

If Alec was kidnapped and the police are involved,

that might jeopardize his safety.

That's a myth.

Believe me, the police know how to handle these things

better than you and me.

What are you doing?

Well, last night when I made the report,

I didn't have your husband's name.

Now I'm gonna have to give it to 'em.

No.

No, please, don't.

Well, I don't have any choice, Mrs. Morris.

If I know something and I don't tell them,

that's withholding evidence,

which is a felony.

Hi, fellas, what's goin' on?

You James Rockford, the PI?

Hey, I'm not a private investigator today,

I'm a fisherman.

Yeah, it's pretty good fishin' today.

Too many for me-- you guys like fish,

I'll be glad to split 'em with ya.

Just keep your hands right there.

Hey, wha-what's goin' on, huh?

Did I catch over my limit, or what?

Uh, you're under arrest.

Anything you say can be held against you.

You have a right to an attorney.

If you can't afford one, one will be provided for you.

Damn.

What was that?

Ah, I'm just gettin' a little sick of this.

Works both ways.

Okay, you're waiving your right to your attorney.

Is that right?

I'm not waiving anything.

I just don't see any point in, uh,

running up a lot of lawyer's fees

till you know whether you're really in the omelet, right?

I found out about you...

...from CICD.

You know, guys with records should be careful

about playing games with the police department, Jimmy.

Oh, yeah, well, that makes sense.

And what kind of game was I playing, Danny?

I got a call on you.

I got a tip you're a wise guy.

So I figured we wouldn't waste time going through PD.

Since you're cold on this thing,

we'll just have a chat

and turn you over to the county.

You're beginning to violate my rights.

I have a report here signed by you

stating that a man named Alec Morris was kidnapped

while in your presence.

You, uh, acknowledge making this report?

Yeah.

Yeah, he was out at my place,

and a couple of guys came in, they knocked me down and out,

and towed him away.

And later, his wife came to me

and said he'd been afraid and, uh,

it all had something to do with Fiscal Dynamics.

That doesn't make a lot of sense, does it, huh?

I mean, the part about FDI?

Well, no, I gotta admit that that did bother me a little,

but that's what she said.

The police talked to Alec Morris.

He says that no such event ever took place.

That makes you guilty of making

a false police report.

You think that's funny or something?

I mean, you get your jollies wasting the time

of the police department?

I told ya what happened.

Look, you're in trouble, Rockford.

We don't think this is much of a joke.

As a matter of fact,

just to show you how unfunny we think it is,

we're gonna drop you in the county bucket

for six months.

Where'd you ever learn to be such a jerk?

Huh?

Getting worried, huh?

Well, maybe the guy who was taken out of my trailer

isn't the same guy that you talked to.

Did ya ever think of that?

Send in Mr. and Mrs. Morris.

Mr. Morris, Mrs. Morris.

What's going on, what's happening?

Do you recognize them?

Yeah.

What are you trying to do, Mr., uh...

Rockford's the name.

He knows my name.

I've never seen you before.

For the life of me, I can't understand

why you say that I have,

or that I was kidnapped.

How 'bout you?

I feel very sorry for you.

You must have a deep emotional problem.

I'm beginning to get one.

Thanks for coming by, Mr. and Mrs. Morris.

I'll have a car take you back to your house.

I don't know about you, Jimmy, but, uh...

I think you're... in the omelet.

I wanna talk to my attorney.

You get those papers over to me this afternoon.

Make sure your father cosigns that note.

Okay, Solly.

I think I'd better have the pink slip to your car

while I'm at it.

Will ya cut it out?

It's not like we never met before.

How many times I ever jumped one of your bonds?

Yeah, but you know the bail bond business, Jim.

It's cash and carry.

Listen, the only good risk is a hooker

with a big client list.

You skip out on this bond,

I'm comin' after you with a net.

And when you come over, bring the pink slip.

I never let my clients use Solly.

He's a bum.

I can't understand why you keep goin' back to him.

Keep going back to him?

You make it sound like I never get off

the police blotter.

I don't keep going back to him.

I've just... used him once or twice before, that's all.

Okay, Jim, we have a preliminary hearing

on the third.

Wear a tie.

Who are you?

Is Alec around?

How did you get in here?

Well, I took the elevator

from the lobby,

I, uh, walked down the corridor,

I opened the door, and came in.

Tricky, huh?

Look, you'd better leave.

They're pretty careful about unauthorized people.

Oh, well, ya see, I am Alec's sister's cousin

from Mineola, Washington.

Me and Harriett and the kids

were supposed to go to Disneyland

and Alec was supposed to pick up the tickets,

but I guess he forgot.

