All language subtitles for Rockford Files s02e20 Where s Houston.eng

Somebody kidnapped Houston.

PETER: It's my granddaughter.

He had about $8
in pennies in a piggy bank,

exactly $13.42
in a passbook account,

and this is a guy
somebody hit for ransom?

If he was broke,
he sure put on a good act.

Don't make me resort
to primitive methods of persuasion.

Stuff it.

(PHONE RINGING)

ROCKFORD:
(ON ANSWERING MACHINE) This is Jim Rockford.

At the tone, leave your name
and message.

I'll get back to you.

(BEEPS)

Jim, Madame O'Connor
at the Zodiac Restaurant.

You don't pay
that dinner tab,

we're gonna
repo your birthday.

There he goes.

Sure don't waste no time.

Knock it off, Rocky.

Knock what off?

The pacing.
He'll be here.

Oh.

You know,
he sounded different to me.

He...
Well, he sounded scared, sort of.

I've known old Pete
all my life,

and I never knowed him
to be scared of nothing.

There's a first time
for everything.

Oh, not for Pete,
there ain't.

Would you believe one time
down in Beaumont, Texas,

well, this is before
you were born,

him and me
cleaned out a bar together, all by ourselves.

There had to be
at least 20 guys.

Come on, Rocky.
Twenty guys?

Well, 15.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Hi, Pete.
Come on in.

Rocky.

You remember Jimmy.

Yeah.
Hi, Pete. Sit down. Sit down.

Thank you.

Listen, Rocky,

I'm in a little bit
of trouble. I need some help.

Well, you got it.
Anything you need.

Well, actually,
I remember you telling me

that your son, Jim,
was a private investigator.

I was kind of
really calling him more than you.

Well, it's natural
you'd come to me.

What's the problem?

Well, I don't
have much time.

They told me
to stay by the phone.

I took a real chance
coming here,

but I didn't wanna
trust the phone,

and, well, I figure
they're gonna sweat me for a couple of hours, anyway.

What's going on, Pete?

Somebody kidnapped Houston.

It's my granddaughter,
Houston Preli.

And I gotta tell you, Jim,

she's just about
the only reason I've got to live.

I have to come up with...
Now, hold it a minute.

All right. Go ahead.

Well, I'm supposed to
come up with ransom money,

but they won't tell me
how much.

How much
can you scrape together?

Well, don't you worry
about the money none...

Look, I'll get the money
together somehow,

but what I really wanna do is
I wanna get Houston back,

and then I wanna
lynch those guys from a tall tree.

Let's just hold off
on the lynching for the moment

and get down
to the particulars.

Now, does Houston
live with you?

No. She's got her own spread

up at the end
of one of those canyons here in LA.

Well, did you check out
her house?

Yeah, I called up there.

There's no answer.
She's not there.

I figured that
I'd better get help

and then get back
to my place and wait for that next phone call.

Now, Pete,
I think the first thing you ought to do

is call the police in
on this.

No police. The man said that.

Well, of course he said that.
They all say that.

I wouldn't let the cops in
if they were certified, notarized,

and dressed
for choir practice.

Old Pete,
he's been in more jails than you have, sonny,

mostly for brawling
and disorderly conduct.

Yeah, well,
I know a police detective

who won't botch it.
He's... No cops!

The guy said no cops,
and I'm saying no cops.

I gotta go.

Hey, wait.

Look, if they call
before I get there, you record it, okay?

And give me
Houston's address.

So, who is he?

The registration on the car
is James Rockford.

Now, how long does it take
to look that up?

Here it is. "James Rockford,
private investigations."

A rent-a-cop.
How about that?

Well, that's better
than the law.

Yeah.

By the way,
how much do you charge?

Oh,
I can settle up later.

Now, you go on
over there.

I'll check out
Houston's place.

I'll be at your place
in about a half an hour. Later.

(DOOR CLOSING)

What are we gonna do
about this Rockford?

Rockford
will be taken care of.

Hold it. Don't move.

I'm not moving.

Get out of the car.

Will you two guys
get together?

Get out.

CHARLIE: Careful.
Don't mark him.

That's enough.

Now forget it, Rockford.
Stay away from here.

Stay away from Preli.
Forget the whole thing.

