Hi, what are you doing here?
Waiting for someone.
She's stashed at Rocky's, that's my dad. She's safe.
How do I know she's alive?
Life's full of gambles, ain't it?
No one's reported a crime.
Joggle this peahead's memory, Manny.
Hey, wait a minute, Manny, is that what I think it is?
An electric cattle prod?
The narcotics business brings out the worst in everybody, Mr. Rockford.
(GRUNTING)
I hate you.
(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)
FRANK:: Hey, Jim, it's Frank:
Me and Ally's down here for our convention:
Can't wait to see you:
We should be over at your place around 1::00 a:m:
Banzai, buddy:
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
(SEAGULLS SQUAWKING)
Here you go, honey.
Hey, remember you and Aunt Cecil were great friends?
It'll only be for a month or two at the most.
I hope you get better, Daddy.
I will, Marin. I promise.
Aunt Cecil's due any minute.
You wait for her. I gotta go.
Why, Daddy?
I gotta go, baby.
Now, you remember what I told you. It's important.
Now, go to the ladies room and wash your face.
It's clean.
Just do what I said, Marin!
Honey, I love you.
I'll just be a minute, Rocky.
My fishing gear's been poised for three weeks.
Hot dog. Hey...
Hi, what are you doing here?
Waiting for someone.
I'm not hurting anything.
I'll wait someplace else.
Oh, that's all right. You don't have to...
Hey? Who're you waiting for?
Look, you're not lost or anything, are you?
What's your name?
I'm not supposed to talk to anybody except Aunt Cecil.
Aunt Cecil?
Not only that, she don't even know where her Aunt Cecil lives!
Told me she come up on the bus with her dad today.
She's from San Diego.
You know, she said he took her right out of class.
And she was gonna be the Magic Toad
in the school play tonight and he knew it, too.
If you get my parka out of the closet
and unplug the icebox when you're coming out,
we'll be on our way to Baja.
You haven't heard a word I said!
Yes, I did.
Her dad told her to wait for her aunt,
and that's exactly what she's doing.
(GROANING) I forgot to buy the mosquito repellant!
Oh, sonny, I'm ashamed of you.
Well, I can't remember everything, Rocky.
No, I mean about the little girl.
Her aunt is three hours late!
What are we supposed to do?
She won't even tell us her name.
Supposing she's a runaway, or abandoned?
All right, I'll call the police.
You'd let a squad car haul that little kid off?
Okay, Rocky, I won't.
We'll drop her off at the juvenile authorities
on our way to Punta Banda.
It's either that, or you can leave her out here in the hot sun.
Well, she ain't out there in the hot sun.
She's in the front seat of the truck right now waiting for her aunt.
All right. What's your Aunt Cecil's last name?
What's your father's name?
Okay, honey, what's your mother's name?
I don't have a mother.
She's dead.
You stay with her, Rocky.
I'll get the paperwork done.
(POLICE RADIO CHATTERING)
Hi, look, I've got a kid that needs...
A girI or a boy?
Well, it's a girl. But, uh...
You'll have to see a duty clerk back there.
MAN ON PA:: Nick Maskell, your parents are at the main entrance:
Nick Maskell:
Bringing, taking, or visiting?
Come on, mister, step up to the counter. You're next.
Hey? Let's go, huh?
ROCKY: (PANTING) Hey, Jim. Jim!
She bolted right out of the truck.
I tried to catch her, I couldn't run, I got my heavy boots on.
Oh, that's great. She's running around loose on skid row.
Get in. She can't be far.
I won't go to that place.
Well, as a matter of fact, I changed my mind.
I don't wanna take you back there.
I don't believe you.
Look, we can't leave you all alone up there. Now, come on down.
I know somebody's worrying about you.
So, why don't you tell us your name
and maybe we can help them find you.
You know, if you had anything on the ball, kid,
you'd tell us your name.
Life's too short to fold it up in an alley full of rats
snakes and vampires.
There's no such thing as vampires.
Okay, Rocky.