I'm double-parked downstairs with a station wagon

full of kids who are gonna feed me to the sharks

if I don't get back with six tickets.

If that qualifies me as a security threat,

you guys got a big problem.

Over there.

Thank you.

Hello, Alec.

How did you get in here?

I shot the doorman.

You got me in a lot of trouble, Alec.

I don't know what you're talkin' about.

Okay.

You wanna start that way, we'll start that way.

No, wait, wait.

You don't understand.

Okay.

We'll go to the bathroom.

Heh, little Jason can hardly wait to climb the Matterhorn.

And Julie, I swear I haven't seen her this happy

since she got her violin lessons last Christmas.

Men's room, 12th floor, come on.

- All right, in here. - I thought you said we were--

I lied to you, get in there.

All right, Alec.

Start explaining.

And you'd better make a lot of sense.

Do you know what it's like

to be terrified, Mr. Rockford?

No, I mean really, honestly terrified.

I don't sleep, and when I eat,

I throw it all up 20 minutes later.

I'm so scared, I don't know what I'm doing anymore,

so if you think you can scare me, you're plain outta luck

because you're just one man

and I'm not gonna tell you anything.

Well, what happened when you came down to my trailer?

You said you wanted me to act as a go-between.

Did I?

I don't remember.

I suppose you know what you're doing to me

with the police, Alec.

I'm sorry about that.

Your last chance, Alec.

You shouldn't hate me, Mr. Rockford.

You should pity me.

And check the bathroom.

Oh, uh, excuse me, I was looking for

Miss Garrity in steno, do you know where

I might find her?

No.

Who do you work for?

Uh, Steen Brothers Stationery Supplies.

Why, is something wrong?

Stu?

Fred?

Around here.

Why, here, I'll show you my business card.

Here, could you hold these just a minute, please?

Oh, he--he's on the seventh floor.

Head him off for the staircase.

Here, pal, come on, let me give you a little hand here.

(tires screeching)

(dog barking)

Well, don't tell me you're down to that.

No, I'm not lookin' for quarters.

I'm lookin' for my railroad watch.

Is that the one you took off,

uh, Mr. Sherman in that poker game?

You ain't seen it, have ya, sonny?

Well, you might check the garbage disposal.

Oh, you don't think that...

Hey, uh, Rocky, anybody call?

You know, come to think of it,

I had it right on this counter

a couple of days ago.

Did anybody call, Rocky?

Uh, oh, oh yeah-- it's on the pad,

some lady named Mrs. Parker.

Mrs. Parker, please.

This is Jim Rockford.

Mrs. Parker's in the garage,

you wanna follow me?

- Who are you? - I'm the maid.

Uniforms all at the cleaner's?

I'm also a good mechanic-- um, carburetion, mostly,

but I'm great at front end alignment and fine tuning.

(clanking)

Teresa, hand me the inch spanner, will ya?

Mr. Rockford's here.

Oh.

Mr. Rockford.

Excuse the way I look, I'm tryin' to get

this thing fixed before 5:00.

What happens at 5:00?

Turn into a pumpkin?

It gets picked up by my head mechanic

and trucked out to Riverside

for the weekend.

You finished cleaning the carburetor jet?

Uh, no, it's still in the wash,

but I'll get to it after class.

And by the way, I didn't get to the dishes either,

and the kitchen's beginning to look like

a Salvation Army reclamation center.

Well, let's not worry about it till later.

Go on to class, I'll see you when you get back.

She's really a maid, huh?

Well, she's a lot of things,

but mostly she's a college student,

tryin' to get her degree in chemical engineering.

Uh, you didn't say on the phone

why you wanted to talk to me.

I'd like you to see something first.

Well, that explains the guy with the camera.

I wonder why he ran.

Is it true what you claim, that two men took Alec Morris

out of your trailer?

Well, I hope you won't think I'm getting too cagey,

Mrs. Parker, but, uh...

I'm not sure I wanna discuss it with you.

Have they threatened you, or what?

Who?

The people from Fiscal Dynamics.

Why would they threaten me?

I'm just a cluck who goes around giving

false information to the police.

I believe everything in that article,

and I think Fiscal Dynamics is behind the whole thing.

Why?

Are you working on this case?

What, do you mean, do I have a client?

The answer's no.

No, I'm just trying to get out from under

this false charge.

I'd like to hire you to investigate

my husband's death.

Who was your husband?

My husband was Guy Parker.

Guy was killed in an automobile accident

on Mulholland Road about 18 months ago.

That used to be Guy's race car.

We--we used to team race it at the local tracks.

Guy was one of the best drivers in his class.

I just couldn't believe that he lost control

of his car on Mulholland.

