The Rockford Files (1974–1980): Season 2, Episode 8 - Resurrection in Black & White - full transcript
Convinced that a convicted murderer is actually innocent, a journalist looking for a scoop hires Jim to investigate a six year old murder.
She didn't get
shoved off a cliff,
because she wasn't supposed
to get shoved off a cliff.
Are you saying
someone tried to hurt Susan?
Why's somebody
trying to take you off?
Because I've been nosing
around the Dave Kruger case.
You don't want a detective.
You want a bodyguard.
Chicken?
Well, of course.
Goes without saying.
But you're a
private investigator.
Why don't you carry a gun?
Because I don't want
to shoot anybody.
I thought you didn't like
to shoot people.
I don't shoot it.
I just point it.
Did you get through
to Becker?
Yeah. He said he'd get
as much help as he can.
We got a boat
angling in on us.
(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)
(ON TELEPHONE)
Hey, Jimmy, it's Cousin Lou.
Gonna be in town
a couple of days,
know you won't mind
putting us up.
It's just me and Aunt Cissy,
and B.J., and the kids,
and little Freddy, and...
Mr. Hummel, I got a letter
from your computer today.
It was very cordial,
very nice.
It's short.
I wanna read it to you.
"Dear Mr. Rockford.
"Please accept our apologies
for any inconvenience.
"We have located
the missing invoice,
"photocopy of which
is enclosed."
Mr. Hummel,
nothing was enclosed.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Yeah. Come in.
Yeah.
Oh, I'll be right with you.
Yeah.
Mr. Hummel,
let me put it to you this way.
You do a dandy two-step,
but I'm tired of dancing.
Now, it's been three months.
No invoice, no payment.
It's a computer foul-up.
Jim Rockford.
I know. I'm Susan Alexander.
Well, what can I do for you?
I'm a feature writer
with Henton Publications,
and I'm doing an article
on penology.
Six and a half years ago,
a man named Dave Kruger
was convicted of murder.
He's serving a life sentence.
Now, I think he's innocent
and I want you to help me
prove it.
After six and a half years?
I only became aware
of the case a month ago.
That's how I met Dave.
And springing him
would sell a lot of magazines.
Yes, it would.
But if it meant
a drop in circulation,
I'd still be determined
to clear him.
Why?
Because I don't believe
people should be in prison
for crimes they didn't commit.
I don't either.
And Dave, he says
he's innocent, huh?
I'm a reporter.
Now, if the person I'm talking
to has a stake in the matter
I assume that every answer
I get is gonna be a lie
to one degree or another.
People are self-serving.
So you take that
into consideration.
Would you care
for a cookie?
No, thanks.
All right, you're not just
taking his word for it, right?
So if you've turned up
anything solid,
why don't you go to the D.A.
And have him reopen the case?
If I had anything solid,
I wouldn't need you.
Dave's girlfriend,
Cheryl Wilson,
was bludgeoned to death.
She was beaten so badly
that the only thing
that made positive
identification possible
was her fingerprints.
Mmm-hmm.
And Dave,
he's a sweetheart of a guy.
I've sat through
a lot of murder trials,
and I've heard
a lot of witnesses say,
"But he was such a nice guy."
Now, I'm not saying Dave
is incapable of violence.
I'm saying,
I don't think he killed her.
Now, that is just
pure gut instinct.
Are you always
this hard to hire?
Oh, only when somebody
comes in with "mark"
written all over them.
Dave didn't ask me to get
into this. It was my own idea.
Well, lady...
I think
you're being suckered.
Then you don't want the job?
Mmm.
I didn't say that.
No, I just like
to be upfront,
and then I don't feel so bad
taking your money.
How much?
$200 a day plus expenses.
I want you to meet Dave.
Yeah, well, all right,
let me, you know, get my coat.
In New York
the going rate's $250.
I was about ready
to give up on this.
I mean, I've been over
the trial transcript
a dozen times.
I kept digging
for information.
And nothing but dead ends.
If that man hadn't tried
to kill me today...
Oh, wait a minute,
wait a minute.
Why?
Who tried to kill you?
I don't know.
I've never seen him before.
But he tried to force my car
off the road right about here.
I reported it to the police,
and they've already
checked the area.
Why didn't you tell me?
Physical violence
has a tendency
to put some people off.
Yeah, I'm one of them.
You should've told me.
We could have saved both of us
a lot of time.
I don't hire out as muscle.
Did I ask you to put on
a gorilla suit?
I hired you to help me prove
that Dave Kruger is innocent.
And what happened
this morning tells me
I'm on the right track.
Somebody doesn't want
this case reopened.
Well, what happens
when somebody decides
to take another crack at you?
They won't.
The attempt this morning
was against a woman alone
and unarmed.
Yeah, and next time
it'll be against the two of us
alone and unarmed.
You're not armed?
No.
But you're
a private investigator.
Why don't you carry a gun?
Because I don't want
to shoot anybody.
ROCKFORD: Why is Dave
so important to you?
I grew up with a lot
of Dave Krugers.
Not enough money,
bad neighborhood.
When they get tagged,
what kind of defense
can they afford,
what kind of appeal?
This is just
a personal crusade.
Very personal. It's why
I became a journalist.
And Henton Publications
gives me a power base,
a very strong voice.
Now, Dave Kruger isn't guilty
and he shouldn't be
serving time.
Everybody in here
is in on a bum rap.
Just ask them.
No, no, when Dave
was arrested, he took
three lie detector tests.
And all three proved
he was clean,
and all of them
were invalidated
on technical grounds.
It wouldn't have been
admissible in court anyway.
Don't you trust anybody?
My father.
Of course, he's bonded.
Hey, Susan.
Two visits in one day.
It's like my birthday.
This time I brought along
a friend. Jim Rockford.
Hi. How are you?
Hi.
Nice to meet you.
I've heard a lot about you.
Mr. Rockford is
a private investigator.
He's gonna help me try
to get you out of here.
No kidding.
(LAUGHING)
Hey, hey.
Oh, this is some day, huh?
First, Susan calls me
and says,
"That's it,
we got no place else to go."
So I say, "Hey,
can't we talk about it?"
So, she come out here
and we talk.
She says how she's run into
nothing but stone walls.
She tried, but it's no use.
So I figured I'm cooked,
right?
End of the line. Hey. Hey.
Well, I knew you'd be happy.
Oh, happy?
Boy, that don't half say it.
Now, you just tell me
what you want.
You just tell me what to do.
Well, since
I'm sort of jumping in
the middle of this thing,
I think the best way
to start is you and I
get to know one another.
Oh, that's great.
Why don't we all
sit down here?
Do you mind
if Dave and I just...
Oh. No. No, of course not.
I can wait in the car.
I'll be in touch, Dave.
Mr. Rockford, do you want
I can start from where
me and Cheryl met?
Or from where
what happened to her?
I gotta tell you,
it's been more than
six years
and it still twists my guts
like when I first heard.
She was my girl.
Dave, stop sticking your toe
in the ground, huh?
That sod-kicking act
just won't make it.
What?
Hey, come on, pal,
I know what
you're trying to pull.
I've done time.
I know all the cons,
I've worked them myself.
I don't know
what you're talking about.
She didn't get
shoved off a cliff,
because she wasn't supposed
to get shoved off a cliff.
There's no percentage in it
if the lady's dead.
Are you saying
someone tried to hurt Susan?
For a big, old country boy
you're pretty smart.
You hired some rumdum
to throw a scare into her,
because you knew
that was the one thing
that would keep her
on your case.
Anybody else
would've said adios.
Nah, she thinks
she's onto something.
She smells a story.
Well, that ain't what I smell.
Well, I would never
hurt Susan.
She's the only one
that ever tried to help me.
She's the only one
ever believed in me.
I never killed Cheryl,
somebody did.
If stirring up this old case
is gonna bring harm to Susan,
I want you tell her,
flat out, forget it.
Now, I mean it, Mr. Rockford.
I want you tell her
I said forget it.
Now, look,
I got some money.
Not much.
But I'd give it over gladly
if you was to keep
an eye on her.
I already got a client.
I'll keep an eye
on her anyway.
He's had about as much
as he can take.
You had no right
making those accusations.
You hired me
to investigate.
I'm investigating.
The wrong person.
The warden told you
Dave didn't make
any telephone calls.
He couldn't have set me up.
Everybody loves Dave.
Somebody could've made
the call for him.
Everybody loves Dave,
because he's exactly
the person he appears to be.
Yeah, maybe.
Come on.
I want you to read
the transcript of the trial.
What is it?
That's the car that tried
to force me off the road.
(GUN FIRING)
SUSAN: He's getting away!
He's getting away!
That's past tense.
If you'd move,
maybe we could catch him.
And?
He has a gun.
Very good. Now get in the car.
Car belongs
to a Harry Freidell.
1422 West Dunsmuir.
Name mean anything to you?
No.
No reason it should.
Freidell wasn't driving.
That car's been
on the hot sheet
since 8:00 this morning.
I told you
we should've followed him.
Fearless Fosdick.
There've been two attempts
on my life today.
I'd kind of like to know
who wants me dead.
Two?
The other took place
out near Chino.
I reported it
to the police there.
Why's somebody
trying to take you off?
Because I've been nosing
around the Dave Kruger case.