Just make like it never was.

It don't exist.

Peter?

Peter.

He's all yours.

Come on, Rocky.
Let's get out of here.

How much cash
did you say Preli had in his money clip?

I didn't say,
but, I'd say, oh, a couple of hundred dollars.

That's just a guess.

Rocky?

Yeah.

That'd be about right,
I guess.

As far as
we can make out,

Preli's only source
of income

was $172 a month
from social security.

He cashed a check yesterday.
That's probably what you saw in the clip.

The money's gone,
by the way.

He had about $8
in pennies in a piggy bank,

exactly $13.42
in a passbook account,

and this is a guy
somebody hit for ransom?

What they could have
got out of him couldn't have paid for the gags

and the ropes to tie
his granddaughter up with.

If he was broke,
he sure put on a good act.

ROCKY: It wasn't no act.

Pete always thought of himself
as a rich man.

He was, too, off and on.

What do you mean?

Well, Pete was always
cooking up some big deal,

and before you knew it,
he'd make himself a million bucks.

Then he'd take a flyer
on something else

and he'd lose
the whole thing.

Now he's gone,

and it don't look like
there's even enough left to bury him.

That still doesn't explain
why somebody would hit him up for ransom.

I thought he had money.

If he could fool me,
he could sure fool a kidnapper.

Come on, Rockford.

Would you snatch somebody
without making sure how much is in the kitty?

No, I wouldn't,
but then again, that's not my line of work.

Did Preli have any enemies
you knew of, Rocky?

Oh, no. Everybody loved Pete.

Yeah. Yeah, well,
I don't think we're gonna get anything more here.

Where did you say
Houston Preli lives?

Oh, not far from here.

And you say the place
was all torn apart?

Yeah.
Looks like she put up a pretty good fight.

The door was broken down,
the lock shattered.

I suppose
you prowled around in there,

messed up all the evidence,
smudged all the prints?

No, I don't think so.

All I did was wash it down
with a garden hose.

One of these days, Rockford,
you're gonna realize

it doesn't do you
a whole lot of good to wise off at me.

I don't think
it makes a lot of difference what I say to you, Lieutenant.

Come on. I want you
to take me on a tour of Miss Preli's house.

I'm going with you.

No, Mr. Rockford,
we don't need you up there.

Why don't you
just go on home, watch it on TV, huh?

Come on.

Rocky, listen,
I'll go up there,

and I'll call you
when I get back.

Pete and me cleaned out
a lot of bars together when we was young.

Rocky, go home, huh?

I thought you said
the door was ripped off its hinges.

It was. I was here
a couple of hours ago,

and the whole thing
was just torn up.

If you're pulling my leg,

you're not gonna like the way
this is gonna come out, Rockford.

I don't like the way
it's coming out anyway.

The back door was open.

Hey, I don't understand it.
Now, this place was a wreck.

Uh-huh.

It's the truth, Diehl.
So help me.

Somebody must've
come back here and fixed it.

I mean,
this bench was overturned,

that vase over there
was on the floor in a million pieces.

That vase?

Yeah, that vase,
and that lamp, too.

It looked like a tornado
had been through here.

And this was two hours ago?

Yes, just before
I went over to Preli's.

Look,
I know it isn't reasonable, but that's what happened.

Yeah.

What do you think, Dennis?

Well, it does seem strange,
Jim.

Yeah, let me tell you
just how strange it is, okay, Sergeant?

If that door was busted up
and the lock shattered,

and if somebody come back
to fix it,

why isn't the paint still wet?

I didn't say
I could explain it.

That's enamel on that door.

Takes two days
to dry completely.

It isn't tacky. It isn't wet.

It's been on there
a hell of a lot longer than two hours.

All right, Diehl.
You're a genius.

Where do we go from here?

Like to take a crazy,
haphazard guess?

Jail?

You think?

Okay. Why not?

Get him.

What's going on, Jim?

When I find out, Dennis,
I'll send you a memo.

ROCKY:
Here's your coat, sonny.

Oh, hey, Rocky, thank you.

Gonna need it.

Come on, we'll walk you
to your car.

I wanna get you out of here
before they change their minds.

It's that bad, huh?

Yeah, it's that bad.

The DA could swing
either way.

