What did that desk clerk have to say?
It's his day off. He wasn't there.
Did you call his home?
His wife said he's shopping over in greenview.
Won't be back until tonight.
A little while ago you were sitting fat with alibis.
Now I don't know.
The night clerk will be back.
I guess he will at that.
Till then though,
You've got free room and board on the county.
Take him downtown and book him.
Might as well get a check on his prints too.
Narrator:
A qm production.
Starring david janssen as dr. Richard kimble.
An innocent victim of blind justice,
Falsely convicted for the murder of his wife,
Reprieved by fate when a train wreck freed him
En route to the death house.
Freed him to hide in lonely desperation,
To change his identity, to toil at many jobs.
Freed him to search for a one-armed man
He saw leave the scene of the crime.
Freed him to run before the relentless pursuit
Of the police lieutenant obsessed with his capture.
The guest stars
J.D. Cannon.
Carol rossen.
Sarah marshall.
Announcer:
Lake city, new york.
A roadhouse hideaway outside of town.
Music, a few drinks,
And sometimes a momentary escape
Into a private world
For just two people.
For richard kimble escape is always momentary
And two people are one too many in a private world
Already crowded with pursuers.
You let me make a fool out of myself
And all you can say is something about being I'm sorry.
Laurel, there are reasons. What reasons?
I'm sorry, it just won't work.
Do we have to be so practical?
Jim, next week why don't we just get away
From all this heat and relax?
I mean, the fourth of July weekends
Are marvelous for that kind of thing,
Because they're so long and lazy
And there'd just be the two of us, please.
Jim?
But you're sorry.
Laurel, there are things I would like to do but-
But, but.
It always comes down to that, doesn't it?
But, but, but, but, but-
Miss.
I don't want to leave.
There are some things I want to tell you,
But I don't think this is the place.
Oh? It was good enough for a brush-off.
Check please.
I want another drink. Check, please.
I want another drink.
Well, what's it going to be?
The check, please.
Thank you.
Come on.
Jim.
These last few weeks I thought we were-
I mean, you acted as though I meant something to you.
You do, laurel.
You sure?
Laurel, this has nothing to do with us.
I told you two weeks ago
That I was going to have to be moving on,
And now that the crew is finished here-
Oh.
Oh, well, no explanations needed.
I understand.
I mean working on a highway construction crew
Makes all your boyhood dreams come true,
And, besides, you don't want to lose all that seniority
You have on a- on a cement mixer.
Laurel- no, no, no.
I understand. I mean, you will remember me.
What's that cute little girl's name in lake city?
Now I met her- that's not true and you know it.
Oh, come on, how would I know it?
By your walking out on me?
You're going to stand here and wait until I finish.
Don't worry, you are finished.
Mr. Owen.
Mr. Owen, we have to talk to you.
Mr. Owen, I'm laurel's sister
And this is my husband.
It seems you don't have a phone.
What can I do for you?
I thought it was time we met.
Well, it's almost 3 in the morning.
What is it you want?
We thought laurel might be here.
She isn't home?
The last we heard she was out with you.
We've searched everywhere.
I was praying she'd be here,
At the same time praying she wouldn't be.
We had an argument.
She was a little upset.
You know how it is.
No, mr. Owen, I don't know how it is.
Do you know where she is now?
We had dinner at the halfway house.
That's where I left her.
We checked at the halfway house.
They said she left with you.
We separated outside.
Thank you, mr. Owen.
You've been very helpful.
Don't bother.
That's right, female,
5'4", weight about 115,
Light brown hair,
And hazel eyes.
Last seen wearing...
A summer dress,
A yellow and orange print.
Summer dress, yellow and orange print.
Right. Go get everybody you can on it.
Lou, follow up on the hospitals.
Everyone between here and greenview.
I want to know about
Any accident and every female patient admitted since, uh-
What time did you say she left you?
Eleven o'clock.
Since 11 p.M.
Oh, make that 10.
Six a.M. And the heat's already settling.
All right, mr. Owen, let's have the whole story.
It was 7:00, I met laurel at fourth and elm.
She never wanted me to pick her up at home.
We went to the halfway house for dinner
And we talked a while-
Collison.
You better go over that north end again.
Then spread your men out and start working through the woods.
Joe, keep the night shift on extra duty
And right after breakfast start them canvassing
Every house in town.
Sorry, mr. Owen.
You were at the halfway house. Talking.
That's right.
Well, we, uh...
Had a few words.
Somewhere along the line
Laurel stopped talking.
That sister of yours sure has a temper.
Go on, you never did say where it was that words failed her.
Collison.
No, stay right there. I'm on my way.
We've found laurel's car.
On that dirt road just across the creek.