I think he's innocent.
Whoever's guilty
is getting a little nervous.
Kruger?
Yeah, it was about
six and a half years ago,
Dennis.
A Murder One.
Oh, yeah, I remember.
They had him cold.
Motive, opportunity.
The last known person
to see the girl alive.
Violent quarrel
before she disappeared.
He didn't kill her.
I met Kruger
today, Dennis.
And he comes across
pretty straight.
But the fact is
that somebody did try
to kill Miss Alexander.
Now, Kruger is
no candidate there.
I mean, he's in the joint.
Okay, let's say you're right.
What am I supposed to do?
We got the license number
of a stolen vehicle,
and we got
a physical description
that fits half
the guys in L.A.
You got something else,
Dennis. You got the case file.
Oh, no.
Let me take a look at it.
What's it gonna hurt?
My chances
of making lieutenant.
Oh, nobody's gonna
come down on you
for letting me see a file
that's been closed
for six and a half years.
Another six months
it's gonna be
out of the file room
and onto microfilm.
That's the last anybody
is gonna think about it.
I said no.
Dennis, you just took a report
on an attempted homicide.
Now, maybe there's something
in that file
that would save
the young lady's life.
Huh?
No, it's not here.
Well, could it be
in another file room?
No. This is it.
Could somebody have
checked it out?
No, they had to sign
for it. They didn't.
Well, do you keep duplicates?
No. Not on a case that's
been closed for six years.
Jimbo, you better start
looking over your shoulder.
There's only one reason
for walking off
with a dead file.
Yeah.
To make sure it stays dead.
Do you know
what was in that file?
Yeah. Everything
the police turned up
in their investigation.
The results of
the polygraph tests,
all the preliminary
questioning.
There may have been
something new that
we could follow through on.
Or something old.
Who were the
principals involved,
besides Dave?
Well, there was
Cheryl's mother.
She made the identification.
Took it hard.
I can't see her wanting
to help us free the man
she thinks
killed her daughter.
Well, what about
the witnesses?
For the defense,
character witnesses
going all the way back
to grammar school.
And for the prosecution?
There weren't any
eyewitnesses to the crime.
But there were
a number of neighbors
who testified
to the argument
that Cheryl and Dave had
just prior to her death.
Dave never denied
the argument.
In fact, he said that Cheryl
seemed to be deliberately
provoking the argument
as if she wanted the fight.
Did anybody see Cheryl
after that argument?
Except when
they found her body?
Well, no...
it was about a week later.
There were some kids up hiking
in the Santa Monica mountains.
They're probably still
having nightmares.
Well, maybe Dave's attorney
would have some good ideas.
Mr. Newcomb?
He had a stroke shortly
after Dave was sentenced.
He's been in a rest home
ever since.
I tried to talk to him,
but his mind is just... gone.
He's fairly lucid
from time to time, but...
Here.
Let me help you with that.
I'm used to making my own bed.
No. No. This is mine.
You're gonna take the bedroom.
No.
Hey, look,
this is my idea, huh?
I mean, you can't go back
to your own apartment.
I want you right where
I can keep an eye on you.
I've slept
on the couch before.
Well, so have I.
Not yours, but...
Now, look,
the gallantry's very nice,
but it's very unnecessary.
I've slept in freight cars,
telephone booths,
and a few years ago,
when I was covering
a dock strike in New York,
I even spent the night
on a pool table
in McGinty's Bar.
Then you earned
a good night's rest.
You're stubborn,
aren't you?
Aren't you?
That's him.
SUSAN: Mr. Newcomb?
Do you remember me,
Mr. Newcomb?
They don't
play shuffleboard
in the main house.
They have a court,
but they don't play
there anymore.
This is Mr. Rockford.
He'd like to ask you
a few questions
about Dave Kruger's case.
Hello.
I should have won that case.
Never filed an appeal.
You know, if I had
filed an appeal...
Well, I don't know, it's...
It's hard to say.
We're looking into
the possibility
that Dave Kruger
may have been innocent.
I never play
shuffleboard anymore.
I mean, I used to play
when they let us use the court
in the main house.
Mrs. Tucker said
we had to play outside
'cause it woke up
the people who had the rooms
on the second floor.
Mr. Newcomb,
try and remember
Dave Kruger.
Try to picture him
in your mind.
He was convicted of killing
his girlfriend, Cheryl Wilson.
You defended him
over six years ago.
It was the last year
of your practice,
just before you came here.
I don't remember him.
I'm sorry.
I mean, sometimes
things are so clear
I can remember
summations, speeches.
I can remember
right to the last letter.
And I can say them
just the way I did then,
and then,
right in the middle,
it all fades away
and I can't
remember anything.
Do you like baked potatoes?
Yeah. Yeah.
On Wednesdays they have
baked potatoes for lunch.
But I can't eat them.
Give me gas.
I told them in the kitchen.
So they give me
the potatoes uncooked.
I put toothpicks in them,
grow them in a glass of water.
You said you never
filed an appeal, Mr. Newcomb.
Were you going
to file an appeal?
I never filed it.
Mrs. Wilson came to me,
and she wanted me
to file an appeal
but I had the stroke.
Mrs. Wilson? Is that
Cheryl Wilson's mother?
I'm sorry. It's gone.
Isn't it terrible?
It just comes and it goes.
Sometimes,
I feel as like I did
when I was 20.
I feel I could run
and jump over that fence
down there...
and then I know
I'm just an old man
who can't remember things.
You know,
I wish it would be
one way or the other.
Oh, that's all right,
Mr. Newcomb. You've been
very cooperative.
You gonna stay for lunch?
Well...
If you stay,
can I have your potato?
Oh.
Yeah, sure. Sure.
Thank you, Mr. Newcomb.
Thank you very much.
What was Cheryl Wilson's
mother's name?
It was in the court records.
Mary? No, Martha Wilson.
She lived in Santa Monica,
I think.
Her address
was in there somewhere.
Seems strange that
she would go to Newcomb
and want to finance
an appeal
for the man
who was convicted of
killing her own daughter.
Yeah, I suppose,
but you can't
discount the fact
that it was so hazy
in Mr. Newcomb's mind
that he might be
remembering some other woman,
or even some other case.
Well, let's go
talk to her anyway, huh?
We'll drop by your apartment,
pick up the records,
and we'll go on from there.
I wonder why
they won't let him
play shuffleboard
in the main house
in the mornings,
when nobody's asleep.
Kind of makes you hate
Mrs. Tucker, doesn't it?
For a journalist,
you sure have a thin skin.
That's why I'm so good.
ROCKFORD: I guess this is it.
SUSAN: Yeah,
this is the right address.
Well, maybe
the house sold.
It's been
six and a half years.
What're you doing?
I'm out of real estate cards.
(CLATTERING)
That's marvelous.
I never saw
anything like that.
Where did you get it?
Oh, good, the real estate
plate is still on.
Well, I get all
my bogus business cards
printed up professionally.
But it doesn't give me
anywhere near
this much flexibility.
Well, an old client
is a printer,
and I told him
what I needed
and he designed it for me.
(SUSAN LAUGHING)
Well, I want one.
I mean, that's the best tool
I ever saw.
Oh, hey, wait a minute.
Hold on.
I love the printing press,
but I don't love
the real estate approach.
I think we got
a much better chance
if we go in as surveyors.
Here, wait a minute.
There.
Well, now why is that better?
Well, as surveyors,
you can prowl around
and ask all kinds
of technical questions.
But with real estate,
if she's not interested
in selling,
she'll just slam the door
and we're cooked.
Look, I know what I'm doing,
I've opened up
a lot of interviews.
I'm pretty good.
Yeah?
Yeah.
So am I.
We'll do it my way.
You do it your way,
I'll do it mine.
I'll do the talking.
Now, you're my lineman
and sighter.
Hello. We're with the...
Double A Realty.
Actually, I'm the broker
and this is my client,
Mrs. Damion.
And we were just driving by
and saw your house.
It's just what Bill
would like.
We had a ranch style
in Detroit,
but the roof wasn't
pitched enough
and it froze in the winters
and developed dry rot
in the rafters.
In California, of course,
that isn't a problem.
You see, the Damions,
they're moving out
from Detroit.
Mr. Damion is a computer
specialist with Diatron.
Well, I don't know.
Of course you don't.
Let me explain.
See, we were driving by
and Mrs. Damion talked me
into ringing the bell.
It's just exactly
what they were looking for.
Oh, do you mind?
I hope we didn't bother you.
Oh, no. No, of course not.
It's...
It's just that
I never considered selling.
Oh, I hope we can
talk you into it
because it's just perfect.
And there's a school nearby
so little Jess can walk.
They have a son
in the second grade.
(STAMMERING)
I don't know, I...
Well, would you mind
if we came in?
Yeah. Of course not.
SUSAN: Thank you.
(GASPING)
We could put Bill's wet bar
in the corner
with the blue sofa.
Oh, I just never know
what to do
with that big blue sofa.
I mean, most rooms
just can't handle it.
Would you mind
if I asked you
a few questions
about the house?
Oh, no. It's just
that I never really
considered selling.
Bill should see it first.
How many bedrooms?
Three. And a den.
Baths?
Mmm-hmm. Two and a half.