She doesn't care, why should we?
Marin.
What?
My name is Marin.
Marin? What's your last name?
You won't take me back there?
No, no. Look, I'll tell you what.
I'll call to see if anyone's looking for you,
but that's all. All right?
Come on down.
Careful.
Jump. That's it.
You can spend the night in the trailer, all right?
Does it have a TV? Oh, yeah.
MARIN: Do you still live with your daddy?
ROCKFORD: No, but we're good friends.
We go fishing together every now and then
when we can get away.
You know, you're gonna have to trust somebody, sometime, Marin.
MARIN: Johnny Carson. I trust him.
ROCKY: Well, you can trust us.
What did you say your daddy's name was?
MARIN: Stu Gaily.
(BUZZING)
I thought you'd be half-way to Baja by now.
Yeah, so did l.
But that was before Marin Rose Gaily.
Rocky's staying with her until I get back.
What do you think I ought to do, Dennis?
You got no choice. You got to take her back down to Juvenile Hall.
I can't do that, Dennis.
That kid's had it rough enough as it is.
Her mother's dead, her dad's sick, lost his job...
Where did he work?
She doesn't know or won't say.
All I can get out of her is that
he went somewhere to get better.
And she don't know where?
Trust isn't her long suit, Dennis.
He really brainwashed her about saying anything to anyone.
I don't even know where to start looking.
Why don't you use the jungle drums? What?
Well, you put an ad in the newspaper, the personals,
where people on the run keep in touch.
What makes you think he's on the run? He's not on your list.
Well, people run from things besides the police.
Yeah, right, right. All right, I'll take out a personal ad.
Mind if I use your phone? Just to check the hospitals.
Wonder why her Aunt Cecil didn't show up down at the pier?
I don't know why, and, no, Jimbo, you can't use the phone.
I hate working nights, I only got four more shifts to go,
and I'm not gonna blow ''days'' by letting the Lieutenant
catch you making personaI calls on my extension
which is why I'm working nights in the first place!
Yeah, well, Dennis, I'm sorry about that.
Look, Jim, I'm sorry, too, but what can I do.
No one's reported a crime.
All right, I'll report one: Child Abandoned.
Fine. I'll take your statement.
Thank you, Dennis.
But then the girl goes back to Juvenile Hall
until her next of kin can be located. Those are the rules.
Now, give me her full name.
I'll use the pay phone.
MAN ON TV:: Okay, Mrs: Marian Ray, of Sherman Oaks,
let's see what you've won:
First, from Camporene, there's the fabulous Cascader: It sleeps four:::
You couldn't find out nothing about the aunt?
I checked the hospitals. There was nothing with new admissions.
Rocky, why did you just bring eggs?
There's nothing to go with them. Look at that.
I'm sorry.
You know, she must spend her whole life in front of that TV set.
Do you know that she can do that hamburger commercial backwards
faster than the kid who does it backwards, does it backwards!
Not only that, she got to make her own breakfast
and fix her own TV dinners!
Looks like Stu Gaily's been phoning it in.
Yeah. How about the phone book?
I checked. Nothing listed.
I'll get back on it after breakfast.
And, Rocky, why don't you go out and buy her some new clothes?
She looks like she hadn't had any for quite awhile.
Hey, that's a good idea, sonny. I will...
What am I gonna use for money?
Use the gas money. Use the gas...
Oh, sonny, what about Baja?
Yeah, what about it?
MAN ON TV:: :::the victim::: Uncle Marty's on TV!
:::of an apparent execution-style killing:
Uncle Marty?
Yeah. He used to be married to Aunt Cecil.
(SHUSHING) They're talking about him now!
And so, for Marty Goss the road ends here:
Authorities refused to confirm or deny a rumor
that the victim was a police informant:
(BUTTON CLICKS)
(PHONE RINGING)
Yeah?
I think I know what happened to Stu Gaily, Jimbo,
St. Vincent's Bridge, by the steamer terminal.