Lou.
Oh, uh, you better stay here, honey.
Frank,
I think you better stay with her.
I don't know what we're going to find out there.
Come on, mr. Owen, I never stop a man in the middle of a story.
Wouldn't you know she picked
The hottest day of the year to get lost.
You sure you've never been out this way before?
I'm positive.
Tom, take a look over that way.
Kind of a lover's lane spot.
A lot of young couples find their way out here.
I'm not that young any more.
Hey!
The first aid kit.
Laurel?
Laurel, it's me, jim.
Laurel.
You aren't going too far?
Not too far.
Mrs. Taft,
I am sorry about laurel.
I have nothing to say to you.
Todd, we've just made a preliminary examination.
She hasn't suffered any permanent physical damage.
There are some questions I have to ask her.
Not just now.
I've given her a mild sedative
And she'll be asleep for a while.
Are you sure she's all right?
Some bruises, minor lacerations.
Looks like she was in quite a scrap.
Is that all?
I wish it were.
I'm sorry.
Doctor, I understand miss harper's awake.
I would like to speak to her.
Family? No, just a friend.
I'm sorry.
I promised the sheriff I wouldn't allow visitors
Until after he had talked to her.
Sheriff collison, please.
You can wait, though.
If she's not too tired afterwards,
I'll let you have a few minutes.
Thank you.
You haven't told us a whole lot, ellie.
I'm a waitress, not a reporter.
Even so, I thought you could remember more than this.
He wanted the great outdoors, she wants to party.
He won and they split.
It's the oldest story in the world.
What time did they, uh, split?
Eleven, maybe five or ten after.
You sure?
I didn't phone for the time, if that's what you mean.
Thank you.
Yeah, I'll tell him right away.
Okay, doctor.
But please tell him he'll only be able to talk to her
For a few minutes.
Right. I'll be waiting for him.
Doctor, how is she?
Pretty well.
She's conscious now, but I've given her some sedatives.
What about when the sedation wears off?
Sheriff's coming over to talk with her.
Then I don't see any reason why you can't take her home.
Isn't that a little fast?
Not really.
What she really needs
Is plenty of rest in familiar surroundings.
And maybe some reassurance.
I'm an old hand at that.
Excuse me. I have to finish making my rounds.
You've been very kind, doctor.
He knows what he's doing.
If he says she's going to be all right,
She's going to be all right.
I-I said it's good to know that laurel's going to be okay.
Yes, it is.
Why don't you come off it, sheila?
What?
You're still thinking about jim owen,
Aren't you?
If they could hang him for this
Everything would be all right again.
I begged laurel not to go out with him.
Because he wasn't listed in your own personal social register.
Maybe that was part of it.
When you take up with a drifter you-
I know he did it.
That's todd's department, isn't it?
Still hasn't locked him up.
How can you be so sure he's guilty?
He's guilty, all right.
Sheila...
Let's stay out of this.
Just this once, do something my way.
I was just coming out here to wait for you.
Laurel must be coming along fine.
Doctor says it's all right for me to ask her some questions.
About jim owen?
About everything.
You won't let him get away, will you?
Now, honey, I'm not sure about him yet.
Sometimes I figure he's in deeper than he lets on,
Other times I figure the jury is still out.
He did it. I can feel it.
But by the time you're convinced of it, he'll be long gone.
Sheila, I only know one way to make an arrest,
After I have enough evidence.
You can't handle this like it was just another case.
Todd, we've all be good friends for a long time,
More than that.
After dad died, you-
You know what I'm trying to say.
Of course, I know.
Then act like it.
By throwing a man into jail without any evidence?
I'm sorry, sheila.
Not even if laurel was my own daughter.
Go inside and talk to her and see what he did to her.
Would you tell dr. Gilman that sheriff collison is here.
For a quiet man, you sure cause a lot of noise.
Just sitting.
Last night after laurel drove off,
You say you hiked it back to town.
That's right.
That's over three miles. Why didn't you call for a taxi?
I don't make that kind of money.
It's still a long walk.
I'm used to walking.
I'll bet you are at that.
What time did you say you got back to your hotel?
A little before midnight.
A woman in town saw laurel driving her car about 12:30,
But she couldn't make out who was with her.
Too bad you didn't call for a taxi.
Witnesses come in handy sometimes.
I have one.
The night clerk can prove what time I got back to the hotel.
And I have another.
Who's that?
Laurel.
You're a lucky man.
Lou, will you phone mr. Owen's hotel
And check him out with the night clerk?
The doctor says you can talk to miss harper now.
Thank you.
You're not going too far?
Not too far.
Laurel.
Everything's all right now, honey.
Nothing to worry about.
Try, laurel.