Yeah, well, good. Good.
Looks like the house
is about 20 years old?
Mmm-hmm.
Of course, you're not
the original owner.
No, no. My aunt was
the second owner.
I think she bought it
from a developer.
Yes. Well, you know,
I've been in the area
for quite a while.
I always like to know
the residents.
A good broker
is a good listener.
Let's see, your aunt
would be Wilson.
Mrs. Wilson?
Yeah.
That's right.
Yeah. Martha Wilson.
Yeah. She left it
to my second cousin
when she died
five years ago.
He kind of, you know,
lets me live here temporarily.
I think he's the one
you ought to talk to.
Well, it was a shame
about Mrs. Wilson.
I'm terribly sorry.
She was old,
and she took a lot of pills.
It was an accident,
but she was
in her late 60s.
Yeah. Your second cousin
would be...
Roy Pierce.
Roy Pierce.
The patio
is a little small.
Look, how much
would you be willing
to offer me?
Well, let's see,
for a house like this
with a little tiny patio
only two and a half baths...
Oh, I'd say
about $20,000.
You'd take back
a second at 6%.
That sound about right?
Mmm-hmm.
Not to me.
Yeah. I'm afraid
I wouldn't even be
slightly interested in it
at that amount.
Maybe we should keep looking,
Mr. Rockford.
For $20,000, I wouldn't even
sublet the back bedroom.
Yes. Well, you have my card.
And if you should
change your mind,
I'm in the office usually
between 9:00 and 10:30.
That's except on Wednesdays.
That's when we have
our real estate caravan.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Except for Wednesday,
when we have
the real estate caravan?
Right. Right.
The real estate brokers
get together
and caravan
all the new listings.
Usually on Wednesday morning.
Don't take it so hard.
It worked.
When I hire operatives,
I usually get a chance
to call the shots.
Well, I'm not an operative.
I'm a private detective.
You hire me,
you get the whole product.
Yeah. Complete with
a phony real estate pitch.
How about that.
What do you think?
Was Mrs. Wilson a suicide?
Her daughter gets murdered
and six months or so later,
she's dead
of an overdose of pills.
I suppose it makes sense.
She was dejected
over the murder.
I guess the best thing
would be to check it out
with the medical examiner.
I'll call Becker and
we'll give it a whirl, huh?
Everybody involved
in this case
is either dead or retired.
Which one is
the medical examiner?
Retired, about eight months
after Cheryl Wilson's death.
He's got a boat at the Marina.
His name is Patrick Elber.
Becker checked
the records for me.
Same guy did both autopsies.
Isn't that a little strange?
Why?
They got
two deputy coroners
doing the autopsies.
That means
it's a fifty-fifty chance
same man'd do both of them.
No. It's fifty-fifty
he'd do one.
It's 25-75
he'd do them both.
You're right.
You're right.
That's one in four.
That's my taco.
I've been re-reading
the mother's testimony.
She broke down twice
on the stand
and ended up in the hospital
during the trial.
They had to postpone it
for two weeks
until she was well enough
to testify.
Yeah, and then
she went to Mr. Newcomb
and wanted him
to file an appeal.
Then he had a stroke,
and she committed suicide.
The people standing in Cheryl
Wilson's emotional attic
didn't fare too well,
did they?
I suppose you're right.
If I know what you mean
by "emotional attic."
Your journalistic metaphors
are showing.
I know. I do that sometimes.
Do you have the slip number
to Mr. Elber's boat?
Yeah.
Well, then let's go.
Oh, wait, wait, wait.
Let's get together
on how we're gonna go
after this one, huh?
I'm just gonna show him
my press card.
I think with
a medical examiner,
that's the best way,
just go in straight.
Kind of takes all
the fun out of it.
I mean,
we can't overlook the fact
that the case file is missing.
I mean, somebody's got it.
Maybe this guy's
on somebody's payroll.
You got a better idea?
Well, how about
an insurance investigator
works for an attorney
who's filing
a loss of life claim
against the insurance company
that carried
Mrs. Wilson's policy?
No. I don't like it.
It's just too complicated.
Oh, it'll work.
All we need to do is
scrounge a little information
from the Coroner's Office.
Wait.
You're right.
You're right again.
ROCKFORD:
First, the Coroner's Office
and then Elber.
ELBER: Mr. Slauson.
You must be new.
I don't remember
either one of you.
ROCKFORD: Well, I've been
there almost 18 months now.
SUSAN: You retired before
either one of us got there.
Oh, well.
Oh, come on aboard.
It's good to talk to people
from the old office.
Oh, say...
Oh, Mr. Wilson says hello,
and they miss you
every Thursday night.
ELBER: Well, I miss them.
That poker game made about
$1,000 a year to me.
Oh, and this is my assistant,
Miss Lillian Dexter.
Nice to meet you.
Everybody still talks
about you, Mr. Elber.
Pat or Patrick.
So, what can I do for you?
Well, what we're doing, Pat...
I'll tell it, Lillian,
if you don't mind.
Maybe you've heard
that we're moving
all the old records
from the Coroner's Office
on the building
on West 7th Street,
over to the new microfilm
vaults on Hemmit.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I did hear about that.
Across from the courthouse.
Yeah. That's right.
Well, Miss Dexter and I
what we're doing is
trying to sort out
all the old records
so they'd be
ready to microfilm,
and then we're trying
to reconcile them
against the obits
that are filed with
the County Coroner's Office.
Unfortunately,
there are a few omissions.
Now, I thought
we might get
some information from you,
well, so we could
at least include
some statement of death.
If you could remember.
Otherwise, we'll just
have to file them with a
No Cause of Death statement.
Oh, boy, those files
were always in a mess.
They probably were misfiled,
you know?
Oh, it's really not that bad,
Pat, just four or five
that we can't find.
But you know Mr. Buchanan
is such a stickler for detail.
I remember.
I remember.
Would you just
get him the names,
Miss Dexter?
So we don't
take up his whole day?
Oh, sure. Such a nuisance.
We're sorry.
Oh, it's okay. Go ahead.
Well, now, let me see.
Where are they?
We don't have all day
for this, Miss Dexter.
I'm doing the best I can,
Mr. Slauson.
Take it easy, Slauson.
You'll get the information.
Don't worry. Don't worry.
Ah, yes.
We don't have the record
for a Jerry Kitteringhouse.
Kitteringhouse.
Kitteringhouse.
Wait a minute.
Let me think.
Oh, yeah.
Gunshot wound
in the left ventricle.
He was cleaning his gun.
Accidental death.
Kitteringhouse.
Oh, yes, I remember that one.
Oh, that's great.
That's all we need.
Those records are so old.
It doesn't have
to be complete.
Just enough
to fill in the blanks.
Let's see now.
Martha Wilson,
and Cheryl Wilson.
They were mother and daughter,
and they died within
six months of one another.
Oh, I sure remember that one.
I did both autopsies.
Now, let me see.
Cheryl was beat up
pretty good.
We had to bring the mother
in for partial ident.
Then, wacko. Few months later,
the mother was dead.
I thought at first
it was suicide,
but after I did the autopsy,
I found out that it wasn't
the drugs she'd been taking.
It was her heart.
She was 66 years old
and her heart just gave out.
Myocardial infarction.
Just put down
"heart failure."
Oh. Well, that's it.
Well...
the memory is pretty sharp
for all these years.
Yeah. It's not bad.
Yeah, terrific.
All right. That should
about take care of it.
I still don't see
why you're quitting.
Well, I...
I kind of got where
I like you and I...
I don't enjoy taking money
from my friends.
That's very
sentimental and sweet,
but since it's my money,
what does it matter?
Where do we go from here?
We're fresh out of leads.
The mother died
of a heart attack.
The daughter was murdered.
All the evidence in the case
points toward Dave Kruger,
who could have fooled us both,
and just may be up
for Chino's acting award,
best performance
by a convict.
What about the man
that tried to force me
off the road,
or the one that
tried to shoot me?
Well, I can't explain it.
But it may have
nothing at all
to do with Kruger.
It could be some guy
trying to level an old score
for one of your Pulitzer Prize
winning exposes.
Or Kruger could have
set it up just to keep you
churning away on the case.
I mean, after all, a little
press never hurt a guy
in Kruger's position.
(SCOFFING)
I don't believe that
and neither do you.
Don't tell me what I believe.
Why not? You don't seem
to get very many
swift ideas on your own.
Look, Susan,
you're used to
getting your own way.
Now, you and I both
went through this little maze
and we came out at Start.
You do not get points
for ending up
where you started.
So I...
I gave you a break
on the rate,
and I didn't charge
any expenses.
Well, you didn't have any,
unless you want to count gas
and shoe leather
and about an ounce
of printer's ink.
Yeah, I want to count them.
Yeah, well,
you don't want a detective.
You want a bodyguard.
You think somebody
is still trying to
put your lights out. Okay.
I can recommend some
very competent bodyguards
who will do a much
better job at this
kind of thing than I will,
and they cost a lot less.
Chicken?
Well, of course.
Goes without saying.
What about the appeal
Mrs. Wilson was
going to finance?
An appeal to get the man
convicted of murdering
her daughter out of jail.
What about it?
I asked first.
I don't think
she ever went to Newcomb.
I think that poor old man
just got his facts confused.
