All language subtitles for Rockford Files s05e05 Kill The Messenger.eng

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

And it's your hot potato?

You're looking for Angel?

I thought maybe
he could tell me

where I could find
a guy named Captain Crunch.

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

Well, she doesn't have to be.

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

What's troubling you?

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

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

Something that's going
to make it impossible.

ROCKFORD
This is Jim Rockford.

At the tone, leave your name
and message.

I'll get back to you.

Jim, Chet,
returning your call.

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

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

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

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

Check out those plates,
will you?

It's been here
since Friday night.

Did you see who left it?

No, I'm the day man.

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

and it was the only car
on the lot.

You know, I figured
somebody Friday night...

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

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

this kind of smell.

Yeah. Roger.

Hey, Pete.

Is it on the hot sheet?

No. But it's hot.

What's that supposed to mean?

The registered owner is
Eugene W. Towne.

Deputy Chief Towne?

Are you gonna
investigate or not?

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

We got probable cause.

I know what we got.

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

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

and you give me
the officer's reaction.

Cooperation, compliance.

Verbalization.

Passive resistance.

Firm grip control.

Aggressive resistance.

Pain compliance.

What happened to
the training bulletins?

I didn't touch
anything on your desk.

They were right here.

Bodily attack.
Control holds.

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

What's that sticking out
from under the blotter?

What?

There.

Thanks.

Attack with
dangerous weapons.

Suspect's action,
attack with dangerous weapons.

Officer's reaction?

Self-defense techniques.

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

Thanks, okay.

Going up for lieutenant, huh?

Yeah.

Well, to each his own.

I gonna be signing out
now, Billings.

Okay, Sarge.
Good luck.

Little last-minute
cramming, Becker?

Just brushing up, sir.

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

This one's yours.

Yes, sir.

Oh, no.

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

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

They wrote on
their Christmas card,

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

They write that every year.

Well, one of these days
is tomorrow.

That's over there.

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

I take the written
the day after tomorrow.

Just got to
sweat out the oral.

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

You haven't
missed one yet.

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

There's just
no other place for him.

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

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

Just around us,
to avoid confusion.

He's named after Dennis.

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

Oh?

Yeah. He and Dennis
go way back.

They've been friends
since school.

Peggy, how about
getting some hot coffee?

Oh, sure.

Oh, listen, honey,
before I forget.

You know
your friend at Universal?

Do you think
he could arrange a special studio tour?

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

Little Den asked
for that himself.

That's really great, Dennis.

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

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

Yeah?
Yeah.

You know,
James Scott Rockford?

Funny the ideas you get.

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

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

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

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

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

Well, how's it going
with the questions?

I forgot where we left off.

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

Okay. We'll do homicide.

No.

What do you mean, no?

I said no.

You also said spot-check.

Surviving spouse
or close family members

are responsible for what
percentage of homicides?

80%, 42%, 26%?

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

I've only been working it
for eight years.

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

But I got no time
to fool around here.

Dennis.

And I got no time
to set up studio tours.

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

What am I, some kind
of social director?

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

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

Oh.

Oh.

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

Oh, Dennis.

She was just
an average lady,

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

She worked as
a probation officer downtown.

And it's your hot potato?

I'm going to get some chips
or something.

My stomach's a mess.

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

Well, he has a right to be.

In the investigation
of the crime,

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

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

Oh.

And that lieutenancy means
so much to him.

I wish I could help him.

He's tried so hard, Jim.

Peg, I'll ask around,

maybe I can get rid of
some of the preliminaries

and make it
a little easier for him.

Thanks.

You know,
you're quite a friend.

Dennis won't forget it.

Miss Buettner?

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

Huh?

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

You mean Mr. Benbrook?

I imagine I do.

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

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

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

He'll be out
tout de suite.

Him.

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

Oh, boy.

Yep. Prop 13.

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

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

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

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

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

Fifteen. Fourteen.

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

You probably
read about it in the papers.

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

I was going to
fire her anyway.

We could make it
on a staff of 14.

But if you cut us
below that point...

Could we say that
she was fired?

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

It might obviate
further cuts.

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

And the reason
for termination?

Benbrook,

you know, I can fuzz
these statistics a little,

but I'm gonna have
to know the facts.

She was making it
with these turkeys.

What?
I don't mean all of them.

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

Captain Crunch.

File it Buettner, okay?

That's right.
Captain Crunch.

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

We watch for that.

This Captain Crunch?
He was ripping off Ma Bell.

Had one of those
blue box things.