He was just too good for that.

Yeah, well, how does it all fit in

with, uh, FDI and Alec Morris?

Well, my husband had the same job

with Fiscal Dynamics that Alec Morris has now.

See, I was always suspicious of that accident,

but I couldn't get anybody to help me.

The cops had it down as a traffic accident,

and they weren't about to call it murder.

I think he was murdered.

And I think it has something to do with that company.

Well, will you work for me?

You seem to be the only one willing to stand up

against that bunch.

Are you kiddin'?

I'm just lookin' for a hole to climb in

before they plow me under.

But you made the charge.

Yeah, well, that was before I knew what was goin' on.

I didn't even know about Fiscal Dynamics.

I'm afraid I don't understand.

- I thought that-- - Well, look,

I'm about to get dumped into the county jail.

Now, I'm not looking forward to spending

nine months of my life in a 20-foot-square room

being served creamed chipped beef on toast

because I was tryin' to be a good citizen

and report what I thought was a crime.

So I'm working on my own case.

Maybe it involves your husband's death, maybe not.

How much do you charge?

Well, $200 a day plus expenses.

I'll pay it.

I guess you don't understand.

I am not investigating your husband's death.

I am just trying to get loose of this indictment.

I think it all comes down to the same thing.

Look, all I want for my money

is for you to report back to me what you've learned.

How can that hurt?

You're working on it anyway, I'm offering to pay you.

You got a deal.

Yeah, uh, Mr. Rockford, I'm sorry we have to meet

on my lunch break, but I'm in final order

with one of my clients.

You said you were interested in hiring me.

Yeah, well, I, uh, I need a good financial analyst.

Now how much do you charge?

Uh, it depends on the work.

I charge $70 an hour.

Or, if you've got a good deal,

I might jump in for a percentage.

Seventy dollars an hour!

- Well, that's, uh-- - That's, uh, reasonable.

That's what it is.

I had a deal last week.

My client wanted to drop 60 grand into Dynatron.

It's a little conglomerate in Philadelphia.

I spent two hours, found out their float

in the stock was thin,

recommended against it, and it dropped three points.

I already saved my client $150,000,

and I charged them 150 bucks.

If I take my kids to Wonderland,

I can blow the same $150 in two hours.

I call that reasonable, what do you call it?

All right, what do you want me to do?

I want you to run a check on Fiscal Dynamics, Inc.

Uh, Jerry, give me one of those chili things,

with onions, huh?

You eating?

Uh, two of the chili things, only hold the onions on mine.

So you wanna drop your little bundle on FDI, huh?

Yeah, it's a good choice.

No, Mr. Love.

I wanna drop my little bundle on you.

I want you to tell me all you can tell me on FDI.

You haven't been on the street very much,

have you, Mr. Rockford?

Not a whole lot, no.

Well, I don't wanna seem offensive, Mr. Rockford,

but I don't work for just anybody.

I'm a securities analyst.

I screen my clients very carefully.

Because good clients are like good sailboats:

You invest your time in them

and you get to go for a nice little ride.

That's why I'm in the field.

You understand what I'm sayin'?

How many of your little sailboats

do you have floating around in the Fiscal Dynamics puddle?

Hardly a puddle.

It's one of the largest companies on the board.

Assets of over $2 billion.

Well, you see, I think that their head computer programmer

is being forced to do things against his will.

I think it's just possible that there's a whole lot

wrong with the company.

And I'm willing to pay you $70 an hour

to take a run through their financial statements

just to see what might be wrong.

You're the detective in the paper, aren't you?

Yeah, my secretary clipped it out and showed it to me.

Funny.

You got yourself hung out there, didn't you?

Look.

Mr. Rockford.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Fiscal Dynamics.

I don't have to research 'em for ya

because I have personally been through

their financial statement

at least 10 times.

I've spoken to Mr. Fielder

a dozen times.

All of this before I let one of my clients

invest in the stock.

That company is so healthy

it's disgusting.

I am giving you all this advice

for the price of a hot dog.

I gotta get back to work.

$6.36?

I hope everything's finished.

Yeah, I, uh, got it done...

last night...

after hours.

(cash register chiming)

How come you guys never look at the stuff?

Oh, we read it, Bovino.

It's just that we're in a hurry.

Mr. Gorrick?

One of you guys will owe me for the new presses.

I really needed 'em, but...

It seems like a lot of money to pay back.

Know what I mean?

What?

What is this?

Well, I gotta put so much of my profit to you guys

to cover the loan.

Then I gotta work overtime to--

for all that printing.

All I get is $700.

I think I should do better than that.

Under the circumstances.