Bring the girl with you: I need her to I:D: the stuff:
I got some divers still searching for the body:
Okay, Dennis, we'll be right there.
MARIN: I already told you! I don't know!
But you must know what was wrong with him, Marin?
He was sick, that's all.
He said he was gonna get better.
Dennis, she gave you an I.D. on the things.
She's had a pretty ragged day.
All right. Thanks, Marin.
I hate him.
What?
I hate Daddy.
I know you're sad and scared. I don't blame you.
But don't call it hate.
Now, come on, I want you to wait up here with Rocky.
I'll be along in a minute. Rocky, uh...
Dennis. Dennis, I don't buy it.
Why would you take off your coat to jump off a bridge?
Unless you want somebody to think you were dead.
How do I know? He was sick.
He could have found out it was terminal,
he parked the kid with the aunt and took a dive.
It happens.
But unless something tells me something else
that's how I'm calling it, a suicide.
You make sure the press gets it like that, huh?
That's just what he wants, if he's still alive.
And once he thinks the pressure's off,
he might be easier to find.
Maybe. I got to take the girl, Jim.
Oh, come on, Dennis.
I got no choice.
I'd like to help but I already called the matron
and she's a ward of the county now.
Rocky, I got to take her down Juvenile Hall.
Come on, Marin.
No, you promised.
Dennis, let's talk about this, huh?
Now, look...
It's out of my hands, Jim.
Dennis,
what if Scotty just found out
that you and Peggy went off a bridge?
Where would you want him to spent the next 24 hours?
With Rocky and me? Or downtown in that wire-mesh hell-hole, huh?
Now, look, I got the right name now,
it's Cecil Goss.
Now, give me a couple of shots at finding her, will you?
Couple of days? What can it matter?
Save the taxpayers a little money.
Please? Okay.
WOMAN ON PA:: Dr: Allen report to surgery:
Cecil Goss? I'm Jim Rockford.
I'm a private investigator.
I found a little girl, her name is Marin Rose Gaily.
You have her?
Is she all right?
Considering.
You mind telling me what's going on?
Marin's father, Stu, called me yesterday in panic.
He wanted me to take Marin for awhile,
but he was afraid to bring her to my house.
So you suggested the pier?
But, as I was leaving,
two men forced their way into my house.
They knew Stuart called and they wanted to know what he said.
I didn't tell them, even when they beat me,
but then one of them had this electric cattle prod...
And you told them when and where you were going to meet Stu,
they show up instead, Stu panics,
leaving Marin to hope that you two would connect.
Any idea who those two were?
None, but I'll bet you Marty's mixed up in it. He always is.
Marty Goss?
My ex.
He and Stu were cargo handlers down at the San Diego airport.
My sister, Dina, and I worked there, too. Dina married Stu.
I drew Marty Goss.
Marin says that Stu's sick. What's wrong?
Dina was killed in an automobile accident.
Stu just came apart.
He couldn't handle his grief.
He just hung on to the nearest bottle.
Stu's a lush? That's his sickness?
What were Marty and Stu into, do you know?
Whatever it was, you can bet Marty Goss got him into it.
It's the old Goss Kiss of Death.
Well, it kissed back.
ROCKFORD: I'm sorry.
Yeah, sure. Me, too.
Think these are the guys that got Stu?
Well, the police think that Stu jumped off a bridge last night.
It's on page 29.
Well, everybody made the paper but me.
Oh, you made it, too. So did Marin.
I didn't know your last name.
Now, I'm not so sure that Stu would risk calling.
Call? How can he call? He's dead.
Oh, I don't know. I'm not so sure of that, either.
I'll place a different kind of ad in the evening paper,
something that'll give him a way to go.
If he's alive, and he shows up,
I'll be standing right there.
MAN ON TV:: Are you sure, Grace Curtio?
WOMAN:: (EXCLAIMING) I can't believe it:::
I'm gonna be on all the game shows when I grow up.
Well, you'll never get me to dress up like those people. Look at them.
The money.
Take the money! You'll be sorry.
I knew it. What'd I say?