Been busted
about 16 times.

Captain Crunch?

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

What difference does it make?

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

Yeah. Well, thank you
very much, Benbrook.

Hey, wait a minute.
How we doing here?

Oh, you're doing fine.
Just fine.

What are you tearing up
my place for?

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

Because it's not at home.

Because after I dropped
the things off at the cleaners,

I came by here,
we had dinner,

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

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

Or better yet,
tell them you lost the ticket.

Nobody's gonna steal
your laundry, sonny.

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

And I know there was
a cashmere sweater.

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

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

What's troubling you?

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

I was just trying to do
Dennis a favor

and I should have
stayed out of it.

Out of what?

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

I tried to come up
with some information,

make the job
easier for him.

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

Something that's going
to make it impossible.

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

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

Do you know
what that does?

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

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

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

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

Get some other opinions.

Who you gonna talk to?

If I can find him,

Captain Crunch.

Captain Crunch?

Later.

There he comes.
Yeah, look at him.

Hi.

He looks pretty healthy
to me, Jer.

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

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

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

This is your car?

That's right, pal.

What a beautiful
looking car, huh, Jer?

Oh!

Guess this belongs to you.

And this has to belong
to you too, huh?

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

Now you butt out
of this, turkey.

You go sniffing
where you don't belong,

we don't send you
to no hospital.

The deep-freeze for you.
Understand?

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

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

Are you all right, mister?

Hello?

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

No. He's still down
at Hollywood High.

That written test
takes forever.

Yeah, yeah.
I tried the station first.

I just thought maybe
you'd heard something.

You will be
hearing from him?

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

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

Well, they were supposed to,

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

Now I could take
the Lavens' van,

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is there a message
in there somewhere?

Yeah, yeah.

Yesterday I made
some discreet inquiries

and Eileen Towne
was having an affair

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

Oh.

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

So, tell Dennis, okay?

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

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

Thanks, Peg.

Okay, bye.

Hey, Sarge!

Well, how'd it go?

I think I did pretty good.

I think I did better
than the last time.

That's great.

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

Uh, the picture.

You showed it around,
didn't you?

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

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

see if anybody
recognizes her.

Dennis, I know
what you told me,

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

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

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

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

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

And we're having this murder
investigation together.

And, so far,
nothing's been investigated.

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

When?

Right now.

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

I neither expect, nor want,

any special attention
because of my position in this department.

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

Yes, sir.

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

if I may,
inspirational, sir.

I will exercise
one prerogative of my position.

I want to be copied
on all reports.

Which one of you is
the officer in charge here?

Sergeant Becker, sir.

You have a
preliminary report ready?

Well, sir, no, sir.

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

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

Oh, and Officer Dusenberg
had this medical emergency.

His wife is
expecting a baby.

You haven't done anything yet?

Not anything?
Is that what you're saying?

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

Chief Towne,
these men will be disciplined and reassigned.

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

They stay on the case.

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

That's all.

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

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

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

Sarge, your wife's
on the phone.

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

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

Chapman's pretty sore, huh?

Towne is the one
that got me worried.

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

Yeah?

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

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

What? Palmdale!

Peggy, I can't drive
up to Palmdale.

I'm in the middle of
a murder investigation.

What message?

Mrs. Towne?
That's impossible.

Why are you telling me this?

Peggy, I can't
talk about it here.

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

What's he trying to do,
ruin me?

Quite a day, huh?
Yeah.

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

In fact, it was
kind of interesting.

I mean, some of the questions
like surviving spouse.

Close family members
are responsible for what percentage of homicides?

Statistics, they always
kind of interested me.

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

you're talking about
Chief Towne.

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

You know, Frank,
speaking as professionals,

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

Chief Towne is
our most likely suspect.

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

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

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

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

When?

Tomorrow.

Yeah.

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

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

Uh-huh. Like what?

Well, hypothetically speaking,
it could be money.

He could have
money problems.

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

Like a mercy killing.

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

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

Yeah.

Excuse me.

Then, hypothetically speaking,
there's always adultery.

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

It's a possibility, right?

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

I'd rather have facts, but...

Hey, wait a minute,
Dennis.

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

for like young,
promising guys in the department?

Yeah.

You remember how he stopped
having those little dinners about eight, nine months ago?

You hear something?

Yeah...

Well, what?

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

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

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

Hey, Rockford.
Long time, huh?

Hey, Junior,
how you been?

Don't ask.
What'll it be?

Oh, beer, I guess.