I don't understand you, Carl.

If you have a problem, speak up.

Uh, you got the problem,

Mr. Gorrick.

Carl.

I don't like what I'm hearing.

Now you know we have your number.

We can call it in any time we want.

If you can't pay up within ten days,

I own this place.

I'm gonna make some phone calls, you know.

I figured out what all this printing is for.

I mean, it took me a while, but...

I know what's going on.

Carl.

You know why we have these things printed up.

It's part of the insurance broker's

sales kit.

Now, you go down to the street and you'll find

that every broker has this material.

You wanna call the insurance examiners

or the SEC or the police?

Well, you go right ahead.

You want the telephone numbers?

You call my secretary, she'll be happy to help you.

But I don't like being threatened

and I don't like being called a crook.

Oh, no, I--I guess, you know,

I was wr--I was wrong.

Well, that's okay, Carl.

Anyone can make a mistake.

The only unforgivable sin is stupidity.

Mr. Rockford?

Yeah?

I'm Ted Beaton.

I wonder if I might speak to you for just a moment?

Yeah, what is it?

Uh, Mr. Leon Fielder would like to have a chat with you.

Leon Fielder?

Fielder?

Yeah, he's the president and chief operating officer

of Fiscal Dynamics, Incorporated.

Never heard of him.

No?

Gee, he said it was very important that he see you.

He said he would, uh, make himself available to meet,

uh, wherever you want.

However, uh, if you could come down to FDI,

it would be a bit more convenient for Mr. Fielder.

What do you guys do?

Uh, John here is a marketing analyst.

I'm in products research.

Well, you can tell Mr. Fielder I'll call about, uh, 3:30?

Uh, could we convince you to come now?

Depends on how you wanna go about it.

Please come now?

Sorry.

Okay, 3:30 then, Mr. Rockford.

That'll be fine,

thank you very much, sir.

You know, I think you'll really enjoy

meeting Mr. Fielder.

He's quite an exceptional man.

Mr. Fielder will see you in a moment.

Mr. Rockford.

I'm Stan Gorrick.

Hi, Stan.

How's your head?

Mr. Fielder will see you now.

Sit down, Mr. Rockford.

If you're in the market and you want a tip,

buy Northeastern Life.

It's going to climb the ladder.

Well, the markets that I go to, uh,

sell things by the pound and wrap 'em in brown paper.

What are you up to, Mr. Rockford?

What's going on in your head?

Sir, it's Arnold Love.

What is it, Arnold?

Uh, Mr. Fielder, I thought I should let you know.

There's a guy saying some disquieting things about FDI.

Oh?

What's that?

Uh, he wanted me to look into your company.

He said there was something crooked going on.

It's absurd, of course, but this is really

the wrong time for rumors of any kind.

You got a point there.

Who is he?

The guy's named Jim Rockford.

That's the strange part, he's the same one who claimed

Alec Morris was kidnapped

from his office.

He seems very determined.

With the Northeastern merger coming,

we don't need any yahoos kicking the slats

out of the stock.

I figured you'd wanna know about it.

Maybe you can head this guy off.

Thanks, Arnold.

I'll look into it.

(dial tone droning)

Would you care to comment?

Well, yeah.

Uh...

Isn't it against the law to give out inside information

like that to guys like Love?

Technically, I guess you could say that.

But it's the sort of thing that, uh,

happens all the time.

My associates tell me that you've been here before.

That you tried to see Mr. Morris

and... you hit Mr. Gorrick here.

And then when some of our junior executives tried to...

help you, find out what you wanted,

you ran away.

Well, Mr. Rockford, now that I've met you,

I--I can't imagine you doing any of those things.

You had to be there.

Mr. Gorrick...

...wants to notify the police.

You see, it's a felony when you go around hitting people.

Now, I've convinced him not to do that.

I personally would rather hear from you

what you think is going on here.

Well, I think you're a company full of sweethearts,

and I wish you all the success in the world.

You see, Stan, I told you, this is our kinda guy.

That's all, Stan.

I like you, Rockford.

I just wanna tell you one other thing before you leave.

Yeah, would ya let go of my hand?

I think you're gonna break my fingers.

You see, you've gotta quit messing around

with Fiscal Dynamics.

And the reason you have to do that is very simple.

Will ya let go, please?

This company uses its stock to acquire other companies.

We trade stock.

If you spread rumors about FDI

and that causes our stock to go down--

Well, take this Northeastern acquisition, for instance.

If our stock goes down two, three points,

it could cost the company in the neighborhood

of $10 million.

Mr. Fielder...

if you don't let go of my hand...

I'm gonna have to take a shot at you.