I'll bet you'll win everything when you get your chance.
(PHONE RINGING)
Hello? Yeah, it is. Who's this?
What? What...
Yeah, she sure is, and she's fine!
She's dying to see you, too.
Now, if you'll listen I'll tell you how to get down here.
It's 29, Cove Road,
big old house trailer parked on the parking lot, you can't miss it.
All right.
All right. We'll see you in about 20 minutes. Bye.
I won! I would've won the Big DeaI!
Marin, that was your daddy on the phone.
He's coming over and get you right away.
He saw the ad that Jimmy put in the paper
and he's coming for you right now.
Honest? You bet. Would I kid you?
Hey, hey, hey. What's going on? Do I get one of those?
You tell him.
Daddy called.
Oh, yeah? Yeah, he sure did.
And he's coming over here. Just hung up the phone.
Hey, that's great.
Well, what do you think?
What?
The clothes, Jim.
Oh, yeah, the clothes. Let me see here.
(CHUCKLING)
Uh-huh, let me see.
Yeah, all right. All right.
How'd your daddy sound? Better?
I didn't talk to him.
I talked to him.
(STAMMERING) Did you give him the address?
Yeah, sure I gave him the address. Is something wrong?
No, well, maybe not, maybe not. I'll tell you what,
I want you to get all your things together
and go over to Rocky's house.
I want to wait here for Daddy.
Didn't you say you trusted me?
Well, I do, but... All right, then,
I want you to go with Rocky.
And if your daddy shows up,
I'll bring him right over there. I promise.
Besides, he's got a bigger television set and he's got a remote control.
Okay, if you promise.
I promise.
Now, go get your things. Go ahead.
What's happening, Jimmy?
Well, I'm not sure
but a couple of guys paid a call on Aunt Cecil
and almost killed her.
If whoever shows up at this door
doesn't look like the picture I saw on Stu Gaily's driver's license,
we've been had.
She's been had.
Oh, man, I'm sorry, Jimmy.
Hey, you didn't do anything wrong.
Who knows? Maybe it'll be Stu Gaily.
Well, hi. You must be Stu Gaily.
Hi. No, I'm Duffy.
Good friend of Stu's, though.
He asked me to come by and pick up his girl for him.
Oh, well, I was looking forward to meeting him. What happened?
He's got a bad case of the shorts,
and, you know, with them personal ads,
bill collectors always using it to trap poor folk.
Yeah, yeah, you can't be too careful.
She is here, isn't she?
Stu is really anxious to see her, and so...
Hey, Marin, your uncle Duffy's here.
(GRUNTING)
All right, who are you? Where do you fit, huh?
What do you know, huh?
Did Stu owe you some money? Did he rip you off? What?
I don't know what you're talking about, buddy,
but you better get your knee out of my back because I'm gonna...
Get the prod!
All right, son, wake up, get up.
Okay, where's the girI?
(STUTTERING) Huh, what girI?
Joggle this peahead's memory, Manny.
Hey, wait a minute, Manny, is that what I think it is?
An electric cattle prod?
Hey, wait a minute. My memory's pretty good.
It's pretty good. I remember a lot of things. You're gonna like them.
Now that you mention it, I think I can
even remember where the girl is.
Well, you're gonna do a lot better than that, buddy.
You're gonna show us where she is yourself, all right? Now get up.
Yeah, sure, sure.
(GROANING)
(WHISTLES)
Jimbo?
Hey, where were you five minutes ago?
What are you doing up there?
I just found out who Stu Gaily's been running from
and I don't blame him.
It's a red and white GTO.
California license plates, 757 GHS.
Dennis, I'd get right on it. Those guys shouldn't be running around loose.
All right, I'll take care of it.
I'm sorry, Jimbo,
but it's official now. Where's the girI?
You know, for only being in town one day,
she's made an awful lot of friends.
This is notarized by the guy at the Nurse's Credit Union.
All legal.
I'm Marin's guardian until Cecil Goss gets back on her feet.