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

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

He come in
mostly for the chili.

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

That's too bad.

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

You're looking for Angel?

You got some
kind of game going or something?

Oh, no, no.

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

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

I thought maybe
he could tell me

where I could find
a guy named Captain Crunch.

You gonna do a little
long-distance dialing?

You know him?

I might.

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

Do you know
where I can find him?

I might.

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

But, as you can see,

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

Junior, where can
I find him?

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

You know how he's registered?

Sure. His name is
Nick Donofrio.

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

Okay, okay, okay.

Forget it. Forget it.

See you, Junior.

Okay.

It's him, Nick. Split!

Hey, hey, come here!
Come here!

Watch it, man, watch it!
Watch it.

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

I didn't, man, I swear.

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

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

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

Bandit tells me
what he done.

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

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

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

I'm just right down
the hall, okay?

I got my pills
in the bathroom.

Okay. You was
at the parole office.

Mutual friend hears
you talking about me and Mrs. Towne

like there was
something there, which there was not.

He follows you out,
he takes your license number,

he tells Bandit about it.

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

I'm in pain.

You are busted up
pretty good. What happened?

Touch football.
It's murder.

Touch football?

Uh-huh.

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

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

I didn't put
the move on her.

She come on to me.

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

So, we got together
a couple of times.

Okay, half a dozen.

Ten.

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

I got to get the pill.

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

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

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

Will you shut up
with that?

What you're talking about
is rumor, gossip.

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

Oh, on the word
of a known felon.

Well, you can take
that to the bank.

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

Well, she doesn't have to be.

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

Let's go into the coffee room.

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

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

Dusenberg's working
the case with me.

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

I'll call her later.

Okay, go.

Okay.

As much as it pains you
to know the facts,

Mrs. Towne had
a very salty lifestyle.

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

Someone found out
about her romance with Nick Donofrio,

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

That same someone
started beating on Mrs. Towne,

only he didn't stop
till she was dead.

Now do any likely suspects
come into mind?

Any suspects at all, huh?

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

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

That doesn't happen to be
Deputy Chief Towne.

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

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

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

Maybe I'll ask him.

Is that right, Frank?
That's right.

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

I wanted to help,
that's all.

Believe me,
I'm not gonna forget it.

Oh, Dennis.

What are you writing?

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

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

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

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

That's going in the report?

Of course
it goes in the report.

Dennis, Chief Towne
is gonna see that.

I'm not writing the report
for Chief Towne.

What's another way
of saying adult motel?

Temporary domicile?

Yeah, that's better.

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

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

Right.

Oh, what about
the closed-circuit TV?

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

I'm going to
leave that out.

Yeah.

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

Yeah, yeah.
No way around it. Tomorrow.

Frank, first thing
in the morning.

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

That's it.
Everybody out.

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

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

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

My name's Roy.
Stop calling me that.

Your name is
Roy Dennis McGowan,

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

It's a dumb name.
Little Den.

That's not a dumb name.

Don't you call
that a dumb name!

I said knock it off.
Knock it off!

Hey, honey,
I'll see you later.

Talk to you and good luck.

What's wrong with Sissy?

Sergeant Becker.

Hi, Dennis, it's Frank.

Yeah? What?
You gonna be late?

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

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

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

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

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

Two.

Now come on, Dorie,
breathe in.

Blow.

Breathe in.

Blow.

Hi, Dennis?

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

Well, it's nothing
to worry about.

We're still
in Labor Diagram One.

But you know
how these things can escalate.

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks, Dennis.

Yes.

Sergeant Becker
to see you, sir.

Send him in.

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

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

No, sir.

You here to make
a report to me?

Not exactly, sir.

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

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

Yes, Sergeant?

In order for
the investigation

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

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

Your wife was gone
for the entire weekend.

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

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

Her mother left her
a little house down there.

Eileen liked to just
get away sometimes.

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

can be pretty rough, sir.

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

and sometimes
a lot of anger.

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

And sometimes
they overreact in different ways.

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

with one of her parolees.

That's it, Sergeant.

The interview is over.

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

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

from Friday last
till Sunday last.

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

because your answers
will be checked for verification.

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

Okay, calendar

and call sheets.
That's it?

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

how much time spent
on the telephone,

overall picture
of the workload.

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

That's not what
the people want.

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

Now, this is
Mrs. Towne's day?

Yeah. Friday.

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

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

Three times in three minutes.

I wonder why?

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

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

That probably
makes it personal.

Mr. Blasco,

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

I'm surprised
you ask, Miss Buettner.