That looked so promising.
Yeah, but it petered out.
Newcomb gave us
some information
that went nowhere,
Patrick Elber confirmed
the official police report,
Mrs. Atwater...
What about Mrs. Atwater?
There was something
that bothered me
when we talked to her today,
and it just hit me
what it was.
She said her second cousin,
Roy Pierce,
owned the house, right?
Right.
When I made her
a pretty insulting offer
on the property,
she became very
proprietary.
She said, "I wouldn't be
interested. I wouldn't sublet
the back bedroom for $20,000."
I. I. Not Roy Pierce.
Yeah. That doesn't make sense.
If she owned it,
why wouldn't she admit it?
Well, maybe
she doesn't own it,
but she sure feels at home.
And maybe she
and Roy Pierce are close.
And maybe something else.
Like what?
Let's go ask her.
Well, there must be
somebody in there, with
two cars parked outside.
Let's try around the back.
Did you get
the license number?
No, he's too far away.
At least he left
the door open for us.
What is it?
BECKER: Whoever did it
was trying to get her out.
She was tied up and gagged.
It looks like
she got the gag off,
started yelling.
He must've given her a whack
to keep her quiet,
got her in the temple.
Then you showed up,
he dropped her and ran.
One of the neighbors
saw him take off.
Well, he split
in a blue Chevy.
I didn't get
the license number.
You were here twice
in one day. Why?
I'm working for
Miss Alexander.
Miss Alexander
usually has a lot to say,
but apparently she's willing
to let me stand here
and turn bright blue
without opening her mouth.
What were you and Jim
doing here?
Well, Sergeant,
I'm a journalist and
I'm working on a story.
Now, if I tell you,
you tell the local press,
and I'm out a month's work.
I'm instructing my employee,
Mr. Rockford,
to remain silent.
The First Amendment
and all that.
Where do you get them, Jim?
I don't know, Dennis.
They just seem to seek me out.
Okay, that just about does it.
That's good.
I instructed you
to remain silent.
A journalist doesn't have
to reveal sources of
information or suppositions.
It's all part of
the First Amendment.
Listen, Susan, you and I
terminated our employment
agreement this afternoon
just before the cops arrived.
I do not work for you,
and I'm not about
to withhold evidence
in a murder case.
What information?
We don't know anything.
Okay, Jim, sign this
and you can leave.
We just got a printout on the
fingerprints and Photostats
we sent to Sacramento.
It's about time.
What took you so long?
Well, it's kind of strange,
sir, it was in the deceased
computer records
and that woman
isn't named Atwater.
Her name is Cheryl Wilson,
and she was supposed
to have been murdered
over six years ago.
Oh, good.
Could I speak to
her secretary, please?
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
And could you
put me on hold, please?
Well, come in.
They only kept you two hours.
That's not too bad,
considering.
What'd you do,
make a statement after all?
You can only push
the First Amendment so far.
I was headed for the lockup,
and I had a change of heart.
But they promised me
they wouldn't release it
to the press.
Gotta protect the old byline.
No, I'm on hold.
Oh, thank you.
Yes, this is Mr. Rockford
at the Tres Elegante
jewelry store.
Yes, I'm afraid
I've made a mistake.
I gave Miss Alexander's watch
to a woman who said
she was Miss Alexander
and I'm afraid
I gave it to the wrong woman.
Could you give me
a description of her, please?
Do you wanna see
my birth certificate?
No. No.
I think it's all right.
It sounds like
the right woman. Yes.
It's your secretary.
You want to talk to her?
Oh.
Hi, Nance. It's me.
No.
All right.
Send the message slips home.
I'll answer them tomorrow.
It's a long story.
I'll tell you later.
Bye-bye.
We got off
to such a quick start,
I never got around
to checking your credentials.
Am I a suspect
of some kind?
Well, it flicked
through my mind,
but it didn't fit anything
so I discarded it.
Well, Dave Kruger is
gonna get a hearing,
and I guess it's a
foregone conclusion
that he's gonna be released.
He's already served six years
for killing someone who just
got murdered this afternoon.
Who was the lady
that was killed six years ago?
I think she was just
a very convenient body.
Convenient?
Cheryl Wilson's life
was insured for $200,000.
Her mother
was the beneficiary.
How do you know that?
I have an inventive mind.
And I went over
to the insurance company
and I got some adjustor
by the name of Mr. Villon
very confused,
and he gave me that little bit
of information inadvertently.
Did you tell him
you were a cop?
No. IRS investigator.
Doing a company audit.
You never stop, do you?
Okay. Okay. So?
So, if you put old
Deputy Coroner Patrick Elber
into the picture,
it begins to look
very interesting.
Of course.
He's the one
who made the identification.
He sent the fingerprints up to
Sacramento for a positive ID.
Cheryl, her cousin, Roy,
and Elber were probably
in it together.
She took out
the insurance policy
and they just waited around
for a good stiff.
One that was so badly mauled
it couldn't be identified.
And Cheryl probably
talked her mother
into doing a partial ID.
And Elber substituted
Cheryl's fingerprints
and made it a positive ID.
Cheryl was legally dead,
the insurance company
had to pay off,
and they divided the money.
And Cheryl became
Shirley Atwater
and went underground.
And during the trial,
when the mother broke down,
she must have been getting
an attack of the guilts
when she realized
that Dave was gonna
get convicted of murder.
Which explains her offer
to finance the appeal.
It also makes her suicide,
her cardio-whatever, a murder.
I don't like to think
that Cheryl had anything
to do with that.
Oh, she probably didn't.
When Cheryl was pretending
to be Shirley Atwater,
she insisted
it was an accident.
Patrick Elber could call it
anything he wanted.
I mean, after all,
he was the Coroner.
Yeah, but why kill Cheryl?
Maybe she was getting nervous.
Maybe she stopped believing
that her mother's death
was an accident,
and started asking questions.
Well, let's get on it.
Yeah, we better bring
the cops in on it.
Look, Elber's boat slip
is only about
five minutes away.
I'll go keep an eye on it.
You call Becker.
I thought you didn't like
to shoot people.
I don't shoot it.
I just point it.
He's gone.
Does he honestly think
he can get away
on a boat?
Hey, he doesn't know
anybody's chasing him yet.
If he had have gotten
Cheryl's body out of there,
gotten it on a boat,
he could have taken it out
on the ocean, dumped it
and nobody'd been the wiser.
This way he's got it figured
that the police will take a
little while to figure it out.
Well, Becker's on his way
down here.
Okay.
Here, call him back.
I want you to tell him
to get a chopper
and the Coast Guard.
I'm gonna bet on Mexico.
Well, what're you gonna do?
I'm gonna scrounge up a boat.
All right.
All right. Come on. No deal.
Get off. Get off.
Come on, stop it.
It's gonna be a photo essay.
You point your little gun
and I'll point
my little camera.
Come on,
let's get out of here.
Did you get through
to Becker?
Yeah. He said he'd get us
as much help as he can.
We got a boat
angling in on us.
There's a shark rifle
down in the salon,
starboard side. Got a scope.
Get it, Roy. Hurry up!
He's coming in at us.
Okay. Slow him down.
(RIFLE FIRING)
(RIFLE FIRING)
You can't hit anything.
I can hardly keep this camera
on them.
I just want to give him
something to think about.
Stay down.
Fire right across their bow.
Come on. Move faster.
Just get your pictures.
I'm a little busy.
You know,
it seems strange to think
that Cheryl was alive,
all those years
I was in prison.
And Roy,
Roy Pierce
was the one that killed her,
and he was her own cousin.
And the beneficiary
of her mother's policy.
And Elber used his connections
at the department
to keep the lid on.
He even walked off
with the case file when
one of his cronies told him
Susan was digging
into the case.
KRUGER: Well, I'm out
and that's what counts.
Pretty good picture,
don't you think?
That picture is causing me
a lot of trouble, Susan.
Just because
you weren't supposed
to have a gun.
It's just
a little technicality.
I don't think
it's gonna cause you
much trouble.
That little technicality
is gonna cost me
a court appearance,
maybe a fine,
and a possible
temporary suspension
of my license.
Well, if they do that,
you can always go into
the printing business.
That supposed to be a joke?
Well, let's not quarrel,
this is Dave's party.
You know, I spent
a lot of time in prison,
and there was a time there
when I didn't think anybody
even knew I was alive.
And then you come to me,
Miss Alexander,
you threw me a lifeline.
I drink to you.
And to you, Mr. Rockford.
Jim.
You risked your life for me,
and you figured it out.
I've been in jail six years
trying to figure it out
and I didn't have a clue.
What are you gonna do
with your life, Dave?
I mean, you're out
and you've got a pardon.
And now you've got a future.
I don't have that
completely doped out yet.
Maybe I'm gonna get in
the gas station business.
I think I'd like to get
a gas station.
What are you gonna do
tomorrow? Or next week?
I'd like to do
a follow-up story.
Well, first, I'm gonna
borrow $50, maybe a $100.
Okay.
I'll loan it to you.
Thanks.
Well, then what are you
gonna do? Well, I'd like
to do a photo essay.
You don't want
any pictures, Susan.
Well, why not?
I think it'd be fascinating.
You do?
Yeah.
Tell her what you're
gonna do, Dave.