All right, Jimbo. Good for you!
No, good for me is if I can stop my head from ringing.
Someone is looking for you. A fed.
Drug enforcement agent. Al Jollet.
I told him it wasn't necessary to issue a warrant.
I gather you don't think Stu Gaily's dead?
I don't know, but those two gorillas don't seem to think so,
or why would they be going after the girI?
She knows even less than I do.
That GTO. Stolen plates. I put them on the hot sheet.
Did Cecil Goss identify the men?
Well, no. She can but she won't.
They made a lasting impression.
Look, Mr. Jollet, it's none of my business, I know,
but why would the Drug Enforcement Agency be after Stu Gaily?
He seems a little bottom-rung
for a district supervisor like you to be sweating.
I broke up a major narcotics ring in San Diego last year.
Stu Gaily was in it up to his eyeballs.
Why isn't he in jail?
Well, he beat it on a technicality.
And he held out on his buddies.
He's been sitting on a big stash,
waiting for things to cool.
Four days ago an informer told me that
Gaily was ready to put the narcotics on the streets.
Was the informer Marty Goss?
Right. I wanted Gaily dead bang this time,
so I drew $100,000 from my superior.
$100,000. That's government money.
And I arranged for Marty Goss to make the buy.
I thought if we used him, Gaily wouldn't get suspicious.
What happened? Stu smell it coming?
Well, he lost the men I had tailing him,
took Goss into an orchard and blew his head off.
Hardly bottom-rung.
Marty Goss was Stu Gaily's brother-in-law.
The narcotics business brings out the worst in everybody, Mr. Rockford.
Goss was expendable.
But Stu Gaily ran off with $100,000 of the taxpayers' money.
I suppose your superiors take a dim view of that, huh?
That's putting it mildly.
My record's one of the best,
and I'm not about to let a punk like that ruin it.
I've got out a nationwide A.P.B. on Gaily, and I intend to get him.
Yeah, well, so does someone else.
Do you have any idea who those two trained apes were?
We ought to bring the girl in, Jim, for her own protection.
Now let's not go through that again, Dennis.
You know what I promised her. She's stashed at Rocky's.
That's my dad. She's safe.
You hear from Gaily, I wanna be the first to know.
And that's for your own good.
The man's armed and he's very dangerous.
Or very dead.
Maybe so, but I'm not gonna stop looking until I find a body.
You're gonna need a lot more than a Magic Toad
if I don't get some answers, Mr. Gaily.
All right, all right.
Who are you?
The name is Rockford.
Do I know you?
No, and I haven't missed a thing.
I happen to have your daughter.
Do you? Really?
Yeah, and she's safe, no thanks to you.
Now look, you're hotter than last July,
so if you don't tell me what's going on,
I'm gonna have to feed you to the big blue machine.
No cops!
Just sit down.
It just depends on what I hear.
Let's start with Marty Goss. Why'd you kill him?
I didn't.
That drug operation you two were running
gives you a pretty good motive.
That wasn't my operation.
Some skycap set it up.
Marty was part of it. I just walked in on it by accident.
Go on. How'd it work?
How did it work?
There's a storage room at the air terminal.
They cut a hole in the wall and pushed an empty locker up against it.
What was behind the hole?
A luggage conveyer belt used by all incoming international flights.
They knew what suitcase the stuff was in.
They'd pull the bag, remove the dope,
put it back on the belt and it'd be clean by the time it went to customs.
So even if the police were tipped,
the stuff would be out of the airport before the mule ever opened his bags.
Very creative.
Come on.
When I found out about it,
I told Marty, I'm going to the cops.
He knew I meant it, so he figured
the only way to beat it was to come with me.
But we never should have gone.
Why's that?
They convinced us to keep working the hole and report to them.
Well, that's SOP.
They never like to move until they got it nailed down
from Singapore to South Pas.
Yeah, well, the bust came down three months later.
Everybody got 15 years. Cops got medals.
But they still got cases pending on us.
So you took it to them.
They caught Marty dipping into the bags.