It's getting to look important for jim owen.
All you have to do is tell me
If definitely it was or wasn't him.
I try to remember...
I can't, todd.
Please.
All right.
What did that desk clerk have to say?
It's his day off. He wasn't there.
Did you call his home?
His wife said he's shopping over in greenview.
Won't be back till tonight.
A little while ago you were sitting fat with alibis.
Now, I don't know.
The night clerk will be back.
I guess he will at that.
Until then, though,
You've got free room and board on the county.
Take him downtown and book him.
Might as well get a check on his prints too.
Wait a minute. What did laurel say?
She's in no condition to talk about it yet.
Take him out to the car. I'll be along in a minute.
Hold it.
Hey!
Okay, let's go.
Mr. Owen, you promised me you wouldn't go too far.
Now, give me your ring finger.
This is sort of a waste of time.
I'll get these prints classified and on the wire.
You won't need those prints.
I'll be out of here as soon as that room clerk
Gets back to town.
Relax, it's just routine.
We send a copy of your prints up to albany.
They check their files and send back a report
That you were arrested last year
For drunk driving or beating your wife
Or something.
In there.
How long will all that take?
Two, maybe three hours.
Hey.
How about giving that night clerk another call?
He's not due back till tonight.
Well, he might come back early
And save you a lot of paper work.
Nope.
Maybe this paper work will keep my mind off the heat.
You sure you're all right?
Still a little shaky.
Would it help to talk? I'm still a pretty good listener.
Oh, sheila, it seems like
I've been coming to you with my problems forever.
Last night must have been awful.
I can imagine how you must be feeling now.
The disappointment. Someone you thought you cared for.
What are you talking about?
That construction worker. Jim owen.
No, no, no, no, no, that isn't the way it happened.
What way did it happen?
Well, I-I- I mean, I don't know,
It was all such a jumble, but I know that jim wouldn't-
Laurel, what happened?
Laurel?
Well, all I can remember is being so mad at jim...
That I couldn't think of anything
Except how to get even with him.
How to hurt him.
I wanted him to feel the same kind of pain that I felt.
And...
Then I just suddenly decided to...
Pick up the next man that I found and, I mean,
I really don't even know what exactly I was going to do.
That's all of it?
That's all I can remember.
You okay?
It's not the worst thing in the world, you know,
A free bed, three meals on the county.
While whoever's guilty gets away.
If you didn't do it, why did you run?
I don't like jails...
Or maybe I, uh-
Just don't like being arrested for something I didn't do.
Maybe I panicked, I don't know.
If you didn't do anything,
You'll have plenty of time to prove it.
I can prove it if you'll let me see laurel.
I cover a whole county.
You're not the only one I have to worry about.
Sheriff, I know I can get some information from her.
What's the difference if I'm in this cell
Or handcuffed to one of your deputies?
Will you let me try?
Now put the cuffs on him.
Are you sure you're all right there?
I'm positive, sheila.
You should have had eight children of your own
Instead of one idiot kid sister
Who's forever causing you trouble.
You're no trouble.
I promise I'll go to bed the minute I feel tired.
Here, let me help you.
Why don't you get us a little pitcher
And I'll fix us something cool to drink.
I'll get the glasses.
Instant refreshment...
Like in the ads.
We haven't done this for a long time.
I mean, just, uh...
Loafing over something cool.
Sheila, there's something- I- oh.
No damage, just a little mopping.
I never could find where amy hides the cleaning rags.
You remember that time we had that big fight
And I tried to smash a glass on the floor?
Except as I remember you- you picked one of those
Old, thick jelly glasses.
The darn thing just wouldn't break.
But you tried.
And the more you tried, the madder you got.
I still don't understand how you could
Stand there and not laugh.
Couldn't you tell?
It was nothing but cold fear.
I do love you, frank.
It gets lost sometimes, but...
I really do love you.
And, uh, to prove it I'll-
I'll fix you something else to drink.
Isn't this the shirt I gave you for christmas?
Sheila...
It's the one you wore last night.
I wanted to tell you about it,
But I-I-I wouldn't let myself put it in words.
Honey, it wasn't like that.
It wasn't all my fault.
I-I was driving home from the-
I don't want to hear about it.
I'd had a few drinks and laurel drove up at the same time and-
I don't want to hear about it!
Hello, frank, is laurel up?
We'd like to talk to her for a few minutes.
Well, I don't know the, uh...
Doctor said she needed all the rest she can get.
It's awful hot in a jail cell on a day like this.
Mr. Owen figures he can get out that much sooner
If he can talk to her.
It's the second door off the head of the stairs.
Come in.
Laurel.
I had to talk to you.
If you don't feel up to it, honey,
All you have to do is say so.