I'm gonna get a woman
and I'm gonna get drunk.
Oh.
I'll drink to that.
Well, I guess I can, too.
shoved off a cliff,
because she wasn't supposed
to get shoved off a cliff.
Are you saying
someone tried to hurt Susan?
Why's somebody
trying to take you off?
Because I've been nosing
around the Dave Kruger case.
You don't want a detective.
You want a bodyguard.
Chicken?
Well, of course.
Goes without saying.
But you're a
private investigator.
Why don't you carry a gun?
Because I don't want
to shoot anybody.
I thought you didn't like
to shoot people.
I don't shoot it.
I just point it.
Did you get through
to Becker?
Yeah. He said he'd get
as much help as he can.
We got a boat
angling in on us.
(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)
(ON TELEPHONE)
Hey, Jimmy, it's Cousin Lou.
Gonna be in town
a couple of days,
know you won't mind
putting us up.
It's just me and Aunt Cissy,
and B.J., and the kids,
and little Freddy, and...
Mr. Hummel, I got a letter
from your computer today.
It was very cordial,
very nice.
It's short.
I wanna read it to you.
"Dear Mr. Rockford.
"Please accept our apologies
for any inconvenience.
"We have located
the missing invoice,
"photocopy of which
is enclosed."
Mr. Hummel,
nothing was enclosed.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Yeah. Come in.
Yeah.
Oh, I'll be right with you.
Yeah.
Mr. Hummel,
let me put it to you this way.
You do a dandy two-step,
but I'm tired of dancing.
Now, it's been three months.
No invoice, no payment.
It's a computer foul-up.
Jim Rockford.
I know. I'm Susan Alexander.
Well, what can I do for you?
I'm a feature writer
with Henton Publications,
and I'm doing an article
on penology.
Six and a half years ago,
a man named Dave Kruger
was convicted of murder.
He's serving a life sentence.
Now, I think he's innocent
and I want you to help me
prove it.
After six and a half years?
I only became aware
of the case a month ago.
That's how I met Dave.
And springing him
would sell a lot of magazines.
Yes, it would.
But if it meant
a drop in circulation,
I'd still be determined
to clear him.
Why?
Because I don't believe
people should be in prison
for crimes they didn't commit.
I don't either.
And Dave, he says
he's innocent, huh?
I'm a reporter.
Now, if the person I'm talking
to has a stake in the matter
I assume that every answer
I get is gonna be a lie
to one degree or another.
People are self-serving.
So you take that
into consideration.
Would you care
for a cookie?
No, thanks.
All right, you're not just
taking his word for it, right?
So if you've turned up
anything solid,
why don't you go to the D.A.
And have him reopen the case?
If I had anything solid,
I wouldn't need you.
Dave's girlfriend,
Cheryl Wilson,
was bludgeoned to death.
She was beaten so badly
that the only thing
that made positive
identification possible
was her fingerprints.
Mmm-hmm.
And Dave,
he's a sweetheart of a guy.
I've sat through
a lot of murder trials,
and I've heard
a lot of witnesses say,
"But he was such a nice guy."
Now, I'm not saying Dave
is incapable of violence.
I'm saying,
I don't think he killed her.
Now, that is just
pure gut instinct.
Are you always
this hard to hire?
Oh, only when somebody
comes in with "mark"
written all over them.
Dave didn't ask me to get
into this. It was my own idea.
Well, lady...
I think
you're being suckered.
Then you don't want the job?
Mmm.
I didn't say that.
No, I just like
to be upfront,
and then I don't feel so bad
taking your money.
How much?
$200 a day plus expenses.
I want you to meet Dave.
Yeah, well, all right,
let me, you know, get my coat.
In New York
the going rate's $250.
I was about ready
to give up on this.
I mean, I've been over
the trial transcript
a dozen times.
I kept digging
for information.
And nothing but dead ends.
If that man hadn't tried
to kill me today...
Oh, wait a minute,
wait a minute.
Why?
Who tried to kill you?
I don't know.
I've never seen him before.
But he tried to force my car
off the road right about here.
I reported it to the police,
and they've already
checked the area.
Why didn't you tell me?
Physical violence
has a tendency
to put some people off.
Yeah, I'm one of them.
You should've told me.
We could have saved both of us
a lot of time.
I don't hire out as muscle.
Did I ask you to put on
a gorilla suit?
I hired you to help me prove
that Dave Kruger is innocent.
And what happened
this morning tells me
I'm on the right track.
Somebody doesn't want
this case reopened.
Well, what happens
when somebody decides
to take another crack at you?
They won't.
The attempt this morning
was against a woman alone
and unarmed.
Yeah, and next time
it'll be against the two of us
alone and unarmed.
You're not armed?
No.
But you're
a private investigator.
Why don't you carry a gun?
Because I don't want
to shoot anybody.
ROCKFORD: Why is Dave
so important to you?
I grew up with a lot
of Dave Krugers.
Not enough money,
bad neighborhood.
When they get tagged,
what kind of defense
can they afford,
what kind of appeal?
This is just
a personal crusade.
Very personal. It's why
I became a journalist.
And Henton Publications
gives me a power base,
a very strong voice.
Now, Dave Kruger isn't guilty
and he shouldn't be
serving time.
Everybody in here
is in on a bum rap.
Just ask them.
No, no, when Dave
was arrested, he took
three lie detector tests.
And all three proved
he was clean,
and all of them
were invalidated
on technical grounds.
It wouldn't have been
admissible in court anyway.
Don't you trust anybody?
My father.
Of course, he's bonded.
Hey, Susan.
Two visits in one day.
It's like my birthday.
This time I brought along
a friend. Jim Rockford.
Hi. How are you?
Hi.
Nice to meet you.
I've heard a lot about you.
Mr. Rockford is
a private investigator.
He's gonna help me try
to get you out of here.
No kidding.
(LAUGHING)
Hey, hey.
Oh, this is some day, huh?
First, Susan calls me
and says,
"That's it,
we got no place else to go."
So I say, "Hey,
can't we talk about it?"
So, she come out here
and we talk.
She says how she's run into
nothing but stone walls.
She tried, but it's no use.
So I figured I'm cooked,
right?
End of the line. Hey. Hey.
Well, I knew you'd be happy.
Oh, happy?
Boy, that don't half say it.
Now, you just tell me
what you want.
You just tell me what to do.
Well, since
I'm sort of jumping in
the middle of this thing,
I think the best way
to start is you and I
get to know one another.
Oh, that's great.
Why don't we all
sit down here?
Do you mind
if Dave and I just...
Oh. No. No, of course not.
I can wait in the car.
I'll be in touch, Dave.
Mr. Rockford, do you want
I can start from where
me and Cheryl met?
Or from where
what happened to her?
I gotta tell you,
it's been more than
six years
and it still twists my guts
like when I first heard.
She was my girl.
Dave, stop sticking your toe
in the ground, huh?
That sod-kicking act
just won't make it.
What?
Hey, come on, pal,
I know what
you're trying to pull.
I've done time.
I know all the cons,
I've worked them myself.
I don't know
what you're talking about.
She didn't get
shoved off a cliff,
because she wasn't supposed
to get shoved off a cliff.
There's no percentage in it
if the lady's dead.
Are you saying
someone tried to hurt Susan?
For a big, old country boy
you're pretty smart.
You hired some rumdum
to throw a scare into her,
because you knew
that was the one thing
that would keep her
on your case.
Anybody else
would've said adios.
Nah, she thinks
she's onto something.
She smells a story.
Well, that ain't what I smell.
Well, I would never
hurt Susan.
She's the only one
that ever tried to help me.
She's the only one
ever believed in me.
I never killed Cheryl,
somebody did.
If stirring up this old case
is gonna bring harm to Susan,
I want you tell her,
flat out, forget it.
Now, I mean it, Mr. Rockford.
I want you tell her
I said forget it.
Now, look,
I got some money.
Not much.
But I'd give it over gladly
if you was to keep
an eye on her.
I already got a client.
I'll keep an eye
on her anyway.
He's had about as much
as he can take.
You had no right
making those accusations.
You hired me
to investigate.
I'm investigating.
The wrong person.
The warden told you
Dave didn't make
any telephone calls.
He couldn't have set me up.
Everybody loves Dave.
Somebody could've made
the call for him.
Everybody loves Dave,
because he's exactly
the person he appears to be.
Yeah, maybe.
Come on.
I want you to read
the transcript of the trial.
What is it?
That's the car that tried
to force me off the road.
(GUN FIRING)
SUSAN: He's getting away!
He's getting away!
That's past tense.
If you'd move,
maybe we could catch him.
And?
He has a gun.
Very good. Now get in the car.
Car belongs
to a Harry Freidell.
1422 West Dunsmuir.
Name mean anything to you?
No.
No reason it should.
Freidell wasn't driving.
That car's been
on the hot sheet
since 8:00 this morning.
I told you
we should've followed him.
Fearless Fosdick.
There've been two attempts
on my life today.
I'd kind of like to know
who wants me dead.
Two?
The other took place
out near Chino.
I reported it
to the police there.
Why's somebody
trying to take you off?
Because I've been nosing
around the Dave Kruger case.
I think he's innocent.
Whoever's guilty
is getting a little nervous.
Kruger?