Diehl is convinced
you're lying.

He swears
he's gonna nail you.

It doesn't matter
that I passed a lie detector test?

Well, that's why you're out,
but it's not admissible in court.

If Diehl decides
to press charges,

our only defense is that
you've got no motive.

If he finds a motive,
I'd begin to worry.

Well, what about
what I told them? I backed Jimmy up.

Yeah,
what about that?

Jim, just behave.

Don't do anything,
don't talk to anybody, don't go anywhere.

Just go home and read a book
or something.

Okay. Here.

I'll see that he does.

Just veer off
to your right here.

I wish you'd been there
to see that Beth handle Diehl.

She was terrific.

When you get up there,
two signals, I want you to turn left.

All right.
Where we going?

To Houston's house.

You know what Beth told you
to do, Jim.

Yeah. Yeah, I know.

But I know if I don't find out
a little more information,

I'm gonna have my butt
in a sling

and no lawyer's gonna
get it out.

But you promised.

Yeah, well,
I just promised Beth so she wouldn't worry.

But what about me?
I worry, too.

I figure you're gonna worry
no matter what I do.

Besides,
I got this thing pegged as a two-man job.

I'll check out the house,
and you're gonna make sure I'm not disturbed.

You are doing this for me,
ain't you, son?

You're afraid
if I do get to messing around,

I'm gonna
end up in a bind myself.

No, Rocky, I just don't like
to get flaked, that's all.

And when I do,
I like to know why.

You are doing it for me,
ain't you, son?

Shut up and turn left
at the signal.

(DOOR CLOSING)

What the hell are you doing
in my house?

Oh. You must be Houston.

Okay, mister, I'd like to hear
what you're doing in my house.

Houston.
Rocky!

You know this man?

Well, it's Jim.

Jim?

Well, sure.
It's my son, Jim Rockford.

Nice to see you.
Hi.

Your daddy's told me
all about you.

You're in investment banking
or something.

Or something, yeah.

Okay.

What's an investment banker
doing prowling around in my living room?

I'm sure there must be
a very good explanation.

Well, Houston...

Houston,
I'm afraid we've got some bad news for you.

Your grandfather...

He's dead, Houston.
He was murdered.

I'm sorry, what?

I said he's dead.

I heard you.

Oh, man.

I guess I hit her with it
too hard, huh?

Oh, you did just fine,
Rocky.

No matter how you tell it,
it sounds terrible.

Where do you suppose she was?

Well, maybe when
her grandfather was killed,

the kidnappers let her go.

I guess it wouldn't
be such a good idea

to just walk in
and ask her where she was.

No, no, no.
Let's give her a little time.

They killed Granddad.
They're gonna be sorry they ever heard of me.

Well, why don't we just
let the police handle that, okay?

We will.
When do we go to the police?

Yeah, well,
I called Sergeant Becker downtown.

He's a friend of mine.

He said if we brought you down
in an hour or so, that'd be good enough.

You don't have any idea
why he was killed?

Just what we told you.
He thought you were kidnapped and came to us for help.

Houston, where were you?

I've been dealing
with the Mexican Government over a field in Baja.

I flew down there,
and I've been out in the middle of nowhere

punching sand samples
with a 10-man crew.

Granddad put me through school
to become a geologist.

He had this big dream
that one day we'd have our own drilling company.

I'd find it,
and he'd drill it.

So nobody knew
you were down there? Not even your granddad?

No,
especially not Granddad.

I was sort of
trying to keep it a secret until the field was locked up,

'cause it was a complex deal
and it involved some Mexican partners.

It was gonna be Granddad's
big comeback, and...

Well, forget it.

Y'all gonna eat your stew,
or what?

Look, Houston,
if you wanna let down a little, it's okay.

I mean,
we can go outside and wait,

or leave, or, you know, help
or whatever.

Damn!

(CAR HORN HONKING)

JERRY: Houston.

I saw it in the papers,
and I wanted to tell you.

Who are these guys?

Yeah, we're friends
of the family.

I'm Jim Rockford.
This is my father, Joseph.

Jerry Specht.
Houston's boyfriend.

HOUSTON: Friend.

Where you going?

The police want to talk
to her.

We were driving her
downtown.