Said I was part of it,
so we had to keep working for them.
Doing what?
We kept the hole in the wall going.
Sometimes we had to put junk in clean bags.
Instant evidence.
Other times they told us to lose a bag.
We'd turn a whole suitcase over to them.
We weren't supposed to look inside, but Marty always did.
And usually there was lots of money in there.
Why didn't you tell them to stuff it?
Yeah, and go to prison, right?
Anyway, I was fired four months later.
Tell me something.
Who are these two mastodons that are on your tail?
Duffy and Manny?
Those are the feds I'm telling you about.
They look like creeps because they work undercover.
They're under suspension, but they're part of Jollet's operation.
Al Jollet?
Yeah. Why?
I told him where I've got Marin stashed.
You did what?
Yeah, and my dad's with her.
GAILY: Where's Marin?
Rocky? Hey, come on.
Oh, no, they got Marin. You all right?
Put him on there.
There you go. There you go.
They got the little girl, sonny.
I'm sorry, Rocky, I really am. It's all my fault.
Oh, no it ain't. You said she was safe.
Let me get something for that scratch.
Last I seen her this big moose
was carrying her screaming and dragging through the door.
And she was still hanging onto that funny little purse
she's always carrying.
She took the purse? That was her mother's.
I knew she'd never let go of that.
Hey, what are these goons after, huh?
Dope, money, what?
The book.
Marty always kept a record of everything,
transactions, names, amounts.
He said it was insurance.
He was trying to trade it against the charges over us.
Al Jollet set up the meeting in El Cajon.
Why'd Marty think he could pull it off alone?
I was holding the book.
He was supposed to call me when he had the officiaI statements in his hand,
and I'd drop it in the mail to Jollet's house.
He never called, so I take off.
All right, we'll pick up the book,
give it to the police. Now where is the book?
Hey, I'm not going to the police no more.
Hey, come on, Stu. Come on. Now, you know all cops aren't like that.
I got a buddy in detectives, he'll slip it to Jollet's supervisor on the Q.T.
What if Mr. supervisor's on the splits, too?
Where's the book?
I didn't want it on me so I put it in a locker at the Island boat terminal.
Give me the key.
Marin has the key.
She don't know. I sewed it in the lining of her purse.
Why did you do that?
'Cause she never goes anywhere without it.
I figured if I needed it,
I'd contact Cecil and she'd get it to me.
Well, that's just great, Stu.
We can't blow the whistle without the book.
We gotta get the key.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Rocky, I want you to report the kidnapping just as it happened.
If we don't, Jollet will get suspicious.
The only thing we got going for us
is he doesn't know that Stu and I've teamed up, yet.
Who's teamed up?
I'm not letting you mess things up
any more than you have already.
You gonna take it from...
Rocky, sit down and forget it.
Now, look.
You've had a hard way to go, Mr. Gaily,
but it's gonna get a lot harder.
And unless you shape up, there's not going to be
enough left of Marin to kiss goodbye.
So let's go, huh?
It's their move and I'm gonna sit on you until they make it.
Rocky, are you all right? Yeah.
You're sure? Hmm.
Okay. Come on.
(DOOR OPENING)
Streets are fidgety-hot, Jimmy.
I mean, both sides are looking for a piece of this slinko.
Now, I don't know how much longer I can let you stay here.
We've only been here 1 2 hours.
That's the latest edition? Mmm-hmm.
Oh, well, they're pressing hard on the official front, too.
There's a reward out on you now. How much?
$10,000. Angel. Jimmy...
Listen, Jimmy, I don't know this guy! Ten grand's ten grand!
Where'd you find this creep?
Hey, man, you're staying at my house!
This is my house!
What do you say, Jimmy? Opportunity of a lifetime.
I hate to disappoint you, Angel,
but they'll only pay off once the money is recovered.
What money? The hundred grand.
(CHUCKLES)
I got it, huh? Who cares about the measly reward.
We get the bread from him.
Angel, he doesn't have it.