Yeah, it was about
six and a half years ago,
Dennis.
A Murder One.
Oh, yeah, I remember.
They had him cold.
Motive, opportunity.
The last known person
to see the girl alive.
Violent quarrel
before she disappeared.
He didn't kill her.
I met Kruger
today, Dennis.
And he comes across
pretty straight.
But the fact is
that somebody did try
to kill Miss Alexander.
Now, Kruger is
no candidate there.
I mean, he's in the joint.
Okay, let's say you're right.
What am I supposed to do?
We got the license number
of a stolen vehicle,
and we got
a physical description
that fits half
the guys in L.A.
You got something else,
Dennis. You got the case file.
Oh, no.
Let me take a look at it.
What's it gonna hurt?
My chances
of making lieutenant.
Oh, nobody's gonna
come down on you
for letting me see a file
that's been closed
for six and a half years.
Another six months
it's gonna be
out of the file room
and onto microfilm.
That's the last anybody
is gonna think about it.
I said no.
Dennis, you just took a report
on an attempted homicide.
Now, maybe there's something
in that file
that would save
the young lady's life.
Huh?
No, it's not here.
Well, could it be
in another file room?
No. This is it.
Could somebody have
checked it out?
No, they had to sign
for it. They didn't.
Well, do you keep duplicates?
No. Not on a case that's
been closed for six years.
Jimbo, you better start
looking over your shoulder.
There's only one reason
for walking off
with a dead file.
Yeah.
To make sure it stays dead.
Do you know
what was in that file?
Yeah. Everything
the police turned up
in their investigation.
The results of
the polygraph tests,
all the preliminary
questioning.
There may have been
something new that
we could follow through on.
Or something old.
Who were the
principals involved,
besides Dave?
Well, there was
Cheryl's mother.
She made the identification.
Took it hard.
I can't see her wanting
to help us free the man
she thinks
killed her daughter.
Well, what about
the witnesses?
For the defense,
character witnesses
going all the way back
to grammar school.
And for the prosecution?
There weren't any
eyewitnesses to the crime.
But there were
a number of neighbors
who testified
to the argument
that Cheryl and Dave had
just prior to her death.
Dave never denied
the argument.
In fact, he said that Cheryl
seemed to be deliberately
provoking the argument
as if she wanted the fight.
Did anybody see Cheryl
after that argument?
Except when
they found her body?
Well, no...
it was about a week later.
There were some kids up hiking
in the Santa Monica mountains.
They're probably still
having nightmares.
Well, maybe Dave's attorney
would have some good ideas.
Mr. Newcomb?
He had a stroke shortly
after Dave was sentenced.
He's been in a rest home
ever since.
I tried to talk to him,
but his mind is just... gone.
He's fairly lucid
from time to time, but...
Here.
Let me help you with that.
I'm used to making my own bed.
No. No. This is mine.
You're gonna take the bedroom.
No.
Hey, look,
this is my idea, huh?
I mean, you can't go back
to your own apartment.
I want you right where
I can keep an eye on you.
I've slept
on the couch before.
Well, so have I.
Not yours, but...
Now, look,
the gallantry's very nice,
but it's very unnecessary.
I've slept in freight cars,
telephone booths,
and a few years ago,
when I was covering
a dock strike in New York,
I even spent the night
on a pool table
in McGinty's Bar.
Then you earned
a good night's rest.
You're stubborn,
aren't you?
Aren't you?
That's him.
SUSAN: Mr. Newcomb?
Do you remember me,
Mr. Newcomb?
They don't
play shuffleboard
in the main house.
They have a court,
but they don't play
there anymore.
This is Mr. Rockford.
He'd like to ask you
a few questions
about Dave Kruger's case.
Hello.
I should have won that case.
Never filed an appeal.
You know, if I had
filed an appeal...
Well, I don't know, it's...
It's hard to say.
We're looking into
the possibility
that Dave Kruger
may have been innocent.
I never play
shuffleboard anymore.
I mean, I used to play
when they let us use the court
in the main house.
Mrs. Tucker said
we had to play outside
'cause it woke up
the people who had the rooms
on the second floor.
Mr. Newcomb,
try and remember
Dave Kruger.
Try to picture him
in your mind.
He was convicted of killing
his girlfriend, Cheryl Wilson.
You defended him
over six years ago.
It was the last year
of your practice,
just before you came here.
I don't remember him.
I'm sorry.
I mean, sometimes
things are so clear
I can remember
summations, speeches.
I can remember
right to the last letter.
And I can say them
just the way I did then,
and then,
right in the middle,
it all fades away
and I can't
remember anything.
Do you like baked potatoes?
Yeah. Yeah.
On Wednesdays they have
baked potatoes for lunch.
But I can't eat them.
Give me gas.
I told them in the kitchen.
So they give me
the potatoes uncooked.
I put toothpicks in them,
grow them in a glass of water.
You said you never
filed an appeal, Mr. Newcomb.
Were you going
to file an appeal?
I never filed it.
Mrs. Wilson came to me,
and she wanted me
to file an appeal
but I had the stroke.
Mrs. Wilson? Is that
Cheryl Wilson's mother?
I'm sorry. It's gone.
Isn't it terrible?
It just comes and it goes.
Sometimes,
I feel as like I did
when I was 20.
I feel I could run
and jump over that fence
down there...
and then I know
I'm just an old man
who can't remember things.
You know,
I wish it would be
one way or the other.
Oh, that's all right,
Mr. Newcomb. You've been
very cooperative.
You gonna stay for lunch?
Well...
If you stay,
can I have your potato?
Oh.
Yeah, sure. Sure.
Thank you, Mr. Newcomb.
Thank you very much.
What was Cheryl Wilson's
mother's name?
It was in the court records.
Mary? No, Martha Wilson.
She lived in Santa Monica,
I think.
Her address
was in there somewhere.
Seems strange that
she would go to Newcomb
and want to finance
an appeal
for the man
who was convicted of
killing her own daughter.
Yeah, I suppose,
but you can't
discount the fact
that it was so hazy
in Mr. Newcomb's mind
that he might be
remembering some other woman,
or even some other case.
Well, let's go
talk to her anyway, huh?
We'll drop by your apartment,
pick up the records,
and we'll go on from there.
I wonder why
they won't let him
play shuffleboard
in the main house
in the mornings,
when nobody's asleep.
Kind of makes you hate
Mrs. Tucker, doesn't it?
For a journalist,
you sure have a thin skin.
That's why I'm so good.
ROCKFORD: I guess this is it.
SUSAN: Yeah,
this is the right address.
Well, maybe
the house sold.
It's been
six and a half years.
What're you doing?
I'm out of real estate cards.
(CLATTERING)
That's marvelous.
I never saw
anything like that.
Where did you get it?
Oh, good, the real estate
plate is still on.
Well, I get all
my bogus business cards
printed up professionally.
But it doesn't give me
anywhere near
this much flexibility.
Well, an old client
is a printer,
and I told him
what I needed
and he designed it for me.
(SUSAN LAUGHING)
Well, I want one.
I mean, that's the best tool
I ever saw.
Oh, hey, wait a minute.
Hold on.
I love the printing press,
but I don't love
the real estate approach.
I think we got
a much better chance
if we go in as surveyors.
Here, wait a minute.
There.
Well, now why is that better?
Well, as surveyors,
you can prowl around
and ask all kinds
of technical questions.
But with real estate,
if she's not interested
in selling,
she'll just slam the door
and we're cooked.
Look, I know what I'm doing,
I've opened up
a lot of interviews.
I'm pretty good.
Yeah?
Yeah.
So am I.
We'll do it my way.
You do it your way,
I'll do it mine.
I'll do the talking.
Now, you're my lineman
and sighter.
Hello. We're with the...
Double A Realty.
Actually, I'm the broker
and this is my client,
Mrs. Damion.
And we were just driving by
and saw your house.
It's just what Bill
would like.
We had a ranch style
in Detroit,
but the roof wasn't
pitched enough
and it froze in the winters
and developed dry rot
in the rafters.
In California, of course,
that isn't a problem.
You see, the Damions,
they're moving out
from Detroit.
Mr. Damion is a computer
specialist with Diatron.
Well, I don't know.
Of course you don't.
Let me explain.
See, we were driving by
and Mrs. Damion talked me
into ringing the bell.
It's just exactly
what they were looking for.
Oh, do you mind?
I hope we didn't bother you.
Oh, no. No, of course not.
It's...
It's just that
I never considered selling.
Oh, I hope we can
talk you into it
because it's just perfect.
And there's a school nearby
so little Jess can walk.
They have a son
in the second grade.
(STAMMERING)
I don't know, I...
Well, would you mind
if we came in?
Yeah. Of course not.
SUSAN: Thank you.
(GASPING)
We could put Bill's wet bar
in the corner
with the blue sofa.
Oh, I just never know
what to do
with that big blue sofa.
I mean, most rooms
just can't handle it.
Would you mind
if I asked you
a few questions
about the house?
Oh, no. It's just
that I never really
considered selling.
Bill should see it first.
How many bedrooms?
Three. And a den.
Baths?
Mmm-hmm. Two and a half.
Yeah, well, good. Good.
Looks like the house
is about 20 years old?
Mmm-hmm.
Of course, you're not
the original owner.