Well, that won't be necessary.
I can take you, huh?

It's okay. I'll go with him.

Hi, Rock.

What'd Dennis say?

Oh, not much.
Everything Houston said checked out.

She was down in Baja
with a geology team.

She just left
the police station about 15 minutes ago

on her way home.

Who's gonna
take care of Houston now that Pete's gone?

Well, I got a feeling
that Houston needs less taking care of

than you and me put together.

Well, underneath
all that spirit and guts

is just one frightened
little old gal.

You think?

I've known Houston
since she was a baby.

Now, Pete,
he never would stand for no fussing and fretting.

Always said he wasn't
raising no woolly lamb.

No, Houston had to
pull her freight just like a man.

Did it ever occur to Pete
that she was just a little girl?

Well, if it did,
it sure never made no difference

in the way he dealt with her.

You know, Rocky,

one thing I've learned
is that nothing makes absolutely no sense.

Yeah?

Yeah. You get
a set of circumstances that don't add up,

it's usually because
there's an important piece missing.

Well, what do you figure
the piece is here?

Oh, logic tells me
it's money.

Pete, he didn't have none.

Somebody went
to a lot of trouble.

They found out
when Houston was leaving town

without telling
her grandfather.

They rigged the house
to look like a kidnapping,

and then they tried
to shake down the old man for money,

only it seems
he didn't have any.

That doesn't make much sense,
right?

What, do you figure
he had some stashed?

Yeah.

Where?

Well, under the floorboards,

back of a closet,
fruit jar buried in the back yard.

I don't know,
where would he hide it?

You know, old Pete
made and lost a fortune at least three or four times.

It wouldn't be no trick
for him

to have
a couple of hundred thousand stashed.

Especially if it was money
he was hiding from the government.

Oh, no.
Pete, he wouldn't cheat on his taxes.

Sure he would.

You're right.
I guess he would.

Then someone
found out about it

and tried to shake him down
for his nest egg.

Well,

that'd make the other
pieces of the puzzle seem more intelligent.

I'm a son of a gun!

Yeah, those are my feelings
exactly.

ROCKY: This is crazy, Jimmy!

No, it's not.
We're gonna try the house first.

Man, I never would've
agreed to help you

if I'd known
we was gonna bust in.

It's gonna be okay.

Look, supposing
they catch us.

What'll they do to us
if they find us with all these burglar tools?

They're not burglar tools.

Well, glass cutters
and lock picks, passkeys and a crowbar.

What are we gonna
tell them we're doing, weeding the front lawn?

Look, Rocky, I really
didn't wanna bring you along in the first place.

Anybody comes along,
you whistle, huh?

Jim! Hey, Jim!

What's the matter?

Listen, I was just thinking.

If them guys
knew where that money was and they couldn't find it,

what makes you think
we're gonna find it?

We're smarter than they are.

Oh.

I don't know, sonny.
Maybe it just ain't there, huh?

It's there.

It's there,
we just missed it, that's all.

More coffee?
No, thank you.

Yeah, you can heat mine up
a little, please.

It's on the house.

I just served
my last cup of coffee after 30 years.

What, did you sell out?

Yeah. I bought myself
a little vineyard up north.

The neighborhood's
changing.

Everybody's shutting up
and moving away.

Well, that's progress for you.

Progress.
The whole world's going to the dogs.

How can you stay
in business

when all your customers
are moving away?

Yeah, well, thanks
for the pie and the coffee, and good luck to you.

Thank you.
Come on, Rocky.

Hey, wait a minute.
I didn't finish my pie yet.

Jimmy?

Yeah, just a minute, Rock.

What is it?

Hold on a minute.

Rock, I got it.
He had a fortune.

He did?

Yeah. He sure did.

She went inside.

Looks like
they're getting ready to leave.

Let's go.
We don't wanna lose them.

ROCKFORD: Houston,
I don't want to alarm you,

but I'm gonna have to
stash you somewhere until it's safe.

I'm gonna check you
into the Belle Vue Hotel in Bel Air.

It's quiet,
and it's out of the way.

But I want you
to stay in your room,

and don't answer the door
for anybody but me.

You're pretty good
at snapping out orders.

Almost as good as Granddad.

It shows you're a man
who knows his mind and his business.