No, that's all right.
He, uh, asked to talk to you alone.
Hook him up to that pipe.
We'll be right outside whenever you're through.
The sheriff said I could talk to her alone.
I don't care what the sheriff said.
I'm not leaving you alone with her.
If you want to talk, talk. I'm not leaving.
Are you all right?
I heard they arrested you.
That's why you have to tell them the truth.
That I'm not the man they want.
I have an alibi.
The night clerk in my hotel.
But he's out of town for the day.
Well, then he'll be back tonight
And you'll go on your way just like before.
I have to leave now.
And you're the only one that can help me.
They tell me what I've got is called an emotional blackout.
I can't remember a thing about last night.
Laurel, I'm running out of time.
You seem to be getting awfully upset about one night in jail.
Last night when we said goodbye,
I-I should have told you the truth,
Then none of this would have happened.
May I speak with her alone, please?
I'm sorry.
I spent some time in jail.
I managed to escape and I've been running ever since.
I wasn't guilty then either.
That's why you wanted to break it off?
I couldn't ask you to share that kind of life.
I knew it.
I knew I couldn't be that wrong.
That's why you have to tell them the truth.
You see, when they check my fingerprints-
I can't remember a thing.
I'm very sorry, but I can't remember anything.
You have to understand that, uh,
If they don't catch up with you here
It'll be in the next town or the next or the one after that.
Laurel. No, I'm sorry,
But I can't remember. I just can't remember a thing.
I think we're finished.
Any luck?
If laurel starts remembering anything-
wait a minute.
Hello?
Yes, he's still here. Hold on.
Todd, it's one of your deputies. He wants to talk to you.
Wait a minute.
Collison.
Indiana?
For murder?
Well, I'm surprised.
Yes, we're bringing him in.
You all right?
You better lock that gate.
He's not getting over any 6-foot wall.
Not with his hands cuffed behind his back.
you go that way.
I'll go the other.
They've got guns, sheila.
They're hunting him down.
Isn't there something we can do?
Frank, don't be a fool.
You're working yourself up to doing something brave.
Isn't it about time?
I don't know what the answer is, but it's not blurting
The whole story out for everyone to gossip about.
Even if you threw away our lives it wouldn't do him any good.
He's an escaped murderer.
What happened to laurel-
A few hours ago you had him guilty of that too.
I didn't convict him of murder, a judge and jury did.
Your confessing isn't going to help him one bit.
Don't you see that?
That's about the only place he can still be.
Kimble, come out of there.
I guess he wants to do it the hard way.
Let's move in.
I'm not doing this for you.
Then again, maybe I am.
Maybe it's because I believe in you.
I don't know.
I just want this whole thing to be over.
I want everything to be settled the way it used to be.
I want you to be a thousand miles away from here
Almost as badly as you want to be there.
You stay right here until I come and get you.
He's still around here somewhere.
Got any ideas?
I think it'd be best if you stayed inside.
Todd.
Can't you put a stop to all this?
I don't get it.
Before you couldn't wait till I locked him up.
Todd, I was there when he talked to laurel.
He told us why the police are after him, the whole story.
I'm positive about one thing.
He had nothing to do with what happened to laurel.
Is that right?
Better call downtown and have them send out another team.
Did he tell you that?
I believe him.
Sheila, the man's a convicted murderer.
He swears he's innocent.
You know where he is.
Of course not.
I just don't like to see anyone hunted down like this.
You do know where he is, don't you?
I know he's innocent.
He wasn't with laurel last night.
Maybe he wasn't.
Maybe he had nothing to do with laurel.
But he did murder his wife.
Murder, sheila.
I suppose he denied that too.
Of course he denied it. What'd you expect him to do?
If you listen to them you'll find our prisons
Are filled with innocent men.
Death row has nothing but saints.
Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.
Now, where is he?
In the basement.
He's holed up in the basement.
Put a copy of this on the teletype
To a lieutenant gerard.
The address is on there somewhere.
Well, I guess we'd better get on with it, frank.
Yeah.
Todd, isn't there some way-
Sheila, don't.
It's hard enough as it is.
Just let him do what he has to do.
Let everybody.
Now, I guess it's my turn.
You might as well hear all of it.
It didn't happen the way most people think it did.
I led him on.
You might even say I drove him on,
And then all of a sudden I decided the game time was over
And I wanted to go home,
But it was too late.
I'll say that in court, frank.
Laurel.
No, no, no, no, that's the way it happens, doesn't it?
I mean, you have to find the one thing that you really want
And not be able to have it.
You either go to pieces or you grow up,
And I guess some of us have to do both.
Another place,
Another memory to follow him.
Another escape through the night.
Always the way of a fugitive.