No, no. My aunt was
the second owner.
I think she bought it
from a developer.
Yes. Well, you know,
I've been in the area
for quite a while.
I always like to know
the residents.
A good broker
is a good listener.
Let's see, your aunt
would be Wilson.
Mrs. Wilson?
Yeah.
That's right.
Yeah. Martha Wilson.
Yeah. She left it
to my second cousin
when she died
five years ago.
He kind of, you know,
lets me live here temporarily.
I think he's the one
you ought to talk to.
Well, it was a shame
about Mrs. Wilson.
I'm terribly sorry.
She was old,
and she took a lot of pills.
It was an accident,
but she was
in her late 60s.
Yeah. Your second cousin
would be...
Roy Pierce.
Roy Pierce.
The patio
is a little small.
Look, how much
would you be willing
to offer me?
Well, let's see,
for a house like this
with a little tiny patio
only two and a half baths...
Oh, I'd say
about $20,000.
You'd take back
a second at 6%.
That sound about right?
Mmm-hmm.
Not to me.
Yeah. I'm afraid
I wouldn't even be
slightly interested in it
at that amount.
Maybe we should keep looking,
Mr. Rockford.
For $20,000, I wouldn't even
sublet the back bedroom.
Yes. Well, you have my card.
And if you should
change your mind,
I'm in the office usually
between 9:00 and 10:30.
That's except on Wednesdays.
That's when we have
our real estate caravan.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Except for Wednesday,
when we have
the real estate caravan?
Right. Right.
The real estate brokers
get together
and caravan
all the new listings.
Usually on Wednesday morning.
Don't take it so hard.
It worked.
When I hire operatives,
I usually get a chance
to call the shots.
Well, I'm not an operative.
I'm a private detective.
You hire me,
you get the whole product.
Yeah. Complete with
a phony real estate pitch.
How about that.
What do you think?
Was Mrs. Wilson a suicide?
Her daughter gets murdered
and six months or so later,
she's dead
of an overdose of pills.
I suppose it makes sense.
She was dejected
over the murder.
I guess the best thing
would be to check it out
with the medical examiner.
I'll call Becker and
we'll give it a whirl, huh?
Everybody involved
in this case
is either dead or retired.
Which one is
the medical examiner?
Retired, about eight months
after Cheryl Wilson's death.
He's got a boat at the Marina.
His name is Patrick Elber.
Becker checked
the records for me.
Same guy did both autopsies.
Isn't that a little strange?
Why?
They got
two deputy coroners
doing the autopsies.
That means
it's a fifty-fifty chance
same man'd do both of them.
No. It's fifty-fifty
he'd do one.
It's 25-75
he'd do them both.
You're right.
You're right.
That's one in four.
That's my taco.
I've been re-reading
the mother's testimony.
She broke down twice
on the stand
and ended up in the hospital
during the trial.
They had to postpone it
for two weeks
until she was well enough
to testify.
Yeah, and then
she went to Mr. Newcomb
and wanted him
to file an appeal.
Then he had a stroke,
and she committed suicide.
The people standing in Cheryl
Wilson's emotional attic
didn't fare too well,
did they?
I suppose you're right.
If I know what you mean
by "emotional attic."
Your journalistic metaphors
are showing.
I know. I do that sometimes.
Do you have the slip number
to Mr. Elber's boat?
Yeah.
Well, then let's go.
Oh, wait, wait, wait.
Let's get together
on how we're gonna go
after this one, huh?
I'm just gonna show him
my press card.
I think with
a medical examiner,
that's the best way,
just go in straight.
Kind of takes all
the fun out of it.
I mean,
we can't overlook the fact
that the case file is missing.
I mean, somebody's got it.
Maybe this guy's
on somebody's payroll.
You got a better idea?
Well, how about
an insurance investigator
works for an attorney
who's filing
a loss of life claim
against the insurance company
that carried
Mrs. Wilson's policy?
No. I don't like it.
It's just too complicated.
Oh, it'll work.
All we need to do is
scrounge a little information
from the Coroner's Office.
Wait.
You're right.
You're right again.
ROCKFORD:
First, the Coroner's Office
and then Elber.
ELBER: Mr. Slauson.
You must be new.
I don't remember
either one of you.
ROCKFORD: Well, I've been
there almost 18 months now.
SUSAN: You retired before
either one of us got there.
Oh, well.
Oh, come on aboard.
It's good to talk to people
from the old office.
Oh, say...
Oh, Mr. Wilson says hello,
and they miss you
every Thursday night.
ELBER: Well, I miss them.
That poker game made about
$1,000 a year to me.
Oh, and this is my assistant,
Miss Lillian Dexter.
Nice to meet you.
Everybody still talks
about you, Mr. Elber.
Pat or Patrick.
So, what can I do for you?
Well, what we're doing, Pat...
I'll tell it, Lillian,
if you don't mind.
Maybe you've heard
that we're moving
all the old records
from the Coroner's Office
on the building
on West 7th Street,
over to the new microfilm
vaults on Hemmit.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I did hear about that.
Across from the courthouse.
Yeah. That's right.
Well, Miss Dexter and I
what we're doing is
trying to sort out
all the old records
so they'd be
ready to microfilm,
and then we're trying
to reconcile them
against the obits
that are filed with
the County Coroner's Office.
Unfortunately,
there are a few omissions.
Now, I thought
we might get
some information from you,
well, so we could
at least include
some statement of death.
If you could remember.
Otherwise, we'll just
have to file them with a
No Cause of Death statement.
Oh, boy, those files
were always in a mess.
They probably were misfiled,
you know?
Oh, it's really not that bad,
Pat, just four or five
that we can't find.
But you know Mr. Buchanan
is such a stickler for detail.
I remember.
I remember.
Would you just
get him the names,
Miss Dexter?
So we don't
take up his whole day?
Oh, sure. Such a nuisance.
We're sorry.
Oh, it's okay. Go ahead.
Well, now, let me see.
Where are they?
We don't have all day
for this, Miss Dexter.
I'm doing the best I can,
Mr. Slauson.
Take it easy, Slauson.
You'll get the information.
Don't worry. Don't worry.
Ah, yes.
We don't have the record
for a Jerry Kitteringhouse.
Kitteringhouse.
Kitteringhouse.
Wait a minute.
Let me think.
Oh, yeah.
Gunshot wound
in the left ventricle.
He was cleaning his gun.
Accidental death.
Kitteringhouse.
Oh, yes, I remember that one.
Oh, that's great.
That's all we need.
Those records are so old.
It doesn't have
to be complete.
Just enough
to fill in the blanks.
Let's see now.
Martha Wilson,
and Cheryl Wilson.
They were mother and daughter,
and they died within
six months of one another.
Oh, I sure remember that one.
I did both autopsies.
Now, let me see.
Cheryl was beat up
pretty good.
We had to bring the mother
in for partial ident.
Then, wacko. Few months later,
the mother was dead.
I thought at first
it was suicide,
but after I did the autopsy,
I found out that it wasn't
the drugs she'd been taking.
It was her heart.
She was 66 years old
and her heart just gave out.
Myocardial infarction.
Just put down
"heart failure."
Oh. Well, that's it.
Well...
the memory is pretty sharp
for all these years.
Yeah. It's not bad.
Yeah, terrific.
All right. That should
about take care of it.
I still don't see
why you're quitting.
Well, I...
I kind of got where
I like you and I...
I don't enjoy taking money
from my friends.
That's very
sentimental and sweet,
but since it's my money,
what does it matter?
Where do we go from here?
We're fresh out of leads.
The mother died
of a heart attack.
The daughter was murdered.
All the evidence in the case
points toward Dave Kruger,
who could have fooled us both,
and just may be up
for Chino's acting award,
best performance
by a convict.
What about the man
that tried to force me
off the road,
or the one that
tried to shoot me?
Well, I can't explain it.
But it may have
nothing at all
to do with Kruger.
It could be some guy
trying to level an old score
for one of your Pulitzer Prize
winning exposes.
Or Kruger could have
set it up just to keep you
churning away on the case.
I mean, after all, a little
press never hurt a guy
in Kruger's position.
(SCOFFING)
I don't believe that
and neither do you.
Don't tell me what I believe.
Why not? You don't seem
to get very many
swift ideas on your own.
Look, Susan,
you're used to
getting your own way.
Now, you and I both
went through this little maze
and we came out at Start.
You do not get points
for ending up
where you started.
So I...
I gave you a break
on the rate,
and I didn't charge
any expenses.
Well, you didn't have any,
unless you want to count gas
and shoe leather
and about an ounce
of printer's ink.
Yeah, I want to count them.
Yeah, well,
you don't want a detective.
You want a bodyguard.
You think somebody
is still trying to
put your lights out. Okay.
I can recommend some
very competent bodyguards
who will do a much
better job at this
kind of thing than I will,
and they cost a lot less.
Chicken?
Well, of course.
Goes without saying.
What about the appeal
Mrs. Wilson was
going to finance?
An appeal to get the man
convicted of murdering
her daughter out of jail.
What about it?
I asked first.
I don't think
she ever went to Newcomb.
I think that poor old man
just got his facts confused.
That looked so promising.
Yeah, but it petered out.
Newcomb gave us
some information
that went nowhere,
Patrick Elber confirmed
the official police report,
Mrs. Atwater...