I don't much like
the idea of hiding out, though.

Well, you can't fight
what you can't see.

High Noon only works
if you know who's getting off the train.

Did your grandfather
get any offers to sell his house?

Half a dozen.

How long ago?

Six or eight months.

Last one was just
a couple of weeks ago.

Who made the offer?

I don't know.
Granddad didn't say.

Was it a good one?

Yeah, $20,000,

which is more
than it was worth.

What's that got to do
with anything?

Well, I'm not sure yet.

Why didn't your grandfather
sell?

Well, Granddad's
lived in that house on and off for a long time.

I reckon he...

He figured
somewhere along the line he was gonna die in it.

I think
we picked up somebody.

Don't look.

Look, there are
some cigarettes in that glove compartment.

Take them out,
crumple them up,

and throw the package
out the window.

How come?

Just do it.

I better go in after her.

Wait. Be patient.

How do you know
she's not going out the back?

Because I saw her throw out
an empty cigarette pack just before they stopped.

When are you gonna learn
to keep your eyes open?

Come on, lady,
it's only 60 cents.

What about the girl?

Forget it, she's gone.
Stick with him.

Hiya, fellas.

Thank you.

What do you think
you're doing?

I beg your pardon?

Can't you read the sign?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Sure.

You're not supposed
to take notes.

Yeah, I know.

I know, but, you see,
I can't remember all this without taking note.

But it's not allowed.

Yeah, I know,
you didn't make the rule.

I'm gonna call the police.

Well, I suppose you have to.

Sorry I'm gonna miss them.
I'm almost through here.

Could you tell me
where I could find the corporate records, please?

It's down the hall,
the third door on the right.

Third door to the right?
Thank you.

(PHONE RINGING)

Hello?

Houston?
Yeah, this is Jim Rockford.

Do you have
Jerry Specht's address?

Yeah. 1200 North King's Road.
What do you need it for?

I'd like to have a little talk
with Mr. Specht.

How well do you know him?

Oh, pretty well. I met him
a couple of months ago. He seems like a nice man.

Well, that's not what I get.

Every piece of property
in your grandfather's block

has changed hands
in the last six months, the whole block.

There've been
nine different buyers,

and five of them
are corporations

listing Jerry Specht
as one of the officers.

Well, what does that mean?

Well, he may just be a name
on some articles of incorporation,

but I get the feeling that
he knows who was pressuring your grandfather.

Now,
you take care of yourself, and I'll see you later.

Okay. Bye-bye.

(POLICE SIREN WAILING)

Hi, Houston.

I just needed a little air.
Nobody saw me.

Oh, it's all right.

It's a good place
to do some thinking.

I'd like to know something.

Do you always walk away from
what you don't want to face?

I never walked away
from anything in my life.

What do you want from me,
anyway?

Oh, a little emotion.

I'd just like you better

if you stopped acting
like a gunslinger in a B Western.

There's nothing wrong with
letting some emotion show, you know?

What did your grandfather do
when your dad died?

Well, he didn't cry.
Men don't cry.

Oh, sure they do.

Oh, I've seen them bawl
like babies.

I've done it
a couple of times myself.

He had a son.
He wanted a grandson.

You did the best you could.

You know,

some of the old-timers
didn't have any use for scientific progress.

They'd rather
spend their lives

bringing in saltwater
than hire a geologist,

but Granddad
wasn't like that.

He knew. He understood.

And he was proud of you.

Did you see Jerry?

Yeah.

Yeah, I did.

Jerry's dead.
Someone killed him.

Why?

He never hurt anybody.

I think he may have
killed your grandfather.

Hey, come on, Jerry was out
for whatever he could get.

Hey, he tried a double-cross
and got killed for his trouble.

What are we gonna do?
We don't even know who's involved.

Well, we will
when we open negotiations.

Of course,
the first thing we gotta do

is convince them
you own title to the house.

I do.

Granddad sold it to me
for $1, two weeks ago, for tax reasons.

Well, that's gonna
make the whole thing a lot simpler.

I'll do the negotiating,
but for protection,

well, we'll set it up

so it takes
both our signatures to sell it, all right?

Mmm-hmm.

Just tell him
if he's interested in making a bid on the Preli house,

that I'll be home
at 7:00 sharp.