Private calls
on county telephones. Really.

Hold it. I got it. Thanks.

Officer Dusenberg.

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

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

Do you know
an Officer Kempner?

Rudy Kempner?
Yeah, sure. Why?

Dennis gave me
his phone number the other day

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

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

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

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

Well, you need his number?

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

Okay, here it is.

555-7760. Got that?

Got it.

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

Got it, thanks.

Oh, oh, Jim...

Hey, Rudy.

You just missed Rockford.

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

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

You give it to him?

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

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

Yeah, yeah, Frank,
that's okay.

It's time Rockford
and I got together.

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

How come you don't just give
him everything you got and let him go on through himself?

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

Where is this guy?

Hello.

Oh, Officer Kempner?
Yeah.

Yeah, this is Harvey Eubanks,
New Bedford Life.

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

Yeah, I just got home.

What can I do for you,
Mr. Eubanks?

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

It's designed specifically to
handle the problems unique to the law enforcement officer.

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

Well, good, good.

All we have to do
is just sit down

and lay it all out
in dollars and cents.

Well, I'll be home
all afternoon.

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

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

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

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

Fine, fine.

Sergeant Becker.
Sergeant Dennis Becker.

Yes?

Come in, Sergeant.
Come in.

I believe you know
Deputy Chief Towne.

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

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

Thank you, sir.

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

No, sir.

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

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

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

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

Why is that, Sergeant?

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

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

A tendency to freeze up?

No, sir.

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

In looking over
your previous rating reports,

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

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

Could you tell me
what that is, sir?

Your association
with ex-cons.

Sir?

Specifically, your
association with a man named James Rockford.

Jim's no ex-con.

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

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

Would you mind, Commander?

Of course not.

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

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

I wouldn't like that, sir.

You like your
present assignment?

Yes, sir.

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

The way I look at it,

well, some people
never find their niche in life.

I think I found mine.

And I think I can continue
to do a good job

if I'm allowed
to remain there, sir.

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

What are you
doing here? Dorie? The baby?

Oh, that was a false alarm.

Well, come on,
how'd it go?

Chief Towne sat in
with the board.

No kidding.

I might as well get
used to being a sergeant.

That's where
I'm gonna stay.

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

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

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

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

Rockford. My ex-con buddy.

No kidding.

Dusenberg, do I look
like I'm kidding?

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

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

An albatross.

What's the use?

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

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

Rudy Kempner's number.

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

He doesn't know
Rudy Kempner.

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

Well, he lies all the time.

Rudy Kempner?

Yeah, you know, it's funny.

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

You know those rumors
we were talking about?

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

Well, I heard that Rudy
was one of them.

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

The fire escape.

Come on.

Coming.

Okay, get down there.

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

Frank Dusenberg knows
I'm out here.

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

I'll move your pretty
little car later.

How many people
you going to kill?

This has got to
stop someplace.

It stops with you.

What about Dusenberg
when he starts asking questions, huh?

About an accident?

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

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

Crime of passion,

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

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

Get in there.
Come on, move it.

Frank, that's Rockford.

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

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

Hey, what are you doing?

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

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

Get off of there!
We're police officers!

Look at this lunatic.

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

You all right, Officer?

Hands in the air, Rudy.

Read it and sign it.

You still sore, Dennis?

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

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

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

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

Oh, that's great
coming from you.

Shut up, Frank.

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

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

Frank.

I'm the reason?
Yeah.

Will you just
read the statement?

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

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

You won't have to
field any questions.

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

Yes, sir. Oh, I mean, sir,

the department will put out
another statement covering Rudy Kempner.

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

Sergeant, well done.

Thank you, sir.
It was a team effort.

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

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

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

You see, a few years
in administration,

you get a gut instinct
for that sort of thing.

You stood up to me.
I respect that.

You were tough
and you were compassionate.

That's a rare combination.

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

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

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

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

Because it'd be
too long between drinks.

I love a good winner.

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

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

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

I might have missed that
connection with Kempner.

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

Deputy Chief Towne said that
in a roomful of people.

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

You know, given you
a little more support.

Well, how could you,
with Dorie and all?

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

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

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

Okay. Has everybody
got a glass?

Got mine.
Except for you. Okay.

Now we are going
to have a toast.

Bud? Molly?
Okay, are you ready?

To my husband, come here,

Lieutenant Becker.

All right. All right!

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

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

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

A lieutenant.
That's great.

There's only one problem.
Lieutenant Chapman.

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

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