What about Mrs. Atwater?
There was something
that bothered me
when we talked to her today,
and it just hit me
what it was.
She said her second cousin,
Roy Pierce,
owned the house, right?
Right.
When I made her
a pretty insulting offer
on the property,
she became very
proprietary.
She said, "I wouldn't be
interested. I wouldn't sublet
the back bedroom for $20,000."
I. I. Not Roy Pierce.
Yeah. That doesn't make sense.
If she owned it,
why wouldn't she admit it?
Well, maybe
she doesn't own it,
but she sure feels at home.
And maybe she
and Roy Pierce are close.
And maybe something else.
Like what?
Let's go ask her.
Well, there must be
somebody in there, with
two cars parked outside.
Let's try around the back.
Did you get
the license number?
No, he's too far away.
At least he left
the door open for us.
What is it?
BECKER: Whoever did it
was trying to get her out.
She was tied up and gagged.
It looks like
she got the gag off,
started yelling.
He must've given her a whack
to keep her quiet,
got her in the temple.
Then you showed up,
he dropped her and ran.
One of the neighbors
saw him take off.
Well, he split
in a blue Chevy.
I didn't get
the license number.
You were here twice
in one day. Why?
I'm working for
Miss Alexander.
Miss Alexander
usually has a lot to say,
but apparently she's willing
to let me stand here
and turn bright blue
without opening her mouth.
What were you and Jim
doing here?
Well, Sergeant,
I'm a journalist and
I'm working on a story.
Now, if I tell you,
you tell the local press,
and I'm out a month's work.
I'm instructing my employee,
Mr. Rockford,
to remain silent.
The First Amendment
and all that.
Where do you get them, Jim?
I don't know, Dennis.
They just seem to seek me out.
Okay, that just about does it.
That's good.
I instructed you
to remain silent.
A journalist doesn't have
to reveal sources of
information or suppositions.
It's all part of
the First Amendment.
Listen, Susan, you and I
terminated our employment
agreement this afternoon
just before the cops arrived.
I do not work for you,
and I'm not about
to withhold evidence
in a murder case.
What information?
We don't know anything.
Okay, Jim, sign this
and you can leave.
We just got a printout on the
fingerprints and Photostats
we sent to Sacramento.
It's about time.
What took you so long?
Well, it's kind of strange,
sir, it was in the deceased
computer records
and that woman
isn't named Atwater.
Her name is Cheryl Wilson,
and she was supposed
to have been murdered
over six years ago.
Oh, good.
Could I speak to
her secretary, please?
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
And could you
put me on hold, please?
Well, come in.
They only kept you two hours.
That's not too bad,
considering.
What'd you do,
make a statement after all?
You can only push
the First Amendment so far.
I was headed for the lockup,
and I had a change of heart.
But they promised me
they wouldn't release it
to the press.
Gotta protect the old byline.
No, I'm on hold.
Oh, thank you.
Yes, this is Mr. Rockford
at the Tres Elegante
jewelry store.
Yes, I'm afraid
I've made a mistake.
I gave Miss Alexander's watch
to a woman who said
she was Miss Alexander
and I'm afraid
I gave it to the wrong woman.
Could you give me
a description of her, please?
Do you wanna see
my birth certificate?
No. No.
I think it's all right.
It sounds like
the right woman. Yes.
It's your secretary.
You want to talk to her?
Oh.
Hi, Nance. It's me.
No.
All right.
Send the message slips home.
I'll answer them tomorrow.
It's a long story.
I'll tell you later.
Bye-bye.
We got off
to such a quick start,
I never got around
to checking your credentials.
Am I a suspect
of some kind?
Well, it flicked
through my mind,
but it didn't fit anything
so I discarded it.
Well, Dave Kruger is
gonna get a hearing,
and I guess it's a
foregone conclusion
that he's gonna be released.
He's already served six years
for killing someone who just
got murdered this afternoon.
Who was the lady
that was killed six years ago?
I think she was just
a very convenient body.
Convenient?
Cheryl Wilson's life
was insured for $200,000.
Her mother
was the beneficiary.
How do you know that?
I have an inventive mind.
And I went over
to the insurance company
and I got some adjustor
by the name of Mr. Villon
very confused,
and he gave me that little bit
of information inadvertently.
Did you tell him
you were a cop?
No. IRS investigator.
Doing a company audit.
You never stop, do you?
Okay. Okay. So?
So, if you put old
Deputy Coroner Patrick Elber
into the picture,
it begins to look
very interesting.
Of course.
He's the one
who made the identification.
He sent the fingerprints up to
Sacramento for a positive ID.
Cheryl, her cousin, Roy,
and Elber were probably
in it together.
She took out
the insurance policy
and they just waited around
for a good stiff.
One that was so badly mauled
it couldn't be identified.
And Cheryl probably
talked her mother
into doing a partial ID.
And Elber substituted
Cheryl's fingerprints
and made it a positive ID.
Cheryl was legally dead,
the insurance company
had to pay off,
and they divided the money.
And Cheryl became
Shirley Atwater
and went underground.
And during the trial,
when the mother broke down,
she must have been getting
an attack of the guilts
when she realized
that Dave was gonna
get convicted of murder.
Which explains her offer
to finance the appeal.
It also makes her suicide,
her cardio-whatever, a murder.
I don't like to think
that Cheryl had anything
to do with that.
Oh, she probably didn't.
When Cheryl was pretending
to be Shirley Atwater,
she insisted
it was an accident.
Patrick Elber could call it
anything he wanted.
I mean, after all,
he was the Coroner.
Yeah, but why kill Cheryl?
Maybe she was getting nervous.
Maybe she stopped believing
that her mother's death
was an accident,
and started asking questions.
Well, let's get on it.
Yeah, we better bring
the cops in on it.
Look, Elber's boat slip
is only about
five minutes away.
I'll go keep an eye on it.
You call Becker.
I thought you didn't like
to shoot people.
I don't shoot it.
I just point it.
He's gone.
Does he honestly think
he can get away
on a boat?
Hey, he doesn't know
anybody's chasing him yet.
If he had have gotten
Cheryl's body out of there,
gotten it on a boat,
he could have taken it out
on the ocean, dumped it
and nobody'd been the wiser.
This way he's got it figured
that the police will take a
little while to figure it out.
Well, Becker's on his way
down here.
Okay.
Here, call him back.
I want you to tell him
to get a chopper
and the Coast Guard.
I'm gonna bet on Mexico.
Well, what're you gonna do?
I'm gonna scrounge up a boat.
All right.
All right. Come on. No deal.
Get off. Get off.
Come on, stop it.
It's gonna be a photo essay.
You point your little gun
and I'll point
my little camera.
Come on,
let's get out of here.
Did you get through
to Becker?
Yeah. He said he'd get us
as much help as he can.
We got a boat
angling in on us.
There's a shark rifle
down in the salon,
starboard side. Got a scope.
Get it, Roy. Hurry up!
He's coming in at us.
Okay. Slow him down.
(RIFLE FIRING)
(RIFLE FIRING)
You can't hit anything.
I can hardly keep this camera
on them.
I just want to give him
something to think about.
Stay down.
Fire right across their bow.
Come on. Move faster.
Just get your pictures.
I'm a little busy.
You know,
it seems strange to think
that Cheryl was alive,
all those years
I was in prison.
And Roy,
Roy Pierce
was the one that killed her,
and he was her own cousin.
And the beneficiary
of her mother's policy.
And Elber used his connections
at the department
to keep the lid on.
He even walked off
with the case file when
one of his cronies told him
Susan was digging
into the case.
KRUGER: Well, I'm out
and that's what counts.
Pretty good picture,
don't you think?
That picture is causing me
a lot of trouble, Susan.
Just because
you weren't supposed
to have a gun.
It's just
a little technicality.
I don't think
it's gonna cause you
much trouble.
That little technicality
is gonna cost me
a court appearance,
maybe a fine,
and a possible
temporary suspension
of my license.
Well, if they do that,
you can always go into
the printing business.
That supposed to be a joke?
Well, let's not quarrel,
this is Dave's party.
You know, I spent
a lot of time in prison,
and there was a time there
when I didn't think anybody
even knew I was alive.
And then you come to me,
Miss Alexander,
you threw me a lifeline.
I drink to you.
And to you, Mr. Rockford.
Jim.
You risked your life for me,
and you figured it out.
I've been in jail six years
trying to figure it out
and I didn't have a clue.
What are you gonna do
with your life, Dave?
I mean, you're out
and you've got a pardon.
And now you've got a future.
I don't have that
completely doped out yet.
Maybe I'm gonna get in
the gas station business.
I think I'd like to get
a gas station.
What are you gonna do
tomorrow? Or next week?
I'd like to do
a follow-up story.
Well, first, I'm gonna
borrow $50, maybe a $100.
Okay.
I'll loan it to you.
Thanks.
Well, then what are you
gonna do? Well, I'd like
to do a photo essay.
You don't want
any pictures, Susan.
Well, why not?
I think it'd be fascinating.
You do?
Yeah.
Tell her what you're
gonna do, Dave.
I'm gonna get a woman
and I'm gonna get drunk.
Oh.
I'll drink to that.
Well, I guess I can, too.