How did you know
which of those companies to call?

One's as good as another.

They're all dummies.
They all go back to the same place.

How you doing?

I'm done.

"Without which consent,
said transfer shall be null and void,

"as consideration for which
Mr. Rockford shall receive

"10% of that portion
of the sale price in excess of $20,000."

That's not too bad
for a geologist.

I'll make a copy of this
and put the original in the safe.

Insurance?

No. Security blanket.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Okay, gentlemen.
I guess we can go now.

Now, let's go.

Good evening,
Mr. Rockford.

I'm Charles Blackhorn.

Would you care for a drink?

I'd just as soon
get down to business, if you don't mind.

Very well.

What are your credentials?

I negotiate for Miss Preli
for a percentage of the take.

It takes both our signatures
to transfer title.

Where is Miss Preli?
Will she be joining us?

We'll go to her
if we need her signature.

I see.

Well, then,
I suppose it's my move.

$20,000.

That's not quite
what I had in mind.

What is your counter-proposal?

$100,000.

That puts me $80,000 short.

That's ridiculous,
Mr. Rockford. The offer is $20,000.

Well, then,
I guess negotiations are over.

Just a minute.

What makes you think
that I would be willing to spend $100,000

for a piece of property
that is worth $20,000?

It's indispensable.

You have plans
for that block.

You've bought it all up,
bit by bit,

everything except
Peter Preli's land, and without it,

whatever you have in mind
is gonna stay on the drawing board.

I have a sizeable investment.

All right,
I'll increase the offer.

$20,000 plus your health.

You're a big disappointment
to me, Mr. Blackhorn.

I really thought
we could do business.

We will.

$100,000. Take it or leave it.

$20,000.

Don't make me resort
to primitive methods of persuasion.

I have staff members
who are literally overqualified in that area.

Those the ones
you turned loose on Jerry Specht?

$20,000.

Stuff it.

Mr. Rockford,

you're taking a big gamble.

So are you.

$100,000.

Call the girl
and get her over here.

Oh, no, no.
I think this transaction would be better

if we don't have
any staff members around.

We'll pick up Miss Preli,
you deliver the $100,000,

we turn over the deed,
signed and notarized.

Will you take a check?

Of course.

You'll have to make it
a personal one.

We'll set it
so the deed is final when the check clears.

Do you have to do it
that way?

I've agreed
to all your other terms.

You have my word.

You're not a man
who inspires confidence, Mr. Blackhorn.

ROCKFORD:
Look, so you don't think this is a trap,

when we get to the hotel,
I'll go in, get the girl, and bring her out to the car.

All right,
you can sign the check now.

You didn't really expect me
to give you a check for $100,000,

did you, Mr. Rockford?

(POLICE SIREN WAILING)

No, Mr. Blackhorn,
I didn't really expect you to.

All right, keep your hands
where we can see them and get out of the car.

I still can't figure out
how the police knew just when to move in.

I was watching
from the window.

I saw the limousine drive up,
I called them,

I described the car
and reported a kidnapping.

They got a lot more
to answer for than that, including murder.

Jerry Specht should have
kept a tighter rein on his greed.

He was in on it
from the very beginning, wasn't he?

Oh, yeah, yeah.
He set the whole thing up.

He measured your door,
had a new one built, painted, ready to hang.

Just slipped out the old frame
and slip in the new.

How did they fix
the broken lamp and the broken vase?

He gave me those.

He probably bought two each
so he'd have duplicates to replace the broken ones.

HOUSTON:
But why'd they kill him?

Well, Blackhorn had
a multi-million dollar entertainment complex

planned for that block,
and Jerry wanted a bigger piece of the action.

He tried to get
your grandfather's property and bungled it,

and then tried to make it look
like a burglary.

Cops bought it.
Blackhorn didn't.

All that grief for money.

You know,

Granddad didn't care much
for money.

Oh, he liked making it
and he liked spending it,

but he didn't really care
about it.

You knew him a long time,
didn't you, Rocky?

Oh,
since I was half Jim's age.

He was a good man.

Finest I ever knew.

You want some more
sweet potato pie?

Oh, I sure do.

What's wrong?
What'd I say?

It's all right.

(SOBBING)

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