Oh, I'm sorry.

You see, sometimes I forget how powerful I am.

Now look, Mr. Rockford.

You're gonna have to quit running around

and causing trouble.

'Cause if you don't quit spreading rumors about us,

I'm gonna have to get a hold of our lawyers.

And we're gonna have to institute

a stockholders' suit against you.

You know, you could be sued for the entire amount

that your rumors cost us.

Well, that could be millions.

Well, that sounds very dangerous.

You know, our stockholders are just people like you.

All kinds of people.

They're widows, they're plumbers,

school teachers.

Now, when you hurt us, you hurt them.

And what I am interested in doing, Mr. Rockford,

is protecting their interest.

Do you understand that?

Well, I really had no idea it was that sensitive.

I really didn't.

You mean to tell me that I can--

I can ask a few silly questions

and this great big company could lose $10 million?

Investors are very cautious.

It doesn't take much.

Right now we're in the middle

of a big acquisition.

Don't mess with us, Mr. Rockford...

...unless you want a pile of trouble.

Well, you've--you've really made your point, Mr. Fielder.

You can bet from here on, I'll stay out of your way.

Oh, and say, uh...

Would you, uh, apologize to Mr. Gorrick for me?

Now that I've met him, he seems like a very nice man.

Would you let go of my hand?

This is very childish.

W-what?

Oh...

It is, isn't it?

Can I expect no further trouble

from you, Mr. Rockford?

No further trouble.

That's good, 'cause if there is,

I'm simply going to start legal proceedings against you.

What is it?

- What do you want? - We gotta talk to you.

About what?

Some printing.

We need some printing done.

Well, come back in the morning.

I'm closed, I gotta go home.

No, we gotta talk now.

Right now?

That's right, Mr. Bovino.

Right now.

Agh!

(clattering)

(security alarm ringing)

You can't quit!

Well, they didn't threaten to sue you for $10 million.

Lemme tell ya something.

If I'm going to be your agent in this investigation,

well, they're gonna find out about it,

they're bound to.

And then they're gonna name you in the lawsuit,

and they're gonna take your little red racer

down the drain along with my father's truck,

not to mention everything else we own.

I don't care.

They killed my husband.

Well, I wouldn't doubt it for a minute.

But what am I supposed to do?

I don't have any more leads to follow.

Oh, yes you do.

That's why I asked you to come over.

His name is Carl Bovino.

So?

Well, when I first read that article,

the name rang a bell, but I could quite place it.

My husband told me that Mr. Bovino was a printer

who had been contracted out

by FDI to do the annual report.

Guy thought it was strange that they use

a little printer like Bovino

instead of one of the big printing companies

that usually do annual reports.

Well, it says here his shop was burglarized,

he was working late, surprised the thieves,

and was shot.

It just could've happened that way.

What is it with you?

Do you want to go to jail for false

reporting of a crime?

I mean, I don't understand.

This may be a big break.

Look, I had a talk with my lawyer.

Now, she says if I'm a good boy

and I don't write on the walls,

I might get outta this thing in about four months.

And I figure that's four months well spent

if it keeps me from being sued for $10 million.

You're turning into a big disappointment for me.

Don't you ever think about anybody but yourself?

No.

Well, yeah-- sometimes at Christmas.

All right, all right.

I--I do know a guy down in the police department

and I'll talk to him about this printer.

I'll find out what the cops know.

They're just gonna tell you it was a robbery.

You've got to get in to take a look at his files.

Oh, absolutely out of the question.

But don't you see?

He must've kept records of his work for FDI.

You've gotta see what kind of printing

he was doing for them.

Hey, I'll tell you what.

I'll tell you what, why don't you break into Bovino's shop

and look around, and I'll go out to Riverside

this weekend and drive your little red racer?

But I'll compromise.

I'll go with you if you want.

I'm not afraid to break in there.

- What I meant was-- - Chicken?

Well, yeah!

Yeah, kinda.

It's, uh... sorta scary, isn't it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Uh, look.

Maybe you should talk to your friend on the police force.

You were right about that.

We should talk to him first, and then maybe we wouldn't

have to break in here at all.

You're really turning into a big disappointment

for me, Doris.

In your living room, you sounded so confident.

Okay... okay.

Now, you're gonna be the wheelman on this caper,

so get out and get behind the wheel.

(ignition buzzing)

Get out.

Now, if the police arrive and you take off without me,

I'll come after you and I'll strangle you.

I won't leave you.

Besides, why would the cops come?

The burglar alarm, I'm gonna have to dismantle it.

You, uh, you pretty good at that?

I don't know.

I've never done it before.

(security alarm ringing)

(sirens wailing)