Then, who's got...
What, you got the money?
No, Angel, Jollet has it.
Who's Jollet?
He's the guy who's offering the reward.
ROCKFORD: You're on, Stu.
(RINGING)
Pittson? Stu Gaily here. May I talk to Marin?
Sorry, Ramp Rat, but she's a little indisposed in the trunk of my car.
You talk to her after we get the book:
How do I know she's alive?
Life's full of gambles, ain't it?
What do you want me to do?
Be at the Central Street viaduct in one hour:
You bring the book and you walk with the brat.
You run a game and Manny boy will stick her head in your chest cavity.
Now, you call the cops, we'll know about it: I know you will.
Look, could you please take her out of the trunk until I:::
(BUSY TONE)
All right. All right. You did just fine.
Now we get to work. I've got a plan.
A sure... That's what Marty said. A sure-fire plan.
Yeah, well, mine has a 90 percent chance of failing
because it all depends on you.
He's going to be trying to crack you all the way.
If he does, it's all over.
How do we get the key?
The key's just part of the problem.
First thing we've got to do is get Marin out of there
and then we've got to get ourselves out.
How? By rigging the game.
Think you can cut it?
I don't know. No cops?
No. No cops. Well?
Okay.
You know, I work better if I had something to settle my nerves.
You told Marin you were going to get better.
Now's the time to start.
You promised.
Right there, turkey.
(GUN COCKING)
Where's the ramp rat?
Well, he was shaking so bad, he couldn't make the trip.
(GUN COCKING)
Now, don't do anything stupid.
I came here to bail you out of this mess.
He knew what'd happen if he'd run a game on us.
Well, nobody ever said he had any sense.
He's a terminal loser.
But then, you ought to know. You made him that way.
He wasn't gonna show up anyway.
He's sure that you've already snuffed the girl.
Well, he was wrong, as usual.
Well, I told him that you'd keep her alive
just in case he didn't bring the book,
but he says he knows your style.
What do you know about the book?
All I know is, if he doesn't hear from me,
he's gonna have it in his hot little hand
when he blows his brains out on the police department lawn.
Where is he?
I don't negotiate with the hired help.
You called it, Rube.
Hey, don't you think you ought to touch bases with your boss first?
Or does he let you make this kind of decision all by yourself?
All right, come on.
(GRUNTS)
Hey, hey. Now, that's one. Just cool it, huh?
Come on, keep going.
Jim! Jim, make them let me go!
You'll be all right, honey.
Oh, we better get this show on the road!
Well, I've heard of creative police work,
but smoking Marty Goss,
scamming $100,000 in the process,
that ought to give you about a 9.5
on the straying- over-the-line meter.
What are you selling? The book.
Where is it? We got a deaI?
Depends on the terms.
Oh, you'll like the terms. I'll make it easy on you. Say $10,000?
That's very generous.
There are a couple of conditions.
The girl stays alive.
Why?
Stu Gaily told me where the book is,
but he didn't tell me where to find the key.
And he's not gonna tell you unless he sees, with his very own eyes,
that the girI's all right.
So we show him the kid.
She stays alive, Jollet.
$10,000 doesn't buy me as an accessory to murder.
I don't wanna cut myself in on anything like that.
Okay.
All right, I'll take my money now.
Let's see the money.
(GRUNTING)
Now that's two.
I thought we had a deal.
We do.
You take us to Gaily and you're on.
Otherwise you're off, and so is the little girl.
JOLLET: Now let's go.
I'll follow you.
I hate you.
That's it. The building right over there.
Go down the hall. It's the last room on the left.
I'll take my money now.
There's no point in me actually seeing it happen, you know.
Manny, you stay with the kid and keep your eyes open.
Duffy, get the shotgun.
Okay, turkey, let's go.
You're going through the door first.
JOLLET: Keep your mouth shut.
Don't say nothing to Gaily about the girl, you got it?
Sorry, Stu. Your friends have their little ways.
What about Marin?
Well, she... Hey, shut up.
Park yourself right there, chicken spit.
All right, where is it?
At the Island boat terminal.
Where's the key?
It's not here.
I knew she was dead
and I knew they'd make you lead them here.
So I sat here trying to figure out how I could take them with me.
No way. There's a way.
Because I know I can't walk out of here alive, right?
Once I realized that, the rest is easy.
And it even beats blowing my own brains out.
You couldn't blow your own nose.
Where's the key?
At the terminal in an envelope with a 1 2-page letter telling the whole story.
I fixed it so a security guard finds it in 10 minutes.
He won't miss it.
'Cause I wrote on the envelope, ''Notify Police.''
Where's the envelope?
Go on. Everybody I love is dead anyway.
I told you they'd keep her alive long enough
for you to see a knife at her throat.
All right, bring the kid.
Come on.
He told them where you were, Daddy. For money.
Hey, you guys don't need me for this part.
Shut up.
Okay, where is it?
Let her walk and I'll tell you.
Otherwise, you can kill us all.
Hey, wait a minute. You can bluff with your life but not mine.
It's no bluff, mister. It's her only chance.
Her chances are slim to none if you don't tell me where that envelope is
in the next 10 seconds. Duffy.
Go on, kid.
Nine seconds.
(SHOTGUN COCKING)
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Daddy?
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
We'll be together, baby. I love you.
Don't look at me. She's not my kid.
What do you wanna do, AI?
If he's telling the truth, that book could get us a big 20.
Her life for the book, that's all I want.
AI?
Okay, she can go.
Hey, sweetheart, there's a church two blocks away.
Run as fast as you can, and they're gonna take good care of you
till Aunt Cecil gets better. Now go.
No.
Just do what I say, baby.
It's not fair.
You're all better now.
Get out of here, now!
All right, now, where's the envelope?
No, not enough time yet.
Hey, Stu, come on, now she's had plenty of time to get away.
Let's get this thing over with?
The security guard sends the last boat off, and he's finished.
He clocks out.
Stu, you didn't?
Didn't what?
The ship will leave at 6:05.
He goes for the time clock. He can't miss the envelope.
I put it in his slot.
That better be right.
You watch him. I'll be back.
Pittson, remember you told me you put her in the trunk of your car?
I vowed I was gonna take you with me.
Hey, Duffy, how'd you like to make it three, huh?
(GROANING)
Stu, you all right?
(STU YELLING)
Hey, Stu, that's beautiful.
I worked up a sweat.
We got to get out of here. I lied about the cops.
Let's go.
(PEOPLE CLAPPING ON TV)
Are you looking for a job again?
No, I'm seeing what campers go for in L.A.
You know, I figured that we can scrape together enough for a cheap one
if I sell the rest of our furniture, the ice box, the TV.
The TV?
Yeah, it'd take me about a week to get rid of everything.
And then I'll pick you up at Aunt Cecil's and we're off.
We won't have much, but I'm not a bad mechanic. I can get work.
We'll go to Oregon, some place like that.
(DOOR OPENING)
Hi, folks.
Jim, you're just in time.
Cecil's on her way over to pick up Marin,
then I'm gonna hop on a bus to Diego
to get rid of the rest of our junk.
Then we're going to Oregon in a camper.
Oh, yeah?
Where you gonna put your TV set?
Jim says I'm a teleholic.
You are.
Is that as bad as an alcoholic?
No, it's a lot cheaper.
And it don't hurt so much the next day.
Besides, that ain't for the Gailys.
That's for people who can't see tomorrow.
Jim, I wanna thank you for everything, including the loan.
I'll have the $100 back for you as soon as possible.
Jimmy, I can't stand it no longer.
All right, I can't either. So give it to her, Dad.
For me?
Yeah.
That lady took 20 minutes wrapping the thing.
Thank you.
Hey, that's nice, you guys.
There's something in it.
Do you remember when you told Dennis that Jollet had the money in his trunk?
That's the reward.
How about that, sweetheart?
ROCKFORD: You won the Big Deal.